Scorched - Book Four - The Surrender Series (21 page)

Chapter Thirty-Nine

“We’re leaving!”

Trembling from the power of his kiss, Rachel didn’t realize for a moment that he’d pulled back from her and now had her hand in a viselike grip as he led her through the crowded room.

“Leaving?” she asked.

“Yes. I want you in my room, on my bed, naked and wet for me,” he said, picking up his pace even more.

Suddenly Rachel’s clothes felt like a straitjacket. She wanted them off immediately.

“Oh, don’t worry, I’m plenty wet,” she whispered, relishing the instant power she felt as his steps halted for an instant. He didn’t dare turn in her direction, but instead picked up speed again and led her through the front door.

When he called his car around, Rachel looked back. “Shouldn’t we tell someone we’re leaving?”

“No. I made my appearance; they won’t notice that I’ve gone,” he said in a strained tone.

She doubted that — everyone notices what a king does — but she was too excited to argue. She didn’t even care that she’d spent hours getting ready only to stay at the ball for about ten minutes.

After all, what she’d really been doing was preparing for a night of lovemaking, and it looked as if she was going to get exactly that.

As the car approached, he didn’t wait for his driver to open the door, but just flung it open and helped her inside, and then slid in next to her. As rushed as he was, he was surprisingly gentle.

Before the car pulled from the drive, Adriane grasped her, lifting her onto his lap as he guided her mouth to his face and meshed their heated breaths together in a tantalizing kiss that didn’t quit.

Rachel inhaled his sweet, musky scent as he ran his tongue along her lips. When he bit down softly on her lip before sucking it into his mouth, she felt her blood rush straight to her core, demanding him, now.

Her hands lifted, grabbing and tugging a fistful of his thick short hair, craving more from him. It was never enough — nothing was enough. She wanted him buried inside her while his hands stroked hungrily up and down her back. She wanted a mutual feeling of complete possession in each other’s arms.

She wanted to be held and never let go.

“The sight of you in this dress…oh, Rachel, I’ve been hard and aching since the first glance,” he gasped. “But you can wear anything and my body responds. I’ve never desired a woman so much. Never. I will make love to you long into the night. I don’t think I will ever release you from my bed.” His lips trailed down her throat and sucked on her erratically beating pulse.

Rachel tried to keep some semblance of her sanity — tried to remember that this was about more than sex — but the more places he touched her, the more he spoke, the less control she maintained.

Need.

Raw, exhilarating, thrilling need raged within her in waves and she hoped it would never, ever end.

Adriane was silent when they finally entered the palace. He shot a single look at his servants, and within seconds, he and Rachel were alone.

“I won’t stop,” he warned, as if giving her a last chance to back out.

Rachel didn’t understand why he would give her an out after he’d been waiting for so long, but she was grateful for the consideration. A man who didn’t care wouldn’t have given her the chance to change her mind, would he? She didn’t think so.

“Why are you still talking?” she asked, batting her eyes and letting him know with nothing other than the intense yearning in her features how much she wanted him.

Victory flashed in his eyes for the briefest of moments, replaced by a molten need. She’d given him an answer to his unasked question. She wasn’t going to pull away from him this time.

Without even giving her time to blink, Adriane lifted her into his arms and then began up the staircase, quickly ascending and then winding his way through the hallways, breathing heavily, though not from exertion, as he reached his massive bedroom doors, so lost in his haze of passion, he forgot all about his promise of not taking her to his chambers until after the wedding.

Leaning in against him, she couldn’t resist running her tongue along the salty skin of his neck and delighting in its erotic tang.

“I can barely walk,” he groaned as he dashed through the sitting area and made a straight path to his sleeping chamber, stopping only when he reached his bed.

Had Rachel been able to look around her, she’d have taken in the bold red of his curtains, the matching duvet and the lavish antique furnishings he’d chosen — if he had in fact, chosen them. How foolish. He had servants to do such tasks, of course. Still, she wanted to study it all, but afflicted by passion-inspired tunnel vision, she could see only the man still holding her securely in his hard-muscled arms.

