Arianna & Finn (Royals of Valleria #3)

by Knightly, Marianne

  Finn swallowed as his cock twitched. He did not think four words had ever held such meaning or such promise.

  “Please?”

  That did it.

  Chapter 4

  Arianna was not sure what had possessed her tonight. She had never felt this instant chemistry with anyone, not even Huck, the man who’d betrayed her and her family years ago. Perhaps it was Finn, with his darkening green eyes and complete control. Even though he had not touched her with anything but his lips, she was still shifting uncomfortably against the wall as her body ached for more. Just the heat of his gaze was enough to send her nipples peaking. She felt desired and consumed, and without even a single touch. How did he do that?

  “Where should I kiss you?” he asked, his voice husky.

  “Anywhere you want to. Just kissing though,” she reminded him, though she knew his lips could be even more tantalizing than his touch.

  He smiled lightly. “Take off your dress.”

  She gasped. God, what would his lips do if she were standing there only in her lingerie and high heels?

  “Do you want some help?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

  She nodded her head. Some of her hair fell loose and framed her face. Getting a vixen-like idea, she pulled the pins from her hair, letting them all drop to the floor. She pushed away from the wall and Finn stepped back, keeping his promise not to touch her. In that moment, she realized she trusted him.

  She knew of his reputation: dark, dangerous, and passionate. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, she felt safe with him. Maybe she trusted him because she had been all that, too, at one time. Maybe she still was.

  Arianna turned and pushed her hair aside, giving him access to her back. She barely felt his fingers as he unhooked the dress and drew down the zipper.

  When she turned again, the tops of her breasts were on display and Finn’s eyes fell to her larger than average curves. His possessive gaze alone had her body trembling.

  Finn’s nostrils flared as the bodice of the dress fell away. Her broad hips once again kept the dress from falling to her feet, and for once she wished she was built less curvy, as some of her sisters were. She shifted her hips from side-to-side as she eased the dress over them, letting it finally fall to the floor with a soft swish.

  For a minute, all Finn did was stare at every exposed inch of her. He followed her heels up her stocking-clad legs to her garter and miniscule lace panties. She shifted uncomfortably on her feet, unused to feeling so exposed. Yet, she also felt incredibly aroused from him simply consuming her with his eyes.

  “Step out of the dress,” he said gruffly. “I don’t want you to trip and fall.”

  She stepped out and then began to reach down and pick it up. “I’ll do that,” he said then cursed. “Damn, woman. Are you trying to kill me by kneeling over in that getup?” Arianna bit her lip to hold back a giggle. She honestly hadn’t even thought about it.

  He picked up the dress and held it to his face, inhaling her scent before groaning. “I can smell your arousal, did you know that?”

  Her eyes widened. “No,” she breathed.

  “And I don’t just mean in your dress,” he said as he laid it across the chair with her jacket. She blushed with mortification.

  “You shouldn’t be embarrassed by that,” he said firmly. “Be proud of your sensuality, your passion.” She’d spent too long suppressing it to be proud of it, but she could try.

  “Lean back against the wall again,” he murmured as he stepped towards her, and she stepped back. “Where should I start? You’re like a goddamn buffet I’ll never get enough of.”

  Just as she was about to respond, his hands flattened against the wall on either side of her. “Keep your hands behind you or above your head. If I can’t touch you, you can’t touch me either.” She felt her panties getting wetter but did as he asked and rested her hands on top of her head.

  “Jesus. Do you have any idea how fucking sexy you look right now?”

  “Does that mean you’ll touch me?”

  “Does that mean you’ll let me?” She shook her head. “Then it looks like my lips are the only ones getting any action tonight.”

  His lips pressed into the curve of her throat and she arched back to give him room. When her breasts brushed against his jacket, he stepped back and she moaned.

  “No touching,” he whispered with a devious smile as his lips fell to her collarbone, then the curves of her breasts. His rich, dark hair was aching for her fingers but she held back. If he could hold onto control, then she could. Couldn’t she?

  “Mmmm,” he murmured against the lace. “Do you like wearing sinful things like this, Princess?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “I wholeheartedly approve. The next time I’m only allowed to kiss you, however, I’ll expect you to be naked under your clothes.”

  “What?” Had she misheard in the haze of lust clouding her brain? Next time?

  “For now, though, I’ll make do,” he said and sucked her nipple though the lace. She moaned at the sheer pleasure of it and arched her back as her body yearned for more. It had been so long since she’d felt a man taste her. Too long. When his teeth lightly bit her nipple, she came off the wall with a cry.

  “As much I love the sounds you make, Princess, it might be best to hold your tongue.”

  She shifted against the wall again. “I can’t help it.”

