Chapter 28 #3
Tears clogged my throat. My chest ached, and for a second, I wondered if it was possible for a heart to actually break.
Rising to my elbow, I lay a hand on his cheek. “You did not fail as a king, Lorcan Balauri. True kings are noble and brave. They put their subjects before themselves. That’s what a king does. That’s what a good man does.”
He stared up at me, his dark eyes sheened with moisture. I’d thought them dark and cold when I first met him. But that was before I’d seen them filled with dragon fire.
“I’m not a good man,” he rasped. “I’ve killed—”
“And you’ve saved lives,” I said, placing a gentle finger over his lips. “You’ve done painful, horrible things because you live in a painful, horrible place. That’s not who you are. It’s who you’ve been forced to be.”
Slowly, he rose until his face was level with mine. “I tried to end things a few times,” he said quietly. “In the early years. Vander wouldn’t allow it.” Lorcan huffed, a fond smile playing on his lips. “Vander has a way of getting what he wants.”
“He told me about the elven princess,” I said.
Surprise flared in Lorcan’s eyes. Then he nodded, the emotion turning to understanding. “He’ll never let anyone hurt you.”
Our faces were close. His scent lifted around me—soap, leather, and spice combined with a fourth element that was his alone.
“Neither will I,” he said. “No one will touch you, Corinthe.”
My heart skipped a beat, desire pooling between my thighs. “What if I want to be touched?”
His eyes shuttered, and panic shot through me. Oh gods, had I misread him?
“Lorcan,” I said, horrified when my voice cracked. “I-I’m sorry. I thought…” The panic turned to embarrassment and I sat up, intent on leaving the bed.
Lorcan caught my arm. “Wait. It’s not what you think.”
I hesitated, my heart thumping hard. “What do you mean?”
Even in the room’s dim light, the blush on his cheeks was like the sun peeking over the horizon.
“I’m…” He licked his lips. “Well, you know I’ve been with Vander.
But I’ve…” Sitting up all the way, he shoved an agitated hand through his hair.
“This is ridiculous and mortifying, and there’s no easy way to say it, so I’ll just spit it out.
I’ve never been with a woman. Not…completely. ”
Oh.
Lorcan lowered his hand. “My people have strict traditions. Sex is viewed as the ultimate lack of control. To be honest, we could probably let some of that go, but it’s not like I’m in a position to change it.”
For a second, any possible response deserted me. I cleared my throat. “Do you want to be with a woman? Completely?”
The heat that flared in his gaze obliterated my doubts. He moved closer, his eyes wandering over me in a lazy perusal that made my pulse pound in my neck and between my legs.
“Just one,” he said. Hooking a finger in the neck of my gown, he tugged me forward until our lips were nearly touching. “I want this woman.”
My nipples tightened, the tips aching under the black silk.
Lorcan sighed as he pressed his forehead to mine.
“Do you know what it does to me to see you in a Drachvi gown? To see you walking toward me with dragonstones around your waist and smoke curling around your long legs?” He sank his finger deeper into my neckline, his skin hot against mine.
“It makes me ravenous, Corinthe. It makes me hard.”
A whimper slipped from me.
He moved his hand to my throat, his long fingers circling it easily.
But he was gentle, oh so gentle, as he brushed his lips over mine.
“It makes me want to see you in nothing but a chain of stones around your pretty waist, your body spread beneath me, and your pussy wet for my dick. Is that something you’ll allow me to see? ”
“Yes,” I breathed, heat blasting me. “Gods, yes.”
His lips curved against mine. “That’s the answer I wanted to hear, Wife.”
I expected him to rush. But he didn’t. No, Lorcan took his time, easing me onto my back and stripping me as he would unwrap a present.
My gown hit the floor, followed by my underskirts and stockings.
He flung my chemise aside, his nostrils flaring as he brushed reverent fingers over my quivering breasts.
He groaned like a dying man when he dragged my drawers down my thighs, and he sank a fang into his lip when he traced a fingertip down the seam of my pussy.
