~5 years later~
River's POV

Light giggles filled the garden as silken dresses brushed against freshly cut grass. Maids bent down, their dresses falling against greenery as they poured expensive teas into shining cups.

I nuzzled my nose against Alastair's knee as my head laid cradled in his lap. A soft smile pulled to his lips, disappearing against his cup as he took a sip of his tea. His fingers combed through my hair as our royal council laid scattered around us on cushions of their own.

A councilman called Alastair's name with a laugh and Alastair lifted his lips from his tea to reply with a cheerful laugh of his own. A smile lifted to my lips and Alastair's fingers lifted to brush against my cheek before bending down to place a chaste kiss to my lips.

"I love you," he whispered against my ears softly. I chuckled and wrapped my arms around his neck to nuzzle against his neck playfully. A light chuckle of his own fell passed his lips before lifting me into his arms and carrying me to an empty tent on the other side of the garden we had long since built as a result of Alastair's constant impatience.

He bent beneath the open slip to the tent, buttoning it behind us before dropping me on a pile of cushions and blankets and crawling on top of me with a low growl.

I hummed low in my throat, bringing a cushion to my chest with a cheeky grin.

His fingers wrapped around the cushion, attempting to pull it from my tightened grip to unclothe me.

I shook my head and sucked in my lips, containing my laughter at his desperation.

"River," Alastair so much as whimpered, eyeing the pillow blocking him from the buttons on my silk robe.

"Hmm?"

He growled low in his throat, his eyes narrowing in impatience. His fingers dug into the pillow as his head bent down to catch my lips in a searing kiss. A low moan vibrated in my throat before I pressed my fingers on his chest and pushed him on his back. A sly grin pulled to my lips as I crawled onto him.

I discarded the pillow, throwing it across the tent as I began unbuttoning my robe. Alastair's eyes darkened and his fingers pressed into my waist as he watched me. I made a show of slowly dropping the robe off my shoulder, watching as his eyes raked down my body to where the robe laid in a puddle around my hips. His fingers grazed over the silk before pulling it down my legs to the floor beside him. His fingers wrapped tightly around my hips and pulled me forward, granting a surprised squeak from my throat.

"Alastair," I gasped.

A quirked smirk painted his lips as his fingers lightly skimmed the skin of my hips. He bit his bottom lip before shooting forward and knocking me to the cushions behind me. I gasped but was immediately engulfed in a passionate kiss as he hiked my legs over his waist and drew me forward.

"Stop being such a tease and let me inside you," Alastair murmured against my lips.

I laughed lightly against his lips before lifting my fingers to rake through his thick, dark strands.

"Only if you play nicely first," I whispered, slowly pulling away from his lips.

His brow knitted and eyes narrowed in confusion.

"Undress," I raked my eyes down his still clothed body.

He was silent for a moment until finally complying. He untied his shirt and unbuttoned his pants, discarding them both beside my robe until we both sat on our knees across from each other in just our undergarments. He reached toward me and pulled me flush against me, skimming his lips up my neck to my ear where his breath lightly brushed against my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

"Now what, love?"

I had to control myself from allowing him to take me right then. My body surely screamed for it but I wouldn't cave.

I took his hands in my own and pressed his fingers against my bare chest. A quivered breath escaped his throat as he struggled to pull his eyes from where his hands rested to my eyes. I leaned forward and brushed my lips against jawline.

"Now touch me," I whispered.

Not a word escaped him as a sharp grunt pulled passed his lips and his fingers grazed against my hardening nipples. His thumbs brushed against my pale skin as his other fingers took great delight in pinching and playing with my flushing buds.

A hissed breath pulled from my throat as my fingers skimmed down his chest, pressing against each hardened muscle in its passing. My fingertips pressed against his abs, watching them pull and contract which each one of my light grazes. Just as his eyes grew slightly lidded, I dropped one hand and brushed my fingers against his hardened cock before I could go any further I was thrown onto my back with my arms pinned above my head.

Alastair breathing quaked above me as his dark eyes zeroed in on me.

"You are killing me, love," he groaned. "Any more of this and I'll simply burst."

I widened my eyes and pulled my bottom lip out. His eyes softened and he whined low in his throat. His cock brushed against my thigh as he kissed along my neck.

"Please, love."

My heart so much as melted.

"Fine," I finally succumbed.

His head whipped up from my neck and a bright smile pulled to his lips. Goddess, he looked like a child who was given an extra cookie.

He reached across the pillows, lifting a bottle of lube from under a blanket beside us. He lifted himself onto his knees and poured a generous amount of lube onto his fingers before dipping between my legs. His fingers slowly stretched me, pulling sharp gasps from my lips as pleasure shook me.

Finally, his fingers pulled out of me and he lifted my legs back over his waist and leaned forward.

