The King's Spinster Bride, (Royal Wedding #1)(21)
Halla’s fingers tighten in my hair and then she presses her mouth shyly to mine. “There’s nothing that says I cannot kiss you back, is there?”
I bite back my groan. “Nothing at all.”
And then the lovely creature takes control of our embrace and begins to kiss me all on her own. Her kisses are small, soft, nipping ones that tease rather than conquer. I am fascinated by this, because I know it’s purely instinctual. This is how Halla works, I realize—with small nibbles and little caresses, unlike my brutal conquest of her mouth. It is another reason we will be good together as rulers.
Of course, my cock could be making me think of all kinds of assumptions, but I don’t care. In this moment she could hold me down and ravage my mouth and I would think she was the loveliest, most delicate creature ever. She could do anything to me and I would willingly submit.
My princess makes a little noise in her throat as she kisses me, her arms twining around my neck, and I realize she wants me to kiss her back. Her playful nips stop once I kiss her back, and then we are using our tongues to dance along each other’s mouths in a sensual alternation of licks that make me imagine her mouth everywhere.
I kiss her softly one more time and then pull away. “Let me lay you back on the bed, love.”
Wariness flares in her eyes, and she gives me a nervous nod. She sits back on the bed and then smooths her skirts down her legs. “What now?”
I see the tips of her slippers peeping out from underneath her skirts. I take one foot in my hand and casually pull the shoe off, tossing it aside. Her eyes go wide and she gazes at me, frozen in place. I can feel her quiver as I caress her ankle, and I remove the other shoe and then just rub her feet for a moment, trying to get her to relax. If anything, my touch only makes her more nervous.
“Tell me about your time in the temple,” I murmur. I’m trying to distract her, and I hope it works.
“The temple?” she echoes, a confused look on her face. Her gaze flicks back and forth between my hands and my face.
“Yes. Did you enjoy your time there?”
Halla looks at me as if I am growing a second head. “Did I enjoy living as a fugitive? Wondering if this is the day that assassins will arrive to kill me and resolve all claim to the throne? Being looked at as an outsider by the peacekeepers because I was not one of them, and them unable to do anything about me because of who I am?”
I should not have asked. “I hate that you went through that.”
She softens at my words and shrugs her shoulders. “It was not what I had anticipated my path to be.” Her voice is low, sad. “I had been trained since a young age that I would make a marriage to strengthen Yshrem. I admit I didn’t know what to do with myself for a very long time when I arrived at the temple. No one wants a spinster once-queen who gave her throne to the barbarians.”
“You did what you had to do to save lives. Surely you see that?” I’ve stopped rubbing her feet, because this is going in a direction I don’t want. Instead of relaxing her and distracting her, she’s growing sad.
“Not everyone understands a decision a ruler makes.” Her smile is small. “I should not complain. You saved my life sixteen years ago when you told your father I protected you. You made it sound like I stood before the sword like the bravest of warriors.”
“Were you not? You faced your men as calmly as any queen.”
“But I was queen.”
“Aye, and it would have been very easy for them to cut your throat, blame my father’s men, and then take the throne for themselves. Instead, you stood up for the enemy because you felt it was the right thing to do.”
“I would never let someone kill a child simply because he had the wrong father.”
“Neither would I.” I grin and slide to my knees, and then I am kneeling on the floor in front of her feet. “See? We are agreed. You saved my life, and I saved yours. We are equals.”
“Mmm.” She doesn’t sound as if she agrees with me. That’s all right. She doesn’t have to agree. Now, I am in a position of power. I am king and I do and take what I want.
And right now, I cannot wait to take my bride.
I lift her foot carefully and kiss the arch.
She gasps, shaken by my touch. Her eyes go soft and she watches me intently.
“Ticklish?” I ask, loving how responsive she is. She can’t hide how she feels, and I love that her normal dignified manner has disappeared and there’s a skittish, fascinated woman with me instead of the aloof, regal princess. She’s both, and I love both sides of her, but there’s only one I want in my bed.
“I don’t know,” Halla admits. “No one’s ever touched my feet like that before.”
“How does it make you feel, then?” I lean in and kiss the arch again, letting my tongue brush against the underside as I pull away.
She sucks in a breath and squirms on the bed, her gaze locked onto me. “I…I don’t know.” She’s breathless. “This is all very…new.”
My bride is very untouched. I can’t help the fierce surge of pleasure I feel at that. “Tell me if you don’t like something that I do, then.”
Halla nods and remains still as I kiss her foot again, then move up to her ankle. She’s silent as I continue to kiss my way forward, pressing my mouth against the soft skin of her ankle and calf. I love her delicate bones and how I can feel every tremor that moves through her. She doesn’t pull away, though, and when I pause, a flicker of disappointment crosses her face until I lean in once more.