Chapter 10 Tula
TULA
Tula had expected to be the seductress tonight. Esag had seemed so hesitant, so unsure before, but he was different tonight. It was as if a switch had flipped inside of him, and he was taking control effortlessly, naturally.
It felt good. It felt right.
For five thousand years, she'd always been the one in charge.
It had been her armor, her identity. She knew precisely what she wanted and how she wanted it, and she had never been timid about taking what she needed.
But the moment Esag's mouth met hers, slow and certain, yet sweet and gentle, she became curious. She wanted to explore this new dynamic.
His kiss didn't demand.
It invited, it coaxed, and it claimed.
He pulled her closer until her belly brushed the hard plane of his torso. The baby shifted at the contact, a small flutter, as though startled by the nearness of a new presence, and Tula inhaled sharply.
Esag stilled.
"Are you alright?" His breath ghosted over her lips.
"I'm fine." She slid a palm along his jaw, feeling the grain of his beard. "The baby is aware of your presence."
His expression softened with a tenderness that threatened to undo her. "Is he jealous about another male kissing his mommy?"
Tula smiled. "He'd better get used to it because his mommy likes this male."
"I'll move more slowly."
"Not too slowly," she murmured, leaning in again. "This mommy is low on patience."
His laugh vibrated against her mouth—low, warm, intimate.
This felt so different than what she was used to.
Five millennia of human lovers. Five millennia of trying to prevent the inevitable pregnancy. The constant fear lurking in the background that, despite all her precautions, she might conceive and her baby would be taken away from her.
None of that was relevant in this moment, and the freedom was intoxicating. Perhaps that was why she was finally letting go and allowing him to take control. Perhaps it was because she no longer needed to defend herself against the cruel reality of the harem in the only way she'd known how.
He kissed her again, deeper this time, and her thoughts dissolved into sensation.
When he led her away from the dining room, it was with unhurried confidence, his fingers laced through hers. She could feel his restraint in the tension of his arm, the careful way he positioned his body just slightly ahead, as though shielding her, guiding her, and courting her all at once.
That should have irritated her.
She didn't need shielding.
But tonight was different. Esag was different. And she didn't mind his protectiveness.
The lights in the bedroom were dimmed, but the door was open, and the glow coming from the flickering candles in the dining room was enough to see clearly by. The faint scent of basil lingered in the air, a reminder of their discarded dinner.
Esag paused in the center of the room and turned to her, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. "Are you sure you want this?"
She laughed. "Do you want me to show you how sure I am by throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you to bed? I can do that, you know. Despite how big you are."
Amusement danced in his eyes. "Well, that answers my question without leaving any room for misinterpretation. It also proves that this is really you and not a figment of my imagination. I don't think any woman, human or immortal, has ever threatened me with throwing me over her shoulder."
Tula didn't doubt that. "So, what will it be, big guy, should I do it?"
"Oh, Tula." He leaned to kiss her lips. "You can do whatever you please with me, and I will love every moment, but throwing me over your shoulder might not be advisable because of the baby."
"I suppose." She stepped closer, feeling the heat radiating from him.
Her breath hitched when his hand slid along her hip, fingertips grazing the silk of her gown. He didn't rush, didn't tug, didn't push. He simply waited, letting her dictate the pace despite her goading.
He brushed the line of her lower lip with his thumb. "Can I take this beautiful dress off you?"
She nodded.
He slid the straps down her arms, and the silk fell away, sliding off her shoulders in a whisper until it pooled at her feet.
Esag's breath left his throat in a harsh exhale.
She stood before him in nothing but her flimsy undergarments, belly rounded, breasts heavier than they had ever been, and skin flushed and sensitive in ways she was still getting used to.
Tula forced her shoulders back. She was beautiful. She knew this. She had been told so often enough that it had lost all meaning.
But Esag wasn't staring at her like she was merely pleasing to the eye.
He was staring at her like she was worthy of worship, his eyes glowing and his fangs elongating.
"Tula…" He tried to close his mouth and hide the evidence of his desire.
