To Bleed A Kingdom, page 41
Mouth watering at the sight, I lower my head and cup my hand beneath her breast, pebbling her nipple with a flick of my tongue. She gasps, arching against me, and I increase my efforts, enclosing my mouth around her breast and rolling the nub with my tongue. She moans, a long, drawn-out sound that has my dick twitching between us. I switch to the other side, giving it equal attention.
More. I need more.
Releasing her breast on a pop, I lower to my knees and begin licking a trail down her abdomen, tracing more of those circular shaped scars that I now realize aren’t scars at all, but some other type of marking I can’t name. The way they dot her skin with various designs, they almost appear to be ruins. But I’ve only ever seen ruins in books. Not on a woman’s thighs, her hips, or in between her breasts. Nor have I seen any crawling up the side of a woman’s ribs.
A shiver wracks through her body when I lick beneath the silk draped around her waist. Unable to wait any longer, I fist the fabric in my hand and rip it from her, and I almost choke on my tongue when I catch sight of the most perfect pussy hidden beneath.
It’s bare, with not a single hair. Just smooth, golden skin, her lips glistening in need.
Slapping my hands against her ass, I drag her to the edge of the bed and bury my nose into her cunt, breathing in cherry, vanilla, and cinnamon mixed with that of musky desire with a pain filled groan, bathing her godly scent into my every pore.
I glance up to find her watching me, her mouth partially open and panting for breath. “Gorgeous,” I breathe, and I watch her every move as I flatten my tongue at the bottom of her slit, slowly licking up to stroke at her clit.
She snaps her head back and cries out, bucking against my face. At the sight of her, her scent, and the taste of her ambrosia coating my tongue, I snap.
I shove at her chest, flattening her against the bed. Digging my fingers into her ass, I lift her pussy to my face and descend with a snarl. Flicking, licking, lapping, sucking, I gorge on her like the starved creature I am. She cries and moans. Twitching and bucking, squirming beneath my ministrations. Peeling back her lips, I roll her clit between my fingers and spear my tongue into her pussy. She groans and squeezes her thighs tighter around my head, ripping my hair out at the roots. With a snap of her hips, she bucks harder against my face, chasing her own release. I move faster, fucking her with my tongue and rubbing her clit with my entire hand. And when her moans become louder, longer, when I feel her tighten around my tongue and her cream begins to drip down my chin, she stiffens and cries out, mewling her climax.
Her legs drop to the sides, sated and languid, but I'm not finished with her yet. Lapping up the last droplets of cream, I crawl on top of her to cover her body with my own, wet my cock between her lips, and surge inside of her.
We shout in unison.
“Fuck!” I groan, burying my face into the crook of her neck. She’s so tight, strangling my cock. I can still feel the walls of her cunt fluttering from her orgasm. She squirms against me and I still her with a hand to her hip, trying to hold back the orgasm throbbing at the base of my cock.
Just a minute. Just one godsdamn minute and maybe I won't embarrass myself.
But in typical Lena fashion, she seems determined to push me to my breaking point.
Wrapping one arm around my neck, Lena presses her cheek to mine and whispers in a voice hoarsened with lust, “Please, Darius… fuck me.”
I lose my fucking mind.
Gripping her by the hips, I pull out and slam back in, pistoning my hips in a manic rhythm, losing myself in the feel of her slick cunt and the sounds of our grunts and groans as our bodies slap against each other.
She wraps her arms around my shoulders and claws at my back. Lifting her hips, she matches each thrust of mine with one of her own. I lift her leg and drive deeper, grinding in circles against her clit. She groans, pressing those gorgeous tits against my chest. Ducking my head, I drag my teeth over her nipple and she clutches my head to her chest, holding me to her like she never wants to let me go. Like she would die if I ever stopped.
Fury pours from me and I grip her to near bruising, driving into her faster. Harder. Punishing her for keeping this from me for too long. For not giving in to us sooner. For denying me what’s mine.
