Once Upon a Twist (5 page)

James was a part of her
.

For a moment she forgot to breathe.

“Are you all right?” he asked, breathing heavily into her ear.

She responded by cradling his head and kissing him, sucking in a breath of pleasure as he withdrew only to fill her all over again.

Oh wow
.

All right? Nothing could have prepared her for this most exquisite of assaults. Everything, all her senses shut down. Deep in her core, a low thrumming began, a growing ache for fulfillment taking her to the edge of sanity.

As if sensing her need, James adjusted his position slightly, his thrusts becoming slower as he ground against her.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

Her eyelids fluttered open and immediately she was drawn into the dark green depths of his lust-filled eyes. Whatever she was feeling she knew he was experiencing it too. Their lips locked together and, with a cry that came from somewhere she had never known existed, the vibrations that had been building inside her exploded.

Sensations pulsed, wave after wave, hurtling through her, every inch of her being alive with tiny, dancing vibrations.

James increased the tempo of his movements until he gave a ragged groan and collapsed on top of her.

For an age they lay there, the only sound their heavy breathing.

When Ella next opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling, it was as if she were seeing it for the very first time.

So that’s what lovemaking was all about. She had known that things with James would be good but she had never guessed it would be so spectacular.

He felt wonderfully heavy on top of her and as she tenderly raked her fingers across his still-clothed back, she giggled.

“Is something funny?” he asked, nuzzling into her neck, his voice drowsy.

“Only that I never expected my first time to be like this.”

He lifted his head. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. It was wonderful.”

“So how was it different to what you expected?”

She smiled. “I thought we would both be naked for a start.”

His brow furrowed. “Are you regretting it? I wouldn’t blame you. I’m not usually so… impatient.”

“Shush,” she said, placing a finger to his lips. She could still feel his heart hammering through his ribs and the clothing that separated them. “I do not regret a single thing.”

“Good.” He placed a kiss on the palm of her hand. “We’ll be naked when we make love later.”

She arched an eyebrow. “Later?”

“I told you – this is our room now.”

“But we’re not married yet.”

“I don’t care. You’re free and I’m not letting you out of my sight.” Doubt suddenly clouded his eyes. He rolled onto his back, pulling her with him so her head rested on his chest. “Now you have broken free from Christell’s enchantment, I assume you do not wish to return to the cottage?”

“The enchantment’s only broken until midnight,” she confessed, burrowing her fingers through a gap in his shirt and feeling the warmth of his broad chest. She pulled gently at the dark hair that covered it. “If I return before then, I will be trapped again. But even if that wasn’t the case, I wouldn’t want to return. I want to stay here with you.”

“Good.”

“Will your parents be all right about it?” His parents? Oh she loved the casual way she had just referred to the ruling monarchs of the land.

“I made my father aware of your situation a few days ago, and you saw for yourself how my mother reacted. I assure you, there will be no problems.”

Ella expelled a breath. This was more than she could have hoped for.

“Am I right in assuming your fairy godmother rescued you?” he asked.

She nodded.

“I had been planning to arrest Christell tonight.”

“You had?”

“As she so rarely leaves the house anymore, I knew this would be the perfect opportunity.” Darkness flashed across his handsome face. “I was going to give her a choice – release you from the enchantment or go before the firing squad.”

Ella knew she should be horrified at the venom in his eyes and the harshness of his tone. But she wasn’t. All she felt was a huge swelling of love and pride.

“I hope we can marry soon,” she said, and then shivered as unwitting thoughts of the undead sprang into her mind, creatures the man she loved would be forced into battle against.

“So you haven’t changed your mind?” he teased. “I have heard women will say anything to get into a man’s breeches.”

Laughter spluttered out of her throat. “Ah, so that’s why we’re slapped in a chastity belt the day we turn ten. It’s so we can’t ravish any passing man that takes our fancy.”

“Speaking of chastity belts, did you never have one?”

She shook her head, her silky hair tickling under his chin. “My father thought they were barbaric. I
begged
for one but he wouldn’t listen.”

