Birthday Gifts Fit for a Prince Ch. 10

How she expected him to leave when she was wearing half his clothes he didn't know.

She had made the most of her time away from him and had already started coffee. He could see a pan heating on the stove where she was presumably about to cook the eggs he could see her beating. He sat down at her kitchen table and waited for her to finish.

He didn't think she was in any frame of mind for conversation if the way she was viciously beating the eggs was any indication.

He waited patiently and a few minutes later she joined him at the table bearing eggs, toast and coffee.

"Thank you."

His thanks was met with a wall of silence that was only broken when he reached for the last piece of toast.

"You're not going to share the last piece of toast?" Her seemingly acerbic comment did not bode well for the rest of the day.

He couldn't tell if she was joking or not, but he didn't want to start even more contention over a piece of toast so he held it to her mouth for her to take a bite.

Breakfast had been a tense enough affair with her visually feasting on his body and him resisting the temptation to lick the berry sweet nipple he could see nearly poking through her shirt.

She leaned forward and slowly took a bite.

Their eyes held as she chewed and swallowed his small offering.

He gestured with the toast in her direction. "Here. Take it," he offered.

She took the toast and set it back in the saucer.

"I don't want the toast," she denied, pushing the saucer to the furthest corner of the table. "I want you."

Her hand slid along his jaw drawing him towards her. They both rose as her lips met his. At first a gentle meeting of their mouths until all at once they both moved in a frantic dash to push dishes and cups to the side so they could get closer.

She climbed on top of the table in her bid for more contact, her mouth feeding at his as she tried to devour him. Her passion for him in no way appeased after a full night of making love.

She leaned forward across the table and eased his boxers down just enough so she could slide his hot length into her mouth.

Jade's lips closed around his cock in thanksgiving. She had been pissed to no end making a breakfast she didn't want when the treat she really wanted was so close, but tucked just out of sight.

Akim couldn't account for her swift change in temperament, but he wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Having her morph from spitting tiger into willing supplicant after no more than a bite of toast was fine by him.

His hands slid around her body easing her onto her back so he could stroke her through her panties. The speed of her mouth increased as his fingers slicked through her folds.

One hand locked behind his thigh encouraging him to move forward. He did so at once before realizing she wanted more than a single step.

At her urging, Akim rocked his hips feeding her his hard length. He slid a little deeper each time as she writhed and bucked underneath him moaning her pleasure at his possession.

He felt his balls tighten and tried to ease out of her mouth. Jade tightened her lips resisting him.

His hands threaded through her hair trying to relax her.

When he sensed no softening of her lips he issued a low threat.

"Let go or I cum down your throat."

Her response was to tighten the hand that was still against his thigh holding him in place.

Akim thrust a little faster, a little harder, expecting her to back off, but she moaned all around his cock begging for more.

God, she was everything he wanted.

The temptation to cum down her throat like she was inviting was strong. So strong. But he resisted, ceasing all movement until sweat glowed in a fine sheen on his skin from the effort.

Jade moved her tongue along the bottom of his shaft encouraging him to break his rigid self-discipline, but he held on. With a plaintive mewl she opened her mouth and released him.

Her tongue came out like a cat licking away the creamy pre-cum he released. The sight had him nearly easing his way back between her glistening lips to provide her with the treat she was so spectacularly missing.

He contented himself with ripping her panties off and feasting on her swollen folds instead.

His appetite was fierce.

His tongue set off at a hummingbird's pace and was viciously flicking her clit. Her body started to shake at the onset of a hard orgasm.

Jade felt the pleasure consuming her. Like a delicious supernova she felt it radiating from her pussy and knew that in moments she would explode.

Jade twisted in distress knowing she didn't want to cum this way. They'd been apart for too long and she needed the connection of their bodies on the deepest level to settle the relentless ache that consumed her heart.

Jade had enough presence of mind to know she wanted him to stop, but not enough to form words. She bucked again trying to knock him off.

Akim was relentless, following her quivering clit like a heat seeking missile. His tongue never lost track of her for a single second.

Her muscles clamped up for one infinitesimal second before she screamed. Her hands knotted in his hair in silent praise.

He spent no time gentling her, knowing that this would be one of the times when he could not give her the consideration of calming her body down before setting her back off.

He pulled her to the edge of the table and entered her with one hard thrust. His hips took off, pistoning into her receptive, wet flesh.

Jade clutched the edge of the table and went with it, holding on as if her life depended on it.

His hand swept up the middle of her shirt and ripped down scattering buttons every which way. She knew he liked to watch. Apparently even at the cost of destroying his own shirt.

She liked to watch too.

Her head came up off the table, her eyes devouring the sight of his possession.

She was scorched by the passion they were generating between them and the visual pushed her to the edge.

She took one last deep breath and shattered.

Her labored breaths punctuated the hard slap of his flesh against hers. She arched against him desperate for more.

Even as she was trying to gather herself together he was easing her off the table and pushed her face down across it, lifting one of her legs to aid his access. She put her hands down for support and went with it.

