Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty-Three
Auraelia
Sunlight filtered into the room, its rays a gentle caress on her face, pulling her from the first restful sleep she’d had in months. Auraelia smiled to herself as memories of the night before flitted through her mind.
Sex with Daemon had always been amazing, but what happened the previous night was beyond anything she’d ever experienced.
It was as if her senses had been opened wide, and she saw the world in color for the first time.
She felt every sensation, every emotion, that Daemon had as if it had been her own, which only heightened the experience.
It was intimate.
Overwhelming in all the best ways.
World-shattering clarity that she never imagined would be possible if it hadn’t been for him.
Auraelia stretched, the smile on her lips spreading wide across her face, causing her cheeks to ache.
There was a glorious, lingering tenderness between her thighs and a delicious warmth that seeped into her spine.
As she relaxed, Daemon’s strong arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer, his face nuzzling into the space between her shoulder blades.
“Good morning, my star,” he mumbled as he trailed his lips along her spine and across her shoulders.
Auraelia hummed in response, then rotated around until she was facing him. “Good morning, my love.”
Daemon let out a self-satisfied hum as he pressed his lips to hers. “Say it again.”
Chuckling, Auraelia closed the small space he’d created between their lips, kissing him softly as she ran her fingers through the sleep-mussed hair that had fallen across his brow. “Daemon—”
At the sound of his name, Daemon groaned and buried his head in her cleavage, pulling her closer as he mumbled, “That’s you’re ‘we need to talk’ voice, and it’s far too early for that, Princess.”
Hooking her leg over his hips, Auraelia pulled his head back so that he was forced to look at her. She stared into his eyes, taking in the rich swirls of mossy green and the bright golden bursts in their centers.
Goddess, I love this man.
She pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose. “That’s because we do need to talk. I meant what I said last night; you need to go back to Kalmeera.”
Daemon rolled away slightly, his head falling back against the pillows as he pulled his arm from around her torso and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you at least going to give me a reason for this asinine idea? I don’t want to leave you. Not after everythi—”
Auraelia gently placed her finger over his lips, silencing his words in the process. “You’re not leaving me, Daemon. But you need to make sure that your people are protected. Need to prepare them for what is coming.”
Letting out a resigned sigh, Daemon gripped her waist and rotated until she was on top of him, her legs straddling his hips, her center settling directly over his hardening length. A ripple of desire swept through her, landing squarely between her thighs as she slowly rocked against him.
“My star,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Don’t start something that you don’t intend on finishing.”
Auraelia planted her palms on his chest and slowly rolled her hips. “I fully intend on finishing, my love. But not until after we talk.”
Daemon’s eyes slid closed, the muscle in his jaw ticking as he clenched his teeth together, his hold tightening as he slowly guided her along his length. “Talk fast.”
“Go home to Kalmeera. Prepare your people however you can, and then come back to me.”
The muscle in his jaw continued to jump as his teeth grated against each other—clearly at war with himself over what he knew was the right thing to do and what he wanted to do.
Holding his gaze, Auraelia didn’t bother trying to hide the sly smirk that tugged on one corner of her mouth as she slowly increased her pace, and the groan that rumbled up his chest was like music to her ears.
She’d never tire of the effect she had on him.
Of the way he always seemed to toe the line between restraint and wanting to bury himself so deep within her that they didn’t know where one of them started and the other ended.
It may have been wrong to use that against him, but if it was the only way he would agree, she’d use every weapon in her arsenal.
“Daemon.” His name sounded like a plea on her lips as she steadily rocked against him.
“Fuck, Princess. If I agree, will you stop torturing me and let me slip inside that slick cunt of yours?”
Auraelia leaned down far enough that her words were a whisper against his lips. “Only one way to find out.”
“Fucking, hell. Fine. I’ll go, but I am coming back.”
His lips were soft and demanding beneath hers. Tugging his bottom one between her teeth, she slid her hand between their bodies and wrapped it around his cock. A thrill of excitement shot through her as it jumped against her palm, and she slowly positioned it at her entrance. “You better.”
