Chapter 15 So Show Me #2
Each sparking lance of pleasure between her thighs as she shifted against him made her remember.
She did not want to remember. But it was so hard to forget.
The way Tharen had touched her, the way she had not hated it, and how she had barely been able to focus on the consuming feel of release, before it had turned to blood-soaked pain.
The tips of Az’s fingers curved below the hem of her gown, rucked up to her thighs. Below, she wore a plain pair of thin silk, the only thing that separated her from him. She wanted them off.
His amber eyes stared up at her with adoration and care. "Are you sure?"
Her lips parted, chest rising and falling with rapid breaths born of desire. His hands stilled, letting her decide without distractions.
Luella nodded, lashes brushing her cheeks as she looked down.
Az grabbed her chin and forced her face to his. "Tell me, Lu. I want to hear it from your sweet, angelic voice. That voice that awoke me from misery in the dungeons… Tell me you want this."
"I d-do," she breathed. "I want this."
As if those words had been the singular tether of his control, snapping and leaving him untied, the demon broke.
The rocking hammock forced her hips to shift over him, and she gasped in pleasure, making his eyes darken with heat.
"You’re gorgeous," he said from below her, fingers spanning her hips.
She felt a strange sensation on her back, and his eyes moved to her wings.
"I think you like this, don’t you, Lu? Your wings make you even more of an open book.
" Each movement was wrapped in care, as he grabbed the skirts of her dress and pushed them up further, revealing the small birthmark on her upper thigh.
He pressed the pad of his thumb into it. "I want to kiss this. One day."
She shivered at the words. "Oh."
She was still as stone, unable to bring her body to move as his rough fingers traced the soft flesh of her thighs, skimming over the dainty silk of her panties, teasing it, before brushing above to dip underneath her gown, tracing up each bone of her ribs, skimming over her bandages.
His large chest heaved. She saw a small bead of sweat trickle down his neck. Her mouth grew dry.
"Did he get to see you?"
Az’s voice made her dazed eyes find his. She paused. He meant Tharen. "No. He touched me above my gown. I didn’t want him to take it off… so he didn’t."
His jaw clenched. "Good, angel." He seemed to want to say something else, but didn’t.
"What is it?" she whispered.
He shook his head, the curve of his horns casting pointed shadows on his cheeks in the flickering, dim light, which made the whole space private and cozy.
The force of his desire nearly made her tumble back as it swept down the thread.
"Do you want to…" Luella tried to remind herself this was Az. But inexperience made her shy, made her words fumble and slip through her fingers. He waited, quiet. Finally, she found the courage—small but there. "Do you want to see?"
He groaned. "Gods, yes."
She felt her limbs tremble with anticipation as he began to slowly roll up her gown. He had seen her nude once before, but she remembered how he had only stared at her eyes that day, not letting his gaze wander. This time, he did.
His eyes were stuck to the shape of her hips under his hands, the way each soft slide of the gown up her body revealed more and more of her flesh to him. Cool air shivered over her exposed skin, leaving pebbles of chill in its wake.
"You take my breath away, Lu." He paused with the gown bunched below her breasts, a question in his eyes.
She nodded, scared, and he pushed it up further, revealing her small breasts to his gaze.
Her nipples were pink and peaked, and a hand skimmed over her waist, stilling just below her right breast, thumb brushing the underside of it.
"You’re so soft. So sweet. I could touch you forever.
" His hand trailed up, and she held her breath just as his fingertip finally made contact with her nipple.
Her chin fell to her chest as she gasped lowly at the sensation. He stroked his finger back and forth over her, making her dizzy and stirring a strange yearning deep in her lower stomach. Urgency nipped at her heels. Unrelenting and desperate. She wanted more. Needed more.
Luella found her hips shifting of their own accord, seeking out that feeling she had only experienced once before. A plea lingered on her tongue, and she grabbed it, tugging it free with great effort and flushed cheeks.
"Take it off," she demanded brokenly.
