Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
Rosalina
E zryn stares at me like a man undone.
That’s how I feel. Unravelled, the edges of me frayed and spooled on the floor.
There’s so much pain within me, I don’t know what to do with it. I can’t take another goodbye when we’ve only just said hello. Yet, I know he has to do this. There’s still something jagged in his gaze, something I only ever felt but never understood before his helm came off.
If he faces Kairyn as he is, Ezryn will fall.
So, it has to be this way. We’ll fight for Summer from across the realm, with our mate bond to lead us back together.
The pain threatens to consume me, so I turn my attention elsewhere. There are so many other emotions fighting within me. Anger is much easier to deal with.
I am angry at Ezryn. Angry that he let his vengeance rule him; angry that he can’t open his mind to Caspian. Angry that he’s leaving me again, even though I know that’s what he needs to do.
As I stand naked before him, with his gaze darkening with primal hunger, I let myself feel another emotion, too.
Lust.
“I don’t want to think about tomorrow or the next day,” I breathe. “I don’t want to remember anything that’s happened to us. I only want to exist within these four walls.” I take a step toward him and look up through my lashes. “Can you make the rest of the world disappear for me, Ezryn?”
He drifts a hand up to my face and runs a thumb down my lips. “I can do anything you ask, Baby Girl.”
“Then take it all away,” I whisper. “Make me yours.”
He reaches behind my head and grabs my hair. Slowly, so slowly, he winds it around his hand until he can move my head with a tug. “Submit to me.”
“I am a princess.” My voice is ragged, and my breasts heave, the points of my nipples brushing against his chest. Ezryn steps closer, and I take a step back until he has me pinned against the wooden wall. His grip on my hair slackens. “I don’t submit.”
He wedges his knee between my legs. I gasp. Unable to stop myself, I grind down upon him, my pussy already wet and aching.
“You will submit to me,” he growls.
Yes, I fucking will , I think. But I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of saying it out loud. Not yet, at least. He’s going to have to work for it.
I lean forward, as if to kiss his neck, and whisper, tenderly, sweetly, “Make me.”
Then I push him away and run.
He spins, eyes wide, as I dart to the other side of the room. It’s so small, there’s nowhere really to go, so I jump up on the bed. I give him a taunting smile. His pupils are so blown, his eyes are more black than brown.
“You want me to hunt you down, Petal?” he asks and stalks toward me. He flashes a wolf’s grin.
I run a hand across my breasts, over the expanse of my stomach, before trailing one finger through my slit. I pull it out and hold it up, slick and gleaming, before popping it into my mouth. Never breaking eye contact with him, I swirl my tongue around my fingers, lapping up every last drop.
“That’s mine ,” he growls then lunges.
I give a half-laugh, half-cry as I dodge out of his way. He falls onto the bed, and I scramble over the top of him, rushing to the other side of the room.
He props himself up on both hands and turns to look at me. There’s a primal fire in his expression. A fire I want to stoke. “Where are you going to run, Petal? The longer you keep me from what is mine, the longer I’m going to punish you for it. Do you understand?”
“Why do you make it sound so tempting?” I raise a brow.
He gets up and stalks toward me. “Be a good girl. Get on your knees. Tell me you submit, and I’ll forgive you for making me chase you. This is your last chance, Petal.”
I offer him a sweet smile and walk up to him. He looks down at me with a self-satisfied smirk.
“On your knees,” he says.
I move as if to kneel, then shove him hard in the chest. He falls back onto the bed, and I take the opportunity to run behind the desk, laughing.
“That’s it.” Ezryn stands. The outline of his cock strains against his trousers, so hard it looks painful. “I’ve given you chance after chance.” His voice lowers a notch. “Now, you’re mine.”
I make to run to the other corner of the room, but he’s quicker. He moves with an impossible speed, suddenly appearing in front of me.
“Mine,” he repeats.
Then he grabs me around the legs and heaves me over his shoulder.
“Ezryn!” I laugh, but my laughter is immediately cut off by a sharp crack against my ass. “Hey!”
“I warned you, Petal. I’m going to use you until I see fit to stop.” He slaps my ass again hard . “But you’re a good girl, aren’t you? You can take it.”
Heat rushes over my bottom, sending tantalizing need through me. I squirm in his embrace. This position of surrender only makes me crave to give more to him.
“Tell me you can take it,” he growls.
Not only can I take it, but I want it all and more.
So, I slap his ass back.
He stills, and I bite my lip, waiting with breathless anticipation.
“Oh, Petal,” he purrs, “you’re going to regret that.”
I’m flung off his shoulder onto the bed. I scramble backward, but he pounces over me, grabbing both of my wrists in one of his huge hands and pulling them over my head. He drives his knee against my pussy again.
His free hand trails over my jaw. “You say stop, I stop.”
I lean forward and kiss him, capturing his bottom lip between my teeth and biting down. “Don’t stop.”
