Chapter 25 #2
I sink into the plush blankets, my body relaxing, though my pulse pounds with the anticipation thrumming through me.
Raven’s gaze follows my every movement, sharp and focused, a hunter watching his prey.
He moves with deliberate ease, the controlled prowl of someone who knows exactly what he’s doing.
From his pocket, he pulls lengths of gold silk, shimmering in the soft light. The sight of them pulls something deep inside me, an insistent tug of desire and surrender all at once.
“These caught my eye earlier,” he says, his voice dipping into something darker. “I couldn’t resist saving a few.”
The hint of a smile tugs at my lips, despite the heat pooling in my stomach. “You couldn’t resist shredding my silks?”
He leans over me, his weight pinning me to the bed. His lips hover just above mine as his hand wraps around one of my wrists. “No, princess,” he murmurs. “I couldn’t resist the thought of tying you up with them.”
The rush of heat that floods my body is near dizzying. I don’t resist as he weaves the silk around my wrists, the touch of it impossibly soft but binding all the same. He secures them above my head, his fingers lingering, brushing against the quickening beat of my pulse.
“Trust me?” he asks, amber eyes blazing as they lock on to mine.
My voice falters at first, but then the truth escapes, quiet yet certain. “Yes.”
The moment the word leaves my lips, his kiss takes it away. He claims my mouth with a raw intensity, his tongue teasing mine, lighting my senses on fire. Every nerve in my body hums, every muscle alive under the weight of his hands as he trails them down my sides.
When he pulls back, his breath is uneven, his eyes darkened further.
“Patience, princess,” is all he says as he slips the last strip of silk over my eyes.
The blindfold steals away the image of his heartbreaking face and plunges me into darkness.
Without my sight, I feel him everywhere—a whisper of warmth at my neck, a firmer grip at my hips, the press of his lips along my collarbone.
His warmth and touch vanish, leaving me feeling bereft.
A soft, involuntary whimper escapes my lips, met by a deep, husky chuckle.
The soft rustle of clothes falling to the floor is my only warning before the bed dips under his weight.
Strong, warm palms slide up the length of my legs until his fingers grip my knees and he spreads them apart.
My breath hitches in my throat, my heart pounding in tandem with the throbbing pulse between my legs. I try to clench my thighs together, desperately chasing the pleasure, but with a low growl he grips my knees more firmly and holds them apart.
I’ve never felt so exposed.
So vulnerable.
“I want to taste all of you.” His voice is rough with desire, and the longing buried beneath those words threatens to undo me.
His lips trace a slow, sacrilegious path from my ankles up my body. I feel every press, every flick of his tongue, like poetry whispered against my skin. When he pauses, his breath warm against the most sensitive part of me, I can’t stop the quiet, pleading sound that breaks free.
He holds back, the warmth of his breath teasing against my flesh.
Taunting.
Testing my resolve.
My wrists pull against the restraints, and my eyes strain as though, if I try hard enough, I might be able to see through the silk shielding my vision. The last strands of my self-control fray at the edges.
“Please,” I beg, arching my back, trying to close that final space between us.
“Tell me who you belong to, Starling. Even if it’s a lie.”
“Raven…” His name comes out as both a warning and a plea. The way he’s holding back is maddening, but intoxicating.
“Say the words, and I’ll give you what you want.”
“Yours,” I pant. “I’m yours.”
The words have barely left my lips before he strikes.
Devours me.
Consumes me.
His mouth claims all of me, every kiss, every caress pulling me higher and higher until I’m unraveling beneath him.
There’s no space, no time—only fire and shadows, and the feel of his name caught on my lips as I come apart.
I moan as he pushes his fingers into me, the firm strokes working in tandem with his tongue.
I’m burning with a need hot enough to rival a wildfire.
Lust sears the blood in my veins as the sweetest pressure builds low in my stomach.
It doesn’t take long at all before I shatter with my release. Shards of intense pleasure ricochet through me, white light flashing behind my eyelids.
Without waiting for me to recover, his lips hungrily claim mine at the same moment he enters me with a single thrust. I cry out, and he swallows the sound, the evidence of my release mingling with the taste of him as our tongues tangle.
I wrap my legs around his waist, drawing him closer, needing him deeper. My arms strain against their bindings, wanting to touch him, to feel his muscles tensing and run my fingers through his hair. The frustration only adds to the heat building within me again.
“Not yet.” His tone leaves me with no choice but to obey.
I hold on to the last remnants of my restraint. But each movement, each roll of his hips, has tension coiling. My moans sound louder, my breathing becomes ragged, and I reach the point where I can no longer hold on.
“Now, princess.”
His command is all it takes to tip me over the edge.
My body shudders from the intensity of the sensations ripping through me, and I’m torn between the sensations of falling and flying.
Raven silences my cry with his mouth over mine as he continues to move within me, dragging out my climax with each stroke. He tenses and lets out a guttural moan, biting down on the curve of my neck to smother the sound.
His arms give out, and the weight of his body presses me further into the bed. I lie there, cocooned in his warmth and floating on a cloud of pure bliss. Our ragged breaths are the only sounds amid the silence.
When the blindfold finally slips away, his face is the first thing I see, hovering above me, his expression softer now—a reflection of the connection neither of us dares to speak aloud. His fingertips trace along my jaw, memorizing me.
“Raven,” I begin, my voice quieter now, filled with questions I’m not sure I truly want answered.
But he just smiles, brushing his lips against mine. “Not tonight, El. Tonight, all I want is you.”
If not tonight, then when?
I choose to leave the question unspoken, offering him a small smile instead, trying to pretend my heart isn’t breaking. But I see the same pain reflected in his honeyed eyes.
Raven lifts his hands, unfastening the silken ties before lowering himself back down. What follows is a slow, tantalizing dance of teasing tongues and gentle, unhurried touches. Each caress and breathless moan stirring the embers of our desire.
I give in to it, succumbing to the fire, letting myself be consumed by the flames.