Tagan's Child (43 page)

“Ahran,” I
breathed, it was a demand, a plea and an invitation all in one.

I could feel
the pulse at the base of my neck hammering beneath my skin as his
lips brushed over it on their way down to my cleavage. I
shamelessly ground my pelvis into his. There were far too many
layers of clothes between us for my liking.

“Oh my God
Sophie,” he said, his voice muffled against my skin.

“Please…” I
couldn’t manage any more words as his mouth found my breasts, the
heat of it searing my skin through the thin fabric of my dress. It
was like every minute of my life had been leading to this
moment.

“Sophie, I want
you so badly, it physically hurts,” he said between kisses. There
were no words to describe how he made me feel. All I could do was
show him. I reached behind my back, unzipped my dress and shrugged
my arms out of it. It pooled at my waist revealing my naked
breasts.

Ahran groaned.
“I wanted to savour you, cherish you, worship your gorgeous body
but my hormones are screaming at me to just take you as quickly as
I can.” His voice was full of tortured apology. I responded by
circling my hips against his. I had never been so turned on and
what he was suggesting was exactly what I wanted him to do.

We didn’t make
it to the bed. We got as far as the dressing table, neither of us
noticing when everything on its surface scattered as he lifted me
up onto it. He undid his trousers and stepped out of them. He
picked up his wallet from the silver tray below the mirror and took
out a foil packet. I quivered in anticipation and pulled my dress
up over my head.

He stopped what
he was doing.

“You are so
damned beautiful!”

It felt like
his eyes were devouring me and for once in my life I didn’t feel
self-conscious. That look in his eyes and the evidence of how I
made him feel were plain to see. It was a heady feeling to know I
was the cause.

I boldly hooked
my finger into the top of his boxers and pulled him towards me. I
ran my tongue seductively over his bottom lip and he let out a soft
growl. We were nose to nose, chest to chest as he stood between my
legs. Both of us were breathing rapidly but he stood stock still as
I gently licked his top lip and then slowly sunk my tongue into his
mouth seeking his. When our tongues met it broke the spell I had
been weaving and he responded by pushing his hands into my hair and
kissing me deeply.

My heart
slammed against my chest as he pulled away and pushed his boxers
down over his hips. The sight of him standing in front of me, an
obvious flush across his chest and his hands showing the slightest
tremor as he rolled the condom over himself, was almost more than I
could take, he was utterly breath taking. He helped me as I
wriggled out of my panties and I inched my hips to the edge of the
dressing table subconsciously licking my lips in anticipation.

His eyes locked
with mine asking me the silent question I was desperate to answer.
I touched the side of his face in awe of the man who stood in front
of me. I reached up and tenderly pressed my lips against his,
giving him the permission he was seeking. He exhaled in a rush, had
he been holding his breath? How could he possibly doubt I wanted
him as much as he wanted me?

He lifted me up
and I positioned my legs around him, our eyes locked as he slowly
lowered me down onto him, even in his heightened state of arousal
he was taking care to make sure I was comfortable. He stilled,
giving me time to adjust to the feel of him inside of me and
momentarily his eyes glazed over as he fought for control.

I began to
raise myself up and down, needing to feel that delicious rhythm.
“Ah Sophie,” his eyes closed as I pressed myself down onto him. It
felt like he was touching my very soul and it made me moan. I
slowly raised myself up the length of him and back down repeating
the exquisite sequence again and again.

He barely
moved, allowing me to set the pace that suited me. Together we
watched the effect we were having on one another, our eyes locked
in their own private union. His jaw muscle was working hard,
staying still was obviously testing his restraint as he continued
to allow me take my pleasure.

“I won’t
break,” I whispered into his ear and kissed the side of his neck. I
began to pick up the pace. It was all the encouragement he needed
and he clasped my hips and began to match the movement of my hips
with his own.

Our mouths
found each other’s. Oxygen was no longer required, Ahran’s breath
was all my lungs needed. I grasped his shoulders as I came close. I
had never felt so connected to anyone, never felt so grounded and
complete. Ahran’s fingers dug into my hips and I welcomed the
pressure, it took my mind off the heart-stopping summit I was about
to topple over. I didn’t want to do it without him.

