by Kiki Leach
He nodded. “I didn’t wish for it to come to this, but I have no choice.”
I balled my fists and looked at him furiously. He truly WAS insane!
“No choice? You had a choice, just the same as you did that night. You chose what you wanted and as a result have sacrificed my freedom under the guise of a heroic gesture!”
Infuriating. How could I hate and yearn for him all at once?!
“Cinder--”
“No! Is having me more important than what I desire?”
“But, you desire me,” he said playfully.
My eyes traveled the room. The last thing I needed at a time such as this was to hear another truth from him, especially one such as that! I folded my arms and sulked. “You have been aware of the truth since the beginning and waited for the perfect opportunity to seize knowing it. What if I had in fact signed that scroll? Had I moved into the palace, it would’ve only been a matter of time before someone else realized the truth.”
“I would have protected you, just as I am now.”
“Protect me.” I rolled my eyes. “Would you have even bothered to inform me that you were aware of what I had done?”
“I don’t know,” he answered. “Perhaps I would have informed you the first day. Perhaps I would have waited until after our wedding night.”
“I sense you would have waited until you finally got what you wanted in bed, but even then, I’m not quite sure. What if your father never demanded you marry in the first place, what then? There would be no need for your game at all.”
“Rest assured I would find a way to make you mine otherwise.”
“Yours. By continuing to dangle my life before me like a carrot to a rabbit?”
“Cinder, my father has always been a relentless man. He’s just as ruthless when it comes to getting what he wants. If I am to be married as he wishes, I shall have my own wants, such as someone that I not only crave, but someone I can trust.”
I snickered and leaned back on my heel, arching a brow as I absorbed his seeming incompetence. “Trust? I stole your crown for my own benefit. I have kept your sword hidden in my cottage. I murdered your brother with that same sword, and tossed his body into the river beneath the palace estates on a night meant to celebrate your return to this country. I have lied about it for nearly a month with no plans of ever coming forward, and yet, you trust me?”
“Indeed.”
“Then you truly are a fool. Arrogance is not your strongest suit, Prince.”
“But it is my finest quality, you must admit.” He moved another lock of hair behind me and glided his fingers down the center of my back. I shivered and nibbled my lip as he traveled down further to my tailbone. He smiled softly. “Do you know that I have been aware of everything about you since the beginning? From your face to the way your lip twitches when you tell a lie. Long before you stole my sword for your own personal gain and much later in life. I was surprised that you had chosen to hold onto it this entire time, rather than use it for trade in the square years ago, same as the crown, which you had stolen first. I watched you quite often, even as you looked past me in disgust. Even when you had no idea I was there. It’s quite possible that I know you better than you know yourself.”
“It’s also quite possible that you have been nothing more than a stalker over the years.”
He sniffed. “Possible. But you’ve been free of me for at least five of those years.”
“Have I? Your memory of me is still quite in tact for someone who’s been gone for so long.”
“My memory is always in tact when it comes to you,” he said. “Now all that’s left is the tasting of your forbidden fruit.”
I shook my body of whatever yearnings he had conjured within me with that single remark.
“Per the rules of that stupid game, I was sure the king had to approve your final decision upon a wife.”
“With the game no longer in play, let me worry about that.” He winked.
“How will he feel, how will he react when he learns that you wish to marry me?”
“I shall worry about that as well.”
“Hmm.” I scratched my head. “Why has he chosen to marry you off so soon after your brother has died, anyway? Willem’s body has yet to be ravaged by flesh eating beetles.”
“I informed you he was ruthless. The banquet was always planned, but original plans for the event changed in light of my brother. My father wishes for another heir as soon as possible. With Willem dead, there is a current vacancy within the lineage and he does not wish for it to linger any longer for fear of an outside invasion.”
“Are you joking? Aside from the irony of it all, given no one knew of Willem’s paternity until now, my God, it’s been a whole month! The man is barely cold in the ground, and the only thing your father can think about is a current vacancy within the lineage and imaginary men coming to steal his legacy and crown?”
“I’m sure the king would readily thank you for providing such a vacancy, Cinder.”
I stepped back, amazed at his blithe mockery. “Oh, now wait just a second,” I snapped. “Your brother attacked me that night. I was defending myself from his advances -- I never meant for him to die! I am sorry for the king’s loss of his first born, but I shall never apologize for defending myself against Willem’s despising behavior. Never. You claim to have been out there that night! Why didn’t you stop him?”
He glared. “Perhaps I should have.”
“Perhaps?” I moved close enough to feel his breath on my face and placed my hands on the edges of my hips, and scowled. “Perhaps instead of imagining me servicing you in your chambers after I killed that fiend you called a sibling, you could have stopped his death and prevented all of this from happening. But that would require you detaching your cock from your brain in the process.”
“I could think of a better place for it. Someplace warm, and sweet.” Norvack licked the corners of his mouth and turned his focus down to my thighs. “I imagine that place to be similar to heaven, perhaps better than seeing an angel on earth.”