Lifting his burning eyes to mine, he sucked his finger into his mouth.
I shivered, my nipples puckering in the chamber’s cool air.
There was something wicked about lying nude while he was wrapped in all of his court finery.
As if he sensed the direction of my thoughts, he pulled the dragonstone chain from the pile of my clothes.
A flush spread down my chest as he fastened it around my waist, the links resting just above my bare mound.
He eased my thighs apart, his fangs reappearing as my sex opened and air teased the moisture between my legs.
Dark eyes met mine, and his whisper sounded squeezed from his soul. “You were worth waiting for.”
Surging up, I rushed, my fingers clumsy as I tore at his clothes.
His patience fled, and he panted as he helped me strip away his jacket.
We laughed softly when he got tangled in his trousers and landed on his hip.
Then he was on top of me, one lean, muscled thigh nudging my legs wider as he braced himself on his forearms. His hair was a curtain around us, the silky strands catching in the dark stubble on his jaw.
If I’d harbored any doubts about his attraction to me, the hard, thick length pressed against my leg put them to rest forever.
Lowering his head to my neck, he dragged a fang along my pulse. “Feel what you do to me,” he rasped against my skin, his hand finding mine and guiding it to his cock. I curled my fingers around his shaft, and he hissed in my ear.
I released him at once. “Did I hurt you?”
His huff of laughter tickled my ear. “Not the way you’re thinking. But maybe it’s a good idea to keep your hand away from my dick. Otherwise, this is going to be over before it starts.”
“All right,” I said, shivering as he pressed hot kisses against the side of my neck. I shivered again when he stroked his fingers down my center.
“Open for me, Corinthe,” he ordered. “I want this to be perfect for you.”
Gods, was he worried it wouldn’t be? My spine arched as I spread my legs wide, giving him access.
He took full advantage, and we moaned together as he pushed a thick finger inside me. My muscles clamped at once, and his cock twitched against my thigh.
“Fuck,” he muttered. “I’m going to embarrass myself.”
A needy moan slipped from me as I arched against him, shamelessly rubbing my pussy against his hand. “No, you’re not. And even if you do, we can do this again.”
Lorcan lifted his head, the boyish delight on his face softening the sharp line of his jaw. “You’re right. We can do this”—he pushed another finger inside me—“whenever we want.”
I panted as my arousal climbed higher. “Over and over. We’ll probably get sick of each other.”
“I don’t know,” he said in a musing tone. “We might have to do it a few hundred thousand times just to make sure.”
Heat spiked. The sound of my arousal was loud and wicked as he worked his fingers deeper inside me. “A few hundred thousand?” I asked, my voice catching.
“At the very least.” He pulled his fingers from my body, leaving a sweet ache behind. Then he moved on top of me and lodged the tip of his cock against my opening. “I’m a thorough man. I like to test things from every angle before I make a decision.”
The dragonstone chain slipped down my hip, the tease of the metal almost as maddening as Lorcan’s cock prodding my heat. Sliding my hands up his taut arms, I curled my fingers over his shoulders. “I like this angle.”
“Me too.” He pushed inside me. Pressure.
Heat. A slight burn that quickly melted into pleasure.
My spine bowed, and my head went back as the stretch filled me, leaving me with nowhere to go.
But I didn’t want to leave. I wanted to be here , just here, my body spread beneath the man with fire under his skin.
He shook as he pushed deeper, his entry as controlled as anything else he did. And it must have cost him, because his heart slammed against mine as he pressed a kiss to my temple.
“Are you all right?” he asked hoarsely.
“Yes,” I said, meaning it. I’d never been with a man completely before, but Mama had taught me everything I needed to know, and I was more than ready to take Lorcan without undue pain. “I want more,” I told him. Pulling my legs up, I wrapped my thighs around his waist. “Fuck me, Lorcan. Please.”
He did. Pushing onto his palms, he held my gaze as he thrust inside me, his cock filling me over and over. The dragonstones winked between us. Lorcan’s shoulders flexed, smooth muscles contracting as he stoked our pleasure higher.
