Mutual Desire

by Donna Grant

  He had sparked her interest, but it had soon faded when he left her with the three women. It was then she knew he had no intention of freeing her.

  You wanted an adventure.

  Yes, but not one that could cost her life. She took a steadying breath and tried to ignore the hands that took away her clothing.

  Arian glanced into the bowls. Two held water, but one held dark oil. It didn’t take her but a moment to realize she was either being prepared for a marriage…or a sacrifice.

  She steeled herself to be sacrificed, for she refused to cry and let them see how frightened she truly was. She would stand tall and look them in the eye. They would know the true measure of de Busso royalty.

  And Jensen. Him she would come back to haunt.

  Her mind was jerked to the present when the women touched her. Arian gritted her teeth and looked at the far wall opposite her, thinking of anything other than the women’s hands on her bare skin as they bathed her.

  She found it more than peculiar that instead of her family or Tulso, she pictured Jensen’s eyes, brown mixed with flecks of green. What was wrong with her that she thought of a man who would allow her to be killed?

  Arian closed her eyes when the women touched her breasts. They washed her from head to foot, their soft voices filling the tiny hut as they spoke in a language she didn’t understand. Once her bath was finished, one of the women combed her hair while the other two began to rub the oil slowly, meticulously into her skin.

  Their fingers found muscles bunched in fear and tension and loosened them, gradually relaxing Arian until she felt herself begin to doze. She tried to keep her eyes open, but it grew more difficult with each heartbeat. She cursed herself for being ten kinds of a fool for trusting Jensen.

  This could be a marriage.

  Arian’s eyes snapped open. A marriage? But to who?

  Jensen. He did say the men brought you to him.

  She swallowed, unsure of the joy that swept through her at the thought of being bound to him. He made her heart race, but he wasn’t nobility. She couldn’t marry him.

  Or could she? She would much rather find herself married to Jensen than sacrificed. She had begged for an adventure, and she was certainly living one. If she kept her head, she might come out of it with tales she could tell her children and her grandchildren.

  Arian could only imagine what her father and eldest brother would say to find her sighing in delight at the thought of being married to Jensen. She didn’t know him any better than the man her parents had chosen for her, but there was something in Jensen’s eyes, almost like a promise of pleasure.

  She knew nothing of the pleasures of the flesh. Yet, with the fluttering of her stomach when Jensen was near, she wouldn’t mind him instructing her. And if she returned to Tulso no longer a maiden, she wouldn’t have to marry. She could convince her parents to send her to the country, where she could be herself instead of a princess.

  Arian inwardly cheered at the thought and glanced at the women. Their gazes were appreciative as they looked over her body. One of the women smiled and leaned close. Arian thought she might whisper something in her ear, but a gasp tore from Arian’s throat when the woman’s fingers brushed over her nipple.

  Her nipple sizzled with the contact and hardened before her eyes. No one had ever touched Arian so, and she was in such shock that all she could do was sit and watch as the women began to tease her nipples.

  Arian couldn’t tear her eyes away from her breasts as she watched the women. While one pinched a nipple, another ran her thumb back and forth until her nipples were hard, aching peaks.

  A slow, burning sensation unfurled low in Arian’s belly. Then there was the yearning. It called for something she didn’t quite understand as it began to pump through her, heating her blood.

  When the hands moved away from her, she didn’t know whether to be relieved or angry. She closed her knees together when one of the women reached for her sex. Their hands were firm, insistent as they pried opened her legs. They spread her, exposing her sex to them.

  Air washed over her flesh as shame consumed her. The women, unconcerned about her inner turmoil, bent and examined her most private place. Arian sucked in a breath and bit her lip to keep from crying out when one of them parted her women’s lips and ran a finger slowly over her sensitive flesh.

  All the breath left Arian’s lungs as pleasure coursed through her. She was afraid to move for fear the woman would continue…or worse, stop. The woman grinned and tilted the bowl of oil to drizzle it over Arian’s sex.

  The warm oil began to heat her sex, creating an exquisite hunger inside her that she wanted to feel more of. Arian tried to ignore the desire and concentrate on freeing herself from her bonds, but it was useless.

  Her sex throbbed, demanding more. She moaned when the fingers brushed over her again. Arian closed her eyes and turned her head away while the women began to rub the oil into her sex, teasing and caressing her flesh until Arian was panting, the need was so great.

  The fingers were gentle, firm, as they shifted through Arian’s curls and touched her, sending flames of desire shooting through her. Arian strained against her bonds, suddenly afraid of the sensations flooding her body.

  The second woman began to tease Arian’s nipples again. She ran her thumb over the peaks before circling the nubs until they were straining, begging for more. The third woman settled beside the first and dipped a finger inside Arian.

  Arian lifted her hips, her mouth opened on a silent moan. The finger went deeper, stroking her until the woman spoke. Arian opened her eyes to see the woman remove her hand and say something to the other two. All three women turned to look at her with knowing smiles on their faces.

  And as suddenly as they had come into the hut, they rose and departed. Arian was left with an unfamiliar and unrelenting longing pulsing deep inside her.

  She arched her back and ground her hips into the bed seeking to ease some of the torment in her body, but it only made the hunger grow until it took over.

