Born of Legend (25 page)

Ushara smiled as she saw how fast Jullien removed the rest of his clothes and launched himself into the bed beside her. He playfully tackled her and rolled so that she was sprawled on top of his muscular body.

“Hi gorgeous,” she teased.

“Where did you learn that dance?”

“Oh … we need to talk. Fyrebloods have a very special kind of fertility dance we do. Didn't you know about that?”

“No. Damn…” He ran his hand slowly over her breasts before he lowered his head to tease them with is tongue and lips.

And speaking of … Ushara gasped as he tasted her with an unbelievable skill. Oh dear heavens! The things he could do with his tongue! He moved from one side to the other with a sensuous rhythm unlike anything she'd ever felt. It was so intense and incredible, so sensual and powerful that she actually came from it.

Unable to believe what he'd done, she stared in awe. “Jullien? What was
that
?”

Smiling as he laid her back on the bed, he slowly and methodically licked and teased his way down her stomach. “Did I forget to mention that I have a slight oral fixation? Hence my adolescent weight problem?”

She didn't know what he meant until he went a bit lower and lower still. Yeah … that was not a slight nothing.

That was a major set of skills and an incredible fixation her prince possessed.

Crying out in pleasure, she buried her hand in his thick dark hair as he licked and teased her without mercy. She lost count of how many times he brought her to climax before he finally took mercy and rolled away to reach for the condoms.

No one had ever been
that
thorough with her. Her entire body was shaking and weak. He'd left no part of her untasted.

But there was a strange somberness to him now that she didn't quite understand as he quickly, and quietly secured the condom without her help. He wouldn't even meet her gaze. Rather he reached out and gently brushed his hand through her hair with a great sadness that didn't make sense.

When she tried to roll to embrace him, he kept her back to him and entered her that way. Jullien nuzzled his face against her hair as he held himself rigidly over her, with as little weight against her body as possible. He very carefully and slowly thrust against her hips—as if he was terrified of crushing or hurting her.

He was so tense around her, that she wasn't even sure if he was enjoying himself. Honestly, she didn't see how he could be. For that matter, she was surprised he wasn't cramping from the effort of holding his weight off her. Rather, he seemed more focused on touching her as little as possible, and on keeping the condom secured.

Then the instant he came, he carefully pulled out of her—again so quickly she wasn't sure he'd climaxed completely. Making sure to keep everything in place, he was off the bed so fast that she was stunned by it.

What the hell?

And when he returned to her room a few minutes later, fully dressed to reach for his coat, she was pissed off totally. “What are you doing?”

With a baffled expression, he glanced at the bed and floor. “Did I spill some or hurt you? I tried to be as clean and gentle as possible.”

She gaped at him. “You don't just get up and leave.”

Now he looked even more confused. “You don't?”

And it was her turn to be shocked. “Do you?”

“Don't you?”

“No, Jullien. You don't. Ever.” Scooting out of bed, she went to him and pulled the coat out of his hands. She returned it to the settee. “Have you always had sex like
that
?”

He nodded.

She scowled at him. “Are you telling me that
all
your girlfriends treated you this way?”

His frown deepened. “I never had a girlfriend. Only paid companions. Their contracts were always standard, and very rigid with how much physical contact was permitted between us during sex, and what positions I was allowed so that I didn't cause them harm from my size. And how long I was permitted to stay after I finished.”

“Let me guess. Get out immediately?”

Again, he nodded.

She pulled his shirt off and ran her hand over his scarred ribs. “I'm not with an agency. And I'm not a paid booty call. Now get back in bed and let me show you what it's like to be with someone who actually likes you, and wants to be with you.”

There was a strange hint of reservation in his eyes as he peeled his boots and pants off, and obeyed her.

Once back in her bed, she realized just how bad it truly was. He really had no idea how to cuddle or hold someone in his arms. It would be funny if it didn't break her heart.

“Jules? Relax and stop being so tense. I'm not going to bite you.”

He turned even more stiff and rigid. “What did you call me?”

She froze. “Jules. Does it bother you?”

“No. No one's ever used that one before.” He looked so awkward, leaning back on her pillows as he struggled to get comfortable.

Shaking her head, she handed him a glass of wine. “I'm thinking we should have bought something stronger to relax you. I would have thought a prince would have spent a great deal of time lounging about in bed.”

All the humor went out of his eyes.

Her stomach tightened immediately as she realized she'd pissed him off. “What'd I say?”

“Nothing. You just a hit a sore topic for me. And no, though I was oft accused of it, I was never allowed to lie about in my bed. Or anyone else's.”

“Obviously.” She brushed her hand over his brow as she watched the haunted demons dance behind his hazel eyes. How she wished she could banish them from him. But as she skimmed her hand over the harsh, multitude of scars on his body, she knew it was impossible. They were a pittance compared to the ones that marred his bloodied soul.

How could they have been so cruel?

She paused at the mark by his heart where his grandmother had come so close to killing him. Wanting to soothe his pain, she dipped her head to gently lave the scar.

Jullien ground his teeth as he felt the heat of Ushara's tongue on his flesh, and he shivered. No female had ever touched him like this. His past companions had all been disgusted by his body. Revolted by his touch, they'd barely tolerated him in their bed. Seldom had they looked at him.

None had ever wanted to explore him the way she did. Never mind
cuddle
or hold him once it was over.

His breathing ragged, he cupped her pale head in his hand and marveled at the silken texture of her white, wavy hair. He'd never seen or felt anything like it. Or her skin either, for that matter. It was so pale and beautiful. Unblemished and perfect.

There wasn't a single mark on her.

It was as if the gods themselves profaned harming something so delicately pure and precious. He still couldn't believe she allowed him to touch her without conditions or restrictions. No female had ever granted him such an honor.

