Page 30

With a final approving nod, she disappears down the hallway, heels clicking a retreat that leaves me trapped with him.

“Alone at last,” Gio murmurs, his hand sliding from my shoulder down my arm. “Now, where were we?”

“Why don’t you rest for a while?” I suggest, seizing the opportunity for escape. “I’ll check on you later with your medication.”

He considers this, then nods. “A nap might help. But I expect your company at dinner. No more disappearing acts.”

“Of course.” I step back, creating precious distance between us. “I’ll just be in my room, catching up on emails.”

He allows me to retreat, though his eyes follow me to the doorway.

“Audrey?”

I pause, one hand on the doorframe. “Yes?”

“I love you.” The words sound like a warning. “Don’t forget that.”

I force a smile. “I won’t.”

The walk to my bedroom feels endless, each step measured to avoid appearing too eager to escape. Only when my door is closed and locked behind me do I allow myself to breathe.

Hours later, I slip out of the house into the backyard. The east garden stretches before me, roses and hydrangeas creating dark silhouettes against the night sky.

I pause, listening for any sound that might indicate I’m being followed. The night is still, broken only by the distant hoot of an owl and the soft rustle of leaves stirring in the breeze. I check behind me one last time before hurrying across the open lawn.

The old oak looms ahead, its massive trunk and sprawling branches offering the perfect hiding spot. I scan the darkness beneath it, searching for any sign of Reign.

“Looking for someone?”

The whispered question comes from behind me, and I nearly jump out of my skin. A large hand closes over my mouth before I can cry out, an arm banding around my waist, pulling me back against a solid wall of muscle.

My initial panic subsides instantly as I recognize the scent of him. Pine, leather, and something uniquely Reign that I’d know anywhere. I relax into his hold, reaching up to pull his hand away from my mouth.

“You scared me,” I whisper, turning in his arms to face him.

In the filtered moonlight, his face is all sharp angles and shadows, his eyes gleaming with an intensity that makes my breath catch. He looks dangerous, standing here among the manicured gardens of my family estate. Too wild, too real for this carefully cultivated world.

“Hi, Princess,” he murmurs, his gaze traveling over my face as though memorizing every detail. “Missed you.”

The simple words unleash something desperate inside me.

I rise on tiptoes, threading my fingers through his hair, pulling his mouth down to mine.

He responds immediately, his arms tightening around me, lifting me slightly off my feet as his lips claim mine with a hunger that matches my own.

This kiss is different from our others. There’s fear in it, and need, and something dangerously close to desperation.

Suddenly, Reign pulls back and his eyes darken as they sweep over me. “What the fuck are you wearing?”

I glance down at my sleep shorts and tank top. “My pajamas. I was getting ready for bed when I got your message.”

His hand slides up beneath my shorts. “No panties?”

“I didn’t have time to change,” I explain. “I just threw these on and came to meet you.”

Reign’s jaw tightens. “You’ve been walking across the grounds, in the dark, with nothing under these?”

“It’s the middle of the night, and Gio’s asleep. No one saw me.”

His voice is a low growl against my ear. “That’s not the point.”

I lick my lips. “What is the point?”

“The point is that anyone could have seen what’s mine.”

I can’t help the smile that tugs at my lips. “You’re jealous.”

“Damn right, I am.” His hands tighten on my hips. “Everything about you belongs to me. Your body, your smile, these little sounds you make when I touch you. All mine. Soon, I’m making it official. But until then, you protect what’s mine.”

There’s something about the raw need in his voice, the barely restrained hunger in his eyes, that makes heat pool low in my belly.

“I like when you get all growly and protective.” I press closer to him. “It’s kind of hot.”

“You think this is funny?” Reign backs me up against the oak tree and slides his hand from my ass to my waist. “You think I like the idea of you exposed, vulnerable, where anyone could see you?”

“No one saw me,” I repeat, reaching up to trace the hard line of his jaw. “And I’ll make it up to you.”

His eyes flash in the darkness. “Damn right, you will.”

I sink to my knees in the soft grass. The moonlight filters through the branches, casting dappled shadows across his face as he looks down at me with surprise that quickly morphs into hunger.

My fingers work at his belt buckle, the metal cool against my skin. His breathing accelerates as I pop the button on his jeans and slowly lower the zipper. The sound seems impossibly loud in the quiet garden, but I’m beyond caring.

“This wasn’t what I meant, Princess,” he says through gritted teeth. “You don’t have to do this.”

“I know I don’t have to. I want to.” I tug his jeans and boxers down just enough to free him. “I want to feel you in my throat.”

He’s already hard, thick, and heavy in my hand as I stroke him once, twice, feeling him grow even harder under my touch.

I look up at him through my lashes as I take him into my mouth and watch his face tighten with pleasure. The power I feel in this moment is intoxicating. This strong, dangerous man coming undone because of me.

“Fuck.” His grip tightens in my hair as I take him deeper. “You’re going to kill me, Princess.”

I hollow my cheeks and suck harder, using my hand to work what doesn’t fit in my mouth. His hips jerk forward involuntarily, and I have to suppress a moan as he hits the back of my throat.