As soon as the last syllable left her lips, she slid down his length. He filled her so completely that all of the air in her lungs escaped in a rush.
Daemon’s grip on her hips was near bruising, but she didn’t care.
She wanted his marks.
Wanted to see the evidence of him on her skin after he left.
For every downward slide, Daemon thrust up into her, the sound of their bodies coming together mixed with the grunts and moans that fell from their lips. It was a symphony of lust and love, and she never wanted it to end.
Daemon’s hand slid from her hip to where the steady pulse pounded between her thighs.
The delicious friction from his relentless circles sped up the rate at which her orgasm would crash into her.
But as soon as her walls began to flutter around him, he stopped, and she couldn’t have suppressed the disgruntled sound that came out of her mouth if she’d tried. “Nooo, why’d you stop?”
Daemon thrust up into her once more, then held her hips down against his. “Your pleasure belongs to me, my star. And if you’re sending me away, I plan to lead you to the edge of bliss and drag you back again as many times as I see fit.”
Auraelia attempted to rock against him, searching for the friction that would bring her what she sought, but his grip was firm.
Deciding on a different tactic, she slid a finger down his abs, watching as his muscles responded to her touch and savoring the quick intake of breath through his lips.
“So, you’re punishing me for asking you to take care of your people?
” she asked, a singular brow hiking up to her hairline.
“You could say that.” Daemon’s thumb began swirling against her once more. “But you and I both know that you like my punishments. So be a good girl, and ride my cock.”
When she didn’t move, his brows furrowed, and his thumb stilled. “Auraelia.”
The way he ground out her name made her skin pebble with anticipation, but the only movement on her body was her lips tilting up into a mischievous smile. “What are you going to do, Daemon?”
Fire flared in his eyes, and before she could even register what was happening, she was on her back, wrists pinned above her head with sparkling shadows, and Daemon’s face a breath away from her own.
“Is that a challenge, Princess?” Daemon slammed into her, stealing the air from her lungs. When her response was nothing but a whimper, he did it again. “You’re mine, Auraelia. Every bit of you. Every breath. Every beat of your heart. Every drop of pleasure. It all belongs to me.”
Auraelia nodded emphatically as a scorching heat flared in her veins, his words igniting a fire in her soul and sending her magic into a frenzy. There was no denying it—not anymore.
“Say it, Auraelia.”
“Yours, Daemon. I’m yours.” Her words were stilted with every thrust of his hips, the ferocity with which he claimed her body, sliding her further down the bed. If this was the consequence for disobeying him…well, maybe there wasn’t a point in obeying him.
Daemon’s threats of edging were far from empty. He brought her to the precipice of ecstasy more times than she could count, and each time was more harsh than the last.
She was a writhing, whimpering mess by the time he promised to let her come. Only instead of him denying her, the loud knock on the door to the suite pulled her out of the moment.
“Shit,” she exclaimed, wriggling beneath Daemon to try and free her wrists.
“Ignore them, Princess. They’ll go away.” Daemon pulled out and flipped her onto her stomach, pressing her top half into the mattress but keeping her hips raised.
The person outside her door knocked again, but it was quickly forgotten as his tongue sent waves of wicked bliss through her center. Eager for more, she pressed her hips back into his mouth, but as quickly as his tongue appeared, it vanished, leaving her exposed and unsated.
Auraelia whined, her pussy throbbing with the need for release. “Daemon, plea—”
The plea was left half-spoken as Daemon sunk into her, stealing her words and causing her eyes to roll back in her head.
His pace was punishing. His fingers were relentless as they began circling her clit once more.
But at the feel of his thumb pressing into the tight ring of her ass, her entire body went rigid.
Daemon slowed his pace. “Breathe, my star.”
She took slow, calculated breaths, her muscles relaxing as he slowly eased his thumb into her. When he began picking up his pace again, it felt like she was burning alive.
Sweet flames of ecstasy consumed her in their blaze.
“Fuck, Princess. You’re such a fucking good girl. Look how beautiful you are when you’re so full of me.”