"Don't hide from me." She stepped toward him, taking his hands and guiding them to her waist. "And don't look at me like that."
"How am I looking at you?"
"Like you're afraid you’ll scare me away. I don't scare easily, and seeing your fangs makes me want you more, not less."
"You are a dream come true." His fingers traced her hip, feather-light, hesitant.
Heat rushed through her.
She unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders with impatient fingers, revealing a torso that looked as though it was carved from granite. When the fabric hit the floor, she ran her palms along his chest, marveling at the warmth, the solidity of him.
He shivered under her touch.
"You keep doing that," he murmured, "and I'm going to forget all my plans."
"Good." She lifted her gaze to his. "I'm not interested in your plans."
The corner of his mouth lifted. "Do you have some of your own, or do you just want chaos?"
"I want you."
His restraint snapped.
He pulled her against his body and kissed her again, letting his hunger manifest. There was no more hesitation, no more second-guessing.
His hands slid across her back, caressing, demanding, pulling her even closer, and she gasped when she felt the evidence of his desire thick and long against her abdomen.
Heat pooled low in her feminine parts as his tongue teased hers, slow strokes that alternated between coaxing and claiming.
She had been starving for this.
"Tula," he breathed against her mouth.
"Don't stop."
His answering growl vibrated through her bones.
He lifted her effortlessly, reverently, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to his bed. Her arms went around his neck, her lips brushing his jaw, his throat, tasting the saltiness of his skin. Every inch of him radiated power restrained by will.
She trusted him to hold that line, and she trusted him to break it when she needed it to break.
Esag set her down gently, as though she were fragile, and she caught his wrist before he could step back.
"Don't handle me like glass."
His gaze flicked to her belly. "You're pregnant."
"I'm immortal."
"You are precious."
The word punched the air from her lungs.
Precious.
She pulled him down beside her. "I'm strong. If you hurt me, I'll tell you. If I need you to stop, you will. If I want more, you'll know."
He closed his eyes for a moment, as if steadying himself. "Your word is my command, my lady."
"Good." She brushed her fingers over his lips. "Because I want everything. I want your venom bite."
His breathing deepened. "I'll give you everything. But are you sure the venom is safe for the baby?"
She smiled. "Of course it is. Immortal females don't stop making love when they get pregnant."
His pupils flared wide, and a low, reverent sound escaped him. He kissed her again, slower this time, as though savoring each pass of her lips. His hand slipped over her body, tracing the curve of her thigh, the swell of her stomach, the under-slope of her breast. Everywhere he touched, it ignited.
"You feel warm," he murmured.
"Pregnancy does that."
"I like it."
His hand moved between her legs, and her breath caught as his fingers teased, explored, and coaxed. Pleasure sparked up her spine, sharp and immediate. Her hips jerked, seeking more, needing more.
"Don't tease me, Esag. I've waited for this for too long."
"I know," he murmured against her throat. "Allow me to learn you."
She arched into him, trembling as he stroked her in slow, deliberate patterns that unraveled her thread by thread.
"Beautiful," he whispered into her skin. "Everything about you is perfection."
Normally, she would have mocked anyone for the sentiment, but tonight she let it seep into her.
Somehow, between kisses and caresses, he'd managed to remove his pants, and as he settled between her legs, his hard length nudged her entrance, but he was in no rush to join them.
Instead, his lips trailed along her neck, his breath hot, his fangs pressing lightly but not breaking skin.
Testing. Asking. Waiting for permission even after she had already given it.
She was under the impression that the bite was the culmination, not the appetizer, but perhaps Esag liked doing this in reverse.
She didn't mind. She wanted both, and the order didn't matter.
Her hand tangled in his hair. "Yes."
He groaned. "Tula…"
"Do it."
His body shuddered, and his mouth closed over her pulse.
When he bit, the pain was blinding in its intensity, but it lasted only a split second, then pleasure detonated, white-hot and all consuming. Her cry tore free as the venom surged through her bloodstream in a flood of euphoria that dissolved thought and sensation into a single blinding wave.
She climaxed, once, twice, three times, and then she was soaring on a cloud of pleasure, weightless.