Chapter 18
HANNA
She was letting him touch her.
Hanna could hardly believe it, but each stroke of his fingers against her sensitive flesh reminded her of just how far gone she was to this moment.
It was his mouth, kissing her relentlessly – sometimes soft, sometimes hard and eager – that was her undoing.
Even now, he was leisurely kissing and tasting her throat as she spread her legs wider, her whole body shaking as he touched her there where no man had before.
Not with the intention to please, that is.
Hanna trembled violently where she lay helpless against the surging sensations Alaric was wringing from her body, her fingers digging into the flesh of his forearm as he circled a place that kindled an ache in her core.
Was she holding him there, or holding on to him? Using him as an anchor in the darkness as the first sparks of pleasure burst from beneath his touch. Hanna knew not, only that she believed him when he said he would stop if she said the word.
She had felt the sincerity of his words as he asked her what she wanted.
And she had actually managed to voice her desire.
Hanna had never felt such a feeling before, a moment of trust between two people, chest to chest, hearts beating together in the stillness of the night as desire coiled between them.
It was as heady as a drug, and she wanted more of it. More closeness, more wanting, more asking. And she wanted to hear herself say yes.
Hanna closed her eyes, her body slowly relaxing as Alaric carefully stroked her skin, slowly working his way closer to her centre until, with a jolt of sensation, he parted her sex, dragging a finger through her folds as a hot, aching feeling followed in his wake, twisting the needy knot in her core tighter.
Hanna dug her nails into his skin, arching as he found a spot that sent a rush of pleasure up through her body, a high-pitched sound she had never made before slipping free.
Alaric groaned against her shoulder, ducking his head there as he slowly traced circles around that magical place, at first soft, then more firmly, as if reading the signs of her body.
Her hips were rocking now, lifting for more, trying to lead his touch down towards the ache that throbbed at the very centre of her being.
Small sounds of longing were falling from her lips, even as those calloused fingers made their way to that place where she needed him and dipped just inside, stretching her, testing her, smearing the evidence of her desire back up and around, until bright shards of light burst behind her eyelids and her body tensed like a bow drawn tight, pleasure exploding outwards from her core as she flung herself into the abyss and let the sensations flood her fully.
Alaric didn’t take his hands off of her, his fingers relentless as they wrung every last gasp from her lips. He held her through the fever, until they were trembling together, hands tight on skin as the world slowly righted itself once more.
Trying to catch her breath, Hanna relaxed just as Alaric rolled away, fumbling with something at his waist. Alarmed, Hanna sat up, wondering what was happening as he cursed softly in the darkness beside her.
She heard the sound of skin on skin, and Alaric groaned, a guttural sound that made Hanna’s stomach flip, desire blooming in its wake all over again.
“Hanna-” he murmured softly, an edge of pleading to his tone, and she reached for him instinctively.
He caught her hand in his, leading her down his body until her hand was wrapped around the hard length of his manhood, his hand lightly covering hers as he used her palm to stroke up and down his shaft.
Hanna froze, waiting for the fear, but it never came. Instead, she felt that power again. He wanted her, but she knew she was safe.
Once, twice, she slowly stroked the length of him, exploring the girth as she wrapped her fingers tight, letting him guide her up to the thick bulge of his crown and then down again.
His hips bucked, and Alaric dragged her hand away, pressing her palm to his mouth with one hand as he took himself in hand with the other. Hanna sat there, enthralled, as Alaric moaned against her palm with every pump of his fist, each faster and more desperate than the last.
Close now, he pulled her hand down once more and wrapped it around him just as he shot his seed, coating her in his release as he panted her name like a prayer.
Shocked, Hanna sat still on the bed as Alaric slowly stood up, walking over to the washstand in the light of the moon, and returned with a cloth that he used to carefully clean her hand. Pressing another kiss to her palm before he tended to himself and slid back between the covers.
Hanna was silent, her mind spinning with all that had occurred, and she sat there until he pulled her down to lay beside him, rolling her back into his arms as he pulled her tight against his chest where she could feel his heart still beating like a wild thing.
Slowly, the frantic thumping calmed, as did she, relaxing back into the familiarity of the embrace as Alaric’s breath came slower. Deep and even, until Hanna could tell he was asleep.
She was grateful that he had not said anything, she didn’t know how she felt or what she could possibly say as the gravity of the moment they had shared revealed itself.
But perhaps a small part of her was looking forward already to tomorrow night, when the darkness might bring more surprises.