Now, she was in his arms, kissing him. It was like it was meant to be.
He cupped the back of her head in his hand. Her body melted against his. When she pulled away, he had to stop himself from pulling her back. She needed to set the pace right now. She needed to be in control. He needed to show her that he wasn’t here to take advantage of her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I’m all over the place today.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about,” he murmured. “Just tell me what you need. Whatever it is, I’ll do it. No questions asked.”
Garrett expected her to tell him to leave. Instead, she did the opposite. She took a handful of his shirt and pulled herself against him. Garret kissed her again. He felt a bottomless well of need inside her as if it were his own.
The maiden was fabled to have the most intoxicating qualities, but Garret never imagined it would be anything like this. He’d do whatever she asked. He’d be a slave to her every whim. That was the power of the maiden. He felt magic in the air, cocooning them. It wasn’t just the old magic that wove the prophecy together, it was a special kind of magic, too.
It was Holly’s personal magic.
Everyone had personal magic inside of them. Only some could use it, and most did so without knowing it. Garret was certain the magnetic energy humming through him was Holly’s personal magic. Not the magic of the maiden but something that belonged to Holly and only Holly.
“I know what I need,” Holly whispered against his lips.
“Tell me,” he whispered back.
“I need to feel cared about.”
Her words broke his heart. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her against him as he kissed her again.
“You are cared about,” he said. “I care about you. I hate seeing you sad, scared, and stressed. I want to make that go away.”
He was a firstborn of a bear clan, and she was the maiden. They were as close as destined for each other as two people could be.
But if he wasn’t the king...
No. He wasn’t going to let his mind go there right now. With Holly in his arms, he would never need anything else ever again. He wanted to lose himself in that feeling. He wanted her to get lost with him.
His lips left her mouth. He left a trail of kisses down her neck, biting softly as he moved. Holly gripped him, holding her body against him. She ran her hand down his chest as her tongue gently played with his. She dropped her hand, her fingers grazing against his growing hardness.
“Oh!” She gasped softly.
“You have no idea how badly I want you,” he growled into her ear.
She went still. Worried he’d frightened her, he pulled away to look at her. Her lips were still parted. Her eyes still had that soft, hazy quality to them. Still, he sensed conflict within her.
“Are you all right?” he asked. “Like I said, I’ll do whatever you want even if that means stopping.”
“I don’t want to stop,” she said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, but I can’t...do that yet,” she said, her cheeks darkening. “I’m sorry. It’s just that—”
“Shh.” Garret tucked a lock of dark hair behind her ear. “You don’t have to apologize, and you certainly don’t have to explain yourself.”
“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m leading you on,” she said.
“I know what I’m doing,” he assured her. “We don’t have to go any farther than this, but...” He trailed off, unsure of how to put his desires into coherent words.
“But what?”
“What if I make you feel good?” he asked. “You won’t have to do anything with me if you don’t want to, but I’d like the chance to take away your stress. Even if it’s only for a moment.”
A mischievous glimmer replaced the worried look in Holly’s eyes. “What did you have in mind?”
Slowly, giving Holly plenty of time to tell him to stop if she wanted to, Garret unfastened her jeans. He pulled them down just enough so that he could slip his hand inside her underwear. With one slow, gentle touch, he ran a finger along the outside of her slit. She was wet. Knowing that was enough to send Garret into a frenzy, driven by his deep-seated instinct to lie with the maiden. He didn’t know that feeling was part of the prophecy. Perhaps this was an indication that he was the king after all.
She let out a soft, shuddering gasp as he stroked her again. As much as he wanted to plunge his fingers inside her, he refrained. She wasn’t ready to take his cock, so he didn’t want to make any assumptions about any of his other extremities.
However...
He slid off the rock and positioned himself between her legs. He tugged her jeans down lower. With every tug, he looked up into her eyes to check for hesitation or worry. There was none. She gazed at him with desire. All of her tears were dried. She looked eager and excited now. He smiled and pulled her jeans down past her knees. She let her thighs fall open as much as her jeans would allow.
Garret leaned forward, pressing his mouth against her fabric-covered mound. He hummed against her as he took in her scent. The blood coursing through him roared to life. His cock strained against his jeans. It was somewhat painful, but he didn’t care. This was about her. This was for her.
He pushed
