That includes Ursa.
I can’t afford to forget that.
“Why does Ursa want revenge against my father?” I press my lips together. “I know what he says.” A tale of betrayal and evil and a man who did what was required for the greater good. But that man and the man Alaric describes can’t be the same person. It doesn’t make sense. One has to be true and the other false. Maybe if I knew more, I could figure things out. “But I don’t know her side of the story.”
“That’s something you’re going to have to ask her. It’s not my story to tell.”
Which means I’ll have to find the courage to ask her myself or go on without knowing. No matter where I’ll land, it won’t be tonight.
I settle down in the bed, suddenly aware that I can feel the heat coming off Alaric’s body. The mattress is king-size, but it’s nowhere near large enough. I consider grabbing some of the pillows from the floor to create a barrier between us, but that feels like admitting just how bothered I am by this situation. It feels like weakness.
Instead I close my eyes and force my body to relax, muscle by muscle. I resent the way his breathing evens out almost immediately. Of course Alaric would have no problem sleeping next to me. Why should he? I was only ever a means to an end.
Maybe that’s how I should be looking at things. Alaric is a means to an end, even if that end is only pleasure. Ursa is a means to an end.
I don’t know if I’m capable of making that shift, but I’m going to try. Better to try and fail than to just submit and be swept along without any agency of my own. At the end of this week, I will walk out of here with enough money to be truly independent for the first time in my life. If I play my cards right, I’ll also walk out sexually experienced and understanding what it is I truly want.
A big if, but it gives me something to strive toward.
It will be enough.
It has to be enough.
Chapter 15
Alaric
I wake up with Zuri on top of me. She’s snuggled up around me like the sexiest teddy bear, hugging me tight. I lie perfectly still as she shifts against me. If she wakes up like this, she’s going to be pissed. If she wakes up like this and I have a cockstand, I’m definitely getting yelled at, and it’s too early for that shit.
She shifts again and I nearly groan. Whatever dreams Zuri’s having, they’re filthy ones from the way she starts to grind against my stomach.
I take a slow breath and grab her hips to give her a little shake. “Wake up, Zuri.”
She goes still and then buries her face in my neck. “I was sleeping.”
“Yeah, I know.”
I feel her lips curl. “I’m not sleeping now.”
I stare at the ceiling, nearly shaking with the need to urge her down to rub against my cock. “I know that, too.”
Zuri presses her hands to my chest and sits up. She looks like some kind of nymph in this moment, naked in my bed with the sunlight streaming in, her auburn hair a mess around her shoulders and covering her breasts. She’s still smiling though none of the emotions in her eyes are amusement. “I decided something last night.”
“What’s that?”
“It’s silly to fight this. I agreed to seven days and so I’ll do exactly as promised.” She looks down at my chest. “Which means I can’t have sex with you right now.”
My breath catches in my chest. “You’ve been pretty clear on how much you hate me.”
“I do.” It stings how easily she agrees with me. Which is ridiculous. Did I expect her to object? To tell me that she’s changed her mind and she fancies herself in love with me again? It’ll never happen. I’ve more than ensured that at this point.
“Then what are you saying?”
Zuri’s smile goes a little hot, a little mean. “I want to suck your dick. I’ve never done it before, and now is a perfect time to learn. It’s a skill I’ll no doubt find useful in the future.”
When she sucks someone else’s cock.
There it is again, that jealousy I have no right to. Zuri isn’t mine. She never has been, and she never will be. If she wants this, it’s the least I can do. I release her hips and lace my fingers behind my head. “If you want to, I’m not going to stop you.”
She moves down my body without any of the hesitation she showed yesterday. Zuri gives my cock a long look and then wraps her hand around the base. “Tell me how to make it good.”
I could lord this over her, but I don’t have the heart to. Not when I want her mouth on me more than I want my next breath. My voice comes out strained. “Unless you try to bite it off, not a single person with a cock is going to complain that you’re sucking them off.”
