Once Upon a Forbidden Desire, page 24
Everything within Tsia wound tight, a thin wire of apprehension, confusion, and curiosity she couldn’t make sense of, waiting to snap. She opened her mouth to respond but had no idea what to say.
He leaned forward, nudging his nose underneath the hem of her nightgown, and inhaled, a groan escaping his throat.
Her nipples tingled in response, and a gush of slick oozed from her. Horror gripped her. What was he doing to her? With that thought, she forced away the overwhelming sensations, but it was too late. With a sharp inhale, the piper buried his face at her mound, and his large tongue eased along her folds, swiping at her, firm and persistent.
Tsia fought him, writhing against his grip on her wrists and kicking him away, but he quickly built a rhythm, jostling her bundle and sending a web of immense pleasure jolting through her body. Soon, it consumed her every thought and motion. It was just so good. She’d never experienced anything like it. Her hips surged forward to meet every brush of his tongue, her legs widened, her head rocked back, the moans and whimpers in her throat impossible to hold in.
With her fully spread in front of him, the piper was like a starved man, possessed with getting more of her, sucking, tonguing, licking, while swirling his tongue at her entrance. His fervor swept Tsia along, and she gyrated her hips, feeding him what he needed.
She wasn’t sure when he released her wrists, but suddenly his hands were squeezing her ass, digging into her and pulling her even closer as she rode his face. Pleasure bolted through her, ascending to a ragged crest that made her breathless. Then the wire snapped, and everything tumbled in a delirious rush, her body convulsing in the rapture that followed.
The piper rose to his feet, lifting her with him and carrying her to the bed. Laying her down, he knelt over her as he undressed, eyes never leaving hers, and she watched him back, her mind floating on the euphoria, muscles weak and trembling. No logical thought in her mind.
Her gaze lowered to see the piper’s thick length jutting toward her, smooth and long, the tip already smeared with fluid. She stared at it, curiosity making her fingers twitch, but as it came toward her, she suddenly woke from her orgasmic haze, realizing where it was going.
Eyes widening, she tried to draw her legs together, but he was already between them, lining up the blunt head of his length to her sensitive entrance.
“What are you doing?” she gasped. “Wait.” But even as the words left her lips, he pressed in, rubbing against swollen, sensitive muscles as he breached her.
Tsia whimpered, the sensation disturbing the pleasurable warmth that still lingered. It wasn’t exactly painful—he’d made sure she was too wet for that—but it was uncomfortable. The piper didn’t seem concerned about that; in fact, he grunted as he continued on, pushing his seemingly never-ending column inside her until he was fully seated.
Tsia panted, trying to get used to being split so wide open, but there was no time to adjust.
The piper withdrew to his tip and slammed back in, the squish of her abundant slick loud in her ears. Again, he pulled out and pushed his way back in, forcing her open and keeping her wide. By the third time, an exquisite tendril of something that couldn’t be called pleasure twisted its way up her core and expanded, galvanizing her with every thrust.
Toes curling, she spread her knees wider, jutting her hips up to meet him sooner, needing more, until his thrusts became slams, jerking her body and pounding her into the bed as her nails dug into his biceps. Her back arched and a warm wetness enveloped her nipple, that familiar roughness harassing and twirling, blending a new pleasure with the exquisite madness overtaking her.
This was nothing like what she’d just experienced with his mouth on her—this was harsh, primal, a hungry perversity that devoured her. Tsia was lost. She didn’t know who she was. She couldn’t be the woman who licked his skin, who buried her fingers in his hair and scrunched it in her fist, who dug her toes into the piper’s ass, and pulled him harder into her, pleading for more—harder, faster, until his hips were a blur between her thighs.
His mouth sought every part of her it could reach—her shoulders, breasts, chin—assaulting her skin with nips, licks, and kisses. She shivered each time, loving the feel of his teeth scraping against her. But it was when his face was buried in her neck, breathing her in, that everything narrowed into a pinpoint of irresistible carnality. His pounding became savage and merciless, almost as though his fury transmuted into his body. And she craved more, opening herself up for him. This time, her crest came upon her in a blinding, glorious frenzy of insanity, capturing her whole body in an incandescent rage of ecstasy. Her breath hitched, legs spasming as her whole body shook, and in her ears the piper groaned his own release, his thrusts erratic. He plunged deep once, twice, and then shoved himself to the hilt, jamming the bulbous flesh base of his cock into her channel.
Tsia cried out at the sharp pain of being stretched even further, and something in the back of her mind nudged her to pay attention, but she couldn’t.
He gathered her into his arms, cocooning her with his body and settling her against him. Sweaty and exhausted, she pressed her face against him, delighted that her scent smothered him. As the ecstasy faded from her body, she sighed, her mind at ease, floating in a calm sea after the storm.
After a while, the piper shifted and she opened her eyes to see him looming over her, leaning on one elbow, examining her through narrow eyes, the familiar fury strong in his gaze.
For a moment, she was confused.
“Your first question, Mayor Otto.” The husk of his voice sounded sensual now. “Did you love your husband?”