“I want you, Adriane,” she whispered, feeling a shudder pass through his body.

He released her, and she slid down the hard planes of his chest, her stomach trembling as she felt his manhood pulse against her.

Undoing the top of her dress, he dropped to his knees as her skin was bared to him, letting the dress pool at her feet. He grasped her hips with his hand and leaned forward, breathing in her very essence.

With fierce impatience, he ripped her panties away, grabbed her thighs and spread them roughly apart, not giving her time to even gasp before he buried his face between the juncture of her legs. Her knees trembled while he began licking along her upper thighs, inching toward the place where she was aching the most.

With expert technique, he penetrated her moist folds with his tongue as he continued pushing her legs apart, and when neither of them could stand the foreplay any longer, he clasped her throbbing womanhood and sucked. She cried out when he drank from her, sliding one hand up her thigh and inserting his long fingers into her heat, making her gasp and moan in pleasure.

“Yes, Adriane, more!” she cried as she held on to his shoulder, wondering how she was still standing.

Only a slight groan exited his mouth as he continued devouring her core, his tongue torching a path along every inch of her womanhood.

More! She wanted so much more. She wanted him — only him.

“Please,” she pleaded, wanting it all.

His lips circled her most sensitive area; his tongue swirled and his fingers pushed deep inside of her. She exploded, slumping forward against his face as tremors shook her body.

“Oh, Adriane,” she groaned, unable to move at all, still upright only because she was leaning against him.

What a fool she’d been to wait so long to do this with him!

When he stood up, she nearly fell to the floor, but he caught hold of her, turning her body so she fell on the bed, her limbs weak, her rounded behind in the air.

Trying to turn, she didn’t have a chance as he grabbed her legs and pulled her back to him. “I need you now!” he said in a strained voice before lifting her hips, then gripping her as he slammed into her, burying his burning manhood deep.

Rachel cried out as another orgasm ripped through her, taking her by shock as she pulsed around him, his staff filling her completely.

“Too long,” he groaned as he pulled back, and then surged forward again, making her orgasm continue on and on. “Way too long. You are mine, Rachel Palazzo, mine forever. No other man will touch you again; no other man will have what’s mine,” he said, slamming into her again and branding her with all he was.

“Yes, Adriane,” she cried, not caring what she agreed to, just desperate for him to continue.

He paced himself, moving deep within her body before retreating and then starting all over again, moving slow and then fast, his thick arousal filling her, stretching her, building her ever higher in her need for him.

He’d already given her a surfeit of satisfaction, and still, it wasn’t enough! She felt like a sexual glutton.

“Now, Rachel. Let go now!” he demanded.

As if attuned to his every desire, she prepared to climax again, her body responding to his movements, to the sound of the ardent groan deep within his chest. As he emptied himself inside her, her pleasure overwhelmed her, and she shattered, then floated away into a sea of blackness.

Rachel quickly returned to consciousness, surprised when she realized she’d passed out.

“Rachel, are you feeling all right? I should call the doctor. I was too rough; I wasn’t thinking about the babies at all. I’m sorry,” Adriane said as he ran his hands down her body, stopping on her stomach as if he could tell whether the babies were healthy just by feeling her.

Some of her euphoria faded as she saw him focused solely on her stomach.

How could she forget even for a single moment what his ultimate goal was? He had to protect his heirs no matter what.

Would nothing she did make him focus only on her?

If the sex hadn’t been enough to knock his socks off and have him thinking of her as a woman and not a human incubator, then she didn’t possibly know what would catch his attention.

Pushing his hands away and pulling the blanket up to her chin, she sat up, suddenly feeling overly exposed. Where were they going to go from here? He’d gotten her into the sack; now was he going to leave her alone?

