Corrupted by the Prince (A is for Alpha Book 5) (7 page)

Eva must have had the same thought, because before he could reach to tug down her straps she reached up to do so herself.

His breath caught as she peeled the clingy green fabric inch by inch downward. More and more smooth flesh came into view. Soon there was so much more than just the tantalizing swell at the top of her breasts. The pale flesh was interrupted by taut, berry-colored nipples and his mouth went dry.

Beneath his swim trunks his flesh hardened further. She pulled the fabric off her breasts, baring them to his hungry eyes.

She hesitated after that, seeming suddenly shy to go any further.

He held her gaze, trying to reassure her silently that she had nothing to fear. Reaching for her, he cupped one perfect breast in his palm, grazing the nipple with his thumb.

A tremble rocked her body and her lashes fell over dilated pupils. Wanting the rest of her naked, and knowing she couldn’t be comfortable in the wet swim costume, he curled his fingers in the fabric and peeled it down the rest of her body until it fell to the floor.

She stepped out of it and kicked it to the side, giving a small, unsteady smile.

For a moment he thought she would cover herself. She lifted her hands as if to do so, but then stepped close so their bodies brushed, blocking his view of her that way. He couldn’t be disappointed, though, as she reached up to touch his chest. Beneath her fingers, his skin tingled. The hairs lifted.

“You’re so hard here,” she whispered.

He grimaced. “That’s not the only place I’m hard.”

“Here too?”

She wrapped her fingers around his erection and he let out a hiss of pleasure.

“I will not last long if you do that,
glykia mou
.”

“What does that mean? Will you tell me?”

He threaded his fingers through her wet hair. “My sweet.”

There was a pause, then she turned her head just enough to press a kiss to the skin just above his collarbone.

The small action snapped the feeble thread of control he’d held onto. With a low growl, he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed, blinded by nothing but this passion between them and the need to satiate it.

He lowered her onto the plush comforter and then straightened to take a moment to remove his swim trunks. While his hands were preoccupied undressing, he touched her with his gaze.

She entranced him. Creamy skin with freckles sprinkling her body like an afterthought of an artist painting a work of art. She was not voluptuous, but the curves she had were understated and perfect, gracing her body wonderfully. The only place she was a bit curvier was her backside—which had tempted him from the beginning.

He wasn’t the only one making observations. Her blue-green gaze moved over him, alight with desire and maybe a hint of apprehension.

Her gaze lifted again, colliding with his, and just like that the apprehension vanished and nothing but need lingered. Her lips were swollen from kissing, her hair disheveled and damp. She was a goddess in his bed.

“Beautiful. You are so beautiful, Eva.”

The words seemed a cliché. And maybe they were. He couldn’t deny he’d spoken them before to other women, but he couldn’t be sure now that he’d ever been sincere before. That he’d ever been so captivated at the sight of a woman.

“So are you.” She blushed. “Handsome, I mean. A Greek God come to life to be my f…” She lifted her chin and gave a small smile. “My fantasy for the evening.”

Undressed now, he joined her on the bed and eased onto his side next to her.

“Only this is no fantasy.” He traced his fingers over her ribcage and slowly upward. Her body trembled beneath his fingers and her nipples tightened further. “Everything is real, and tomorrow—”

“Shh.” She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled his head down toward hers. “I don’t care. I don’t even care that you’re a prince. I only care how you make me feel right now.” She kissed him softly. “Make love to me, Kostas.”

Eva didn’t want to tell him this was her first time. She’d considered it, briefly, but the fear of him calling things to a halt had her biting her tongue.

There was a fairly good chance he wouldn’t even notice anyway. She was twenty-five. Any physical evidence of her being a virgin was long gone.

Before she could second guess her decision, he crushed his mouth down on hers, driving her lips apart with his and kissing her until she couldn’t form a coherent thought.

Then his mouth lifted from hers and he began a trail of kisses downward, tracing the curve of her jaw to the hollows of her throat.