Cold shock shattered Tsia’s comfort, dragging her consciousness from the tangle of her instincts back to her true reality—the one where a stranger had just climaxed deep inside her and knotted her in her bed.
Breathing shallowly, she stiffened, knowing she couldn’t get away from him until his knot shrank.
“Did you?” A harshness entered his tone.
Blinking up at him, she frowned, her voice hoarse as she spoke. “I thought you had questions about the town. Why do you need to know—?”
His eyes flashed as he interrupted her with a growl. She opened her mouth to tell him that of course she’d loved her husband, but the words never came.
A dark amusement flitted across his face. “You cannot lie to me, Tsia.”
Her breathing increased, tears stinging her eyes as she realized just how much this answer would ruin her if it became public—even more than taking a stranger to her bed. Was this his plan? To seduce her and then get everything he needed to ruin her? But why? She was too exhausted to think of a solution, and she couldn’t refuse to answer.
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned her head to one side, avoiding his harsh gaze, then murmured her answer. “No, I didn’t love him.” A quiet relief came from the voiced admission. “I hated him.”
With a satisfied grunt, the piper drew her back into him, enveloping her in his scented warmth as her tears fell.
“HAVE YOU PAID him yet?”
All the councilors looked down the table at Tsia.
She shook her head, heat flaring up her neck. “He still has questions.”
One of them leaned forward. “It’s been six nights since he drowned the rats. If he doesn’t want the money, we should use it to repair our town.”
Most of the other councilors nodded in agreement.
“We need it,” Grimel added. “If he doesn’t want his money, there’s plenty of good it can do right here.”
Surprisingly, Margarethe didn’t agree. “We shouldn’t have agreed to pay that amount in the first place,” she said stiffly, throwing a pointed look at Tsia, “but we are a town that honors our agreements. If we just take his money, our trading reputation may become tarnished.”
Grimel scowled. “Fine.” He glanced at Tsia, as did most of the others. “He has ten days until he can claim the money. Then it is gone.”
Tsia said nothing. She hadn’t planned to allocate money to anything until the piper had been paid, but if the council presented a strong reason why that money needed to be used, she wasn’t sure she could prevent it. She’d have to address it with him tonight.
Every night since the first had been even more exhausting, arousing, and obscene. She kept waiting for him to ask his next question, but once he arrived in her bedroom he behaved like a man desperate for a taste of his favorite drug, and she didn’t exactly discourage him. The pleasure on his face when it was buried between her legs, the satisfied rumble from his chest when he watched her climax, and the way he needed his whole body on hers once they were knotted secretly thrilled her. But it wasn’t just him.
She did things she never would do in her right mind—things that disturbed her when she sat in her office trying to work the next day and yet was the most delightful thing to do at the time, such as swirling her tongue over the tip of his cock to savoring his fluid on her tongue or pushing her nose between his ass cheeks for a deep inhale. There was no part of him she didn’t want to experience, and she thought about him all the time, as if her mind and body called to him constantly. She couldn’t resist him, even though she knew everything they did was forbidden. And that frightened her.
Initially she’d outright refused to bed him again, told him never to touch her again, and to get on with asking his questions so he could leave town immediately. But he’d towered over her, his delicious scent seeping into her nose as he examined her with those wrathful eyes. Of course his mere presence affected her. And when he lifted her into his arms and carried her to bed, her mouth was on his neck before she hit the mattress.
What if he was using magic to make her addicted to him? If he was using it against her, she had to know. Because what would happen when he left?
His visits were like pleasurable assaults on her body, rough and possessive as he knotted her multiple times a night. It felt right, like it was where she belonged, but how could that be? In the morning, the only sign that he had been with her was his amazing scent that lingered on her skin and the soreness between her legs—and she missed him.
“Mayor?”
Tsia forced herself out of her thoughts to see the council watching her. She took a breath and stood. “Yes, meeting adjourned. Grimel, stay, please. I’d like to talk to you.”
As the rest of the council left, Grimel stood against the wall, his arms crossed like a child in a sulk.
“We cannot hold the money indefinitely if—”
Tsia held up a hand. “That’s not why I want to talk to you.”
Grimel blinked, and Tsia gestured to the seat in front of him.
“Bartel said a while ago that the piper was one of them. What did he mean?”
Grimel’s eyes narrowed as he dropped into the chair. “The people who live in between.”
She frowned. “In between what?”
“Here and there.”
When she glared at him, he cleared his throat.
“They are evil creatures who walk among us and levy curses, steal our children, and cause general mischief. They get bored in their realm so they come here to amuse themselves. They’ve been around for generations—sightings of them have passed through my family and many of the other wealthy families in the region. Back when people took them more seriously, we called them Fae. Now we just say strangers because they could be anyone.”
Tsia’s stomach dropped. Fae. She’d definitely heard that before.
“Why do you ask?” He leaned forward. “Are you having problems with him?”
She shook her head, thinking quickly for a lie to tell. “No, no. I’m just trying to figure out what he could do if we do refuse him his money.”
“Good.” For the first time ever, Grimel gave her a real smile. “The thing you have to worry about is his pipe. If you can get that away from him, it’s unlikely he’ll have much power.”
