by Calista Fox
She released him and stared up at him, finding the mixture of satisfaction and ecstasy on his face an exhilarating one. Though she didn’t succumb to gloating.
Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t stand a chance against you when you set your mind to something.”
“I have a lot to learn, but I’m willing to take many, many more lessons.”
He pushed away from the wall and gently clasped her upper arms, helping her stand. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was some sort of ploy to knock me off my feet.”
Feeling particularly flirty, she gave him a sassy look. “Who says it’s not?”
He groaned. His arms wrapped around her and he said, “I don’t need much time to recover.” He backed her against the marble. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”
Her heart thundered and her cunt clenched. “I know I want to feel you inside me.”
The kiss he gave her was nothing short of sizzling. Then he shut off the water and said, “Take your bath. You know where to find me.”
He stepped out of the shower, and when she followed, he handed her a thick, white towel. She wrapped it around her body while he turned the faucets back on to fill the tub.
She watched him strut out of the bathroom, a smile playing on her lips. Nothing felt quite so empowering as making a king come.
Trying to contain her excitement, she busied herself rummaging through the velvet drawstring bag someone—Jocelyn or Sheena, presumably—had left for her, along with a robe and slippers. Inside the bag, she was delighted to find human, female necessities, including a razor, somewhat crudely fashioned like the ones she’d pick up at the pharmacy from time to time.
Then she scanned the labels on the small glass dispensers tucked into the corner ledges of the tub, finally settling on bath salts that smelled like jasmine. She poured them into the water and they instantly bubbled, making her laugh. She overdid it and ended up with a mountain of suds, but as Jade slipped into the bath, she found the silky foam that coated her skin luxurious and sensual.
Resting her head against a plush, folded towel, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The relaxation that oozed through her body was a new sensation. The tension she’d carried with her since her childhood eased considerably.
Despite being in a castle full of demons—most of whom, she ventured, likely did not share the same compassion toward human life as Darien did—she felt safe under the protection of the king. And while she knew her friends in the village would be worried about her disappearance, the slayers would have reassured them she was alive and recovering, after speaking with Morgan.
For once, she allowed herself that sense of security she’d never been able to latch on to, given her dangerous life. In particular, she didn’t wrestle the age-old quandary of what her purpose in the village was meant to be. She let all of those thoughts fall by the wayside and, instead, wiped her hands over the towel she leaned against to rid the bubbles from her skin and reached for the book Darien had selected for her.
* * * * *
Darien had settled on the large sofa before the fireplace in his bedroom to read papers Morgan had brought him, mostly updates from the stewards in other regions across the continent. As the flames from the candles danced and the fire crackled, he caught the sudden hint of jasmine. A moment later, Jade’s teasing breath caressed the shell of his ear as she leaned over of the back of the couch.
“Do you have a dictionary in your personal library?”
“Of course.” He grinned, though she couldn’t see it from behind him. “Desperate to know what ‘obsequious veneration’ and ‘pedantic nature’ mean?”
“I’ve given up on those,” she said in her sultry voice. “I don’t know what a fortnight is and, apparently, Lizzy is to attend a ball in that time period.”
“Two weeks.”
“Oh. Well, then. Why didn’t she just say so?”
He chuckled. “You do understand that Lizzy Bennet would be equally stupefied by the vernacular and cultural differences of this day. For instance, what you did to me in the shower would send her running and screaming for her mother.”
“Poor Lizzy.” She made a soft tsking sound. “To miss out on such a delicacy…”
He groaned. His cock sprang to life. “There you go, being uncouth again.”
Still whispering in his ear, she said, “I didn’t hear any complaints about my behavior when we were in the shower.”
“Nor will you if the urge to repeat your performance strikes you.”
“Mm, so tempting.”
He set aside his papers and stood. “What’s tempting is your breath on my skin and that enticing scent you’re wearing. Where did you find it?”
“You don’t use the bath salts in your vast collection?”
“No. I rarely use the tub. Jocelyn puts out the dispensers. I always assumed they were for decoration.” He rounded the sofa and pulled her into his arms. She wore the red robe and slippers Sheena had left her. “Nice to know someone enjoyed them.”
“Did I ever.” She sighed contentedly. A sound he loved hearing when it came from her.
“And what about the book?”
She shrugged. “It’s off to a very pretentious and conniving start. To be so obsessed with marrying off your daughters to a rich man—one nobody’s even met yet. It’s absurd.”
“It was not uncommon back then. What do you think of Mr. Darcy?”
“I haven’t gotten to him yet. Why?” she asked with a crooked brow. “Is he going to sweep me off my feet?”
Darien did just that, scooping her up in his arms. “Only I reserve that right.”
“That’s very territorial of you.”
“I can’t help it. And it wouldn’t hurt you to be obsequious from time to time.”
She laughed. “What does that mean?”
He murmured in her ear, “Submissive.” And felt the tremor down her spine.
“Well,” she said, sounding breathless. “I can’t afford to be as whimsical as Lizzy and her four sisters. But I have no problem with giving you whatever it is you want from me this evening.”