“You wanted one?”

“Of course. All my friends were getting them – I didn’t want to feel left out.”

A loud bang on the bedroom door jolted them both.

Chapter Five

James slid out from beneath her, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. “One minute,” he called as he got to his feet. Tucking his shirt into his breeches and smoothing his hair, he threw Ella a wink, thinking how beautiful she looked with her hair all disheveled and a glow on her face. “I’ll get rid of them,” he mouthed.

The smile remained on his face until he opened the door and found Jonas, his personal guard and most senior Knight, at the door. This could not be good news.

He stepped over the threshold and shut the door firmly behind him. “What’s the matter?”

“I have received news that the watchtowers have failed.”

James could hardly believe what he was hearing. How could they have failed? The watchtowers had never failed. Adjacent to each tower was a pyre to be lit when danger was spotted. As soon as the flames were seen by the watchman at the closest tower, another pyre would be lit and so on, until the sky was ablaze and the alarm reached the palace.

“How do you know this?” he demanded.

“They were spotted in Lillespeth,” Jonas replied, referring to a town in a land adjoining their kingdom.

“When was this?”

“Their messenger has ridden since sunrise.”

James cursed. That meant the undead were less than a three days walk away. He could only be thankful they were more interested in eating horses than riding them.

But then the impact of what it meant that the pyres had not been lit hit him.

He took a deep breath, gathering his jumbled thoughts together. “Has the King been informed?”

“Yes, Your Highness. He wishes to discuss the matter with you as a matter of urgency.”

“And our guests?”

“Oblivious.”

James nodded his approval, thinking of the vast numbers of females enjoying themselves in the Ballroom, let alone Ella currently lying on his bed. Thank God she had been freed from the enchantment. Thinking of what might have been made ice run through his blood. “Good. We must keep it that way until I have spoken to my father. I will join him shortly.”

Jonas nodded and left, leaving James rubbing his temples. First things first, he reasoned. He opened his bedroom door and almost knocked Ella over.

“How much did you hear?” he asked, gazing with suspicion at the glass in her hand.

Guilty color spread over her cheeks but she tilted her head in the manner he was fast associating as a sign of defiance. “Not much.”

Thank God. The last thing he needed at this time was a panicking female, even a woman of Ella’s caliber. Now was a time for clear thinking, straight talking and strategizing.

“Do I take it the lack of burning pyres means the undead have killed the watchmen?”

James blinked.

“Because,” she continued, loosening her hair before scraping it all back together and tying it into a semi elegant knot, “It would seem to me the townsfolk of Moncleur, being the nearest town in our kingdom to Lillespeth, would have raised the alarm hours ago, as soon as the sun went down and the creatures awoke. Therefore, one must conclude that the watchman – or anyone else for that matter – at Moncleur – was unable to light the pyre. Therefore, one must conclude the undead have already invaded our kingdom and are travelling at a much faster pace than they were previously credited. Does that about sum it up?”

He rubbed again at his temples, trying to use the friction to melt away the rapidly forming headache. While he gave Ella enormous credit for summing the situation so succinctly, part of him was still waiting for her to crumple on the floor in a heap. “Yes it does. But please, don’t be frightened–”

“Oh pack it in,” she snapped, re-lacing the top of her bodice. “You’re not marrying a wilting sunflower you know. Now, let’s go back to the Ball. You can introduce me properly to your mother and then go and discuss the situation with your father. I’m assuming your mother is as oblivious as the other guests?”

“For someone who didn’t hear much, you certainly heard a lot.” Unable to resist, he pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head. Just inhaling the sweet scent of her hair soothed him.

“I always thought the adage that curiosity killed the cat was invented by parents fed up of answering their nosy children.”

Despite the imminent danger they were in, he chuckled. “I think you’re probably right.”

Slapping her bottom lightly, he shut the bedroom door behind them and prayed it would not be long before they were able to spend a night in it together.