She didn’t want that. She wanted to be held.

Impossible as it seemed, just the feel of his hands caressing her flesh had begun stirring her up again. Even with the confusing thoughts fogging her mind, she wanted him — as she feared she always would.

Maybe it was because it had been too long since she’d been held; maybe it was just because he was such a fantastic lover that it was easy for her to forget why she was here in his palace — and in his bed.

“I’m fine, Adriane. Pregnant women all over the world have sex. I highly doubt anything could happen. The children are locked up safely inside my womb,” she said, trying to disguise the sting she felt, trying to focus on the positive fact that at least he was concerned.

After a pause, while he tried to determine if she was telling him the truth, he began shedding the rest of his clothes and dropping them to the floor — the clothes he hadn’t removed in his haste to claim her.

“If you’re sure…” he said, hesitating before lifting the blanket on the bed.

“I know how I feel. I’m fine,” she said, her voice confident. But if he dared ask about the babies again, she wouldn’t be at all OK.

“In that case, I will just make sure to be more gentle from here on out.”

“Oh,” she said. “There’s more?” She couldn’t deny that her blood was already heating at just the thought of him making love to her again. That round had been undeniably satisfying, but it was still over too quickly. He’d promised her till the sun rose.

She didn’t think she’d get that much lovemaking, but she’d gladly take another hour or two.

Climbing beneath the covers, he immediately reached for her, pulling her into his arms and positioning her body on top of his.

The heat of his skin scorched her from breasts to toes, and it was a burn she reveled in.

“Plenty more, Rachel. It’s been entirely too long since we’ve come together,” he said, letting his hands glide across her skin, running from the smooth indent of her calves all the way to her collar bone before moving lazily back down.

“Adriane,” she moaned, unable to keep still as he caressed her.

“The shape of your body takes my breath away. Every single curve on you is perfect, fits beautifully in my hands, or softens beneath my touch. You were made for me — and me alone,” he said as he leaned into her and trailed kisses along the path he’d forged with his fingers.

Each kiss brought her intense pleasure that pooled in her core and made her ache for his touch. Reading her mind, he let his fingers rest there, and she leaned back, giving him better access.

His arousal grew beneath her backside, and she wiggled against him as his fingers sank inside her, time fading away as she cried out in pleasure with each sure stroke of his hand.

After she peaked again, she turned, capturing his mouth with hers and kissing him in appreciation.

“You make me feel so good,” she said, pulling back to kiss his neck. Moving downward, she first swirled her tongue across his hard nipples, nipping the dark peaks, before kissing his trembling stomach.

“Rachel?” he asked, but she ignored him as she reached her favorite place on his body.

Not giving him time to stop her, she cradled his thick member in her hand and sucked him inside her mouth, moving slowly on him as he cried out.

His hands reached downward, grasping her head and guiding her up and down his shaft, teaching her exactly what he wanted.

When he came close to coming in her mouth, he moved her head away and then grabbed her hips, pulling her up his body until she was sitting on his face; his mouth began to work its magic on her core again.

Soon, time had no meaning as he pleasured her over and over again, trailing tender kisses along every inch of her skin before singeing her body as he touched her everywhere.

Just as the sun was beginning to rise in the sky, he sank deep inside her with a sure, strong thrust of his hips. Gripping the back of his head, she held him close as he pushed against her. Lifting her hips, pulling him deeper, Rachel held on as he stoked her fires ever higher.

When she climaxed around him for the final time that night, he collapsed against her, both of them too spent to move a muscle.

It had been needed, this night of lovemaking, but she was more worn out than she’d ever been. Adriane was a considerate lover, and her body had tensed many times as she reached her peak over and over again.

“I want to take you back to the private hideaway soon,” he whispered as he shifted off her, only to tug her into his arms.

“That sounds nice,” she sleepily murmured.

“Then it’s settled,” he said, a smile in his voice.

