A Face Like Sunshine, Eyes Like Winter
16
"Hard part is over, Ingcuka." Okoye whispers as she steps aside to allow him into the same lavish guest room he stayed in his first time at the palace. "A man of few words, indeed. Now rest, and keep breathing."
He gives her a smile before she leaves him alone, feeling a sense of grim accomplishment.
There's no surface he feels like sitting on, so he stands by Sunshine's window facing the gardens. God , he wants to hold her. Even if it's only for a few minutes. It's all he can think about right now with his fate hanging in the balance. He stands there, unable to let his mind picture the council members discussing him or he'll doom himself on their behalf.
He wishes Steve was here to reassure him with a firm don't worry, Buck . Or something silly like chill out, Dances With Wolves from Sam. Anything but this silence and longing for Shuri in his arms. His komoyo beads remain lifeless against his flesh wrist. He wants to hail her, maybe leave her a voice message, but the thought of her still being surrounded by royals and tribal leaders when he does is enough to deter him.
After what seems like hours, M'asi and his other Dora escorts bring him some food, trying to distract him enough to pull him out of his anxious thoughts. He can only manage to swallow a few bites. The food feels like straw going down.
He can't eat, only wait. Okoye calls them away when it's obvious that the only remedy for his strangling nerves will be the Council's verdict.
The sun has set and he's staring at his pale reflection in the window by the time he hears a sharp knock at the door.
Bucky turns to face his visitor, willing himself to remain calm and accept whatever the decision is. The door opens and King T'Challa steps in, clasping his hands behind his back.
"Your majesty." Bucky bows his head and offers the Wakandan salute.
T'Challa returns the gesture. He sighs wearily. "I'm sorry for the wait. As you can imagine, it was quite the debate."
Bucky can only nod, his anticipation too great to waste a breath on anything else.
"Relax, James. The Council has voted to grant your asylum."
Relief floods his body, air filling his lungs as he takes a deep breath and exhales sharply, audibly. A weight as enormous as the Hulk feels like it's been lifted from his shoulders. Hope replaces it, making him feel lighter than he's felt in a long, long time.
T'Challa is smiling at him with pride, now, watching the happiness and relief creep its way into Bucky's body language. "It was M'Baku, to my great surprise, who cast the deciding vote."
Bucky is definitely surprised. "That's kinda hard to believe."
"If I didn't witness it myself I'd be right there with you, my friend."
T'Challa closes the distance between them, leading Bucky toward the open lounge area, gesturing for him to sit. He finds himself and the king occupying the same positions as when the Queen Mother came to graciously kick him out of the palace.
This is a very different conversation; a very different royal.
"He expects you to fail." Bucky tenses a bit, but T'Challa seems unbothered. "He's looking forward to watching me struggle to accomplish what he calls my idealistic goals."
"So, this new alliance with the Jabari is still kinda sensitive."
"Mm, M'Baku has always arrogantly believed his bloodline produces better kings, fiercer warriors. It's the Jabari way. His vote is more like a wager. It's on us to make sure we win, eh?"
Bucky nods. It's just macho enough to make sense. "M'Kathu?"
"Not a big fan of yours, but outnumbered. He has a lot to atone for, himself. Rebuilding trust in the Border Tribe is his responsibility, not yours. The Council is wise enough to know the difference between a threat and a scapegoat."
"Thank you. I don't know what to say. How to, uh..."
"Just listen, for now." T'Challa leans forward. "After we clear your triggers, you must enter a period of probation. That is unconditional.
"Think of it as highly specialized community service. The kind only someone of your skillset could take on. As a bonus, it comes with a royal security clearance."
It takes Bucky all of ten seconds to deduce that he's about to spend who knows how long as a royal bodyguard. Not a bad way to do community service. He is aware of his privilege; having the Dora, the River Tribe, and the royal family in his corner; but it's still a better offer than he ever expected.
"You want me to protect someone." T'Challa nods. "Another outsider?"
"Quite the opposite. Though a great challenge for you, to be sure."
