Chapter 33 #2
Above us, from somewhere higher in the cliffs, a melody carries—a chorus of voices, pure and haunting, threading through the air like silk. The Eirenes’ song lulls me into feeling calm.
I tilt my head back, letting my body relax. “I think I could get used to this.”
Dante splashes me, catching me mid-reverie. I yelp, water dripping from my chin.
“You’re lucky my dagger’s on the rocks,” I warn.
“I’ll take my chances.”
We swim for a while, splashing and exchanging a laugh, but we’re mostly quiet, simply enjoying being together in this peaceful reprieve.
I feel the energy shift as he floats closer, his storm-grey eyes fixed on mine, water sheeting down his shoulders.
“Do you ever wish you’d stayed here?” I ask quietly.
He stops just shy of touching me, his voice low. “If I had, I’d have never met you.”
Then he closes the distance, his hands gliding to my waist under the water. He pulls me closer, the heat of him cutting through the chill.
For a moment, his smile falters. His eyes, still pinned to mine, darken with something heavier, something he’s been holding back.
I smooth my hands down his forearms, feeling the strength beneath his skin. “I guess it’s time to talk about the trial now.”
His jaw flexes. “You used your magic again.”
“Dante—”
“You promised you wouldn’t,” he says, voice quiet but taut, threaded with frustration. “You said you’d wait. You said you’d let Ezra figure it out.”
“I never promised,” I snap back, chin lifting. “You asked me not to, but I never agreed.”
“You bled, Celeste.” He leans closer, his voice low, heated. “I could tell something was wrong, even from the water. And what I couldn’t see, Nadya filled me in on.”
Of course she did.
“I had to help you.” The words come out louder than I intend, sharp with the emotion I’ve been burying all day. “They sent armed soldiers after you. And a shark! You were bleeding underwater. You could have been pummeled by a fucking tsunami. You don’t get to ask me to sit and watch you die.”
His hands flex, fists clenching just beneath the surface. “And what if helping me had killed you instead?”
I stare at him, my breath shallow. I don’t have an answer—not one that would make him feel better.
He paces a few steps through the water, raking a hand through his hair until it curls wild and damp around his temples. “Gods, you’re so damn stubborn.”
“And you’re so damn arrogant if you think you can tell me when and how I’m allowed to use a power that’s mine.”
He turns sharply, water sluicing off his chest, his gaze fierce enough to stop me in place.
He crosses the space between us with quick, sure strides—and suddenly, he’s there, his hands finding me beneath the water, one arm locking around my waist, the other curling so that his hand is tugging the hair at the nape of my neck.
The heat of him burns through the chill. My breath stutters.
“Of course you’d fight me,” he mutters, his voice hoarse against my cheek. “Even when I’m trying to protect you.”
“And of course you’d push me,” I breathe back, “even when I’m trying to save you.”
The air thrums between us, thick with something neither of us is willing to yield. My pulse hammers as his thumb grazes the side of my throat, slow and reverent, like he’s trying to memorize the beat of my heart.
“I told you,” he says, his forehead almost brushing mine, “you bleed for no one.”
“And I told you,” I whisper, “you don’t get to decide that.”
His jaw tightens—and then, in one breath, his lips are on mine.
It’s fierce and heated, like he’s trying to fuse every argument, every fear, every unspoken word into this one, soul-deep touch. It’s not soft or careful. It’s the collision of two storms, and I surrender to it, arms winding around his neck as the world falls away.
My heart pounds against my ribs, my body already burning where his touch lingers.
His hand wraps around my neck as he guides me backward through the water to a shallower part of the lagoon.
When the backs of my thighs press against the edge of smooth rock, he pauses, breaking the kiss just long enough to meet my gaze.
His storm-grey eyes are dark, half-lidded with desire as he lifts me by my waist and sets me on the flat stone, which is large enough for me to recline on.
Mist from the waterfall covers us in a moist, lingering cloud.
He hovers over me, his gaze roaming over my wet chemise.
Soaking wet and thin, it reveals my pebbled nipples and the curves of my breasts.
He runs his fingers down my chest, his thumb grazing my nipples as he continues down to the waistband of my underwear.
I lift my ass slightly as he slips them off and places them on the rock surface beside me.
When he takes a step back, I whimper. The water ripples, coming up to his thighs, and I can clearly see the outline of his hard cock through the material of his underwear.
“Come back,” I say, resting on my elbows on the stone.
There’s a smirk on his face that tells me he has plans. “First, touch yourself.”
