Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience. Chapter Eleven Gracie panted under him. She could feel every inch of his hot skin against hers. The burning that she had felt before was nothing compared to the intensity of the burn now. Gasping, she tried to slide out from under his damp body. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he nibbled on her ear lobe. "Let me up," she growled. "No," he whispered as he tugged on it gently. "I won't let you run away this time." "Damn it, Rand," she gasped as she felt the spring wind tighter inside of her. All day she had been on the edge of orgasming. It wouldn't take much to send her over the edge. <i>Damn mezclar</i>, she thought. "No. Not damn me, Gracie. Damn your stubborn pride. I'm going to show you once and for all, that I want you, that my body aches to be inside of yours," he growled against the side of her neck before gently drawing the skin into his mouth. "And that I love you. Every single inch," he promised as he cupped her swollen breasts in his hands. "I've studied for the last ten years to learn how to please you. Let me please you," he murmured against her skin. "Rand," she gasped as his mouth covered her hard nipple. "Mmm," he hummed against her nipple as he darted his tongue around the hard nub. Gracie moaned as she neared the edge. "Stop!" she cried. "Why?" he asked as he switched to the other hard nipple. "Because!" she wailed as the crest crept closer. Rand looked down at her flushed face and a thought occurred to him. Taking his unbound hand he ran it between their bodies and found her wet folds. "Oh. You're ready to come, aren't you, Gracie?" he whispered naughtily against her lips. "No!" she gasped, fighting the rising pleasure. "Oh, yes," he whispered as he slowly rubbed her hard button. "I want you to come, baby. That way you're nice and wet," he growled as he nipped her lower lip. "No! Ah..." she protested as her first orgasm flooded her. "Yes!" he growled before jerking her off the bed. Standing, he lifted her easily and hooked her legs over his arms. "Gracie, look at me," he ordered as he placed the head of his cock against her wet opening. With a gasp, she tried to focus on him. Gradually, her eyes adjusted as she saw the fierce look of desire on his handsome face. "That's right, Gracie, keep looking at me," Rand whispered as he rubbed the head of his cock against her. "The time has come for our bonding," he told her as he gazed deeply into her eyes. "Just do it," Gracie finally told him, turning her head away from his gaze. "Look at me, Grace," he told her softly. "I want to see your eyes when I finally make you, mine." Focusing on him again, she gasped as he surged into her, ripping her hymen in one clean thrust. She cried out as the pain pushed her into another orgasm. "Oh damn," he groaned, trying to stay still. "You're so damn tight." "Move," she pleaded as she wiggled on him. She could feel another orgasm waiting for her. "Keep looking at me," he growled as he slowly started to thrust in and out. "That's right," he gasped as he slowly began to thrust faster. Holding her soft ass in his hands, he backed towards the wall and pressed his back against it to give him more support. "Oh hell." he groaned before closing his eyes. "Open them," she told him as she panted in his arms. "You look at me damn it." His eyes flew open in surprise. His little one, had grown some teeth, he decided. Growling in response he hammered harder into her. "Is this what you wanted <i>mi reina</i>?" "Yes!" she hissed as the pleasure whipped through her again. Rand groaned as he felt her folds rippling along his sensitive cock. "This is it!" he cried as he felt the peak looming near. Gracie locked her gaze on him and cried out as she felt the orgasm grip him and then slam into her. Through the haze of pleasure she could feel the bonds snapping into place. Her body shook with the force of the bonding and locked down tightly on his. Rand thought the top of his head was going to blow off. He could feel her pussy milking him for all he was worth. It was a good thing, he decided as he watched in a daze as she thrashed around in his arms, that he had waited. There was no way that they would have survived this at eighteen. Bracing himself firmly against the wall, he pounded through their mutual orgasm. He thought he heard himself scream but couldn't bring himself to care. Holding onto her tightly, he stumbled to the bed, his normal sense of balance off kilter by the intense orgasm they had shared. As he laid her down on the cool satin sheets, he growled happily. Laying against her, he smiled. "Go ahead, gloat," she told him. "Nope," he told her. "I'll gloat later." "What!" she exclaimed. Then she felt him harden inside of her. "Surely, you didn't think that once was going to be enough?" he asked. "You've got to be kidding me," she gasped as he began to move against her. He leaned forward and captured her mouth with his. She gasped into his mouth as the pleasure returned quickly. <i>I'd never kid about something as important as this,</i>he told her as he continued to slowly thrust against her. Growling, he rolled onto his back, taking her with him. Holding onto her hips, he urged her to sit up. When she finally realized what he wanted, she moaned softly and did it. Gracie had never felt anything as intense as the <i>mezclar</i>. Gritting her teeth she ground against the man under her. Rand had his hands wrapped around her thighs and was helping her move against him. <i>That's right, Gracie. Ride me.