Claiming The Prize (16 page)

Grace ran her palms over his
strong, wide back and down to his hips, drawing a groan from him as
he ground into her.
His hand covered hers and brought it to feel
the hard length straining against the cotton covering
him.

“
Feel how much I desire
you, wife,” he said, backing her against the turned down
bed.

Never breaking their kiss, Grace
pulled the drawstring at her bridegroom's waist, allowing the
material to open wide and fall to the carpeted floor in silence.
Drago hissed with pleasure at her forwardness and backed a step
away, wanting her to see his full arousal.

Her eyes widened at seeing his naked
form.
Apprehension tempered her awe at the sight of his proud
erection thrusting out from narrow hips.
Awareness of her own
nakedness faded during her perusal of her husband's, and Drago took
the opportunity to appreciate her lithe body before him.
Toned arms
hung at her sides, allowing his eyes to watch uninhibited as high,
firm breasts rose and fell with her breaths.
Rosy nipples jutted
out and up, demanding his attention.
He knew his hands would span
her tiny waist, and her hips curved nicely to meet shapely
thighs.

Unable to remain apart from her, Drago
moved toward her.

“
Lie back,” he invited as
he persuasively eased her onto the cream and cocoa bedding.
Positioning himself beside her, his weight on his forearm, he
fanned her dark hair to one side and found her lips skillfully
while stroking his fingers over her exposed neck.
He nipped her
full bottom lip before claiming her mouth forcefully, his hand
trailing lower, finding her breast at last.
She moaned
softly.

“
Yes, milenka,” he quietly
encouraged, “I want to know what pleases you.”

Drago continued his seductive assault,
caressing her thighs, hips, and breasts tenderly while his mouth
explored hers with fervor, heightening their arousal steadily.
Grace's hands wandered his body with growing boldness, her belly
tightening at each press of his manhood to her thigh.

Drago, sensing her blossoming
submission to these touches, trailed to the secret place at her
core.
She tensed at the new sensation, but he gently corrected
her.

“
Nie, Grace.
I want to
touch you.”

He smoothed the skin on her thigh and
began his caress anew, kissing down her throat.
When his mouth
covered her breast, Grace gasped and arched against his mouth.
Fire
burned through her, and her delicate hand found his engorged flesh.
Drago slowly increased his caresses as she flooded his palm,
intending to bring her to fulfillment before he claimed her body
and caused her any pain, wanting her to expect pleasure at his
future advances.
Her gentle cries of passion washed over him as she
moved under his hand, and he willed himself to maintain control
under her powerful touch.

Grace surrendered her body to her
lover completely.
Reveling in each firm caress, her passion soared
until a desperate wanting consumed her senses.
Ecstasy flooded her
mind and body at Drago's closeness, his breath on her sensitive
flesh, his pleasuring strokes between her legs, until the intense
pulse of her climax took her breath.

At her peak, Drago swiftly moved
between her thighs, replacing his hand with his thick erection,
rubbing his length over her to prolong her pleasure as he captured
her yielding cry of delight with his mouth.
Her hips opened to him
willingly, rising to welcome his presence.
He stilled then,
watching her flushed countenance, waiting as her eyes opened and
met his hungry gaze.

“
Drago..., I never knew,”
were her loving words to him.

He lowered his head and feathered
kisses over her lips and cheeks, bringing one arm around to cradle
the small of her back and the other under her head in a lover's
embrace.

“
I need you, Gracie,” he
said, his voice deep and husky.

Grace wound her arms tightly about his
shoulders and answered, “Love me, Drago.”

His black eyes bore into hers fierce
and gentle, wild yet compassionate as he pushed inside her with
deliberate languor, groaning low and deep as her body compressed
his fullness.
He stilled as soon as she stiffened in his arms, her
eyes showing shock at his first invasion of her.

“
Ah, sipková,” he
whispered, “I'm sorry.”

“
Don't be, love” she
whispered, brushing her fingers across his face.
“I'm
not.”

And he pressed into her deeply,
moaning with pleasure.

Grace held fast to him, stretched
beyond comfort around his thickness, consoled by his encompassing
presence about her.
The initial pain lessened, and her taut body
began relaxing as Drago's penetrating eyes knew her completely, as
did his body.
Tentatively, he moved within her, alert to her
response, and when she remained relaxed, he lovingly buried himself
within her tight form again and again, his pleasure building with
each gentle thrust.
Riding the edge of his control, prolonging
their joining and his pleasure, Drago kept his unhurried pace,
savoring his wife's softness against his hardened body.

She molded to him now, lips parted,
her dark regard locked with his.
His completion came upon him with
suddenness, and he surged into Grace, seeking unity with her body
and soul, emitting a violent cry as he spilled his seed deep within
her.

Chest heaving, Drago whispered honest
words of love and devotion between his kisses.
Overcome with
emotion, Grace cleaved to him, raining kisses across his lips,
murmuring his name.

“
Drago..I love you,
too.”

The lovers remained entwined, greedy
for continued closeness in the afterglow of their lovemaking,
holding and caressing one another in the night.

