Talia winced again at the small jolt of pain from her arm. She had not expected him to grip so tightly. Slowly, he lifted her hand, staring at it as though he had never seen anything like it before, and then, he bent and pressed his lips gently against her wrist. She could feel his hot breath on her cold and sensitive skin.
She gasped but did not pull away. Perhaps it was only due to shock. Perhaps it was the novelty of the feeling and how it made small shivers shoot from the spot his lips brushed all the way down her back, through her abdomen and down between her legs.
He kissed her wrist again and then the palm of her hand, and then, closing his eyes, pressed her hand to the side of his face and held it there.
To say that she was startled was too light a thing! She should have slapped him or pulled away at the very least, but even his face was warm, and she liked the roughness of his stubble against her palm. It tickled in a pleasant way.
With his eyes closed he appeared much less threatening. She'd never touched a man in such a way before, and the urge to rub her thumb gently across that high and defined cheekbone was strong. The rest of her body felt even colder when her hand was so very warm.
But what was he thinking? She had no experience in such things! What did it mean that he closed his eyes? Why would he kiss her in such an odd spot? Passionate kisses were given lip to lip, not lip to wrist. Perhaps she'd misjudged his intent. Perhaps he'd only meant to warm her hand or...
She frowned, and without thinking reached out to touch the other side of his face. She couldn't say why she did it-- maybe it was only to warm her other hand-- but the instant he felt her touch on his cheek, his eyes snapped open. She regretted it immediately, for his gaze was so intense it filled her with heat and shame.
"F-forgive me, I- I only thought..." she stuttered.
He lunged forward and caught hold of her, wrapping his hand around the back of her head so that when their lips met, she could not pull away.
Talia did not even have time to register what had happened before she felt his lips, hot and urgent on her own, kissing her with a bruising and possessive strength.
She tried to pull away, fighting against the hand that pressed her to him, and landed flat on her back, trapped between the ground and the heavy weight of his body. She opened her lips to cry out, but his hot tongue pushed violently into her mouth. She froze, shocked by the sensation of his tongue pushing against her own, and felt his free hand slide down the side of her body and then beneath her tunic. When his heated fingers brushed against the cold flesh of her stomach, she cried out again, moaning against his lips which served only to heighten the Prince's frenzy.
He drew back, and Talia gasped for air, but immediately felt his burning lips on her jaw and her neck, and then.. and then... his tongue running down the side of her neck, before nipping her briefly with his teeth.
She was shaking in earnest now, and she couldn't say if it was fear or shock or something entirely else, for his heat seemed to spread through her skin, and sink deep into her core. There was warmth even between her legs, and when his hand moved up across her stomach and pushed aside her underbinding to cup her breast, that warmth between her legs began to throb.
His breathing was ragged and uneven as he pulled back again and stared down at her, and she winced as he squeezed her breast in his hand.
"W-w-what a-are you do-- AAAH!" she cried, as his finger clamped down down on her sensitive nipple. His hot mouth followed where his fingers went, and her entire body spasmed when he began to suck on her exposed breast.
This was... this was... what was this? What was he doing to her? Her entire body was tingling from what his mouth was doing. His mouth... licking... sucking... nipping at her and his hand now fumbling at the strings of her... of her leggings.
"NO!" she screamed, horrified. "STOP! NO!"
She struggled against him, trying to escape and began pounding on his shoulder, as though she could beat him off of her.
When he looked at her again, his eyes were wild and unfocused, and she feared from the expression on his face that he would not stop.
"Please," she whispered. "Please, don't!"
The Prince closed his eyes tightly and groaned low in his throat. When he pulled away and sat up, he took all the warmth with him. Talia began to shiver.
He opened his eyes to look down at her, and, realizing that she was shivering, his normally unreadable face for the first time wore a sorrowful expression.
"Forgive me," he mumbled, reaching for her discarded cloak. "Forgive me, Princess."
He pulled her up to sit, and wrapped the cloak firmly around her shoulders. "I was... I am... undisciplined... I..."
