Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
Joon settles between my thighs. Before I can reach for him, his mouth descends on mine.
His fingers find my center again. This time, he adds a third as he begins to stroke me.
He swallows my moans, then claims my breasts, moving from one to the other.
Teeth scraping over sensitive flesh. He has me at his mercy as he takes my body with hand and mouth.
My stomach clenches as tension builds, coiling tighter and tighter at my core until I think I’ll combust. I try to say his name, to say it’s too much, but can’t think past his caresses. I’ve forgotten how to form words, so I nod.
“You are fucking stunning,” he whispers, then drags his teeth over my earlobe. “Let me see your surrender.”
His hand moves faster. I pull him against me, so his hard length grinds against my clit.
A whimper escapes my throat and turns into a cry as I come undone. Wave after wave of pleasure washes over me, nearly drowning me. Joon doesn’t stop until he has pulled every last shudder from me.
Completely spent, I let my hands fall limply at my sides. Joon returns to lie beside me. I look at him, my mind hazy from pleasure, as he pulls my chemise back into place.
Slowly, awareness returns as the full impact of what just happened hits.
Demon shit. What did I do?
I shouldn’t have been caught up in him so easily.
He jokingly says he cannot deny me, but I am the one who can’t deny him—and the truth is that I don’t want to.
I want to be selfish, to claim him and everything he has to offer.
Even now, I ache to touch him. To taste him.
To draw pleasure out of him as he has done to me.
Joon gathers me into his arms before I get the chance. His arousal strains against my lower belly, trapped between us.
“Joon,” I start.
He hums. “Sleep. You were right, we need to rest.”
“But…” I trail off, not sure what I’m trying to say. I want to touch you, or are we allowed to do this?
“Be still, or I might do something to you that you’ll regret.” Joon’s words are rich and sensual, promising things my body already desperately craves.
Yet, uncertainty wraps around me.
There is nothing special or unique about me or my role. I am only here now because I stole the frost bloom, and he had no other choice.
I don’t regret what happened, but I also don’t want to be a way for him to pass the time. Someone easy to walk away from… and forget.
Light streaming through the window drags me unwillingly back to consciousness. The warmth of the fire has faded slightly. I am warm, but the air is still chilled.
A heavy weight is draped over my waist, pinning me against something warm at my back.
No… not something.
Someone.
Joon.
His breaths are slow and even, as he remains in the clutches of sleep. Lying like this feels almost sinfully decadent. But I know I can’t stay here. If I do, I’ll never want to move. I risk losing myself entirely.
As carefully as I can without waking him, I inch away.
I barely make it halfway out from under the blanket we share when his arm tightens and pulls me back, the other joining to trap me in place.
“Where are you going?” he murmurs into my hair.
I am his seventh wife, I remind myself.
“I need… some air.”
Joon cups my jaw in his hands and looks at me. “Something is wrong. What is it?”
“I…” I don’t know what to say. The technical words are easy enough, but they clot in my throat, refusing to come out.
They are too bold. Too greedy.
What right do I have to demand that I should mean something to him? You can’t have it both ways, Violet.
I can’t selfishly take what I want regardless of his own wants.
“It’s nothing.” I shake my head. “I should check to see if Imugi is back.”
I sit up. Joon catches my wrist, stopping me.
“Why won’t you tell me?” He waits for me to respond. The moment stretches out, the silence growing heavier by the second. Eventually, he lets his grip fall away.
I rise and walk over to the chair to check my clothes. They are warm and dry.
“You are upset with me.” Joon clears his throat. The next time he speaks, he is right behind me. “I crossed the line, and for that, I am sorry.”
I squeeze my eyes shut and swallow thickly. Hearing Joon apologize for something I liked—something I wanted—makes it worse.
“Don’t do that. Don’t apologize.” I whirl on him. He catches me by the shoulders to keep me from crashing into him. I still haven’t opened my eyes. “I am not ashamed, I just…”
His posture stiffens. “I would have stopped—”
I can’t stand the hurt in his voice. “It’s nothing you did. I don’t regret it—”
Joon’s arms wrap around me, crushing me to him. “Violet, I cannot fix this if I do not understand. If not that, then what?”
I inhale a deep breath, then slowly release it. “When this is over… it will be hard enough to say goodbye, and impossible to forget you.”
For several seconds, Joon barely even breathes. “Do you want to forget me?”
I shake my head.
“But you think I will forget you?”
I nod slowly. “I don’t want to be another…” I can’t finish. It took the last of my courage to say that much.
His breath leaves him in a long exhale. “I see.”
Demon shit, now I made him feel guilty. We made no promises about this. We both acted on our own urges willingly.
He chuckles—actually chuckles—as if this weren’t embarrassing enough. “And should I be jealous of your past lovers?”
“What?” I try to pull back, but he holds tighter. “I don’t—”
“Then do you think I use all my wives to satisfy my desires? Or do you think I seduce any lady who happens to cross my path?” He might be laughing at my expense, but there’s an expectation to answer the questions. Worry that the answer might be yes. All while pointing out that I am acting jealous.
Otherworld, take me. I made such a mess of this.
“No—I don’t know,” I say truthfully.
“Intimacy is not something I take lightly.” Joon kisses my forehead. “If you think anyone could forget you, then you are sorely mistaken.”
I am relieved, perhaps more than I should be, even though nothing has changed. Not really. “But… this…” I flounder. “It can’t happen again.”
Imugi passes through the wall, effectively ending the conversation with so much left unsaid.
“I won’t ask what the two of you have been up to,” they quip, continuing before either of us can respond. “The horse is in the shed behind the house. The way is clear of all demons.”
As if on cue, there’s a rapid tapping on the window. We turn to see my demon, pressed up against the glass, trying, unsuccessfully, to pass through.
Imugi groans. “Except for that one.”