Smiling at him, she took the wine from his hand and set it aside, then slowly nibbled his scarred fingers. Chills spread over his body and sent a wave of searing heat straight to his groin, making him instantly hard again. And when she began to suck and tongue his thumb, he growled in pleasure.

Then cursed as he realized what else it was doing to him.

Ushara scowled as Jullien abruptly pulled away. “What's wrong?”

Cupping himself, he looked around her room and moved uncomfortably. “Do you have a towel?”

“For what?”

He gave her a strange look. “I assume you would know since you were married and have a child.”

“You came again already?”

Offended, he shook his head. “No. But I am starting to leak.”

“Yeah…” she dragged the word out, still confounded by his actions. “Males do that.”

He gave her a confused stare. “Which is why I need a towel so as not to soil your bed sheets.”

Ushara gaped as she finally understood.
“Keramon
, I don't expect you to be tidy in bed with me. It's okay.” She pulled him back into bed and forced him to uncover himself so that she could stroke him and prove that she didn't care in the least whether or not he soiled her sheets. “I don't mind. They will wash.”

Jullien couldn't fathom her tolerance for him. No female had ever treated him this way. The others he'd been with had been so repulsed by his body that they'd always acted as if every part of him was onerous and disgusting.

Biting his lip, he groaned as Ushara gently cupped and stroked him. And when she bent down to take him into her mouth, he found a whole new level of paradise he'd never known. His entire body shook from it.

Unable to believe this was real, he gently ran his hand through her hair and marveled at the miracle he'd been granted. He finally understood what Trajen had meant about finding peace in her arms. Right here. Right now, he was completely bare to her. And not just physically. Emotionally. He'd never been more honest with anyone else. She knew things about him that he'd never shared before.

And still she accepted him.

She
was
his Darling.

While he had no understanding or concept of love, he suspected that what he felt for her might be that. Or maybe it was cold-blooded terror.

He honestly had no way of distinguishing between the two. All he knew was that right now, she owned a part of him that no one ever had. For her, alone, he would kill or die.

Until this moment, he'd never once been touched by a kind hand. Never knew what it felt like to be wanted or desired.

And while he watched her tasting him, something inside him shattered wide open. Searing and hot, it flooded his blood with emotions he couldn't even begin to explain or sort through. With an audible gasp, he arched his back as she brought him to climax. He fully expected her to pull away and curse him for the lack of control.

Instead, she gently teased and wrung every last bit from his body until he was panting and weak. Only then did she slowly kiss her way up his abdomen and chest to lay herself over him like a soft, warm blanket.

Jullien held her against him as his head spun. He buried his hand in her soft hair and kissed her forehead while he savored this one moment of pure bliss. He wanted to say something profound, but words failed him. There was nothing that could convey the true depth of what he felt, and the last thing he wanted was to trivialize it.

Ushara looked up to catch the most open and unguarded expression on Jullien's face. His heart and soul were bared to her. Reaching up, she smiled as she brushed her fingers over his lips. “You are so handsome.”

He shook his head. “I wish I still had something to give you.”

“I don't need things, Jullien. Things have never mattered to me.”

“I know.” Rolling with her, he lay on his side so that he could reverently toy with her breasts.

Ushara bit back a smile as she watched him tentatively explore her body, as if terrified she was going to slap him or pull away at any second. “Don't worry. I'm not going to take it away from you.”

He snorted. “You say that … but that's what always happened in the past. One wrong sound or move and my conjunctive rights were instantly revoked. Sometimes for a month or more as punitive actions for it.”

“Conjunctive rights? Really? That's what they termed them?”

Nodding, he bent his head down so that he could blow a cool breath across her nipple.

She frowned as another awful thought went through her. “So how many different mistresses have you have over the years?”

He pulled back with a grimace. “Not that many. My grandmother had this uncanny ability to know whenever I was about to sign a new contract, and kept throwing my ass in prison right before I could make the meetings. Honestly, I think Merrell, Chrisen, or Nyran kept putting her up to it to make sure I stayed sexually frustrated.”

Had she heard that correctly?

Ushara cupped his chin and forced him to meet her gaze. “Prison?”

He nodded. When he went to dip his head again, she stopped him.

“Jullien? What prison? When? I didn't see that in your records. Only a couple of arrests. But no real jail time. According to your files, you were always released.”

He let out a bitter laugh. “There's a
lot
of shit that doesn't show up in my records. As for the prison, my grandmother has her own special hell that she keeps beneath the palace in Eris called the vörgäte. There are only two entrances. One in her bedroom and the other from the rooms of her personal bodyguard. It's reserved for the captives she can't afford to have in other prisons or dispose of through regular channels. It's where a large number of my family met their final fate and where one particularly mouthy tahrs spent a significant portion of his formative years.”

Her heart lurching, she kissed his brow. “I'm so sorry.”

He shrugged. “It's okay. At least down there, I didn't have to worry about one of my cousins knifing me while I slept. And you can always tell in photos whenever I'd just come up from a stint in her personal playground.”

“How so?”

“I'm usually thinner. A lot paler and either squinting or wearing really dark sunglasses, even indoors.”

Saint Sarn, she knew exactly the photos he was talking about. He also appeared very nervous or agitated in them.

No wonder.

“When were you in—”

“Shara,” he breathed, cutting her off. “If you don't mind, I'd really rather not talk about it. I don't want to think about the past right now. I'd rather just be here with you, and savor every second of this.”

Tears choked her. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her. “Okay.”

He carefully positioned his body between her legs and kissed her before he slid himself inside her again.

Biting her lip, she cradled his hips with her legs as she ran her hands through his hair and watched him watching her. The feral light in his eyes scorched her while he nuzzled her neck and growled in her ear. This time, he made love to her ferociously.