Chapter 26 #2
He hummed, nudging his nose against mine to kiss me deeply once more, then again and again, leisurely. Like we had all the time in the world. “You came quicker than I expected.”
I shoved him playfully. “Well, it’s been a bit since we last had sex. Besides, it’s your turn now.” Allowing my voice to turn sultry, I rolled him beneath me and ground down over the pants he still wore, waiting to feel him hard and ready.
Nothing.
I frowned. “Do you not want…”
“Revna.” S?ren pulled the last sound of my name out into a groan and threw an arm over his eyes.
An adorable pink flush danced across the tops of his cheeks.
“I do want. So, so much. Which is why I came at the same time you did, just watching you arch beneath me and feeling you tighten around my fingers.”
I blinked. “Really?”
He moved his arm to smile self-deprecatingly at me. “Really.”
And now I was wanting all over again. “Why are you embarrassed? I’m flattered. To think I could possibly have such an effect on you is…intoxicating.”
“I can tell.” The teasing tone returned, a smug grin forming on his lips. I realized I’d started grinding down against him, slowly working myself up once more.
“Sorry,” I mumbled, already lost to the feeling. He was warm and real and, for the first time in ages, I felt safe.
“Don’t you fucking dare apologize. If you want to come again, I’ll see to it you do.”
My eyes had drifted lazily closed, but I opened them. “Even when you’re not getting anything out of it?”
“Who said I wasn’t getting anything out of this?” S?ren’s hands wandered, skimming up my sides to cup my breasts once more. “Watching you pleasure yourself on me is more than enough.”
He rolled my nipples between the pads of his fingers, and I moved faster, every ounce of pressure echoed tenfold through my body.
“Do you want to come like this?” he asked. “Or can I use my fingers or my mouth on you? Please, Princess, let me—”
A single nod and he was lying on his side, curled around me, fingers replacing the rough friction of fabric with something softer, more lovely. My mouth fell open and gods, was I truly going to orgasm again? Right after I already had? It seemed more than likely.
He watched my face carefully as he pressed the pad of one finger onto the center of my swollen clit, exactly where I was most sensitive.
It was almost too much, but I liked it. Liked the threat of pain at the edge of my pleasure.
And it showed, because a sound escaped me—high-pitched and vulnerable, dissolving me into a needy creature. His queen.
“Perfect,” he sighed, lids growing heavy. “Just like that. Let me tip you over the edge. Gonna make me come in my pants again, you’re so beautiful when you’re splayed open for me. When you let me touch you and lick you. So good, sweetheart.”
It was like a string was tied directly to my pleasure and those last words delivered it a sharp tug. His finger continued to move in steady circles, and I couldn’t help myself, I wanted him to—
“Say it again,” I begged. I didn’t recognize my own voice. I ignored the way my eyes stung, how directly connected the sensation of tears was to my impending crest. “Please? Tell me—”
“That you’re good?” S?ren’s eyes held more sincerity than I’d ever before experienced. “That you’re so good for me?”
The orgasm was nearly instantaneous. I cried his name and clutched at his forearm while he stroked me through the waves, kissed my temple gently while I caught my breath, wiped a stray tear from my cheek.
I closed my eyes as the pleasure faded into contentment. “I don’t want to talk about it,” I said the moment I was capable of speech again.
He knew what I meant. “And we don’t have to.”
As we embraced in the quiet, my thoughts wandered to places I didn’t like. Did he mean it? Or was he lying, the way everyone else has lied to you before? My Lurae song started, growing faster with my agitation.
“Stop thinking,” S?ren chided softly. “Remember, I don’t lie to you. Ever. If you ask me for something and I give it, it’s because I wanted to.”
I opened my eyes to stare incredulously at him. “Are you sure your Lurae isn’t mind-reading?”
He laughed, the sound sending a thrill through me. “I wish. But no. You just have a very expressive face.”
I fidgeted with the fabric of his pants, rubbing it between my thumb and forefinger. “How do you think tomorrow will go?” Here, in his arms, was the only place I felt comfortable asking for a truthful answer.
“It’s impossible to know exactly what will happen,” he said. “But as far as your preparation, you’ve done everything you can. She’d be lying to herself if she refused to sign the treaty because of your abilities—you’re more accomplished than any other Lurae I know who’s had so little training.”
I raised a brow. “Ah, yes, more accomplished than any nine-year-old you know. I’m flattered.”
“Not what I meant,” he chuckled. “There are people who take years before they’ve mastered their far simpler abilities at the level you’ve mastered yours. I’m proud of you.”
I pressed my face into his chest. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“You could have, if you’d been given the time.”
And thus, thoughts of the queen resurfaced once more. I sighed. “If she were a fair, just ruler, I wouldn’t be so worried. But…we cannot afford another war. The treaty must be signed. Kryllian has the power to annihilate us.”
“What she wants has something to do with your Lurae,” he said grimly.
“She won’t get that if she starts another war.
Think of when you forced your way into the Trials.
It worked so effectively because your father had made you the necessary pawn in his plan.
It didn’t work without you. The moment you refused to follow through with it, everything fell apart and he was forced to concede his hand.
I have a feeling tomorrow, when we’re able to get a better sense of just what she believes your magic can accomplish, will be much the same. ”
“I hadn’t even considered that,” I said. My thoughts still spun, but his logic made an absurd amount of sense. Even my Lurae song was quiet. “We have more power than I thought.”
“I am still at the queen’s bidding tomorrow,” he said, arms tightening around me. “But please know no matter what—my true allegiance lies with you. I promise you.”
The haze of drowsiness settled over me as my breathing calmed. Contentment was heady as a drug, and I basked in it. When was the last time I’d been this gratified? “Wake me up when you want a turn,” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around his waist and squeezing tight.
S?ren’s breath rushed from him. He carded a hand softly through my hair. The world was quiet and still. “We’ll see.” He hummed softly, and I felt the brush of his lips against the crown of my head. “Rest well, my queen.”
And I did.