Chapter 26
HUNGER AND SUBMISSION
KAAN
Days we've been trapped in this realm where beauty has teeth, and every moment feels like exquisite torture.
The Fae quarters that house us pulse with living magic—walls of rose quartz that breathe, furniture that offers unsolicited commentary on our relationship, and a ceiling that records our every word like some demented court scribe.
The mirror keeps suggesting ballads about tragic love.
The bed purrs when we sit on it. I've threatened to turn the wardrobe into kindling twice already.
But none of that matters compared to the woman pacing by the window.
Nesilhan moves like a caged predator, her twilight magic crackling with restless energy. The truth-curse forces honesty from her lips at the worst moments, and I've watched her bite back words that would shatter what little control we've both maintained.
The sexual tension between us has been building like pressure in a sealed vessel. Every accidental touch, every heated glance, every moment our bodies come too close in this intimate space threatens to detonate whatever's left of our restraint.
"The Queen is playing games," she says, not turning from the window where impossible geometries of the Grove stretch beyond crystal panes. "Four days since we arrived, and she's calling it 'consideration time' while she prepares her next move."
"Probably," I agree, though my attention is focused on the way her gown clings to curves I've been trying not to think about. "Morwenna strikes me as someone who enjoys psychological warfare."
The bed murmurs in an ancient Fae dialect: "Tensions weave through this space like spider silk."
"No one asked you," I growl.
The mirror's surface ripples: "Desire shadows truth shadows desire."
Nesilhan finally turns, and the look in her golden eyes makes my breath catch. There's hunger there—raw, desperate need that's entirely her own choice, entirely real.
"I can't stop thinking about that night in the demon realm," she says suddenly, the truth-curse dragging the admission from her lips. Her cheeks flush crimson, but she doesn't look away. "How it felt when you put your mouth on me. How you made me come apart in that hellish place."
Blood surges straight to my cock at her raw honesty. Fuck, I love this version of her—bold and demanding instead of the shy creature who used to blush at my heated looks.
"I want it again," she continues, the curse forcing brutal transparency. "I want you to strip me bare and worship me with your tongue until I can't remember my own name. I want to feel your shadows holding me up while you devour me."
The admission detonates something feral in my chest. Hours of careful distance since we arrived in this realm evaporate completely.
"Do you know what you're saying?" My voice drops to something dangerous, shadows already coiling around my arms in response to the spike of arousal flooding my system.
"I know exactly what I'm saying." She moves toward me, her eyes never leaving mine. "I know that we're probably going to accept the Queen's terms. And I know that right now, in this moment, I need you to fuck me like you'll never get the chance again."
The raw honesty in her voice, the desperate need I can feel through our bond, obliterates whatever control I've been clinging to. I close the distance between us in two strides, capturing her throat in my hand—not squeezing, just claiming.
"Then you're going to get exactly what you asked for," I growl against her ear. "I'm not stopping until you're screaming my name and begging for mercy."
"Yes," she breathes, and then the truth-curse forces more: "I'm so desperate for you I ache. I wake up wet from dreams of your hands on me, your mouth on me. I need you to make me forget everything except how good you can make me feel."
Her brutal honesty shatters my restraint completely. I claim her mouth in a kiss that's pure possession, all teeth, tongue and desperate hunger. She responds with equal fire, her nails raking down my chest as she presses herself against me.
"Finally," sighs the bed with obvious satisfaction. "We thought you'd never stop dancing around each other."
I break the kiss to level a glare at it that could melt stone. "One more comment and I'll have my shadows devour every piece of furniture in this room."
"Noted," the bed says quickly. "Proceeding with discretionary silence."
"Good." I turn back to Nesilhan, whose golden eyes have gone molten with arousal. "Now, where were we?"
"You were about to strip me naked and put your mouth on me," she says, the truth-curse ensuring brutal honesty. "And I was about to let you do whatever you want to me."
The words send heat racing through my veins. I lift her easily, but instead of carrying her to the bed, I let the shadows already pooling in the corners of this alien room wrap around her waist, lifting her up until she's suspended in the air, legs spread, completely at my mercy.
"Holy shit," she gasps, looking down at me with wide eyes.
"Language," I growl, though I'm fighting a smile. "Now hold still while I strip you bare."
