Chapter Seventeen #3
His words from that morning in the greenhouse now made sense. Onyx had never known love, and venturing into unknown territory was a risk he didn’t seem keen on taking. Traveling known roads was safer.
“Then let’s not think about tomorrow,” I said, holding him tighter. Wishing the emotional distance between us was that easy to close. “Kiss me. Fuck me. No more mentions of fated mates or promises for what comes after tonight.”
I felt him smile against my neck. “That, I can do.”
Onyx slid one arm around me and wedged the other beneath my ass before standing from the couch. I hooked both legs around his waist and dropped kisses to his neck as he carried me toward the bed.
If one night was all he was willing to give me, I wouldn’t waste a single moment trying to convince him of anything more. The hope in my heart hadn’t died though. My relationship with Rowan had been the same way: sex before emotions. For him, anyway.
Lord Onyx’s defenses were sky-high with fortified walls a mile deep. Forcing my way through wouldn’t work. Best to let him call the shots and, hopefully, realize one day that he could trust me with his heart.
***
Silky black hair fell all around me, the long strands tickling my naked skin as Onyx pinned me to the bed. He kissed down my chest and explored every curve and dip of my stomach and hips with long, deft fingers. His tongue swirled around my belly button before trailing to my hip bone.
A whimper left my lips, and I arched my back.
Candles burned throughout the room, and a perfumed musk lingered in the air, complementing the warm woodsy notes that had only grown stronger since he’d laid me down and stripped me down to my underwear.
“You are a temptation unlike any other,” he murmured against my lower belly before I felt the graze of his teeth. “A dangerous beauty who’s haunted my every thought since the day we first met.”
“I’m not dangerous.” My voice was thick with arousal. “Unless you’re talking about the cookies I burned the other morning. May they rest in peace.”
His red eyes flickered up to me, catching the candlelight. Amusement gleamed in them, but so did that raw hunger from before. “Must your mind always return to sweets?”
“It’s a gift and a curse.”
He breathed out a laugh. There was a roughness to it. “Just as I said. Dangerous.”
What did he mean? Not that he gave me time to ponder.
In one swift movement, he tugged down my underwear and worked them past my thighs, knees and ankles, and tossed them aside. His hungry gaze returned to me. Specifically, a certain part of me.
Now, it certainly wasn’t my first time being in my birthday suit in front of someone. Just earlier that night, Callum had fucked me into the mattress so hard I feared the headboard might crash through the wall.
However, it was my first time with Onyx. And it meant something to me. More than the desire to get off or add another notch to my bedpost. He meant something, regardless of my earlier statement that this was just for one night.
“You’re blushing.”
“No, I’m not,” I lied. The proof was in the pudding, as they said. Or in this case, in the heat in my face. It prickled in the tips of my ears and spread to my scalp.
Slowly, Onyx pushed open my legs and lowered his head to nip at my inner thigh.
The bite of his teeth, the tickle of his hair, and the warmth of his breath on my skin—all of it consumed me.
The electric current moving beneath my skin upped the voltage a degree, zapping through my veins with more charge.
And then, he took me between his lips.
“Fuck,” I said, nearly shooting off the bed at the sudden explosion of wet heat.
He took no mercy on me either, swirling his tongue around my crown before flicking it across my slit.
He licked down the underside of my shaft before slipping my tip back into his mouth and taking me to the back of his throat.
There was something almost sinful about the sight of him between my legs. Onyx was the freaking demon lord. The ruler of the Shadow Realm who knelt before no one. Yet, there he was worshipping my cock in ways that made my toes curl.
“You taste even better than I imagined,” he murmured, his lust-heavy voice causing vibrations against my shaft. “But how will you feel?”
“Don’t know,” I rasped, breaths unsteady. “Maybe you should take off your pants and find out.”
His mouth slanted into a sly grin. “Not one for patience, are you?”
“Have you met me?”
More of his composure slipped, giving way to another chuckle. Each time I made him laugh felt like a triumph. Why did heroes in books insist on slaying the demon lord? Getting him in bed and seeing all his different sides was way more rewarding.
Loving him would be even greater.
If only he’d give me the chance.
Onyx leaned across the bed and grabbed something off the nightstand. It was a thin glass bottle filled with a honey-colored liquid. “Oil,” he said at my questioning look. “Unless you’d rather me fuck you dry.”
