by Donna Grant
He ended the kiss and took a step back. Then he gave her a nod. “Undress.” She raised a brow, and before she could use magic, he held up a hand. “Yourself.”
A slight smile curved her swollen lips. His cock jumped, impatient to be inside her, to feel the slick heat of her body surrounding him.
Erith pushed the long, leather coat off her shoulders before straightening her arms and letting it fall with a whoosh at her feet. Without taking her eyes off him, she bent forward and unfastened the boots, stepping out of first one, then the other.
He swallowed a moan. His gaze dropped to her cleavage, his mouth going dry as he imagined cupping the globes in his hands.
She reached behind her and, a second later, a soft zipping sound filled the air. Erith held the front of the corset with her other hand as it sagged open. She lifted her chin, her lavender eyes seductive.
Then she tossed the corset aside.
Cael’s breath left him in a rush as his balls tightened. Stunning. Gorgeous. Striking. All words that described her, yet they lacked the depth to properly portray her exquisiteness.
He swallowed hard as he gazed longingly at her pink-tipped breasts. They would fill his palms perfectly. He fisted his hands, fighting not to reach for her.
Yet it was his turn to smile when her nipples hardened beneath his gaze. For several seconds, he watched the way her chest rose and fell rapidly, imagining all the ways he was going to tease, lick, and suckle at her amazing breasts.
Finally, he lifted his eyes to her face. Only then did she unbuckle the pants and peel them down her legs to remove them. Then she straightened and tossed back her hair.
The wildness he saw in her eyes made his blood rush in his ears. Before him stood a goddess, a warrior woman as violent and furious as a storm, and as tender and affectionate as a summer breeze.
Her gowns—and even her current outfit—had left little to the imagination. But seeing her now in all her glory left him speechless.
Her hourglass figure was stunning. His gaze traveled from her breasts to over the indent of her waist to the flare of her hips and then lower to the triangle of black curls nestled between her legs.
He wanted her. Now. Right that instant.
No foreplay, no touching. Just thrusting inside her so he could finally end the ache that had been burning in him since before he was a Reaper.
“Take my clothes off,” he demanded.
Without any hesitation, she made her way to him and put her hands on his abdomen. Her touch made him sway toward her, but he held himself steady.
She gazed up at him with eyes shining with need. Erith unfastened one button at a time. Then she ran her hands up his chest, pushing the shirt over his shoulders. A shiver went through him at the feel of her hands on him. She leaned to the side, her breast brushing his arm as she tugged off one sleeve.
He had to close his eyes when she leaned the other way, and her nipple scraped against his flesh. He sucked in a breath at the temptation before him. He was so lost in his own desire that he didn’t realize that his shirt was gone until she tugged at his leg.
Cael glanced down to see her kneeling before him. The sight of her on her knees, her wealth of black hair cascading around her made it difficult to breathe.
Shifting from one foot to the other, he watched her remove his boots. She lifted her face to him as she rose up on her knees. With her lips inches from his straining cock, she put her hands on the waist of his pants.
He swallowed the moan and the desire for her to put her hand on his arousal. Ever so slowly, she unbuckled his pants before sliding the zipper down. Her fingers hooked in the waistband of his jeans and tugged them down his hips. He couldn’t look away as her eyes focused on him.
When his cock sprang free, she smiled, causing his rod to jump. Erith took her time removing his trousers, her gaze locked on his arousal.
Once freed, she raised her gaze to his face, waiting for him to tell her what to do. He’d always been the dominant lover in a relationship, and he hadn’t once thought about how Erith might react to that.
“Touch me,” he commanded.
The corners of her eyes crinkled briefly before she cupped his sac with one hand and wrapped the fingers of the other around his cock. His body jerked, the pleasure was so intense. Warmth spread through him with every soft stroke of her hand up and down his shaft.
* * *
Erith was utterly enthralled. She hadn’t realized that she wanted or needed someone to take charge until Cael did it. The moment he demanded that she remove her clothes, she shook from the desire pooling within her.
As soon as he ordered her to take off his clothes, she hastily complied, eager to get a look at the body she knew was hidden beneath the garments.
Her mouth was devoid of moisture as she took in his sculpted chest and the washboard stomach. The sight of his muscular arms and legs left her panting.
When his cock sprang free of his pants, she forgot to breathe. She was far from a virgin, but the sight of him was spellbinding.
Though she shouldn’t have been surprised. Cael was superb in every way. In any other life, he would’ve been a god. His confidence, quiet leadership, and cool head only added to his handsomeness, causing both men and women to lust after him.
Erith didn’t want to know if she was simply fulfilling a need he had, or if he really wanted her. She wasn’t sure she could handle the former, and if it was the latter, she didn’t know what to say to that. It was better for them both if she didn’t think about it.
Which was easy to do when he told her to touch him. She’d wanted to do nothing else since they began kissing. Now, she had her chance.
The feel of his hard length in her hand made her sex clench, hungry to feel him pushing inside her. She glanced up to find that his head had dropped back, and his hands were clenched at his sides.
