“Hey, beautiful,” he murmured, patting the empty space beside on the bed.
With a grin, I plopped down next to him and leaned into his side.
“I have something to tell you,” he murmured.
“Hmm?” I asked, leaning in for a quick kiss. He obliged, but then pulled back with a playful grin.
“I love you,” he said.
I almost didn’t think I’d heard him properly. But the look in his eyes told me that I’d heard correctly and that he was terrified of what my reaction would be to a declaration like that.
But I knew I loved him back. The entire universe knew it.
“I love you, too,” I whispered, climbing onto his lap to straddle his hips like I had just the night before.
Wrapping my arms around his neck, I deepened the kiss, pressing myself close to him.
He chuckled and parted only an inch to murmur, “How in the hell do you have the energy for this after the day we’ve had?”
I giggled. The truth was, I didn’t know. I knew I should have been exhausted, and even a little traumatized, but all I could think about was the happy endings we’d accomplished together. Zik and Lee were dead, the Rogues were destroyed, my parents were safe and Markus loved me.
And I wanted to relive the night before. I wanted to feel my skin on fire again.
“I have to admit,” I muttered in Markus’ ear. “Even though I was tied up by evil criminals, watching you turn into a dragon was kind of…hot.”
Markus snorted softly. “Was it?”
He warm breath fanned across my neck as he peppered kisses along my collarbone.
“Mmm,” I sighed in response, pushing him down onto the bed with a rough shove.
I pulled the borrowed shirt up and over my head, surprised by how naked I suddenly was on top of him.
Markus seemed surprised, too, his hands stroking the bare skin of my thighs with a timid grip.
“Ellen,” he laughed. “Your parents are on this ship.”
I chuckled. The fact that he was concerned about my parents overhearing us was kind of endearing. It meant that he’d learned to care less about his own pleasure and what he could gain from a situation. He’d grown so much in the past few days. I knew that, in the future, he would still have moments where he wasn’t the most light or most good, but so would I. I’d proven earlier that day that even I was capable of something as dark as murder, even if it had been in self-defense.
But I was fine with that. I wanted to know what a future with him would hold.
“Oh, come on, party boy,” I crooned, biting gently on his earlobe. “I know you’ve got this flying bachelor pad sound-proofed.”
Markus chuckled loudly. “How do you know me so well?”
“We’re soulmates, remember?” I joked.
In response, Markus tightened his grip on my hips and pulled me closer against him. I moaned quietly, already so desperate to feel him inside me again. It was like our first time making love had destroyed the dam that had been keeping my desire for him at bay. Now, I couldn’t hold my hunger back from him. I wanted him, more than I’d wanted anything.
“Well, if that’s the case,” Markus murmured. “I seem to remember us agreeing that I’d be the one in charge this time.”
My stomach swooped in a strange thrill at his words and I smiled against his kiss.
“Go for it, then,” I sighed.
Markus let out a quiet groan and flipped us over so that he was on top of me, leaning over my recumbent form with a wicked grin on his face. I bit my lip as I stared up at him, but the tenderness was gone in mere seconds as I watched the animal passion took over him.
With strong hands, Markus took a hold of my hips and flipped me over onto my stomach. In the same breath, he brought the palm of his hand down hard against my bare bottom with a sharp slap. I gasped in surprise, but the brief pain mingled with the pleasure growing like fire between my legs, and I moaned.
“You like that?” he asked, his voice hoarse.
“Mhm,” I half-moaned with a quick nod, biting my lip as I lifted up onto my knees and elbows, wiggling my hips closer to him. “Do it again.”
He obliged. My gasp colored the heated air around us with a delicious burst of passion.
“Again, my Prince,” I demanded.
I felt him come closer and lean over my backside. He’d done away with his clothing quickly, and I felt his hardness against my inner thigh.
“Your Prince isn’t accepting demands at this time,” he murmured in my ear. “He’s only giving them… Now, spread your legs.”
With a smile, I did as he said, thoroughly enjoying giving into his control. Even though I’d always wanted to be the one in charge of my own destiny, letting him be in charge was like the final piece of the puzzle in me being able to relinquish the harsh guidelines and tight morals I lived my life with.
I was allowing myself to give into the darkness, even if it was just a little bit.
