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Again, my words have a marked effect upon him and in one swift movement his head is between my legs and his mouth is on that dangerous, pulsing bud of need and he is doing things to me I never imagined. My body responds immediately, as waves of desire wash over me and I yearn for his manhood to take its rightful place inside me. My hips move in an undulating motion, wanton and free of all inhibitions. My fingers dig into his shoulders, pulling him closer to me. I don’t breathe as much as pant in desperate need against his skin.

“Please, Prince Ronan. Please, give yourself to me,” I beseech him as I feel an uncontrollable pressure building in me and an ache so sharp it hurts.

Then he shifts his body, coming up on his forearms, and his mouth returns to my breast. Seconds later I feel his manhood against my entrance and he gives a small push.There’s a resistance I hadn’t expected and I presume this is my maidenhead. However, behind it is a ferocious need, a primal desire for satisfaction and I instinctively know I won’t get it until I have all of him inside me. I widen my legs to grant him easier access. He retreats and then comes back again, harder this time, and I feel something give a little and the need within me becomes all consuming. I dig my fingers into his buttocks, demanding he enter me and not hold back.

He accedes to my demand and, with a roar, he pushes inside me. There’s a sudden flash of pain as my maidenhead is torn but it’s swiftly followed by a feeling of fullness, of glorious union with this man and I feel a surge of something I’ve only ever had a sense of. A feeling of power.

The prince looks into my eyes and my heart fills with an emotion I’m not sure I recognise at the look of deep care and concern I find there. “Are you all right, Elinor?” he asks.

“Yes,” I say on a ragged breath, as I cup his face in my palm, “please keep going, take me all the way and fill me with your seed.”

His mouth covers mine as does his body, and he starts to thrust and move inside me with the most delicious strokes of his tongue and manhood. My body responds in ways I’ve never experienced, moving to the rhythm of his strokes, rising and falling, taking him deeper and faster until I feel I’m going to explode. Then his fingers find that tiny bud between my legs and a bolt of pleasure shoots through me so intense it takes my breath away. At the same time he pulls his manhood back and then thrusts hard and I am lost. I am consumed by wave after wave of pleasure of such incredible intensity I can barely breathe. My hips move in unison with the waves of pleasure and I’m floating on a sea of ecstasy when the prince cries out and I feel him release his seed into me. The feeling is sublime and Ipull him to me and kiss him deeply as aftershocks of pleasure continue to ripple through my body.

“Thank you,” I whisper into his mouth.

He smiles. “I can assure you, Elinor, it was a pleasure.”

***

The first rays of sunlight warm my face and I awaken to the delicious feel of the prince’s naked body wrapped around my own. I smile to myself as I think over the events of the night and how I have now become a woman.

My womanhood aches a little and feels tender, as if a little bruised, but other than that there are no ill effects. I consider how the small amount of pain was more than worth it for the pleasure that followed and the nights of pleasure to come. Of course the prince is a practiced and considerate lover, and I shudder at the prospect of what my first time would have been like with Greythorne.

“Is everything all right, my Queen?” The prince’s sleepy voice sounds behind me.

I smile at the drowsy tenderness in his voice. “Everything’s just fine. I was simply thinking how glad I am that I heeded your warning and my first time was with you and not Greythorne.”

He kisses my shoulder. “I’m glad too, and now my seed has been proven good, I’m doubly glad I shall be your husband and that bastard will never get a chance to brutalise you.”

I turn and smile into his kind eyes. “Thank you. Thank you for being honest with me. I’m sorry circumstances were such we had to meet the way we did and we haven’t had time for a proper courtship, but I will be most honoured to have you by my side as my king.”

He places a soft kiss on my lips. “As will I, but now tell me, in keeping with your incredible ability to plot and plan, when will we be wed?”

I take a moment to look into his smiling eyes and am surprised at the feeling of warmth that moves through me as I lose myself in their green depths.

“Elinor?” He says my name in a throaty whisper and pulls me back to the moment.

“Ah yes, the wedding,” I stutter. “Well, Barra and Aaran are sufficiently recovered and your seed has proven good, so I say we should proceed with our plans to marry as soon as possible. I can have the Holy Cleric here in a matter of days.”

I feel him stiffen. “No. I know we haven’t had a chance to discuss my visit with him so let me tell you this now. I fear he is not an ally, and I believe he is suspicious of me and my role here. He asked many questions during my time at his palace about both princes of Ellerban and made it clear he didn’t consider them as suitable husbands to you, especially the mad one.”

I wince at his reference to himself.

He looks at me and there’s no denying the hurt in his eyes. “You know that’s me, don’t you?’

I nod. “Yes,” I whisper, “but I also know it’s not true.”

He doesn’t respond to my statement but simply says, “I won’t have this man officiate at our wedding. I won’t accord him the honour. Is there not a castle pastor who can perform the ceremony?”

“Yes. He spends his time between here and the cathedral. I can have him here any time.”

“Good,” he replies. “I presume you are going to keep the wedding small.”

“Yes,” I agree, “and I intend for it to remain a secret between us and our witnesses until such a time as Greythorne turns up at the castle. I have quite a surprise planned for him.”

The prince grins knowingly. “There’s the queen I know and care about, but perhaps before you get carried away plotting your big surprise for Greythorne you could let me know when we are to be wed.”

I laugh into his chest. “How does tomorrow at sunset sound?”