Page 18

18

ANASTASIA

E rik obeys instantly, although he’s slowly removing his clothing like he’s putting on some kind of show.

I study his body as he reveals it to me, like I’m seeing him for the first time despite the other times we’ve fucked.

This feels different, but I can’t put my finger on why.

Maybe it’s the way he’s made my body feel from his attention or the way he holds my gaze like he’s cradling every part of me.

It’s strange.

This is just sex.

And yet thinking that feels like a lie.

Naked, he lies back down, and I glance at his hard cock standing proud from his body.

My mouth waters and my body aches at the sight, then I turn my attention to his handsome face and slide into his lap.

Grazing my hands over his muscular abdomen, I brace myself just below his chest and adjust my hips to align with his cock.

Our eyes meet, and I sink down slowly onto his cock with a deep, low moan of satisfaction.

His hands immediately shoot to my waist, and the nerve at his jaw tics when he clenches his jaw.

“Fuck,” he gasps roughly, his eyes fluttering.

I close my own eyes and tip my head back, enjoying the blissful sensation of his cock sliding deep inside me.

He reaches deeper than anyone I have ever slept with in the past, and he’s familiar now.

In this moment, nothing else matters.

Not work.

Not security.

Not the baby.

Nothing but me and him.

“Fuck,” I whimper, adjusting myself from side to side.

I don’t ride him yet.

Enjoying the weight of him inside me is enough, and I caress his abdomen, then slide one hand up to the gorgeous ink over his chest.

Such powerful meaning is behind his tattoo, and I replay his explanation in my head.

A reminder to be tough but gentle.

Honorable words to live by.

Soon, my hips take on a will of their own and I start rocking back and forth, grinding myself against this pelvis.

Erik watches me with hooded eyes, and I lose myself in the honey-warm depths of his brown eyes.

His thumbs move in circles at my hips and one hand moves to stroke my thigh.

He caresses me like I’m something fragile, and emotion swells in my chest.

This is what I like.

It’s fun to fuck hard in the spur of the moment like we’ve done before, but this is where my true enjoyment lies.

I like to feel everything.

Every inch of his cock inside me.

The strength and heat of his thighs beneath me.

The ripple of his abdomen when he tenses.

The swirls of hair across his chest and the way they tickle my fingertips.

The heat of his gaze.

The list goes on, and I rarely have the chance to soak up what I enjoy, but Erik lets me, without question or complaint.

Pleasure builds like a slowly warming flame in my gut.

After two orgasms, I’m already sensitive, but I’m just as turned on as I was before.

Soon, my T-shirt becomes smothering so I tear it from my body and toss it into the pile of abandoned clothing.

As I finally start to lift off his cock and drop back down, I remove my bra too, and Erik’s eyes immediately narrow.

He slides both of his hands up to cup under my breasts.

Then he grasps at them and slides his thumbs up over my stiff nipples, drawing a shuddering breath from my parted lips.

“Beautiful,” Erik murmurs, his voice tight.

Then something catches his eye.

“ Fearless .”

My hidden tattoo is a single crawl of ink just beneath the curve of my left breast.

“You found it.”

“Hidden,” he murmurs, tensing as I continue to bounce slowly on his cock.

“Beautiful.”

“Was cool at the time,” I admit, leaning into the roughness of his palms as he massages my breasts, pulls on my nipples, and caresses the tattoo.

“But I try live by it now.”

“I like it.”

“Really?” As I lean down, sliding my hands over his pecs, I tighten my pussy around his cock on my next rise and Erik dissolves into a deep, throaty moan.

He tries to speak again, but I don’t let him.

Feeling in control is a rush and so I play him like that.

Every time he tries to speak, I clench around his cock and rock down harder to drive his pleasure higher.

I feel every ridge inside me since I’m already over-sensitive, and the relaxed pace is undoubtedly a challenge for Erik, given how long he’s been turned on.

But he doesn’t complain.

He continues to caress my body like he’s mapping out every detail.

His eyes roam over me, leaving paths of heat in their wake, but he always looks back at me.

The pleasure is open and honest on his face, and I study him until my own pleasure takes over and then nothing else matters.

My hands return to his abdomen while I bounce.

I tip my head back and focus on the building heat that forms a ball in my core while the ends of my hair tickle my lower back.

“So close,” I whimper, picking up the pace.

“So close… close…”

My third orgasm hits with the force of a punch.

Every pleasure nerve inside my core and across my body dials up to a hundred, and heat bursts across my skin like the prick of a thousand burning needles.

My pussy clenches tight around Erik’s cock while I moan and whimper.

His grip tightens on my waist, and he holds me as he reaches his own end inside me in a rush of liquid heat.

His cum floods me, and a deep sense of satisfaction washes over me while I pant and whimper.

Then I collapse forward against this chest and he wraps both his strong arms around my body, panting at the same pace as me.

“Wow,” Erik gasps.

“I should go down on you more often.”

“No complaints from me,” I reply wearily, cuddling into him as the air around us gradually cools the sweat against my skin.

Erik keeps me warm with just his body, and even as his cock softens, it doesn’t slip from me immediately.

I don’t move to allow that either, so we remain connected as our racing hearts slowly find a calm sync with one another.

I listen to his with my ear pressed to his chest.

He strokes my hair and keeps one hand flat against my back in some kind of soothing touch.

It’s almost romantic.

Would this be so bad?

If I chose to pursue this, and assuming Erik wouldn’t run for the hills the second he found out I was pregnant…

could I do this?

It would break our traditions.

People in power always marry other people in power.

Those traditions are what put me in power over my father’s generals, so I can’t take them lightly.

But as Erik holds me and it feels like we become one and the same, I can’t help how my mind runs with the possibility of more.

Having a relationship—and a baby—with someone considered lower down the ladder would be a scandal, but why does it sound so good?

Is it because of Erik?

Or because I enjoy breaking the rules?

Erik’s fingers curl and stroke down my cheek while he murmurs a contented sound in the back of his throat.

My heart flutters and warmth spreads across the back of my neck.

It’s definitely Erik.

Maybe I do have a future here.

After the gala, I’ll tell him.