  “I know, and it’s the hottest damn thing I’ve ever heard,” he said before he shifted to the other nipple. She gasped as her body clenched tight below, holding off the explosion that was building inside her. It had never bloomed so quickly before, and she wanted to feel him just a little bit more. It had been so long since she’d let herself feel.

  “More,” she whispered unknowingly.

  “Your wish is my command,” he said and inched his way down her body. “Spread your legs.” After she did, his palms slid down the wall as he kneeled. Arianna could feel the waves of heat from his body, caressing her still without a single touch of his hands.

  He pressed a few kisses to her stomach before he nuzzled her drenched panties. Using his teeth, he ripped the panties away from her body, and it was easily the most erotic thing she had seen in her life thus far. He shoved the panties into his jacket pocket.

  “You liked that did you? Your body certainly seems to,” he said, noticing the moisture that had pooled where her panties had been. Covered only with the smallest strip of hair, she knew everything she had was on display to him.

  He gave a long lick and she shuddered. “Your pussy is delicious,” he said and took another lick. She whimpered.

  “I can tell you’re holding back.”

  She shook her head, though it was the truth.

  “Don’t hold back from me. You’ll give me all of you,” he said fiercely and his lips and tongue set to demolish her.

  Her hands fisted in her own hair, though they wanted to fist in his and hold him tighter against her. She forced her eyes to stay open and focus on something else in the room, anything to keep her orgasm at bay a little longer. Just a little longer. Just a few seconds longer.

  Suddenly, she caught sight of how they looked in a mirror across the room. Her, splayed open for him against the wall, her breasts heaving, her face flushed, and her hands as good as tied above her. Him, a head of thick hair shifting against her, her stocking-clad legs spread wide to give him room and access to her body. It was too much.

  With a series of gasping breaths, she came hard against his tongue, drenching his lips which he greedily drank with a groan.

  “Yes,” she cried. “Yes. Yes.”

  A knock came to her door and, still in mid-orgasm, she simply said, “Yes.”

  “Arianna, it’s Alex.”

  It felt as though a rush of cold water had fallen over her. Her hands dropped to her sides as Finn gave her one last lick and stood. Her body still throbbed from his attentions. How long would her orgasm have been if they hadn’t been int
errupted?

  “I’ll be there in a minute. I was just changing,” she said called back hoarsely. “Hide in the bathroom,” she whispered.

  Her juices were still on his lips, which curved into an amused smile. “No need for that, Princess. Alex will probably check there first anyway.”

  “Check?”

  “He’s going to want to make sure I haven’t taken advantage of you.” He brushed her cheek with his knuckles. “Have I taken advantage of you?”

  “No,” she said. “You only kissed me, after all.”

  A broad grin split across his face, and his eyes seemed even greener. Was that possible? “That I did, Princess. One more for the road then,” he said took her lips hard against his. She could taste herself on his tongue and the flavor only aroused her again.

  Finn pulled back. “Just knock on the wall when you’re done talking to him.”

  “Knock on the wall?”

  “Doesn’t your palace have secret passageways in it?” he asked as he reached around her and pressed the wall. If she hadn’t seen him do it, she would never have known there was a button there; it blended expertly into the wallpaper of the room.

  The wall swung open and Arianna jumped back out of its way. “Our palace does have secret passageways, but they’re secured with a fingerprint scanner. Does this mean anyone can come find me?” She couldn’t hold back the note of worry in her voice.

  He cupped her face. “Of course not. You’re safe, Arianna. I would never let anything happen to you.”

  “Arianna, please, I must speak with you,” Alex said from outside the bedroom door.

  “Sorry, Alex, I’m coming. Just another minute.”

  Finn gave her a kiss on the forehead and then stepped into the narrow passageway, brightened only by the dim lighting lining the walls. His eyes raked over her body once more before he smiled and closed the hidden door.

  Arianna turned and her eyes widened at the sight of her again. The view of her in the mirror - which a few minutes ago aroused her - now terrified her as she tried to become presentable again. She threw on the robe, realizing as the silk of it brushed her bare skin that Finn still had her underwear. What had she just done? If Finn hadn’t locked the door, what would Alex have seen? She would have risked her family’s respect for her own pleasure again. Would she never learn?

  As shame washed over her, she stepped out of her shoes and rushed to the bathroom. She threw some cold water on her face, thankful for waterproof makeup, then brushed her hair quickly.

  She rushed to the door, turned the lock, and swung it open. Alex stood there fuming with anger.

  “What the hell took you so long?”

  Chapter 5

  “I was undressing, Alex. Not an easy feat in the dress I was wearing. Surely, Rebecca’s had similar difficulties,” she said as she raised an eyebrow at him. He scowled but did not reply as he entered.

  Arianna shut the door behind him and watched as his gaze raked over the room. “Are you alone?”