"Undisciplined? You're like an animal!" she shrieked. "Did you think to take me outside on the ground in full view of the manor? I am... I am humiliated! I am appalled! I am..."
Her voice trailed off as she tried to find the words. Desperate... came to mind as she stared at his mouth.
"I will reflect on my actions," he agreed quickly. "It will not happen again."
"It had better not," she said, in a voice that didn't sound like her own.
She had to leave. She had to get away from him, from that hot and bruising mouth that did horrible and wonderful things to her body.
She stood quickly and without another word fled back to the house.
Up the path and all the way to the doors she ran, never once looking back to see if he was still sitting on the ground where she left him.
Her head ached from the muddle of shock and disgust and longing that swirled through it.
Prince Mikhail was her sworn enemy! The man who murdered her father, attacked her country, and stole away her sister. He was a demon among men, and her own jailer as well! If one were to list the evil deeds ascribed to that man they would need buckets of ink, but beneath his burning touch she'd practically melted and almost begged for more!
Perhaps there was something wrong with her. Perhaps he'd drugged her somehow, done something to her body to cause her to react in such a way!
Fioria met her in the Great Hall and hurried at once to her side.
"My Princess," she called, as Talia walked past her. "Are you alright?
"Yes. Fine... I... do I not look alright?" Talia demanded, whirling to face her.
Fioria seemed surprised, but glanced the Princess up and down quickly.
"I was concerned, my Princess, when I heard that you were to spar with Prince Mikhail. He is not a gentle or considerate man, and I was afraid that-"
"That he injured me? No. I'm fine. I... I need a bath. I need a bath, immediately," Talia demanded.
"Of course, my princess, right away," Fioria agreed, hurrying off to heat the water.
Talia adjusted her cloak and continued to her room. She should send one of her maids with a message to the Prince-- demand a different trainer at once. Refuse to meet with him again...
Of course, if she did that, he might reply that there were no other trainers. He might reply that she could no longer train. Perhaps that was his intention all along, to scare her so badly that she no longer wanted to train.
Reaching her room, she burst through the door and tossed her cloak upon the nearest chair. She continued to pace restlessly as she thought.
She could demand a formal apology, but then, he had already apologized, multiple times. How she wished she'd slapped him! That would have sent the right message. Why hadn't she?
Undisciplined, he'd called himself. That didn't begin to cover it! He was horrid! He was an absolute beast! And she was... she was...
Talia stopped in her pacing and realized that she had been unconsciously stroking her neck in the same place he'd licked and bit her. She could feel the blood rush to her face as she blushed.
Fioria entered the room at that moment and froze as she took in the Princess's flushed face and wild eyed stare.
"My Princess, are you sure you are unharmed?" she asked again.
Unharmed? She was certainly not unharmed!
"Yes. Fine. It's fine. I'm fine," she insisted. "The bath?"
"Is ready for you, my princess. I shall assist you if--"
"Yes, fine. That's fine," she agreed, and winced as she realized just how many times she'd repeated the word fine. The servant's face expressed deep concern.
Once they'd entered the bathroom, Fioria began to help her out of her clothes, gently pulling the tunic over her head, and untying the underbinding around her chest. Talia tried to remain absolutely still, but winced as the girl's fingers grazed the bare skin on her back. Every part of her seemed suddenly to be twice as sensitive.
As she stepped into the warm bath, eager to scrub away the feeling of his hands and mouth on her body, the door opened and another maid carrying fresh robes and towels slipped in.
Talia watched as she stocked the shelves and then crossed the room to whisper something into Fioria's ear.
Fioria's eyes widened in fear before she glumly hung her head and nodded. As Talia watched from the corner of her eye, The Vezdan slave handed her wash cloth and scrub brush to the new maid, kneeled beside the side of the tub, and bowed her head.
"Forgive this servant, my princess, but I have been summoned. Melinda will have to finish assisting you with your bath," she excused herself.
"Summoned?" Talia repeated. "Who summons you?"
Fioria looked up with wide and terrified eyes.
"The Prince has called for me," she said.