by Morgan Hawke
Tingles cascaded deliciously through me. A moan escaped my lips The twisting heat deep inside of my belly began to rise to something hotter, something more insistent, more desperate. My knees lifted, cradling his body against mine. My hands lifted to burrow into his golden hair, my fingers sifting through the silky strands to reach the warmth of his neck so I could pull him closer.
He moaned into my mouth and trembled. He pressed his mouth harder against mine, his tongue moving against mine strongly...hungrily. He lifted a hand to cup my breast, then broke the kiss with my lips to turn his head and kiss the taut nipple.
Erotic fire flashed straight down to the pearl at the apex of my feminine core. With a gasp, I arched up to press his mouth more firmly to me.
His mouth opened wide and he sucked on the tight bud, his tongue lashing the sensitive flesh with enthusiasm.
I writhed under him, his weight, his mouth, sweet and exciting. Every tug on my nipple made something deep in my belly clench hungrily, and the pearl at the mouth of my body pulse.
His other hand slid between us. He groaned. Suddenly there was a hard, hot shaft pressing against my belly.
Despite rolling within a sensual fog of pleasure, I still knew full well that he’d drawn himself out, that it was his cock that pressed against me.
He lifted his head, freeing himself from my hands, and panting, clearly needing to catch his breath. His gaze was hooded, the pupils of his eyes wide and dark with only a slight ring of green around the midnight centers. His lips red, plump, and wet. A string of saliva stretched to my wet nipple, then broke. He spoke in the barest of whispers. “Julian...” He looked downward, and rose higher on one hand. His mouth tightened and his eyes closed with a soft groan.
Hot, rigid flesh brushed against the wet folds of my body’s core.
I sucked in my breath sharply, and my heart fluttered.
He lifted his head to stare at me, his gaze still dark, his mouth and jaw tight. Then he rose over me, his knees pushing against the back of my uplifted thighs.
Firm flesh pushed into me, slowly, agonizingly slowly, making room for itself with in me.
I set my heels on the mattress below us and slid my hands down his bare back, feeling the light sweat that had formed. I rocked my hips, rolling my belly, accepting the intrusion, the heat, the fullness, and fulfillment it would bring.
Above me, he released a soft growl low in the back of his throat that bordered on a moan, his eyes closing. “If you move any more, I will lose myself right here and now.”
Annoyed frustration sparked through me. I dug my nails into his back.
He winced, then grinned. “Is that impatience?”
I opened my mouth to say the one thing I thought would never come from my lips. “Shut up and fuck me.”
His eyes opened wide, then he grinned broadly. “With pleasure.” He lowered his head, pulled back just a little, and lunged forward and inward hard, sheathing himself completely.
I arched, and gasped.
His mouth took mine aggressively, his tongue plunging in as though starving. He pulled back to thrust deeper, and harder, striking something deep inside.
A pang of pleasure went off in my belly, the sensation rippling through me like the deep knell of a temple bell. I arched and writhed to make it last.
He broke the kiss to pull back. Rolling his hips, he thrust again with greater depth, and force, striking that delicious place inside me again, then again, and again...
I cried out with delight, and lifted my legs to lock them around his hips, ankles crossed at the small of his back, pulling him tighter into my body, seeking more.
His hands came around me and slid down to cup my arse. Lifting me higher, he began to thrust more rapidly increasing the tempo and power until he was slamming into me hard and fast.
My hips bucked into his thrusts in counterpoint, utterly out of my control.
The sounds of wet flesh striking wet flesh, moans, and gasps for breath filled the small tent. Lust, sweet and savory perfumed the air.
My gaze locked on the arch and flex of his body over me, moving inside me to strike that avaricious point within with frightening force.
Bright, fierce pleasure pulsed inside me, clenching and twisting tighter, and tighter. Finally, it reached the breaking point. I arched hard, rising up from the mattress of sweet grass, and gasped in a sharp breath, balancing on the edge. My nails dug into his back.
He pulled back to strike hard, and deep.
Release exploded deep within, my breath exploding out of me with a pained and rapturous cry. I shuddered and writhed, falling into a whirlpool of ecstasy, submerging under the rippling waves that flowed through me.
