Chapter 19
Delphi had never been in a bathtub so big in all her life. It had been built for a shifter with a wide lower back to rest your head on and let your body float on the surface. Delphi decided it was one of the best things she had ever experienced.
The healing herbs and flowers floated in the water around her.
She prided herself on her knowledge of plants, but she couldn't identify a single one of them.
Tenebrys had said they had been his mother's from a garden with Faerie plants in it.
She wondered if she could find it again, if the mansion's magic had already given the plants to him.
Something was in them that was making her skin tingle pleasantly all over. Her magic was reacting to it. The little ember of it that she always felt in her chest was glowing softly in happiness.
"Witch fire," Delphi whispered as she stared at the ceiling.
The fae had said it the night before, but what was it? The only kind of witch fire she was aware of was the kind that killed witches. It wasn't life-giving like the fae had said.
Would Tenebrys know? If they thought that she had it, she could be a target, and she was putting Tenebrys and the other shifters at risk by being around them. The thought of him sending her back to Grisvallon made her stomach clench.
Tenebrys said she belonged to him, so she really hoped it wasn't some crazy moon influence that had made him say that. The way he had growled it out made Delphi bite her lip. Thinking of the woods only made her remember the feeling of his tongue lapping over her thighs and in between them.
Delphi's hands ran over her breasts and hard nipples. She could smell Tenebrys's scent all around her, and it made her recall her dreams and the way his presence had completely enveloped her. Her hand slid over her stomach and to the soft, dark auburn curls of her mound.
She was still sensitive from Tenebrys's erotically rough tongue the night before. She had come so hard for him, just like she always had in the dreams. Her fingers moved over her clit. She could feel the slippery arousal despite being in the water.
Delphi sucked in a breath, little sparks of pleasure shooting through her. She was already so close. How could he make her feel this way?
Men had always been a necessary evil in her life. She had never come from any of her encounters with them. They had been about business. Her pleasure had always belonged to her alone. She wanted to know if Tenebrys would...
The door opened, and the Beast King was there like she had summoned him. His eyes raked over her, taking in the sight of her floating on the surface of the water, hand between her thighs.
Delphi blushed, but there was no use trying to hide or deny what she had been doing. Tenebrys put a robe and towel down on the counter, his eyes never leaving her. He moved to where her head rested on the tub's low headrest. His fingers stroked her cheek.
"I leave you for mere moments, and you're already being a naughty little thing in my bathtub," he said, his voice almost a purr.
"You didn't knock."
"It's my bathroom. I don't need to knock."
Delphi turned to face him, her arms propping herself on the headrest. He was close enough that she was eye level with the bulge in his trousers.
"Are you going to let me thank you properly for last night?" she asked.
"I told you, you don't owe me anything. I certainly don't expect pity or payment," Tenebrys replied sternly.
"That's not what this is about, Ten," Delphi said, trying to hide her frustration. "I want to make you feel good."
Tenebrys gave her a long, silent look. "You...want to."
"Yes." Delphi didn't know how to convince him that she actually desired him. "I really, really want to."
"I'm not built the same as humans, little flower."
Delphi stared pointedly at the long bar in his pants. "I have eyes to notice this for myself."
"It's not just the size." Tenebrys actually sounded bashful, which delighted Delphi no end. She smiled mischievously.
"How will I know unless you show me?" She popped her chin up with her hand. "I don't know why you are being shy about this. I'm not afraid of you, and I like the way you look. I thought that would have been obvious when I came screaming all over your face last night."
Tenebrys moved closer to the tub until the front of his pants was within her reach. "Go on. Let's see how brave you are for all your talk."
Delphi slowly untied the laces, giving him a chance to back out if he wanted to. He could try to hide it, but he was more nervous than Delphi was. She loosened the rest of his laces.
She couldn't resist teasing, "Last chance to back out."
His golden eyes narrowed. "Never."
Delphi tugged on the fabric, and he slid free. Her mouth fell open, and her eyes widened. His cock was black like his fur and turned a purple red at its broad head. Toward his base was a raised lump, and from what she could see without touching it, he had something underneath it above his balls.
"Can I touch it?" she asked, not looking away.
"You still want to?" Tenebrys replied.
Delphi nodded. "Oh yes."
She wanted to explore him everywhere. He had exposed bone plates on his inner thighs, like he had on his chest, and she wondered if he had any sensation in them.
Delphi had once met a whore from Runefjell who had told her that fucking shifters was an experience you would never forget. They were built thick and had stamina for days. Delphi should have asked for more specifics but doubted anyone could have prepared her for Tenebrys.
