Chapter 34 - His For The Taking | 19

Chapter 34 – His For The Taking | 19

Her heart started pounding as he grabbed her waist and pulled her close.

“— mhmmm.”

Their tongues entangled in a passionate kiss. The kisses became frantic, it aroused both of them to their desires even further. Viola’s heart and head were ringing.

His lips upon hers became desperate, as though he wanted to drink every drop of it. He held her back and pulled her to him, his tongue rough inside her mouth. She felt like she was melting away in pleasure. Her knees were weak, and she buckled, but his hands around her waist held her aloft.

She got a hint of a pleasant fragrance amidst the dizzying moment. It was the scent of the bath. It soothed her to a lull as she surrendered herself to the sweet moment.

They both broke the kiss, gasping for air. “You taste like heaven,” he said.

She mumbled something incoherently in return, not being able to think straight. Before she could wrap her head around anything, he kissed her again.

Viola jumped back when she felt his erection. His hand quivered and pulled her even closer, deepening the kiss. Her head had gone blank, unable to think of anything else as she felt him harden and lost her ability to comprehend anything anymore.

“Share your love with him tonight … Viola.”

An unfamiliar voice drifted in her mind. Before she could decide if she had imagined it, the voice was no longer there. It felt strange.

“It would be good if you could focus a little, you know. It’s supposed to be our first night,” he said, sensing her momentary distraction.

He tilted her head back and deepened his kiss. She felt surprised at the pace her heart was beating.

He moaned. He was fully aroused, as was she. Her body quivered with heat. Hurriedly, he took off his clothes as he continued kissing her. He was naked from the waist up. She could see his well-sculpted chest.

That brought her back to her mind. Edward had muscles like that, she thought. Forgive me, Brother, for getting married to an enemy knight. I will avenge you, yet.

Viola closed her eyes and opened her lips a little. She didn’t know if he was looking at her. She slowly opened her eyes to find that he was looking at her with a gaze full of desire, his erect manhood a testament. He heaved a ragged breath and met her lips again.

“Wait, give me some time to prepare myself,” she said, holding her palm against his lips.

He kissed her palm and licked it. It made her dizzy. No matter how many times she stilled her resolve, it unravelled with each kiss he placed on her palm, her fingers, her wrist …. His mouth explored her hand, her arms, and gently bit her shoulder. She arched her back, his caresses made her breathless. He loosened his belt and his pants slid down, displaying all of him.

She wasn’t prepared for this. The sight filled her with fear. She had never done this before, and it terrified her.

“That’s … going inside me? Will it hurt?” she asked. She had seen him bare twice before, but both those times were when he was enveloped in the arms of River Judith swimming. However, this was the first time she had seen him aroused. She was overwhelmed with fear.

“It’s a little big.” He whispered in her ear, grinning.

Viola swallowed her nervousness.

“You don’t need to be scared. It’s all right. You won’t die. Hmm … You could die in a different sense. They call it ‘small death’.” His lips near her ears tingled her. That did nothing to soothe her nerves.

What does he mean by “a different sense”?

“There is a problem though,” he said, scrunching his eyebrows, “I have never done it with a virgin before, so I don’t know how.”

Viola was sure that this might not be possible. Surely, women would have gladly wanted him to be their first. She didn’t know if he was teasing her or was being serious.

“Seems like you don’t believe me. The people of the Arpen Empire are very accepting of sex. We hold our coming of age ceremonies much sooner. In fact, virgin women are considered unattractive,” he said, approaching her and grabbing her corset.

She stilled his hands. “Please wait.” She pleaded.

“Why? What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Not here, not like this,” she replied.

“Are you embarrassed?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, “I don’t want to be seen by others.”

He smiled and carried her into the bath. She didn’t feel as exposed there.

Viola saw some red petals floating in the water. “This … Are these Judith flowers?!” she exclaimed.

“That’s right. The flowers are put in the bath for the crown prince’s last hurdle. It is one of the steps in the ritual to receive blessings from the gods.”

It was high treason just to step on these precious flowers. If one picked them for anything at all, punishment was certain. These flowers in the bath for anyone else except the imperials was blasphemy. She didn’t understand how these petals could be here, even if it was by imperial authority.

Viola looked away as Lune crushed the petals with his hand and dropped them into the bath. It sent shivers down her back.

“It’s time for me to take that off of you,” Lune proclaimed.

His hands worked skilfully as he untied the corset in the bath. Viola closed her eyes and left him to it. She could breathe easier when he loosened the clothes and peeled them down from her breast. However, the relief was quickly followed by embarrassment on being so exposed. She felt Lune’s gaze on her body and his caresses on her breasts. Her pulse quickened, heart pounded.

“You are beautiful. It must have been frustrating to keep them confined all the time,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes.