Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 66: In The Fading Light

He saw a range of turbulent emotions in her eyes, so different to the cool detachment she usually faced him with. She repeated in a calmer voice, "I wasn’t ignoring you." And then she raised herself on tip toes to kiss him on the mouth without any hesitation.

It was like being struck by a bolt of lightning. William quickly cupped her face with both hands and kissed her back hungrily as her lips parted. Wrapping one arm around her hips, he then lifted her up off the ground slightly and pivoted until she was the one with her back pressed against the wall. He heard her moan softly, which made the already feverish heat already running through his entire body, burn even higher.

He licked and then suddenly nipped her full lower lip, cursing the layers of clothing between them. He felt ravenous, wanting nothing more than to feel her hot, bare skin pressed against his. Instead, he had to make do with pushing one of his legs between hers as he kneaded her hips. She writhed as he ground against her and he felt like screaming from pent up frustration.

He rubbed his tongue against hers over and over again. More, the voice in his head kept repeating. I need more. Breaking the kiss, his mouth trailed the edge of her jaw and kissed the freckle under her ear, like he had dreamed of doing for months. Then his hot mouth trailed lower, down her neck until he felt her quickened breath catch in her throat and her arms tighten around him.

He groaned as he buried his face in the crook of her neck, taking in the delicious scent of her hair and skin. He could feel her rapid heartbeat thudding under his lips as he muttered, "Fuck. Why do you have to taste so good?" He was tempted to nip her neck but held off, not wanting to risk leaving a mark that would require copious explanations. He ran his tongue down her throat and up again, savouring the taste of her. Pulling the neckline of her gown aside roughly, he grazed her exposed shoulder with his teeth.

He then tore his mouth from her and looked down at her, their lips only slightly apart. Her cheeks were flushed and her breaths were coming as quickly as his own. The image of her moaning and writhing beneath him filled his mind and it was excruciating.

"Just lie with me, dammit." He could hear the pleading note in his voice, but he didn’t care. He was willing to humble himself if it meant she would share his bed. He was absolutely dying to explore her untouched body.

"You know I can’t do that." she whispered, but she didn’t sound absolutely certain.

"Come on." He would happily resort to outright begging for this woman. "Don’t you want to? Aren’t you even the least bit curious?" He brushed his lips against hers teasingly between words, trailing his hands gently up and down her sides.

She smiled a little, shyly, and shook her head to deny his words, but they both knew she was lying. Her hazy eyes and ragged breathing, the way she clung to him, told William she desired him as well.

He smiled. He had always loved the thrill of the chase and the prize at the end of this chase would surely be worth it. After what felt like an eternity, he had finally sparked her desire. All he needed now was a little more time to convince her-

He felt her gasp sharply again but this time with fear, not pleasure. She was no longer looking at him but over his shoulder, her expression a mixture of shock and guilt.

William realised someone was watching them. They’d been discovered and would now have to face the consequences. He cursed under his breath. How was he going to explain his way out of this one? Who would ever believe anything but the obvious - that he had the Princess of Moraigth pinned against a wall with his body, both of them flushed with lust?

As quick as a flash of lightning, a dozen possibilities tore through his mind about what he could say, depending on who had caught them. He prayed with all his might that it wasn’t his uncle.

William hurriedly took a step back from the princess and turned around, finding himself being watched by a pair of cold, accusing eyes.

Tession.

William almost sagged with relief. "Good afternoon, old friend."

The healer didn’t reply, continuing to stare at the young couple with obvious disapproval. His eyes flicked onto Camilla, who blushed bright pink and hung her head.

Tession finally spoke, his voice quiet. "I was just walking with the king when he was unexpectedly called away by one of his advisors." He said no more but the suggestion in his voice was obvious.

It was at that moment that Camilla bolted, slipping past William and down the darkening corridor.

William ran his hands through his hair and took a shaky breath. "Well, I suppose I should get ready for the evening. I’ll see you in the great hall."

"William."

Tession rarely called him by his first name only, as if he were some common lad instead of a son from a great ruling dynasty. And every time he did, William felt like a misbehaving child again. He reluctantly met the old man’s eyes.

"Explain yourself." Tession’s voice was emotionless.

William felt a twinge of annoyance. Why did he owe this man an explanation? It wasn’t any of his business.

"What do you want me to say? You saw what you saw." William crossed his arms defensively. "And you can stop overreacting. It was just a kiss, nothing more."

"Nothing more for you, you mean."

"What are you talking about? Speak plainly for once." William had no patience for Tession’s loaded statements when he was still feeling flushed and hot.

Tession’s tone was icy. "It won’t be just a kiss to her. The poor girl is infatuated with you, lord help her."

"Infatuated?" William repeated, raising his eyebrows in surprise. Well, that was an unexpected turn of events. "So I can convince her to lie with me, you think?"

"Is that all you have to say? Tell me, lad. Have you ever had a thought that wasn’t completely selfish?"

William blinked. It was rare for Tession to grow visibly angry. Even when he’d been a child constantly punished by other adults for getting into scrapes and mischief, Tession had always been a calm, reliable presence in his life.

But now, the old man’s face was contorted in suppressed temper. "You’ve bedded plenty of women. But this is a young, innocent maiden we’re talking about. She has absolutely no experience with the ways of men. If you lie with her and then leave, you’ll not only ruin her reputation. You will break her heart."

William rubbed the back of his nape. "What are you talking about? No one’s saying anything about heartbreak. You’re not just exaggerating and making things sound worse than they are, are you?"

Tession gave a humourless laugh. "For her sake, I wish I was. But I can see that she adores you. If you just use her, she’ll be utterly crushed."

Adore? "But Tession, I want her. I...crave her. I have for months on end. Are you telling me to just give up on that?"

"Yes." The old man replied firmly. "That’s what I’m telling you. If you have any feelings for the girl in that cold little heart of yours, you’ll stay away from her. Don’t ruin her for the sake of a romp." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"Are you serious? Do you know what you’re asking me to do?" William groaned.

"Yes. But you’ll get over it and move on. There are plenty of other options for you. She’d be unable to do the same if you touch her."

William clenched his jaw as thoughts scrambled through his agitated mind. The problem was, he didn’t want any other woman. Could he really force himself to stay away from Camilla? On the other hand, did he really want to be responsible for a broken heart, as Tession was so afraid would happen?

He’d never stopped to think about what a lady thought or felt when he discarded her. It had never seemed important - he’d just assumed they moved on as quickly as him. Maybe that wasn’t the case.

He remembered when Camilla confessed how she’d felt when she’d heard him calling her a dark haired crow, so many months ago. The way her face had crumpled with hurt. The memory still stung him.

He couldn’t do it. William realised he couldn’t hurt her any more than he could cut her hair off. He closed his eyes in despair. Why did the fates put him in this position?

"Fine." William said through gritted teeth. "You have my word. I’ll stay away from her. I know I’m going to live to regret this."