I blinked hard and moved away from him. “You’re disgusting,” I muttered, though I hadn’t believed a word of what I said, which made me feel immoral. But I couldn’t help myself. The more he spoke in that vulgar manner, the more aroused I became, anxious to take him up on his offer to place himself inside me. I only imagined the kind of paradise a ride on his cock would provide.
I kept a grimace to hide my attraction and asked him to leave.
“No,” he said, folding his hands behind him and looking serious now. “Not until you are completely aware of what will happen. In approximately one hour, another carriage will arrive and take you to the palace. A handmaiden shall be provided to help you dress and appear proper before the country and other royals around the world. I shall instruct my father to introduce you as my future bride tonight. You are not required to remember every name of every person you will meet in the grand room, but it shall only help to at least attempt to remember their faces. You will be with me the entire night--”
“Wonderful!” I said, feigning excitement and rolling my eyes a little. “In the meantime, where shall I sleep? I may be forced to marry you, but I will NEVER share your bed.”
“Afraid of enjoying it too much?” He laughed quietly. “I shall have a room prepared at your request. Though…” He took my hand in his, running his thumb across my knuckles, and pressed our palms together. Immediately, I felt something go through me, like a bolt of lightning crackling inside my veins. “You feel that,” he said.
I jerked my hand from his. “Feel what?” I frowned and clasped my hands together.
Norvack whipped me around and clutched both of my arms. He lifted me from the ground until only my toes touched the floor. He pressed me against his hard body and leaned down, sighing. His breath hit my tongue and I wanted to faint. It tasted like mint and smelled so delicious. I wanted to taste him. I was desperate for his tongue, to press it against my own. I shut my eyes to hi
de my wanting and turned away.
“What do you wish for?” I asked with a whimper.
He pulled me closer to him and I yelped, feeling the warmth of his body against mine. Though, it felt like his skin were on fire. He rested his lips against my ear and breathed hard against me, as if I were causing him physical exhaustion by merely standing with him. “I am aching for you,” he murmured. I leaned back and felt his teeth on my skin, nibbling. He leaned forward and I back further. “I have loved you forever.” He plunged his tongue inside my ear and I nearly came all over myself. I tried shoving him away but he ignored my attempts and shoved me closer. “Cinder girl…” He released me with one hand and turned my face to his. I saw his tongue darting between his teeth and imagined it between my thighs, causing me explosive amounts of pleasure as he heartily devoured my sweetest spot.
“Norvack!” hollered one of his men from the other side of the door. It was as if we had been snapped out of mutual rapture.
“Go on!” he shouted back, focusing on my face. “Kiss me, Cinder.”
“NorVACK!” hollered the man again. “You’re needed at the palace at once.”
He grit his teeth and released me completely. I went to the other side and clutched my beating heart. I felt out of breath, more than I had the night I ran for my life in the woods.
“I shall return for you myself--”
“No!” I raised my hand to him and shook my head. I knew that if he were to come back for me, neither of us would ever leave my cottage for the palace. He knew it as well. “Send the carriage for me, and I shall see you tonight.”
“Very well, my favorite girl.” He took my hand again and I held my breath as he leaned down to kiss the back of it. I tried removing it from him, but he held on tight.
“Norvack--” I said.
“I shall see you tonight.” He circled one of my knuckles with the tip of his tongue and looked at my face, trying to gaze my reaction. I refused to provide him with one and remained expressionless, though inside I was melting like butter in the sun. “My future wife.” He looked at me with such an intensity in his eyes and exited hastily.
He left me shaken, and wanting more, so much more. I went over to a chair in the corner and sat down, unmoving for half an hour, thinking, recollecting. Prince Norvack knew I killed his brother, but he didn’t care. He wished to have me above all else and that was the only thing that mattered to him. I wished to retain my freedom but was somehow losing it at the same time by becoming his wife. I would soon be the wife of the future king of Denmark. I lay back and crossed my legs, and laughed at the irony of it all. If the king ever learned the truth, surely I would be dead before daybreak. Norvack said he would handle it, but as much as I longed for him, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him completely, despite keeping quiet of my misdeeds, though those misdeeds were providing him what HE desired.
I stood up from the chair and brushed my hair from my face, determined. “No one else shall ever know the truth,” I said. “I shall become the prince’s wife…” I bit my lip and shut my eyes.
The wedding night.
A knock on the door rattled me. I went over to peek out of the tiny hole and saw the tiny man from earlier today standing before a white horse drawn carriage. My heart jumped inside my chest. “Who’s there?”
“The prince sent me for you, Miss.”
“So soon?”
“Yes,” he replied. “He wishes for you much sooner than anticipated.”
I looked around my cottage one last time. “What shall I bring?”
I heard him laugh. “You.”
The Anticipation
We arrived at the grounds of the estate in what felt like hours later, but was significantly less than that. As we came upon the stables at back, passed through the large golden gates, and galloped down the gravel surrounding the fresh green lawn, I saw Norvack chatting with his father on the outskirts of what appeared to be one of many libraries within the palace. Even from where I sat inside the carriage, I could see the clear unhappiness on the king’s face and feel the tension between them. My palms began to sweat and my breathing became inadequate. Norvack looked over at the carriage as we pulled to the front of the palace. His father’s eyes found mine almost instantly and he sneered before turning away in livid defeat. Norvack leaned aside and headed toward the carriage, opening the door to me.