Rachel drifted into a dreamless sleep, secure in her lover’s arms.

Chapter Forty

“Do you love
my son?”

Rachel stared at Adriane’s mother, Queen Octavia, and was at a loss for words. She’d managed to avoid a conversation like this with his mother before now, since she’d never been alone with the queen before. This luncheon wasn’t going well, and she was praying for a natural disaster to intervene.

It seemed she’d prayed for a lot of those since meeting Adriane.

That should be a sign that she should run as fast as she could, but the last few days had been about as perfect as they could be.

“Adriane and I haven’t had a lot of time to get to know each other,” she replied diplomatically, then picked up her cup of herb tea and took a sip.

“Time is irrelevant when you’re with ‘the one,’” Octavia countered.

This queen wasn’t giving up. Rachel was sure the woman hadn’t sat by her husband’s side for more than thirty years without learning how to interrogate people. Could Rachel be thrown into the dungeons for not being loyal enough to the king of Corythia?

Though she was joking to herself, a shudder still passed through her at the thought. Still, she was raised not to lie.

“I don’t dislike him anymore,” she said.

“You are guarded, aren’t you, Rachel?”

What was she supposed to say to that? She picked up one of the small tea sandwiches and took a bite, thrilled when her stomach didn’t rebel as the salmon and watercress traveled down her throat. The last few days, she hadn’t felt a lick of morning sickness. She so hoped that she was over it.

“I just know I deserve to be in a relationship where the man wants
me
,” she said.

“I think you are good for my son. He needs a woman unafraid to stand up to him. The responsibilities of ruling a country can be taxing, and a confident woman he can share his worries with and hold tightly in his arms can make the difference between Adriane being a mediocre king and a great one.”

Rachel gazed at Adriane’s mother, pretty sure she’d just received a compliment. “But Adriane doesn’t love me. How can I help him do anything if he looks at me as only another one of his duties — as simply a responsibility he has because of my condition?”

Queen Octavia hesitated as she stared at Rachel, making her want to fidget in her seat. The woman’s piercing black eyes were enough to penetrate Rachel’s skin. But she was a Palazzo, and no Palazzo would cower, even before royalty.

“I think you would be surprised at how Adriane truly feels. You are a special woman, Rachel, and you carry my grandchildren, so I am very pleased with the way this relationship is progressing. Don’t underestimate the loyalty of my son. He will make a fine husband and father.”

“I’m sure he will, Queen Octavia. But I need to be loved,” Rachel said, almost pleading with the woman to understand.

“So you do love him?” she pressed.

As Rachel sat there, locked in this woman’s knowing glance, her stomach heaved. Her sickness came back with wrecking-ball force.

How could she possibly be in love with Adriane? Their relationship had started off as a brief no-strings affair between strangers, followed by three months with the two of them not seeing each other. Then he’d suddenly appeared in her life again, demanding marriage, kidnapping her, and then coldly “courting” her.

To have fallen in love with him was impossible.

But it seemed as if that had somehow happened.

Somewhere along the line, his moments of kindness, his softer smile, his loyalty and compassion for the people of his kingdom — all of it had added up to his winning her heart.

How could she have left herself so unprotected?

They’d boated around the island, with him pointing out the small fishing villages and independent landowners. He had driven her through the land, stopping in quaint towns where the people had rushed to visit their king. He’d talked to her for hours about his plans for the kingdom, and about what would be expected from her as queen.

She’d slowly fallen under his magical spell, and now she was apparently in love with a man who hadn’t made a single declaration of any emotion toward her beyond lust and duty.

This was going to end up hurting her— maybe inflicting a wound that was irreparable.

“Ah, it appears that you have deeper feelings for my son than you want to admit. I am pleased, Rachel, very pleased. I will leave you alone now to sort through your thoughts. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today.”

Queen Octavia stood and quietly left the room. When Rachel was sitting glued to her chair several moments later, she realized she hadn’t said a word. She hadn’t even stood up when the queen had exited. That had been unpardonably rude.

