'If I have truly made a promise to you, then let us fulfill it properly,' Isla whispered, her brilliant blue eyes sparkling with a wicked, daring challenge.
'This is your absolute favorite vintage, Dorian... are you really going to just sit there and let it all go to waste?'
A dark, incredibly predatory and deeply amused smile slowly curved Dorian's handsome lips.
Accepting her beautiful, fiery challenge without a single second of hesitation, he leaned in, his hot tongue gently catching a sweet, stray drop of the ruby liquid right from her lower lip.
He deliberately moved lower, his warm mouth expertly tracing the intoxicating, wine-soaked paths across her flushed cheeks, down the elegant, pale column of her neck, and along the delicate, highly sensitive ridge of her collarbones.
With a swift, impatient tug, he completely yanked the ruined silk bedsheet off her trembling body, violently throwing it over his own broad shoulders to cocoon them both in a private, suffocatingly hot tent of darkness as she remained perfectly straddled across his lap.
Hidden beneath the heavy silk, Dorian ruthlessly continued his beautiful worship, tasting the rich, dark wine from the soft swell of her chest and the smooth, dipping curve of her waist.
Isla completely surrendered to the overwhelming, euphoric haze of his touch. She simply tilted her head back with a soft, breathless sigh, leaving her arms completely free.
Holding the heavy crystal bottle in one hand, she deliberately poured another small, chilling splash of the dark red wine over her own heated skin every few moments, silently but fiercely demanding that he absolutely never stop his intoxicating, agonizingly sweet assault.
Outside the grand chamber, the wild night winds began to howl with a fierce, magnificent intensity.
Suddenly, a powerful, violent gust swept directly through the open balcony doors, effortlessly catching the edges of the silk bedsheet and blowing it entirely off their tangled bodies.
The abrupt absence of the dark fabric allowed a brilliant, ethereal beam of silver moonlight to strike directly across Isla's flushed, breathtaking face.
Dorian instantly froze, completely and utterly mesmerized by the sheer, angelic beauty of her glowing features bathed in the pale, romantic lunar light.
He could do absolutely nothing but stare at her in profound, raw reverence.
Slowly, with an overwhelming, possessive tenderness, he shifted his muscular grip, gently but firmly laying her back against the plush mattress.
He immediately pinned her beneath his heavy, burning frame, holding her so incredibly tightly against his chest that even if she had somehow wanted to escape his fiery cage, it would have been absolutely impossible.
The rich, intoxicating scent of the dark vintage hung heavily in the cool, wind-swept air of the bedchamber as Dorian relentlessly continued his passionate assault.
He completely covered every single inch of her trembling, willing body in an endless, scorching storm of wet, bruising kisses, remaining hopelessly and beautifully lost in the magnificent depths of his fierce, unbreakable devotion.
The heavy crystal bottle finally slipped from Isla's wildly trembling fingers, crashing onto the cold stone floor and instantly shattering into a thousand glittering pieces, just as a sudden, violent gust of night wind completely extinguished every single flickering candle in the grand chamber, plunging the lovers into a beautifully intimate, suffocating darkness that was illuminated only by the pale, ethereal glow of the moonlight.
Absolutely refusing to break their profound, fiery connection for even a single fraction of a second, Dorian cleverly used his bare feet to hook the edge of the discarded silk bedsheet, desperately dragging the heavy fabric back up to cocoon their tangled forms while simultaneously capturing Isla's lips in an agonizingly long, breathtakingly deep kiss that seemed to entirely consume her very soul.
Their bare, feverish bodies were pressed so incredibly tightly together that absolutely no breathable space remained between them, with Dorian's broad, burning chest perfectly and seamlessly molded against Isla's soft, wine-slicked skin as he completely surrendered his full, comforting weight to settle directly over her trembling frame.
"I am entirely, irrevocably yours for the rest of eternity," Isla thought helplessly, her mind completely melting into absolute bliss as their bare legs relentlessly tangled and slid against one another in a desperate, agonizingly slow rhythm beneath the protective shadows of the silk.
Throughout the magnificent, breathless storm of their passion, their hands remained fiercely and tightly intertwined beside her head, their fingers desperately locked together in an unbreakable, crushing grip that silently and beautifully promised they would absolutely never, ever let each other go.