  “Of course,” she said, only too happy that old palaces were filled with hidden passageways.

  “Then you won’t mind if I check?”

  “Go right ahead,” she said easily as her arm swept through the air. Alex narrowed his eyes, then began searching the closet and the bathroom. His lack of trust in her pierced her well-honed exterior. Would she always pay for past crimes?

  Weary, she sat down on the impeccable bed. She and Finn had never made it there, and she was glad. She couldn’t believe how she had behaved. If anyone found out, well, she didn’t want to think about that.

  When Alex strode back into the room, he kneeled down to look under the bed. Arianna rolled her eyes and stood. “Why don’t you trust me, Alex?”

  “Let me make one thing very clear,” Alex said as he stood. “I do trust you. Completely. Don’t ever doubt that.”

  Oh. “Well, then what the hell is all this about?”

  “I don’t trust Henry, and I’m still considering whether or not to trust Finn.”

  “What? Why? What happened?”

  Alex sighed. “Let’s sit down for this,” he said as he gestured to the seats near the window. “I’m making us a drink.”

  “It’s better if I don’t have anything this late.” She moved her clothes from the chairs so they could sit. She remembered Finn’s comment about scenting her arousal and she blushed. She put the clothes on the bed and tied her robe a little tighter. She wished she’d had time to put on some underwear.

  Alex handed her some brandy and then took a sip of his own as he sat down. “Henry’s made an unusual request.”

  “So soon?” she asked as she took a sip herself. “I thought you weren’t going talk politics or diplomacy until tomorrow.”

  “That’s what I thought, too. However, Henry’s ‘nightcap’ proved otherwise.”

  “What does he want?”

  “You.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “Henry wants you,” he said with a twisted expression and took another sip.

  “Henry wants me to do what? Sleep with him?”

  “He wants you to marry him.”

  “Marry him?” she said as she stood and put down the glass in one fell swoop. “What the hell is he playing at?”

  “He needs a wife and he thinks you’d fit the bill.”

  “And what does Valleria get if I marry him?”

  “Assistance finding out who conspired against us. He claims to know who it is, but won’t give us the information unless we agree to join our two countries through marriage.”

  “That’s, I mean, I just don’t know what to say,” she said and sat down again. “Have you told Papa about this?”

  “No,” Alex said darkly. “Once he hears about it, he’ll want to kill Henry, which won’t do anybody any good.”

  “I think you’re being dramatic. I don’t believe Papa would act that way. Not for me.”

  Alex gave her a questioning look. “Why the hell would you believe something like that? Papa loves you, you idiot.”

  “He doesn’t love me. At least not like he loves our sisters.”

  “I’ll say it again: don’t be an idiot. Of course he loves you. I was there the day you were born, the day all of our siblings were born. Trust me, I know when I see a father’s love and he has that for you.”

  But did she have his respect? She didn’t know. “What do you want to do, Alex?”

  “I want to speak to Finn about this.”

  “Finn?” She gripped the lapels of her robe. “Did he have something to do with this?”

  Alex shook his head and took another sip. “That’s why I want to speak with him. From everything I’ve seen, Finn’s not involved in the running of the country at all. However, from the gentle probing both I and our protection agents have done, the public loves him much more than Henry.”

  “They do?”

  “Yes. I found out why he didn’t meet us this morning.”

  “Why?”

  “He overslept.”

  Arianna wondered who he’d overslept with. “A woman?”

  “No.”

  “A man?” she asked but, given his recent behavior towards her, had a hard time believing it.

  Alex shook his head. “He overslept because he was out late helping a farmer. Apparently, he is frequently seen talking to and helping the citizens of Brazenbourg on an individual basis.”

  “I don’t understand. If he’s so well-liked, why doesn’t Henry let him do more?”

  “Jealousy is my guess. He doesn’t want to take a chance that Finn could usurp his crown.”

  “That’s ridiculous. I mean, you don’t worry about that sort of thing. You don’t even really care that your twin sister was born thirty minutes after you were, making you and Cat much closer in age than Finn and Henry.”

  “You’re right that I don’t care. Though I wouldn’t have minded if she’d taken a little more time being born. I only had thirty minutes to enjoy being an only child,”
he said with a smile.

  Arianna smiled back, then frowned when she thought about Henry again. ‘What ifs’ scrolled through her mind. What if she married Henry? Valleria would get the information they needed, and perhaps her family would respect her more. What if she didn’t marry him? Would her life be the same? Would they ever find out who wanted to attack Valleria, before they attacked again?

  As the silk of her robe shifted slightly, she readjusted it, keeping her semi-bare body covered. If she married Henry, there would be no more clandestine meetings with Finn. She was a one-man woman.