by Jack Whitney
“Perfect,” she agreed without looking away from him.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
IT WAS LATE when they finally made their way back to the castle. Still soaking wet from the rain, Draven lit a fire and laid a blanket out for them in front of it in her room. She packed the pipe as she watched him light the hearth, and then he sat beside her with a sigh.
“What did the Berdijay show you when you spoke to it?” he asked as he wrapped his arms with hers.
Her eyes narrowed, and she lifted her head off his shoulder. “Serious question, my King. Why do you ask?”
He leaned back against the bottom of the chaise lounge and moved one of his arms behind her shoulders. “Because you jumped off that cliff with me in your arms today as though you were ready to die.”
She smirked sideways at him. “Sounds like you were scared.”
“Terrified,” he admitted.
She exhaled the smoke from the pipe and laid her head on his shoulder. “Do you fear death?” she asked.
“That depends,” he told her.
She frowned. “How does fearing death depend on something?”
“It depends on if it is by my choosing,” he explained. “I have always sworn my death would be of my own design, not at the request or notion of any other. But… if I died tomorrow, by my choosing or by another’s, I would die happily knowing I spent my last days with you.”
Her head lifted, and she shook her head amusedly at him. “Such a romantic, Venari,” she mocked him.
He chuckled under his breath and his nose nudged hers. “Breathe a word of it and I’ll have you in ropes,” he warned.
Her brow raised. “Promises, promises.”
“You still didn’t answer my question,” he said.
She sighed heavily as he passed her the pipe again. The flames danced in her eyes as the memory of the Berdijay filled her mind, and she exhaled the smoke into the air.
“Nothing,” she said simply. “I saw… me. Doing nothing. Forced into silence, into submission. Unable to speak. Forced into marriage to quiet my words. Told to take my place as the crown’s accessory… A sedentary life in invisible chains.”
She felt Draven huff behind her, and she frowned as she turned to see his face.
“Do my fears amuse you?” she asked.
“No. It’s just… most people when they meet the Berdijay, they’re shown death, darkened creatures, abuses… but you. You fear none of those things.”
“Death is but another chapter in this abyss of life, and the darkened creatures these people fear are usually misunderstood, not dangerous.”
He toyed with her fingers in his hands. “Is there any creature you will not stand up for?”
Her chin laid on his chest, and she gave him a small smile. “Shadow thieves,” she bantered.
The amusement radiated over his features as he exhaled the herb and raised a brow down at her. She sighed into the moment and laid her ear against his chest, feeling his heart beat against her cheek. Staring at their entwined fingers again, she caressed the inside of his palm, and then said, “So… about these ropes…”
Draven’s chest moved, and she knew he was chuckling under his breath. She looked up just in time to see him exhale again, and she watched as his gaze turned from playful to sultry, pupils dilating despite the fire raging before them. His tongue darted out over his lips as his head leaned down, and she thought he would kiss her, but he paused, open mouthed an inch from her lips.
“What about belts?” he uttered.
Her chest caved in on itself at the growl of his words, and she felt the drip of her own wetness between her legs. His touch was delicate on her exposed thigh, and the tickle of his fingertips running up her leg made her breath arrest. She moved her own hand to the front of his pants, and she could already feel his thick length awakening through the fabric. His jaw tightened as she began to stroke him.
“I like leather,” she managed.
His other hand threaded itself around her throat, thumb delicately stroking her skin beneath her jaw, and she felt her eyes flutter as she inhaled the sweet smell of the smoke around them.
He was shadow and angst.
Carnal and capricious.
Her own brand of poison.
And she wanted to unleash him upon her flesh.
Their eyes met, and at the same time they released each other to stand. Her heart pounded in her chest upon moving across the room to her dresser, fumbling with the drawer to find her leathers at the anticipation of his promises. She’d barely gotten it open when she felt him press against her back, hands latching around her waist and gripping at her hips. She paused, letting out a deep breath, and his mouth bit onto her earlobe. Her body sighed back into his, and she forgot her reason for being at the dresser. She pushed back against him, teasing his slowly hardening cock with her bottom. His fingers moved over the fabric of her dress, grasping the flesh of her hips between them. She reached back to thread her hand in his hair, surrendering to the tease of his fingers on her breast as his mouth sucked at her jaw.
“Belts, my Queen,” he whispered in her ear.
“Stop distracting me,” she breathed.
She could feel the smile on his lips against her her jaw. But he stepped back, and wind swept over her neck as she knew he removed his shirt behind her. Her heart began to thud again. She forced herself to search for the belts and not peek over her shoulder, knowing as soon as she did that she might come apart at the sight of the ravenous Venari King she knew would be staring at her.
The subtle noise of iron clanking caught her ears. She paused, suddenly remembering where she’d left the braces upon her taking them off after the Belwark trials.
Over the accordion screen by her tub.
She willed her breaths to even as she turned, and her chest caved upon seeing him. The firelight reflected off the ripples of his chest, shadows settling in the crevices and scars across his torso and arms. He toyed with the small belts in his large hands, hair falling over his left shoulder and shrouding the left of him in darkness, only allowing the light to find the right side of his face.
