The King's Spinster Bride, (Royal Wedding #1)(32)

There will be other dresses.

He grips the laces and I hold my breath, waiting for him to rip them away. He doesn’t, though; he gently tugs them free of their knots and then lets the cord slide to the ground. One side, then the other, and then my dress hangs off of my body like a sack. He takes the material and pulls it over my head, and then I’m in nothing but a corset and pantaloons, just like I was in the great hall.

This is different, though, just like he said. Everything is different.

My new husband stares at my body so intently that I prickle all over. The red paint has left streaks down his chest and arms, but I don’t care. I’m trembling with the need for him to touch me and smear that paint all over my body, skin to skin. Slowly, he tugs at the bow binding the lacings of my corset together and pulls it free. The material falls open, gaping, and he works the ties down, tugging them free until the entire thing falls off of my body and pools at my feet. I’m holding my breath as he stares at me, and I want desperately for him to touch me. I need him, my pulse thrumming between my thighs like my heart is there. When he doesn’t move to touch me, I get impatient and slide my pantaloons down my legs with a shimmy until I’m naked before him, like he is to me.

“Beautiful,” he tells me. With one hand, he reaches out and runs his knuckles over the tip of one aching breast.

I gasp at that small touch, wanting so much more and yet shocked at how exposed it makes me feel.

He puts a hand to my waist and pulls me against him, and then his cock is pressing up against my belly like a branding iron, hot and insistent. He captures my mouth in another scorching kiss, and as he does, his hand moves to my breast. His thumb rubs over the nipple, back and forth, teasing it into an aching point as his tongue flicks against mine. Desire, hot and giddy, rushes through me and I cling to him.

“I’m taking you to the bed,” he murmurs between kisses, and I don’t argue. I want that. I want him in every possible way. So I loop my arms around his neck as he hauls me against him and carries me across the chamber. I feel the fur of his blankets against my backside a moment before he gently sets me down, and then I’m tumbling backward into the bed with his weight on top of me.

There’s no time to be nervous, not with his skin pressed against mine, chest to chest, our arms twined around each other. I love the feel of him against my body, and when he slides a thigh between mine, I eagerly lift one leg and twine it around his hip. He settles in against me, and I can feel his cock resting against my pussy. It feels like he was meant to be there, and I’m in love with how right it feels. How right he feels.

He nips at my mouth, taking soft, playful kisses as he gazes down at me. “My beautiful wife. My Halla. I’ve waited for this day forever.”

His loving words make me shy and I give him a smile, moving my hands over him. His hair is sliding over one shoulder onto my body and I want to cover myself in its silky feel. “I’m glad it’s finally here.” The last three days have seemed endless.

Mathior kisses me again, his hand going back to my breast and teasing my nipple. “Are you nervous?”

It’s hard to concentrate when he’s touching me like this. Nervous? Never. I trust him. I shake my head, utterly confident in my husband.

“This is my first time,” he confesses, fascinated by my breasts. He slides a bit lower, kissing down my neck and shoulder, and then making his way down to my breasts. His hand goes to my belly and he nips at the slope of one rounded globe.

My eyes widen in surprise at his words. I’m distracted by his teasing mouth, so perhaps I haven’t heard correctly. “You’ve never…?”

He shakes his head. “Of course not. I waited for you.”

I am speechless. Overwhelmed by his sweet confession, I pull him back up to me and kiss him. “I love you,” I tell him for what feels like the hundredth time today. How could I not trust this man? I feel like such a fool. A giddy, lucky fool, but a fool nevertheless.

Mathior chuckles against my mouth and kisses me back. “I told you it has always been you, lovely Halla, and I meant it.” He bites my lower lip gently, and I moan against him. “Always you.”

“Love you,” I whisper again. Was ever any princess as lucky as me?

His hips fit against mine once more, and when he guides my legs around his waist, I eagerly encircle him, ready for what comes next. Mathior kisses me again, and as he does, I feel him slide a hand between our bodies. In the next moment, something hard presses against my core—his cock. Before I have time to be nervous, his hips surge forward and then he’s pushing into me.

The breath chokes out of me in a gasp. I thought I was ready, but this feels tight and uncomfortable, like I’d always been told sex would be. I thought it would be different with Mathior, and I let out a little whimper of distress at this realization.

“It’ll only hurt the first time,” he says, soothing me with kisses. “I’m sorry, love.”

I hold on to him as he remains completely still over me, nuzzling my face and kissing my unhappiness away. One moment bleeds into the next, and when he shifts his weight, his hips rocking against mine, I’m surprised to feel that it’s not as uncomfortable as it was just a moment ago, and that I love the feel of him pinning me down. I brush my lips against his and when he flexes again, this time I flex with him.

Mathior groans, and his kisses become more urgent. He rocks into me again, and there’s a sharp bite of discomfort that’s quickly gone, and then there’s nothing but the intense feeling of him deep inside me, filling me completely. I’ve never felt anything quite like it and I can’t catch my breath. It’s like he’s piercing me all the way to my heart.