A low grunt fell from his lips. He set her on the bed and leaned over her. “You’d lie here naked and let me do whatever I wanted? Explore your body with my hands and mouth? Give you pleasure…make you come…?”
Her teeth sank into her plump, lower lip. Desire flashed in her dark-blue eyes. “Really?” she muttered in a provocative voice. “You think I’d take exception to that?”
He tilted his head to one side. “I haven’t told you the rules yet.”
“Rules?” The desire deepened in her hypnotic irises as intrigue seemed to grip her.
“Yes. You can’t distract me from what I’m doing. Which means no touching me or our fun will be over before we’ve even started.”
She sat up. Her fingers skated over his abs, making his muscles quiver and his cock swell. “But I like touching you.”
He reached for the attached belt at her waist and untied it. Then he slipped the robe over her shoulders and down her arms. “I like it too. Too much.”
She lifted slightly and he whisked away the satin material. He had no idea where Sheena had produced an article of clothing that fit Jade, except to surmise it had come from her personal collection, since they were almost the same size. Anything from his closet would swallow her up.
His head dipped and his lips brushed over hers. “Do you agree to my terms?”
“What choice do I have? You are the king.”
He snickered at the light mocking in her tone. “Yes I am.” Stepping away from her, he unfastened the tie around the thick mass of dark-brown silk drape that matched all the others hanging in the four corners, attached to the twelve-foot-tall bedposts.
Jade eyed him curiously. “Not going to take my word that I won’t touch you?”
“No.” He grinned at her. “You have a way of turning things around and I don’t want to be sidetracked until I’m done.”
Uncertainty crossed her face, but for a split second. Then she said, “Lizzy would panic over a moment like this.”
“Thankfully, you’re not Lizzy. Now lie down.”
She hedged, and he knew it was merely a defiant move to prove she wasn’t accustomed to taking orders. But lust seemed to get the best of her, because she did as he asked. She stretched out on his bed and fanned out her long, raven hair against the mound of pillows.
He eyed her previously injured hand. “I’ll be very careful.”
She smiled. “You always are with me.”
He took both her hands and pressed the wrists together, then gently bound them with the sash, leaving the material loose enough so she could easily wiggle out of it if she wanted to. He had no intention of pulling tight enough to potentially create any pain. He was much too cognizant of her hypersensitivity to sensation to add any sort of strain on her.
Guiding her to lift her arms over her head, he secured the sash through an intricate cutout in the thick headboard, just below the scrolled trim at the top. His hands glided over her skin from her wrists to the undersides of her arms. Then he palmed her breasts and she writhed on the mattress, her back arching.
He stood beside her, the bed at waist-height for him. His erection pushed against the crotch of his briefs and the front of his black leather pants. He wore nothing else, due to the amount of heat generated from the fire he’d built to keep Jade comfortable.
Her full, firm breasts didn’t quite fill his large hands. His thumbs swept over the hard, dusty-rose nipples and she let out a soft sigh. Her legs pressed together, as though she felt the same ache between them as he felt between his own.
“You are so beautiful,” he told her as he gazed down at her. She had a flawless, alabaster complexion that made her even more striking, given her hair color and vibrant blue eyes.
One of his hands skimmed over her rib cage to her slightly rounded belly. She had feminine curves that drove him wild. His fingers swept over her upper thigh, and then along the inner portion, the flesh trembling beneath his touch.
When his fingertips brushed her mound, barely covered by thin, neatly trimmed black hair, her legs spread.
“You want me to touch you here.”
She let out a low hiss of breath. “Yes.” Her voice held a restless note to it.
The pads of his fingers lightly stroked her pussy lips, back and forth. Her butt wriggled on the bed and she twisted at the waist, her hips shifting toward him, as though to give him better access. He already had the perfect access to her.
“Stay still,” he commanded.
She scoffed. “Right. It’s so easy to just lie here stiffly while your hands are on me.”
“Wait until my mouth is on you.”
A sharp moan escaped her parted lips. “I can only imagine how sensational that will feel.”
“You’ll know for a fact. In time.”
“Ah, see. There is arrogance.”
“No,” he was quick to say. “There’s a deep-seated need to please you. Plain and simple.”
He ran two fingers between her slick lips, rubbing her swollen clit. Her hips raised and her back arched farther.
“Careful,” he warned. “Don’t pull the tie too tight. I don’t want it to hurt your wrists.”
“You’ve barely restrained me,” she said with heat in her eyes, telling him she enjoyed the game they played.
“Yes, but you do seem to be helping things along.” She clutched the sash with both hands, as though further restricting herself. “And that is damn sexy.”
He wanted her in the worst way. She was sprawled atop his bronze-colored duvet, her luscious body squirming under his touch as flickers of firelight caressed her creamy skin. Tiny pants of air blew between her teeth and filled the quiet room. Her nipples puckered tight and the juices seeped from her wet pussy, the titillating scent wafting under his nose. He pushed a finger into her tight canal, and she let out a cry of pleasure.
“Oh God.” Her breath caught.