* * *

Drago awoke in the night, reassured by
Grace's body curved along his side.
Instinctively his hand sought
her, smoothing over her skin.
Reaching to pull the blanket over
her, he felt her stir, and her eyes fluttered open as she curled
closer into his warmth.

“
I did not mean to wake
you.”

She only smiled up at him, running her
hand across his lightly haired chest.
He kissed her forehead and
massaged her arm, slowly kneading up over her shoulder and down her
side.
Grace mimicked the gesture, running her palm across his
ribcage and solid abdomen.
He hardened instantly.
Rolling Grace to
her back, he stretched out at her side, chest hovering over her.
Slanting his mouth over hers, he indicated his renewed vigor for
her.

Grace enjoyed his ardent attentions,
her heart quickening under his touch.
Pulling him closer, her
breasts grazed his chest, further stimulating her senses.
Burrowed
in his neck, she explored his skin with her mouth, inciting his
passion fearlessly.

Drago hooked his wide hand under her
knee and parted her thighs, pressing her open with his body as he
sought her sweetness.
He devoured her with his mouth, pulling her
leg around his hip as he cupped her face and stroked her jawline
with his thumb.
He possessed her in a single thrust, stretching her
to capacity, her muffled cry of pleasure and pain stolen by his
unrelenting mouth.
Buried inside her, his powerful hand gripping
her hip, he rocked her deeper around his length, groaning his
pleasure into her mouth.
Sensually, he moved within her, pressing
upwards to stroke her swollen pearl with each thrust, needing to
feel her desire mount beneath him.

Awakened to the new pleasure of being
filled by him, Grace rocked to meet his inward thrusts, instantly
gratified by his gravely moan and her own climbing need.
His
pleasure encouraged her, and she synced her body with his, awed at
the delights of their union.
She cried his name aloud as he suckled
at her breast, and his next pulse into her brought her to sweet
fulfillment.
A gentle moan escaped her throat as her body clenched
him, taking him over the edge with her.

Drago spilled within her, his groan of
oblivion reverberating through Grace's entire being.
Thoroughly
spent, the newlyweds drifted together into sated sleep.

* * *

Soft lavender dawn crept into the
bedroom, rousing Grace from slumber.
Watching the sky lighten, she
lingered in the soft bed awhile before slipping soundlessly from
its comfort and finding her nightgown.
Padding to the kitchen, the
spicy aroma of brewing tea luring her, Grace discovered the
percolator.

Visnja and Ilija had thought of
everything, even setting up the automatic brewing for morning, she
mused.

Searching the cabinets and finding
mugs, she set them on the etched-concrete counter in readiness for
the finished brew, and pulling out a white, wooden chair, she
settled at the honey stained table, watching the sun rise through
the windows on the far living room wall.

She breathed deeply.
Contentment
enveloped her, and she contemplated the previous night's events,
reliving each detail in her mind's eye.
The rhythmic sounds of the
percolator ceased, pulling her back to the present, and she poured
the steaming tea.

Grace set the glass mugs on the
side-table and climbed under the covers beside Drago.
The movement
awakened him, and he reached for her naturally.

“
Good morning,” she
whispered.

“
Dubre rano, moja
ž
ena,
Good morning, my wife.”

“
Would you like some
tea?”

Drago pulled her closer.

“
Now this is the way a man
likes to be awakened,” he teased.
“A beautiful wife in his bed
bearing morning refreshment.
Yes, it is a good morning.”

Laughing softly together, the pair
drank and talked while the city below came alive with the new day.
This was to be their ritual throughout their married days,
beginning the morning together, sometimes in soft conversation,
sometimes in shared quietness.

The tall, pendulum clock in the
hallway chimed the seventh hour, signaling the usual time Drago
would shower and then eat to be downstairs to open his gym.
This
week, however, was different.
This week was for him and Grace
alone.

Invigorated at the peaceful start to
their first day, Drago inquired, “How are you feeling?
Are you very
tender?”

He ran his hand down her body,
stopping at the juncture of her thighs.
Even after what had passed
the night before, Grace lowered her eyes as a rosy blush crept over
her cheeks.

“
A little,” she
admitted.

“
You must soak in the bath.
Come on, Mrs.
Zadrovec.
I want you feeling well.”

His raised eyebrow and crooked smile
brought laughter to her as he lifted her from the bed.
Her face
blanched before turning a crimson red as she saw the reddish stains
streaked across the bed linens.

“
Do not be embarrassed at
the evidence of your innocence, Grace.
I am not.”

* * *

Grace sank into the steaming water
with a sigh of ease.
Submerged in its warmth, her body slackened,
head resting on the edge of the spacious tub.
Her dark hair was
piled atop her head, and the humid air caused the few loose wisps
to curl into loose ringlets around her face.

Her eyes examined the space, trying to
become familiar with her new home.
Ivory tiles covered the floor
interlocked with smaller ones of burnt orange, blue, and sunflower
yellow, creating an intricate pattern of color and shape.
The
plaster walls were painted a deep, cornflower blue, and against the
ivory pedestal sink and tub it gave a crisp, clean feel to the
room.
A modest bench seat covered the radiator, and Grace imagined
its warmth would be treasured through the winter.