Page 34 of Royal Beast (Royals of the Underworld #1)

KELLAN

I ’m sitting in the dark, the soft hum of the living room's ambient noise the only sound in the house.

The night feels too long, the hours stretching into a weight I can’t shake. Darcy hasn’t come home yet, and I don’t know what’s taking her so long, but every minute that ticks feels longer than the last.

The door creaks open softly, and I jump up immediately. I know it’s Darcy, I don’t even have to look to see it’s her.

I don’t say anything at first. She steps into the apartment, her silhouette framed by the dim light from the hallway.

Her shoulders are slumped, and I can see the exhaustion in the way she moves, as though she’s carrying the weight of the world.

My chest tightens, but the knot of worry I’ve been holding in my gut since she left starts to uncurl.

She doesn’t speak. She doesn’t need to. Her eyes meet mine, and everything that’s been left unsaid between us hangs in the air, too heavy to ignore. I cross the room in a few strides, reaching her just as she pulls off her coat, her movements slow and deliberate.

When I finally close the space between us, there are no words. Not yet. She looks up at me, her eyes full of everything we’ve both been holding in all day—the frustration, the worry, the fear, but something else too, something softer.

Without a word, I pull her into me, my arms wrapping around her tightly. She lets out a long breath as she presses her face into my chest, and as I feel the tension leave her body in that one exhale, I realize how badly we both need this.

She tilts her head up, her lips brushing mine in a soft, lingering kiss, trying to say everything we can’t express with words.

I kiss her back, pulling her closer, feeling the heat of her against me as though she’s grounding me.

As we embrace, everything else fades away.

All the stress, all the worries, all the chaos from today, it all melts into the background. It's just her and me.

I pull back just enough to see her face.

She’s still not saying anything, but I know her well enough to know the silence is louder than any words she could speak right now.

So I don’t push. Instead, I cup her cheeks between my hands, cradling her face as I bring it to mine to press another feather-light kiss to her lips.

She sighs into the kiss, pushing herself up on tiptoe to kiss me back, arms winding around my neck.

Our mouths move together. My tongue brushes the seam of her lips, and she sighs, a sweet sound, and parts them, granting me entrance.

Tugging her down the hall, our mouths locked together, I push the bedroom door open and the two of us slip inside.

I lead her to the bed and we sit together, kissing unhurriedly.

There’s a desperation in our touches–like we’re trying to forget all that’s happening in our lives and reconnect with each other.

I just want to wrap myself up in her and protect her from all the bad.

I want to forget about the outside world and be just us tonight.

Darcy’s mouth moves down to kiss my neck, peppering soft kisses down the line of my throat.

I breathe out slowly, my heart hammering wildly in my chest, and wrap my arms around her, stroking down her back.

I need this right now. I need her. I need the closeness and the reassurance that she still cares.

There’s a darkness inside me. I have a temper, anger issues, and I’m not always easy to get along with, but Darcy sees me, accepts who I am, and knows how to rein me in.

She understands that I’m rough around the edges and she still treats me so gently in moments like this, letting me know that she’s here for me.

I don’t deserve her.

Her lips continue moving, distracting me from my thoughts, nibbling her way up to my ear as she kisses the shell, then whispers, “I want to take the lead tonight.”

I know that Darcy is strong, but I don’t want her to feel like she has to always take care of me. I should be the one taking care of her. I put up a token protest, moving to sit up, but she pushes back against my chest, forcing me to sit.

“I want this, Kellan,” she explains, her voice low and quiet. “I need to feel in control for once.”

Understanding dawning, I settle down and let her continue her slow, tender assault on my ear and neck, shivering when she licks across my stubble, the sensation almost ticklish.

Her hands move down to caress the front of my pants, stroking me through the material. I’m already starting to get hard, but the touch has me waking up, my cock stirring to full mast. She moves down, rubbing my balls as she kisses her way back up to my jaw, then my mouth.

She pulls away, her lips slightly swollen, her gaze intense.

Her hands work to open the fly of my pants and she slips one inside, stroking along my shaft with slow, deliberate movements.

I feel like a precious, delicate thing right now, something completely foreign to me.

Usually, I’m the strong one, the one in charge.

It’s an odd thing being this vulnerable, but I can’t say I hate it. I know that Darcy needs it right now, and I’m content to give it to her.

Her hands come up, undoing the buttons of my shirt as she leans forward to leave kisses along my chest, tongue darting out to lick my nipples as she helps me out of the shirt.