She gives the cutest little smirk. “Are you sure I’m not going to bite you?”
“Zuri, I might like it.” When her eyes go wide, I force a laugh. “If you try to hurt my cock, I won’t be able to fuck you with it later. Your call.”
“You’re ridiculous.” She gives me a slow stroke and presses her lips together. “Seriously, Alaric. Tell me how.”
I finally nod. As much as I hate the idea of her sucking another cock, I also get off on the idea of instructing her. “You start like you are now. Hold the cock steady.” Playing teacher and student is just one of my many fantasies, and if I’ve acted it out in all its variations, it feels different with Zuri. Really different. I lick my lips. “Start with the head. It’s sensitive as hell.”
She bends down and traces the head of my cock over her lips. It’s such a gentle touch, but it feels like a bomb going off inside me. I tense, fighting to stay still. “Now your tongue.”
Her tongue darts out and drags a line over my slit. My breath whooshes out, and Zuri takes that as the encouragement it is. She shifts her grip on my cock and licks me from base to tip, like I’m a melting popsicle. “Fuck,” I breathe. “Yeah, that works.”
“Mmm.” She swirls her tongue around the head of my cock. “I didn’t think I’d like this, but…I do.”
“You hold the power,” I grind out. “It’s addictive.”
“Yes, something like that.” She eyes my cock. “I’m not going to be able to take you all.”
“Not without practice,” I agree. “Take what you can. Go slow.”
She eases my cock into her mouth, swallowing it inch by inch. Halfway down, she slows, concentration pulling her eyebrows together. I know I need to say something, but the sight of her lips wrapped around my cock is almost too much. I want to dig my fingers into her hair, to take control of this, but I promised to teach her and that’s not how the fantasy plays out. I clear my throat. “It takes time and practice to learn deep throating. Don’t worry about that right now. You’re mimicking fucking. Up and down. Use your tongue.” It takes me a moment to continue as she begins to move, sliding off my cock and then sucking me deep. Fuck, that feels good. “This is one of those times when being messy is an asset.”
She meets my gaze, a question lingering in her eyes. I take a breath. “Use your spit as lube for your hand. That way you’re incorporating the entire length.”
Zuri is a quick learner.
She falls into a comfortable rhythm, bringing her hand up to meet her mouth with each stroke. It feels good. So fucking good, I have to close my eyes to fight for restraint. Except… What am I restraining myself for? She didn’t ask for a marathon blowjob session. She asked to be taught.
“My balls,” I grit out. “Gently.”
Zuri slips her free hand down to cup my balls. Her clever fingers explore me, and she goes still when she strokes my perineum and I moan. Holding my gaze, she repeats the motion.
“You keep doing that, I’m going to come.”
Zuri does it again.
“Fuck.” I clench my jaw. “Decide right now if you want to swallow or not, Zuri. I’m close.”
She hesitates for the briefest second and then picks up her pace, sucking me down even as her clever fingers have me exploding in her mouth. I fist my hands in the comforter, desperate t
o hold on to something that keeps me from grabbing her head and fucking her mouth like I want to. I come hard, and she drinks me down without hesitation.
Zuri gives my cock one last pull as if she can’t resist and then lifts her head. She drags her thumb over the corner of her mouth. “Like that?”
“Like that,” I manage. I can’t help reaching for her, can’t help cupping her jaw for the few seconds she allows it before she sits up and puts some distance between us. I swallow hard, choking on guilt. Ursa’s beating and fucking banished it last night, but it never stays gone for good, no matter how many bruises I sport. It doesn’t stop me from trying.
“It seems simple enough,” Zuri finally says.
“The secret is enjoying it. If you’re enjoying it, your partner will lose their fucking mind. Technique is only a bonus.” I sit up. “Zuri, come here.”
“No.” She shakes her head. “That was a lesson, and it’s over.”