The buckles were undone, and he lifted his darkened eyes to meet hers.
Leather snapped when he pulled them taut between his hands. The noise of it made her jump and caused the beat of her heart to flee.
“Come here.”
Fucking Infi.
She forced a deep breath to enter her lungs, and her feet led her the rest of the way to him, pausing and lifting her chin to meet his downward gaze. His head tilted, eyes traveling over her with a raised brow. And then his lips pressed hard to hers. She almost stumbled backwards, but his arms caught her. He pulled her flush against him. She felt the cold of the buckles in his hands through the dress. But he tossed them sideways, and his hands dug into her back, the fabric of her dress stretching beneath the weight of his grip. As his mouth moved to her throat, she heard the cotton begin to rip. His teeth bit at her skin, making her knees weaken, and cold air rushed around her as one of her favorite day dresses was ripped in half and tossed beneath her feet.
She opened her mouth to say something, but her arms were seized in his hands. She was lifted stiff off the ground and then shoved onto the edge of the bed. He towered over her, hand on her cheek. Her face sank into his palm as her mouth opened at the sight of his dominating figure over her. The temptation of touching his already elongating length made her muscles whimper. She reached out, wanting to feel him in her hands, but he grabbed her wrists just as her fingertips grazed him.
He bent low, hands pressing into the bed on either side of her, and she almost fell into the mattress. His breath rasped against her skin, and she thought he might kiss her, but instead he grabbed the leather belts from beside her that she’d not even seen. The leather breezed over her thighs when he straightened, and he pulled her hands in front of her.
“What are your plans for tomorrow?” he asked as he deliberately began wrapping the thin belts around her wrists.
A short breath entered her lungs, her thighs squeezing at his touch. “Does that matter?” she breathed.
Her wrists were forced together hard, and a brow raised on his face as he tightened and fastened the belts.
“It matters in that I should know how much you’ll need to use your legs.”
A small smile crept up onto her lips, and she bit her bottom lip upon meeting his eyes. “You once promised to fuck me fitly into oblivion,” she dared. “So I expect to be railed vicariously over the Edge.”
A quirk of a smirk pressed onto his lips, rising to his eyes, and the smolder that settled in his features made her breath arrest.
—He shoved her backwards into the bed.
She hardly had a moment to register it. His lips were on hers, and her bound hands were thrown over her head onto the pillows. He seized her wrists in his hand, and for a moment she forgot she was bound. The desperation in his kiss made her head spin, her legs bend around him. His free hand wrapped around the back of her thigh around his waist. She groaned upon feeling his length against her thigh.
But then he stood on his knees over her and pulled her up hard by her hands, forcing her arms over his head. Her legs latched around his waist. Open hands gripped at her bottom, fingers splaying over her flesh. It was the hard smack of his hand against her skin that made her moan into his mouth.
He moved, and her back hit the mattress again, higher on it this time. He removed himself from beneath her arms and reached over to the table. She watched as he whirled his knife between his fingers over her, eyes lit with delight.
The blade was jammed between the buckles of the belts and into her headboard, locking her arms in place over her head.
The smirk on his lips made her entire body whimper.
He bent low, and she craned her neck up, wanting to feel his kiss on her lips. But the tickle of his fingertips ran up and down her sides, until one hand was around her throat, and he smirked against her mouth as one of his thumbs stroked her trachea, and the other grazed her clit.
She felt her legs open wider, her hips move up against his touch as he teased her, staring over her and watching her as he tortured her. Jagged breaths drew through her lungs. She wanted to feel him between her legs, feel his length inside her, buried in her body.
But his hand pressed into her throat, and two fingers thrust hard inside her, and she fought for breath and composure. Her legs squirmed, hips shaking. The desperation of her insides made her feel ready to combust. He didn’t let up. Fingers thrusting faster and faster in and out of her, the weight of his other hand burying her neck into the mattress. Her vision began to black, and she wasn’t sure what she would fall victim of first: her orgasm or a blackout.
—He released her throat. Desperate breath entered her lungs, but she couldn’t keep herself from succumbing to the ecstasy of his hand still inside her. He moved. Her arms strained against the belts over her head, and then she felt his mouth on her clit. The entirety of her body shuddered, and she melted as she came apart against his lips.
The brace of her hands above her made her body shake, as she was in dire need of gripping onto something and having to settle for the dig of her own nails into her palms. She was still regaining her breath when she felt him grab her ankles in his hands, and she opened her eyes to him on his knees below her, pants shredded off his body and his length taut. His darkened gaze danced over her still shaking body, and he lifted her legs off the bed in his hands, bringing her hips with it.
The torture of him filling her sensitive sex made her groan in a higher pitch than she was used to hearing of herself. He gripped her ankles tight in his hand, her hip in the other as he bent forward, forcing her legs straight and flush against his torso. Her body shook. His length hit something inside her with every slow stroke that made her whimper. And when he began to pick up pace, she forgot how to stay quiet. His hips hit her backside hard, over and over, the fill of him moving inside her making her chest constrict. She felt her arms and legs turning to liquid at the strength of her trying to deny herself release. Toes pointed. Nails drawing blood on her palms.
