Chapter 13 Begging
Juniper
My awareness narrowed to Caspian walking behind me, his hand on the small of my back, and his gaze heavy on my body. We reached the bedroom.
The door clicked shut behind us, and I spun to face him. His hands were on me, all over me, as we crashed together like waves against the rock.
His mouth was insistent against mine. Every thought of my troubles, of the reunion and my sister and everything else on the entire planet, ceased to exist. There was only Caspian, turning me until he could press me up against the door.
That same heat from earlier roared back to life, making our movements desperate and demanding. His lips dragged along mine, opening. His tongue brushed mine, sending sparks swirling through my body .
I couldn’t douse this inferno between us even if I wanted to. And at the moment, I wanted it to consume me. Magic buzzed between us, flowing back and forth like the tide.
Caspian moved his mouth to my throat, his teeth scraping over the delicate skin. I groaned, lost to the sensation. All of the tension melted out of my body, and I had to cling to Caspian to stay upright.
He growled against my skin. “Juniper, tell me I can taste you.”
Oh, fuck.
He’d already had his hands all over me. I’d ground down on him in the bathtub. He’d had my nipples in his mouth. But this was so much more.
Some small part of my brain reminded me that it was a bad idea, while the rest of my body threw a fireworks celebration.
He leaned back, and his expression was pained. Slowly, Caspian dropped down to his knees. “Baby, please. I feel like I’ll die if I don’t taste you.”
I looked down at him, my pulse pounding in my ears and under my skin until the feel of his hands on my hips scorched me, like my blood screamed for him.
“I need you,” he said hoarsely.
Each breath was tight. I couldn’t get enough air.
Peeling his hands off me, I stumbled back until my calves hit the bed. I sat down heavily on the mattress, my chest heaving and my lips parted as I panted .
“Caspian,” I rasped, trying desperately to pull myself together.
We could not do this. I needed to look anywhere but at his defined abs and the V of muscle leading south.
Fuck, why is he so pretty, and kind, and funny?
If I dreamed up my ideal man, he still wouldn’t be as perfect for me as Caspian was.
Instead of standing, Caspian began to crawl across the bedroom toward me. My fingers clawed at the sheets, trying to find some anchor in the chaos. I couldn’t look anywhere but Caspian as he crawled closer.
“What are you doing?”
He smirked. “Begging.”
His shoulders flexed, his back muscles rippling. I knew what those divots felt like under my fingers and how my magic sang when our skin made contact.
When he reached me, he sat back on his heels and raked his damp metallic hair off his gorgeous face. His eyes glowed a silvery seafoam in the darkness.
“Juniper, I have no dignity left. I’d give up everything I have for you. It’s all yours now anyway.”
“It’s just the magic,” I said, the argument sounding weaker each time I repeated it.
“Let me show you how much I want you,” he rumbled.
My core clenched as a wave of arousal surged in my stomach, rippling out and filling my entire body with need.
“I saw you at the bar before you took my coat. I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen. I wasn’t lying this morning.”
My mouth dropped open. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He scratched the back of his head, suddenly sheepish. “I didn’t want to seem like a stalker.”
“There’s no way—” I scoffed.
“I wanted you so badly from that very first second, but then you took my coat, and things got a little complicated. I didn’t want to scare you.
” His features sharpened, stealing my breath and making me lightheaded.
“But my feelings for you have only grown. And now, I am begging you, let me make you feel good. Please .”
This man had crawled to me, begging to touch me, and the excuse of his coat bonding us together was so flimsy, all I could see was his burning gaze.
His hands sliding up my thighs had every one of my nerves singing.
He said he’d die if he didn’t taste me. I was starting to feel like I’d die if I didn’t let him.
“Yes.”
“Yes, what? Be clear with me, Juniper.”
I swallowed, my throat feeling thick. He was really going to make me spell it out. My cheek stung with my blush.
“Yes, Caspian, I want you to make me feel good.” I sucked in another ragged breath. “I don’t think I’m ready to go all the way, but I’d like to touch you too.”
Each movement was sinewy grace as he rose up.
Heart racing, I shoved myself back, giving him room.
Slowly, he pushed me down until he hovered over me.
His sleep pants were tented with his erection, and I licked my lips.
He clocked the move, his midnight pupils expanding until they ate up the silver-blue.
Our last kiss had been frantic. This time, when he brushed his lips across mine, he was methodical.
I kissed back, parting my lips and urging him to give me more as my magic surged, but he wouldn’t be hurried.
He stretched out, propping his weight on his elbows and threading his fingers into my hair so he could angle my head just how he wanted it.
