The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince (5 page)

much to him, as much as Winter tried to deny it. But would this

decision mean he was letting down his own people, the same ones

Winter’s parents had led for so many years?

Shaking himself, Winter decided questions would not solve a

thing. One thing was certain. He needed to approach his hosts and tell them about King Sterling’s plan. He’d have to wait until the mating celebration was over, though. The last thing he wanted was to spoil

such a special day.

Winter considered going out and mingling with the crowd again

but quickly decided against it. He didn’t think he could put up a

façade of cool calm when he was crumbling inside. Instead, he lay

back on the bed, trying to think about anything else that wasn’t the horrid situation he found himself in.

Inevitably, his mind drifted to Corbin, to the lynx’s gorgeous,

hard-muscled body and his handsome face. Winter knew he shouldn’t

indulge in this, but he couldn’t help it. The arousal that had been

The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince

33

dimmed by his nervousness and apprehension returned with a

vengeance.

His cock strained against the zipper of his pants, and Winter

reached down to release his prick.

A gasp escaped him as he took his hard shaft into his hand. He

closed his eyes, imagining it was Corbin’s fist massaging him, Corbin pleasuring him, caressing him like no one else had. Needing more,

Winter kicked off his shoes and shimmied out of his pants and

underwear. Now naked from the waist down, he reached behind

himself, rubbing his fingers against his needy hole. He’d never had

anyone invade him there. He’d wanted to save himself for The One,

that special person who could touch his heart, not only his body.

But God help him, he wanted Corbin to be that person. He slipped

the tip of one digit slowly inside, just a little bit, not daring to do more. The promise in his own touch made him whimper in delight.

He wished he’d thought of getting some lubricant beforehand, but it

was too late now. Besides, the slight burn caused by the invasion just added to the sensation.

Pre-cum flowed liberally from the tip of his cock now as he

imagined Corbin’s hands on him. Courtesy of his Sidhe ancestry,

Winter’s own palms were softer, too soft. He squeezed his prick

harder, hoping the pressure would compensate for the lack.

In his mind, it was Corbin’s fingers up his ass and Corbin fisting

his cock. Winter’s hole ached with the need for a harder, deeper

invasion, and his cock throbbed with the need to come. Winter

allowed himself to fall completely in the heaven of his own

imagination. He distantly heard his own voice crying out Corbin’s

name, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

How would Corbin be like when they made love? Would he be

rough and make Winter feel his fucking or gentle, reaching out to

Winter’s heart? Just the question drove Winter closer to climax. He

could almost see it now, the passion in Corbin’s gaze, the way his

body had felt against Winter’s when they’d kissed, his hard cock

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insistently demanding attention. It had been the hardest thing Winter had done in his life to run away and not sink onto his knees to take

Corbin’s cock in his mouth.

Corbin would taste just heavenly, Winter knew it. His girth would

be such that he’d make Winter’s jaw hurt as he took Corbin’s prick in his mouth. He would gag, but he’d love every moment of it. And then,

after he’d pleasured Corbin with his mouth, the lynx would thrust that fat cock inside Winter’s ass.

The sinful images Winter’s mind conjured were too much to bear.

Writhing at his own touch, he cried one more time before he spent his seed all over his hand. He lay there, panting, lost, and dazed, almost thinking that if he just opened his eyes, Corbin would be next to him on the bed, anticipating their next union.

But of course, that wasn’t the case. As Winter’s vision cleared, he

found himself alone in his room and feeling emptier than ever. His

little jack-off session hadn’t solved a thing. If anything, it had brought even more contradicting emotions and questions.

Heaving a sigh, Winter left the bed and made his way to the

bathroom. He wiped himself down, clearing the evidence of his

forbidden desire from his skin. He’d just managed to clean up when

he sensed a familiar presence nearby. At first, he thought he hadn’t

recovered from his fantasy, but then a knock sounded at the door of

his room, confirming the initial impression.
Oh, God.
What could Corbin be doing here?

Winter hastily left the bathroom and started to dress. “Yes?” he

called out as he did so.

“It’s me,” Corbin said from outside. “Corbin Mckenna,” he added,

as if Winter wouldn’t know his voice and energy from those

belonging to a million other people. “Could I maybe talk to you for a minute?”

“You already had five,” Winter answered with far more

snappishness than he’d have liked. Still, knowing that it was unlikely
The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince

35

that Corbin would go, he pulled on his underwear and pants and tried

to arrange the wild mass of his hair.

“I know, but I kind of wasted them.” A deep sigh. “If you don’t

want to see me, I understand. I’ll just talk from here.”

Winter was horrified at the concept. He couldn’t imagine making

Corbin wait in front of his door like that. It just seemed wrong.

Besides, most of the house inhabitants might be busy with the party

downstairs, but anyone could come overhear. Winter was a private

person, and he preferred it if he kept such intimacies behind closed doors. He guessed a part of him was as conservative as other Sidhe,

after all.

With a sigh, Winter resigned himself to the inevitable. “You don’t

need to do that,” he said.

He went to open the door, almost changing his mind when he saw

the lynx standing in the doorway. Merely looking at Corbin reminded

Winter of what he’d just done earlier. Heat flooded his face, and he once again cursed his redheaded nature. Why couldn’t he have the

luck of most of his acquaintances, who, in spite of their fair

complexion, rarely blushed?

Forcing himself to muster a modicum of calm, he asked, “What is

it now?”

“I merely wanted to apologize for earlier,” Corbin replied. “I

pushed too hard, even knowing that you weren’t willing to start

something with me.” He paused, as if struggling for words. “So, I’d

like to ask you one thing. If you don’t want me as your lover, would

you consider at least having me as a friend?”

Winter’s eyes widened. He’d have expected anything but that.

