With a groan, I picked her up, my control gone. She wrapped her legs around my waist bringing her core against the rod of steel in my jeans.

She tasted like sin and heaven, and she demolished my control. This is stupid. You’ll never get her taste out of your mouth. The fuck I cared, though. I’d been craving her since the day I walked away.

When our lips met, it was tangle of tongues and teeth and searing heat. There was something in the back of my head screaming at me to take my time. To savor this because it might be a mirage. I had to tame the urge to devour her.

But Bryna didn’t shrink away as I bruised her lips and worked my way across her neck to take the lobe of her ear between my teeth. Nope, she moaned and clutched at my shoulders, the sharp bites of pain just sending my already crazed desire through the roof.

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” I rasped between kisses down her neck and her collarbone.

“You didn’t think I would find you?” Her words were breathy as I set her down on top of the kitchen counter. Her eyes were slightly unfocused and her lips swollen.

I grunted and nipped her bottom lip. “Fuck, I missed you.” The confession tripped off my tongue because I wanted to see it all over her, that dazed, needy look. I wanted to see it all the time.

She tucked her head, her voice soft. “You didn’t have to leave. It was a little drastic, don’t you think?”

My heart squeezed. “I did have to. I’m sorry. You don't even know how much. I wish I could explain. All I wanted to do was stay in your arms. To hold you close. No one will ever love me like that again. I know it. But I needed to leave in a way that wouldn’t get you hurt. But, you’re mine. Always will be mine.” To punctuate, I slid my hands over her ass and squeezed. My dick pulsed as she moaned softly.

I loved how she clung to me like she couldn’t get enough of the feel of my skin. Her touch made me feel like I was on fire. I picked her up. Bryna was slim but lush in all the right places. I could spend an entire night just worshipping her curves. Worship all you want, but it’s on borrowed time.

She moaned as I squeezed her soft flesh, hefting her higher so I didn’t have to break the kiss. If it were possible, I’d have my hands and lips all over every inch of her skin simultaneously. Desire rode me hard, making me crazed to do it all, touch it all, have it all at once.

“I didn’t want to miss you.”

Her words sliced deep. I hated to think of causing her pain. I drew back, and our gazes locked and held. In that moment I saw everything in her eyes. The pain, the worry, the love she didn't want to feel. “Bryna, I—"

She didn’t let me finish though, and her arms tightened around my neck.

“I—I need you.” Her words were strangled before her mouth was on mine, and she yanked at the front of my shirt.

Dimly, I heard the faint ripping of cotton, but it was swallowed by the roaring in my ears. She needs me. That alone was enough to chase the numbness away and replace it with fire.

We were a blur of movement as we wrestled to get out of our clothes. I moaned aloud when her teeth sank into the bare skin of my shoulder. With a growl, I shoved everything off the table and stretched her out.

Neither of us were gentle as we tugged, wiggled, and tore. When she was left in nothing but pair of sheer black panties. I salivated. Her nipples tightened under my gaze, the perfect rose points drawing my attention like beacons. My mouth watered just looking at her.

“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

I leaned over her and used my teeth to nip at those candy-colored buds. I had never felt like this before. Crazed to touch, taste, and stroke every inch. I wanted to drive her crazy and treat her the way she deserved. I needed to hear Bryna scream my name. Needed it like I needed my next breath. I needed her to say she wanted me to stay.

Didn’t she already say that?

I shoved the thought aside as I kissed down her torso to her belly button. She giggled and twisted her torso away from me. Her fingers slid into my hair and over my scalp with a not-so-gentle tug, and it make me chuckle deep.

“Stop teasing and make love to me.”

“I thought I was never going to see you again. I’m taking my fucking time. I plan on teasing you until you barely know your own name.”

Her moan hit my ears just as I buried my face between her thighs. That moan turned into a low groan as I nuzzled her slick lips. When the hell had she gone bare? Was it for someone else? Or had she done that for me? “You’re so smooth. This for me?”

“I—uh huh.”

“Naughty Bryna wanted to drive me insane. Well, it’s fucking working.” I licked deeper and harder until she was moaning wildly. “That’s it, just let go for me.”

Her fingers tangled in my hair, holding me in position. Hell yes. There was no way I was stopping. Not when I had the sweetest pussy in the world on my lips.

I felt the quiver in her thighs first. Then the thrashing of her torso on the table. When she came, her grip tightened, her legs locked around my head, and she let out a soft, keening cry. Her thighs clenched so tight I grinned. I’d done that. Marked her as mine. When I finally lifted my head, she was flushed and dazed, watching me with sleepy dark eyes.