The first person that comes to mind is the king himself, but Okoye and Ayo have that honor, and the Black Panther can take care of himself. He thinks of the Queen Mother, Kwame, or perhaps one of the tribal leaders still resisting his presence. The Dora are all more than capable of handling any of them, though.
"She requested you, herself."
That narrows it down. "The princess."
"If you think you can handle it."
Bucky lowers his gaze, trying to examine the conflicting feelings gathering inside him. The sheer magnitude of the responsibility; the strain this will put on his self-control. Regardless of his concerns, a heated rush of excitement gets a grip on him. This means he will be spending a lot more time around her. This means he can hear her voice, see her sweet face, smell her soothing scent by just turning his head in a certain direction instead of waiting days, weeks. He wonders if she had any say in all this, if she was there for the deliberations, if this was her idea.
"It was her idea," T'Challa confirms with a knowing smile. Bucky raises his eyebrows in a silent request for the king to elaborate. "Whether M'Baku likes it or not, she's our only expert on HYDRA's psychological warfare. And she's determined to spend as much time on your recovery as possible. However, her royal duties are growing," T'Challa explains. "Her time must be split between her work in the lab, as an ambassador, and with your full recovery. No easy feat.
"So, wherever the princess goes, you shall follow. You will be in charge of her security while she tours the continent. Upon your return, her testimony can guarantee your citizenship. Do you agree to those terms?"
"I'll protect her with my life."
"Shuri has foreseen just that. It's a very large part of why you're still here, Ingcuka. And I can see...you mean it."
His gaze is probing, and something else. The king may as well be reading his mind. Bucky doesn't want to lie to the sovereign leader of his new home, especially not after being granted a place here by the skin of his teeth, so he does the next best thing. He says nothing at first.
"She was the first thing you asked about, in this very room, your first night out of cryostasis."
He remembers. Even after the disorientation of being taken out of cryostasis and the whole ordeal of fighting N'Jadaka and a small army, Shuri was all he could think about.
"She's the first person your eyes find in any room where you're together. And the last."
He doesn't have an answer. T'Challa doesn't seem angry, only certain. Serious. Bucky just waits, not sure if speaking is the best idea right now.
"She saw your devotion in a vision, but I've seen it since she first started working with you, James." As if telling a story to an old friend, T'Challa continues: "She's been fighting hard to keep you here, in her care, because of it."
"She really believes in it."
"Do you? "
Bucky pauses, taking a minute to ask himself. He felt something real when he was in that other world with his mother, and after. Whatever it was, it's why he's sitting here today. Regardless, the way he feels, he would find a way to make her vision come true. "I believe in her ."
"Because of your vision? Or because of your feelings for her?"
Yeah. There it is. The bald faced truth. Bucky has no defense, no poker face strong enough to deploy against T'Challa's certainty.
"I've spent enough time pining after an unattainable woman to recognize the look."
"Both…" he whispers.
"I believe you," Shuri's big brother sighs, looking down at his hands. "There's just one problem. She believes what she saw is true love. She thinks I don't know, but she tends to forget that I know her better than anyone."
Bucky's heart sinks when T'Challa looks at him again.
"I'm not cruel enough to crush her hopes outright, nor would I tell you that you're wrong for caring for her. It will ensure you keep your word, protect her as you vow.
"But we both know that's all you can do. Anything more could be viewed as sedition."
Somehow, Bucky gets air into his lungs enough to respond. "I know."
"Then I must appeal to the man of honor in you now, James. She may be heartbroken, she may even be angry with us both. But she'll heal, in time. She has a duty to her people. She is my only sister and she is only nineteen."
Bucky's head feels like lead, but he manages to nod, slowly. He blinks back a rush of dampness in his eyes before it has a chance to form tears.
"Your duty now is to protect her from every danger. Including her very limited ideals about love."
Bucky feels fire in his lungs. "I would never take advantage of her," he manages to choke out.
As he did that first night in this very room, he also feels a type of way about T'Challa's very limited view of his little sister. But he has even fewer legs to stand on in protest now than he did then. I do as I please, Bucky Barnes. Don't give up on us.
