Romanowski and Rosemary

45. The dancing jewel

I wish I could pretend I didn't need ya
I wish it wasn't so damn hard to leave ya

- Señorita, Camila & Shawn

The air was suffused with unspoken tension. The only sound was the soft clinking of Althea's jewels and their mingled breaths.

He reached out, his fingers tracing the delicate lines of her collarbone, the cool metal of the necklace contrasting with the warmth of her skin. His touch was feather light, yet it sent a shiver through her.

Her breath caught in her throat as he leaned down, his lips brushing against her ear, a low husk that vibrated through her. "You are so beautiful," he murmured, his words a reverent prayer against her skin. "So perfect." It was a seductive promise of the pleasures to come.

She reached up, her hands tracing the contours of his face, the rough stubble of his beard, the sharp line of his jaw.

Her touch was tentative at first, but as he leaned into her caress, her confidence grew. She explored the planes of his shoulders, the strength of his neck, the power that radiated from him.

He wanted to devour her, to consume her with his love, his passion. But he would wait, his hunger only adding to the intensity of the moment.

For he knew that when the time came, the release would be all the more powerful, the pleasure all the more consuming.

Althea, her senses overwhelmed by the intensity of the moment, reached up to tangle her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer as she deepened their kiss again. Their bodies, now entwined, moved as one, in a sensual dance of desire and surrender.

Amidst their kiss grew a tantalising idea within Julian's head.

He was a king after all, his mind crafting ever new ways and games to witness the nymph before him, in her true colours of sensuality.

Pleased with his thoughts, he broke the kiss.

The sight of her, lips parted and chest heaving, sent a fresh wave of desire crashing over him. Her skin, flushed, glistened under the soft candlelight, the jewels adorning her body shimmering with every movement.

Her eyes opened when she felt Julian's lips press a lingering kiss to her forehead, his breath warm against her skin.

He kissed the corner of her eye, the tip of her nose, the curve of her cheek. His lips danced over her skin, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

Yet, he deliberately avoided her lips, her neck, the pulse points that throbbed with need.

Althea's breath hitched, her body trembling with a mix of arousal and frustration. She leaned into him, seeking the kiss she craved, but he deftly evaded her, his lips moving to the shell of her ear instead.

"Patience, my sweet," he murmured, a hint of devilishness. "Pleasure delayed is pleasure heightened."

He kissed the thin band of gold resting in the hollow of her throat, his tongue tracing its cool surface. Then, lower, to the blue brooch nestled between her soft curves, his breath ghosting over her heated skin.

Althea gasped, her head tilting back as a surge of warmth spread through her body. But it was a fleeting sensation, as Julian's lips moved on, leaving the most sensitive of her skin untouched, the kiss she craved still undelivered.

Each kiss was a promise, a taste of the pleasure she craved, but he only remained annoyingly distant from the places she yearned for his touch.

His lips moved lower, pressing a kiss to the ruby that adorned her navel, carefully edging her to frustration as he avoided her sensitive skin. She cried softly, a moan escaping her lips, body trembling. But instead of continuing downwards, his lips moved back up, tracing a path along her ribcage.