Chapter 19
I wanted her so deeply, so completely, that even if she rejected me, even if her words tore into my skin like blades, I wouldn’t care. Just to have her, to touch even the edges of her bewitching angelic soul, would be enough. Especially now that I lived only for her.
I knew Damien felt the same. I saw it in the way his gaze lingered on her, in the stillness of his posture that barely restrained the primal instinct of the sea-dragon inside him.
He tried everything to keep his beast buried beneath his skin by only watching her, not touching, as he was too terrified to break her, fearing he might lose himself in her completely.
While I was already lost, tasting the secret sweet nectar between her legs, which had wrapped around my waist while I’d been inside her. Gwendolyn needed the touch just as much as me. There was no way I’d ever let her go.
She was all mine, forever. The object of my affection, my obsession and my possession. Even love was not enough to describe what I felt for her.
My dearest little demon had been strong for far too long, carrying the burden of misunderstanding and loneliness.
Now, she would never be alone again. She was the most beautiful flower that nature had ever created, abandoned by light, seeking the shadows.
And as long as these shadows were mine… they’d not only devour her, but also protect her.
To cradle the single petal too beautiful, too fierce, and too fragile for the sun.
I knew the awareness of being bonded to more than one man overwhelmed her, stirring up a sea of emotions inside her. I didn’t want to add any weight to the storm she was already feeling.
Gwendolyn felt homesick for a place that didn’t exist, and now that she was here, she was too baffled by all the emotions that awaited her. It wasn’t my aim to heighten these emotions or even worsen them, but I needed her help, I needed her strength—and most of all, I needed her love.
While Damien went to speak with Sparrow, I tried to pull Gwendolyn from the weight of her darker thoughts.
We sat across from one another at a small table on the balcony, its view spilling out toward the Ancient Springs, a sacred river blessed by the ancient goddesses and gods of the Elven Kingdom, their silver waters catching the dying light of the afternoon.
I requested that Marielle bring us some food for breakfast, as that always seemed to lighten her mood—especially sweet pastries, including a tower of cream puffs, almond cakes with spun sugar and Gwendolyn’s favorite red apple tarts.
“You should eat a little bit,” I told her softly, unable to hide the concern in my voice. I’d do anything just to make her happy, even if it means beginning a war with whoever was the reason, she felt this way.
I hated how much control the past still had over her. I reached across the table, brushing my knuckles along her cheek, pressing a tender kiss on her forehead.
“What about you, Xavier?” she asked, to my amusement. She was such a curious, beautiful little thing, but also such an attentive little demon. A dangerous combination that owned every inch of my infatuation.
“I don’t need much. Not food, at least.”
Her brow furrowed. “So, what do you survive on?”
“You are the only thing I will be tasting tonight.”
“You can’t possibly just survive from that…” Her voice had a teasing tone, almost like she didn’t believe me.
I gripped her chin softly. “The delicious piece of heaven between your legs is the only thing, the absolutely only thing, that gives me the sustenance I so desperately crave.”
With every word, I felt how her body started responding to me already, filled with need and want.
“You just spent hours delving into memories filled with sadness and darkness. Let me be your tool to receive the pleasure you deserve,” I begged, stroking her face.
“Did you just offer to be my tool, Xavier?” she asked, seeming as shocked as I was, as the words slipped out of my mouth.
“If that’s what it takes for you to be happy again. Use me. My body’s purpose is to pleasure you. So, use me.”
Before she could respond, I lifted her onto my lap, guiding her body with practiced ease.
She let out a soft gasp as I adjusted her against me, my hands already gliding beneath the fabric of her dress.
The softness of her skin beguiling my senses, especially the ones that were connected straight to my cock.
“What are you doing?” she asked, her breath catching.
“What does it look like I’m doing to you?”
I loosened my cuffs with a slow roll of my sleeves and then I captured her sweet lips with mine, our tongues fighting for dominance, but hers faltered beneath mine. I reached down to lift up her dress, gathering the hem of it between my fingers.
“You want to take off my clothes… here?” Her beautiful face blushed, her body heating up. But there was still some sort of resistance, like she wanted it, and yet something seemed to hold her back.
“Why this look?” I asked, my fingers gripping her face, studying her.
“I’m just… overwhelmed,” she finally admitted, her voice soft, almost unsure. “By everything that happened… and what Damien said. About us being connected.”
She didn’t meet my gaze right away, her fingers fidgeting with the hem of her dress.
Something she had done already at the Vampire Dinner due to her nervousness.
But this feeling wasn’t what caused my anger, it was the flicker of shame in her voice—not because she didn’t want it, but because she didn’t know if she was allowed to want something so deep, so permanent. Something with more than one man.
“Why do you feel ashamed?” I asked, brushing my knuckles against her soft skin again. My skin.
“I don’t know… where I come from it isn’t so well accepted…”
“But now you’re here with me. And shame isn’t something I want you to feel…
Having one mate is just as normal as two or three mates.
And just because it might be rare, doesn’t mean it’s never happened.
In the long run, your soul would feel incomplete if you’re not fulfilling the bond.
I don’t want that for you. Your wellbeing is all I care for.
” I pressed a kiss on her hand and hugged her body closer to mine.
“Would you think it is even appropriate to be intimate now?”
Confusion went through me as I gripped her chin, making her focus on my eyes.
“Embracing our bond through pleasure is the most appropriate and right thing in the world… this is the first time you’ve let yourself feel something that isn’t pain,” I murmured against her neck. “Don’t you think Damien and Malakai want you to be taken care of?”