"Good. Then we have an understanding." There is silence for a long pause as Bucky's mind reels. When T'Challa speaks next, his tone is somewhat more empathetic, even apologetic. "There's something else I must ask of you. I promised her I would give you the choice, so you're free to refuse. I'm hoping you won't."
Bucky frowns. "Is there a fight?"
"Without your help, I'm afraid there could be."
The weight of this request settles itself in their lush surroundings like a fog. Bucky has seen the king's grave look in others before, many times. There's no fight yet, but there is a mission. One only a super spy with nearly a century of experience can take on, apparently. If the king isn't burdening one of his own spies with this, it must be enough of a threat that he'd go to drastic lengths.
These are the real terms of his asylum. He'd be a fool to think refusing this mission wouldn't affect that, no matter what the king says now. This is what everyone's been preparing him for, in so many words. This is what doing anything to earn his new home looks like. Steel begins to snuff out the fire. Bucky sits at attention, ready to comply.
"What's the mission?"
T'Challa looks immensely relieved.
"What do you know about the Lost City of Atlantis?"
Once the king leaves him with the intel from Ross, Bucky has to fight off a tidal wave of conflicting thoughts.
The only thing that brings him out of it is the thought of Sunshine's faith in him. Don't give up on us . He won't. He can't. There has to be another way.
He decides to wait. To be honest with her, the first opportunity he gets. He'll do his duty, accept T'Challa's mission, but he won't keep her in the dark. T'Challa thinks she doesn't understand who she is, what she wants...everything Bucky has seen in her suggests decidedly otherwise. If he thinks back to all the conversations they've had just the two of them, one theme emerges: her desire to no longer be seen as a little girl who can't be trusted to make her own decisions. The king may have his loyalty, but she's got his heart. A home is nothing without that.
He has dinner in the garden with the Dora who brought him here, minus Okoye, who is tending to the Queen Mother. N'Yuna is still on duty, but he's able to speak to her via kimoyo while they eat. She's proud of him and he's immensely grateful for all she's done for him, especially her testimony. When he tells them the news of his new job, everyone reacts as if he's won the lottery. "Oh, the princess is the best!" M'asi gushes. "Don't tell anyone, but she's my favorite royal."
"What an honor, Ingcuka!" N'Yuna exclaims on the hologram. "I had a feeling...she's been your biggest advocate."
"Yeah, she has." He can't hide the pride that seeps into his voice. "It's an honor, truly."
"Protect her well." They all toast to him and for the first time, he truly feels that he belongs here.
They leave him with their blessing and a promise to stop 'taking it easy' on him now that he's officially almost a citizen.
When no one comes to collect him it's pretty apparent that he's staying at the palace.
Bucky takes off his overshirt and shoes, loosens his hair, and sits cross-legged on the floor in the lounge area. In an effort to occupy his mind, he boots up his beads and begins studying the dossier on the mission T'Challa gave him.
The ultimate target is a half-man, half-aquatic demigod called Namor. Working with HYDRA and sparring with half the Avengers makes Bucky feel up to speed on this type of foe. For centuries, there's been a long-standing, secret cold war between the thought-to-be-mythical Atlantis and the deceptively secluded (until now), Wakanda. T'Challa has learned that there are potential Atlantean spies working in greater Africa and other areas, ones who fed Killmonger the intel on how to incite the Border Tribe. He knew a great deal about what he was dealing with before he ever set foot on Wakandan land. Before he partnered with Klaw even, he'd engaged Namor to join forces with a promise of a handsome payment of vibranium in exchange for help overthrowing the world's nations from below. Killmonger's coup is the gift that keeps on giving, apparently. His defeat only delayed the discovery of Namor's involvement, but the threat remains. In what is supposed to be a time of peace and openness for Wakanda, this threat cannot come to pass, or get out to the public.
That's where Bucky comes in. He has to start on land. All T'Challa wants him to do right now is surveil, gather more intelligence, rather than entrusting one of his War Dogs, who could potentially be compromised. Whatever leads he finds could send him under the ocean. There is no knowing if he will return, but it's his mission to. He'll succeed. He has to. Now that he has a fighting chance, nothing will keep him from coming home.
Bucky stares at the hologram, already having memorized most of the intel, the realization of his success today hitting him. I have a home, now. Something to believe in. Something to fight for.