Yet too lost in her thoughts to dwell on it, she finally rose and walked from the palace, her stomach still heaving. She had to get some fresh air, calm the churning within. It seemed the ocean was calling to her, for her feet moved that way of their own accord.

She needed to clear her head and figure out what she was going to say to Adriane. Should she tell him how she felt — see whether there was any chance of him loving her back?

Reaching the white sandy beaches, Rachel slipped off her shoes and walked on, anticipating the feel of the gentle waves splashing against her legs.

The clouds were rolling in, but far enough off in the distance that she wasn’t concerned. The fine sand squished between each toe soothed her as her mind continued racing with her newfound knowledge.

When she turned her head and saw Adriane walking toward her, she tensed, not ready for this talk with him, not sure of what she wanted to say to the man who had dominated her life over the past month — the past four months, in fact, if she went back to the beginning.

It was almost ironic that she would be realizing she was in love with him while standing on a beautiful beach. It was, after all, where their journey had begun. Of course that had been in another country, and at quite another time.

The wind blew his short black hair as he stepped closer, and his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners as he smiled her way. He looked relaxed and sure of himself, something she couldn’t say for herself right then.

When he reached her, he pulled her immediately into his arms, his skin warmed from the hot sun and easily heating her body as he held her close.

Rachel leaned against him, inhaling his all too familiar scent. What a handsome and dangerous man he’d turned out to be. Their thoughtless weeks together had altered the course of her life forever.

She closed her eyes as she remembered when she was seventeen and thought she was in love, and what her mother had said to her:

Never do anything irrevocable with a man you don’t want as your husband. You must be sure that you can live with yourself, and with him. It may seem like only a moment, but you will be forever locked to him — emotionally, physically, or even more.

Rachel hadn’t thought of those words for a long time. She hadn’t been able to go all the way with the boy she’d been dating back then, and she’d been grateful she hadn’t, because soon afterward, he’d broken up with her. That was when Rachel had found out he had two other girlfriends in neighboring towns. They’d been giving him what she hadn’t, all along.

She would have given her heart to him, along with her virginity, for nothing.

She probably would have been much wiser to take her mother’s advice the day she’d met Adriane. But nooo. She’d thought only of her own immediate pleasure. Now she was
forever locked
to Adriane, both because of the twins she carried and because of her love for him.

As Adriane leaned back and lifted her chin, she met his eyes before taking a moment to admire the strong shape of his high cheekbones, the perfect angle of his nose, the beauty of his tanned skin, and the sensuousness of his full lips.

He was beautiful, on the inside as well, she was discovering. He was just very good at hiding that man deep beneath a thick skin.

He was also a king. He would do his duty and marry her, but would he ever love her? Was he even capable of that? From the time he’d known he would one day rule Corythia, he’d been groomed to find a princess, marry her, and continue his royal line, as the kingdom expected.

Instead, he’d ended up with her.

How could they possibly have anything more than a marriage of convenience? Sure, he was most likely fated to a marriage of convenience, but at least if the woman was of royal blood, the royal lines would stay pure. Her children weren’t fully royal, not with her as a mother.

Before she was able to dwell too much on that thought, she began thinking again of their nights of lovemaking. He was a phenomenal lover, taking her to a new level of luxurious satisfaction each time he pleasured her body.

Maybe that was enough. Passion and loyalty.

Rachel didn’t think Adriane would betray her by taking another woman. He just didn’t seem the type of man to do something so horrendous. This was a new age where kings didn’t need concubines anymore, right?

“My mother said the two of you had lunch. I am glad she returned home from her trip. You will spend a lot of time together, and the two of you have much in common.”

“Your mother is a beautiful woman and was very kind to me,” Rachel told him as she lowered her head to lean it against his chest.

