Free Prince of Desire by Donna Grant Page A

arms as they stared at the fire in the coziness of a cave. Her gaze was drawn to his bare arm and the intricate symbol that graced his skin.  
    The more time they spent together, the more she realized they had always been meant for each other.   It wasn't something she could explain to anyone, more of a feeling deep within, and it was all somehow connected to the symbols. She moved her left arm near his and looked at the marks. The firelight played across their arms, but her eyes only saw the markings.
    “Do they bother you?” Lucian's deep voice asked near her ear.
    She smiled though he couldn't see her face. “Nay. At first they seemed strange, but now…now it’s as if they have always been there.”
    “They have. They just needed to be awakened and brought to life.”
    Isabelle leaned her head back to look into his black eyes. “Like me.”
    His smile was devastating as he hugged her to his chest. “Just like you, my love.”
    “I have to admit, I'm more than a little frightened of when we reach Drahcir.”
    “Why is that?” he asked as he smoothed back her hair loosened from the braid and kissed her neck.
    “You're royalty, Lucian,” she said as she sat up and turned to face him. “I'm a commoner.”
    “There is nothing common about you.” His eyes narrowed and he asked, “Are you afraid my family willna accept you?”
    Isabelle eyes fell to the ground. “That thought has crossed my mind.”
    She felt his fingers under her chin and allowed him to raise her face until she looked him in the eye.   “Doona,” he said softly. “We doona hold to the convictions that have plagued the rest of Scotland. Royalty or commoner, it’s the same in my kingdom. No one will look down upon you. You’re my mate, destined to be a princess of Drahcir.”
    “Destiny or not, people still view outsiders as threats, and regardless of what you say, people will look at me differently because I'm not royalty.”
    He chuckled and ran a thumb across her cheek. “Ah, Isabelle. None of my words will ease your fears, but I’ll tell you that my kingdom has had to accept outsiders every generation. It’s part of our life. Believe me when I tell you the people of Drahcir will be thrilled to see you because it means they are that much closer to seeing their lives continue.”
    As his words sunk in, she realized just how foolish she had been. She turned and resumed her place against his chest and threaded her fingers through his. “Thank you.”
    “It’ll be all right,” he said as he nuzzled her ear.  
    She sighed and closed her eyes as he found a particularly sensitive spot just behind her ear. Her entire body melted against him.   His hands moved to hold her breasts and soon his fingers had her nipples hard and aching. While his hands caressed and kneaded her breasts, his mouth left a trail of fire that blazed right to her core. She burned for him as she did every night and as with each time their bodies joined, the need for him grew.
    Isabelle pulled out of his embrace and turned to face him as she straddled his hips. Her hand found his arousal, thick and hard, as she guided him inside her.
    “By the heavens,” Lucian moaned and took hold of her hips. “I want to taste you.”
    She barely had time to register what his words said before she was on her back, and he knelt between her legs, licking her stomach. His hot tongue trailed from hip to hip, stopping to dip lightly into her belly button before nipping the inside of her thigh. Isabelle's lungs seized when she felt his hot breath on her sex.
    Could it be? Did he really mean to kiss her…there?
    No sooner did she ask herself that question than his tongue licked her sex, slow and soft.
    She sighed and fisted her hands in the blankets as he settled between her legs and parted her woman's lips. She opened her eyes to see him staring at her.
    “Lucian?”
    “You have no idea how beautiful you are,” he said before his tongue snaked out and lightly brushed back and