He massaged her inner walls as her hips rolled in response. Her thighs drew together again, pressing in on him, as though to keep his hand in place. He wasn’t going anywhere.
Bending at the waist, he curled his tongue around one taut nipple and then suckled it as he worked a second finger into her cunt.
“Darien.” This said with such need and yearning in her voice, it did more than spike his pulse and desire for her. It tugged at his heartstrings.
Her inner muscles contracted around his fingers as she continued to writhe impatiently on the bed, as though seeking release from the tension building within her. He’d happily give it to her. His fingers pumped inside her warm depths as he pinched and rolled the taut peak he wasn’t teasing with his mouth.
Her pelvis jutted upward, in silent demand for more. He wanted to give her more. He wanted to strip off his pants and thrust his throbbing cock into her dripping pussy, but he hadn’t come even remotely close to discovering all the nuances of her body, or its responses to him, that he’d set out to explore.
His mouth left her breast and his tongue trailed over her skin, up to her throat. He nipped gently at the flesh and her hips undulated in response.
“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m going to come.”
He raised his head to gaze at her face. Her eyes closed and she pulled in staccato breaths. The heel of his hand rubbed her clit as he pushed deeper into her. She grasped the sash and tugged on it, though clearly not out of a need to release herself from the confining material. She could slip her hands from the gaping loop if she so chose.
His head dipped and he said against her neck, “Come for me. Come all over my fingers. I want you wet and ready for me.”
He felt the vibration of her body, which started slowly at first, then built into a fierce shudder. Her upper body bowed off the mattress and she cried out again.
“Darien!” Her body tensed, and then the tremors took hold of her. “Oh!”
“That’s it,” he said, still nuzzling her throat and stroking her cunt with his fingers. “Take whatever you want from me…”
Chapter Six
Fiery sensations blazed through every inch of Jade, but they weren’t the usual prickly, painful ones she was accustomed to. These feelings were erotic in nature and so amazingly delicious, she savored them as her orgasm echoed throughout her body.
Darien’s lips slid over her throat. “Do you want more?” he whispered.
“Yes.” She wanted so much more.
He withdrew his fingers from her pussy and shifted away from her, only to sit on the bed between her legs, one of which he draped over his thighs. His hands covered her breasts, caressing them as her back bowed, thrusting them upward. He toyed with her nipples, keeping them taut and tingly. Then his palms glided down her ribs to her stomach.
One hand splayed over her mound, the heel slowly rubbing her clit. Her soft moans mingled with the snapping of the fire. Darien leaned forward and his tongue replaced his hand. The intimate touch made her hips buck as excitement flooded her veins.
“That’s unbelievable,” she murmured.
His head lifted. “Michael never…?”
“No. Definitely not. We really had no idea what we were doing back then.”
He seemed to derive a hint of relief from this. “So I’m the first.”
“In many ways.”
“That makes me extremely happy,” he said. Then he went back to what he was doing.
His tongue swept over her swollen lips and she shivered with delight. “Oh my God. That feels so good. I had no idea…” Her sigh sounded both dreamy and erotic.
He licked her with the precise amount of pressure to make her pulse jump and her heart hammer. Heat consumed her and searing sensations built in the heart of her, causing wicked beats deep in her cunt.
He gently suckled her clit and she let out a sharp moan. “Darien.”
She easily worked her wrists free of the sash and raked a hand through his thick hair
. The other clasped his shoulder. Her hips tilted and she pressed herself more firmly against his mouth as he pleasured her. His tongue teased her sensitive flesh and pushed her right to a glorious precipice.
The scorching feelings raging through her were so spectacular, though, she didn’t want to let go of them. The Demon King proved to be a skilled and talented lover. Jade had no trouble losing herself in the passion he evoked and the intense emotions that accompanied her heightened desire.
When he slipped a finger into her pussy, a small cry tore from her lips. “Yes,” she ground out. “Oh God, yes.”
He added a second finger in her narrow canal and pumped vigorously as he licked and sucked her. She fell from the precipice. The mounting sensations erupted deep within her and seemed to shoot out in all directions. She called his name as her body quaked from the powerful orgasm. Her fingers tightened around the strands of hair she held and her other hand gripped Darien’s shoulder with force.
Unfamiliar whimpers of ecstasy filled the room. She thrashed on the bed as he continued his wicked ministrations. When her heavy panting slowed, his mouth trailed over her stomach.
Jade grasped the concept of electricity from her studies, and she surmised what she’d just experienced had to be akin to feeling a zap from it, the sizzling sensation was so strong.
“I want to feel you inside me,” she said in a throaty tone.
“Soon,” he muttered as his tongue swirled around the rim of her bellybutton, tickling her.
With a soft laugh, she told him, “Now. I did as you asked. It’s my turn to make a request.”
His head popped up, “Ah, but you cheated.”
She pouted playfully. “It’s not fair to keep me from touching you while you’re making me come.”
“I wanted you focused solely on what I was doing to you. How it made you feel.”
“Absurdly turned-on. I think there’s enough energy flowing through me to light up the entire continent.”
He chuckled, low and sexy. “You’re very good for my ego.”