How many times had she dreamed of bringing him pleasure? How many times had she wished she could have him in exactly this position, that same pleasure-filled expression on his face?
Erith worked her hand in a steady rhythm, slowly increasing her tempo. His hips were rocking in time with her movements, and each time she squeezed his sac, he moaned. The moment a bead of pre-cum appeared, she brought his arousal to her mouth and wrapped her lips around him.
“Erith,” Cael ground out as his fingers tangled in her hair.
Her stomach quivered at the sound of her name spoken with such raw desire. She took him deep into her mouth, using both her lips and hand to work him into a frenzied state.
But if she thought she would get him to climax, she was sorely mistaken.
One moment, she was on her knees. The next, she was flat on her back on the bed with Cael leaning over her. His long, black hair fell to one side as he stared at her for a long minute, his breathing ragged.
He ducked his head to look down her body. She knew he could see her desire. His knees were between her legs, and she wanted him to take her, craved it.
She knew he wanted it, too. It was there in his eyes, the look that said he was nearly past the point of no return. The expression that said he wanted inside her right then.
Erith waited for him to make up his mind while her body throbbed for relief. She closed her eyes when he lowered his hips to hers and rocked against her. There was that one instant of friction, and then it was immediately taken away—replaced by his mouth.
There was no slow build, no tender caresses. His tongue found her clit and began teasing it ruthlessly. She arched her back, a moan falling from her lips as pleasure engulfed her.
Cael’s hands held her firmly, preventing her hips from moving as he licked and laved until she was on the verge of orgasm. And as if he had some link to her body, letting him know how close she was, he pulled away.
Her eyes flew open, but before she could even form a thought, she issued a startled—and bliss-filled—cry when his lips wrapped around a nipple and began to suck while he rolled the other turgid peak between two fingers.
She tried, again and again, to rock her hips against him, but he had situated himself in such a way that she couldn’t. Desire built inside her. She was ready to explode, and he kept pushing her higher, giving her more and more pleasure.
Erith was a shivering mess, need strumming through her, when she felt something at her sex. She stilled, waiting, hoping it was Cael.
Then her mind stopped working when he slowly pushed a finger inside her and began to move it back and forth.
Chapter Fourteen
This might be the only opportunity Cael had to make love to Erith, and he was going to take full advantage of the time he had.
Every second listening to her cries of pleasure, watching the seductive movements of her body, and feeling her desire only cemented his love.
Cael knew full well that there were better men than him for Erith, but he didn’t care. She was the center of his world, of his universe, and, like a dying man, he was grasping at any chance he could to be with her.
To hold her.
To show her how much he loved her.
How much he couldn’t live without her.
Cael watched ecstasy pass over Erith’s beautiful face as he brought her to the brink with his fingers. Her body was exquisite and made to be loved. She was passionate, just as he’d always suspected. She kept that and so many other things tightly locked away.
He wanted to know that secret and all her others. If only they had the time for him to prove his worth to her. If only he’d had the balls to tell her of his feelings before now.
If only. . . .
He closed his mind to those kinds of thoughts and returned his attention to her amazing body. Her legs were growing stiff, and her breathing ragged. She was close to orgasm once again.
“You were made for loving,” he said as he pulled his hand from her.
Her fingers were tangled in the sheets. She rolled her head to the side and opened her eyes a crack to look at him.
Only then did he say, “By me.”
“Yes,” she whispered.
He crawled up her body, inwardly smiling when she reached for him. Cael kissed her then. It was a languid caress filled with dreams and hope.
And love.
Her palm tenderly slid along the side of his face. Whatever willpower he had shattered a thousand times over. In his arms was the woman he’d love for millennia, a being so powerful and lovely that he couldn’t fathom what she saw in him.
He ended the kiss and lifted his face to look into her lavender depths. Her eyes were heavy-lidded, making his balls tighten in response.
Shifting slightly, he reached between them and guided his arousal to her entrance. Her lips parted as she sucked in a breath. He moved his hips forward, pushing a fraction into her tight sheath.
“I’ve craved this for so long,” he said. All the centuries of keeping his feelings to himself were gone. She would know everything. “I’ve hungered for you in ways you can’t even imagine.”
A shudder went through her as she brought her knees up. Her arms wrapped around his middle, her chest rising and falling rapidly. “Don’t,” she whispered.
He pushed farther inside her, causing her eyes to roll back in her head. She tried to move her hips, but he held perfectly still.
“I’m tired of being silent,” he said into her ear. “I need you to hear me.”
Her voice was broken as she said, “I am.”
“I need you to feel me.” He slid another inch inside her.
She was panting now. “I do.”
Cael thought he could hold out, that he could rule her body, but he was wrong. So very wrong.
He was the one who had his fingers twisted in the sheets while doing everything he could not to simply thrust hard and bury himself deep into her wet heat.
It didn’t help that her hands were moving over his back. But the final thread snapped when she locked her ankles behind him.