"Go on then. Don't be shy now," he said, leaning further over and gripping the sides of the tub.
Delphi couldn't resist the challenge, so she slid her damp palm down his shaft. He was hot and heavy and silky soft. Delphi felt over the lump and found it went all the way around him. Tenebrys sucked in a breath.
"What is this?" she asked.
"A knot," he replied through gritted teeth.
Delphi explored the second appendage underneath him. It was about as long as her index finger, and smooth to the touch. "And this?"
Tenebrys grunted. "A spur."
"Does it do anything?" she said, running her fingers all over it.
"Holds mates," he replied, voice cracking.
Delphi's imagination supplied several meanings to that, making her pussy clench in excitement. "I bet it does."
Tenebrys's eyes were glowing as she carefully explored him some more. The purplish head of his cock was starting to drip precum, and she had barely touched him.
When was the last time he had a lover? Delphi dismissed the idea, not wanting to know the answer. Instead, she lowered her mouth and licked him.
Tenebrys hissed but didn't tell her to stop, so she closed her lips around him and sucked. One of her hands slipped beneath the water, but Tenebrys growled in warning.
"Don't you dare." He pulled his cock free, and she made a disgruntled noise. "Oh, we aren't done yet, my flower. Lean your head back again for me and give me your hands."
Delphi was too aroused to argue. She turned in the tub, and Tenebrys pulled her further up the headrest until she was partially hanging off the edge. He took her hands and gripped them on the sides of the tub.
"Open that pretty mouth for me," he said, and she did.
Delphi had always hated bossy men, but she enjoyed teasing Tenebrys to the point he took control. She opened her mouth, and he rubbed the slippery head over her lips.
"You disobeyed a direct order from me last night, little flower," he said, a vindictive little gleam appearing in his eyes.
He thrust his cock in her mouth, smothering the argument she was about to make.
"I know you said you weren't leaving the grounds, but that's a technicality I will not accept.
You almost got taken by the fae. You made me feel afraid and vulnerable.
So I am going to fuck this pretty pale throat of yours raw so you remember to never make me feel that way again. "
Delphi was pinned and could only remember to breathe as he began thrusting into her mouth. His hands gripped her own tightly, but he was careful not to crush them.
Delphi couldn't stop her tits from bouncing as every movement sent her whole body rocking. It felt filthy, and she had no control as his thick cock went deeper down her throat. He barely got halfway in, but it didn't seem to bother him.
Tears streaked down into Delphi's hair, her pussy throbbed, begging for friction, for release, for anything.
Tenebrys's musky scent surrounded her, drugging her, making her moan around him.
She was slipping into a dazed state where pleasure and pain became one, and she could do nothing but surrender to it.
"Dark godess, Delphi, you feel so good. So hot and wet," Tenebrys rumbled above her, his voice cracking. "I wanted to punish you, but seeing you all spread out like this and not coming is a punishment to me."
Delphi whimpered, her own arousal burning hot through her, needing to be unleashed. Tenebrys pounded into her a few more times, his breath turning to harsh pants before he pulled himself free. Hot seed sprayed over her tits and stomach, and Tenebrys leaned over to try and catch his breath.
Delphi's jaw ached, and her heart roared in her ears. Tenebrys released her and ran his fingers through his seed, smearing it over her aching breasts.
He stared at her with such intense possession that it made tears prick the back of her eyes.
No one had ever wanted her so badly before, and every time he looked at her that way, it broke some hard part inside of her.
Tenebrys's fingers trailed up her throat through his spilled seed and pressed two of them into her mouth.
"Suck," he growled.
Delphi did, licking him clean. He tasted different from human men too. Spicier and less bitter.
He took his fingers from her mouth, and slowly, the wild intensity in his eyes softened.
"I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked gruffly and massaged her jaw with soft pressure.
"N-No," Delphi replied, husky and still a little stunned.
Tenebrys gestured for her to sit up, and he washed her clean with a soft flannel. Delphi felt floaty, like she wasn't entirely in her body.
In silence, Tenebrys finished cleaning her and lifted her from the tub. Delphi's legs were trembling, but she managed to remain upright as he dried her before wrapping her in a robe. He carried her back into his chambers and set her in an oversized armchair by the fire.
She stared at it, eyes wide. It was the same fireplace, carved of stone roses and roaring lions that she had been dreaming about for years.
Of course it was.
For a horrible moment, Delphi thought Tenebrys was going to leave when he opened the main chamber door, but instead, he retrieved a large tray and a bundle of clothes.
Tenebrys set the tray of food on a small table beside her and sat down in the chair opposite her.
"Now, my little flower, you and I are going to have a very honest conversation."