continued stroking her, lightly down the one side and then up over the other until he reached the top again.
Her thighs were trembling. Her body quivered and she was breathing more quickly, her breasts rising and falling, her nipples even tighter than they’d been a moment ago.
“Have you ever been waxed before?” he asked, his tongue dipping between those plump bare lips to flick across her.
She jumped at the touch, reaching for him with one hand, her fingers brushing his shoulder before tangling in his hair.
“Hmm?” he persisted, tongue tracing her folds, discovering she wasn’t just damp, but wet. Soaked. Her hips rotated beneath him and he licked the silken inner lips, tasting her. She tasted like sun-kissed honey, too, hot and sweet.
“Never waxed before,” she panted, as he used two fingers to trace her, and shape her, her outer lips, then her inner lips, skirting her damp core.
“Do you like it like this?” he asked, his mouth following his fingers, teasing, tasting, turning her into a mass of quivering nerve endings. “So smooth and bare?”
“It’s different—” And she broke off in a gasp as he drew her clit into his mouth, sucking on the nub, even as he slipped his fingers inside her, stroking her on the inside.
Her hips rose and fell as he played her, and when she cried out as she climaxed, he gave her a moment to settle before spreading her knees and sinking into her, claiming her as his, forevermore.
* * *
It was more than a pinch when he thrust into her. It hurt, and part of her objected to the intense fullness and pressure, but then as the sting eased and her body relaxed, the sense of fullness gave way to new and interesting sensations, with the uppermost sensation being that of wonder.
She loved the feeling of him on her. She loved the slow hard strokes of him in her. Her lips parted as she struggled to catch her breath, but it was virtually impossible to contain the tension and pleasure.
She positively buzzed from head to toe. Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to feelings, and they were such good feelings. She could still remember how his mouth had felt on her. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before. His mouth and tongue and breath had created so many different impressions—each of them thrilling and arousing.
Tonight had to be the most incredible night of her life.
She knew she’d never forget it. How could she when Damen was making her body hum and sing, lighting her up as if she was a living Christmas tree? Each of his deep thrusts hit a sensitive spot inside her, and as he moved faster, and harder, she arched to receive him, glowing, burning, feeling incredibly alive.
She was going to come again, she thought, as the sensation continued to build and center, intensifying, the pleasure so intense it was almost painful, and just when she thought she couldn’t hold on to the exquisite sensations a moment longer, she shattered all over again, her body climaxing, rippling with one delicious wave of bliss after another.
Two orgasms on her wedding night. Amazing.
And then he groaned and stiffened, plunging deep within her, and she realized he’d just climaxed, too.
After a bit he shifted his weight, stretching out next to her, leaving his arm around her waist, holding her to his side.
Peace flooded her. She hadn’t been sure about tonight, but everything was beautiful, and for once in her life, she felt perfect.
Kassiani tried to keep her eyes open but she was exhausted, and she fell asleep nestled to Damen’s chest, her legs tangled with his.
Later in the night, Kass felt the bed shift. Damen was moving away, rolling toward the edge. The mattress dipped and then he eased himself out of the bed.
She didn’t know why she feigned sleep and yet she listened to the bedroom door open and close.
It was only when the door clicked shut that she opened her eyes. Moonlight spilled into the room. The Sounio Cape was almost dark, everyone in bed for the night.
Kassiani didn’t know if Damen was permanently gone or if he’d be coming back. She didn’t know where he’d gone, or why.
Sleepily, she struggled to sort through her feelings. So much had happened in one day. Her father’s announcement that she needed to take Elexis’s place. Her shock and initial resistance until she realized that marrying Damen would be good for her. It’d give her opportunities she’d never have trapped in the Dukas mansion on Nob Hill.
And once she said yes to her father’s idea, the wedding gown alteration and the rigorous wedding prep—the salt scrub, the waxing, the hair mask, the application of lotions and polish—before the wedding itself.
Damen’s fury as he discovered the truth about his bride.
The reception they didn’t attend.
The early departure in the speedboat.
The arrival on the yacht.
And then Damen, finally claiming her.
Her body was sore, but not unbearably so. She also felt warm and languid in a way she never felt before. Their coming together was nothing like she had imagined it would be. It wasn’t sex but something bigger, something more, something...significant.
And she couldn’t explain how or why, but she sensed that Damen felt it, too.
DAMEN LEFT THE mahogany-paneled bedroom to tackle the details needing attention, details like sending staff to retrieve Kassiani’s belongings from his villa, and changing the travel plan because he couldn’t stomach the idea of taking Kassiani on the same honeymoon that had been planned for Elexis. Elexis needed people and activity and so they were to spend a few days anchored off the island of Mykonos so Elexis could have her fill of the cafés and restaurants, nightclubs and high-end shops, before continuing to Santorini for more of the same.
Damen didn’t know his new wife well yet, but he could safely say that Kassiani would prefer not to shop and cared little about hip nightclubs and trendy bars.
While staff went to collect Kassiani’s luggage, he discussed the change in itinerary with his captain, and then retreated to the far end of the top deck so he could be alone, needing the night air to clear his head and cool his body.
It was rather shocking to discover that his body still hummed with desire and hunger. Usually after sex he was done. Sated. After a long night of sexual play, he wanted nothing more to do with his mistress for a length of time, but right now he still craved his shy, innocent bride who seemed to be anything but shy in bed.
He shouldn’t want Kassiani this much. He shouldn’t already want to return to her. And yet right now all he wanted was to be with her again, to push her back onto the bed and feel her softness beneath him. He wanted her heat and shape, and he was impatient to discover all the mysteries she had yet to share.
Frustrated, Damen left the deck, retreating to a guest bedroom on a different level from the master, stripping off his clothes to take a cold shower before stretching out on the bed.
He refused to think about her anymore tonight. This wasn’t normal. He didn’t like feeling his control slip. She was just a small part of his world, and he needed to remember that.
* * *
Sometime before dawn they pulled anchor and set off. It was still dark out when Kassiani woke to the hum of the engine, and opening her eyes, she glanced over to the space next to her and discovered it was empty. She reached out and touched the place Damen had been earlier and his spot was cool.
Had Damen never come back?
She looked past his side of the bed to the tall windows with their view of the deck and sea.