Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
ARKEN
The risk I’d taken was calculated.
I felt at ease in my own body, that was true enough.
I was proud of it. And I was all too happy to put Kieran’s handiwork on display, revealing every little bruise and bitemark he’d left scattered across my skin.
He certainly seemed to be enjoying the view as I lifted up my skirts, exposing myself to the elements.
A lazy, self-satisfied smirk had curled across Kieran’s mouth as he tucked both hands behind his head, watching me in weighted silence as I stripped down to my nethers.
His glacial gaze was wolfish and hungry, but also slow and methodical…
like he was savoring every second. Like he wanted to take his godsdamned time before eating me alive.
I also knew there was no chance in Hel that Kier would have taken me out, whispering such sweet and salacious nothings in my ear, offering promises of delayed gratification if he hadn’t fully intended on making good.
Nor would he have brought me here, deep into the secluded depths of the Wyldwoods, if there was even a remote possibility we might be interrupted.
Because if I had learned anything new about him over these last few days of blissful isolation—other than his inhuman levels of stamina—it was that Kieran Vistarii had a vicious little possessive streak in his blood…And I liked it. Good fucking gods, I liked it.
Do you really think I’d let anybody else see this pretty little cunt of yours in broad daylight?
No, he most certainly would not. I knew it.
I felt it in my bones as he watched me strip, maintaining fierce eye contact as each article of clothing fell by the wayside.
Kieran didn’t even need to put his hands on me to lay claim to my body—the intensity of his darkening gaze alone left me feeling like it was his and his alone.
His to view, his to possess, his to own and touch and torment and… perhaps even protect.
This is mine…Do you really think I’d ever willingly share this?
Those earlier-spoken words still echoed in my mind, for more than one reason.
And so it wasn’t really much of a risk at all, was it?
Getting naked on the beach, indulging in the warmth and freedom of the afternoon sun, standing bare before a man who looked at me like I was Source-blessed.
I couldn’t say I’d done anything like this before, but my insecurities were nowhere to be found, lost to the wind alongside my hesitations, my anxieties.
If this was a risk, it certainly paled in comparison to every other reckless act and rule we’d broken as of late, but I didn’t care about that, either.
I didn’t care about much of anything right now, save for getting Kieran’s hands back on me.
Back where they belonged.
And I had grown tired of waiting.
“Well?” I demanded. “Are you going to come swim with me, or not?”
“Oh, is that what we’re doing now?” Kieran teased. His tone might’ve remained casual, but the way he palmed his stiffening cock above his pants was anything but.
“That’s what I’m doing,” I informed him. “But feel free to stay over there and play with yourself if that’s what you’d prefer, Captain.”
I tossed my hair over one shoulder and began to drift toward the shore, where small waves were lapping gently over the fine sand, pebbles, and crushed shells beneath my feet. I shivered with pleasure upon dipping my toes in, discovering the waters to be even warmer than the breeze.
“I’d much rather have you play with me,” Kieran drawled behind my back.
The tip of my tongue ran across my lower lip, glossing it with anticipation as I glanced over my shoulder with lust-laden, half-lidded eyes.
“So come play,” I murmured.
I only turned to face him again once I’d made my first descent into the lake, wandering in about chest-deep, almost fully submerged in the pleasant, crystalline waters.
I found myself briefly distracted by the sensation of it all—the Water aether so lively and effervescent that I had to concentrate to pull my Resonance back, to resist the urge to play with the currents.
Gods, I missed swimming.
When I glanced back up at Kieran, I was pleased to find the man was finally on his feet—shucking off his belt, pants, and tunic like his godsdamned life depended on it.
That’s more like it.
It was only the warmth of the lake that kept me from shivering once Kieran was finally naked.
His sun-bronzed, muscular frame was luminous, almost glimmering in the golden afternoon light as he took several slinking steps toward me.
Greedily, I drank him in, lapping at the strange, jagged script that crawled up one side of his neck, sipping on every little nick and scar marring the otherwise flawless and lean muscle that corded his arms, his chest, his torso.
And there, beneath the cut of his pelvic lines and that thin, teasing trail of dark hair…
standing proud between two sleek and formidable thighs, was that perfect fucking cock.
Abyss take me.
“Whatcha staring at, Little Conduit?” Kieran purred, tilting his head to one side as his legs cut through the cerulean waterfront with ease. He was only a few feet away from me now, and every step forward felt predatory, scattering my pulse.
“What you told me not to stare at this morning.”
“Ah. You’re not very good at following instructions, are you?”
“I can be,” I replied, still staring. A gleaming drop of precum had formed, beading at the thickened head, only to be washed away as his hips sank beneath the surface. “Under the right circumstances.”