When this mission is done, he can go back to his tea and hammock. He can sit and talk with the Doc under his tree by the river. He can watch Olla and her brothers grow. Maybe even start his own crop or some sort of trade in the market and watch it flourish over time, if he's lucky. The prospects of a life he thought was impossible four months ago overwhelm him.
If this is the price he has to pay to have those things; to be close to Shuri; he'll pay it.
There is a soft, tentative knock on the window overlooking the gardens behind him.
It's Sunshine.
He shuts down the hologram and stands, crossing the distance in a few quick strides.
She's just beyond the glass, dressed in a nightgown and robe, her eyes glued to his.
Bucky slides open the window and reaches for her without even thinking about it. His body misses hers too much for him to resist. She comes to him with a sweet little sigh of relief, letting him take her in his arms and carry her into the room. Bucky instantly feels the same as soon as he has her petite frame pressed against his much larger one. After a quick scan of the garden to make sure there's no one around to see them, he activates the privacy dimmers on the wall panel next to his elbow, tinting the glass so the inside can't be seen. He slides the window shut and holds her tight, leaning into her braids to inhale his lungs full of her soothing scent.
She is warm, as soft as he imagined all those nights without her, and so vibrant in his arms.
His eyes slip shut, his instincts and longing taking over, and he leans in to kiss her gently. She responds with a devastatingly angelic sigh, slipping her silky tongue into his mouth, kissing him back eagerly, her slim fingers trawling through his newly detangled hair. Bucky kisses her deeply for a few moments, swaying with her in his arms, then just her lips over and over, then her cheek, neck, forehead, and finally the tip of her nose. He gets intense little doses of her scent each time he presses his lips to her skin. Mm. " Damn, I missed you…"
"I came as soon as I could sneak out," she breathes, hugging him close. Her heart is fluttering a mile a minute. " Ugh , to hell with M'Kathu and M'Baku. They don't know anything about me, or you. I was so terrified they'd convince the others to send you away!"
"It's okay, Sunshine. I'm still here," he mutters softly into her hair. "I ain't going anywhere."
"I loved what you said, Bucky. I hope you know I was praying to Bast for you."
"You were spectacular . Your brother said you were my best bet. He was right. Thank you."
For a long interlude, he just holds her, his legs carrying him to the bed to lay down with her in his arms of their own accord. She snuggles against him, fitting into his personal space with ease. He has missed holding her like this for so long all he can do is pull her closer, burrow further into her warmth. A sense of satisfaction so deep it's scary settles over him. This is home. Shuri is as much Wakanda as the river and the village. He can't separate them. He sighs against the soft skin of her neck, causing her to shiver and wrap her arms around him even tighter.
They lay together in silence for a while, indulging in the knowledge that at least he isn't going anywhere. Yet. They're going to have to discuss much more difficult truths any moment now, but he holds onto this peaceful relief as long as he can while the seconds tick by.
Shuri angles her face up to his, catching him staring down at her. His eyes roam over her gorgeous features, unable to stop himself from reaching up with his flesh hand to caress her cheek, her lips. She grins, her fingers tangling in his hair. "You trimmed your beard. Although clean-shaven is more fitting for a royal bodyguard, you look so good I'll forgive you."
"Thanks, doll." Bucky pauses, frowning slightly. "Although, as your new bodyguard, I gotta tell ya, this sneaking out of your room in the middle of the night business has to stop. It's dangerous."
She gasps, feigning offense. "Traitor!"
He chuckles, seized with another fierce desire to kiss her. It only gets stronger when she notices, going breathless, and leans up even closer so that he can. With gargantuan effort, he ignores the heat roiling inside him this time and takes her chin between his fingers instead so that she will look at him. "I'm serious. It has to stop. At least, after tonight."
Shuri recoils slightly, her smile fading. "Give me some credit. I waited as long as I could, and I made sure I wasn't followed. Besides, we don't have to worry. I bargained for you to be the one watching over me from now on."
"I know, and that's what we need to talk about."
