Chapter 33
The dome around us, and the remaining shields and weapons, guttered out. I’d drained every last drop of power from Fen, but we’d destroyed the Wraiths. We’d won. Barely.
Groans sounded from around us, Tempters who’d been attacked by the Wraiths sitting up.
They looked deathly pale, but they were alive.
They hadn’t been drained, at least not completely.
Had it been an illusion? I looked over at Daphne, who crouched next to Marcus with Bea.
Their injuries remained, so it clearly hadn’t been an illusion, but if no one died I wasn’t going to question it.
“We’re clear,” Titus called. “And we need a healer.” He went to check on the nearest Tempter as doors opened and heads poked out of rooms people had hidden in.
“Can you heal them?” Bea asked me. “Like Death does?”
“Maybe, if I weren’t out of power.” I looked over at Fen. The wall at the top of the stairs had remained, since I didn’t have enough power to take it down. Maybe now he’d believe that the limits on how much power I could draw were a problem.
His face was impassive, but our bond seethed with his anger. The vehemence of it shocked me.
“Either of you hurt?” a healer asked.
“I’m not,” I said, my gaze locked with Fen’s.
His eyes darkened at my words. “Neither am I.”
I sent him a glare and then turned to find something to do.
He grabbed my arm before I could take two steps. “We need to talk.”
“Oh, now you want to talk.” I yanked my arm free. “Well, you can wait. There are people who need help.”
“Maeve.” It was almost a growl, but I ignored him and walked over to where Titus was waving a healer off.
“Tend to the others first,” he said.
“Maybe you can convince him to put some salve on that,” the healer thrust a small jar into my hands before moving off.
I opened it and dipped my finger into the soothing-smelling cream.
“I don’t need—”
“Stop being difficult. It’s just salve.” I reached out and gently patted it over the cut on Titus’s cheek.
He hissed but held still while I tended to him. “What you did was pretty amazing.”
“Thanks.” It felt good to hear, given the thundercloud standing behind me. Thanks to our bond, I didn’t have to look to know Fen was there.
“Maeve,” Titus dropped his voice. “Why is Fen looking at you like he wants to spank you?”
I couldn’t hide my shiver at the suggestion. “I don’t know.” I focused on screwing the lid back on the jar.
“Maybe you should go find out. He’s practically growling.”
“After I help the others.”
“We’ve got it,” Titus said. “Go. For all our sakes.” His eyes flicked over my shoulder, a wary look on his face.
“Fine.” I sighed and turned to Fen. “You want to talk? Let’s go. You’re scaring everyone.”
Fen took my arm without a word and dragged me away from the crowd. He didn’t let go of me until we got to his office.
I stepped out of his grasp as he flipped the lock on the door. “Why are you angry? We won.”
“Only because you took a huge risk.” His fists clenched at his side. “There were four of us fighting that Wraith. You didn’t have to—”
“Yes. I did. I told you the limit on what I could draw was an issue, but you wouldn’t listen.”
“You offered yourself to a death-damned Wraith,” he bellowed.
“Which I wouldn’t have had to do if we weren’t out of power.” I stepped forward, shoving my finger in his chest. “We were out of options. You told me to trust my instincts. So I did. And it worked.”
He grabbed my throat, making me gasp. His hold wasn’t tight—I had no trouble breathing—but the dominance in the gesture sent a pulse of heat straight to my clit.
Why was that so good? I was so angry at him for being a stubborn bastard, yet my breathing had gone ragged and all I wanted to do was lean into him.
Our bond was a potent mix of anger and lust from both of us. And a small flash of fear from him that made me reach for him. I placed a hand on his chest over his racing heart.
He bent down, resting his forehead against mine.
“I feel so powerless watching you go through these trials. I wish I could protect you from them.” His voice was almost a whisper, like the admission was painful.
“I hate that the fate of the realms rests on your shoulders, and there’s very little I can do to help. ”
I took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of him.
“I hate it too.” I loved that he wanted to help, that he would remove the burden from my shoulders if he could.
Nudging his nose with mine gently, I pulled back to look at him.
“But you can’t protect me. It has to be me.
I have to pass the trials. To challenge Death. And you have to let me.”
Admiration mixed with heat and fury in his eyes. And a hunger that made me shiver in anticipation.
“I can’t decide if I want to punish you for being a reckless brat or bend you over the desk and fuck you hard to assure myself you’re alright.”
