Page 34 of The Accidental Prince (Accidentally in Love #3)

“Do you think this is what our wedding night might have been like, if I’d married you a week ago?” she whispered, moving her hands down his back. The unexpected touch speared through him, making him want her more.

“No.” He moved to the side, facing her with a wicked smile. “We would have been in a bed, instead of out in the open where anyone could see us.”

A flush came over her. “Do you think anyone will?”

He stroked her stomach, down to the dark blonde curls between her legs, and parted her thighs. “I don’t care if they do. They’ll only see me pleasuring you.”

She closed her eyes at the touch of his hand, her breasts tightening. He felt the wetness of her desire against his fingers, and as he deepened the touch, caressing her intimately, her hands dug into his shoulders.

“Karl,” she murmured, her eyes opening. He slid a finger inside her, and her expression grew more intense. “These days I spent with you…I’ll never forget them. You made me happy.”

Her confession seemed to transform Karl from gentleness into a man bent upon arousing her.

The fierce need in his eyes only darkened as he stimulated her flesh.

She could feel herself stretching, rising higher as her body responded to him.

But she didn’t want him to focus everything on her.

Against her hip, she felt his rigid arousal.

She’d never touched a naked man before, but she wanted to know if she could awaken the same feelings inside him. Slowly, she reached for him, curling her hand around his shaft.

He inhaled, his hand stilling upon her. “Serena—”

She dragged her hand over him, squeezing gently and found her own sense of power when he closed his eyes, drinking in her touch.

“Am I hurting you?”

“No, but you’re making it difficult to think clearly.”

She pressed him back against the grass, marveling at the strength of his body. Karl had lean, strong arms and a tapered waist. His powerful thighs were muscled from riding, and she sat against him, her hands over his chest. “I want to touch you.”

He made no argument, as she lowered her mouth to his, kissing him while her palms moved across his body. There was a reddish scar from where the bullet had grazed him, days ago, and she avoided it so as not to hurt him. Lowering her mouth, she kissed his stomach, drawing closer to his manhood.

When she touched it again, his eyes closed, his hands clenching against the grass. She stroked the head of him, sliding down his shaft while he grasped her hips.

He guided her to her knees, parting them until she straddled his waist while his thick shaft was poised at her entrance.

With his fingers, he teased her, dipping against her wetness until she started to move her own hand upon him.

He guided her, showing her how to stroke him in a rhythm while he entered and withdrew his fingers from her body.

The erotic sensations started to clench within her, and when he raised up to take her breast in his mouth, the blunt head of his shaft hovered at her entrance.

She felt him slide inside an inch, and she held steady, watching him.

Karl didn’t move, waiting for her response.

Carefully, she withdrew, and then sank against him a little more.

It was tight, but her body welcomed the feel of him.

The thickness stretched her, but it was an arousal that touched her deep inside.

Karl brought his hands up to touch her hooded flesh while he held steady inside her.

“Wait,” he breathed, keeping her poised with only the head of him inside her.

He stroked her intimately, while his tongue laved the tight nipple.

Serena felt her body growing languid, the arousal penetrating deeper.

His rhythmic caresses started to take hold of her, and she began trembling as he rubbed her flesh.

The motion pulled him deeper inside, and she gasped as the tightness seared through her, sheathing him fully.

“Don’t move,” he warned, rolling her to her back and easing back. “I want this to be better for you.”

He continued the rhythmic circular motion, and she pulled back, arching hard as the sensations deepened. “Karl,” she breathed, not understanding what he was doing. But he held back, tormenting her, until she instinctively moved against him, forcing him to penetrate her in shallow thrusts.

“Look at me,” he ordered, and she forced herself to open her eyes. He stared at her, and said, “You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Serena. Worth more than any kingdom on this earth.”

A dark, punishing heat kept driving her harder, and she couldn’t control her breathing from coming in quick gasps.

He lifted her hips, suckling against her aroused nipples while his hand worked her below.

She cried out, pushing back against him, but he kept up the rhythm until his caress exploded through her in a pulsing storm of release.

The pleasure tore through her as he penetrated her fully, her body clenching his silken shaft.

As he entered and withdrew, she held him close, feeling him fill up her heart as well as her body. She’d fallen in love with Karl, and it made her more determined to keep him safe.

With their bodies joined, he pushed her past the brink once more, until she gasped with the pleasure of it. And she reveled in the broken wildness of him as he thrust against her and at last surrendered to his own desire. He lay on top of her, their bodies damp with perspiration.

He held her tightly, his mouth against her ear. “I’ll not let them take you away,” he swore. “No matter what happens.”

She didn’t let him see the tears forming inside her. For if anything happened to him, she couldn’t forgive herself.

When they arrived back at the manor house, Karl kept Serena’s hand in his. Within moments, dozens of soldiers emerged from the surrounding hills, riding toward the house.

He stopped walking, his hand tightening around hers. He saw the masked fear upon her face, and although she’d pinned her hair back beneath her bonnet, her face remained flushed from their lovemaking. It made him all the more determined to protect her.

Serena gripped his hand and took a breath. “I’m going to speak to my father, if he’s here.” Her face was unnaturally pale, her eyes troubled.

A bad feeling snaked into his gut. Karl didn’t know what she intended to do, but he was going to remain at her side, no matter what. “Don’t make a choice you’re going to regret.” He leaned in and kissed her softly, trying to remind her of what there was between them.

Although she kissed him back, he sensed surrender in her demeanor. “My choice has nothing to do with what I want. Only what I have to do.”

“Fight for the life you want,” he urged. “And I’ll fight with you.”

She sent him a sad smile. “I am fighting. But in my own way.”

From the misery in her eyes, he knew exactly what she was planning. “You can’t return with him. He’ll only hurt you.”

“Sometimes defeating your enemy means walking into the fire.” She touched his cheek, and he lowered his forehead to hers. “I’m going to publicly announce my abdication. If the entire kingdom knows my wishes, he’ll have no choice but to let me go.”

“Do you think I’ll let you put yourself in danger like that?” His hands moved down to caress the pulse at her throat. “He tried to strangle you.”

Serena took his hands in hers, looking steadily into his eyes. “I won’t let myself be afraid of him any more. If you care for me at all, you’ll trust me to slay my own dragons.” With one last kiss, she pleaded, “Stay away. And I’ll come to Lohenberg, as soon as I can.”

She stepped out of his arms and continued walking toward the house. Did she believe he would stand by and let her leave? That he would act like a coward and let her return to a king who had broken her ribs and nearly killed her?

Clearly, she didn’t know him at all.