“Mmm, and what circumstances are those?” Kieran bridged the distance in full, sliding one arm around my waist under the water, drawing our bodies in close.
“I’m sure you’ll figure it out eventually,” I breathed.
“Eventually,” he murmured in agreement, moving his mouth toward mine.
I might’ve elaborated, might’ve hinted toward what I’d been craving, but all manner of thought and consideration had eddied from my mind in a single breath. Within seconds, our lips met—and once again, I was hopelessly consumed by the deadly kiss of Kieran fucking Vistarii.
His tongue slid into my mouth without preamble, tangling with my own in an inebriating blend of force and ease.
I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen the man eat an orange, and yet he still tasted vaguely of citrus and spice, of black tea and something else, something I couldn’t name.
With each gasping breath, our submerged bodies slid against each other, the sensation silky and slick, making every motion more fluid and frantic and heightened.
I whimpered when Kieran grabbed my ass and bucked his hips, the tip of his erection teasing between my thighs. Encouraging the act, I bit down on his lower lip, sucking it into my eager mouth until I drew a long groan from his throat.
“Fuck, Arken,” he breathed against my mouth.
“Missed you,” I whispered back.
His hips continued to rock as his hands slid from my ass to my waist, steadying me as his cock edged back and forth between my legs.
Our kisses grew feral and frenzied, reduced to a gnashing of teeth and tongues, sucking and biting until I could taste blood on my tongue—though whose it was, I couldn’t say.
I was far too focused on the stiff length of him fucking my thighs, faster and faster still, each thrust and withdrawal nudging at my clit until I was a quivering mess.
Kieran’s hands found easier purchase in my hair now that it was wet, and my eyes shot open with a gasp when he tugged hard on those dripping tresses, exposing my throat to his voracity.
“Missed you more,” Kieran growled, just before sinking his teeth in.
With my head forced back like this, eyelids fluttering as I felt my flesh ache and sing beneath his succor, I caught glimpses of the glimmering grotto across the way.
Moss and hanging vines draped over the mouth of the cavern, with only flickers of light to be found inside its darkened maw, leaving me ever so curious about what else might lie within.
Kieran said astral quartz formed within those caverns, and despite the perfect pleasure he was delivering, an intrusive thought rose to the surface of my consciousness, taking hold just long enough for me to act on impulse.
The minute Kier released his hold on my hair, the scheme was set in motion.
I slid my hands down from where they’d been clawing at his back, letting them drift between his legs.
His dark, wet eyelashes dusted his cheekbones, eyes closing as he released a soft, rasping sound of pleasure when I took hold of his twitching cock.
I gave it one slow and affectionate stroke, base to tip, before tightening my grip the way I knew he liked it…
And then I withdrew, placing both of my hands on his shoulders.
“Apologies in advance,” I whispered, biting back a giggle when his eyes opened, brows furrowing.
Before Kieran could ask me what I meant by that, his head was underwater. Using all my might, I’d pushed him down and then quickly lifted my legs up and used his submerged shoulders as a springboard, propelling myself forward.
The giggles finally escaped once I heard him resurface, coughing and sputtering. Meanwhile, I was already well on my way to the other side of Lake Eidrytch.
“Oh, you little—” Kieran growled as I kept swimming. He might’ve been perfectly capable of running laps around me on dry land, but this was my element. Or so I’d thought.
I kept my strokes hard and swift, cutting through the water expeditiously, but it wasn’t long before Kieran started gaining on me.
“Get your ass back here,” he snarled.
“You’ll have to catch me first,” I laughed, channeling my newfound strength and stamina from training into my arms and legs. I might’ve let my feet break the surface a couple times, just to splash water in his face. Maybe.
We were nearly halfway to the grotto when I was suddenly jerked backward, Kieran’s iron grip taking hold of my ankle and pulling me back toward him with force.
I half expected him to stop there, perhaps to resume our previous activities, but no.
His eyes simply narrowed as we both treaded water for a moment, breathing hard.
Distracted by the glistening rivulets of fresh water running down his face and my unholy urge to drink them from his skin, I somehow didn’t see it coming.
In one fell swoop, I discovered it was my turn to be dunked beneath the depths, though Kieran was at least enough of a gentleman not to use my body as a launch point, the way I had his. He just started to swim, even faster than before, toward the rocky caverns ahead.
“Bastard!” I exclaimed.
“Catch up, Little Conduit,” he laughed, turning to face me while backstroking his way across the lake.
I set my jaw, determined to beat that bastard’s ass to the other side.
I swam like my life depended on it.