Shackling her wrists in my hands, I pin her arms above her head. “Say it,” I growl without breaking my stride.
“Wh… What?” she asks between whimpers. “Say what?”
“Say you’re mine.” Pulling all the way out, I slam into her with a single violent thrust, skidding her across the bed.
“Oh, gods,” she moans, eyes rolling into the back of her head.
“Say…” Thrust. “You’re…” Thrust. “Mine…” Thrust. Reclasping her wrists within one of my hands, I raise the other and slap her clit.
A shocked cry escapes her that quickly shifts into a moan when I soothe away the sting with a roll of my thumb.
“Darius.” Shutting her eyes, she squirms beneath me. “I … I can’t.”
Rage like no other blinds me and I raise my hand, slapping her harder, knowing she’ll feel more pain than pleasure.
“Say it!” I bellow.
“I’m yours!” she shouts with a broken cry. “I’m yours!”
And that's it. I'm gone. All rational thought ceases to exist, replaced by a manic, instinctual need to give into my body's demands and make her mine.
I slam into her with a snarl, ramming into her with wild abandon. More beast than male. Brutal and raw, I take it all. Her screams, her cries, her moans and groans. She mewls and cries, tears streaming down her cheeks in rapture, but she can do nothing more as I power into her over and over again. Dominating her. Forcing her to submit.
A burn starts to build, tightening my balls and thickening my cock. And when I inhale our scents mixed with that of sex, hear the wet sounds of my balls slapping against her cunt, see the droplets of sweat dripping on her bouncing tits, and feel her pussy clamp down on my cock, sucking me in as she screams her release, I follow with a roar, pumping into her until every last drop of my seed spills into her. Filling her. Marking her. Claiming her. Taking what’s mine.
We lay there for some time. Lena on her back, me lying atop her, cradled within her thighs. Content to say nothing.
“I think we broke Amara’s bed,” Lena says between waning pants.
Just now realizing that the bed is angled at a slant, I reluctantly lift my head from the crook of her neck and pass my gaze over the room, wincing at the destruction. “That's not all I broke.”
“No, but I hoped we could’ve at least spared her bed,” she says, playing with the ends of my hair. “She's going to be pissed.”
“At me or at you?”
She grins. “Definitely you.” Raising her head, she peers around me. “We’ll have to use your chambers next time.” She pulls me down for a kiss, giggling against my lips. “I can’t wait to see the look on your mother’s face when she sees the wreckage you cause from a good fuck.”
A laugh bursts from me and I press my lips to hers. “Next time, then,” I say, both of us laughing between kisses. “Next time.”
Smiling from ear to ear, I rest my chin between her breasts, holding her gaze as she watches me with a warm smile, running her fingers along the scruff of my jaw.
“Say it,” I demand in a guttural voice, needing to hear the words again, desperate to know it wasn't spoken only in the throes of lust.
Her smile falls and my heart thuds against my chest in dread, anticipation, and hope, vibrating against her as she searches my gaze. Lifting her hands, she cups my cheeks between her palms and pulls me down into a fleeting, yet heartbreakingly tender kiss.
“Yours,” she whispers, pressing her forehead against mine. “Only yours.”
Something in me breaks in that moment. That casing around my heart as strong as stone, as impenetrable as a ward, crumbles into rubble and tumbles into the abyss, revealing the person I've sequestered beneath. The child who always hoped for a mother's affection. The adult who wished for a companion. The male who desired a lover. The person who needed someone to stand by him and him alone, to accept him as he is, vowing to forever be loyal, honest, and loving only to him. And the way Lena is looking at me now, so warm and affectionate, like I’m the single most important person to her in this cruel, fucked-up world, she makes me believe she could be that person for me.
Emotions clogging my throat, I raise a trembling hand to caress her cheek and lower my head to place a soft kiss on her lips. She wraps her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck, hugging me tightly to her chest. Cock hardening once again, I slowly rock into her. Not rough or aggressive, but affectionate. Loving the way we share more than just our bodies, melding our very souls.