“My favorite girl--”
“Your father is none to pleased to have me here,” I said. “I could see his face, he looks down on me, and the very thought that you aspire to marry a vagrant from Hadenville.”
“My father has no choice but to accept you. You shall be my wife and as I said before, he will make such an announcement tonight.” He held out his hand for me. I wavered before obliging and stepping out of the carriage with his help. My God, his hand seemed so much softer now, tender. I imagined it on my body, affectionately squeezing my breasts and ripened nipples. “Cinder…” He pulled me to him, crushing our bodies.
“Stop.” I let out a shaky breath and shoved him back. Norvack licked his lips and leered. People in the garden, servants and guards, looked at us curiously, possibly wondering and feeling the same as the king. The tiny man who escorted me to the palace cleared his throat and jumped out of the carriage behind me.
“Shall I bring another to escort her to her room, Sir?”
“No,” Norvack stated sharply. “I shall take her myself.” He entwined our fingers. “Come.”
He took me straight from the lawn and through another library, explaining that it was much easier to travel from there to my ‘temporary room’. As we entered, my eyes widened in amazement; no breath exited my lungs as I looked around the lavish room. Everything was pure, lush. Perfect. A large floor to ceiling bookcase holding millions of books sat opposite of where we stood. A small piano sat in the corner of the room near the doors, appearing untouched, as if no one had ever laid hands upon the many black and white keys. Above my head was a tiered white ceiling occupying the largest lighting fixture I had ever seen -- while three white velvet couches lined the walls which were made of pure gold. I chortled to myself.
“I had always been told it was true, the walls of the entire palace and not just your chambers.”
“You recall the walls inside my chambers, my favorite girl? How intimate.” He moved behind me and brushed my hair aside. He trailed his fingers down my spine, curving around and stopping at the base of my arse. “Mmm.” I felt his hand sliding down and whirled around on the balls of my feet before he could move any further. He chuckled and tapped his fingers to his chin. “You desire me.”
“I--”
“Shh…” He pressed his soft fingers to my lips and dropped them down to my chest. “I wish to have you, my favorite girl. I shall.” He watched my breasts move as I breathed in and out. He bit his lip and squint a little. “Let me show you to your room.”
As we traveled to the third floor and another wing of the palace, Norvack pointed out various rooms that belonged to the king and queen and other staff, as well as enormous structures built within the walls, and paintings that seemed to float above the ceilings. Members of his serving staff appeared bewildered and disapproving as they watched us gliding past hand in hand. A few times, I felt ashamed and less than and tried releasing myself from his grip, but he held on tight to me.
When we finally reached my room, I was astonished at the size and beauty of it. It was quite possibly the largest room containing the largest bed I had ever seen! A white framed mirror and matching elongated dressing table stretching from nearly one side of the room to the other, sat near a sizeable bay window leading to a wide balcony. I placed my hand on the silk curtains and looked about the lawn, which lead straight out to the forest. “I never dreamed…” I stopped and turned to Norvack. He stood in the center of the room with his hands placed behind him. I dropped my hand from the curtains and moved closer. “Part of me wishes to thank you for rescuing me from Hadenville, from my cottage and the life I have led s
ince I was a child. I will no longer have to hunt in the woods or steal jewels or crowns or gold to barter in the square in exchange for bread. I’ll no longer fear the Sheriff or his men and their dogs. I’ll no longer have to walk the cobblestone streets wondering if this will be the day that I shall be publicly slaughtered before the citizens of this country for my crime. And then another part of me…” I took a breath. “Another part of me hates you for what you have done. Because you did not think of that when you ‘rescued’ me. You only thought of your own desires, the desire to have me.”
“The end result is the same,” he said. “I rescued you from a life of poverty and get to keep you as my own.”
“I don’t belong to you.”
He nodded and took a step forward. “You shall…”
I puckered my brows and rattled my head. “I’m curious. What else do you wish for in life, Norvack? What else do you dream about?”
“I only dream of you. That’s quite enough.” He circled around me.
“You’re serious?” I spun on my toes and dropped my head back, smiling to the ceiling before eyeing him again. “You have no other wishes, desires?”
“No, not particularly. Having you has always been my greatest desire, Cinder. Keeping you, my greatest wish.” He rubbed his index finger across his lips. “Losing you, my greatest fear.”
“You never had me to lose.”
“You believe so?”
I watched his lips curve into a deep grin, and wanted them all over my body. I wanted to embrace all the feelings he gave me, but I wouldn’t allow myself to succumb to my strongest need to have him inside me, to whisper these words to me as we held hands and made love from night until daybreak.
“I should be getting ready.”
“Your handmaiden shall be in soon.” In an instant, Norvack had pulled me into his arms. He made a face and looked hard into my eyes. I became a bit frightened and wary of his strange and sudden reaction. “Do you remember the day that we met?” he asked.
“In your chambers when I stole your crown.”