To watch Ella go into the ballroom one would be hard pressed to know anything was amiss, he observed a few minutes later. Her poise was incredible, and it was with what he considered justifiable pride that he introduced her properly to his mother.

His mother smiled politely at Ella before addressing him. “Your father is waiting for you in the library.”

He should leave immediately.

Instead, uncaring of propriety, he palmed Ella’s cheeks and drew her to him, kissing her full on the mouth. “Be good,” he growled, before tearing himself away from her.

***

Fingers pressed against lips which tingled from his scorching kiss, Ella watched James make his way through the throng of eager young flesh. Cold dread nestled in her belly.

“There is trouble brewing,” the Queen observed from her throne.

Facing her, Ella was struck by the shrewdness in her clear green eyes. Whatever ailment was afflicting her, it was only of the physical kind.

“What have you been told?” Ella asked cautiously, aware the King and Prince were adamant the Queen not be alarmed.

“I have not been told anything.” She dropped a quick wink. “However, as you will no doubt discover for yourself, even palace walls have ears.”

Thinking of her own recent bout of eavesdropping, Ella laughed. “I’ve always found a clean glass is an excellent prop to assist those ears.”

“Quite. Are those creatures nearing us?”

“Yes. The watchmen have failed to light the pyres.”

“That’s not a good sign.”

To anyone observing them, Ella and the Queen could be having a polite little tete-a-tete about cucumber sandwiches.

“We should mingle,” the Queen announced, rising to her feet. “Come, let me hold onto your arm for support. I would hate for my subjects to worry about my health.”

Together, their arms linked, they made their way around the edge of the dance-floor. Friends and old acquaintances who Ella hadn’t seen since her father’s funeral were all eager to speak to her.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us, Ella,” a high, yappish voice asked.

Turning her head slightly, she threw Ana a tight smile. Her sister’s ugly face had contorted into something she assumed was supposed to resemble a smile. Standing behind her sister’s shoulder, fidgeting with her fingers, stood Izzy, who at least had the grace to look shamefaced.

“Your Highness, allow me to introduce my stepsisters, Ana and Izzy Tremalow.”

The Queen gazed at them as if they were something nasty she had trodden on. “These would be the same stepsisters who stood and watched while their mother kept you enslaved?”

“The one and the same.”

“Would you like me to get a soldier to arrest them too?”

Watching the twisted smile drop from Ana’s face, Ella was tempted – very tempted – to say yes. But then she witnessed the utter defeat in Izzy’s posture and her heart melted. Once upon a time, she and Izzy had been friends. She was certain that, given the chance, Izzy would have set her free.

“No thank you,” she replied. “However, I would be grateful if Ana could be escorted from the Ball.”

“Hmm,” The Queen pondered, “How many guards would you consider fitting?”

“Two?”

“How about four?” With a click of her fingers, four soldiers materialized. “Please escort Miss Ana Tremalow from the premises,” the Queen decreed.

With immense satisfaction, Ella watched as Ana was taken by the arms and frog marched through the dancing bodies out of the ballroom.

The Queen clicked her fingers again, and this time a young maid appeared. She then took Ella’s hand. “I cannot tell you how pleased I am that James has chosen you for his bride. But now I am tired and need a short rest. Matilda will take me to my chambers.”

As soon as the Queen departed, another crowd gathered around Ella, all talking at once with great enthusiasm, eager to be acknowledged by their future Queen. Eventually she was able to extricate herself and talk privately with Izzy, who had remained standing like a statue. She had not uttered one word of protest over Ana’s removal from the Ball. “Izzy, don’t worry. I forgive you.”

Colored relief washed over the tall girl’s face. “Ella, I am so sorry, for everything.”

Ella reached for her hand. “I know. They’re your family. It’s very hard going against the wishes of those you love.”

Izzy squeezed it in return, just as an enormous explosion, followed by the sound of smashing glass, resounded through the ballroom, loud enough for the orchestra to halt their music and the dancers to stand rooted to the spot.

Time stood suspended. No one uttered a single word.