Chapter 34
VESSA
Axe takes hold of my legs from underneath, hoisting me up. My arms curl around him instinctively, welcoming the heated embrace. We round the corner, bursting through a door to what must be the main bedroom.
Tilting my head, I take in the grandeur of the room.
Every corner of the chamber is filled with candlelight and rustic gold furnishings.
A fireplace is garnished with a halo of stars, as is the frame of a gorgeous full-length mirror that hangs adjacent to a shelf of more antiques.
Next to the elegant bed sits a desk with an extravagant vase of burgundy roses and a gift-wrapped box that catches my eye.
He sets me down beside the nightstand and stalks towards the fireplace. He finds a box of matches on the nearest shelf and strikes a flame before tossing it on the pile of logs.
Rather than staying put, I pad over to the desk, running my fingers over the package. “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
I peel back the colorful paper, which reveals a sturdy box of oak, stamped with a swirling manufacturer name. “Made in Sylo”—interesting. My thumb flicks up the latch, eyes widening. It’s a flawless set of blades with pearl handles.
“Are these . . . ?”
Axe returns to my side. “Pure silver, yes. My mating gift to you. I had Tesni personally select them.”
“They’re beautiful,” I whisper. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think to get you anything.”
His grin pulls hard on my heartstrings. I lean into his hand as he brushes a piece of hair from my eyes and tucks it behind my ear. “You’ve already given me more than I’ll ever deserve.”
Raising my heels, I show my thanks with a feather-light kiss to the corner of his mouth.
“So short," he jests. "I'll have to come up with lots of creative ways to kiss you. Who knows, maybe there's a stepladder hidden around here somewhere."
"Shut up! It's not my fault."
Axe's laugh pours out warm and sinful. "Oh, I'm not complaining.”
I close the lid and turn around to approach the mirror.
Maintaining eye contact through the reflection, I first kick off my heels, unclasp my silver bracelets, then remove the other jewelry and gloves, setting them on the desk.
When my hands reach behind for the first button of the dress, Axe is already behind me, ready to take over.
One by one, he works his way down my spine.
Only when the garment hits the floor do his eyes meet mine in the mirror, holding momentarily before taking in the sight of my corset.
Neither of us are brave enough to acknowledge how shallow our breaths have become.
Gently, he turns me around, though his eyes never leave the frame. I peer at the new ink that marks my shoulder. A sun cradling an intricate crescent. A vine winds around the half circle, moonflowers blooming at each pointed end.
It’s us.
When I look back at him, Axe is already stripping the rest of me with his eyes. My pulse pounds as I unlace the bodice and peel off the matching red panties, letting them drop to the floor. A muscle strains in his jaw, his composure hanging on by a fraying thread.
There I stand, utterly bare.
I reach for the top button of his shirt, only for my wrists to be captured.
“I think it’s about damned time I had a taste of you, Vespera.”
He nudges me backwards, down onto the bed. But he makes no attempt to reach for me. A feral gaze sweeps over my figure, the chill in the air rousing the peaks in my breasts. By now, there’s no denying the sap that’s pooling at the source of his desire. And to think, he’s barely even touched me.
Reclining completely onto my back, I bite my lip, willing myself to relax. But there’s just no way. Not when lightning dances in his eyes.
“Open your legs.”
For a terrifying moment, my heart stops. Cursing under my breath, I part them slightly.
“All the way,” he clarifies, that timbre dropping to sinister depths.
Heaven help me.
Spreading to my fullest ability, I peer up to behold his lethal stillness. Something snaps in his eyes as he kneels before me. The dissolution of restraint.
“I have never scented, never laid eyes on anyone so beautiful.”
Axe latches on to my hips and drags me to the edge of the mattress.
I let out a little yelp at the contact, goosebumps rising under the friction of his rough palms. When his tongue finds the swell of my breast, no longer can I keep from fisting his waves.
He swallows the other with his spare hand, kneading and licking, stoking the fiery ache within my core.
After a moment, he abandons my top half and seizes my thighs, tongue dragging a torturing stripe along the inner flesh. My pulse quickens, eyes fluttering shut. Prickling heat collects along the surface of where his hands stroke. He repeats the same gesture on the other side.
“Please,” I beg in staggered breaths.
My stomach clenches at the feel of his breath lingering at my center. Mentally, I’m biting my fist at the anticipation. Any second now, he could so easily—
One piping hot stroke of his tongue and I go slack. I become prey.
I’m helpless as he devours me, one hand securing my thigh, the other pressing down on my pelvis, thumb against my clit, rubbing firm circles into me. My hips jerk, legs thrashing against him. But his hold is firm. That damn tongue unrelenting.
All I see are stars. Tiny, flickering stars that collide and combust, amplifying all my senses.
It’s all I can do to remember to breathe in between whimpers.
He doesn’t hold back when he slides two fingers into my entrance, curling them towards himself.
My back arches at the euphoric sensation, setting a grinding rhythm against his tongue. He hums deeply in approval.
“Axe,” I groan. More. I must have more.