“Are you…?” he
asked breathlessly.

I nodded and
closed my eyes as with one more stroke we erupted together both of
us groaning loudly.

We collapsed
against one another.

Ahran peppered
soft kisses on my forehead, down my nose before planting a slow and
lingering kiss on my lips. I slid my arms around him and hugged
him. I could hear his heart beating hard and fast in his chest and
it pleased me to the core.

Ahran gently
lifted me off the dressing table and we both laughed as a tube of
toothpaste that had been stuck to my bottom fell to the floor. He
pulled back the covers and carefully laid me on the bed before
climbing in next to me and propping his head up on his elbow.

“And that is
what happens when you wear a dress like that,” he said as a lazy
grin crept across his face.

I smiled at
him, feeling languid and in love.

“You need to
have more restraint,” I said, cheekily tapping his nose.

He smiled
unapologetically. “You look even more beautiful after we’ve made
love,” he said quietly. “You don’t know how hard it was to leave
you that night at Galius’s,” he said, shaking his head.

“I couldn’t
watch you leave,” I admitted.

He pushed a
lock of hair that had fallen over my eye behind my ear. “I had no
intention of making love to you that night. I wanted to wait until
Toby was safe and we had got back to Dinara. But when I came to say
goodbye you looked so sad and frightened I wanted to take away all
your fears and worries. It wasn’t really how I had envisaged our
first time,” he said regretfully.

I smiled and
stroked the side of his face. “I don’t recall putting up much
resistance.”

“And tonight,”
he continued. “I had planned to seduce you,” he said, pointing to
the bottle of unopened champagne and two glasses standing on the
coffee table, “but you came in bare- footed looking as sexy as hell
in that dress, I felt so turned on I couldn’t see straight. I don’t
know what you do to me, but when I’m around you I somehow lose
control.

I smiled. “I’m
sorry. I don’t do it on purpose.” If anything I had tried to keep
my distance although lying here naked with him I knew I had failed
miserably.

He laughed.
“God help me if you actually tried to seduce me,” he said, rolling
his eyes. “I’m not sure I could handle it.”

I giggled,
unable to believe that I could feel any happier. I would accept my
fate come what may.

He reached over
and dimmed the lights and I stifled a yawn. I wriggled into the
crook of his arm and rested my head on his chest, feeling at peace
for the first time in a very long time. I must have fallen asleep
just after I felt his kiss on the top of my head.

*****

I was dreaming
I was lying in bed with Ahran and delighting in the feel of his
breath on the back of my neck as his luscious mouth moved its way
across my shoulders causing a little trail of goose bumps in its
wake. My eyes fluttered open to find that Ahran’s luscious mouth
was moving its way across my shoulders my skin responding with a
trail of goose bumps. This was no dream it was dreamy reality. I
sighed a sigh of relief because for one heart-stopping moment I
thought I had dreamt our earlier love-making, that it had been a
cruel trick of my mind, but no, I was definitely lying in his bed
being kissed awake. Either that or I had died and gone to
heaven.

“Mmmm that’s
nice,” I murmured.

“Nice, doesn’t
even come close. I just woke up to find an angel lying in my bed
and she’s all soft and warm and the desire to make love to her is
building up so much that it’s starting to overwhelm me. I can
assure you it’s not nice, it’s pretty fucking amazing.”

His accented
curse shouldn’t have been so sexy. I smiled and opened my eyes. The
light was streaming through the shutters.

“Oh my God!” I
leapt out of bed. “Dammit!” I frantically searched for my dress. I
couldn’t see it but I spied a white dressing gown draped over an
easy chair. “What time is it?” I grabbed the dressing gown and
shoved my arm into the sleeve as a tidal wave of panic swept
through me. I was still in Ahran’s room and Toby would be awake by
now.