I work at the fastenings of her gown with deliberate slowness, savoring every inch of golden skin revealed. When the fabric falls away completely, leaving her suspended naked in the existing shadows, I have to close my eyes against the surge of possession that threatens to consume me.
"Beautiful," I breathe, my hands tracing the curves of her body with reverent hunger. "Do you have any idea what you do to me? How fucking perfect you look suspended in my darkness?"
"Tell me," she demands, and I love this commanding version of her.
"You make me want to worship and ruin you at the same time," I confess, my hands finding her breasts, thumbs circling her nipples until she gasps. "When you look at me like this, like you want me to devour you—it makes me feel like a god instead of a monster."
"Then devour me," she challenges breathlessly. "Show me what it means to be claimed by the Shadow Lord himself."
The challenge ignites something primal in me. I position myself between her suspended thighs, eye level with her dripping cunt, and the sight makes my cock throb against my leathers.
"Watch me," I command, looking up at her. "I want you to see exactly what you do to me. How desperate I am to taste every inch of you."
I lean forward and drag my tongue along her slit in one long, slow stroke, savoring the taste of her arousal on my lips. She cries out, her back arching as much as the shadows will allow.
"Fuck, you taste perfect," I growl against her flesh. "Sweet and desperate and all mine."
I focus on her clit, circling it with the tip of my tongue before sucking it between my lips. Her moans fill the room, raw and uninhibited, and I feel her pleasure like an echo of sensation.
"More," she gasps, her hands fisting in my hair. "Please, Kaan, I need more."
I slide two fingers inside her, curling them to find that spot that makes her scream, while my mouth continues its assault on her clit. She's soaking wet, her inner walls clenching around my fingers as I work her toward the edge.
"You're going to come for me," I tell her, my voice muffled against her pussy. "Right here, suspended in my shadows, while I devour you like the feast you are."
The shadows holding her shift, spreading her legs wider, giving me better access to every inch of her. I add a third finger, stretching her, preparing her, while my tongue works her clit with relentless care.
"Oh god," she moans, her body trembling with building tension. "I'm going to—I can't—"
"Come," I command against her flesh. "Now."
She shatters with a scream that echoes off the crystal walls, her body convulsing as waves of pleasure crash through her. I don't stop, keeping my mouth on her through every aftershock, drinking down her release like it's the sweetest wine.
When she finally goes limp in my shadows, I slowly lower her until she's standing on shaking legs, her golden eyes glazed with satisfaction.
"I can't feel my legs," she breathes, leaning against me for support.
"I'd apologize, but we both know I'm not sorry."
She reaches for the fastenings of my leathers, her hands surprisingly steady despite what just happened. "Your turn," she says with determination. "I want to taste you too."
The thought of her mouth on my cock makes me groan, but before I can respond, there's a sharp knock at our door.
"Kaan! Nesilhan!"
The voice cuts through our haze of desire like a bucket of ice water. Banu's voice, bright and completely shameless.
"I can hear you two from the hallway!" she continues with obvious amusement. "But the Queen requests your immediate presence! Something about final terms and armies that can't wait for you to finish fucking!"
Nesilhan pulls back with a frustrated groan, and I have to close my eyes against the loss of sensation.
"Terrible timing," mutters the bed sympathetically. "They were just getting to the good part."
"Again," adds the mirror with obvious disappointment.
We dress with desperate haste, though my cock throbs painfully against my leathers and Nesilhan's cheeks are still flushed with arousal.
"This isn't over," I tell her as we head for the door.
"It better not be," she says, the truth-curse ensuring the promise is real.
***
Queen Morwenna's crystal court looks like someone decided to redecorate hell with a winter theme. Living walls pulse with frozen veins, and I notice the way the ice cracks slightly when she smiles—like even her own realm can't quite contain whatever's lurking beneath that beautiful facade.
All five of us stand before her: myself, Nesilhan, Elcin, Banu, and Yasar. The tension is so thick I could probably slice it up and serve it for dinner. Though knowing Fae cuisine, it would probably be poisonous and still somehow leave you hungry.
"The Shadow Court delegation arrives complete," Morwenna purrs, her ancient eyes cataloguing each of us like a butcher appraising meat. "How... thorough."