I gasped, on fire from every point of contact. It took all my self control to not hook a leg over his hips and grind against him. My hand ran over his bare skin, and it felt like I was being electrocuted. Magic fizzed between us until every cell in my body screamed for him.
His kiss softened, and I moaned when he kissed my jaw and then below my ear.
I arched under him as he worked his way down my throat and across my collarbone.
His calloused hand slid under my shirt, easing it up so he could trail open-mouthed kisses over the swell of my breasts.
I hadn’t bothered to put a bra on, and from his hum, he appreciated the fact.
I whimpered when he closed his mouth over one nipple. He gently sucked while running his thumb over the other one.
“Holy shit,” I exhaled. “You’re going to make me come just from that.”
He lifted his head, fixing me with that iridescent gaze. “We can try that later.”
A dry laugh escaped me. He made it sound like this would be happening again, and it made my stomach do strange things. My selkie returned his attention to my body, licking down to nip the underside of my breasts. I squirmed under him, overwhelmed with the pleasure edged with pain.
He soothed the bite with a kiss. “You are so perfect. A hundred years of having you wouldn’t be enough.”
What the hell is a girl supposed to say to that?
I gaped at him as he lowered down my body, kissing and nipping my soft stomach in a way that would have made me embarrassed with anyone else. But it was Caspian. He’d made his feelings very clear, and for the first time, I felt wanted exactly as I was, not in spite of my curves.
“Can I take these off?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I said, reaching down to my waistband. Before I could slide it down, he took the fabric between his teeth and dragged it down my thighs. A moment later, he tossed my shorts over his shoulder.
A hoarse giggle burst out of me. He looked up again, a wry smile curving his full lips. My laugh turned to a choked curse when Caspian dipped his head and ran his tongue over my center.
“Fuck, baby, you taste better than I imagined,” he murmured, settling between my legs and curling his big hands over my thighs and easing them further apart.
The only answer I had was a string of panted curses .
Caspian ate like he was starving. I twisted my fingers in the sheets and held on for dear life. He was relentless, and I was wound so tightly from three days of heated glances and lingering touches.
His tongue plunged into me, and my thighs closed over his head.
Gently, his fingers pressed into my skin, holding me still as he fucked me with his tongue.
My moans grew louder, my legs shaking as he drew me higher.
I couldn’t handle the intensity. That was not normal. Nothing had ever felt so good.
It felt like we were on the edge of something, like if I gave into this between us, things would change forever. It was more than his selkie magic or my water magic, deeper than him being beholden to me. A connection wrapped around my heart, tying me to him.
“Caspian,” I gasped.
He returned to my clit, humming his approval as I whimpered his name again. That cord between us gave a sharp tug.
“Louder, sweetheart.”
I shattered, crying out his name. His fingers dug into the soft skin of my thighs. There was no holding back the plunging sensation as rolling, heated pleasure unleashed in my core, filling my limbs until my fingers tingled with it.
My toes curled, and my back arched. He held me in place, working me through it until I reached between my legs and pushed his head away, unable to take a second more.
He smiled sweetly, climbing up my body to collapse next to me. My eyes widened at the wet spot on his sleep pants.
“Um, did you come already?”
He nuzzled into my shoulder. “Maybe.”
His exhale was a dry laugh. “Can you blame me? The noises you were making. Damn.”
Cheeks burning, I pressed my hands over my face. Caspian grasped my wrist and drew it down. “Don’t hide. I love everything you do. Stay here, I’ll clean us up.”
He rolled out of the bed and returned in fresh clothes with a warm washcloth and my sleep shorts. I couldn’t help staring at him as he cleaned me and dressed me.
Is this what aftercare feels like?
As if he sensed my shock, he placed a kiss on my cheek and settled beside me with a smug grin on his face. His arm over my waist hugged me tighter until he drifted off and his body relaxed.
I lay there, my mind slowly processing. It was hard to think with his body against mine, and it took a while for my thoughts to come back after that mind-blowing orgasm.
Hells, I should not have done that.
I didn’t want to sleep with him when he was “beholden” to me. I had to break this connection, as soon as possible, and I was afraid that we’d just strengthened it. Something glowed between us, strong enough that it was almost tangible.
But the idea of severing our connection gutted me. What would be left between us? It broke my heart to think he wouldn’t feel the same and he’d leave me too, but I couldn’t live with myself if I kept him beholden to me without a choice in the matter.
I could feel myself falling for him, and I wouldn’t keep him magically trapped. My throat ached with tears I wouldn’t form. As much as it destroyed me, setting my accidental selkie husband free was my only option.