***

Hours later she found herself back in the shower. She wore the smell of sex like a perfume she had applied too heavily.

She was scheduled to meet Ryan for a late brunch and she couldn't meet him smelling and looking as she currently did.

She hadn't yet told Akim. If he was jealous just from the way she sucked him off, there was no telling how he would react to her going to meet another man. She continued soaping her skin and pushed that thought away for later.

There was no denying they were highly sexually compatible. There was also no denying that they struck sparks off one another like flint. Jade knew she couldn't stay with him, but the thought of losing him again caused a painful ache in her heart.

Her hand lifted to rub the area over her heart as she wished there was a simple solution.

When she returned to the bedroom Akim was dressed...as much as possible. The ruined shirt hung open giving her ample opportunity to admire his chest.

It didn't escape her notice that he hadn't tried freshen up. Apparently he didn't mind smelling like sex on a stick.

"We need to talk."

A slight smile shaped her lips at his words. "Isn't that my line?" she asked.

An answering smile tugged at his lips. "It could be."

Jade turned and headed for the living room. It seemed a more appropriate spot to have a serious conversation than the obvious temptations of a bedroom.

She amended that thought as he sat across from her. The living room presented as much temptation as the bedroom. The floor. The wall. The sofa. The table. One spot was as good as another when desire struck.

A towel also wasn't the most prudent choice of attire, but he was so intimately acquainted with her body it seemed silly to worry that he might catch a glimpse of the luscious nether lips he had feasted on multiple times that day.

She glanced at the clock and realized she needed to leave in an hour. Time to get this show on the road.

She immediately went on the attack. "Is this where you say it's not you, it's me?"

Akim felt the burn in those words. He understood her position. 'We need to talk' was never a good thing.

As she'd just spent the better part of the day being worked up and down across every available surface, he imagined she thought there was nothing more he could want from her.

"No." His reply was stark as his dark gaze held hers. She felt so much demand in his eyes, so much need. She didn't know what he wanted from her, but it was clear he wasn't setting up for a kiss off speech. She dropped her eyes to escape his probing assessment.

He continued, "This is where I say it's not me, it's you." Her eyes rose swiftly to his in shock. "I know my heart. I know I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. It all comes down to you. What do you want?"

Jade opened her mouth and no words came out. She was truly speechless.

Akim rose from the sofa and knelt in front of her. He reached into his pocket and produced a small jewelry box. Jade knew what was coming and she jerked away from him racing for the bedroom.

"Jade!" he called after her, but she didn't stop until she had the door closed and locked behind her.

"Jade," he called again, this time in a slightly calmer voice. "Please open the door."

Jade stood there shivering. Surprised didn't begin to describe how she felt.

She never saw their relationship as anything permanent or serious. He was a prince for god's sake and she...she didn't even have a single person who she could call kin. She was a nobody. There was no way they could ever work.

Akim pounded on the door again disrupting her thoughts. Jade's mind blanked.

She didn't know what to do, but she knew she couldn't marry him. And she couldn't give him access to her because he was too persuasive. If he touched her he could make her agree to anything. No way was she going back out there.

"Please," she called back. "Just give me a little time to think."

She pushed away from the door and raced for the closet. She quickly opened the little safe and pulled out her emergency purse. It contained a duplicate phone, set of keys and credit cards. She knew it was useless to run so she'd try and outwit him instead. There really was only one way to make him leave.

Jade threw on some clothes and drafted a quick note to Akim. A light tap on her necklace disarmed the security system before she ducked onto the fire escape.

Guilt ate at her as she made her way to the quiet restaurant in Chelsea where she and Ryan had brunch on Saturdays. She didn't want to hurt Akim, but she knew he was like a bull when he made up his mind.

Ryan immediately read the tension radiating from Jade when she greeted him. "What is it," he asked.

Jade stared at him so long he was concerned she wasn't going to answer. Then he noticed her eyes were an exotic shade of green instead of an icy blue. Before she spoke he had his answer. Only one thing could make her reveal herself.

"He found me."

Her voice was almost too low to hear, but Ryan caught the words before she burst into tears. He pulled her against his chest to comfort her, and that was how Akim found them minutes later.

"How touching." His snide voice cut through her grief and Jade raised watery eyes to his. She could see the fury stamped across every line of his beloved face. She could imagine how he must have felt when he read her note.

"It's not going to work Akim. I'm in love with someone else. The sex is hot between us, but that's all it is. A lot of time has passed since I said I love you, but I don't love you anymore."

The word 'no' burned more for him than for most and she knew he wouldn't take the rejection well.

She knew from the previous evening that his people had been watching her for a while and would make an accurate guess as to where she had likely gone once Akim discovered her missing.

Jade's eyes iced over as she leaned more deeply into Ryan. "Why are you here?" Icicles practically formed in the air as she threw another poison tipped arrow. "Was my note not clear?"

She imagined the picture she and Ryan made cuddled together both glaring daggers in Akim's direction. It was a wonder he was still standing with all the frost she was throwing at him, and the blazing heat of jealousy tripping off Ryan.