"Slowly," I gasped as he entered me.

He nodded and slowly inched inside me.

I never did understand fast or rough sex. There were some who were far too open about their sex lives and spoke of heated, rough sex. A kind of sex that seemed to last less than a half hour and was so rough their partner could barely walk the next day. The thought frightened me. It seemed more like fucking than making love to me. I always preferred slow, gentle love making. The kind that seemed to last all through the night and allowed both of us to rememorize one another's bodies each time, finding new things we hadn't previously noticed.

His hair tussled to the side as his lips parted open, releasing a pleasure-filled sigh. His head dipped and his lips lightly brushed against mine as he slowly began to move. A moan escaped him, his fingers locked with mine as he nuzzled against my neck affectionately. A shiver ran down my spine and a light pant pulled passed the barriers of my throat as his cock brushed against my undoing button.

My toes grazed against his ankles and my neck dropped to the side. Alastair pulled a hand from mine to reach for a pillow before placing it beneath the small of my back and returning his hand to mine.

"You don't want back pains tomorrow," he remembered with a chuckle.

"Not like last time," I laughed.

Though the pain was anything but funny.

He pressed forward and all memories of pain disappeared, immediately replaced with a sudden utopia. His fingers squeezed around mine as his pace gained momentum. I gasped, mewling as my hips moved along with him. His lips dropped to my neck where he bit and sucked repeatedly. My eyes nearly rolled back in pleasure. My fingers reached forward to skim along his muscular chest, finding a birthmark I hadn't realized right next to his right hip bone. My finger repeatedly pressed against the mark, finding it strangely cute.

My fingers skimmed up and down his chest as he moved within me, the pleasure he was giving becoming almost too much. Our breaths mingled between us, our gasps and moans becoming a swirl of content as we reached higher peaks within every passing moment.

"I can't," I moaned as Alastair's teeth raked against my neck, "I can't hold on much longer."

"Me either," his voice came out hoarse as he lifted me into his lap and cradled me to his chest.

He continued to move inside me, nearly pulling my breath from me. His fingers dipped to cup my ass, guiding me to move along with him. A series of moans and whimpers fell passed my lips as he hit my spot with every sharp movement and before I knew it I was cumming. A chipped cry broke passed my lips as I shook against him, my nails digging into his shoulders as my cum splattered across his defined abs. His hands tightened around my ass, his fingers digging into my cheeks as a deep moan rumbled against his throat. His muscles pulsed against my rising chest, shaking against me as he came hard inside me. His body quivered beneath me, his arms holding me tight against his chest as he pressed his nose to my throat and held me through his long orgasm.

When I finally felt the filling heat within me subside, his arms loosened and he wrapped his hands around my waist to lift me up, carefully pulling out of me and laying me back onto the cushions behind me. He rolled me onto my stomach and took his time cleaning me before massaging my back and unknotting whatever muscles had tightened during our love making.

Once done, he lifted my robe from the floor and dressed me before dressing himself and lifting me into his arms. He unbuttoned the flap to the tent and ducked under and back into the garden, taking a cushion beside our royal council who seemed to be in the midst of a cheerful conversation. Isaiah peeked at me from his cushion across from us with a raised brow to which I blushed and buried my face against Alastair's chest.

He knows.

"Wow," I tilted my head up to lock eyes with Michael as he bit into a grape being offered to him by Keith. "No words," he scoffed and continued to be fed by his mate.

"They're worse than us," Keith laughed.

Isaiah's brows furrowed before his eyes widened and he gasped in shock.

"River!"

I squeaked and hid my face behind Alastair.

"Stop embarrassing him," Alastair's voice rumbled, silencing the chuckles across the garden. "It's all your faults for being so boring that River and I had to sneak away to entertain ourselves."

To that Michael snorted though before he could speak Keith broke out into laughter, resulting in the whole royal court doubling over in laughter.

My face was heating up more by the minute and I so much as wanted to melt into the ground.

Alastair's fingers brushed lightly through my hair before turning to pull me back into his lap.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about," Alastair whispered against my ear. "Why, Keith and Michael are far worse than us."

My brows knitted, "that's not much of an accomplishment, love."

Alastair chuckled and kissed me behind the ear. His arms wrapped tightly around me as I laid my head against his muscular chest. I watched as the men laughed, sighing to myself. Alastair's hand squeezed around mine as he kissed me on the head.

Well, at least they're entertained.

That's a wrap! Well, that's the end of this tale. Isaiah's story should be out in a little bit. I still need to plan everything out before publishing but hopefully I should have it out soon. I'm going to be publishing the prologue to my new book, A Vampire's Mystique, at some point this coming week. I've been working super hard on it and I hope you guys end up liking it! xD