His eyes flash like those of a predator set loose in a field of prey. He tightens his grip on my wrists and places his mouth over my breast. His tongue flicks over my nipple, making me buck my hips, seeking more of the contact with his knee. He responds by thrusting it harder against me. The promise of bliss simmers in my core.
He sucks deeper, teeth raking over my nipple, before he bites down. I cry out, the pain transforming into pleasure.
Looking up from between my breasts, his expression is near possessed with lust. “Tell me, Rosalina, are you a good girl?”
“Yes,” I whimper. “I’m your good girl.”
“So, are you ready to submit to me?”
I lean forward and lightly bite his neck. “No.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Ezryn jumps up and sits on the edge of the bed. Then he flips me over so I’m on my stomach and pulls me onto his lap. I let out a moan, the feel of his hard cock pressing against my side like an irresistible lure. I don’t know if I’ve ever been so vulnerable, totally naked against his fully clothed body, my ass in the air and my sopping pussy against his thighs. Desperate need surges through my body. I want him to use me this way, to be his completely in this moment.
“Look at you.” Ezryn runs a hand over my back before patting my ass. “Mine to play with as I wish.”
He strokes my hair and caresses the point of my ear. Shivers run up and down my spine. “My pretty girl. Too bad you were trying to keep your pretty pussy from me earlier.”
Crack!
He spanks my ass with a firm hand. I cry out and push my center harder against him.
“You wouldn’t do that again, would you?”
I’m breathless, my words stolen by cries of desire.
Crack!
“Would you?”
Heat blooms on my ass.
“No,” I whimper.
Crack!
Another punishing blow that makes the press of his cock even more torturous. “Why not?”
“Because I’m a good girl.”
Ezryn leans down and kisses the hot skin. “Yes, you are.”
He pushes my legs apart and cups my pussy. A purely male growl rumbles through his chest. “I’ve missed this.”
“It’s yours,” I whisper.
He presses harder against it. “I know .”
Two fingers slip into me, and immediately I tighten around the feeling of fullness within. I’ve craved his touch for so long, I can barely contain myself.
“Do you like that, Baby Girl? Do you want more?”
“Yes, oh god, yes, Ezryn.”
Another finger plunges within me. There’s no gentleness, no teasing. I can feel his desperation for my body as fervently as I feel my own. His cock is steel against my side, and I reach back to stroke it—
“No,” he growls, tossing my wrist away. “You are mine to play with. I’m going to fuck you until you can’t remember any name but mine. Until you only smell of me and my cum.”
I can’t respond, my entire body rocking on his lap with the force of his fingers inside of me. A relentless pressure builds in my core, sending my body tingling.
Ezryn uses his other hand to cup my hanging breast, tugging and pinching the nipple. The added sensation makes me cry out. I can practically taste my impending release. I’m right there on the edge, about to explode into oblivion—
Ezryn pulls his fingers out.
I crane my neck to look up at him, a horrified expression on my face. My body still tingling with anticipation.
He holds eye contact as he licks his fingers clean, an evil mockery of what I did earlier.
Oh, my mate thinks he’s so clever .
I move.
The primal energy he’d embodied earlier sinks into me, and a growl resounds through my own chest. I push him to the bed and straddle his hips. With desperate urgency, I yank off his shirt revealing the muscled torso, dark hair, and tawny skin. I know if I sit back and stare at him as I so want to, he’ll take control again. I’m too hungry for him to wait.
I duck my head into the expanse of his chest and inhale. He smells of mahogany wood, musk, and rain-kissed foliage. The heady scent sends my head spinning.
I look up at him. “I need to come all over your cock. Right now.”
He looks down at me with an expression more wolf than man, and I know he’s not done with me yet. Slowly, his large hand gently caresses my chin before his fingers wrap around my throat. “How much do you want my cock?”
I exhale. “So much.”
His grip tightens. “Take off my pants then.”
My fingers shake as I pull apart the lacing of his trousers. This moment is one I cannot rush. I grab the waistband and slowly, ever so slowly, pull down.
When his cock is freed, it springs outward, bobbing against my face. My heart throbs against my chest, and I lick my lips as my eyes run up its base. I can’t help myself. I lick the tiny pearl on his tip, before sucking the head into my mouth—
Ezryn tightens his grip on my neck and pulls me upward. “You have a job to do, Petal,” he growls. “Come on my cock. Now.”
Well, I can’t say no to that.
I position myself over him and take a deep breath. Already, the girth of his head pressing against me has my body trembling.
“Take me, Baby Girl,” Ezryn says. “I am yours.”
I plunge myself down upon him.
My mate’s cock fills me so completely, I cry out. Each thrust on top of his cock sinks me deeper into a state of blissful surrender.
His hands glide down my body, and then without breaking his rhythm, he flips us. I’m on my back as he continues his relentless assault of my pussy, reminding me just how at mercy I am to this fae’s strength.
Wildness flickers in his gaze. Deep within those brown eyes is a primal sort of emotion. One, I imagine, that strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies. To me, it ignites.
I loop my arms around his broad shoulders and lift my mouth to his, kissing him deeply before dragging my lips along his sweat-soaked skin.
