Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 29: After the Deluge

William clenched his jaw. "Well yes. It’s just that men are for friendship and women are for-" he clamped his lips shut before he said something truly vulgar in front of a princess.

Camilla giggled again, sounding half asleep. "I...feel dizzy."

"Yes that’s the cold. When your body temperature drops too low, it can make you feel like you’re drunk." William noticed that at least her teeth had stopped chattering quite so hard.

"Never been...d-d-drunk..."

"I should hope not." William felt as if his body was on a knife edge. Having a barely dressed girl pressed up against him was agony. He knew she desperately needed the heat from his bare skin to survive but all he could think about was his own craving for her body. He felt her arms gingerly slide around his waist, her fingers brushing his bare abdomen as she wrapped her arms around him. He felt his muscles clench under her feathery touch.

She shifted in his arms and when he looked down, he realised he could see part way down her chemise to the luscious smooth skin of her cleavage. He tipped his head back and shut his eyes tightly, wondering what grave sin he had committed to deserve this kind of punishment. She shifted again slightly as she buried her face in his neck, shivering.

"Stop squirming so fucking much!" William growled, both loving and hating the feeling of the curve of her hip pressing against his aching groin. "Why can’t you just sit still?"

"Sorry...am I...making...you uncomfortable?" her lips brushed against his neck when she spoke and her innocent question nearly broke his resolve.

Despite his best efforts, William groaned, feeling the blood churning through his body feverishly. He tried to shift away slightly in desperation and bit his lip so hard he tasted blood.

Suddenly he felt the girl shifting slightly again, mumbling drowsily, "Ouch. What’s this hard thing...against my hip..." Her hand brushed against his inner thigh.

"No!" William gave a panicked yell, feeling her startle. "Fuck no, do not touch me there!" He quickly grabbed her hand and pressed it to his chest, his breath heaving.

"Sorry." Camilla whispered, her head dropping back down to his shoulder, with no understanding of the chaos she’d nearly caused.

She eventually turned still and he felt her relaxed, even breathing against his neck. She was no longer ice cold. He placed his fingers on her throat and felt her steady pulse. He figured there was no harm in letting her sleep for a while now. At least asleep, she wouldn’t be rubbing her delicate curves against his body and making him want to scream. William shut his eyes, praying the rain would stop soon before disaster struck.

- - -

Camilla slowly opened her eyes, groggy and completely disoriented. She felt warm and cozy, vaguely recalling being cuddled in her father’s arms as a little girl. She closed her eyes again and nestled against the hard warmth pressed to her.

Then her eyes popped open. Where was she? She could see the woods around her, misty through the light drizzle still falling. Looking down, she saw a pair of bare arms locked around her waist and a long leg stretched alongside her. Too scared to make a sound, Camilla very slowly eased out of the embrace and looked behind her.

Prince William was sitting propped against the cliff wall, fast asleep with his head tipped to one side. He was completely bare chested - when had he taken some of his clothes off? With his expression relaxed and the intensity of his stare shielded, he looked younger.

Camilla felt the heat rise to her face as her gaze drifted over him, feeling like she shouldn’t be looking. At the same time, she was fascinated by his body.

He was lithe and strong, a column of lean muscle and smooth skin. Camilla had never been so close to a man, especially a partially undressed one. Her hand slowly drifted to his stomach and was tempted to trace the line of his abdominal muscles.

Just before her fingers touched him, she happened to glance down and saw she was only clad in her thin chemise. She gasped in horror and crossed her arms over her chest.

William was jolted awake by her sharp intake of breath. He blinked slowly at her, then yawned and sat up. "How do you feel?"

"Fine." Camilla curled up into a ball, mortified. What had happened to her dress? "Ummm...how did we end up here?"

"We got caught in a storm and you nearly died from the cold because your dress got so wet." He stood up and languidly stretched his neck, either not noticing or not caring he was shirtless. "How much do you remember?"

Camilla shook her head weakly, desperately trying to unscramble her foggy mind. She could remember getting caught in the storm and losing her horse. But she could only recall vague snippets after that.

William picked up his shirt and tunic from the ground and pulled them on. "The rain has almost stopped. We should be alright to ride back to the castle." He looked down at her, frowning. "Why are you just sitting there? We have to head back before sundown. Otherwise I’ll have a lot of explaining to do to the king."

Camilla knew her face was fiery red. "But I don’t have a dress..."

William clicked his tongue in irritation. He picked up her dress which was in a sodden pile on the ground and started slowly wringing the rainwater from it, section by section. Camilla was amazed at the amount of water that poured out. "Goddamn ridiculous dress." he muttered.

After a few minutes, he said, "This is the best I can do. It’s still wet but not so much that you can’t wear it to ride back to court." He dropped the gown on the ground next to her, then turned his back so she could get dressed.

Camilla shivered as she tugged on the gown, the cold clammy fabric sticking to her skin. William had to help her secure the ties at the back. She noticed his tense expression and how he did all he could to avoid touching her. She couldn’t even blame him, knowing she must look a feral mess.

When they stepped out from under the rock ledge, she spotted William’s horse tied to a nearby tree. It was then she remembered that she had lost the queen’s horse and her heart sank.

"I don’t have a horse to ride." she said quietly. "What should I do?"

"The horse won’t have run far. I’ll send a couple of servants to search for it at first light." William impatiently gestured she should mount his horse. After helping lift her onto the saddle, he mounted and sat himself immediately behind her.

Feeling thoroughly chastened, Camilla ducked her head in embarrassment and the ride back to the castle began. "I’m sorry for causing all this trouble, my lord."

"More trouble than you’ll ever know." she thought she heard him say behind her.