He choked, then released a hoarse gasp. His hands left my butt to grab onto my shoulders, pinning me to the mattress. He thrust hard, then again, then once more. Groaning deep and low, he buried his face in my shoulder then stilled. Inside me, his cock throbbed and pumped hot wetness.
He collapsed to sprawl heavily on top of me, his face beside mine, his panting breaths brushing against my shoulder, his golden hair clinging to his sweat damp back.
I worked my arms out from under his body to wrap them lightly around his shoulders, holding him against my heart while the aftershocks of our shared pleasure trembled through us both.
Alberic sighed, then rolled to the side a little, taking his weight off me. He propped himself up on one elbow and smiled lazily, his gaze heavy and dark with spent passion. “At last.”
I frowned at him. “At last?”
He lifted his hand and swept a strand of damp hair from my brow, then leaned over to kiss me, a light press of the lips, a gentle sweep of the tongue.
Still drunk on passion, I returned his kiss without thought.
His green gaze locked on mine, he spoke with a voice gone hoarse. “Do you have any idea how long I waited for you to come to me?”
I blinked, my mind still fogged with passing pleasure. “What are you talking about? I’ve been yours since childhood.”
He cracked a sour smile. “Idiot... Do you have any idea how long I waited for you to be my lover?”
I frowned. “You already have lovers. Lots of them, in fact.”
“But none of them were you.” He leaned over me to press a quick kiss to my lips. “Only with you can I share all my secrets.”
My heart gave a leap, but the rest of me was not so sanguine. “That’s because you know mine, which gives you blackmail material.”
He grinned broadly. “That too.”
“By the way...” I folded my arms behind my head. “Any idea how we’re getting home?”
Alberic sighed then dropped face-down alongside me. “I am tired unto death...” He threw an arm over me. “Sleep first. We can worry about getting home, later.”
More than a little alarmed, I pushed to sit up. “You have no idea how we’re getting home, do you?”
Alberic shoved me back down onto the mattress with his arm. “Do not worry. I will think of something.”
I stared up at the ceiling of my tent. I wanted to insist that he find a way to get us home right then, but truthfully, I was dead tired too. I threw an arm over my eyes and sighed.
* * * * * *
“Are you sure doing it that way is a good idea?” Standing at the wooded edge of the palace gardens, surrounded by blooming tulips while in my plain gray leather traveling coat, black leather waistcoat, and gray leather breeches, I was well aware that I did not suit my surroundings. Even so, I eyed the newly crowned king with deep suspicion, and tapped my black felt tricorn hat against my knee. “I have to cross an ocean, you know?”
Dressed rather casually in a lavender brocade frockcoat lavishly embroidered with white silk, and a snowy white waistcoat the king smiled. “I assure you, I have a fast ship at my disposal to carry the rest of your belongings, although it will be three weeks before they arrive. It’s the least I can do for your assistance.”
My prince, resplendent in an eggshell blue damask fr
ockcoat and matching waistcoat, both heavily embroidered with gold thread, nodded firmly. “I accept.”
“You accept?” Wide-eyed, I looked at my prince. “But this is across an ocean!”
The king sighed and combed his fingers through the fall of his snowy white curls. “Fawn, it does not matter what landscape exists here because the white forest is elsewhere.” He tilted his head and looked away. “Or rather, else-when.” He shook his head then stepped forward to set his hands on my shoulders. “All you need do is focus on your home, and run until you arrive.”
* * * * * *
That sunset, I was back in my unicorn body with a saddle and saddlebags strapped to me. I looked over at my prince, my ears laid back. “The cinch is too tight!” It felt like it was squeezing me in half.
“The cinch is exactly as tight as it should be.” Alberic stuck his foot in the stirrup and threw his leg over, to seat himself on my back. “Be glad I did not insist on a bridle too.”
I snaked my head around on my long neck to bare my equine teeth at him. “If you even attempt to put a bridle on me, you will be taking the ship home with our trunks!”
Alberic folded his arms across his chest. “You are rather willful in this form.”
The king chuckled and moved close to Alberic’s side. “That’s only to be expected. The fawn is royalty, after all.”
Alberic turned sharply to stare at the king. “What did you say?”