Each sensual kiss sent liquid heat through her body and she moaned softly, her hips arching. He pressed a kiss to her furiously beating pulse and cupped one hip, holding her still.

Her breath locked in her chest as he moved lower. Kissing the tops of her breasts and then moving achingly slow south.

She wanted his mouth there. Needed it. But he couldn’t be rushed.

His breath warmed her nipple and she bit her lip, trying not to cry out. When his mouth finally closed around the tip, she lost all restraint and gasped.

He suckled her breast, each flick of his tongue against her making the sweet ache low in her belly increase.

“Kostas.” She blindly delved her fingers into his hair, clutching him as her legs moved on the bed.

More
. Oh God, she needed so much more. For the first time in her life she wanted a man to the point where the idea of putting a stop to this would’ve been insanity.

He switched his mouth to torment the other breast, while at the same time he trailed his fingers toward her aching center. When he cupped the sensitive flesh between her legs she released a shuddering moan.

Never had someone other than herself touched that spot. The intimacy of it, and the sensuality, had heat stealing up into her cheeks.

He teased the trimmed curls, murmuring soft words in a language she didn’t speak, before sliding a finger inside her and making a guttural growl against her breast.

Eva caught her breath and her body instinctively clenched around the sensual invasion.

He probed and teased, bringing only pleasure as he discovered her body. With expert ease he brought her to the edge of release. He moved to torment the sensitive nub hidden in her folds, and when the callused pad of his thumb pressed hard against her, she was so tightly wound that she tumbled into ecstasy.

Stunned and with tears of pleasure flooding her eyes, she clenched her fingers in his hair and drew in ragged breaths.

“I should go slow,” he whispered against her breast. “Find each enchanting freckle on your body, but I cannot, my sweet. Not this time.”

He eased off her and reached into a drawer beside the bed. She watched, boneless and disorientated, as he fumbled to open the condom. After struggling for a moment with unsteady fingers, he ripped it open with his teeth and rolled it over his rigid flesh a moment later.

She stared only a moment at the most masculine part of him before lowering her gaze. Her pulse quickened and a wave of apprehension washed over her. Maybe she was inexperienced, but she didn’t need anyone to tell her that he was on the large side.

Before she could think too much about what would happen next, he returned to the bed and claimed her mouth in a searing kiss.

Any apprehension melted away as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. He moved on top of her, his thighs parting hers.

The miniscule hairs on her body lifted as she felt the thickness of him probe the opening to her body. He cradled her jaw, softening the kiss, becoming almost revenant, when he slid inside her.

There was only a little resistance from her body, a pang of discomfort that jerked her from the sensual moment. Eva bit her lip, willing her muscles to relax and fully accept him.

Kostas went still and she bit her lip a little harder, certain he’d discovered the truth.

“You are paradise,” he said raggedly and began to slowly move. “What have you done to me, Eva? You’re like a drug.”

Her head spun with pleasure, and she couldn’t form a reply, though he probably didn’t expect one. His face was twisted with pleasure, his eyes glazed as if she were indeed a drug affecting him.

She caressed his back, her nails lightly pressing into the skin there as she moved her hips experimentally to meet his thrusts.

He moved slow at first, stroking deep and then dragging back out. Her heart pounded and the coils of heat wound through her muscles again.

But each thrust seemed to strip his control, until he was moving faster. Harder. Taking her inexperienced body in a way that she knew would leave her sore in the morning. None of that mattered, because pleasure overrode every other sensation.

He swooped his head down to claim her mouth again, his tongue thrusting against hers and matching time with their intimate rhythm.

The need for release wound tighter, and he knew exactly what to do as he reached between them to touch her again. The climax was smaller this time, but more sensual because he came with her.

He choked out her name and fell heavily upon her. His face against her neck as his body shuddered from his own release.

It took a while before her heart slowed. She moved her hands over his muscled back and closed her eyes.