In a flash, her gown was over her head and thrown on the wooden floor, leaving her sitting astride him clad in only the thin silk of her panties and the white bandages wrapped around her waist. The muscles on his chest flexed as her fingernails lightly scraped against his stomach as she curled her hands into fists.
She was achingly vulnerable, and it took all of her effort not to wrap her arm around her chest to cover herself.
He saw every flaw, every misgiving, every way she could be better.
But he only said:
"You are all I’ve ever wanted and more than anything I could have dreamed, my angel. I am not deserving of you, but I will spend my every moment worshipping you like you deserve."
The words made her eyes cloud with tears. "I love you," she sighed.
"Always, I love you," Az vowed.
His hands were reverent as they touched her—worshipped her, just as he had proclaimed. Gentle and soft, he treated her like a fragile egg, poised to crack at any moment.
The stir of need inside her was more than lust—she wanted his heart and body. His everything.
With one hand on her breast, the other trailed over the soft curve of her stomach, lingering at the edge of her panties.
"Can I touch you here?" he rumbled.
She nodded, her white hair brushing her cheek from how fervently she did so.
He smiled, and his fingers dipped below, pressing upon her bare flesh, skimming just over where she ached the most. It was so strange, feeling another’s hand there.
His fingers were warm, rough, and hesitant; he dipped lower, and finally, brushed over her wetness, making her gasp and her wings shiver behind her.
Seeing how much she liked that, he repeated the action, making her see stars.
His fingers dipped, stroking over where she was warm and aching, light like feathers as he teased an electric spot that sent sparks of pleasure shooting up her spine and out through her wings.
Her body clenched around nothing, and it was such a strange, desperate feeling that she gasped, wanting more, but not knowing what more entailed. Not truly.
The room spun as he brushed his fingers over her, again and again. She felt a dampness between her thighs, sticking to the inside of them.
Each new sensation made a soft sort of fear kindle—would it happen again? The agony.
"I want this to be good for you. Is it good? Does it feel good?" Az asked her.
She nodded, teeth digging into her lower lip. His hand on her breast rose to her mouth, gently parting her lips to let a soft moan escape.
It was sweet and innocent, the way he touched her. Hesitant. It made her wonder…
Her hands lightly skimmed up the expanse of his chest. "Have you ever…?"
Az continued touching between her thighs, stroking over her heated core.
His other hand shifted once more to her waist, making her bend over him, her chest flush against his, breasts against his bare flesh.
His hand was trapped between them, against her core, and the increase in pressure made her eyelids flutter.
"Ever what, angel?" His lips brushed her temple as he spoke. The wind and rain threatened to drown out the sound of his voice, even as it rumbled through her.
Her breaths puffed out over his chest as she all but moaned, broken and needy, "Have you ever done this b-before?" Her words broke into a stuttering hiccup as the pad of his finger brushed in lazy circles.
She felt more secure pressed against his chest like this. Hidden and safe. Her wings wrapped around her back, keeping her protected, too.
"No," Az revealed, "never."
And that made something in her heart clench, the thread between them growing even stronger.
Her lips pressed against his chest, right over his beating heart. "Thank you," she murmured.
His touches grew more frantic, and her hips shifted as best as she could, searching for him, unskilled and awkward as she sought that feeling.
She was worked higher and higher by his hands, until she found her whole body tensing, teetering over the edge, fear making her choke out, "W-wait. What if it happens again?"
Az’s hand stilled against her, and he shifted, moving his head to press a kiss to the corner of her mouth, grumbling against her, "It won’t, Lu. I swear it to you. Do you want me to make another blood vow? Because I will. For you."
Luella was desperate to get over this fear. But it consumed her. She was so afraid that if she let go, it would only ever be pain and chaos; though, she would not make him feel as though he had to make a vow for her comfort.
She brushed her fingertips over the tiny red circle on his chest, each inhale making her breasts brush against him. "No more blood vows. This one is enough, forever."
He grabbed the side of her face, forcing her wide, hazy eyes to his. "It won’t happen. Let me show you."
