Chapter 7

Andrew

I thought that since becoming a king, I had become a patient and rational man.

But all of that went out of the window as soon as Ash walked through that fucking stable door.

I never thought I’d feel this way about a woman. I’ve had potential brides pushed toward me before, but I’ve always been at the liberty to refuse them when I realized that they were...ultimately...boring.

But Princess Aisling is a whole different breed of woman, and when she’s near me, I almost lose myself in my thoughts of being with her.

My heart begins to beat faster, and I feel my cock stir in my pants as she looks around the stable to find me. From the first moment I saw her, I knew she was too good for Fergus...

That’s not difficult, though. Everyone knows that, of the island nations, Fergus might be one of the shiftiest rulers of them all. The women find him attractive—if you like the slick, executive style of royalty, but as soon as they get to know him, the truth is revealed.

No amount of hair gel can slick back and style his shitty personality.

Ash shouldn’t have to marry him, but it’s out of my hands. I agreed to host the wedding because my advisors and I decided that it might bring us favor—since Ash’s country has bountiful farming land and Fergus holds a lot of the wealth in this part of the world.

Wealth that would be wielded against me if Fergus found out what his fiancée and I have been getting up to in the apple orchard...

But, fuck, she’s just so damn sexy.

“Hey, stranger,” I say as Ash leans up against the side of the stable wall.

She’s looking at me like she wants something, and those gray eyes of hers are hard to resist. “What’re you doing out here?”

“I’m tending the horses.” I motion to the brilliant white horse beside me as I brush through his mane. “These will be the steeds who will pull your wedding carriage.”

For a moment, Ash looks a little bit annoyed that I mentioned the wedding. She may have postponed it for me, but it isn’t cancelled. I need to remind myself of that, too—I need to forget her.

For the sake of the kingdom.

“I’m glad they’re in such experienced hands,” Ash ends up saying, clearly choosing not to vocalize her annoyance. And then, “What about Ness? Will he be pulling the carriage, too?”

I shake my head, with a look on my face that says, Don’t make me sacrifice my horse for your wedding. I can tell that Ash understands me perfectly.

I struggle past the uncomfortable silence by changing the subject. “And what brings you out to this part of the castle, Ash?”

“I was wondering where our gracious host had gotten to and what he was busying himself with.”

“And now you’ve found me and what I’m busying myself with.”

“I have, indeed.”

Ash smiles at me, her plump lips curling into a wicked grin. She inches further into the stables, but not before she checks over her shoulders each way.

I know there’s no one else around, and I bet she does, too.

We’re alone.

I clear my throat and turn away from her slightly so that Ash can’t see the effect she’s having on me.

“It’s probably not wise for you to be here, Ash…”

“Why not? There’s no one around, and no one would hold it against me if I wanted to thank the man who’s so generously hosting my wedding in his castle.”

“And how exactly do you intend to thank me?”

“Any way you’d like.” Ash winks at me, her beautiful face still glowing with her satisfied and teasing smile.

“You shouldn’t say things like that.”

“Or what?”

“You know what, Ash. I need to control myself...you’re so fucking gorgeous, and it’s not like you make it easy.”

“Why do you need to control yourself, Drew? We’re all alone here; no one will catch us.”

“But what if they do?” I remind her, stepping away from the horse. “What about the alliance?”

“What about it?” Ash steps toward me once more, closing the gap between us. It’d be so easy to reach out and take her...

“We shouldn’t.”

“I want you.”

“I’ve got work to do.”

As much as it pains me to do so, I turn my back on her and approach the horse.

“Work?” Ash questions, but there’s a playfulness in her tone that tells me she’s teasing. “Oh, Drew, it’s too hot to work...unseasonably so...”

“Then why don’t you go inside and cool off?”

“I am inside. What’re you suggesting, Drew?”

Ash’s voice begins to fade and grow quieter, and I turn around in time to watch her slip around the corner of the stall and into the next.

“Where are you going?”

“Why don’t you come and find out?”

I look at the horse for a moment, as though I’m expecting it to answer me. It obviously says nothing and simply exhales with one sharp burst of air. The scent of its breath is a reason alone to follow after her.

I swing around the corner, running my hands over the wood, and Ash is waiting for me. She sits, innocently swinging her legs, on a pile of hay.

She cocks an eyebrow, and I know—though I won’t admit it to myself just yet—that she’s won.

“You really do deserve to take a break, Drew. I’m getting hot from just watching you.”

Ash stands from the hay and takes my hand, pulling me toward her and twisting me round until I’m sitting where she was.

Then, I begin to see her hips move, as though there’s an invisible tune being played through the stable. Ash rolls her body like she’s a natural dancer, and I can’t help myself from watching her.

She drinks in the attention and smiles a little bit wider. Her eyes never leave mine as she begins to move closer once again, until she’s practically in my lap. Every time our limbs brush against each other, I feel a jolt of electricity up my spine.

But I do nothing to stop her.

Ash continues to slowly sway and dance. I reach out with one hand to touch her waist, but as I come within range of her skin, she smacks my hand away.

“Nuh-uh, it’s too hot for touching...”

“Oh, is it?”

“Yes.” Ash nods, and her fingers move to trace over the hem of her light kimono jacket.

She begins to shrug it off, and the fabric inches down over her shoulders.

“Do you know what else it’s too hot for?”

“What is it too hot for?” I ask, playing to her teasing.

“Clothes.”

The kimono jacket drops to the floor, almost unceremoniously. It pools at her feet, and Ash kicks it away.

With her jacket out of the way, Ash runs her hands over her exposed shoulders and collarbones. She stands in between my legs—close enough for me to see down the front of her dress and peek at the lacy lingerie she’s wearing.

But something tells me I’ll be seeing it a whole lot more clearly, if only I’m patient.

Ash’s fingers begin to work over the buttons of her dress, and she slowly pops them open, one by one. The fabric falls away to each side, inch by inch, revealing more of her bra and her breasts.

My cock really is beginning to strain in my pants now, pushing against the fabric and aching to be freed.

I reach out to touch the straps of Ash’s dress as it slips down her shoulder, and her hand slaps me away again just as quickly.

“You have to be patient, Drew.”

“I’m trying...”

Ash leans in toward me, resting one hand on my upper thigh and brushing her thumb against the tip of my cock through my trousers. I almost buckle at her sudden touch, and when she moves her hand away again, I crave more.

Straps of her dress fall down her arms until the thin fabric is only being held up by her breasts. Through Ash’s lingerie and dress, I see her nipples begin to harden.

It would be easy to reach out and touch them, to kiss them...

The dress drops to the floor, and Ash stands before me in her lace lingerie. She’s still delicately moving her hips from side to side, and I watch how the lights and shadows dance across her skin. Each time I see her undressed, it’s like the first time.

She’s a marvel to behold; her beauty is uncontainable.

Ash turns her back to me, and I watch, fascinated, as her shoulder blades move when she begins to unfasten her bra. Easily, the fabric falls away and, using one hand to cover herself, Ash uses the other to hold out the bra. She looks at me over her shoulder as she drops it to the floor with the rest of her clothes.

I can’t take this anymore.

I stand from my seat on the hay and close the space between us in seconds.

It takes no effort to lift Ash into the air, clad in nothing but her panties and her pumps, and I toss her down onto the hay pile that I had been sitting on.

“Hey, what happened to patience?”

“No. I’m done being patient.”

I hook my fingers around her panties and tear them down across her legs and toss them away from us.

I drink in the sight of Ash, already wet for me, with her legs spread, waiting for me to fuck her.

“I fucking want you.”