“Time you got
back into bed,” Ahran suggested. I darted a look in his direction
as I thrust my other arm into the other sleeve of the dressing
gown. He was lying on his back propped up on his elbows, the sheets
gathered around his waist to reveal every mouth-watering muscle of
his spectacular abdomen with a lazy grin across his face.

“It’s morning
and I’m still in your room,” I squeaked.

“So? Come back
to bed, it will only confirm what Leylana already suspects.”

“Are you
crazy?” The thought of everyone especially Toby finding out about
Ahran and me like this was excruciating to say the least.

“I’ve got to
go,” I said, tying the belt at my waist and making my way to the
door.

“Don’t I get a
kiss before you go?”

I turned back
towards him, torn by my desperation to get back to my room as
quickly as possible and by the sight of him lying there looking all
sleepy and heart-stoppingly sexy. I sprinted back to the bed and
gave him a brief peck on the lips. What I would have done to have
climbed back into bed with him.

“I really have
to go,” I said, pulling away.

“See you at
breakfast,” he winked.

I hesitated.
“Please behave yourself, I don’t want anyone to know about us yet.”
A look of disagreement shadowed across his face and he opened his
mouth to protest.

I pressed my
fingers to his lips. “Please. Let’s just enjoy each other for a
while before we announce ourselves to the world.” The feelings I
was now allowing myself to feel were all so new that I wanted to
enjoy them and savour them before we had to face any backlash from
his family.

He nodded his
agreement.

“Thank you.” I
gave him another kiss on the lips before I left his room.

It was an odd
mixture of emotions I felt as I made my way back to my room. I
could hear the distant movement of the household waking up which
caused new waves of panic to grip my stomach, but at the same time
I felt elated. The shadows of doubt were still there somewhere in
the recesses of my mind, but I knew I no longer had the strength to
stay away from him, I had given myself over to him and my heart
soared like a bird. I had no idea what my future held, he hadn’t
even made any promises that we had a future together, but all I
knew was that being with him, loving him, was all that I was
capable of doing now.

Miraculously I
made it back to my room without bumping into anyone and I slipped
inside the door praying that Toby was still asleep.

I scanned the
room half expecting to see Toby watching T.V. lounging on the sofa,
his leg dangling over the arm. But the room was quiet. I held my
breath tiptoeing over to his bedroom, his door was ajar and I
peeked my head around it, my heart in my throat. There he was, face
up, in the surrender position and thankfully, fast asleep.

Closing my
eyes, I slowly exhaled. I couldn’t quite believe I’d made it back
unnoticed.

I padded to my
room and smiled at my undisturbed bed. According to the clock on my
bedside, it was ten to eight. Jeez! I had been lucky. Toby was
obviously sleeping in after the excitement of yesterday. I pulled
back the covers and slid between the cool sheets. I didn’t feel
sleepy, just buzzing. I buried my head in the pillow and let out a
muffled scream of pent up emotion, the aftermath of the adrenaline
I had felt coming back to my room; excitement and trepidation but
most of all an overwhelming sense of happiness. I turned back over
and stared up at the ceiling. What had happened last night had been
amazing, everything a girl could ever dream of and more. There were
no guarantees as to what would happen now, it was in the lap of the
gods.

There was a
soft tap on my door.

“Yes?”

“It’s me,”
replied Toby.

“Come in,” I
said, sitting up. Now that had been close.

He bounced
across the room and landed on the bed.

“Are you
alright sweetheart?” I asked

He rubbed his
eyes. “Yeah, great,” he said climbing into bed next to me, his
voice still croaky from sleep.

“Are you ready
for another day as Prince of Ramia?” I said, putting my arms around
him and hugging him close.

He laughed.
“That just sounds funny.”

I kissed him on
the top of the head and smiled into his hair.

“When I woke up
I thought I had dreamt it,” he said, shaking his head in wonder.
“Oh, and guess what?”

“What?” I
asked, feeling so happy that my little nephew was back with me.

“Halsan breeds
racehorses. Do you think he will let me go and see them?”

“I’m sure he
will.” I knew full well that his grandparents weren’t going to be
able to refuse him anything.