Instead of a response, she only gazed at me with those pretty brown eyes only begging for me. My shadows wrapped around her ankles, bringing her even closer to the place I longed to bury deep inside her.
“Do you want me to beg to taste you?” I asked.
A soft gasp escaped her lips… Oh yes, she did.
I gripped both of her legs firmly with my hands, guiding them up and setting them over my shoulders.
“What are you doing?” she asked, too oblivious for her own good.
“Open your legs for me,” I commanded. “Don’t be naughty. You know what happens then, right?”
The moment her thighs parted even a little, I widened them, gripping her soft flesh firmly in my hands, claiming every inch of her.
I felt her body respond without even thinking, her muscles relaxing just enough.
Good girl. I shoved her dress up in one rough motion, revealing the sinful scrap of black lace she wore beneath the innocent dress.
My cock throbbed painfully at the sight of her, so fucking perfect, so shamelessly mine.
It took all my self-control to not make her scream so loud that even the animals in the Whimsical Wilds would hear her.
“These—” I growled, tugging at the lace with my teeth until the fabric tore off, “—need to go my love… otherwise I can’t properly enjoy my own personal Wonderland between your legs and its sweet, precious nectar.”
Gwendolyn was barely able to catch a breath before my mouth was on her clit, devouring her with every part of my soul.
There was no patience left inside me, no slow, teasing games.
I knew she was in a vulnerable state right now, but I was barely able to keep myself in check when it came to her.
I feasted on her like a starving man, tongue stroking, lips pulling, drinking in every helpless sound she tried and failed to swallow.
She tasted like fucking heaven. Like something I would never, ever stop craving.
I was pretty sure I was gifted with lips to fulfill the purpose of tasting her.
“You taste so fucking amazing,” I rasped against her soaked folds, my arms tightening around her thighs, holding her to my face like she was my last breath. “I could spend an eternity doing this.”
Her body writhed against me, small, desperate sounds escaping her beautiful mouth. I palmed her breasts, squeezing and teasing her nipples through the fabric of her dress just to hear her whimper harder.
She was close, but I wanted more.
I slapped my hand over her mouth just as she was about to scream, silencing her with a sharp gaze, meant as a warning.
“Not yet,” I whispered against her dripping heat. “I’ll decide when you get to come.”
I needed her to stay on the edge as long as possible.
I wanted to see her broken and begging for me to stop.
I pressed her pussy even harder against my mouth, tongue lashing her clit until her whole body shook and then, just when she thought she could take no more, I sank my teeth into the sensitive flesh of her inner thigh.
A sharp, perfect cut caused and owned by me.
Her body jerked, the shock of pain twisting into pure, molten pleasure in my arms. I soothed the mark with my tongue, licking up the thin trail of blood with slow, savoring strokes.
She was trembling, gasping, moaning—and fuck if it wasn’t the most beautiful sight my eyes have ever witnessed. I pulled back just enough to look up at her, her cheeks flushed, her lips parted, eyes half-lidded and glassy with need. A need only I could satisfy.
“Such a filthy little demon,” I rasped, dragging my fingers down her trembling stomach. “You’re going to beg for me now, hmm?”
Gwendolyn whimpered, barely able to form words, and I grinned wickedly at her disheveled state.
“I want to hear you say it,” I commanded, rubbing slow, cruel circles around her clit, but not enough to bring her release. “Beg me to let you come.”
Her hips bucked against my hand, desperate, needy, her body betraying her pride. I slowed my touch even more, barely brushing her clit, and she let out a broken, helpless sound.
“Please,” she whimpered, her voice trembling. “Please, Xavier… let me come…”
I growled against her skin, savoring the way she surrendered to me, the way she yearned for me.
My fingers pressed harder against her swollen clit, this time with no mercy, circling fast and rough.
Her whole body tensed, trembling violently.
I could feel the way her thighs quivered over my shoulders, her breath hitching in desperate need for her release.
“Come for me,” I whispered darkly against her soaked folds, my tongue flicking cruelly over her clit as my fingers fucked into her at the same time.
She shattered instantly, crying out my name like a prayer and a curse all at once.
Her back arched, her hands tangling in my hair, trying to pull me closer, but there was no need for that.
I didn’t stop, I dragged it out until she was sobbing with overstimulation, her body twitching uncontrollably against my fingers.
I groaned, lifting my head to see her ruined, wrecked, and beautiful—exactly how I wanted her.
Every trembling, dripping inch of her was mine.
I licked my fingers, soaked in her luscious release, devouring every drop of her essence.
She was watching me, still panting from the pleasure I just made her feel.
My arms pulled her into an embrace, stroking over her back to calm down her heartbeat.
“It was intense…” she whispered, as she came down from her high.
A smile tugged at my lips, holding her in my arms. “I know, and it was just what this sweet body of yours needed.” My hands slid through her hair.
“Maybe someone has seen us...” she said.
“You mean Damien flying over in his dragon form?”
“You noticed?”
“Loving you, giving you pleasure, and cherishing you is my goddamn life’s task, and yes… whenever something inside of you changes, every emotion floods right through me too.”
“And it was okay for you that he watched us?”
“He probably flew to the Ancient Springs and accidentally captured your gaze,” I said with a smile, cradling her face in my hands, stroking over her face in soft circles.
“In my realm there will never be foreign eyes watching what belongs to me… nothing to worry about, my love. You are always safe with me.”
Gwendolyn was the goddess I’d kneel for, not even the water in the Ancient Springs could be as sacred as the sweet essence between her legs.
And there was no way I’d ever allow her to think any less of herself, especially not the shame of being drawn to all her mates.