“Rose,” he growls deeply. He slows his pace to deliberate thrusts, hitting so deep I think I may split in two.
There’s a twinge of pain as he ravages me, but it makes the pleasure so much sweeter. With each thrust, I claw at his chest, a wild animal. The sound alights something in his wolf-bright eyes.
He grabs my shoulders and moves me. My world spins, and I realize my head is hanging off the edge of the bed, neck exposed. He clasps a hand around my throat, leaning over me with pure domination in his expression. His cock remains deep within me. “Do you remember the day we first met? I had your beautiful neck in my hand just like this.”
“Imagine if you’d taken me like this out on the bridge instead of dragging me inside.” Each word makes my throat bob against his skin.
“I could have had you screaming my name so many months earlier.” He lays a kiss on the corner of my mouth.
“I scared you back then, didn’t I?” I ask with a hint of a smile.
For one moment, his gaze softens. “Petal, you scare me now.”
I know he’s only teasing me, but my stomach tumbles regardless. All my life, I’ve been so powerless. Always at the whims of others. Yet, even though Ezryn’s on top of me with his hand over my neck, I’ve never felt so in control.
Ezryn squeezes, briefly cutting off my breath. The sensation shudders through me, causing my inner walls to clench around his cock. I know he can feel it because he gives a satisfied grin.
“Tell me what you want, Petal, while you still have use of your words.”
“I only want to feel your cock inside of me. Take everything else away,” I gasp. “Even my breath.”
His fingers flex, a small movement that betrays so much more: his lust, his barely held restraint. “If it’s too much, tap my arm,” he says.
I nod, but I trust him completely. Through our bond, he can feel my emotions, my thoughts.
Ezryn kisses me, and when he pulls back, his grip tightens. Instinctually, I try to gasp—and realize I can’t. Heady excitement rushes through me. He continues moving, his cock penetrating deeper and deeper. My head bounces on the edge of the bed.
As my vision darkens around the edges, every sensation heightens. A rush of euphoria courses through my body.
“So good,” Ezryn growls. “You like being choked when you’re fucked. You like it rough, don’t you, Rose?”
His grips lightens and I gasp in. One breath is all I get, and a flash of his face: feral and possessive, dark waves falling over his brow. My pulse beats wildly against his calloused hand.
“You.” He thrusts hard. “Are.” He pulls out all the way. “ Mine .” He shoves back into me.
Unfettered bliss floods through my body, this rush of being at his mercy, of being his to play with. He releases my neck and I inhale, tears springing to my eyes.
Ezryn runs his hand down my chest and palms my breast before wrapping his strong arms around my shoulders. We fall back onto the bed, me on top of him, our bodies still entwined. Neither of us slow our movements.
He pushes my sweat-slick hair away from my face. “You did so good, Baby Girl.”
“You did pretty good yourself,” I say, voice hoarse.
We move in a rhythmic pulse, his hips undulating against mine with such precision, I can’t believe this is only the third time we’ve done this. It’s not enough. It will never be enough.
But he’s leaving. He’s leaving again, and I don’t know how many more hours we have together. The thought brings the anger back. I slide my fingers through his chest hair, scratching at the skin beneath. My movements become faster, pounding, unrelenting. Tears fill my eyes, and I don’t hold them back.
He grabs my hips and slams me down upon his cock. His eyes shine, and he breathes rapidly through his nose. His own emotions flood through the bond: jealousy, protectiveness, grief. Love.
I toss my head back and close my eyes, losing myself to the cadence of our bodies. I am consumed and consuming. I hate him and I love him. I forgive him and I don’t.
More than anything, I miss him so damned much and he’s right here with me.
“Petal,” he breathes. “Kiss me.”
We don’t stop rocking against each other, but I shift and lean down. His lips whisper over mine.
“I submit to you,” he murmurs. “Fully. Completely. Forever.”
I cross the threshold into euphoria. Warmth radiates through my body, not from within, but from him. My eyes start to close, but I fight it, not wanting to look away from him. He breaks underneath me, my name coming out as a roar. His cock pulses, sending my own pleasure spiraling further.
As he promised me, there is no past. No future. Only the exquisite bliss of being wholly and unequivocally satisfied. I tumble into his arms. He pulls me close and kisses my eyelids, the corners of my mouth. I scratch at the skin over his heart.
His curse remains unbroken. Through the bond, I feel the beast curled so tightly around his heart, protecting it, growling when I get too close.
He’s not ready yet.
Maybe he never will be.
But I’ll take him as he is.
I snuggle deeper into his embrace, willing myself to stay in this oblivion for a little while longer.
“I don’t ever want to let you go,” I whisper.
“Tell me to stay by your side. I will do whatever you ask.”
I suck in a ragged breath. “We can’t be selfish.”
“I know.” He peers down at me, dark curls falling over his eyes. “But I think we could be a little selfish tonight.”
He rolls on top of me, and I shower him with kisses between my laughter, falling back into oblivion.