The Princess Affair (19 page)

“Mm. So I did. I take it you would, in fact, like to know our destination?”

“Please.” Kerry injected as much sarcasm as possible into the single syllable.

“Do you happen to know where your ancestors—the Donovans—are from in Ireland?”

“From the province of Munster,” Kerry said. “At least, that’s what my paternal grandfather always told us.”

“Correct. And do you know the name of the most beautiful county in the province of Munster?”

“Is this a trick question? Beauty is subjective.”

Sasha’s eyes sparkled. Clearly, she was enjoying her power trip. “Not in this case. It’s a fact. County Kerry, home of the famous Dingle Peninsula and Skellig Islands. Not to mention any number of charming towns and villages.”

Kerry laughed. “I take it we’ll be touring my eponymous county for the weekend?”

“Yes. Does that make you happy?”

Beyond words, Kerry leaned over and kissed her. Already, Sasha had exceeded her every expectation. Kerry could only hope she would be able to do the same.

*

Concealed beneath her wig and behind a pair of boxy spectacles entirely for show, Sasha felt quite pleased with herself as she watched Kerry sip from her cappuccino and survey the restaurant. Thus far, the trip was going exactly to plan. From the airport, they had driven to the small city of Tralee. Their hotel was a converted eighteenth century manor house, and their room—the best suite in the establishment—boasted a view of the River Lee, a king-sized bed, and a spacious bathroom equipped with a Jacuzzi.

After consulting with the hotel manager about restaurant recommendations, they had made the short walk into town to dine at a favorite local spot. They’d enjoyed their meal at a table near the fireplace, where they’d spent their time people watching and discussing some of the differences Kerry was already noticing between Ireland and her Irish American community in New York. Sasha had enjoyed the chance to hear more about her home, but mostly, she just enjoyed hearing Kerry talk. Eloquent and expressive, she tended to use her hands more when she became enthusiastic, and Sasha’s gaze had been repeatedly drawn to her slender fingers tipped with unpainted, close-cropped nails. As the meal went on, her desire had risen slowly and inexorably, like the tide.

Now they were just finishing their coffee, and Sasha was trying not to betray how much she wanted to leave. Finally, Kerry set her empty cup down on the saucer.

“That was delicious. Thank you.”

“It was. And my pleasure. Shall we go?”

Kerry took Sasha’s coat from the hook nearby and held it while Sasha slid first one and then the other arm inside. Kerry’s fingers brushed the nape of her neck as she adjusted the collar, and Sasha had to bite her lip to keep from making a sound. If she was already this sensitive to Kerry’s touch, how on earth would she feel in just a few minutes?

Just a few minutes. The thought made her dizzy with anticipation, and she slipped her arm through Kerry’s as they walked out into the night. Wispy clouds partially veiled the moon, lending the quiet street a ghostly aura. Kerry looked around eagerly, visibly soaking in her surroundings. She was experiencing this first taste of Ireland with a childlike enjoyment that was positively endearing.

By unspoken agreement they had kept their dinner conversation light. Now, though, Sasha wanted to reclaim the atmosphere they’d found in the airplane. She slid her arm around Kerry’s waist, relishing the freedom to be close. Thankfully, with her disguise, they appeared to have evaded the paparazzi. Ian followed a discrete distance away, but she was adept at pretending he wasn’t there. While she and Kerry would have to de-couple as a precaution before walking into the hotel, here in the near-deserted streets, she could be exactly who she was.

“I’ve been wondering something since our conversation this afternoon,” she said, injecting a deliberate note of flirtation into her voice.

“Oh? What’s that?”

“How old were you when you figured out how to…how did you say it, earlier? Take matters into your own hands?” Feeling Kerry’s body jerk at the question, she smiled into the darkness.

“I was eight.” Kerry slid her fingers into Sasha’s back pocket. “You?”

Acutely aware of the warm hand cupping her, she had trouble forming the words at first.

“Twelve or thirteen, I suppose. It was definitely in boarding school.” She bumped Kerry’s hip with her own. “Eight is impressive. You were precocious at everything, I take it?”

“Maybe so.” As they turned onto the gravel walk leading to the front door of the hotel, Kerry slid her hand out of Sasha’s pocket and put a few feet of space between them. Sasha missed her immediately.

In the lift, Kerry leaned back against the railing. Sasha forced herself to remain in the opposite corner, but she couldn’t stop herself from mentally planning out exactly where she would begin once she had Kerry in private.

“What does that look mean?” Kerry asked.

“That I’m going to devour you.”