“You taste amazing.”

“Lucas…”

He voice was soft and breathy and sleepy. “Oh no you don't. We’re not even close to getting started.” I stood, grabbed her by the upper thighs, and dragged until she was at the edge of the table.

With my other hand wrapped around my dick, I teased her soft lips and clit. “Oh Jesus.”

I watched intently. I liked teasing her. Just the tip. “Fuck, you feel so fucking good. I want to fuck you just like this.”

She thrashed. “Yes, Please. I just need…” her voice trailed.

I let the tip of my cock slide into her and my fucking eyes crossed. Jesus she was so damn hot. Beneath me, she bucked. I planted a hand below her belly to keep her still. “Fuck, don't fucking move.” I remember this being good, but damn. She was so soft. Involuntarily, I slid another inch inside.

Fuuuuuck. So good. Nothing has changed. Maybe, but I didn’t care. I was losing my shit. I pulled out and she whimpered. “I’m just teasing sweetheart.” I slid my dick over her lips again, back in my favorite position, right at Bryna’s slick entrance.

“Oh my god,” Bryna moaned as I slid inside in one smooth stroke. Her head fell back against the table with a thump. The look on her face was pure ecstasy with her parted lips and eyes rolled back.

I would have taken more time to appreciate the view if I hadn’t been so consumed by the sensation of being wrapped up in her. It was like having my dick encased in heaven, and I didn’t want to miss a moment. I clenched my teeth against the urge to come immediately.

Bryna was moaning and gyrating in my arms, making my job even harder. Then she clamped her arms around my neck and pulled my mouth to hers.

And the battle was lost.

I thrust harder and harder, ignoring the voice in the back of my head screaming for me to be gentle. She was so open, her soft wet flesh enveloping me over and over until she tensed and smacked my shoulder, tears streaming down her face.

“Fuck, I can’t take it,” I growled.

Bryna lifted her head. “Yes. Lucas. Lucas. Lucas.”

My name on her tongue was just the right frequency to trip my lack of control. I gave up the fight then and succumbed to the torrent of pleasure rushing up my spine. Having her eyes on me the whole time made it even more intense because I felt like I was inside her in every way, body and soul. When the last shudder of pleasure left me, I wasn’t sure how I managed to remain semi upright. “Jesus,” I dropped my forehead to hers. “You’re going to kill me.”

“Probably. But not before we do that again.”

“Jesus, I’ve missed you.” Wow, I was just pouring out all the feels. But fuck it. I didn’t care. She was here with me. Her presence alone had chased away the numb feeling of the last three months.

“Then come home, Lucas. Just come back. We could start over.”

With her barely audible words, full of hope and a plea, the heat started to fade. I lifted my head and met her gaze. “I wish I could. I really do. But I can’t. Not now.” Just saying the words out loud made it truer to me. I wasn't the royal bastard anymore. I wasn’t anything. There would be no going back and pretending.

She was better off without me.

Way to go, genius.

That was not what I meant to do. I’d come at the behest of the king and queen to get him to come home, only to find out he had no intention of ever returning. I’d gotten played… again. To be fair, you played yourself.

Though that wasn’t my fault. He wasn’t supposed to kiss me. And no, I shouldn’t have hit him. I was just so furious. And he was standing there looking delicious and smelling amazing and telling me he loved me, which just… no. No more. I didn’t want to believe it.

But you do want to believe it.

I slid my gaze over to his side of the bed. He was laid sprawled out, like a starfish. I’d only just escaped being stuck under his arms. He had the tendency to hold tight when he slept. I scooted out of the bed, gathered my clothes, and tiptoed out of his bedroom into the living room, then to the powder room off to the left. I didn’t dare risk a shower. I was just going to get my clothes on and beat it. The king and queen were on their own. I clearly had no influence over Lucas.

He loves you.

My muscles ached as I stepped into my underwear and then my jeans. God, what had I done? I would have to start all over again. It had taken weeks for me to start feeling anything after he left. And then I’d basically cried myself to sleep every night for a month. I had just started to feel… not normal, but like I could survive this. And now I’d messed up my whole recovery.

I was sore in places that my body was all too happy to remember. And it felt good. I smelled like him. And Lord knew, he probably smelled like me. Was I sorry about it? I wasn’t sure. Physically, I wasn’t. God, I needed that. A battery-operated boyfriend just wasn’t cutting it. So, yay for orgasms. But emotionally, it was going to hurt. It was going to hurt bad.