Cael clenched his teeth, and with a groan, drove himself in to the hilt. For a moment, he couldn’t move. The feel of her was overwhelming, blinding.
“Please,” she begged, her nails digging into his skin.
His need matched hers. There was no more holding back for him. Not now that he was inside her.
He began to move his hips in a slow rhythm, in and out of her, his thrusts sliding deep. He couldn’t take his eyes from her face, watching as she gave herself fully to him, to the pleasure between them.
Cael moved a hand beneath her and shifted them so he was sitting. Her eyes opened, meeting his. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly as their bodies began moving against each other once more.
Sweat soon glistened over their skin, their breaths mingling, their hearts beating in time with each other. He felt her body stiffening, a signal that she was close to peaking. And that made him smile.
* * *
Erith had expected Cael to pull back when she drew near to her orgasm. But, to her surprise, he didn’t. She moved her hips faster, the friction of their bodies gliding along her clit, as well.
In the next breath, she went over the edge. The pleasure was so forceful that she forgot to breathe. While her body shuddered with her climax, Cael kept moving, flinging her higher.
Just as one orgasm ended, another was right on its heels. Erith cried out, blinded by the bliss that swallowed her, that pulled her down into an abyss of decadence she never wanted to leave.
Ripples of pleasure continued even as Cael pushed her onto her back. Her limbs were lethargic, her blood still pumping furiously in ear ears.
But she’d never felt so good before.
She looked up at Cael to see him leaning over her. He gave her a wicked grin that promised more. Her stomach quivered in anticipation of the carnal pleasures that awaited.
He began moving then, plunging in and out of her, hard and fast with short, quick thrusts that felt just as good as his long, slow glides.
Cael was relentless as he pounded her, hurtling her toward another climax that took her completely unawares. Erith forced open her eyes and looked at Cael to find him watching her with so much emotion blazing in his silver depths that it made her heart catch.
His feelings were there for her to see—and accept.
Cael gave a final thrust and buried himself deep. His neck muscles corded when his orgasm took him, and his cry of pleasure made her sigh in contentment. She reached for him, pulling him down atop her. They held each other, limbs and hearts tangled together as each became lost in their thoughts.
Erith couldn’t help but wonder why she hadn’t given in years before and admitted that she wanted Cael. Oh, she knew why, but looking back, it seemed so . . . silly. Especially when there was a very real chance she could die.
She’d never thought about her death before. Sadly, she’d just expected to always live. But now, with Bran taking her essence, she looked at life with new eyes. She saw all her regrets in blazing Technicolor.
“I can feel your brain,” Cael said, a smile in his voice.
Erith couldn’t help but grin. “Is that so?”
“Do you ever stop thinking?” he asked as he rose up on his forearm to look at her.
She moved a lock of black hair out of his face. “Probably no more than you do.”
“Point taken.” He ran his thumb over her bottom lip. “Tell me you don’t regret this.”
“Nay,” she replied immediately. “I don’t.”
“Good. Because if you said you did, then I was going to have to show you why you shouldn’t.”
She laughed at his certainty. “You don’t lack for self-confidence, that’s for sure.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“I think it might be.”
This—whatever this was—was amazing. It felt normal and perfect, a setting she had only had in her dreams. Something she never believed could be hers. Could it be now? Did she dare try to hold onto it?
“Why the frown?” Cael asked.
She didn’t want to talk
about what she was feeling. Instead, she put the conversation on what was to come. “We can’t stay like this.”
Cael fell onto his back and sighed. “I know. But we also don’t have to leave for some time yet.”
She turned her head to look at him and found him staring at her. He was asking her—with a silent plea in his eyes—to let them continue as they were for a little longer. How could she refuse when it was what she longed for herself?
Erith rolled toward him, resting her head on his chest as his arm came around her. She couldn’t believe that she had actually worried about taking up the sword again. After this brief respite with Cael, she knew she’d fight however she needed to.
Because she wouldn’t lose him or any of the other Reapers. And for them to survive, she had to, as well.
Whatever might come of taking up her sword again, she was prepared for it. She’d worked too hard to get to where she was, and Bran wasn’t going to take it from her.
Cael kissed her forehead and rested his cheek against her head. Her gaze was locked on the window and the white puffy clouds that drifted lazily by.
This was her private realm, a place she came to in order to be alone and get away from everyone and everything. A place where she often wallowed in her solitude and cried tears of loneliness.
But it was also a place where the Reapers’ women would be safe. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t thought of it sooner. It should’ve been the first thing she offered.
Just as she couldn’t lose Cael, her Reapers couldn’t have the ones they loved taken away. She realized that she had come full circle from when she first put the Reapers together and made her rules. She was all too aware of how the Reapers’ love of their women divided their loyalties.
Because they would help their women before they did their duties. Erith knew this because she would do the same for Cael in a heartbeat.
If she survived this war with Bran and managed to keep from turning into the Mistress of War again, she would have to reconsider the Reapers. She should free them and allow them to live the lives they had been denied.