'No... Dorian, please, no...' Isla continued to whisper, her voice trembling like a fragile leaf in the violent storm, her words breathless and entirely devoid of any real conviction.
But the more she weakly uttered that desperate denial, the closer he dangerously leaned in, the intoxicating, masculine scent of rain and dark cedar completely enveloping her senses and making her head spin.
He didn't forcefully capture her lips right away as her racing mind had anticipated; instead, he slowly, deliberately lowered his head, his damp, dark hair softly brushing against her flushed cheeks.
He pressed a gentle, agonizingly slow kiss against her temple, causing a violent, electric shiver to wreck through her entire body.
'You keep saying no, my sweet princess,' Dorian murmured, his warm lips trailing down to press a scorching, burning kiss directly against the sharp curve of her jawline.
'But your wildly racing heart is telling me a completely different, undeniable story.'
Isla gasped softly, her heavy eyelids fluttering shut as her trembling hands instinctively moved up to tightly grip the fabric of his damp shirt.
His lips continued their agonizing, beautiful descent, moving with a dark, possessive reverence.
He pressed a deep, lingering kiss to the incredibly sensitive skin of her neck, resting perfectly right above her frantically fluttering pulse; that single, searing touch effectively melted away every last ounce of her royal restraint, her deeply ingrained fears, and her desperate hesitation.
The thunder roared violently outside, perfectly masking the breathless, desperate sighs escaping her parted lips. Dorian's kisses were like a highly addictive, sweet poison.
They moved lower to gently graze the exposed skin of her delicate collarbone, his warm breath sending relentless shockwaves of pure, unadulterated pleasure through her veins, leaving a trail of blazing, invisible fire wherever his lips touched her pale flesh.
He then gently caught her trembling, wandering hands, intertwining his fingers with hers and pressing a tender, devoted kiss to her knuckles before pinning her wrists softly against the plush mattress above her head.
He used his free hand to tenderly cup her flushed face, his thumb grazing sensually over her lower lip.
'Stop fighting what we both so desperately want, Isla,' he whispered fiercely against her skin, his intense, dark gaze completely consumed by absolute, unwavering obsession as he stared down at her mouth.
She couldn't fight it anymore.
In that beautiful, terrifying moment, the suffocating rules of the kingdom, the looming, horrific threat of Lucier's arrival tomorrow, and the heavy, bloody burden of her revenge all completely dissolved into absolute nothingness.
Yielding entirely to the overwhelming, consuming fire burning furiously between them, Isla finally let out a defeated, desperate sigh of surrender.
Hearing her silent permission, Dorian completely erased the final, agonizing distance between them, crashing his lips fiercely and passionately against hers in a profound, earth-shattering kiss that tasted of the wild storm, intoxicating danger, and an undeniable, absolute love that could easily burn entire kingdoms to the ground.
The kiss was not just a mere touch of lips; it was a desperate, starving collision of two souls who had spent years hiding their true desires in the suffocating shadows of the palace.
He kissed her with a fierce, possessive urgency, his tongue sweeping past her parted lips to taste her completely, ravishing her mouth with a dark, breathtaking intensity that left her entirely dizzy.
Isla felt as though the solid stone foundation of the palace had completely vanished beneath her, leaving her floating endlessly in an intoxicating universe that consisted entirely of Dorian and the heavy, rhythmic pounding of the rain.
She effortlessly slipped her slender wrists free from his gentle, yielding grip, immediately wrapping her arms tightly around his broad, muscular shoulders to pull him impossibly closer, her desperate fingers tangling deeply into his damp, dark hair.
Dorian groaned softly against her mouth, a low, incredibly masculine sound that vibrated deep within his chest and sent a fresh, blinding wave of liquid heat straight to her core.
He shifted his heavy weight over her, his large, warm hands sliding slowly down from her waist to firmly grip the curve of her hips, pulling her flush against him so she could feel the undeniable, undeniable proof of his intense desire.
He broke the kiss for just a fraction of a breathless second, both of them gasping desperately for the cold night air as their chests heaved in unison.
'You are entirely mine, Isla,' he whispered fiercely against her swollen, glistening lips, his dark eyes burning with an intense, terrifyingly territorial fire that completely rivaled the lightning outside.
'I do not care what rigid decrees your parents have issued, and I absolutely do not care about that pathetic, arrogant prince arriving tomorrow morning... you belong only to me, and I swear to the heavens I will ruthlessly burn this entire kingdom to ashes before I ever let him lay a single finger on you.'
Hearing those dark, incredibly possessive words, a profound, aching love violently bloomed within Isla's chest, entirely overshadowing her lingering fears and royal burdens.
She looked up at him, her sapphire eyes completely dark with unadulterated need.
'Then ruin me for anyone else, Dorian,' she breathed out, her voice trembling with a raw, beautiful desperation as she arched beautifully into his touch.
'Make me yours.'
A dark, incredibly wicked smirk played across Dorian's handsome face as his eyes darkened with absolute, unwavering obsession.
'With absolute pleasure, my Princess.'
He completely captured her lips once again, his kisses turning deeper, hungrier, and far more demanding as his hands moved with a worshipful, fiery reverence over her delicate curves.
He trailed blazing, wet kisses down her jawline and the long, elegant column of her throat, before his teeth gently grazed against her sweet skin, biting down just hard enough to elicit a breathless, echoing moan from her lips.
He sucked deeply at the incredibly sensitive spot right at the base of her neck, intentionally leaving a dark, blooming purple mark—a secret, undeniable brand that would silently declare to Lucier and the rest of the oblivious world exactly whose woman she truly was.
Isla's fingers dug fiercely into his back, pulling him flush against her as she entirely surrendered herself to the beautiful, chaotic storm he had unleashed within her, completely forgetting the entire outside world and the terrifying revenge that awaited her tomorrow.