It doesn’t take long before I’m clenching my fingers tighter between his locks. Squirming beneath him, I feel a wave of pleasure mounting and simmering like lava. I can’t stand it. Any more of this and I’m going to drown in that endless sea of stars.
“Do you trust me?” he croaks, fingers still stroking me mercilessly.
“Yes,” I answer in a strangled voice. I didn’t even know there was one left in me.
“Good. Then don’t deny yourself. Let go for me.”
He sucks hard on the ravished nub, and my heart pounds in my ears. Axe growls, the vibration triggering an enormous convulsion within me. Bucking my hips, I cry out, welcoming the little death.
“Another,” he growls, increasing the speed of his fingers.
Propping myself onto my elbows, I’m met with insatiable cobalt eyes. Tears spill from my own as I try to speak but fail. In this state, words evade me. There is only feeling. And the next one that barrels through me knocks me flat on my back, riding out another insurmountable wave of bliss.
When the frenzy nears its end, Axe pulls back to swirl his tongue around his fingers. “Fuck,” he shudders.
The same reaction cuts across my face when I spot the staggering bulge fighting to be free of his slacks.
Still unable to conjure words, I palm the swell of his cock, earning a pained wince in return. As if to reprimand me, he removes his clothes in a slow tease, proving that undoing buttons might very well be a form of edging. With a final please rolling off my tongue, his briefs sink to his ankles.
My eyes go large as I take in the engorged shaft and powerful quadriceps. I shake my head with something between a gasp and a laugh.
"Were you hoping for something more . . . human?"
All that time fussing over his height when I should’ve been considering length. Seriously, does he not have a single appendage that can’t be used as a weapon?
Axe tenses as I stroke his member, marveling at its velvet-soft ridge. “Time for that later,” he grunts, seating himself beside me.
“But—"
“Come here.”
I crawl into his lap. He strokes the curve of my back and persuades me to turn around. “Good girl,” he huffs. “Let’s take this nice and easy. As slow as you need.”
Nodding, I hoist my hips upwards. Releasing a deep breath, I align myself just right and slowly, slowly lower myself onto him, letting him fill me inch by immaculate inch.
My insides constrict, walls trembling with a resistance far more fervent than the first time a male’s body entwined with my own.
On a controlled dip, the pinching pressure yields, edging him further into what was undeniably made to accommodate him, despite my doubts.
Halfway buried, his throaty groan spills into my ear.
Gods on high, if it isn’t the most glorious sound I’ve ever heard.
With a husky laugh, I repeat the movement, this time gasping when I accidentally take him nearly all the way to the hilt. Axe kisses the crook of my neck. “Eager now, are we?”
His hand slips between my thighs, causing my head to roll back onto his shoulder. The strain eases and my body erupts with shivers, feeling new life breathe into every nerve ending. I rock my hips, sinking again and again, breathlessly moaning and relishing the fullness each stroke brings.
It’s too dangerous for Axe. He grunts, flipping me onto my stomach.
When he fills me all in one stroke, my vision flickers like my brain’s just been cut off from oxygen.
He doesn’t dare increase the speed of his thrusting, holding my hips steady while I pant and writhe against the sheets, wishing I could be digging my nails into him instead.
Warm fingers skim along my neck, carnally fisting my hair. “Now that I know what this feels like, it’s all I’ll ever be able to think about. This perfect view. Right. Here.”
“Don’t stop,” I cry, taking the brunt of a deeper thrust. I may be small, but that doesn’t mean I want it tame. This he seems to know intuitively, delivering another magnificent stroke.
But after a moment, he does. Before I can object, I’m hoisted off the bed, back pressed against a cool wall. He slides in again without warning and my eyes roll back into my head.
“No,” he growls. “Look at me.”
I pull back to make the eye contact he demands.
Axe smirks, driving into me again and drawing frantic pleas out of me, only to devour them with his kiss.
The angle he’s found is exquisite. His thumb finds my greatest weakness, kneading me, watching my face twist with pleasure while forcing the white-hot sensation to return.
It’s an act of intimacy that’s foreign to me, so arousing that it doesn’t take long before I feel the pressure of a barreling climax overtake me.
Sweat rolls down his forehead as he pounds with punishing force. Feverish and aching, I clench my legs and tumble over the edge again, swearing as I do.
“Mine,” he rumbles into my ear, more wolf than man. “Every fucking inch of you.”
My eyes feel the need to droop, but he grips my jaw, demanding reciprocation. I groan as he slams into me with a desperate pace. He is so nearly there.
“Yes, Viggo.” I cling for dear life as the words slip from my mouth.
Axe roars, but I don’t feel a spilling contraction. I feel a razor-sharp pressure tearing through my neck. Teeth invading skin.
At first, the pain is excruciating. But my scream lasts only seconds before something else takes hold. Something calm that quells the flames of our joining. A softer pull. A need to always feel him near. I see it then, through those wild blue eyes. His soul.
Within a labyrinth of barbed wire is a shaggy black beast ravaged by anger. Violence. This demon guards the center of the maze where a child kneels in a pool of blood, lightning rippling from his fingertips.
When he withdraws, Axe brings the back of his hand to his mouth, wiping the blood away. His massive chest heaves with sweat. “What did you just say?”