Shuri gazes up at him for a long, agonizing moment, reading the truth in his eyes. To his dismay, she pulls slowly away from him. He doesn't want to part from her warmth yet, but he lets her go.
He watches her slide off of the bed and walk further into the dimly lit room, her nightgown clinging to her form, revealing her elegant silhouette as she uses her kimoyo beads to activate a holographic fire in the fireplace. The light illuminates her splendidly, causing his breath to hitch in his chest and his arousal to stir below as he gets up to follow her. He stands close, watching, waiting. "T'Challa thinks he knows about us, doesn't he?"
Bucky sighs hard, bracing himself for what's going to follow. "He thinks you're a kid with a crush. He knows I have feelings for you that I shouldn't have. His one condition is that I don't act on them."
"Ugh! The nerve of him after all his drama with Nakia!" She growls, plopping angrily down onto the arm of the chair he sat in when T'Challa was here. "He's going to propose soon, you know. That would've been impossible last year."
"This is kinda different, Sunshine."
"You agree with him?" She hurls the question at him, obviously hurt and angry.
"I think I'm lucky just to be here lookin' at you, beautiful."
Bucky kneels before her, resting his hands on her small thighs, stroking them through the soft fabric of her nightgown. He gazes up at her beseechingly. In the light of the holofire, she looks like a young goddess with her braids flowing across her shoulder.
"But I can't ignore your brother's orders, or how he feels. It's my duty to protect you, now. Even...even from my influence."
"I don't need to be protected from your influence, Bucky!" She leans forward to stroke his beard with her soft hands, her passion and proximity stirring his resolve. "I'm not some mindless teenager. I know what I want-to be with you for you . I thought you felt the same way."
He takes hold of her slender wrists. "I do."
"But you are going to let my brother scare you into rejecting me? What, because I'm 'only nineteen' in two days?"
"Sunshine, you ain't 'only' anything. You're everything. To me. To your family. To everybody." Bucky kisses her palm, remembering that he brought her now finished gift from his hut, just in case he'd see her. He decides to wait to give it to her, seeing as how he still needs to convince her he truly isn't going anywhere. He just has to be a lot more careful, for both their sake. "Look," he pulls her fingers from his beard, holding her hands close to his chest, imploring her to work with him. "I'm not saying that I changed my mind. The truth is…"
Bucky takes a deep breath and prepares to take a leap of faith. The same faith she has shown in him since he got here. Gazing up at her, so gorgeous, so formidable for such a tiny thing, so vibrant and passionate. He wants her like nobody's business.
"The truth is you're the reason I'm still here. You're in my system, now. I couldn't get you out if I wanted to."
"...do you..?" she asks in a whisper so uncertain and demure he wants to kiss her again.
"Nah, Sunshine. You don't get it. You're already in here so deep, it's honestly scary." He places her delicate hand against his chest, her palm over his heart, staring into her eyes, at her lips, her shapely neck and collarbones...he has to divert this line of thinking so he can get this out. He breathes, her hand rising and falling with the air flowing through his lungs. "But, I want you to know me as my whole self. The Bucky I truly am. This ain't it. This is only a trace of it.
"One day...I want to walk into that throne room as a full citizen and ask for you. Properly. I can't do that the way I am now. Please, tell me you understand."
Shuri is silent for a moment, her hand moving with his breathing, looking inward, he can tell. He is momentarily afraid that she will wrongfully see this as some sort of rejection. But then, when she speaks again, what she says only confirms that her big brother's actions hold more bias and protectiveness than he realizes, or cares to admit.
"I understand. I want that, too. We will get there, together. I also understand T'Challa made you think acting on your feelings for me amounts to treason," she elaborates calmly...a tone winding its way into her voice that reminds him of her mother. "I've read the laws, Bucky. Yes, one must be a full citizen of a certain caliber to 'court' me, but I am free to accept or refuse anyone I please. You, however, are under my authority, now.
"That means my requests are your law." she rises, standing to her full height, the holographic fire giving her a mesmerizing aura. "And if I command it..."