She heard him groan, and the next thing she knew, the knife was removed from the headboard. She sprang into action, thrusting her arms around his neck, sitting up, and kissing him hard. He slipped from inside her, and his arms wrapped perilously around her body. But she was only allowed the reprieve of his kiss a moment, for she was whirled in one movement onto her stomach.
Her arms were thrust above her head again, and the knife was once more lodged into the headboard. She could feel the heat of his body over hers as she lay there. The touch of his light fingers on her thigh forced her body to flinch with a moan. His fingers traveled deliberately up the back of her leg and then between her cheeks, dipping into her dripping sex. Her heart throbbed unevenly in her chest as the restlessness of her muscles squirmed beneath his tease.
“Bend, my Queen.”
The growl of his voice in her ear made her body cave. She forced her knees beneath her just as his hand slapped her backside hard. The bed moved again, and she felt the softness of his lips on her flesh where he’d just spanked her. The air brushed her wet skin, her thighs squeezing as he kissed lower and lower until his tongue licked at her clit again, and she heard an involuntary high-pitched noise come from her throat.
“Tell me what you want, Aydra,” he breathed against her throbbing sex.
She could hardly contain herself long enough to answer, shaking at the tip of his tongue darting over her flesh as he kissed her thighs, his hands splayed over her backside.
“Oblivion,” she managed.
He smiled against her leg, and she felt the bed move, his body coming flush against hers as he bent at her side.
“There’s my Queen,” he purred in her ear.
He moved her hips in his hands then as he straightened between her spread legs, his tip tickling her sex again. His fingertips dug into the bend at her hips, and then his length filled her.
A slew of curses left her lips, and she tugged on the brace of her hands, greedily wanting to take back some control. She moved her own body up and down his length, relishing the noise of his groans and firm of his fingers as she toyed with him, circling herself on his tip, and then slamming her cheeks against his hips.
He allowed her the control of it for only a few moments before he smacked her backside with his open hand. Her movement paused, and he took advantage of her lapse and began to move quickly in and out of her, the slaps of their bodies echoing over the cackle of the fireplace.
Her arms were liquid above her. She felt herself reaching and reaching again as she tightened around him. But he abruptly leaned over her and removed the knife from the headboard. He tugged her up, and she practically fell back against him as he pushed her bound hands behind his head. She felt the bed move again, and knew he was standing behind her instead of kneeling. His length filled her slowly, and she closed her eyes. His hand wrapped delicately around her throat, the other dipping low between her legs. His teeth pressed to her neck, length moving in and out of her her with deliberate tension. But it was when his hand tightened around her throat and his finger stroked her clit that her insides began to truly shatter. Her body reached and reached, and she felt every muscle seize.
“Come with me.”
The vibration of his words sent her over the edge. A noise she’d never heard herself make emitted from her lips, and her entire body shook as she came apart just before he did. His hand tightened around her throat, and she felt him shudder inside her with a loud groan.
For a moment, they stilled, allowing their bodies to fall down from the high together. His hand relaxed, and his forehead fell against her neck. She could feel the sweat on his brow, the uneven of his breaths on her skin. She sank exhaustedly back against him, unable to move her strained muscles as they continued to tremble. His lips pressed softly to the top of her spine, and he reached for her hands around his neck.
He held onto her, help
ing her steady as she sank sideways onto the mattress, rolling down onto her side with her knees bent. Draven crawled beside her, and she watched as he undid the belts around her wrists. Even when he’d released her of them, she still couldn’t move. His fingers massaged her skin, and he kissed her knuckles. He reached out and moved her matted hair off her face. She met his dilated gaze and he gave her a small smile.
“That was for nearly killing me today,” he told her.
She almost laughed, but all she could manage was huff and a smile. “I should try to kill you more often,” she managed.
He leaned down and kissed her, tucking her hair back as he did. The only movement she could manage was scooting closer to him when he laid down, and she laid herself into his arms.
She fell asleep snuggled against his chest as he delicately stroked her bare back, the sound of him humming the Wyverdraki song in her ears a lullaby she allowed herself to drown in.
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
HER LEGS ACHED with the night before, and she wanted to lay in the shadows of his tightened embrace for the entire day. But she rose upon seeing the light come in her room, and as she tried to stretch her arms, she sank into the angst of it with a pleased groan.
His touch was delicate on her spine, and she turned to look at him, allowing her hair to sleepily fall over her shoulder. He was watching her with a small smile on his lips, the edge of his knuckle grazing her skin at the small of her back.
“Hi,” she whispered.
“Hi,” he managed back.
She closed her eyes, cracking her neck and stretching her back with an arch. Draven moved sideways, his lips pressing briefly to her shoulder before he rose from the bed. His naked body was cascaded in sunlight upon his rising, and she sighed as she stared at the beautiful sight of him.
“What will you do today?” she asked him.
He pushed his arms through a shirt and pulled pants on without answering her. She watched as he picked up the shreds of her dress on the floor, and then he smirked at her.