I open my mouth to argue, but the door opens before I can say anything else. Ursa sweeps into the room, looking as perfectly put together as always. She’s got her locs styled almost like a crown and is wearing a dress that makes me think of the sea during a storm, an ombre sort of thing with the fabric fading from black around her chest and torso, down to a light frothy white at the hem.
She takes one look at us and smiles. “Good, you’re awake.” She snaps her fingers. “Come here. Kneel at my feet, darlings.”
Zuri obeys without hesitation, blatantly eager to put distance between us. She walks naked to Ursa and sinks to her knees like she’s been playing the part of a submissive for years, instead of for less than twenty-four hours.
I follow more slowly, mostly because my body protests moving after the beating I received last night. I smile at how sore I am. It feels good. Cathartic. Not enough to fully banish the guilt lingering around the edges, but the pain helps. It helps a lot.
I kneel carefully next to Zuri.
Ursa circles us, close enough that her dress brushes against me. “Tell me your safe words.”
“Mermaid,” I answer at the same time Zuri says, “Hurricane.”
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way.” She stops in front of us and crouches down. “What have you two been up to?” Ursa grips my cock, dragging her nails along my length. Despite my earlier orgasm, I start to harden. I’d have to be dead not to want this woman.
She cups Zuri’s pussy with her free hand. Ursa hums a little. “So wet. Both of you. Were you fucking?”
“No,” I gasp. “No, Mistress.”
Zuri gives a little moan. “I, uh, sucked his dick.”
“Ah.” Ursa keeps stroking me and out of the corner of my eye I can see her rubbing slow circles around Zuri’s clit. “Then I suppose I’ll have to hold off punishing you and skip right to the reward for being obedient.”
Her rewards often come with as many teeth as her punishments. The knowledge thrills me. Ursa gives me one last stroke and stands. “Let’s eat. I wouldn’t want you to get low blood sugar during our activities today.” She turns and sweeps out of the room.
Zuri gives a shaky little sigh. “Is it always like this?”
“Yes.” I stand slowly, wincing a little. Maybe practically begging Ursa to beat me last night wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had. Today is going to be rough. I hold out a hand to help Zuri up, but she ignores it and climbs to her feet on her own.
She glances at me, and her skin darkens in a blush. “I don’t suppose we get to put on clothes?”
“Only if you want her to make a show of punishing you while she makes you take them off again.”
She sighs. “I thought as much.”
I take a step forward, and Zuri gasps. “Your back. It looks terrible.”
It feels terrible, but terrible isn’t terrible at all. Every time I move, I’m reminded of who owns me, and while there might be a time when that knowledge chafes, right now it just feels as close to peace as I’ll ever get. “It’s what I want.” I walk out of the room and head toward the kitchen.
Ursa’s corner penthouse is one of the rare ones without an open-floor concept. Each room is neatly contained, most of them positioned with some kind of massive windows and view of Carver City. The kitchen is all white and grays, marble counters and cabinets that reach the ceiling. I’ve only been in this room a few times; when I’ve been here before, it wasn’t to cook or eat. I can’t cook, so it’s just as well.
She’s pulling a few things from the fridge and setting them out. Eggs and bacon and potatoes and what looks like homemade bread. “Alaric, grate these potatoes. Zuri, take a seat.”
It feels very, very strange to wash my hands and move to stand next to Ursa. I begin to shred the potatoes on the large grater she hands me. This isn’t fucking. It’s downright domestic, for all that I’m naked. I don’t know what to think of that. I don’t have any frame of reference for it. If I want to have a life with Ursa, it will be filled with small moments like this. The thought warms me even as I obey her.
Ursa pulls a cast iron pan from a low cabinet and sets it on the stove. Then she walks out of the room. When she returns, she’s holding a large dildo that’s shaped like a tentacle. Ursa sticks it to the counter in front of Zuri. “Darling, get familiar with this. It will be inside you later today.”