He exhales hard, this new sultriness in her voice affecting him so strongly he can only just gaze up at her, riveted to the spot. She angles her pretty face down to his, nudging the cleft in his chin with her button nose. A soft huff escapes her, luring him closer, as if she's whispering, kiss me, Bucky. He doesn't resist, leaning in...but she pulls away just before he makes contact, standing straight again. In a single breath, she has swayed him like the wind. It feels...good. Very, very good. Almost intoxicating.
"...it's not illegal. Do you understand, Sergeant?"
He can only nod, sitting upright on his knees in front of her, waiting.
Her eyes are alight with fierce determination, but also a desire so intense he is captivated by it. Ruled by it, a slave to it, as she is telling him in so many words. She isn't wrong. All she has to do is ask him, and he will do it.
Shuri closes the small distance to pull him toward her, up off his knees.
They stand close, only a breath between them. Shuri takes his arms, folding them around her slim, shapely body, gazing up at him. "What do you feel right now? What do you want?"
Bucky leans into her, his large hands enveloping her hips, his fingers digging slightly into her precious, royal flesh. He answers her truthfully. Her eyes brook no refusal. "I want you."
She leans up to him on her tiptoes, her scent, pliable flesh, and gorgeous, glowing vibrancy infecting him like a fever. He is already hard. Already poised to strike. Her honey lips part right against his. "Then I command you to take what you want."
Bucky hesitates for only a second before months of pent up desire take over.
He takes her fully into his arms, lifting her easily as if she were made of feathers. Shuri wraps her legs around his waist, grinding into him on impulse, moaning softly into his kisses. Her lips and tongue consume his world, her small hands invading his hair. The apex of her thighs catches him right along his steadily hardening arousal as she unfolds herself against him.
"Touch me..." she breathes against his lips, kissing him, clinging to him.
Bucky swings her around, closing the distance between them and the bed in a few steps. Shuri gazes into his eyes unflinchingly as he carries her, her hands cradling his neck, her legs securely wrapped around him. He lays her on her back, hovering over her, anchoring himself with his arms so that he doesn't crush her. He nuzzles into her, inhaling her scent. "Where do you want me to touch you, princess?"
Shuri gazes up at him, her smile unfolding like a blooming flower, and shimmies the straps of her nightgown off of her elegant shoulders. He watches, mesmerized, as she exposes her small, pert breasts to his roving eyes. "Here..." she breathes, her chest rising up to meet his, her hard nipples making him suppress a shiver of his own as he sinks down just a little further so she can feel his arousal rubbing against her. His kisses her, opening her mouth with his, sending his tongue inside to dance with hers, taking her breath away before releasing her to move his kisses downward. She tenses and makes a cute little noise when his beard tickles her.
He smiles against her skin before sucking on her neck, leaning further and further into her space as his kisses travel. She gasps as he tugs her roughly into him to feel her breasts poking into him before dipping his head and capturing one of her nipples between his lips.
She giggles and tries to squirm away at first. Shit , is it sexy. It drives him wild. He squeezes her possessively in his strong palms, trying to express to her without words that she's only going to get a treat. He wants to make her feel good. He wants to eat her alive. Her nipples are standing at attention, waiting for his mouth. Begging for his tongue. He leans into her again, letting some of his weight fall on her petite body just enough so she won't go too far when he makes her squirm again. He fully intends to make her so wet and so turned on that she's prepared to run away from the intensity of his desire for her.
He sinks his way down between her legs, letting his hefty hardness rest against her sex. She leans back so that her head catches on the downy pillows, letting her eyes slip shut as a tiny little moan escapes her. He reaches up and massages her, covering one breast with his palm and squeezing. The heat and damp between her legs reaches for him and makes him ache. He thrusts against her as he leans in, roughly pulls the fabric of her nightgown away, and licks her nipple into his mouth. He sucks, hard , causing her to buck up against him and hiss quietly, " Ugh! "
He nibbles at her skin, the silky smoothness of it causing his tongue to slip around as he takes in a mouthful. She's so untouched, she shivers and shrinks away, but he holds her fast against him. He works her nipples until they're coiled like tiny brown springs rolling in his mouth. Her flesh is so juicy and supple and sweet slipping and bouncing against his tongue as he devours her breasts, taking turns attending to them. He loses himself. He's back in the wilds, his fantasies of her burning with the embers in his camp fire, just as her body burns beneath him now. She moans, grinding against him as he palms and sucks her small tits indulgently until he swears he can feel her getting wetter against him. He bucks into her again, wanting so badly to fuck her senseless, knowing he has to pull back soon, even though he's starting to smell her arousal filling the air around them. Just a little more...