Tsia couldn’t remember ever seeing his pipe when he visited her, but she’d never looked for it.
That night when she entered her bedroom and saw him standing by her bed again, she took a deep breath. “It’s been a week. You’ve only asked me one question.”
He did nothing for a moment and then slowly stepped toward her, holding her gaze.
“The council is concerned that you haven’t claimed your money.”
His head tilted slightly. “I am not just here for the money.”
She frowned up at him as he came closer. “So … you don’t want it?”
“I never said that.”
She inched back as he towered over her. “Then you need to—”
“I don’t need to do anything.” He stopped in front of her. “The council is your problem, not mine.”
A flare of annoyance flickered in her chest. “Look, I know you are … having fun here with me,” she said through gritted teeth, “but—”
A growl erupted from his chest. “You think this is fun?”
She jumped at the sudden boom of his voice, and he grabbed her head, his nails scraping against her scalp as he pulled her head back to look up at him.
“This isn’t fun, Tsia.” His face contorted in that familiar fury. “This is fucking torture.”
Blinking up at him, she suddenly realized she’d never told him her first name. How did he know it? And the way he said it … no one else pronounced it like that. Most called her Tia, but he blended the T and S perfectly, made it sound as though it belonged in his mouth.
“I promised myself I wouldn’t be caught in a trap—that I’d make you suffer and then leave. But look at you.” Amid the ferociousness in his gaze was a beam of awe that she’d never seen before. “You are more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. You are strong and smart, thoughtful and fair. You do not run from challenges and excel even when the odds are against you.” His eyes narrowed. “But you did the unthinkable, which is why you must still be punished.”
She breathed shallowly, trying to make sense of his words. He couldn’t be talking about her. “I’ve done nothing to you.”
“You’ve done everything to me!” he bellowed, tightening his grip on her hair.
“Please stop,” she gasped. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Something changed in his eyes and he hesitated for a long moment, his expression turning thoughtful as he searched her face. Lurching forward, he crushed his mouth to hers, pressing her against the wall as he explored her mouth.
Tsia froze, shocked for a moment as he plundered her mouth until she submitted to the relief and pleasure of his body against hers. He sucked on her lips, grazing her tongue with his own, before locking their mouths together in a long, deep, savoring kiss. Beams of pleasure awakened the need that had been simmering within her all day, and she moaned, running her fingers up his torso. Within moments, their craving for each other turned feral, and he dragged her to the floor, positioning her on top of him and spearing her from underneath.
She rode him hard, balancing on her toes, thrilled at the control it gave her. She watched his face as their bodies slapped together in a frantic rhythm. It was addictive seeing the pleasure on his face, hearing every groan from his throat, and noticing his eyes drawn to her neck and swaying breasts. By the time he spilled inside her, she’d already climaxed twice, yet his sinful expression when he knotted her sent her into another shattering peak.
She collapsed on top of him, his heaving chest matching hers, and as their panting slowed, she remembered Grimel’s words. She no longer wondered if the piper was bewitching her, but what did it mean that she was so attracted to someone who was supposed to be so evil? Was it even true? And why did he think he knew her when she didn’t know him?
Using his chest to push herself upright, she met his gaze. “I know what you are.”
At her words, he lifted his head, an unreadable expression on his face. In one swift move, he pulled her close again and rose from the floor, careful not to jostle her too much on his knot. Settling them on the bed, Tsia on her back, he exhaled slowly. “I am ready to ask my questions.”
Tsia nodded, although she was somewhat disappointed, knowing their time was ending.
He stared at her for a long moment. “Why didn’t you love your husband?”
Her heart sank. She was hoping he would ask something to help her understand him—she didn’t want to talk about Elger.
“He wasn’t a kind man.”
“Explain.”
She took a moment to order her thoughts. “He was a very prominent person in this town. His family was wealthy and powerful for a long time. He had friends in powerful positions and owned a lot of the land in the region. But he was arrogant and entitled. He believed he deserved everything that was handed down to him, while others who worked all their lives deserved nothing. He spent his life pursuing power, but as he aged, he realized he had no heir.” She swallowed. “That was one of the things he wanted from me. So he tried to impregnate me as soon and as often as he could.”
The piper’s eyes darkened. “Explain.”
Tsia shrugged, unsure how she could explain it any further. “I was betrothed to him as early as I can remember. He used to visit to see how I was ‘shaping up,’ and as soon as I was of age we married. He … he tried as many times as he could. A lot of the time I wasn’t … ready, but he would beat me if I bled because it meant his seed couldn’t take.” She averted her eyes from the piper’s. “As I am sure you have realized, I’m not very experienced. I didn’t know how to get ready for him. As time passed, he became meaner and more desperate. Soon, he was just beating me because he made the wrong choice. I-I’m barren.” Heat flushed across her face as she admitted that—it was another thing that no one in Hamelin knew, and she wasn’t sure how the townspeople would react.
But when she glanced at the piper, a dark thunder had spread across his entire face, his mouth tight, yet he wasn’t looking at her. Occupied with his own thoughts, he took a while before he turned back to her. “You said he used to visit you. Where?”
