Immediately he withdrew and positioned his shaft at her puckered entrance, slowly forcing it past the tight barrier.
“Tell me to stop at any time and I will.”
“Just fuck me Roarke, please.”
He laughed, his wicked faerie proving an equal match for his desires. Gently, he pushed the head of his cock further, holding still when Solara gasped.
By all that was magic she was tight! His balls drew up against his body, and he knew he was ready to shoot come deep inside her. But he waited, easing inch by inch deeper inside her until he was buried to the hilt. Then he leaned forward and caressed her clit, moving gently back and forth.
“Stars, Roarke,” she cried, backing her buttocks against him as he thrust inside her. Her clit swelled against his questing fingers, her juices running down her legs when he caressed her slit. “Please make me come again.”
“Your wish is my command, princess,” he murmured, kissing her slender back and driving hard against her buttocks. He increased his movements against her clit, feeling her tense against him.
“Yes, like that!” she cried, his faerie now a fierce wildcat. She arched her back and slammed her ass against him. He met her thrusts with equal fervor, driving so deep his balls slapped against her cunt. She mewled a whimper and tilted her head back, her wild hair tantalizing him. Winding it around his fist, he tugged until she groaned, then rode her hard and fast until she screamed with her climax.
He followed her into the abyss, emptying his seed into her tiny hole, then collapsed on top of her. Rolling off, he pulled her against his chest, sweeping her hair away from her face and kissing the fast-pounding pulse at her throat.
He held her and stroked her, memorizing every inch of her. He knew that no matter what they both wanted, come tomorrow they would separate, never to be together again.
The thought kept him up the remainder of the night. He did not close his eyes until the first light of dawn sent its rays pouring into the bedchamber’s window.
“Solara, wake up. Garick is arriving!”
Solara blinked, forcing one eye open, the voice barely registering in her sleep-foggy mind. “What?” A hand shook her shoulder. She tried to throw it off, but it persisted.
“Solara! Wake up now!”
The voice was louder, finally pulling her into reality. She turned and pushed the hair from her face to see Elise frowning down at her.
“It is midday, lazy faerie. Time to be up! Garick and Trista are returning!” She quickly looked to the other side of the bed, not surprised and yet disappointed to realize that Roarke was no longer there.
And Garick was returning. Her heart fell, realization dawning that she had spent her last moments of freedom in Roarke’s arms, but they would never be together again.
“Aye. Give me a few moments to dress and I will be down.” After Elise left, she climbed out of bed, stretching and releasing her wings. A pleasurable stiffness permeated her muscles, and she allowed a smile, remembering the time she spent with Roarke last night.
Another soreness presented itself between her legs. She was no longer a virgin, having freely given her gift to Roarke.
Tears pooled but she forced them aside, splashing water on her face and brushing her hair back. She dressed and went downstairs, joining the crowds gathering in the courtyard as the drawbridge was lowered.
She searched for Roarke, but did not see him among the assembled guards.
If only he had woken her this morning before he left. She wanted…
What? To hold him one more time, taste his lips upon her own, tell him that she loved him and never wanted to be apart?
What good would any of that have done? ’Twould change nothing of their fate.
She spied Roarke just as the drawbridge was lowered. He rode in with Garick, his face set in a grim line. He must have gone out to greet the king upon seeing his approach.
Garick led the procession, immediately dismounting and reaching for Noele, who stood near the drawbridge. Gathering her close, he pressed a warm kiss upon her lips and held her tight to his side as he motioned for Roarke to follow him. Noele beamed up at her husband, and Solara’s heart swelled at the palpable love between the two of them.
The crowds milled about welcoming back the rest of the guards. Amidst all the confusion, she was jostled in the melee and lost sight of Roarke and Garick. And where was Trista? She did not recall seeing her sister ride in.
By the time the crowds had dispersed, she could not find Noele, either. Perhaps she had followed Trista to her bedchamber? Deciding to meet them, she headed up the steps, but stopped short when one of Roarke’s captains motioned to her.
