Red Dreams (The Reaper Duet #2)

22. Layla

22

LAYLA

It astounds me that Kaden doesn’t think he’s proven his obsession over me.

“You turned my cottage into a fortress so you could watch me at all hours,” I argue. “You willingly imprisoned yourself so you could stay with me. You’ve killed men for me?—”

“Not nearly enough.”

“I know you’re mine,” I say at the same time.

“Do you?”

He grabs one of my wrists, and I wince at the rub of his grip against the barely healed scrapes. But the slice of pain is quickly forgotten when he pushes my palm against the length of his dick through his pants.

“This heat, this pulse that’s throbbing so hard it’s painful, this cock, is all fucking yours.”

I bite my lip at his delicious, dirty words, unused to hearing them but desperate to hear them again.

“Take me, Layla. Grab me and hold on. I’m yours to control. Claim your power over me.”

I stare up at him, my own pulse racing, desire rivaling my trepidation.

Without looking away, I slide into his pants and curl my fingers around the hard length of him.

Kaden's eyes darken, his jaw clenching as he fights for control.

“That's it,” he rasps. “Don't be afraid to take what you want.”

Emboldened, I squeeze harder, relishing the low groan that escapes his lips and the way he tips his head back.

Kaden's hand slides into my damp hair, his fingers tangling just shy of pain. He pulls my head back, exposing the inked column of my throat.

I shudder, my grip on him faltering. He notices.

“Too much?” he asks.

I shake my head, not trusting my voice. I want this, want him. I want that control he’s so willing to give when I feel like I’ve lost all of mine.

“We go at your pace,” Kaden murmurs.

Tears prick at my eyes, gratitude and affection swelling in my chest. “Thank you.”

“You never have to thank me for respecting your boundaries. It's the bare fucking minimum.”

A watery laugh escapes me. “Such a romantic.”

“I have my moments.”

Smiling, I test my effect on him again, feeling him twitch against my palm. A thrill shoots through me at the power he's offering. After being at the mercy of others for so long, it's intoxicating.

I stroke him slowly, watching his pupils expand with lust. His breath stalls when I increase the pressure.

“Is this what you want?” I ask.

“That's it,” he rasps. “Take what's yours.”

I pump harder, reveling in his surrender. This deadly, dangerous man, reduced to a shuddering mess by my touch alone.

With my free hand, I tug on the waistband of his pants, pushing them down until he’s completely bare. Kaden is hot and silky smooth, pre-cum beading at the tip.

I swipe my thumb over it, spreading the wetness down his shaft.

“Fuck, Wraithling.” He grunts, his hips bucking into my fist.

I stroke him faster, tighter, spurred on by the broken sounds spilling from his lips. His hands come up to grip my hips, digging into my flesh, but this pain is welcome. Grounding, even. A reminder that I’m alive and he’s here with me.

“I want to taste you,” I proclaim, surprised by my own boldness.

His eyes fly open, locking onto mine. “Then get on your knees and take what you want.”

I sink to the floor without hesitation, wrapping my hand around the base of his cock and holding him steady as I lean in to flick my tongue over the weeping tip.

He makes a strangled sound, his fingers tangling further in my damp hair. I take him into my mouth inch by inch, savoring the heavy weight of him on my tongue. He's too big to take all the way, but I hollow my cheeks and suck hard, bobbing my head in a steady rhythm.

“Just like that,” he groans, guiding my movements with the hand fisted in my hair. “Take all of me, Wraithling.”

I relax my throat and take him deeper, fighting my gag reflex. Tears threaten at the corners of my eyes, but I don't stop, determined to give him as much pleasure as he's given me.

“Look up,” he commands.

I obey, gazing up at him through my lashes as I work his length with my mouth.

“You're so fucking beautiful like this,” he murmurs. “On your knees for me, looking up at me with those bewitching eyes while you suck my cock.”

Heat floods my core at his filthy praise. I moan around him, and he curses, his grip on my hair tightening. He throbs against my tongue, growing impossibly harder.

“I'm close,” he warns, his voice strained. “Pull off if you don't want to swallow.”

But I do want to. I want to taste every part of him, to consume him the way he's consumed me, body and soul. So I redouble my efforts, sucking harder, taking him as deep as I can.

“Fuck, Layla, I'm going to?—”

His words cut off with a guttural groan as he spills into my mouth, his release hot and salty on my tongue. I swallow every drop, savoring the intimacy of it, the power.

Kaden's chest heaves as he tries to catch his breath, but I’m not done yet. I release him, but my hand is covered in his spillover. When I’m confident his eyes are back on me, I lick from the bottom of my palm to the tip of my fingers, relishing every drop.

Kaden's eyes flash with renewed hunger.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he growls.

I release my fingers with a wet pop, a small smirk playing on my lips. “But what a way to go.”

He hauls me to my feet and crashes his mouth against mine in a bruising kiss, all teeth and tongue. I melt into him, my hands sliding over the hard planes of his chest, tracing the scars that map his skin.

Kaden lifts me until my legs wrap around his waist, then backs us up against the wall, caging me in with his arms. He breaks the kiss, keeping his lips a hairbreadth from mine.

“If it gets to be too much, if you need to stop, you tell me,” he says. “No matter what. Understand?”