“Nope,” I quickly said. “The oil is perfect. A man’s best friend.”
He rewarded me with a smile so soft it damn near stopped my heart.
It was probably the most emotion I’d seen from him since the day I arrived in his realm. The playfulness, laughs, scorching hot kisses, and even the wistful glances. All of them had broken through his mask that night.
“You have too many clothes on,” I said, flicking my fingers at him. “All of that needs to come off.”
With his eyes on mine, he removed his shirt, exposing porcelain skin that was as smooth as it looked. Though on the leaner side, he had a broad chest and rippling muscles on his abdomen. And in the center of his chest?
“This mark.” I touched the edge of the red, tattoo-like design and traced a section that looked like flames.
The tattoo covered the expanse from the bottom of his rib cage and up to the dip of his collarbone.
His gaze lingered on my face the entire time, his expression unreadable once again. “What is it? A sign of your power?”
He caught my hand and lifted it to his mouth, kissing my fingertip. “A mark of my shame.”
“Your shame?” I asked, confused. “What did you do?”
“A story for another day.” Onyx took my hand and placed it on the front of his trousers. “Kissing and fucking is what we agreed on for tonight.”
“Said like a true villain,” I muttered.
His answering grin was lopsided. He had called me dangerous, but he was devastating. Regal and beautiful but with a raw masculinity that elicited hot prickles in my bloodstream each time our eyes met.
As Onyx settled between my legs, I pulled at the strings holding his trousers together. He kissed me as I released his cock and worked it with my palm. Curiosity got the better of me, and I tried to subtly glance down at it.
I mean, he was a demon after all.
But his looked… normal. Big, sure. It was a monster of a dick with a pronounced crown and a girth that made my ass tingle in anticipation. But there weren’t any scales, barbs, or extra cockheads.
“You seem surprised,” he said, lifting one brow. “What did you expect?”
“You don’t wanna know.”
“Oh, I assure you that I do.” Onyx grabbed my jaw and forced my face closer to his, ghosting his mouth over mine. “Worried I would have horns down there?”
I exhaled a laugh. “Kind of.”
“Such a silly little bird.” He brushed our lips together. The kiss felt so… tender. “What will I do with you?”
“More of that, I hope.” My throat tightened. “A lot more.”
His red eyes softened at the edges before he claimed my mouth for another kiss. Then another. He slicked his cock with the oil and positioned himself at my entrance, our lips still melding together as he eased into me.
The moment we connected, that achy restlessness in my chest finally lifted.
A feeling of euphoria came over me, mixed with a soul deep heat that spread through my entire body.
It wasn’t explosive like I thought it’d be.
Instead, it was gentle like a crackling fire; the flames kissed the logs and consumed them slowly.
With a whimper building in my throat, I locked my wrists behind his neck and deepened the kiss.
But Onyx had stopped moving. Every muscle in his body tensed, and his breaths stilled in his lungs. His cock throbbed inside of me, having stopped only two inches or so deep, and I fought the urge to fuck myself on him. My concern overrode that urge.
“Onyx?” I drew from his lips and peered up at him. “What’s wrong?”
“I…” His hand trembled as he cupped the back of my head and lifted it slightly off the pillow, holding my face against his chest. That close, I heard the quick beats of his heart. The first time I’d ever been close enough to do so. It felt intimate.
He drove himself deeper into me without saying anything more. A surprised moan escaped my lips, muffled against his collar bone. As he pumped his hips into me, slow but deep, he continued to hold me, dropping the occasional kiss to my hair.
Actions spoke louder than words. The saying had never been more accurate. Onyx might’ve said he didn’t want more than sex with me, that I was just a body to warm his bed for the night, but the tender way he held and kissed me said the opposite.
Onyx lowered me back to the pillow before grabbing my hips and propping me up to where the backs of my thighs rested on top of his.
Long black hair fell down his chest as he slid a hand beneath my ass and drove into me harder.
The new angle had my thighs quaking, each hard thrust sending hot ripples down my spine.
Our gazes met.
His lips softly parted as he stared down at me, his body slamming into mine.
I couldn’t look away, once again caught in the spell of his ruby eyes.
Minutes ticked by. Or maybe it was hours.
I wasn’t sure how long passed. All I knew was the feel of him.
Musk was heavy in the air, and my skin turned slick with sweat.