  Jensen finished his bath in the hidden pool and walked back to the village. His cock had been hard since the first sight of Arian’s dark nipples through her dress. As soon as he had realized he wouldn’t let her leave before tasting her, he had wanted to take her right then.

  It was by sheer will alone that he had made himself leave his hut and seek a bath. Every moment away from her was like an eternity. How many nights had he lain awake, his body shaking with need, as he pictured how he would kiss and stroke her until she screamed his name as she peaked?

  Too damn many.

  He stopped and leaned against a tree. He held control of his desire by a thread that was quickly unraveling. His mind told him to walk away from Arian, to forget she was there.

  But every fiber of his being demanded he slake his hunger with the only woman who had ever haunted his dreams.

  Jensen took a deep, steadying breath and straightened from the tree. That’s when he spotted the women leaving his hut. His cock jumped. He knew what they had been doing, and he could well imagine what his beautiful Arian looked like with her skin glistening with oil.

  Desire shot through him just thinking about his body gliding over hers, his cock burying deep inside her. His craving was too great to ignore. He had to have her.

  His steps were slow, measured as he moved toward his hut. He didn’t wish to frighten Arian with his desire, but the closer he got, the more his hunger grew.

  He reached for the door when a hand touched his arm. He turned to find one of the village women beside him.

  “She is a passionate one,” the woman said. “Already, she is wet and waiting for you.”

  Jensen bit back a groan at the image of her words. He nodded to the woman before he walked inside his home. His gaze was riveted to the bed where Arian was still bound. Her naked body shimmered in the sunlight that spilled through a nearby window. Her midnight hair hung loose in thick waves around her shoulders to lay alongside her breasts.

/>   He stepped closer and saw her eyes closed and her teeth biting her bottom lip. As his gaze moved down her beautiful body, he saw her hardened nipples and how her legs pressed together and her hips ground against the bed.

  She was ready, just as he had been told. What had the women done to her? Not that he cared, as long as she was here and he could touch, kiss, and caress her as he had longed to do.

  He wasted no time in removing his clothes and walking to the foot of the bed. Arian’s hands gripped the bonds at her wrists, her head tilted to the side to expose her slim neck.

  Jensen wanted to kiss down that neck to her full breasts, skim her narrow waist to the swell of her hips before parting the black curls at her sex and delving into her heat and wetness. When his gaze returned to her face, he found her beautiful violet eyes staring at him.

  “What are you going to do to me?” Her voice was barely a whisper, as if it cost her greatly to speak.

  He moved onto the bed and sat beside her. He saw her gaze go to his cock, and he found himself imagining her full lips closing over his rod to suck him deep in her mouth.

  He inhaled. “You were given to me as a gift by the tribe. It is a gift I know I should refuse, but I cannot.”

  Unable to stay away another moment, Jensen reached up and cupped her breast. She sucked in a breath at his touch. The weight of her breast was mouthwatering and only made his desire soar. He moved his thumb back and forth over her nipple and heard her moan as her eyes drifted shut.

  He leaned toward her and took the straining bud into his mouth, running his tongue over her nipple before suckling it. She moaned, louder this time.

  It sent Jensen over the edge. His cock jumped, eager to be buried inside of her. Desire heated his blood, making his heart pound like a drum in his chest.

  He had never hungered for a woman as he did Arian, never dreamed of all the ways he wanted to lick, taste, and suckle a woman other than the one in his arms. Her body was soft and curved just to his liking. She wasn’t skin and bones, but all luscious, beautiful woman.

  His mouth shifted to her other nipple. Her back arched, pushing her breasts against him while her breathing began to quicken.

  “Oh, God,” she whispered.

  Jensen couldn’t agree with her more. She tasted better than he could ever have imagined. He straightened and grasped her by the hips. He raised her up until he could move beneath her. When he opened her legs to have her straddle him, he felt her hesitate for just a moment before giving in.

  He looked down at her damp curls and her sex that rested next to his cock. How easy it would be to slide into her, but he held back only because he knew she was a maiden. It was the only thing that stopped him.

  She shifted her shoulders, and he knew she must be hurting, but he couldn’t release her. Not yet, at least.

  He once more cupped her breasts. He rolled her nipple between his fingers before he pinched it. Her eyes rolled back in her head and her lips parted on a sigh.

  His cock rubbed against her damp sex as he leaned up to take her nipple in his mouth again. He couldn’t hold back his groan of satisfaction, and when she moved her hips against him, he nearly spilled his seed.

  It was pure torture touching her, but it would be like death if he turned away from her now. He flicked his tongue over her nipple before kissing up her neck. His hand moved to her sex, pushing his fingers through her curls.

  She sighed when his fingers skimmed over her heated flesh. She was already wet and ready for him, but Jensen didn’t want to take her yet. He wanted to savor the moment, for it would have to last him the rest of his life.

  “What did the women do to you?” he asked.

  She licked her lips and forced open her eyes. “They touched me.”

  “Where?”

  “My…my breasts and between my legs.”

  He clenched his jaw just thinking of them caressing her. “Did you like it?”