The king smiled. “You didn’t know? Our kind ruled this world long before any human stepped foot in it.” He stepped away to stand by my head. “Do not forget, you are a creature of winter and shadow. Ice and snow are the heart of your power. Your power—you—will be weakest during the summer months, especially when the sun is high. Guard yourself during such times.”
“Ice and snow?” My ears turned forward in alarm. “Are you serious?”
The king smiled sourly. “How else did you think the white forest came to be white?” He stepped back and frowned at Alberic. “Do not forget, Prince of Air, that you must not leave the saddle in the white forest, else you will fall into a sleep you will never awaken from.”
Alberic’s brows lifted. “White forest...?”
The king frowned sternly. “Yes. The white forest is especially dangerous for you, Prince of Air, as you are a creature of summer and light.”
That did not sound good at all. I sidestepped nervously. “Maybe we should just take the ship...?”
Alberic gripped my mane, and dug his heels into my sides. “Absolutely not! I have a tinker to find. I will not have curses being sold in my kingdom!”
The king smiled. “Travel swiftly!” He swatted my butt with the palm of his hand.
It actually stung. I leaped into the trees. I spotted the edge of the shadow forest and leaped into it. Home... Home... I want to go home! A few bounds later and the shadowy trunks of the trees turned white with mist curling up from the unseen ground, the leaves overhead tinkling like crystal.
In my saddle, Alberic gasped. “Mother of All, it’s cold!”
Cold? I didn’t feel cold at all. In fact, I felt refreshed.
Alberic leaned over my neck, his gloved hands tucked under his arms. “Hurry...! Before I freeze.”
“Do you need me to stop so you can get a blanket from the saddlebags?”
Alberic shook his head. “No, no, just keep going.”
I hurried, galloping as fast as my legs would allow.
After an eternity of running through the twilight tinted forest of white, the white forest ended without warning.
One moment I was bolting under crystal trees, and the next I was moving through a forest made of shadows. I slowed to an easy canter, not sure when or where I should leave the shadow forest.
Alberic sucked in a deep breath. “Finally it’s warm again.” He shivered hard. “How you can bear it?”
I tilted an ear back toward Alberic. “It doesn’t feel cold to me.”
Alberic frowned. “Not at all?”
“No, not at all.”
The scent of something...familiar floated on the wind.
I lifted my head and cantered toward the scent. The shadows abruptly melted into actually trees and bushes that had clearly once been carefully groomed. However, no gardener had attended to them in quite a long time. Grass as tall as my knees hid any walkways that might have existed. Wildflowers bloomed everywhere with abandon.
“This looks like a garden.” One very overgrown, possibly even utterly forgotten. I spotted the remains of a fountain, and realized that it looked familiar.
Alberic stiffened. “Stop!”
I came to a halt. “Do you know where we are?”
Alberic dropped out of the saddle. “We are on the palace grounds.”
We’re home? I turned my head to look at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I recognize that fountain.” Alberic pulled off the saddlebags and tugged the cinch loose on the saddle. “You’d better return to your human form before one of the guards sees us.” He pulled the saddle from my back.
I reared up and clothed myself in human skin. It tightened mercilessly around me, rendering me far smaller than my unicorn body, and knocking the breath from me. I groaned under the weight of being human, but didn’t quite collapse. I staggered to the saddlebags to pull out my clothes and began to get dressed.
Alberic sat on the rim of the disused fountain. “Hurry it up, peon, I want a bath, and to sleep among my own sheets before my royal father knows that I’ve returned.” He looked away. “I still have yet to come up with what story to tell him.”
“Yes, my prince.” I dragged my clothes on with as much haste as possible. When finally dressed, I lifted the saddlebags to my shoulder then reached for the heavy saddle.
“Leave the saddle. Get one of the stable hands to fetch it.” Alberic rose from his seat on the edge of the fountain. “Let’s go, peon. We have an appointment with my bath and my bed.”
I stiffened. “We...?”
Alberic turned with a narrow-eyed smiled. “Of course. Did you think I’d allow you go back to sleeping in that closet?” He turned away and strode for the palace, hidden behind the overgrown trees. “Ah...I can tell already that life is about to get far more interesting!”
I rolled my eyes. “And mine, far more complicated.” I hurried after him.
~ End ~
Morgan Hawke
To find out more about bestselling author Morgan Hawke, find her on the web at http://www.darkerotica.net/