Kerry’s eyes glazed over at the words, and Sasha barely managed to wait for the doors to reveal a deserted hallway before grabbing her hand and pulling her into their suite. After securing the deadbolt, she hooked her thumbs through Kerry’s belt loops and pushed until her back was against the door, then drove her hands beneath the sweater. Kerry’s head thumped against the hard surface and she groaned as Sasha raked her fingernails down the hot skin of her muscular torso, bumping over the well-defined ridges. Sasha loved coaxing those needy sounds from Kerry’s throat. She wanted to hear more.

In one smooth movement, she pushed up Kerry’s sweater and sports bra, exposing her breasts to the air. Full and firm, they fit perfectly into her palms. Desperate to taste her skin, Sasha leaned in to draw one coral nipple into her mouth while pinching the other. Kerry growled out her name and drove one leg between Sasha’s thighs, then wrapped her arms tightly around Sasha’s waist to pull her forward.

The pressure was exquisite, and for an instant, Sasha teetered on the brink of surrendering control. But no. No. She had waited too bloody long for this, and she was not about to be usurped. One hard twist to Kerry’s nipple made her knees buckle, and Sasha quickly took a step backward.

“Don’t you dare try that again,” she said, reveling in the magnificent vision of Kerry, breasts and stomach exposed, chest heaving. Completely at her mercy. “I’ve waited forever to touch you.”

“I’m afraid I’ll come apart as soon as you do,” Kerry gasped. “It’s been a while.”

The confession only ratcheted up Sasha’s desire. Her need was primal, fundamental, infused into the core of every cell. “No more fear,” she murmured fiercely. “I’ll take care of you. I promise.”

Only when Kerry nodded did Sasha move closer. “Shirt off. Now.”

As she complied, Sasha deftly unbuttoned Kerry’s fly to reveal black boxer briefs. She seized both hems and pulled hard then sank to one knee. Her stomach clenched at the sight of Kerry, slick and swollen, her body begging for touch. After one light kiss at the apex of her thighs, she pulled away. Kerry’s tortured moan sent a rush of power sweeping through her.

“Shh. I’ll be back. Take those off completely and come to the bed.”

While Kerry complied, Sasha turned down the bedcovers and dimmed the light. But when she heard Kerry approaching, she turned and stopped her with a gesture.

“Stay right there. Watch.”

Slowly, she inched her sweater up along her abdomen before raising it above her head. Sasha tossed the shirt aside, thrilling to the sight of Kerry, nude, standing before her with a look of pure lust on her face. Muscles taut and fists clenched, she was the paragon of strong, feminine sensuality. Quickly, Sasha shimmied out of her jeans until she was clad only in the elegant but sexy black lace set she’d picked out this morning.

She took one step forward and then another. Another. And then she turned, presenting Kerry with her back.

“Help me with the clasp, please.” A quaver in her voice betrayed her own need, but she was beyond caring.

Kerry’s fingers fumbled at the back of her bra before she disengaged the hooks. With an aching slowness, she eased the straps down Sasha’s shoulders, thumbs brushing the sides of her breasts as she freed them. Suddenly dizzy, Sasha found herself swaying, but Kerry steadied her with one hand on her hip. Her fingertips slipped beneath the waistband of the underwear.

“These as well?” she whispered.

“Yes.” Sasha heard her own breaths become ragged as Kerry complied, her light touch skimming down Sasha’s legs. Once she was naked, Sasha felt Kerry’s fingers trail back up to trace the tattoo on her right ribcage. Her skin pebbled in response.

“This is beautiful,” Kerry murmured. “What is it, exactly?”

“My mother’s coat of arms.”

She gasped when she felt Kerry’s warm breath against her ribs. Kerry’s hands cupped her hips, and a moment later Sasha felt her lips tracing the lines of the crest. Heat surged beneath her skin even as tears pricked her eyes at the worshipful touch.

“Enough,” she breathed, fearing she would soon be overcome.

Kerry stopped and gently spun Sasha to face her. Down on one knee, she looked the part of a knight awaiting command. “Tell me what you want,” she said softly, “and it’s yours.”

She was giving up control at precisely the moment she could have taken it. The realization thawed Sasha’s paralysis, and she pointed at the bed. “I want you on your back.”

Kerry was smiling ever so slightly as she eased between the sheets, turned onto her back and laced her hands behind her head. But then Sasha climbed up to kneel between her legs, and the smile was eclipsed by need. Sasha dropped her hands to Kerry’s strong thighs and leaned forward, pressing her palms into Kerry’s skin and then pushing up, up along her rib cage, up until she was firmly kneading Kerry’s breasts. When her eyes closed at the pleasure, Sasha pinched her nipples, hard. Startled, Kerry’s gaze returned to hers.