Once the shirt has been discarded, she pushes my pants down my waist, along with my boxers and socks, and this leaves me naked while she’s still fully clothed.

Deciding this won’t do, I hum and push her dress up over her head, exposing her matching pink and black lingerie set. The two of us scoot back on the bed, lying together as she continues her slow exploration of my body.

As she continues kissing downward, the desire to reciprocate grows stronger inside me. I just want to take care of her too, to show her she’s not alone.

“Darcy,” I say, tapping her on the shoulder.

She looks up, a question in her eyes.

“I want to do this with you,’ I say. “I want us to take care of each other right now. Let me love you back.”

She hesitates, but I stroke along her thigh and she bites her lip, a soft sigh escaping her, nodding tentatively.

Rearranging our positions, I lie so I’m facing the opposite direction as her, my feet closer to the headboard.

We can take our time taking each other apart in this position.

My tongue darts out, licking a stripe up her thigh, and she parts her legs for me, one hand reaching out to hold my cock in her hands as she feeds it into her mouth.

Our bodies move in unison, the two of us beginning a slow, teasing pace. Darcy’s thighs fit around my head as I lick her open, pillowing my head on a plush one. Her fingers smooth over my sac, tracing little patterns that leave me shivery and restless as her tongue laves along the slit of my cock.

My tongue dives inside, circling her fleshy pearl with careful precision, earning a moan in response.

I bring my fingers up, sweeping along the length of her cunt before pushing one finger inside, crooking it toward her inner walls.

She moans again, the sound vibrating against the skin of my erection, waves of pleasure washing over me.

The sensations are almost too much, but I keep going, slowly thrusting my finger in and out of her wetness, rubbing the spot inside her with every pass.

Darcy’s moans increase and the vibrations on my cock crash into me, encouraging me to move my hips in time with the finger inside her. Our bodies are completely in sync, attuned to one another in a way we’ve never experienced before.

I feel so connected to her. This feels so right, so perfect.

The clarity of the moment, combined with the pleasure of her mouth finally suctioning around me, has my balls drawing up, stomach clenching as my orgasm hits, sending wave after wave of thick seed down Darcy’s throat.

I continue to lick around her clit, sucking hard as I add a second finger, determined to bring her as much pleasure as she’s brought me. Her body convulses around me, nearly choking on my cum as she starts to fall over the edge, cunt squeezing my fingers in a near death grip.

I continue to lick her through the orgasm, pumping my fingers in and out to hasten a second one, knowing she’s got it in her.

She writhes again, liquid heat flooding me as she comes again, stirring something primal in me.

Once she stops moving, I sit up and turn, pulling her to lie against my chest. I’m not done with her yet, but I need a moment to rest. Being in my thirties means I don’t have the same recovery period I did in my youth.

She shifts so we’re spooning together, and my hand comes up to splay across her belly, stroking the soft skin there as we cuddle. I lean down and place a few kisses against her neck, trying to convey my gratitude without words.

As I come down from the high, my chest constricts, recalling the moment of clarity I had before my orgasm. Am I falling in love with this woman?

The answer seems almost laughably obvious the more I think about it. How else do I explain the years of obsession I’ve had, the desire to protect her and her child, the whole arranged marriage thing?

Of course, I have feelings for Darcy. The question is, how does she feel about me?

I can’t bring myself to ask right now, afraid to break the silence with a question I may not want to hear the answer to.

It’s possible that without the marriage, I might have been able to eventually grow something with her, but since I pushed for this arrangement, anything she feels has been the result of forced proximity and duress.

Instead of stressing about it, I move my hands to cup her breasts, rolling her nipples idly between my fingers. She shifts, subtly grinding her ass against me, a little whine escaping her throat.

One hand moves down to fondle the patch of hair between her thighs, stroking and toying with it as I tease just above the opening of her pussy lips.

She groans again, pushing her ass back more determinedly, rubbing the cheeks over my cock.

“Do you want to go again?” I tease, whispering the words in a low tone into her ear.

“Please,” she begs. “I need you right now, Kellan. Make me feel good. Take me just like this. I want to feel you inside me while your arms are around me.”

I smile, kissing the top of her head. “Anything you want, Wildflower,” I tell her. I’m always going to give you everything you might ever want , I think to myself.

But now isn’t the time to dwell on such promises. Right now, I want to make love to Darcy, join our bodies together as deeply as we can, and stay there until we’ve drunk our fill and eased all the worries and stress away.