</i> he whispered softly. Coaxing her into a faster rhythm, he groaned. She obeyed blindly and reached to caress her own breasts as she bounced up and down on his thighs. "Let me," he growled, pushing her hands away from her breasts. Thumbing her hard nipples, he watched as she threw her head back. "Oh yeah," he groaned. He could feel her tightening around him again. She was on the verge of coming once more. In all the books that he had read, he had been woefully unprepared for the reality of it. <i>Come with me!</i > she pleaded. <i>Hell, yes.</i> he growled and rolled her under him again. Hooking her legs around his waist, he lowered his head and suckled on the side of her neck. Soon the room was filled with their cries of ecstasy. When silence finally reigned, they laid intertwined on the bed. Lifting his head, Rand smiled softly at the warm woman under him. Gracie's flushed cheeks were a pleasant reminder of the pleasure that they had just experienced. Gracie lay bemused by the physical pleasure of joining with her mate. There was no denying that Rand was her mate. The bond that they had forged tonight was a certainty. Squirming under the heavy weight of him, she tried to battle her nerves. Now that the initial mating was done, she had no idea how to treat him. "Gracie, look at me," Rand said as he smoothed her hair back. Looking up at him, she felt her face heat. Then she looked over his shoulder. She couldn't believe that she was blushing like a twelve year old. Rand chuckled. "Come on, woman. Let's go take a shower," he said as he rolled with her to the edge of his bed. Standing, he waited for her to rise also. When it became obvious she wasn't going to, he sighed. Scooping her up in his arms, he carried his blushing bride into the bathroom. * * * * * King Mica and Queen Aria sat in the dining room with Colin and Eve. They had just begun to eat their meal when Jonathan and Patience joined them. "Come in and pull up a seat," King Mica invited the young couple. "Thank you," Patience said happily. He nodded in acknowledgment. "Jonathan, thank you for your help today," Queen Aria blessed the young man with a grateful smile. "It was nothing," he told her. "It easily could have turned out for the worse," Colin told him. "I've never seen Rand so close to losing control of himself. That <i>mezclar</i> business must be more serious than I thought." "If you only knew," King Mica told him with a chuckle. Jonathan laughed along with everyone else. Looking over at Patience he wondered how soon he could get his ring on her finger. He vowed that once his duties to Rand were done, he was going to talk to King Mica about him being able to marry his little Patience. "So, Jonathan, how long do we have until you decide to marry?" Aria asked him. A awkward silence filled the room. Looking over at Patience, he smiled. "As soon as I can convince a young lady to marry me," he said softly. Patience stilled and then blushed furiously. She had never thought about making their relationship permanent. He deserved a witch, not a powerless woman. "Well, good luck with that," she said softly, before she wiped her lips on her napkin. "If you'll excuse me," she said, looking askance towards the king and queen. Then she left the room quickly, as if someone were chasing her. * * * * * Jonathan stared in disbelief as she escaped the room. Turning back to everyone at the table, he smiled faintly. "You've got her running scared already," Colin chuckled. "Yes, I do," he responded. "Did she honestly think that you were having a superficial relationship with her?" King Mica asked. "I guess so," he told his king. "It looks like I'm going to have some convincing to do." "Good luck, son," Colin told him. Gazing over at his wife fondly, he gently squeezed her fingers. "If she's anything like my Eve, she'll run you a fair race before giving in." "Good thing, I can run fast," he replied with a laugh. * * * * * Patience slipped into her sister's suite and sighed a breath of relief. She had thought that Jonathan would follow her but he had stayed in the dining room with her parents and the king and queen. She knew that the thought of Jonathan marrying her, shouldn't upset her. But it did. Slipping out on the balcony, she wandered over to the railing and leaned against it. In a way she was glad that Gracie's wedding was over. Now, that they were married, Gracie was Rand's problem. And there was no longer any reason for her to continue seeing Jonathan. She knew she would definitely miss the big lug. "You ran off," Jonathan said from behind her. Immediately her back stiffened and her breathing became shallow. "I was done," she replied. "Done with what?" he asked as he stood behind her. He was so close she could feel the heat radiating off him. "I'm done. In the morning, I'm going home," she told him without turning around. "Believe me, I know. I'm glad this madness is over. Your sister ran Rand a good race. But he still caught her in the end." "Yes. One thing I can say for your friend, is that he knows what he wants. And how to get