“Look at you,” Reign groans. “If only your fiancé could see you now, so desperate for me you’d risk everything. You have no idea what it does to me, knowing I’m the only one who gets to see you like this. The only one who knows how greedy you really are. How wet you get just from sucking me off.”

Liquid heat pools between my thighs.

“Fuck,” he groans, his head falling back momentarily before his gaze locks with mine again. “That’s it, baby. Take it deeper.”

My hands work in tandem with my mouth. One strokes what I can’t take, the other cupping and gently squeezing below.

“That’s it, Princess,” he murmurs. “Just like that.”

I moan around him. I can feel him getting closer, and his grip in my hair tightens, guiding me into a faster rhythm that I eagerly match.

“Audrey,” he warns, his voice tight. “I’m going to?—”

His restraint breaks with a guttural sound that sends heat flooding through me. I feel the pulse of his release, swallowing around him as he shudders above me.

When I finally pull away, his eyes darken with renewed hunger. Before I can react, he grips my arms and pulls me up, turning me in one fluid motion so I’m facing the ancient oak.

“Hands on the tree,” he commands. “Now.”

The authority in his tone sends a fresh wave of heat through me. I comply immediately and place my palms against the rough bark. Reign moves behind me, one hand sliding to the nape of my neck, the other gripping my hip. I feel him press against me, already hard again.

“I’m not done with you yet, Princess.” His hand slides from my hip to the waistband of my silk shorts, and he tugs them down just enough to expose me to the cool night air. “I need to feel you around me. Need to remind you exactly who you belong to.”

His fingers dip between my thighs where I’m already soaked for him. “Always so responsive.”

With one powerful thrust, he fills me completely, drawing a gasp from my lips that he quickly muffles with his hand over my mouth.

“Quiet, Princess,” he warns. “Unless you want the whole house to hear what I’m doing to you.”

Each thrust drives me forward slightly, the bark rough against my palms, creating a delicious contrast to the pleasure building inside me. His hand leaves my mouth and slides down to circle my throat.

“You feel that?” His voice is a harsh whisper against my ear. “That’s what’s been missing all week. This connection. This claiming.”

I can only nod, words beyond me as he sets a rhythm that’s both punishing and perfect. The danger of our situation—outside, exposed, the possibility of discovery—only heightens every sensation. His body covers mine completely, surrounding me with his heat, his scent, his presence.

His free hand slides beneath my camisole, palming my breast, fingers finding and pinching my nipple. The slight pain blends with the pleasure, pushing me closer to the edge. His teeth scrape my shoulder, not quite biting, but threatening to mark me.

“Reign,” I whisper, the only word I’m capable of forming.

“I know what you need,” he responds, his hand leaving my breast to slide down between my legs. His fingers find my clit, circling with devastating precision while he continues to thrust inside me. The dual sensation is overwhelming, my body tightening around him as I rush toward release.

“Come for me,” he commands, his voice strained with his own approaching climax. “Let me feel you fall apart.”

His words push me over the edge, my body clenching around him as waves of pleasure crash through me. I bury my face against my arm to muffle my cries, my legs trembling with the force of my orgasm.

He follows moments later, his rhythm faltering as he pulses inside me, his body rigid against my back, a low groan muffled against my shoulder. For several heartbeats, we remain locked together, both fighting to catch our breath, his arms now supporting me as much as pinning me.

Slowly, gently, he withdraws, turning me to face him. His expression has softened, the raw hunger replaced by something warmer, more tender. He helps me adjust my clothes with surprising care, his fingers lingering on my skin.

I collapse against him, my legs still trembling, as he pulls me down to sit beside him at the base of the tree.

For a moment, we just breathe together, the night air cooling our heated skin.

His thumb traces idle patterns on my hip, neither of us willing to break the silence that wraps around us like a cocoon.

A twig snaps somewhere in the darkness.

My head jerks up, body tensing as I scan the tree line. Even knowing it’s probably just a deer, the sound shatters our momentary peace, yanking me back to our precarious reality.

“Security makes another round in twelve minutes,” Reign murmurs. He checks his watch, then glances toward the house. “You need to be back in your room before then.”

I nod, reluctance and necessity warring within me.

“I know,” I whisper, already mourning the loss of his touch as I begin to shift away.

He nods, understanding without needing explanation. “Three more weeks, Princess. Then you never have to leave me again.”

The promise sends equal parts hope and fear through me. Three weeks until Ben’s fight. Three weeks until I end my engagement to Gio. Three weeks until I claim the freedom to choose my own path—a path that leads to this man’s arms and a future that belongs to me.

“Three weeks,” I repeat.

Reign helps me to my feet, adjusting my camisole and shorts with surprising tenderness. His hands linger on my hips, unwilling to break contact even as we both know I must return to the house.

“Remember what I said,” he murmurs, his fingers brushing against the silk covering my ass. “Panties. All the time.”

“Yes, sir,” I reply with a teasing smile, enjoying the flash of heat in his eyes at my words.

He kisses me one last time, deep and thorough, as if trying to imprint himself on me. Then, he steps back, creating space between us that feels like physical pain.

“Go,” Reign growls. “Before I change my mind and keep you here all night.”