  Her lips parted as her brow furrowed. “I shouldn’t have.”

  “But you did?”

  “Oh, yes. I did.”

  He smiled at her confession. “Do you want more of it?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’ve wanted you for so long that if I touch you, I may not be able to stop. I might end up taking you, Princess.” It was honor that made him try one last time to walk away. “If you want me to leave, I’ll go.”

  She shook her head. “Please. My body. It craves…something. I don’t know what, but when you touch me, it feels wonderful.”

  Jensen shook from her words. He caressed her stomach until he came to her curls. Her gaze met his, her breasts rising and falling quickly. He shifted through her curls until he felt her heat and pushed a finger inside her. She moaned as her channel clenched around his finger. She was so very tight and hot, making his cock jump and thicken.

  “Jensen,” she whispered.

  His name on her lips was the sweetest sound he had ever heard. He nuzzled her ear. “Relax, Princess, I’m not going to hurt you, only pleasure you.”

  At his words, she ground her hips against his hand. He pushed deeper into her before removing his finger and running it over her hidden pearl.

  She let out a strangled cry and jerked her hips when he touched her. He pinched her nipple with his other hand and swirled his thumb around her pearl. Her lips parted on a silent moan as he continued to tease her body.

  He knew she was close to peaking, but he wanted to draw it out as long as he could. He pushed a finger back inside her and began a slow and steady rhythm with his finger while his other hand rolled her nipple between his fingers.

  Her hips began to move against him, soft cries coming from between her lips. He added another finger to the first, stroking her faster.

  “Oh my God,” she moaned and arched her back.

  Jensen increased his tempo, pushing his fingers deep inside of her. He felt her begin to stiffen and gave her nipple a hard pinch. A soft cry tore from her lips and her body spasmed around him as her climax claimed her.

  He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw as he fought himself on whether to take her or not. He sucked in a breath when her hips moved against his cock.

  He was in heaven. He was in hell. To have Arian, who he wanted so desperately, in his arms was everything he had ever imagined it to be. But he knew it wouldn’t be right to take her virginity. That was hers to give her husband.

  Jensen knew he had to leave his hut or he would never have the strength to walk away from her.

  Her voice was husky, soft, when she said, “Let me touch you.”

  4

  Arian smiled into Jensen’s startled gaze. She had shocked him, she knew, but she didn’t care. She still wasn’t sure what he had done to her, but it had been incredible. For a moment, she had thought she was dying, the bliss had been so intense, but as her body came back unto itself, she knew she wanted more.

  Jensen lay back, his cock hard and hot as it rubbed against her sensitive flesh. She knew what it was for a man to take a woman, and she desperately wanted Jensen to take her. She yearned to feel his rod slide into her, filling her. She wanted to know what it meant to be a woman, and only he could give it to her.

  Her sex clenched. She wanted to touch him, explore him as he had explored her, and she couldn’t do that as long as she was tied. She had often wondered what it would be like to have a man touch her. Her sisters’ opinions differed on the subject. Maria and Elizabeth claimed it to be the best experience of their lives, but Olivia and Georgina said it was so awful they often locked their doors against their husbands.

  Now Arian knew what Maria and Elizabeth had meant. With the difference of opinions it meant that a woman experienced such a wonderful outcome or not depending on how a man touched her.

  “Untie me,” she told him. “Untie me, and let me touch you.”

  He shook his head, his jaw clenched. “I cannot.”

  She tilted her head to the side and glanced down at his cock. “You want me.”

  “I
do.” His voice was gruff and low. “But if I untie you, I won’t be able to keep my hands from you.”

  “If that were true, you would have already pushed your rod inside me.”

  His eyes closed at her words and his fingers dug into her hips. “Don’t. Tempt. Me.”

  Arian was startled to find she did want to entice him. It was heady to see how much control her body had over him. The need for Jensen to thrust deep within her made her body shake with need.

  “I am tempting you,” she whispered. “You’ve touched me as no man has, shown me what it is like to experience a little slice of heaven. But I want more. I need more.”

  His hazel eyes snapped open. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

  She ground her hips against his cock, loving the way it felt against her heated flesh. “I know exactly what I’m saying. I want to feel you.”

  “Princess, please. I’m hanging onto my control for you. I should never have let it go this far.”

  “Let go of your control. I’m asking you to take me. I’m begging.”

  He hesitated one heartbeat, two, before he reached up and untied her. Arian’s arms screamed in pain as she lowered them, but she was free, free to touch the magnificent specimen of man beneath her.

  Her hands ran over his wide shoulders. His skin was warm and his body hard. With each caress of her hands, he moaned as if he never wanted it to end. Arian slid her hands over his muscled chest and rippled abdomen, enjoying the feel of his body beneath hers.

  She licked her lips and glanced at his cock. She felt the heat of him against her leg, but she wanted to touch him. Just before her hand grasped his rod, he gripped her wrist.

  “If you touch me now, I will spill.”

  She smiled. If there was ever a time for her to be herself, to say what was on her mind, it was now. “Ever since I saw you standing at the foot of the bed, I’ve wanted to touch you. I’ve never before touched a man like this. I’ve never even seen a man naked before you.”