“Really?”

It was hypocritical of him to want platonic friendship from a man

whose image he’d just jacked off to. Even so, it meant a lot to him

that Corbin was willing to respect his decision and offer simple

affection in spite of the way Winter had treated him.

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Scarlet Hyacinth

Corbin nodded. “I know you find it hard to believe, but I…”

Corbin took a deep breath, as if steeling himself for something. “I

really do care about you. A lot.”

Winter wanted to cry. How could he resist Corbin when with each

second that passed, the lynx gave him more reasons to throw caution

to the wind? More importantly, how would Winter bear it when

Corbin hated him? After all, Winter was a traitor. He didn’t deserve to receive such affection, and having it, only to lose it later, would be akin to hell.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Corbin asked, obviously sensing his

distress. Was it Winter’s imagination, or did Corbin start sniffing the air? His expression was strange, torn between dismay and anger. “Is

someone in here? Did they hurt you?”

Winter blinked in surprise at the sudden change in topic. “Hurt

me?” he repeated. “No. I…Who?”

Corbin seemed angry and confused now. “I just…I’m sorry. It’s

none of my business.” He clenched his fists, as if trying to control his temper. “I should go. I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

In that moment, Winter understood. Shifters had very acute

senses. Even if Winter had cleaned up, Corbin must have smelled sex

on him.

He wanted to die. Obviously, Corbin thought Winter had been

fucking someone else. His first guess had been that another guy had

been forcing himself on Winter, which spoke volumes of Corbin’s

opinion of him. But when Winter had denied this…Well, it was clear

that opinion had changed.

Winter had two options. He could let Corbin think he was a whore

and a cock tease, or he could own up to his actions and tell Corbin the truth. There was no real choice between the two, was there?

* * * *

The Lynx Who Purred for a Sidhe Prince

37

Idiot
. Corbin was such an idiot. He’d been convinced Winter was an innocent, and probably had his own more serious reason why he’d

decided to refuse Corbin’s advances. He’d been over their every

exchange in his head and decided that he could wait for a while and

give Winter time. He’d even figured that if he couldn’t be Winter’s

lover, he could at least be the Sidhe’s friend.

God, how ridiculous he must have seemed to the Sidhe. The great

Casanova, reduced to a pleading mess, all because of a Sidhe who’d

led him around by his dick. And the worst thing was that he didn’t

know which emotion humiliated him more, the anger or the hurt.

Hurt
. On top of his ridiculous proposition, he had to suffer from heartbreak, too.
Christ.

He had to cut his losses and flee to his room, where he could lick

his wounds in private. He didn’t think he could face the party now,

especially not knowing which guest had replaced him in Winter’s bed.

That was the strangest thing. Even if the scent of sex was crystal

clear, he couldn’t smell anyone else except Winter around. Perhaps it was for the best. As furious as he was, he was liable to kill the person who’d dared to touch Winter, and that would ruin Preston’s special

day.

So, instead, he did his best to keep a straight face and said, “I’ll

leave you to what you were doing. Just…ignore what I told you.”

As he started to turn, however, a small hand caught his wrist.

“Please don’t go.” Winter’s voice was nearly a whisper. “It’s not what you think.”

Winter’s touch distracted Corbin like crazy, so he freed himself

from the Sidhe’s grip. “And what would you know of what I think?”

he bit out, unable to control the anger in his tone.

Truly, he had no right to be jealous or even pissed at Winter. The

Sidhe had never confessed to any interest in a relationship with

Corbin. He’d admitted they had chemistry, but that didn’t mean

anything. It had all been Corbin’s stupid suppositions. For all he

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knew, Winter had a lover all this time and had been reluctant to tell everyone.

For that reason, he felt guilty when Winter winced. No, he

shouldn’t blame Winter for his own mistakes. Honestly, Corbin

couldn’t believe Winter had deliberately deceived him, so it was

unfair to spout his fury at the young Sidhe.

With a sigh, he took Winter’s hand and kissed it. “I’m sorry. I

shouldn’t have shouted. I respect your choice.”

If anything, his words seemed to make Winter even more

reasonable. Something was seriously wrong here. In spite of his

earlier anger and the knowledge that Winter didn’t belong to him,

protectiveness swelled in his heart. If Winter did have a lover, it

seemed the other guy wasn’t treating the sweet Sidhe right.

“I know I don’t have any right to ask you this,” Winter murmured,

“but I really do need a friend. If you’d just hear me out for a minute, I’d be very thankful.”

Corbin nodded, unable to refuse Winter anything. The Sidhe

looked somewhat relieved and offered him a tremulous smile. “Come

in, please.”

The poor fae seemed so afraid that Corbin’s every instinct begged

to soothe him. This need to protect was something he hadn’t

experienced before, at least not to this extent. Even with his young

nephew, the urge to shield him from all harm wasn’t this intense. He

had to keep a cool head and take whatever Winter had to tell him in

stride.

Winter’s quarters were just like any other of the guest rooms.

Even with all the time he’d been here, Winter hadn’t changed a thing.

Still, the feel of him, his scent and his warmth were all over the place.

Corbin wanted to climb into Winter’s bed and roll around in the

Sidhe’s sheets, to inhale’s Winter’s scent so deeply he’d never forget it.

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39

Instead, he focused on the fae’s earnest face. “What is it,

sweetheart?” The endearment slipped out naturally without Corbin

being able to hold it back. “What’s wrong?”

“Let me just begin by saying that there was never anyone here.”

He was blushing fiercely, Corbin realized. “You left me in quite a

predicament, and I had to err…take matters into my own hands.

Literally.”

Corbin’s mind short-circuited at the picture those words conjured.

Winter touching himself, masturbating, perhaps to images of Corbin,