Markus buried himself inside me with slow, measured thrusts. I pressed my face into the sheets to muffle my moan, even though I knew no one else on the ship would be able to hear us beyond the door to his bedroom.
He groaned in pleasure, bracing himself with one hand on the headboard above me as he deepened the thrusts. After a moment, his hand slipped away again though, reaching around my hips to massage small circles into the pulsing bud between my thighs. The pleasure increased tenfold and my low moans dissolved into something higher and more breathy, almost desperate sounding.
I could tell already that neither one of us was going to last much longer. There was too much pure lust coursing between us; we’d probably have to go for several more rounds before either one of us could be satiated. And then it likely wouldn’t be very much longer until we needed to be wrapped up in each other again.
The hunger that flourished between Markus and I was something that couldn’t be quenched with one night, or even a handful of nights.
No, it would be a lifetime of this kind of passion.
I was okay with that.
“You feel so good,” whispered Markus, trembling above me.
“Oh,” I sighed in reply. “Harder.”
Though he claimed to not be accepting my demands, Markus did as I said.
The headboard thumped quietly into the wall as Markus thrust into me. I relished the feeling of him gliding in and out of my warm center. It was incredible how well our bodies fit together, as if they’d been designed for this all along. No wonder I’d never felt this way with anyone before. My whole life, I’d been waiting for this man to come along and bring my body the true passion it craved.
I rocked my hips back against his, matching his tempo. His fingers quickened their pace on the pink pearl just above my entrance and I cried out, unable to figure out which of his touches was bringing me closer to the edge. My mind was spinning with the overwhelming sensation of it all.
“I love the sounds you make,” Markus hummed.
In answer, I let out another moan, shifting my hips to widen my legs and change the angle slightly. Markus mirrored my moan, and our bodies collided, gracefulness being tossed to the wayside as we both yearned for sweet release.
Less than a minute later, we unraveled together, bodies shaking from indescribable waves of pleasure.
I rolled onto my back once more when Markus pulled out of me and dropped onto the sheets.
“I love you,” he whispered, his breath coming fast as he pulled me close and pressed a kiss to my temple.
I smiled and trailed my fingertips down the center of his chest, tracing the tiny beads of sweat that had collected there during our lovemaking. “I could get used to hearing that.”
“I love you,” he said again.
I giggled, pressing my palm flat against his well-muscled stomach.
“I love you, too,” I replied, letting my fingers dip further town to take his manhood in my hand. He sucked in a sharp breath, still sensitive from his orgasm, but it didn’t take long for
him to melt into my touch as I stroked his length until it was hard again.
“Greedy girl,” he moaned into my ear, his breath stuttering.
I grinned and shifted down the bed so that I was kneeling between his legs. I ducked my head and wrapped my lips around the tip of his erection.
Swirling my tongue around the tip for a few seconds, I pulled back and glanced up to offer him a mischievous smile. “Oh, I’m just getting started.”
Markus cursed under his breath, reaching down to tangle his fingers in my hair as I took him back into my mouth.
“Yeah, I really love you,” he groaned before his words turned into nothing more than quiet whimpers and sharp pants.
The night descended around us as the ship flew through the galaxies, and neither one of us had any intention of sleeping. There were too many things that needed to be said, but spoken with our bodies rather than our mouths.
So, just as the universe intended, two became one.
Epilogue
The King and Queen of the Alin dragon throne were, admittedly, incredibly surprised when Markus returned, as requested, the next day. They were even more surprised when they realized that he’d not only brought a girl home with him, but her parents, as well. A set of guest apartments were quickly prepared for the unexpected guests with one quick flick of the Queen’s wrist at the palace servants. There were a small race of humans on this planet, and Ellen’s parents would fit in well with them in the village that surrounded the glorious Alin palace.
Markus had taken Ellen’s hand in his when he entered the throne room. It was the same room of his nightmares, the one in which his mother bled out before him, as well as the room in which he’d been nothing more than a shadow for his entire childhood.
Together, the young couple knelt before the formidable rulers of the dragons and all eight heirs. Ellen remained quiet while Markus apologized for his disappearance, and all of his disappearances of the years.
“I need more from you,” Markus had said to his parents and his older siblings, very bravely. “I am more than the ninth heir. I am your son, your brother. I deserve just as much respect as the others, despite my status in the royal bloodline.”