My pulse races even faster.
His eyes are still on me as he removes the rest of his clothes and tosses them to land beside my discarded dress.
The mist causes droplets of water to trickle down the sculptured muscles of his chest and abdomen.
I almost forgot about his tattoo, and when I take in the beauty of the inked design, remembering he picked that design for me, I melt for him. Heat quickly gathers at my core.
“Did you hear me, little pirate? Start with your breasts.” He wraps a hand around the shaft of his cock and gives it a stroke. “Show me how much you like those nipples pinched.”
My chest is heaving as I glide my hands over the swell of my breasts and finger my nipples through the wet material of my chemise. I arch my back and part my lips as my thumbs and forefingers close around the hardened peaks and give them a pinch and a roll.
He strokes himself as he watches, his teeth dragging over his bottom lip. “Yeah, just like that. Are you getting wet for me, Highness?”
“Yes.” My voice is a rasp.
“Open your legs,” he demands. “I want to see.”
I do as he says, feeling a tingle in my stomach as he instructs me. I’m on full display for him, and I shudder at the way his lids get heavy.
He takes one step closer, his gaze drawn between my legs as he continues to stroke himself. It’s wicked torture. “You’re more than just wet, Princess. Your pussy is soaked for my cock.”
I writhe. “Then come give it want it wants.”
“Only good girls get what they want, little pirate. Are you a good girl?”
“Yes.” I lick my lips, following the rhythm of his fist moving up and down his shaft. “Please.”
“Tell me what you want.”
“I want to feel you. I want you inside me.” My arousal is flooding me. “My pussy needs you.”
“Touch it for me. Show me how much your pussy wants to be rubbed.” I let out an impatient moan as I move my hands over the bottom curves of my breasts and splay my hands down my stomach. When my fingers slip through my wetness, my hips buck forward.
“Nice and slow,” he says. “Tease your clit, and imagine my mouth on you.”
I rub at the bundle of nerves, wishing it was him. “I’m imagining it’s you,” I say in a whispered voice. “I want it to be your tongue.”
“You want me to taste you, Highness? You want me to devour that dripping, wet pussy of yours?”
“Gods, yes.” The pressure is building, hot and frantic, and I don’t know how much more I can stand. “I want you to feast on me like you’re starving.”
“I am starving, Highness. I’m starving for the taste of your arousal. I want it all over my lips and my tongue. I want it to fill my mouth as you scream my name.” His hand moves a little faster, and I can see the precum glistening at his tip. “Now put a finger inside. Imagine it’s my aching cock.”
I bite my lip, sliding my finger down to my entrance and then slowly pushing it inside. He lets out a growl as he watches me, his breathing speeding up. I pump it in and out, and then, without him instructing me to, I slip another finger in.
“Fuck.” He comes closer, resting his free hand on my thigh. “Taste it. Tell me how you taste, little pirate.”
I slip my fingers out and bring my hand up to my lips, keeping my eyes on him as I open my mouth and wrap my lips around my fingers. I slide them out slowly with a moan.
“Yeah?” he asks with a deep voice. “That good?”
“Mm-hmm. But don’t just take my word for it.” I spread my legs wider, my knees falling to the sides. “Try it for yourself.”
He doesn’t hesitate. He drops down until his face is inches away from my throbbing pussy.
First, he kisses my thigh, gently nipping at the skin.
I let out a small sigh at the feel of his lips and teeth.
His tongue laps upward, directly to my center.
A fire ignites inside of me. My breath leaves me as his mouth moves, his lips caressing my labia and his tongue thrusting into my center.
My body jerks when his tongue darts out and circles my clit.
“Fuck,” I cry out, unable to stop myself from grabbing his head and pushing into him. His wet hair tangles between my fingers.
He flattens his tongue and laps over my hot pussy, his saliva mixing with my arousal, and then I feel his fingers push into my slick heat. He sucks at my clit as he pumps his fingers in and out, making my eyes roll back in my head.
“Dante! Oh, Gods!”
“Cum for me, Celeste. I want to feel your pussy clenching around my fingers.”
He swirls his scorching-hot tongue over my clit, and I swear I see stars exploding as I’m pushed over the edge. He continues to push his fingers in and out of me, riding out my orgasm.
I barely have time to catch my breath before he’s making his way up my body, peppering my skin with sensual kisses. When he reaches my mouth, his lips are pink and swollen, and I moan into his kiss as he positions his body over mine.