Isla lay peacefully curled up on her stomach directly atop Dorian's broad, muscular back, her damp, bare chest pressed intimately against his warm skin beneath the heavy sanctuary of the silk bedsheet, the two tangled lovers sleeping as deeply and heavily as if they had just triumphantly conquered a massive, exhausting war.
When her heavy-lidded eyes finally fluttered open to the soft, golden morning light filtering through the curtains, a beautifully profound, deeply contented smile instantly graced her flushed face the very second she saw his peaceful, sleeping profile resting so incredibly close to hers.
Knowing she desperately needed to get ready before the entire palace awoke, she slowly and reluctantly began to untangle herself from his heavy, comforting limbs.
"I have been terribly late for the past two or three days in a row, and if I am late again today, my mother will absolutely scold me without mercy," she thought anxiously, her royal duties violently crashing back into her mind.
However, the sudden, slight shift of her weight instantly awakened Dorian; his dark, heavy eyes opened, and he immediately reached out.
'Isla... where exactly are you going?' he murmured in a thick, raspy morning voice.
'It is already morning, Dorian; I have been running late for the past few days, and if I am late again today, my mother is going to be incredibly furious with me,' she whispered back, hastily gathering the edge of the silk sheet to wrap around her exposed curves as she prepared to leave the bed.
'At least give me a proper good morning kiss before you run away,' he playfully demanded, a dark, teasing smirk pulling at his handsome lips.
'Oh, please, you are being completely ridiculous,' Isla replied with a fond, shy smile, playfully rolling her eyes as she turned her back to him, tightly holding the bedsheet to her chest as she started to walk away.
Before she could even take a single, proper step, Dorian's strong arm shot out like lightning, effortlessly yanking her right back into the heated center of the mattress and immediately capturing her parted lips in an agonizingly long, breath-stealing kiss.
As his mouth relentlessly and passionately devoured hers, his warm hand deliberately slipped beneath the protective barrier of the bedsheet, settling heavily upon her bare waist.
Isla frantically tried to wriggle free from his possessive, intoxicating hold, but Dorian swiftly captured both of her delicate wrists with just one of his large, muscular hands, effortlessly pinning them while his free hand slowly, torturously slid down from her waist to firmly grip her bare thighs.
With a swift, incredibly powerful tug, he pulled her lower half flush against him; the hasty, fragile knot of the silk bedsheet completely gave way, slipping entirely off her shoulders and leaving her breathtakingly bare once more as their chests violently crashed together in a seamless, burning connection.
Just as the suffocating, feverish haze of his touch began to entirely consume her all over again, the sharp, cheerful sound of birds chirping loudly outside the open window abruptly shattered the quiet intimacy of the room, violently reminding her of the dangerous daylight.
Desperate to escape the addictive snare of his embrace before the palace maids arrived, Isla forcefully wrenched her mouth away from his, but in the frantic, chaotic struggle, Dorian's sharp teeth accidentally grazed her swollen lower lip, instantly drawing a tiny, bright bead of crimson blood.
Seeing the tiny drop of blood on her mouth, Dorian's eyes instantly darkened with raw hunger, and he immediately leaned back in to soothingly suck the metallic sweetness from her wounded lip.
But Isla violently shoved against his solid chest with all her remaining strength, her brilliant blue eyes wide with sheer, suffocating panic.
'Stop it, Dorian! If absolutely anyone sees this mark or catches us together right now, you can completely forget about us ever meeting in secret again—they will forcefully marry me off to that pathetic prince before the sun even sets!' she hissed frantically, wiping her trembling mouth.
Realizing the genuine, terrified urgency in her voice, Dorian finally relented, fluidly stepping off the plush mattress and swiftly pulling his discarded clothes over his magnificent, heavily sculpted body in the shadows.
Once fully dressed, he reached out, gently catching her trembling hand and pulling her beautifully bare, flushed body flush against his chest one last time.
'You do remember your solemn promise to me from last night, do you not, my sweet heart?' he murmured smoothly, his dark eyes sparkling with a wickedly possessive, unbreakable gleam.
'And besides, you are a pure royal, and royals absolutely never break their sacred vows, right?'
Isla's heart fluttered wildly against her ribs as she looked up into his mesmerizing, all-consuming eyes.
'Yes, I know, and I am absolutely not breaking my promise to you,' she breathed out softly, her cheeks burning with a furious, beautiful shade of crimson.
'But please, just go quickly before we are both entirely ruined!'