Five

Riccardo’s late mate, Fortuna Rossi, was a beautiful, down-to-earth woman.

Riccardo met her when they were both eighteen years old. Their destiny was rather unfortunate as they were only together for seven years before Fortuna Rossi died.

She was his fiancée then.

But Riccardo loved her more than anything or anyone he ever loved. They were so different from each other, but at the same time, they complement each other too well. Since then, Riccardo hasn’t met someone like her, and he doesn’t wish to; he just wants to live the rest of his life alone.

Of course, he hasn’t been celibate all those years. But he never had anything serious with any lady, just a purely sexual relationship. Ever since Fortuna died, Riccardo has never had the thought to select another mate, which means the Supreme Ultima has been single for six years.

 But here is what no one knows, except Alessio, who has his suspicions.

The first time Riccardo met Caralyn, the popular cursed princess, he immediately wanted her. It had nothing to do with her being royal; he didn’t even know whether she was a good person or not.

Nevertheless, he was attracted to her, something he found both mysterious and ridiculous.

Mysterious, because aside from his late mate, no woman has ever attracted him at first sight. And ridiculous because it is almost a taboo that such a powerful Supreme Ultima like himself would want a cursed princess, the legitimate but impossible heir to the throne of the Brooks royal family.

He knows she isn’t exactly seen as a valuable individual by her family.

But no matter how much he wanted her, Supreme Ultima Riccardo eliminated all emerging feelings when he heard from Enzo that she was already betrothed to an alpha. Not that he couldn’t take her if he wanted, it’s just that he finds it repulsive to want something that belongs to another man.

Besides, her current actions might just be grief-driven. After all, he knows how it feels to lose a mate. The emptiness, the sadness, the anger, and the confusion, he had experienced them all.

So, her coming to him, begging him to sleep with her, is one of the greatest temptations he has had to face. She was offering without him even asking, but he knew there was something more to it.

After all, she is taken.

But instead of seeing her as a promiscuous or loose woman, he sees her as a woman in distress. The look in her eyes, as if he is the only one who can help her, he is curious to know why.

Cornered against his table, he has the greatest urge to hold her, to claim her like she wants, but he resists.

Whatever Ultima Riccardo claims, no other man should ever dare claim it. And in her case, she will soon belong to another.

A thought suddenly occurs to Riccardo as he observes her countenance. ‘Could she be untouched? Is that what she means by her earlier words?’ he wonders.

He backs away from her. “Leave.”

He doesn’t wait as he starts walking out of the study. Caralyn does not know what came over her, but she follows him, her mouth running, in an attempt to convince him. He continues walking, not stopping even when he meets Enzo on the way.

 

“Let’s talk, please? If you really don’t think of that as a gain, then we can come up with something else, My Lord,” she tried desperately.

“What do you want in exchange?”

 

“Just tell me.”

 She keeps talking, trying to persuade Riccardo.

Enzo just watches them in bewilderment till they disappear, wondering what is going on.

 Riccardo opens the door to his room and enters without so much as a glance back at her before he shuts it. Caralyn’s hand is already on the door handle when she pauses. She thinks about what she’s asking of him and realizes how she must seem to him.

She sighed. ‘I should head back.

When the thought of Alpha Jason comes to her mind, however, her hand opens the door on its own, and her eyes widen since she half-expected it to be locked. She enters and shuts the door behind her.

 

She looks around the room. There is nothing special about it; she has been there before. It is as exquisite as the other rooms in other wings, which is why she sees nothing special about it. Coupled with the fact that she has been in that room before and is in it again now, there’s almost no difference.

Aside from Riccardo’s cologne that lingers in the space.

It does make sense, though, he only plans to stay for five weeks, and so he probably didn’t come with much. She walks further in, leaving the living space for his bed area.

 

He suddenly emerges from his walk-in closet and starts walking towards her. His jacket has been discarded, and his shirt was unbuttoned at the top; he looks like he was in the middle of undressing.

She backs away till her back meets the arm of the couch, and even then, he doesn’t stop, until she plops down on it. It dawns on her that she might have overstepped boundaries.

 

As her mind goes back to her actions now, she realizes she might have been too determined and carried away to the extent that she forgot who she was trying to bargain with.

This is Riccardo De Santi, the great Supreme Ultima.

He could end her right now, and no one would even dare question him. Yet, she had invaded his space relentlessly and entered his room uninvited.

Her breath catches when he leans down and cages her in with his arms, which makes her lean back till she is half-lying on the couch, her hands keeping her upper body away from the couch.

“You are getting married,” Riccardo stated.

“Not by choice. I would rather die than let him have me,” she responds with a determined look.

 

That information was new to Riccardo; she isn’t willing to be tied to her betrothed. And that changes everything now.

Right there, he makes up his mind.

He is going to claim her.

Which means never again will he let another man have her, but she doesn’t need to know that. Her body, her heart, her soul, her spirit, her curse, her whole being, he is going to claim them all.

His right hand went behind her neck, and he closed the space between them. Her eyes close instinctively as his lips meet hers in a soft, slow, but passionate movement. That action invades her senses, and it is as if everything else around them blurred out.

 

She couldn’t accurately describe the feeling, but her whole body was on fire, and her heart was racing with anticipation. The kiss gradually turns into making out till she loses the strength in her, and her arms go limp, making her lie completely on the couch.

He pulls her up after a few seconds until they are both standing, not breaking the kiss. She knows they were moving, but he was the one controlling the movements. She is so lost in him that she only realizes they have changed locations when he lowers her, and her back touches the bed.

 

He follows, his chest touching hers. He starts alternating between her ear lobes, neck, and lips, biting, sucking.  When their lower regions meet, and he presses against her, Caralyn’s mouth parted in response. A foreign and otherworldly sensation slithered all over her body.

She is a bit conflicted when his hands start moving to unbutton her shirt. But the assurance in his eyes, the feeling his body evoked in her, the way his hand moves all over her as if she is too fragile and precious to rush; they make her let go.

He handles her with care and control, making her experience the feelings she doesn’t even know exist. Even through the pain of breaking her in, he makes sure to compensate her with overflowing pleasure.

To her, she is doing what she has to do to stop ‘the wedding of doom’. To him, he is claiming what will forever be his.

While the outside is in chaos, as everyone looks for the cursed princess so she can be locked in before the clock strikes ten, the said ‘cursed princess’ is having the best time of her life in Riccardo De Santi’s bed, writhing and moaning under the Supreme Ultima’s naked body.

But all good things have an end, and Caralyn’s approaching rage fit will soon prove that.

The clock ticks.

The curse looms.