“King Garick wishes to speak with you in his office.” A cold dread formed in the pit of her stomach. She wished she could find Noele and Trista. She had a feeling she would need her sisters’ support.
She knocked on the door to Garick’s office. His gruff reply gave her permission to enter. When she stepped in, Garick’s angry face greeted her.
Roarke and Noele were also in the room. Roarke’s face was grim and Noele could not even look her in the eye.
They knew. They all knew what had happened.
Panic addled her mind and she could not think. She forced herself to clear her head, for the one thing she knew for certain was that Roarke would not suffer because of this. She would not let him lose his honor, knowing how much it meant to him, nor did she wish to be the cause of altering his standing with his king.
“Come in Solara. Be seated. I need to have a word with you.” What could she do to stop this before it happened? How could she make Garick understand that none of this was Roarke’s doing?
“I need to speak with you, Garick. Alone, if I may.” Garick cast her a puzzled look, then shook his head. “Not right now. I have something important to discuss with all of you.”
“This is important too, Garick.”
Noele moved to her side. “Not now, Solara,” she whispered, taking her hand and squeezing it gently.
Roarke looked at her and shook his head. He knew she wanted to say something about the two of them.
This could not wait! She had to find a way to speak. Could she defy a king to be heard?
“This is about Trista.”
Garick’s statement stopped her panicked thoughts. “Trista? Where is she?”
“If you’ll sit down, I will explain to you what happened at Greenbriar.” His words filled her with dread. She sat in the chair and reached for Noele’s hand, a sense of foreboding make her shiver.
“Upon our arrival in Greenbriar, Trista asked for Solara to be released from her betrothal to Braedon.”
“She did what?” Solara could not believe she heard Garick right. “Why would she do that?”
“Because it’s Trista, and she has her own mind about things. You and I know how she is, Solara.” Noele was right. Trista always had a scheme, but for her to be bold enough to ask the southern king to release her was unthinkable. She could only imagine Braedon’s reaction.
“So? Are you going to keep us in suspense or are you going to tell us what happened?” Noele asked.
Garick smiled at his wife. “Braedon indicated he did not care which faerie princess he married, so he chose Trista instead.”
Solara stopped breathing, her gaze flitting to Roarke. His expression did not change except for the lifting of his brows.
What did all this mean? In an instant her entire fate had been changed. “Did Trista accept?” A smile curved Garick’s lips. “She was not given much choice considering she finally admitted to manipulating the whole situation with your disappearance. She took the note you gave her and hid it away instead of giving it to Noele as you had instructed.”
“That explains much,” Noele said.
Garick nodded. “Your father had accompanied us, and he accepted the betrothal of Braedon to Trista.
The wedding will take place in one month’s time.”
“Poor Trista,” Solara said, more to herself than anyone else. “I wish I had just gone to Greenbriar as I was destined to. Then none of this would have happened.” She refused to look at Roarke as she said it, knowing he wished the same thing.
“Does not matter,” Garick explained. “As far as Trista, what’s done is done. As for you, another king will be chosen for you to wed.”
Solara fought the trembling of her lower lip, the thought of going through this charade again more than she could bear. “I cannot marry anyone,” she said, keeping her eyes focused in her lap.
“Why is that?” Garick asked.
“Because I have compromised her and taken her virginity.” Her head snapped up at the sound of Roarke’s voice. Roarke stood, his face like stone, his lips set in a grim line. He looked directly at Garick.
“You did what?”
“I took Solara’s virginity.”
She waited for Garick to speak. Anger hardened his features, more so than she had ever seen. She had to say something before Garick spoke.
“’Twas my fault, Garick. I lured him, tempted him, until he could not resist. Truly, I made it impossible for him to say no. This is my doing, my responsibility, and I should be punished accordingly, but Roarke should not be blamed.”
“Ridiculous,” Roarke interrupted. “I need no woman to stand up for me. I made the decision on my own and I will be held accountable for violating a faerie princess.”