Akim gave a negligent shrug that suggested swift retribution. "Your note was clear enough," he stated, "yes to the fucking, no to anything more."

She felt Ryan tense up beneath her at those words. Talk about a well-placed blow. Akim had to have known it would rile Ryan up to know that he was fucking the woman Ryan thought of as his.

Ryan did not disappoint, gently disentangling himself from Jade before rising angrily to his feet.

Akim's sardonic smile only poured fuel on the fire. Then Akim, ever the fearless prince, threw a whole can of gasoline on the situation. "Why so sensitive Ryan?"

Akim turned away as if Ryan was of no consequence. He turned back slightly to say, "I guess I can understand it. I would lose it too if my girl was swallowing the cock of an ex."

Jade flinched. Ryan had been patiently trying for months to get her to so much as kiss him and in the space of one night she had apparently given herself to her ex.

Ryan launched himself at Akim and just that fast fists were flying. Jade hopped around them screaming for them to stop.

She'd never imagined Akim would shrug off his mantle of propriety long enough to pick a fight in public. And although she could see his contingency of guards strategically dotted around they didn't move to interfere. It appeared that this was personal.

A quick glance revealed that Akim was winning. Not surprising. He had Ryan by a couple of inches and was religious about sparring to stay fit.

Jade took a leap of faith and threw herself between the two men hopeful that both of them cared too much about her to hit her.

Both men glared at her as she gently pushed them apart. "Akim please," she begged. "Don't do this."

His eyes burned like molten lava for another second before the flame was suddenly extinguished and he looked defeated.

Her shoulders collapsed in relief. It was over. She could see it all over him. He was done.

"Okay." The finality of that word struck her hard and although it was Ryan who was sporting bruises and a split lip, she had to lean on him for support.

"Tell me one thing before I leave."

Be strong, she silently chanted to herself. She tried to ignore the crowd that had formed around them and focused on Akim. If she could just make it through the next few minutes then it would all be over. Finally.

Ryan's arm along her back gave her a measure of strength and she took a deep breath before quietly nodding her head in assent.

"If it's just sex, then why did you tell me you loved me last night?"

Jade searched her memories and came up blank. "I didn't," she denied.

"You did," he rebutted. "You looked into my eyes, and told me with your heart. You told me with your actions. You told me with your kiss. You told me with your touch. You told me you love me."

Those words hung between them. A single tear tracked down her cheek as she sought a lie that would set him free. Set them both free.

There were too many distractions for her to focus. The murmur of spectators, the wail of sirens growing closer. She was spent. No lies came readily to mind and she just settled for the truth.

"We can never work Akim. You're a prince and I'm a nobody. That's all there is to it."

"You're the woman I love. You're everything to me. There is no other for me of any stature. There's only you."

She sighed, wishing it could be easy. "Akim, I just can't." Her eyes begged in a way her lips couldn't. They begged him to let it go.

But he couldn't.

"We can make this work Jade. I've been an ass today, I know. Jealousy makes a man crazy, but I love you, and I would be the happiest man alive if you would do me the honor of becoming my wife."

A public proposal. He was laying it all on the line for her. Risking the embarrassment of rejection in a public setting for her.

Jade felt the pressure of his proposal and nearly crumpled. It was hard enough muting the chanting from her heart that demanded she say yes, but now there were also the unwanted nosy comments of spectators calling for her to say yes.

Jade felt Ryan relax behind her and she turned grabbing for the distraction with both hands. Ryan's lips held a tremulous smile as he pulled her into a hug.

"You didn't say he was in love with you," Ryan joked as he released her. "I don't think you know how special you are Ana. How beautiful. How perfect."

Akim hated to hear the words from his heart mirrored on another man's lips. It meant he also loved Jade, and the thought that he had found her too late made his heart clench in agony. Or was it fear? Fear that the one person he finally opened his heart to love would be snatched away by his own mistakes?

Oblivious of Akim's introspection, Ryan continued. "I would chase you around the world too if I thought there was the slightest chance I could convince you to be my wife. Although it kills me to see you walk off into the sunset with this jackass,"

Akim flinched at that, "I only want to see you happy. You deserve that. You love him, and love doesn't come often enough to throw it away when it's returned. Follow your heart." Ryan pulled her into another hug before turning her back to Akim.

Jade felt poleaxed, as she stood facing Akim. Despite wanting her for himself, Ryan was selfless enough to put her needs before his own. And honest enough to cut straight to the heart of the matter. Was she willing to let true love slip away because of her own insecurities?

She took one step toward Akim. Then another. And another, until she was close enough to touch him. But she didn't.

Akim took the initiative gently cupping her cheek and planting a soft kiss on her forehead while he patiently waited.

Jade stared into his eyes for the longest time, trying to be courageous, trying to rationalize how this could work. In the end she decided to take Ryan's advice and just follow her heart. As difficult as it could be when they were together, it was a thousand times better than being apart. And suddenly it was easy to respond.

"Yes."