I nearly laugh at how large Zuri’s eyes get as she takes in the purple and blue silicone and suckers. Ursa arches a brow. “I wouldn’t look too smug over there, lover. This one will be inside you, too.” She pulls out an even larger dildo and sets it on the counter well out of reach of all the food. This one is also a tentacle, but it’s black and glittery and nearly twice the size of the other one.
I stare at it, trying to calculate how the curves and bumps will feel inside me. My cock goes painfully hard at the thought. Good. It’s going to be very, very good. “Yes, Mistress.”
“Good boy.” She takes the cutting board with the shredded potatoes and moves to the stove. “Sit down.”
I walk around to the seat next to Zuri and gingerly sink onto the stool. She leans close to whisper, “Why are you not freaking out?”
“I enjoy the hell out of Ursa fucking me.”
“But it’s so big and a tentacle.” She can’t quite take her eyes off the one in front of her. “Why is it a tentacle?”
“Because she wants it to be.” It’s as simple as that. Ursa gives a command and I follow it. “She’s the Sea Witch, after all.”
“I thought she’s called that because she used to drown her enemies in the ocean.”
I shoot her a look. “Yeah, that’s where she got the name. But with her submissives, she likes to play into it. You’ll see.”
Chapter 16
Ursa
I let them simmer in anticipation through breakfast. The dildos stay in plain sight, impossible to avoid, and it amuses me greatly that Zurielle can barely take her eyes off the one meant for her.
It’s a simple game, but one I enjoy immensely. The longer it takes me to put these particular toys into place, the more they’ll consume her and Alaric’s thoughts, until they’re ready to beg for it.
“Alaric, clean the dishes.” I choose to ignore his sigh and take the seat he vacates. “Zurielle, darling, how are you feeling this morning?” I grab her knee and turn her on the stool so that she’s facing me, her legs on either side of mine. She instinctively tries to close them, but I don’t allow it. I hold her gaze as I stroke her pussy and urge her to scoot forward a few inches so I can slide two fingers into her. She clenches around me so sweetly. Everything about this girl is sweet. I explore her carefully. “Sore?”
“A little.” She has a death grip on the counter with one hand, and she’s staring at the sight of my fingers sliding in and out of her.
“Did our Alaric start your day off with an orgasm?” One look at her face gives me my answer. I snort. “Of course not. His cock was in your mouth. He wouldn’t be overly concerned with returning the favor. Selfish boy.”
“I c
an hear you,” he mutters.
I barely lift my voice. “You’re out of practice, so I’ll give you this one warning and reminder, lover. Be silent unless I ask you a question. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, Mistress.”
I love playing these little dominance games. Silence is such a simple thing to ask for, and significantly less simple to provide. Both Alaric and Zurielle are talkers by nature. It’s only a matter of time before one of them forgets themselves and I get to indulge in a punishment.
I keep stroking Zurielle’s pussy. Slowly. Building her pleasure layer by layer. It’s there in the flush beneath her skin. In the way her lips part. In her chest heaving with each inhale and exhale, her brown nipples pebbled and practically begging to be played with. Exquisite. Every bit of her is exquisite.
She was worth every penny.
No, that’s not the proper way to look at things. The revenge was worth every penny. Enjoying her is simply a bonus. To remind myself, I say, “What do you think your father would say if he knew I had my fingers inside you right now?”
Zurielle moans a little. “He wouldn’t like it.”
“No, he wouldn’t like it.” A vast understatement. “I’m tempted to take a little video and send it to him. There’s no pretending you’re anything but a willing victim when you’re so wet, my fingers are shining.”
She opens her mouth but seems to realize that I didn’t ask her a question. Zurielle presses her lips together even as another whimper escapes. Her hips move a little, trying to take my fingers deeper.
“So shameless,” I murmur, watching her closely. Oh, this little darling loves being bad. She’s getting off on knowing that she shouldn’t be enjoying my touch. “Will you come all over your father’s enemy’s fingers?”
Zurielle gasps. “I came on your face last night.”
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