She smells so damn good. Potent, fresh like rain in spring. Mouthwatering. Bucky goes in for 'just a little more', only releasing her when she's panting and shuddering and starting to go all dewy with sweat, helpless underneath him. He raises his eyes to hers, lets her see them burn.
"Where else, princess?"
"Lower…" she demands softly, driving a spike of lust straight down his groin. Her pupils are dilated in the firelight as she bites down on her bottom lip, waiting. She runs her fingers through his hair, gripping his vibranium with her other hand as he obliges and goes to work.
He pulls the expensive, delicate fabric of her skin-toned nightgown up her slender thighs, discovering that she isn't wearing panties. " Fuck, Sunshine, that's not fair…" he groans, forgetting his manners.
She giggles at his surprise (and dirty talk), rubbing the inside of her thigh teasingly along his chin. "I never said I'd make it easy for you to resist me, Sergeant."
"Call me that one more time and you're in trouble…"
She has no idea how loaded a threat it is.
He nibbles her thigh and disappears between her legs before she can respond.
Bucky spreads her, not needing any more light than they have to see the intoxicating beauty of her glistening sex. He eyes her with rapturous hunger. She's pearly and frothy with precum, dripping for him. Her labia is a blooming brown flower, her pink clit peeking out at him, her hole so small and tight his dick screams to be consumed by it. Darkly, he wonders (but also knows, deep down) if she's a virgin. The thought is forbidden, but it makes his abdomen clench with desire. This is dangerous, holy hell, this is dangerous...but he can't stop yet.
He sticks his tongue inside her tight, wet hole and closes his mouth around her untouched sex, sucking her lips into his mouth and lapping at her juices with total abandon. Not just abandon. Reverence. Deep, unflinching devotion. He suspects, from her tentative hold on him at first and the way she's already almost in tears, that she's never had a man lick her like this . Regardless if he's her first, he wants to be her last. He wants to make her come so intensely that she will want his tongue inside her any chance she can get. The way she commanded him suggests that she will do so again, and when she does, he knows he will obey.
He will obey, because her power over him is undeniable now.
He listens to hear instructions in her soft, kitten-like moans as he licks her clit and sucks on it, dips his tongue inside her and covers her with his mouth. Lets her feel his strong tongue muscle undulate against her inner walls until her back arches clean off the bed. He loses himself in her soft, juicy sex, forgetting the guards in the palace, the mission, his nerves from this afternoon, the incredibly long journey he still has to make to truly call her his, even her brother telling him she's too young and precious to love like this.
All he sees, tastes, smells and feels is his princess.
Sunshine moans and mewls and whimpers and rides his tongue as quietly as she can, pulling at his hair to keep herself from yelling. He lets her go and rises a little to watch her closely for her reaction as he gently inserts one of his flesh fingers inside. "Do you like this?" he asks, fingering her slowly, "my tongue inside you? My fingers?"
Her eyes flutter open and she meets his gaze long enough for her to nod eagerly before slipping shut again to let him continue. Bucky watches every ripple of pleasure that passes across her gorgeous face while he gently, expertly, intensely builds her pleasure to climax with his fingers, occasionally leaning forward to lick and kiss at her clit and her raw pink center until she's soaked. Finally, she seizes up with a gut punch of an orgasm, flooding his mouth with warm, sticky-sweet cum. She starts moaning loudly enough to warrant him sliding upward to wrap his vibranium arm around her and absorb the sound with a deep kiss. When she tastes herself on his lips and tongue, she grinds into his fingers, her breasts rising and falling against his chest as she breathes through her orgasm.
Bucky lets her go, eases back down, his shoulder blades and back a playground for her roaming fingers, and licks her clean, snaking his tongue into every fold of her that he can. He could eat her out forever, she's so soft and tender and fragrant. He feels he wants to be here, staring up at her adoringly from the apex of her thighs, soaked in her sex, every night.