As the sea swirled around their feet, Adriane’s hands moved slowly up and down her back. Feeling unstoppable, Rachel lifted her chin as Adriane’s mouth descended and he gently caressed her lips.

His smooth touch only confirmed her love for him. Tears filled her eyes as he nibbled on her bottom lip.

It was too much.

She had to get away from him for a while, had to gather her thoughts, figure out what she was going to do with this new information.

“Do you want to go back to the room and lie down?”

She knew he was offering her more than just a nap. She knew he wanted to take her again, and her body ached to accept his offer, but she couldn’t, not right this moment. She had to reel her emotions in and figure out what to say to him.

“I’m not a child, Adriane. If I am tired, I will let you know,” she said, purposely misinterpreting his words.

She felt like a monster as he flinched, showing hurt in his eyes for the barest second before he masked his expression.

He was a master at aloofness, which explained her complete cluelessness about what he was generally thinking or feeling.

She began to shake in his arms, and the anger he’d briefly shown seemed to fade away instantly as he looked down on her flushed face, and the line of sweat beginning to bead on her forehead.

“You look unwell, Rachel. Let me get you to your bed and call in the doctor. I want to make sure you aren’t catching something,” he said, and he leaned down to pick her up.

“I will not break just because I have a slight ache, Adriane. Are you really so worried about your heirs that you won’t give me five seconds to work it out on my own before alerting the doctor?” she asked in exasperation as she pulled back from him.

This time, he didn’t show any expression as he allowed her to take a couple of retreating steps.

He wasn’t letting her get too far, however.

“Please, Rachel…” He broke off, at a loss for words because of her instant change in mood.

“I will get back to my room alone. I can take care of myself. Just leave me be,” she snapped, putting a further divide between them.

She knew she was making the situation worse, but if he’d just allow her to go, she told herself, she would stop saying hurtful things — and start worrying about what she was going to say to him next.

Would he even want her love, this gift she was willing to give him for no more than the small price of him allowing her access to his heart?

“If it weren’t for the fact that I’m carrying your twins, you never would have called me again, would you?” she asked, needing to hear him say it.

He hesitated as if he knew this was a trap, but his honest nature wouldn’t allow him to lie.

“We won’t ever know that, Rachel. The fact is, you
are
carrying my babies and you
are
here with me now. Why don’t we just focus on that?”

“I can’t, Adriane. I can’t…” she said, almost on a sob. “I need to go,” she said again, this time moving up the beach, bending down to grab her shoes and then making her way to the path that led to his palace.

This wasn’t her home.

It could be if she accepted his proposal, but though she’d be his lawfully wedded wife, wasn’t that all she’d be? They’d have great sex and she’d give birth to his babies, and then what? Without love, he’d lose interest and she’d become bitterly alone.

“Rachel, we need to talk more,” he said, quickly catching up to her as they entered the palace.

“Can you ever love me, Adriane?” she asked, stopping him cold as she faced him in the cool, dark hallway.

He weighed his answer before opening his mouth. “Love doesn’t matter, Rachel. Why do you keep bringing it up? Haven’t these past nights been good for you? We can have that every night.”

“Yes, Adriane, love does matter. Since I do keep bringing it up, don’t you think that it’s important?” she argued, angry and hurt-filled tears blurring her vision.

He didn’t say anything to that, which Rachel felt was an incredibly painful slap in the face.

She walked away from him again, and this time he let her go. When she reached her room, she knelt beside her bed, and said a fervent prayer.

“Please help me to make the right decision, no matter what that decision may be. And please help me not to be such a fool as not to listen when I am given the answers.”

Her prayer finished, Rachel stood up and crawled into bed.

Adriane had to think she was crazy now. One minute she was holding him as if she would never let him go and the next minute ranting at him to leave her alone. Had she not had that revelation while with his mother, her day would have gone a lot more smoothly.

She’d most likely be lying in his arms right this very minute.

Damn her stubbornness, and damn her inability to decide what she should do next.