Markus’ parents were incredibly proud of him for speaking up from himself. Prince Ry, the first heir, nodded at his youngest brother’s words. The Crown Prince had often thought it must have been less than ideal to be the most forgotten member of such a powerful family and could see that a positive change had come over Markus throughout the past week. No one knew the details of what Markus had been up to this time around, but they were sure that he would tell them in time.
Even Prince Jack admitted that he was looking forward to a new chapter in which his little brother wasn’t as much of an embarrassing trainwreck of a royal.
“Now, who’s this?” asked King Alin himself when Markus had finished explaining himself, nodding his head at Ellen.
Her head had shot up the moment she realized she was being acknowledged, and she stared up at the huge family of dragons with awe in her eyes. She’d never seen anything like it; a united front of magnificent creatures capable of so much beauty and so much power. It made her love Markus even more.
“This is Princess Ellen Moore,” Markus introduced her.
Later that evening, when Ellen and Markus finally managed to be alone again after the flurry of his arrival with her and her human parents in the dragon-dominated castle, Ellen turned to Markus with confusion in her eyes.
“Why did you tell them a Princess?” she asked Markus, wondering if he was somehow ashamed of her regular, insignificant human status and felt pressure to make something up in front of his parents so that they would be more likely to accept her presence in such an elegant, regal place.
But Markus smiled at her.
“Because,” he explained. “When someone marries a Prince, they become a Princess.”
Ellen froze in place. Markus’ bedroom windows were thrown open to tempt in the early spring breeze and a light wind ruffled her curls as she stared in shock at the gorgeous man standing in front of her.
“Oh,” was all she managed to utter.
Markus chuckled at her reaction.
And then, in a move that even the Time Agents and the Quantum Drive itself had probably not expected, Markus dropped down onto one knee and smiled up at Ellen through his thick, dark eyelashes.
“Ellen Moore,” he whispered, taking both her hands in his. He didn’t have a ring yet; he hadn’t had time to slip into the locked vault of royal jewels and procure one of the dozens of brilliant diamond rings that had graced the fingers of soon-to-be Alin brides for centuries. Markus knew that Ellen wouldn’t mind.
“Ellen,” he said again, his voice somehow even softer this time around. “I am so lucky to have found you, and I will spend every day for the rest of my life thanking the stars and the moons and the planets and every floating fragment in our known universe that, somehow, by some miraculous force of nature, our paths crossed. I love you. You bring out the light in me, but you also bring out the light in the world. You are light. Anyway… Will you marry me?”
And, of course, Ellen’s answer had been, “Yes, Markus. I’ll marry you.”
The universe breathed a sigh of relief, delighted that this small moment had gone right and that, amidst the turmoil and chaos that abounded, at least one happy ending had been realized, at last.
More By Dany
Four Daddies’ Secret Twins
Get It Here
I snuck out to Werewolf City and spent the night with four men...
Now I'm pregnant and don't know who the father is.
It was all an accident.
When my own father found out, he locked me up to give birth in a bunker...
No prince charming is coming to my rescue.
Or princes, in this case --they are royal, after all.
But none of that matters right now...
Does it?
It's been so long I'm not even sure they remember my name.
Or the night we spent together.
And who would have thought...
I am carrying not one, but two of the only heirs they'll ever have...
What would they do if they ever found out?
Auctioned To The Armitage Brothers
Get It Here
"There are private auctions, held by the wealthy elite of this city.
It may be your only option for a better life for you and your daughter.
But I have to ask, are you still able to bear children?"
The chills run through my spine.
But what other option do I have?
A single mom.
A convicted, abusive ex-husband.
A world that is crumbling.
What else can I ask for?
I will keep my daughter safe, no matter the cost.
"OK", I said.
"Sign me in."
Four days later, a letter shows up in my mailbox:
"Dear Mrs. Robson,
It is my pleasure to inform you that you have been purchased by Mr. George Armitage, Esq.
Mr. Armitage is a pillar of the Chicago community, and is the CEO of Armitage pharmaceuticals.
They are an extremely wealthy household, and I am sure you will settle in very nicely there.
As for what services you will be providing, Mr. Armitage is looking for..."
But I couldn't read anymore.
Oh Lord...
What did I get myself into!?
r>
A Wife for the Torturer Page 15
