Earning the Love of a Princess-Chapter 73: Here and Now
William was slowly approaching her, his eyes narrowed on her. Camilla started walking backwards. Something told her if she didn’t maintain at least some distance between them, she was utterly lost.
A wicked little voice inside her head asked, how bad could it be though, to lose yourself in the arms of such a beautiful man? 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
Camilla’s back hit the stone wall. In desperation, she raised her hands in front of her and whispered, "Don’t do it. We both agreed this wouldn’t happen again. We have to stop..."
"It’s too late to stop. You must know that." Williams voice was rough with desire as he took her hands in his. She felt her arms being stretched over her head and pinned to the wall above her, gently but firmly. She tried to wrench out of his grasp but couldn’t.
With one hand still locked around her wrists, Williams’s other hand tipped her chin up until she was forced to look straight at him. His eyes were dark, the black almost overtaking the pale green of his irises. Camilla felt one of his fingers trace the line of her jaw and then slowly trace her lower lip. She fought the inexplicable urge to nip his teasing finger.
She couldn’t tear her gaze away from his, a sharp thrill of anticipation mixed with fear running through her.
"Stop fighting me. It’s exhausting." William muttered as he lowered his face to hers.
There was no slow, warm build up like their previous kisses. This kiss was deep and hard. Camilla shuddered as his tongue pushed into her mouth and started stroking hers, determined not to moan out loud. She felt the hand on her face move to snake around her back, pressing her body tightly against his.
William’s other hand still held her wrists, as if he still didn’t trust her not to run.
Camilla wouldn’t have been able to run if she tried. Instead, she felt as if she were slowly sinking into a pool of warm water. She felt her face growing hot and tried pulling her arms free again. William refused to loosen his grip on her wrists.
He broke the kiss and she felt his warm lips brush like a feather along her jaw. His breath tickled the shell of her ear and then she felt him bite her earlobe.
The odd sensation of pleasure combined with a streak of pain rushed through her, making her sigh. Despite knowing she shouldn’t, she tipped her head back, allowing him access to her exposed throat. The strange, warm pulse between her legs throbbed, making her squirm.
William pressed his mouth against her neck languidly, kissing the point where he could feel her rapid heartbeat. When he finally let go of her wrists, he felt her arms wrap around his neck and pull gently on his hair. She whimpered when he traced the outline of her collarbone with the tip of his tongue. He smiled to himself.
His hand lightly skimmed across her bodice, making Camilla whimper again when his fingertips brushed her nipples ever so briefly though the silk of her dress. Her back arched. She felt his hand then grip her thigh and his body press against hers, his hips pinning her against the wall and his rock hard bulge pushing against her lower belly. His lips found hers again.
The sensation of rising panic in her chest was quelled by the dizzying kisses and the practiced movements of his quick, clever hands. She clung to him helplessly, unable to focus on anything but his hard, muscular frame against her and his warm mouth. His tongue toyed with hers slowly, as if he knew exactly what effect he was having on her.
Suddenly, Camilla felt his hand between her legs, the heel of his hand pressing firmly against her over her dress. She tore her mouth away from his as she gasped sharply, shocked at the bolt of pleasure that shot through her. The feeling was so sudden it almost made her knees buckle. Panic took over. If she didn’t stop things now, she never would. The unknown and its consequences terrified her.
"L-let go! Please...s-stop!" Her voice was tight with fear.
William immediately pulled away, frustration and disappointment crashing through him. He took a step back and they both stared at each other while gasping for breath. Her eyes were dilated and her mouth was swollen from his fierce kisses. William had never seen a woman more desirable than her. He felt like his blood was on fire.
"It’s too much. We have to stop. We can’t keep doing this!" Camilla pleaded, trying to slow her breathing.
William gave her a dark, raw look. "I agree. And we don’t have to keep doing this. Just lie with me and I promise it will pass."
"Is that it? Your solution is I lie with you once and this will all be over?"
"Once, yes. Maybe twice." William shrugged as he tried to explain himself better. "This is just a temporary problem, like an itch that has to be scratched. Once we do, everything will go back to how it was." He started leaning towards her again.
She pushed him back, shaking her head. "And what happens then...after I lie with you? What follows after?"
"There is no more after!" William heaved a frustrated laugh. He couldn’t think of the future or anything after that moment. All he knew was that he wanted her right now, in that room, and he wanted her so badly he could weep. "We both just need to get this out of our systems. I want my fucking life to go back to normal!"
"But..." There was a sinking realisation in her heart. "Normal for you...is to just move on to the next girl. I become one of your conquests and that’s all. It’s not...not the same for me..."
William tilted his head and gave her an impatient, questioning look. "Well, what more do you want? What exactly are you waiting for, Camilla?"
She looked at his eyes which were narrowed with lust, at his lush mouth and she felt a stab of sorrow. He didn’t truly see her or understand her. What’s more, he’d never try to. He would move on without her once he was bored and never understand why that would hurt her so deeply. She was just an object of desire to him, nothing more. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. "I’m not waiting for anything else. Not anything you can offer me, anyway."
Camilla had never hated herself so much as she did in that moment. She had let herself be carried away by the sweet words and touch of a man who didn’t care a thing about her, who’d just use her and toss her aside as if she were nothing. Did she really have no pride?
Her voice was hollow but steady as she croaked, "Please stay away from me from now on, my lord. We’re no good together." She started inching towards the door.
The shock on William’s face slowly changed to disbelief and then outrage as he realised she was ending whatever had happened between them. "What - so that’s it then? You can’t be serious. You can’t be fucking serious!"
The frustrations and jealousy of the past months hit him all at once and boiled over. The last of his restraint snapped.
He saw Camilla flinch at his furious tone but he couldn’t stop himself. As much as his rational side was telling him it was better to calm down before speaking, the rest of him refused to listen. He couldn’t stay quiet any more, no matter how ugly he knew the words pouring out of his mouth would be.
"What is this then? You’ve been leading me around for months by my cock, and now you tell me that we have to just end things? What the fuck are you trying to do to me?" His voice rose to a yell, he bellowed a string of curses and then punched a timber shelf in rage. The timber post cracked and the splinters broke the skin on his knuckles but he just ignored the stinging pain. He punched the shelves again and again. "Are you trying to punish me for some imaginary sin?"
Camilla turned away from the fury in his face and shook her head. She was nearly at the door now and all she wanted to do was to block out his voice, block out everything that had gone wrong between them. Tears prickled her eyes but she quickly blinked them away. He wouldn’t understand if she cried.
William squared his shoulders and fixed her with an icy glare. The hatred in them made Camilla wither.
"Have it your way then, I’ll stay away. I’m done with you. You are fucking dead to me, understand?"
He stormed out of the room, his footsteps reverberating in her ears. Camilla closed her eyes and lied to herself, telling herself this was all for the best.