“Yes,” I breathe.

“Good girl.”

Then his mouth is on me again, all-consuming and overwhelming in the best way. He trails his lips down my jaw and my neck, nipping at the sensitive skin. When he reaches the tattoo, he pauses, his breath hot against my throat.

“I want to mark you as mine,” he rasps. “Cover this brand with my own claim on you.”

I shudder at his words, my inner thighs going slick with want.

“Then do it,” I say. “Make me yours.”

Kaden growls, and it vibrates right through me. He bites down on the juncture where my neck meets my shoulder, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. I cry out, my nails digging into his back as pleasure-pain sparks through me.

He soothes the sting with his tongue before trailing lower, pushing the T-shirt off my shoulder to expose more skin for his lips and teeth to explore. Each scrape of his teeth, each bruising kiss, sends another aching bolt straight to my core.

Impatient, I tug at his hair, bringing his mouth back to mine. He kisses me deeply, desperately, like he's trying to crawl inside me and make a home there. Like he already has.

I'm panting when he pulls back, my lips swollen and tingling. Kaden looks as wrecked as I feel, his eyes wild and feverishly bright. He's a fallen angel, a dark god, and he's all mine.

His hands slip under my shirt again, this time to peel it up and off, baring my upper body to his hungry gaze.

For a moment, I tense, acutely aware of the bruises painting my skin.

“These are badges of your strength,” he says, pressing a kiss to a particularly lurid bruise between my breasts. “They show the world you can take a hit and get back up.”

My eyes go hot at his reassurance, at the unwavering acceptance and adoration in his gaze.

He kisses a path down the valley of my breasts while I’m pressed against the wall, his hand coming up to palm one, his thumb brushing over the pebbled nipple. I arch into his touch with a gasp.

Kaden's mouth closes around my other nipple, his tongue swirling and teasing the sensitive bud. I moan, my head falling back against the wall with a thud. He lavishes attention on my breasts, sucking and nipping until I'm writhing.

“Please, Kaden,” I whimper, not even sure what I'm begging for.

He seems to know anyway. His other hand drifts lower, slipping beneath the waistband of my leggings. I squirm as his fingers brush against my most sensitive flesh, slick with desire. Kaden circles my clit, making me buck against his hand with a needy whine.

I'm aching for more, my body singing with want.

“Please,” I gasp out.

“Please what, Wraithling? Tell me what you need.”

“I need you. Inside me. Filling me.”

Kaden's eyes darken further at my breathless plea. My feet hit the floor in one swift motion, and he rips my leggings away, the fabric giving easily under his strength. Cool air hits my overheated skin, and I shiver.

He drops to his knees, throwing one of my legs over his shoulder. Then his mouth is on me, his tongue delving between my folds to lap at the wetness there. I cry out, my head thudding back against the wall.

Kaden grips my thighs, holding me open. He traces patterns on my clit, flicking and circling and sucking until the pressure starts building.

“Kaden, I'm going to ... I'm close...” I pant, my fingers sinking into his hair.

He doubles his efforts, sealing his lips around my clit and sucking hard as he thrusts two fingers deep inside me, curling to hit that perfect spot. With a hoarse scream, I shatter. Kaden works me through it, prolonging my pleasure until I'm limp and trembling.

Before I can catch my breath, he's surging up to recapture my mouth. I taste myself on his tongue, and it makes me throb with renewed desire. I feel him, hard and insistent, pressing against my belly.

Kaden lifts me again, and I wrap my legs around his waist. His cock notches at my entrance, teasing me.

“Take what's yours,” he rasps against my lips. “Take all of me.”

With a roll of my hips, I sink onto him, taking him to the hilt in one smooth glide. We groan in unison at the exquisite stretch and fullness. For a moment, we're both still, foreheads pressed together, just savoring the feel of each other.

Then Kaden starts to move, withdrawing almost all the way before slamming back in.

The ancient cottage walls rattle with the force of our passion, absorbing the echoes of my cries and his grunts. Kaden's hands grip my hips hard enough to leave fresh bruises, branding me in a way that feels like worship rather than violence.

My nails rake down his back, my heels digging into his ass to pull him deeper.

Kaden seems to have the same idea. He shifts the angle of his hips, hitting a spot so deep I see stars. I throw my head back with a keening cry, the tendons of my neck straining.

“That's it, let me hear you,” he pants. “Let the whole fucking town know who you belong to.”

I'm too lost in sensation to be self-conscious. Let them hear. Let the world know I'm his and he's mine.

“Yours,” I gasp out. “Only yours.”

Those words seem to spur him on. He's chasing his release as much as he's driving me toward my own.

“Let go,” he commands in a gravelly rasp. “I’ve got you.”

And I do. I let go with a silent scream, my body bowing in his hold as rapture crashes over me in unrelenting waves. I clench rhythmically around him, pulling him over the edge with me.

Kaden buries himself to the hilt with a guttural groan, spilling deep inside me and rocking us through the aftershocks.

We stay like that for a while, joined, hearts pounding in sync, breathing each other’s air.

“Mine,” he murmurs, cupping my cheek.

I turn into his palm, pressing a kiss to the calloused skin.

“Yours,” I affirm.