I rotate my hips, angling myself to hit deeper in the way I’ve learned she likes. Lips parting, she moans, sharing her breath with mine as I sweep my hands over her, touching everywhere. Her throat, her thighs, her breasts, loving every inch of golden, silky skin. Our breathing becomes more labored, our chests rising and falling in sync with one another, but neither of us breaks our kiss. Not even when she moans and I groan do we separate. Not until her pussy slickens even more as she contracts around me and we shout in unison. Both our climaxes rumble through us as I crash into the most powerful orgasm I've ever felt, blinding me in its intensity and forever altering me.
Arms trembling and breaths heaving, I stare down at this stunning creature, mesmerized by the way her rippled raven locks are splayed out beneath her. The dewy sweat coating her skin. Her kiss-swollen lips slightly parted, and her amethyst eyes glazed over in contentment. Awed by not only her beauty, but by the extraordinary soul within. I'll never be able to be with another after this. It’s doubtful I’ll be able to look at another woman or female, let alone touch them. Not after experiencing what it feels like to be inside her, finally feeling that sense of completion that I long ago convinced myself I would never find. In one explosive, life changing act, Lena has damned us both, shackling me to her for eternity with irrevocable binds. A sentence I’m just now realizing I'll gladly endure.
Lena smiles up at me and places a palm to my cheek. I open my mouth to speak the three words I vowed never to say to another, but then she suddenly stiffens and cries out, clutching her head.
“Lena?” I ask, confusion marring my brow.
She bolts upright, forcing me to scramble off her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she shakes her head, moaning in the same instant her agony streams down the bond. Fear tightens my chest and I grip the tops of her arms.
“Lena… what is it?” I shake her. “Lena!”
The agony cuts off and her eyes suddenly snap open. “They're here, Darius. The Soulless are here.”
Chapter 29
Darius
Sword …Sword… Sword
“Where’s my sword?”
Lena snaps her vest over her head and tugs her hair free, pointing at the floor. “Over there.”
Ripping back the rumpled sheets, I snatch up my scabbard and strap it to my back. “Stay here.” Stalking towards the door, I open it. “I'll come get you when it's safe.”
“Wait!” she calls out, shimmying into her fighting leathers. “Let me just find...” She trails off, peering beneath the bed to pull out her boots.
As I step over the threshold, I glance at Lena over my shoulder, something making me hesitate. An instinctive feeling nags at me that this isn't how women send their males off to battle. I don’t expect her to sob and beg me not to go. That's not the type of person she is. But I would think she would show her concern in some way. Or at the very least, send me off with a goodbye kiss. Yet, she does none of that. She's calm and focused, preparing.
“What am I waiting for?” I ask, already knowing the answer, but dreading it all the same.
Sitting on a trunk, she pauses slipping on her boots, her black brows pinched. “I’m coming with you.”
Like hell you are.
“You’re not going anywhere.”
She huffs a laugh. “I'm certainly not staying here.”
Gritting my teeth, I crush the door handle within my grip. “Lena.”
“Darius,” she mocks.
“I can't focus out there if I'm worried about you.”
“I don't need you worrying about me.” She peers down at her chest as she threads the laces of her vest. “I can take care of myself just fine.”
I groan, rubbing my fingertips on my forehead. “Lena, be reasonable.”
“I am being reasonable,” she replies, standing. “I heard your concerns and I'm reasonably ignoring them.”
Fuck me. Does she have to have an answer for everything?
I don’t have time for this shit. My people are dying out there and here I am, wasting time arguing with her because she wants to play warrior. It was cute before. Sexy, even. But now I see how dangerous it is to allow her to believe such a thing. We are who we are, and Lena is not an immortal. Not even fae. She’s human. A gifted one, yes, but still slow and weak, breakable. She wouldn’t last a minute with a Soulless.
The traitor guard flashes into my mind. My stomach roils in remembrance of his warning that the King of Brecca has been searching for Lena, then of his plans for her when he finds her. If he ever gets his hands on her…
I slam the door shut. “The Soulless have never breached these walls.”