“No!” Solara stood and faced Roarke. “I will not have you stand in judgment as if this was your doing. You fought me every day, keeping your distance. ’Twas I that forced you into this.” Roarke smiled, his eyes gentling. “You are hardly able to force yourself upon me, faerie. As you can see, I am much stronger than you.”
She looked to Garick, desperately grasping at anything that would release Roarke from punishment. “I put a magical spell on him, forcing him into it.”
Garick rolled his eyes. “Enough. Leave now. I cannot think with the two of you arguing over who is at fault. I will call upon both of you later when I am ready to discuss this.” She was loath to leave, yet she had to follow the king’s orders. With a bow of her head, she and Roarke left the room. Noele stayed behind, offering her a sympathetic smile as she closed the door.
As soon as the door was closed, Roarke asked her, “Why did you do that?”
“Because I could not stand to see your honor besmirched because of what I have done.”
“You are not to blame in this, Solara. I came to your chambers last night, remember? You were the one who vowed to keep your distance.”
She shook her head. “Does not matter. This is my fault, and I will not have you punished for it.” He reached for a tendril of hair and slid it through his fingers. His eyes darkened and he smiled at her. “I would accept any punishment for having had a chance to taste your delights, my princess. Do believe me when I say that you were worth any cost.”
Her pulse skittered, blood roaring through every vein in her body. Oh, what she would not give for a moment of privacy, a chance to touch him one more time. “And I will accept any punishment as well, for I did not wish to go the rest of my life wondering what it was like to lie in your arms.” Roarke sucked in a breath. “We had best separate before Garick comes out and finds us together.” She nodded her agreement, but did not want to leave him.
“I know, faerie. I feel the same way. I want you in my arms so badly right now I am willing to risk death to defy my king.”
“I need you Roarke. I am cold without the warmth of your arms around me.” He looked both ways down the hallway, then pulled her into a dark corner, gathering her into his arms and taking her mouth in a kiss that spoke of a thirst that could never be quenched. Her heart ached, soaring with joy and plummeting with the realization that they could never be together.
Roarke rained kisses on her cheeks and neck, murmuring, “I wish so many things, Solara. I wish we were fated, I wish I was noble enough to ask for your hand, but I am no king, and therefore unworthy of you.”
Now she could not hold back the tears. “You are my king, you are everything I have ever wanted. From the time of my youth I imagined a dark-haired man who would love me with his heart, not for what I could bring to his lands, but because he wanted me.” He smiled and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “And I do love you, Solara, although I do not think I have ever said the words.”
“You did not need to. I love you, too. I have felt in my heart from the first time we met that we were fated. But our fate ends here, this day. Oh, Roarke, I cannot bear to lose you!” He gathered her against his chest and stroked her hair, whispering words of love. Words she had wanted to hear from him.
But they both knew that despite the words they spoke, their love was not enough to ensure their future together.
Noele paced Garick’s office. There was much she wanted to say to him and did not know where to begin.
He had been silent since Roarke and Solara left. Normally, she would not disturb him while he was deep in thought. But she felt that now she must, because she did not want him to make the wrong decisions.
“Garick, I must have a word with you.”
He stared out the window into the courtyard. She stepped behind him, laying her hand on his shoulder.
When he turned, she knew the pain that Roarke and Solara’s admission had caused him.
But for her, he smiled, lifting her hand and pressing it to his lips. “I have missed you, my faerie queen. The first thing I wanted to do upon returning was to sweep you into my arms and carry you into our chambers, where I could make love to you throughout the day.” His words heated her, driving her nipples to hard peaks beneath her shift. Forcing thoughts of pleasure aside until later, she said, “I understand, for I have missed you greatly. My bed is cold at night without you next to me. But first, we must talk about Roarke and Solara.” His smile died and he turned away. “’Tis a decision I must make alone, and you know that.”
“Aye, but I have thoughts too and would ask you to hear them.” He sighed and turned to her, leading her to the chaise. Taking her hands in his, he nodded. “Speak, then, for I must make a decision today.”
“Roarke and Solara are fated. I feel it, have felt it since the moment the two of them met. The same day I was introduced to you.”