He kisses her labia and the insides of her slender thighs before finally letting her go. He sits up, moving to stand at the foot of the bed, gazing down at the state of her, his bulge standing at full attention. He can't ignore it, but he doesn't see a way to do anything about it. Not here. This wasn't about his pleasure, anyway, only hers. Still, he wants her, so badly.
"You're very good at that," she sighs, unfurling like a cat, closing her legs gracefully and crawling toward him. She's on him, her slinky body against his, in a breath. "Were you holding back under the tree?"
"I've been thinking about it since then," he confesses, his voice deep and whisper-soft, thick with the taste of her. She giggles again, kissing him, one hand snaking around his neck, the other moving downward. Bucky's breath hitches and he finds her hand, pausing its momentum at the base of his abs. "Sunshine…" he warns, though in truth, he isn't sure how much resistance he can truly muster at this point. About zero if she keeps going.
"Are you trying to displease me after getting me off so well, Ingcuka?"
Her voice is so sweet, musical, and sexy uttering such things against his lips. He leans into her, his jaw clenching, wanting this so badly it hurts. But it is not a good idea, by any stretch.
"I'm trying to keep from being banished my first night on the job, doll."
Shuri smiles, empathy for his plight flashing in her eyes before it disappears again. She tsks at him, kissing his chin, Adam's apple, and neck again as she slips her hand from his and continues reaching down into his pants. "Silly Ingucka," she whines, her soft hand closing around his girth. "You haven't read the laws, have you? They are very specific. They don't say a single word about this… " Bucky exhales sharply as she begins to stroke him, pulling his long, heavy, hard dick gently out of the prison of his pants to cradle against her smooth, warm stomach. She lets out a little huff of surprise, perhaps even intimidation, once he's free. She quickly moves past that, however, and begins to work him to a fever pitch. Now it's his turn to go breathless.
She is unpracticed, but firm and confident nonetheless, causing him to capture her mouth and kiss her passionately to the rhythm of her stroking. She experimentally rakes her thumb over his swollen head and uses his oozing precum to lubricate the way for her. "Princess, please… "
"Please, what?" She doesn't stop. Only kisses his neck, causing him to shiver. She's obviously enraptured by the power exchange.
"Don't stop." Bucky pulls her into him with a vibranium arm around her tiny waist, his flesh hand reaching down to aid her, steady and speed up her rhythm. He is aware, god, too aware, that just beneath her slinky nightgown, her sex is naked, wet, and ready for him. Just the thought...of taking her right now...toys with him as he kisses and helps her stroke him until he's on the precipice, about to leap off. "Right there...Sunshine...I'm...ugh…"
His eyes are still shut and he has no time to stop her before she's on her knees in front of him. In the next second, just as he cums, her hot, silky tongue is sliding along his shaft while her hand continues stroking, and a second after that he's going down her throat. She gags at first, but quickly recovers, moaning around him. He wants to tell her no, but he doesn't, because he's coming hard...damn it...no...yes... god yes.
Before she lets him go, Shuri's tongue does almost obscene things, causing Bucky serious distress for how good it feels on him. She does it sweetly, indulgently, smiling, proud of herself.
It's so sexy to watch, but it practically gives him a heart attack. She lets him slide out of her mouth, licking her honey lips, gazing up at him with damp eyes. So gorgeous. "How was that?"
He puts himself away and picks her up off of her knees, kissing her fiercely. "Amazing. You didn't have to do that. All I care about is pleasing you ."
Shuri nuzzles her nose into his cleft. "I wanted to." A mischievous gleam mingles with the firelight in her eyes. "I've been thinking about it, too."
"You're gonna get me in trouble, aren't you, princess?"
She kisses him softly, wrapping both arms around his neck. "Only the good kind."
Bucky smiles and just holds her, swaying slightly with her, so damn in love with her. It's hard to care about anything but her right now. He knows that he has to let her go and send her back to her room soon, if he's smart.
But right now, all he wants...all he needs...is this.