“They have today,” she snorts, rummaging through her trunk and tossing clothing over her shoulder.
“Have you considered the possibility that it might not be a coincidence that the Soulless managed to breach them while you're here?” Bracing for her reaction, I add, “When the Breccans have been searching for you?”
Her back stiffens and she stands, slowly turning to face me. “Are you implying this is my fault?”
“Alura’s tits, Lena!” I say, scrubbing my face. “Of course not.”
Biting her lip, she watches me for a long moment. She seems to be debating something, but then she shakes her head and turns her back on me before crouching before her trunk. “They aren't here for me.”
Guilt suddenly flashes down the bond, but Lena quickly smothers it.
She knows something. Something pivotal.
The traitor guard admitted as much, but I foolishly assumed that if it was a direct threat to Cascadonia, Lena would share that information. But as I watch her evade my gaze, feel her guilt, and see the way her hand trembles as she tosses a pair of leggings aside, I’m no longer sure.
With two large strides I reach her side, grabbing her by the arm and jerking her to her feet. “How do you know?”
“I just do.”
Snatching her arm from mine, she steps back, but I follow, stalking her, forcing her to retreat until her back presses up against the wall. “How?”
She says nothing, dropping her gaze to her feet.
Done playing games with her, I grab hold of her chin and jerk up, ducking my head toward hers until we’re nose to nose, hissing, “How?”
“Because they don't know I'm here!” she shouts, then gasps, slapping a hand to her mouth.
A surge of excitement shoots through my veins at finally discovering something, anything about her, but it just as quickly sputters out. “So they could be searching for you?”
“I didn't say that.”
“But you didn't deny it, either.”
Her lips tighten, shutting me out. Even after everything, she still doesn’t trust me.
Frustration, worry, and anger, but above all hurt slam into me and I slap my hand to the wall above her head with a growl. Lena jolts as her startled eyes fly to mine. “You're staying here and that's final,” I growl, pushing off the wall and heading towards the door.
“I'm not.”
“If you go out there, you'll die!” I roar, spinning on my heels and charging back towards her. “You'll get yourself killed or get me killed trying to protect you.” Lena’s hurt rushes down the bond and my shoulders slump, all my rage seeping out of me in a blink. Lifting my hands, I cradle her face tenderly between my palms, emotion clogging my throat. “I can't lose you.”
She softens against me, her gaze roaming my face. “Darius,” she pleads.
I press my lips against hers in a soft tender kiss, filled with the words I’m unable to say, before I pull back. “You'll stay here where I know you’re safe.”
“Darius, I…” She wraps her hands around my wrists and offers an apologetic smile. “I can't stay here.” Her features harden. “I won't.”
She means it. I see it in her eyes. Despite my fears, despite the truth that she won't survive, she won’t stay here. She'll either follow right behind me or she'll just wait until I'm gone. Even if I lock the door, she'll find some way to sneak out and join the fray. She’s too stubborn to know her limits. If I wasn't Captain, I'd stay here and personally ensure her safety. But I can't. An idea pops into my mind, bile rising with the thought. But I swallow it back.
Slipping my trembling hands into her hair at the base of her skull, I squeeze my eyes shut, savoring the feel of her arms wrapping around my waist, the feel of her body softening against mine as I press a firm kiss to her forehead, praying to the gods this won't be the last time I'm able to do so. With my body crying out for hers, I release her and step back, slicing an orange, glittering palm through the air.
Branches and vines spear through the floors, cracking and splintering wood as they coil around her wrist and ankles. Lena's eyes round in horror as the nature-made shackles whip her arms above her head and root to the ceiling, her feet widening as the vines and branches plant her to the floor.
She struggles against her binds, panicked eyes darting from her arms to her wrists, down to her legs and ankles. “Darius wh…wh…wh…” she stutters. “What are you doing?”
“Keeping you alive.” I turn my back on her and walk towards the door.
“Darius, wait!”