But you will live through it, just like you did the last time. Just don’t sleep with him again. There was no way in hell I could ever let that happen again. It was just too devastating. And frankly, how the hell was I supposed to sleep with anyone else again either? After what he’d done to my body? Part of me was starting to worry that I was never going to feel that with anyone else. It was just stupid really, but still, that’s how it felt.

When I met him, he was gorgeous but annoying. And then he’d become sort of a locked-up friend and eventually someone who dominated my every thought and action. Then I’d discovered what it was like to be with him, to know what it was like to have him hold me. I understood what it was like to have him kiss me on the forehead in the morning, roll over, and make love to me again.

I dressed quickly, knowing I’d failed. This was what happened when you sent me on a mission. Months ago, I’d had a mission to go to New York, and on my first day of assignment to start my career, I’d fumbled back, right? I’d almost ended up homeless on the street without a penny to my name. But Lucas had taken me in, like the prince charming he was, and had even helped me find a job. I hated that. I hated that I had needed help.

I was grateful. He was my first friend in the city. But then he walked out on me. All I could do was focus on my internship, my eventual job, and not falling apart.

And I’d survived him leaving. Barely. But I’d lived. And I’d thrown myself into working with artists. That had paid off. I just needed to make that my focus again and not get distracted. Listening to Jinx had been a mistake. Listening to Queen Penny had been a mistake. All that talk about love and closure. But all I’d done was reopen a festering wound.

But I could go back. I could focus on work, and I would survive again. Because this time I knew better. Back before I’d fallen for Lucas, I’d been convinced he was never going to get it. I needed to go back to that method of thinking. Not because he was a charming player, but because he made me feel too much, and I now knew exactly how dangerous that could be.

Yes, that was the plan. I needed to focus on that because it was the only thing saving me. Once I was dressed, I picked up my shoes, tucked my purse under my arm, and tiptoed out of the powder room. I was almost at the door when I heard the low rumble of Lucas’s voice. “I suppose I deserve this?”

I froze, my heart hammering in my chest. My breathing shallow, I forced myself to stop, take a deep breath, and turn around slowly. “We should never have done that.”

“Are you serious right now?”

I didn’t know what I was. I shook my head. “I don’t know, Lucas. I don’t know anything. I just… that wasn’t supposed to happen.”

He crossed his arms. “But it did, so what? You’re going to run now? You came an awful long way to just turn and run.”

“Look, I came to deliver a message from your brother. That’s all. You and I weren’t supposed to—” I cut myself off. Get your shit together Bryna. “Sebastian and Penny asked me to come and convince you to come home where you’d be safe. What happened just now was never my intention. It gets too muddy with us. Besides, you’ve made it clear you’re not coming back.”

“You know I can’t, right?” He pushed himself up off the couch and strode over. I felt like a lion was stalking toward me, ready and prepared to pounce. The problem was my lady parts were all, ‘hell yes for the pouncing,’ which was the last thing I needed. When he was too close, I attempted to take a step back, but the door was at my back. Lucas planted both hands on either side of me against the door. “You want to punish me? Walk out on me? I’m in your blood, and you’re in mine. After that, don’t think you can just walk away.”

“You walked away, remember?” I tipped my chin up. “Sebastian and Penny just needed me to get you to listen. I hope you do, because they’ll be trying next.” I drew in a shuddering breath. “I never wanted you hurt. Even when you hurt me so bad I thought I might die, I never wanted you hurt. That’s why I came. I want you safe. But you’re bad for me. You hurt me, and if I let you, you’ll do it again.”

“I am bad for you. I’m trying my best, Bryna, to be the good person you think I can be, but I’m just not. I never wanted to hurt you.”

“Yeah well, you should have tried harder before.”

“You cannot walk out on us.”

I reached behind me and turned the knob. “Actually, I can. Are you coming back?”

He was silent, but he didn’t let me pass. He leaned his face close, our breath co-mingling. My knees wobbled. If he kissed me, I’d be a goner and naked again in no time. My underwear was barely wearable now. If he ripped them off me again, they’d be shredded tatters.

“I love you.”

I turned and leveled my gaze on him. “I don’t believe you.” I don’t know where I found the strength, but I turned the knob and shuffled around him, quietly closing the door behind me as I left. I’d done my duty. I had asked him to go home. That was all I could do for the king and queen. Now all I had to do was pick up the shattered pieces of my life… again.