rubbed against my clit. Pleasure warred with pain as I still adjusted to the newness of this. Finally, it was like I caught up. I didn’t need slower. I just needed more.
“Harder,” I begged of him. “Like before now. I can...I need it.”
He nodded once. “Whatever you want. Don’t you know that by now?”
He sped up, his body claiming mine again like he had every right to it, as though he owned every noise I made, every twitch of my muscles. They were his to command. I was his to own in that moment. It didn’t make me feel small. No, just the opposite. I loved it. Just for right then, I wanted him to say when, where, and how this ended for me. I would only find completion if he told me to.
“Come for me, Princess. I want to see you fall apart.”
His words unlocked the pleasure budding within me, and I broke with bliss. His name fell from my lips, and he swallowed my cries with a kiss. He pumped faster, chasing his own release as I came down from mine. And I enjoyed the sight of his body growing rigid. His jaw dropped. His eyes reluctantly closed, like the pleasure was too much. Each dip in his abs flexed, and I grabbed hold of him with my fingers, digging into the grooves of his body as he spilled his release inside of me.
He fell on his back beside me and grabbed my hand. We both stared up at the sky for a moment, neither of us knowing what to say and still reeling from what had just happened.
I bit my lip while looking down at the mess of dirt and blood and mud and leaves clinging to our skin. I smiled while trying to tease him.
“Wanna go for a swim?”
Chapter Eleven
I woke up on top of Cypress’s body. For once, he was still asleep, neither missing nor pissed off at seeing me after our night together. His breathing was even, his eyes still glued closed like he was quiet in the depths of sleep and not yet anywhere near waking. I breathed in the daytime. Yeah...we both stunk.
My idea of cleaning off for my parents had the opposite effect. He and I were both going to look like we’d been through a war. That was sort of funny in a ridiculous kind of way. Cypress winced in his sleep, and I smoothed his hair off his head. His eyes opened slowly, and he blinked. It took him a second to really see me, whatever dream or memory he was having haunting him for a second. I knew the feeling well.
“Hey, Layne.” His voice was low. “I think I was having a nightmare.”
I nodded, slowly, waiting for the asshole version of him to show up. Any second now, he was going to blow my good mood to smithereens. He squinted, like he was assessing me.
“What’s wrong? Why do you look so scared?”
I blew out a heavy breath, then gnawed on my lip before answering him. “I’m just waiting for you to start being an asshole again. Is this the part where you tell me it was a mistake and you hate me?”
He rolled his eyes. “Last night was a mistake. But I don’t regret it. Nor do I hate you, Princess. Though it would probably be better if I did.” There was so much to unpack in that statement I didn’t know what to say. “You are a princess. You literally can’t be with someone like me. Your family, your people—they wouldn’t allow it. When I say this is a bad idea, I don’t mean because you’re undesirable.” His hand landed on my upper thigh to accentuate the point. “I’m saying it because this can go nowhere. I’m an assassin. You’re a princess. We can only share the same enemies and a bit of fun right now.”
Once again, I felt consumed and chained to my birthright—a birthright I was still processing. I hadn’t really had time to come to terms with being out of Nightmare Penitentiary, let alone running a kingdom. It was a difficult spell to swallow.
“We should really clean up before we meet my parents. I also need clothes. Real clothes.”
Cypress’s eyes sunk lower, then grew heavy at the sight of my naked form. “There is a campsite nearby. I’ll steal you some clothes while you shower. We have to be in and out, though. As much as I’d like a repeat of last night, it’s