“We’re not done yet, Highness,” he says, his eyes filled with hunger. “I need to feel you.”
“Yes, please.” I practically hiss from need. “Take me.”
He drags his hard length through my soaked center, covering his cock in my arousal. “Fuck, you feel good.”
I can only moan in response, needing to feel him filling me. I’m too needy, so I reach down and wrap my hand around his shaft and position his head at my entrance, my legs lifting so my thighs are pinned at his hips.
His hand joins mine, and together, we slide his cock into me.
It sinks to the base, and my jaw hangs open at the feel of him.
He shudders for a moment before pulling most of the way out and then slamming back into me.
The burn of him stretching me is delicious, and I claw at his muscles, unable to get enough.
He grips my hips and undulates, thrusting in and out in a perfect rhythm, the friction building and sounds of our bodies slapping together combined with the whooshing whisper of the waterfall filling my ears.
“Gods, your pussy is squeezing me so good.” He fuses his lips to mine, his tongue moving with a passionate caress, breathing me into a frenzied kiss.
Our pace increases, and I cry out as he drives his cock into me again and again and again—fuck!
He grabs one of my legs, propping it over his forearm, and rolls his hips, pushing deeper into me.
He grunts with each stroke, his jaw taut as he looks down between our thrusting bodies.
I look, too, reveling in the sight of us moving together, my full breasts bouncing as he grinds into me, and I whimper with every thrust. He wraps a large, hot hand over one of my breasts, his thumb circling my nipple before lowering his mouth over it, sucking and lapping at it.
With his mouth still on me, he moves his hand down to stroke my clit.
It’s too much, too hot, and I’m going to combust. I can feel my pussy clenching him, and I know I’m close.
“Dante!”
“Cum for me, Celeste,” he moans breathlessly. “I want to feel your pussy pulsing while I fill you with my cum.”
He thrusts, harder, faster, bringing me to the brink. I let out a desperate noise as my release bursts from me, my body straining, my pussy clamping around him as if it never wants to let him go. His body jerks and spasms as he lets out a guttural, “Fuuuck!”
His hot cum fills me, his ass clenched and his mouth crashing into my neck.
Our breaths are erratic, hot and raspy. I feel as if I’m melting as my heartbeat gradually slows back to normal.
My head is spinning with euphoria, and my body tingles with the afterglow of pleasure.
Dante’s lips move on my neck, pressing kisses into my skin as he moves his mouth higher, up my jaw.
I turn my head so I can capture his mouth with mine, pushing his hair back from his temple and tracing his jaw with my thumb.
“So fucking perfect,” he whispers, kissing me again.
We lie like this, with his cock still inside of me, as the sun disappears and the sky darkens.
It isn’t until the breeze cools our bodies that he finally pulls out of me and shifts, wrapping me in his arms with my head resting on his chest. He lazily strokes my hair as we gaze up at the emerging stars.
“Do you think things will be different once you’re a prince?” I ask quietly, my voice barely above a whisper.
Dante doesn’t answer right away. His hand moves in slow, soothing circles against the small of my back, but I can feel the tension creeping back into his shoulders.
“Maybe,” he finally says, though there’s no conviction in the word. “My father, he’s always measured a man’s worth by the power he holds. Being his bastard made me nothing to him for years. But now…” He huffs a bitter laugh under his breath. “Now, I’m useful.”
I lift my head, frowning. “You’re not just useful. You’re—”
“I know what I am to you, Celeste,” he murmurs, his gaze locked on mine. “But to him? This title—this legitimacy—it’s not about me. It’s about control. As long as I do what he wants, I have value. If I step out of line…” He trails off, his jaw clenching tight.
I catch his hand, lacing our fingers together. “You don’t have to play his game. Not if it costs you who you are.”
His expression softens, and something unreadable flickers behind those storm-grey eyes. “I’m not doing it for him,” he admits. “I’m doing it for you. For us.”
My heart stumbles. “Dante—”
“This title… it’s a leash. I know that.” His thumb brushes across my knuckles, warm and steady. “But it’s also a weapon. And if holding it means I can protect you—if it means keeping Delasurvia safe—then I’ll wear the crown. And I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure no one can ever touch you.”
His words are heavy as they settle in my chest, a mix of fierce devotion and quiet dread curling through me. “You shouldn’t have to carry that weight alone.”
His lips curl into a faint smile. “I’m not. I have you.”
I shift and press a lingering kiss to his lips, letting the steady rhythm of his heartbeat anchor me. “Always.”