it," Patience told him. "Just like I do." Jonathan told her as he pulled her back against him. He frowned when he noticed that she was shivering. "That is one thing you definitely have in common," she agreed, settling deeper into his warm embrace. She knew that she shouldn't let him hold her but she knew that when tomorrow came, it would be over. And she would go back to her life and he would continue on with his. "Patience, how long are you going to ignore the issue?" he finally asked her. "What issue?" Turning her around, he gently lifted her face to his. "Us getting married," he told her. "Since when did we agree on that," she asked him. Pulling free of his arms, she scurried back into Gracie's suite. "Patience O'Connor, you get back here," he growled as he followed her. When she went into the bedroom and shut the door behind her, he scowled. Walking over to it, he turned the handle and found it locked against him. Counting to ten, he tried to calm himself. It would do no good to lose his temper. "Patience, open this door." "Go away," came her muffled reply. Jonathan then decided that counting to ten wasn't enough and he counted to twenty. "Please, open the door and talk to me," he asked. "I don't want to talk about it. After tomorrow, we'll only see each other in passing, Jonathan. We've done our duty and gotten my sister and Rand together. It's time to go back to our previous lives," Patience informed him. The counting didn't work, he decided, just before he shattered the bedroom door with a bolt of magic. Walking through the debris, he strode to the bed and picked up a very startled Patience. "Now, listen little one. You are mine. And I'll thank you not to forget it. We will be getting married," he told her before he sealed his mouth over hers. Patience gasped in outrage. How dare he think he could tell her what she was going to do! Jonathan growled softly and took advantage of her gasp and slid his tongue into her moist mouth. When he finally lifted his head, she was gasping for air and her cheeks were pink with arousal. "Mine," he growled again with a smug look on his handsome face. "Yes," she agreed. "Good, then I'll set a date and we'll get married," he told her as he sat her back down on the edge of the bed. Heading for the door, he intended on finding her father and asking for her hand. "No, we will not," she told him. He stopped and then slowly turned around. "What do you mean `no'," he asked her slowly. "Just that I won't marry you." "Then what, pray tell, do you intend on doing?" "I'll be your mistress," she said boldly. "You can take it or leave it. The choice is yours." "My mistress!" "Yes. If you want me, that's the only way you can have me." "And if I decline," he growled as he strode back to her. "Then we continue on as we did before all this started." "And if I tell you that I won't?" he countered. "That is your only choice, Jonathan. Mistress or nothing." she told him calmly. Standing up, she walked towards him. Stopping in front of him, she gently caressed the side of his face. "I want you like nothing I've ever wanted before, But you need a witch to marry. Not a powerless woman," she told him before she turned and headed to the bathroom. "Sleep on it and let me know," she told him before closing the bathroom door behind her. * * * * * Jonathan stood, rooted to floor. He could hardly believe that his little Patience had given him, an ultimatum. How dare she decide that she wasn't good enough to be his wife? Then a slow smile crossed his face. As his mistress, he could seduce her into marrying him. And that's exactly what he would do. Turning, he spotted a tablet on Gracie's writing desk. Grabbing a piece of stationary, he scrawled out a note for her and left it propped on the her pillow. * * * * * Gracie yawned softly. Laying on her side, she couldn't help but smile at the picture that Rand made. Her tempting husband laid on his back, snoring softly. Who would have thought that a crown prince would snore? She took pleasure in just watching. Knowing that when he was awake, she would do no such thing. The heat of the <i>mezclar,</i> still burned brightly inside of her. She knew that he was as exhausted as she was, and soon the <i>mezclar</i> would wrap them both in its tendrils again. When he stirred, she yanked her gaze up to his face. She was not surprised to see him watching her with hot eyes. "Come here," he growled. "Why?" "Because I want to make love to my wife again," he told her, slowly pulling her to him by the silken binding that still held them together. "Damn, I'll be glad when we're done with this," she told him, referring to the binding holding them together. "You realize, Gracie, that this binding is just symbolic? The bindings are always going to be there. You'll never escape me," he told her before capturing her parted lips under his. * * * * * Patience came out of the bathroom and immediately saw the note laying on the pillow. Stopping next to it, she lightly touched the edge of it. She was almost afraid to open it. Afraid that he had accepted her offer of being his mistress. Afraid that he had turned her offer down. Finally, after taking a deep breath, she snatched up the stationary and opened it. She nearly moaned aloud when she read his words. Damn, what had she gotten herself into?