"So show me."
And she relinquished control fully to him, feeling it slip from her hands like whispers of air as the pressure of his fingertips grew more firm, and he did not relent—not once—as he worked her higher and sent her shattering over the edge of a mountaintop, flying down the side as her body spasmed and chest heaved and lips parted with achy, sweet, little gasps.
Pleasure rippled through her in soft waves as she came down from her high, making her toes curl and her lower stomach flex, unbidden.
She held her breath against him, waiting…
for pain, for something bad to happen. But it never did.
Her pleasure ebbed, leaving her languid and sated, even as the fever still burned within her bloodstream, even as the ship rocked and the storm raged.
A harsh roll of thunder made her tremble, and his hand tightened on her back, the steady rise and fall of his chest comforting.
She felt his lips on her crown.
"You sound so beautiful, Lu."
One of her hands rested on his chest, and he grabbed it, bringing it up to his mouth, warm lips pressing soft kisses against the tips of her fingers. His other hand was still between her thighs, not stroking, just resting there… cupping her.
"How do you feel?" Az asked.
She felt… electric.
Like tiny bolts of lightning raced under her skin.
"I feel good." She blushed, peeking up at him. "Truly, Az. You were right. It didn’t—it didn’t hurt."
At her words, his fingers flexed against her still throbbing heat, and she gasped.
Even naive, she felt her body respond to him. Already, she found herself wanting more. Wanting to chase that feeling again.
But the electricity inside her was growing too hard to ignore. She felt like she might crawl out of her skin. Fidgeting, her hands clenched around him, as if wanting to pull him inside her.
As she shifted in a restive fit, she felt his hardness against her backside, and she gasped, stilling.
"Y-you’re still…"
The tip of his finger brushed the edge of her wings. "Do not worry about me, angel. This was all about you."
She tried to sit up, hands pressed on his chest, but he couldn’t seem to let her go, holding her flush against him.
"I needed this to be for you, Lu," Az murmured softly. "I needed to touch you, to feel you. I needed to leave my mark on you." His hand moved to the side of her neck, and she knew, then, what he meant. He brushed her white curls to the side, revealing the sight of Bastian’s claim on her throat.
Now that she focused on it, she felt the way the fang marks throbbed with her every heartbeat.
Just like the pulse between her thighs, as his large hand cupped her.
The restlessness within her was growing too vast to be ignored.
Her demon seemed to sense it, for he slowly, reluctantly, pulled his hand free from between her thighs.
She trembled at the loss of the warmth of his touch.
He had not… entered her, but she still felt bereft without him there, holding her, claiming her.
Luella’s chin rested on Az’s chest, dazed eyes blinking up at him, as he slowly—without looking away from her—brought the hand that had been between her thighs to his lips. His fingers glistened with wetness. Her breaths came ragged as he placed his fingers on his tongue, lips wrapping around them.
A deep, atavistic groan rumbled through him, and an answering, breathy sound slipped from her parted lips. Wind battered against the side of the ship.
"Az," she whimpered, not sure what she was asking for.
He seemed to know, for he pulled his fingers from his mouth and cupped her cheek, tugging her lips to his, and taking her mouth with passionate care.
It was the end of their foray into pleasure, but not a true ending, merely for the night.
It brought her down and made her soft and pliant against him.
But the storm outside seemed to have moved to her, cracking against the inside of her chest.
As he pulled away, she whispered against his lips, tasting a tang of berries and heat on them, "Where is Bastian? I need… to see him."
His amber eyes darkened further—not desire, but… jealousy.
Still, he kept his voice calm as he replied, "Whatever you need, Lu."
She wasn’t sure why she felt like she had to see the vampire, but the marks on the side of her neck ached, and she couldn’t rid herself of the memory of his scarlet eyes and searching hands and desperate groans as he took from her, nor could she forget how he had seemed so despondent as he finally pulled away from her.
Their thread was twisted and dripping with loathing. She needed to make it right.