“Corinthe,” he rasped, thrusting harder.
Deeper. Pushing me into the bed. “Corinthe…” Words seemed to fail him as he plunged his mouth to mine, claiming my lips in a fierce kiss even as he claimed my body.
Fucking me faster, he reached between us, his fingers slipping over my flaring lips.
He fumbled, his breath hitching as his thrusts grew disjointed.
Grabbing his hand, I guided it to my clit. “Right there.”
Satisfaction glittered in his eyes. “I won’t forget.” He worked a thumb over the tight point of my arousal, his hips thrusting us faster and faster toward an edge. But I wanted to rush over it. I wanted to fall.
“Come for me,” Lorcan ordered, circling my clit. He lowered his head and spoke against my lips. “Take me with you, Corinthe.”
I flew into a million pieces, my strangled cry lost in his mouth as my pussy clamped hard around him.
A second later, Lorcan thrust a final time and groaned against my lips.
His heat flooded me, and our kiss dissolved as we held each other, shuddering and panting.
Catching my breath, I smoothed my hand over his back, my palm following the ridges of his scars.
“Only the fireborn can see them,” he said. I went still, and he lifted his head. “And you.”
“What?” I said, not certain I made any sound. But Lorcan heard me.
Something intense shimmered in his eyes. With his cock still lodged deep inside me, he searched my gaze. “I don’t know how you’ve managed it. You shouldn’t be able to see the scars. But you do.”
It took a minute before I found my voice. “No one else?”
Lorcan shook his head. Then his eyes went serious.
“Maybe it’s tied to your dhampir blood. Wherever it comes from, it has to stay between us…
and Vander. If Rasimir discovers that you can see my scars, he’ll drain you.
He’s been cautious until now because we don’t know much about your power.
But fireborn blood is rare. The gifts it brings dwindle the same as my people.
You see the scars. What if you eventually gain a fireborn’s shape-shifting magic, especially if you drink from me?
Rasimir is greedy for it.” Lorcan’s mouth tightened. “He uses it to muzzle the witches.”
“The gauntlets and mouth coverings?” I asked, the grotesque images from the dungeon rising in my mind.
Lorcan nodded. “He couldn’t have conquered the witches without them.
The covens were too powerful.” His expression darkened.
“Rasimir experimented for years, twisting our shape-shifting magic into something obscene. He combined it with the vor scapa , perverting both kinds of power until he created the muzzles and gauntlets. The witches can’t speak rix to break them because they’re not purely witch magic anymore.
And no one else can remove them. Just Rasimir.
It ensures he maintains absolute power.” Lorcan’s voice went cold.
“If my people didn’t already hate him for destroying us, they would hate him for corrupting our gifts. ”
One thing in particular gave me pause. Rasimir is greedy for it. Dots connected in my head. Rasimir wanted fireborn blood—and Lorcan had it. The revelation settled over me like a heavy weight.
“He drains you,” I said. “All the times he’s summoned you. After dinners. After the ball. The night I tried to escape. He dislocated your shoulder.” My voice caught, angry tears rushing to my eyes.
“Shh,” Lorcan said, kissing the corner of my eye before the moisture could escape. “It’s all right.”
“No, it’s not.” I pushed him away so I could look at him. “It’s wrong, and I’m going to do something about it.”
“And I’m going to help you. But for now, we have to keep being careful. We’re stronger now that we’re joined.”
I bit my lip. We were definitely joined.
Lorcan’s dark eyes made a slow journey from my mouth to my breasts. When he finally met my eyes again, his cock was hard inside me. “Do you know what I’m thinking?” he murmured.
Normally, he was far too good at hiding for me to be certain. But this time…“I might have an idea,” I said. “But why don’t you tell me anyway.”
Smiling, he rose above me. Then he grabbed me around the thighs and yanked me against him, his shaft lodging so deep that I gasped. Stretching my arms over my head, he laced his fingers with mine.
“I was thinking that we don’t have to win any wars tonight.” He bent over me, his long hair swinging over my breasts. “So we should make the most of our time.”