Incredible. There was no other way to describe what had just happened. She knew that whatever happened tomorrow, waiting for tonight—for Kostas to be her first time—had been the right choice.

“Thank you.”

She hadn’t even been aware she’d whispered it until he lifted his head to look down at her.

“Did you just thank me for making love to you?” The incredulity in his voice had her blushing.

“I guess I did.” She gave a husky laugh. “Should I not have?”

“I adore that you did.” He placed a gentle kiss on her lips. “Did I hurt you?”

The breath locked in her throat. “What do you mean?”

“You seemed uncomfortable for a moment.” He hesitated. “Had it been a while?”

She blinked, mind fumbling with how to reply.

He swore and grimaced, easing off her body to lie beside her. “You don’t have to answer that. It’s crude to ask—”

“Yes. It’s been awhile.” He’d offered her a way out, and she took it to avoid the other conversation that would’ve occurred.

Actually, Kostas, you were my first. Hey, congratulations and please don’t let this get awkward.

No thanks.

She didn’t need to ask if it had been a while for him, because she had a fairly good idea of the answer. Why did that sit so heavily in her heart?

Her euphoric mood a little diminished now, she tried to focus on the present again. She propped herself up on her elbow and stared down at him, easing the hairs on his chest with her finger.

“I like the smell of that candle.”

“Do you? It’s
Ylang-ylang
scented.” He smiled. “It’s sensual and quite soothing.”

“Mmm, I agree.” She paused as a thought hit her. “It was already burning when we came inside, did someone light it for you?”

He hesitated. “Yes, my bodyguard.”

“Oh.” Was this some kind of pre-seduction ritual? “Kind of a fire hazard, don’t you think?”

He caught a strand of her hair and twisted it around a finger. “Next time we will skip the candle, if you’d like.”

Next time. Her heart quickened.

Change the subject. Keep it light
.

“You didn’t really sleep with your brother’s fiancée, did you?”

That wasn’t exactly light, and maybe she shouldn’t have asked, but curiosity overrode her usual manners. She knew better than anyone knew how media worked. It was probably one night where the two had been photographed together, and the gossip mill went wild.

Kostas gave a half smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Yes. I did.”

“Oh.” Was her lame reply.

Note to self: Don’t ask questions you really don’t want to know the answer to, Eva.

She waited with suspended breath for him to explain, or to try to give some kind of defense about what had happened. Instead he just wrapped an arm around her and silently encouraged her to snuggle close.

With her mind racing in her head, she told herself not to get all worked up about it.

She snuggled close and listened to the steady thumping of his heart beneath her cheek. Drowsiness began to take over and she realized the past didn’t matter.

What mattered was the incredible evening they’d shared together. Besides, who really knew what tomorrow would bring?

When she woke up the next morning, she had her answer. It brought an empty side of the bed, and a black-suited bodyguard informing her she would be driven home at her soonest convenience.

Kostas moved briskly down the corridor of the north wing of his Mykorini home, his face as hard as the stone walls of the castle that surrounded him.

He ignored the stares, the fervent whispers, but mostly the heavy sense of sympathy and dread from the employees and extended family throughout.

At the end of the hall he made a sharp left and entered the medium-sized sun room. His mother sat on the Victorian parlor couch in the corner, staring out the window that looked out over the turquoise waters of the Mediterranean Sea. There was a handful of other people in the room. Distant relatives and his mother’s assistant of several decades.

They all glanced his way anxiously as he entered, but no one spoke.

“You arrived quite quickly.” The toneless words were spoken in Greek.

“Of course.” He sat down beside her on the couch and reached for her hand. “How are you?”

She clutched his fingers, giving the tiniest shake of her head. “I am fine. It was the others who did not fair as well.”

His chest tightened and a wave of pain slammed into him. While on his private jet home he’d been apprised of the massive earthquake that had struck Mykorini and the islands nearby.

There was extensive damage to the infrastructure of buildings and roads. The death toll was at thirty-six.