My toes curled in my boots, and I leaned into his hand which still rested at my throat. After facing the Wraiths, giving my body over to him was exactly what I wanted. “Why not do both?”
His hand flexed minutely and then his mouth crashed down on mine. There was nothing gentle about his kiss. It dominated, like he was marking the territory of my lips and tongue as his hands marked my body. It was primal, possessive, and I submitted without hesitation, desire racing through me.
He placed his arms around my neck, the pulse between my legs strengthening as his hands skated down my sides and around my back, gripping my ass and pulling me against him.
My legs parted willingly as he shoved one of his thighs between mine. I moaned into his mouth at the friction it created in exactly the right spot.
“Are you wet, Maeve?” He pulled back to watch my face as he rocked me slowly on his thigh, his expression avid, like he was cataloguing every shift in mine.
“Why don’t you find out?” I asked, my voice breathless.
“Such a brat.” He tsked. “If you can’t answer a simple question, I’ll find some other way to occupy that mouth of yours.”
Thoughts of him pushing me to my knees and ordering me to suck his cock made me lick my lips. I’d discovered I loved watching him come undone as he fucked my mouth. “And what would that be?”
Flecks of gold swirled in his eyes. “Remove your clothes.” He let me go and took a seat at one of the chairs in front of his desk, turning it so he had a clear view of me. “Now, Maeve.”
Every time he said my name, something clenched deep inside me.
I took my time undoing my belt, unlacing my tunic and taking off my boots, partly because my hands were shaking—I wanted him so badly—and partly because I wanted him good and riled up so he would fuck me like he promised.
My breasts bounced a little as I pulled my breast band over my head and I watched his eyes zero in on the motion.
I felt his gaze on me like a brand as each article of clothing hit the floor until I was naked.
“Pick up that belt and come here.”
I slowly bent over, making sure he got a good view of my ass. Then I walked over to him, putting a little sway into my hips, until I stood between his legs.
“Give it to me.”
I placed the belt in his outstretched hand.
Standing, he held it in front of my face with both his hands. “Open that smart mouth.”
My heart kicked into a gallop. This wasn’t at all how I thought things would go, but denying me his cock when I wanted it was a punishment. Did I want him to gag me? We hadn’t done this before.
“Maeve.” His chiding tone made my stomach flip, but it was the questioning look in his eyes that made me clench my thighs together. If I didn’t want to do this, he’d stop. He’d proved that over and over. The care he took with me was such a turn on.
I held his gaze for a moment before I opened my mouth, letting him gag me. He looped the belt around my head, tying it tight enough that it wouldn’t slip but not so tight that it hurt. He didn’t take his eyes from my face the entire time.
“If you need to tap out or want things to stop you slap my thigh, understand?” He took my hand and showed me what he meant.
I nodded.
“Good girl.” He sat back down, leaving me wondering how those two words could be so erotic. “Come sit on my lap.” He guided me to straddle him, so we were face to face.
I whimpered. With my legs spread, cool air hit my center, and I was suddenly aware of how empty I was. How wet. How I clenched around nothing.
Fen stroked my face. “Poor Maeve. You’re feeling needy, aren’t you?”
I squirmed, nodding.
“Is this what you want?” He dropped one of his hands between my legs, dragging his fingers from slit to apex, circling my clit, then traveling back down to fill me with two of his fingers. The heel of his palm brushed against my clit with every movement.
A strangled moan left me as I rocked my hips, the friction exquisite. Bracing my hands on his chest, I rode his hand as he pumped his fingers in and out at the perfect pace. My pleasure climbed with every stroke until he abruptly pulled out, leaving me empty once more.
He licked his fingers clean as I watched in aroused dismay. It was hot, but his mouth was not where I wanted his fingers.
“I said I was going to punish you, Maeve. Bad girls don’t get to come. And you were very, very bad facing that Wraith all alone. Making me watch you in the clutches of a Wraith for the second time.”
I couldn’t hold back a needy whine. When he’d said he wanted to punish me, this wasn’t what I had in mind.
“Quiet.” He swatted my ass.
It was a tap compared to what I craved, and I slapped my hands against his chest in frustration.
Capturing my hands in his, he leaned forward slightly. “Are you tapping out?” I shook my head and he chuckled darkly, settling back in his chair. “Don’t worry, darling. I’ll let you come. But only on my terms, when I say so. Understood?”
Panting around my gag, I nodded.
“Good girl.” He let my hands go. “Now, fuck yourself with your own fingers.”