“I told you to watch.”

“Feels so good,” Kerry panted. “I don’t think I can.”

“You can. And you will, if you don’t want me to stop.”

Kerry’s hips bucked again. “Please don’t stop!”

“Then watch.” Drunk on Kerry’s surrender, Sasha slid her hands back down, thumbs dipping into the indentations between Kerry’s straining abs before continuing on to her inner thighs. Settling back on her heels, she urged Kerry’s legs apart.

“You are exquisite,” she murmured, running her fingers ever so lightly over Kerry’s most delicate skin and thrilling at the jerk of her hips. She gently spread her open, wrenching the sound of her name from Kerry’s throat. Never had she coaxed such responses from the body of a lover. It was intoxicating.

Dipping her head, Sasha licked her slowly, savoring that first glorious taste. As the rich flavor coated her tongue, she couldn’t help but lean in, increasing the pressure. Kerry shuddered, muscles tensing, and Sasha forced herself to pull back.

“No, please—” Kerry’s fingers fluttered against Sasha’s face before clutching a fistful of the sheet.

Sasha looked up to meet imploring eyes the shade of fresh bruises. She raised one finger to her lips and wet the very tip with her own tongue. Arousal sang through her as those eyes darkened even further. For a long moment, she remained poised at the entrance to Kerry’s body, breath cascading over the sensitive whorls and folds. And then, ever so slowly, she pushed inside.

Immediately, Kerry clamped down around her. Delighted by her responsiveness, Sasha fluttered her tongue and pushed deeper, one fraction of an inch at a time. And then, quite suddenly, Kerry’s body grew rigid. Sasha glanced up, watching the approaching ecstasy play across her face.

“I’m—”

Sasha hollowed her lips and crooked the very tip of her finger, and then Kerry was shattering beneath her, hips surging, groaning Sasha’s name. Sasha didn’t pull away until the tautness disappeared from Kerry’s muscles. Raising her head, she feasted her eyes on the body she had just worshipped, so powerful even in repose. Pride and desire and something else—something visceral and magnetic—swirled in the depth of her chest.

“You are a work of art.”

Kerry’s smile was brilliant. “Come here,” she whispered.

When Sasha stretched out on top of her, Kerry buried the fingers of one hand in her hair and pulled her down for a long, slow kiss. The knowledge that Kerry was tasting herself was inexplicably arousing, and Sasha couldn’t keep her hips from shifting restlessly against Kerry’s thigh. That small indicator of arousal must have been all Kerry was waiting for. Quite suddenly, Sasha found herself on her back with Kerry looming over her, hands pressed to the sheet on either side of her head.

The smile disappeared. Sasha watched the storm of emotion rage across Kerry’s handsome features. She reached up to grasp Kerry’s chin, locking their gazes.

“Touch me. I’m not going to break.”

With a groan, Kerry lowered her head for a bruising kiss that left Sasha gasping for air. No sooner had it ended than Kerry’s mouth was at her breasts, teeth grazing each nipple. Sasha clutched her head to pull her closer.

“Yes. Oh, yes.”

Kerry slid one hand between them and paused again, fingertips twitching against the skin of Sasha’s lower abdomen. Dizzy with need, Sasha gloried in the fierceness of Kerry’s expression. She was keeping her promise—letting go of the fear. It was beyond erotic.

“Take me.”

The first brush of Kerry’s fingers set off sparks beneath Sasha’s skin. At first tentative and exploring, her fingertips slipped and slid through her wetness, searching. And finding. Sasha’s head snapped back in pleasure as Kerry made her touch firmer.

“You feel perfect.” The ragged words were a harsh whisper in her ear. Before Sasha could process them, Kerry’s lips had closed around her earlobe. Twin bolts of arousal arrowed through her, colliding in her chest. Her hips lifted. Kerry pressed and circled.

“Ker—” The unexpected climax tore the breath from her lungs. She forced her eyes open just enough to witness the awe on Kerry’s face as the ecstasy took her.

Before she could even begin to catch her breath, Kerry was sliding down her body. Grasping both thighs, she pushed Sasha’s legs apart. At the first warm, silky stroke of her tongue, Sasha whimpered. At the second, she reached down to wind her fingers through Kerry’s wavy hair. When she tugged lightly, Kerry’s groan sent an answering echo of pleasure skittering beneath her skin. As Kerry lapped and sucked, Sasha pulled her closer, grinding against that incredible mouth.