Chapter 12 #2
The first sensation to cross her lips was the smooth, breaded crust that yielded easily beneath her teeth, followed by the fluffy custard that melted on her tongue.
The honey drizzled on top added a sweet contrast to the sharpness of the lingering champagne, creating a delightful balance of flavors.
Leaning her head back against his arm, eyes still closed, she moaned as the delicate, sweet custard wrapped its way around her tongue, the amber honey melting against the roof of her mouth.
Then she caught a whiff of something far more enticing. Turning her head, she breathed in the fragrant notes of his cologne as she chewed.
An arm wrapped around her.
“How does it taste?”
Lestis’s question took a moment to register in her mind. Fluttering her eyes open, she locked eyes with him just as she swallowed.
“It’s nothing like anything I’ve tasted before,” she said dreamily. None of the food she had tonight compared to anything she’d experienced before—except maybe the two drinks she had at Midnight Jungle and the hotel shortly after.
“Silkhoney, made by the chefs of Sirocco Halls, is quite the delicacy,” he agreed, bringing the pie to her lips for another bite. “Of course, I am biased; no other region could ever compare to mine. Open.”
She kept her gaze on his as she took another bite, his eyes flicking to her lips as she poked her tongue out to swipe at a stray crumb.
Thinking as she chewed, she asked after swallowing her second bite, “Silkhoney? What is that?” He said it as if it were a common dessert, but she’d never heard of it.
Raising a single brow, he questioned back, “You’ve never heard of silkhoney?”
She shook her head. “Is it a common dessert?” Maybe it was outside of America, she didn’t know. Her knowledge of worldly desserts was below the minimum.
Lestis furrowed his brows and cocked his head. “Is this your first time tasting silkhoney?” He sounded genuinely mystified.
“It is. I’ve never even heard of it before,” she confirmed, her head still lying back on the sofa atop his arm. She hadn’t realized how close they had gotten but felt rather comfortable, so she didn’t bother to move.
Curiosity flashed through his eyes. “How old are you, Love?”
“Twenty-six.”
His eyebrows shot up at that. “You’re so young to the world. I’m surprised you know anything,” he teased.
She scoffed. “And just how old are you?” She couldn’t imagine he was more than thirty-five himself. How much more could he possibly know than her?
His lips did that twitching thing again, as if he was trying to keep his amusement to himself. “I’ve made it to 233 years.”
She snorted, and when she saw how serious he was, she couldn’t help but laugh in his face.
“I don’t see what’s so amusing about that, love. But—” Soraya covered her mouth when a snort-laugh escaped her. “You’re laugh is quite charming.”
She playfully slapped his chest. “Don’t make fun of my laugh, old man.”
“Old man?” he asked, chuckling. “I suppose to you, I’m ancient.”
Soraya nodded her head. “Oh yeah, there’s no doubt about that, geezer. I’m surprised you managed to get out of bed this morning.”
He smiled then, laughing not in that polite or amused way he had been sharing with her all evening, but a genuine warmth that revealed his white teeth, his sharp canines scraping against his bottom lip. She found it charming—and his husky laugh ignited a warmth deep within her.
Not holding herself back, she placed a hand on his chest and leaned in to place a light kiss on the corner of his mouth.
Pulling back just a fraction, she looked at his lips before bringing her eyes to meet his.
His smile slowly faded as his hand moved to the back of her head. Gripping her hair loosely, he pulled her in for another willing kiss.
His hot mouth brushed against hers, and her tongue—with a mind of its own—darted out to run across the seam of his lips.
Lestis closed the distance and fused their mouths together, catching her tongue, he sucked on it gently. Each sucking kiss stoked the warmth between her legs, and she could feel her arousal begin to pool between her legs.
Her breath stuttered as he pulled away, trailing kisses along her jaw.
A blast of wind hurled its way through the room, ripping at the gauze curtains and making them rattle against the metal rod they hung on.
Soraya jerked at the sound, getting to her knees like she was about to bolt.
Her heart thundered in her chest, and her wide eyes fixed on the lattice door, its looming presence had never truly left her mind.
“Love?” Lestis’s seeking gaze pulled her attention.
She realized how insane she must look, jumping at the wind. “I’m not usually this jumpy, and it has nothing to do with you,” she hurried to clarify. “I just…” She trailed off, eyes darting to the lattice door.
His eyes softened a fraction as he noticed the shadow of fear flicker across her face. “It’s okay, Soraya. It’s just Zerif’s winds. You don’t know—being so new to life—but they’re quite frequent this time of year,” he teased, trying to help put her at ease.
It worked. Rolling her eyes, she scoffed, “Oh yeah, what else don’t I know?” Still on her knees, she gave him a defiant glare, placing her hands on her hips.
His eyes dropped down her body before darting back up to her face. “You’d look better without that scrap of fabric wrapped between your legs.”
Soraya’s defiance slipped; she hadn’t expected him to say that. “Oh, yeah?” she asked in a husky voice. Standing fully, she looked down at him. “Then take them off and let me decide that for myself.”
A slow smirk spread across his lips. Soraya thought that since he had been giving her orders all night, it was finally his turn to do something she wanted.
“With pleasure.”
Placing his hands near her ankles, just above the strap of her heels, he trailed his hands up her legs, dragging the dress as he went. Between the fabric of her gown and his calloused hands, she shivered and shivered again when he brushed against the sides of her sensitive thighs.
As his hands inched higher, the dress drooped down her front, while he fully exposed her legs to his wandering eyes.
Hands scraping against her hips, he hooked his fingers into the sides of her underwear and slowly slid them down her legs. She felt cool air meet her hot center, causing her to bite her lip.
He dropped her underwear around her feet and leaned back into the sofa, scrubbing a hand down his mouth.
“So—” His eyes trailed over her body, pausing briefly between her thighs as if he could see through the dress before flicking his gaze back up to meet hers. “How does it feel now, love?”
Maneuvering her heeled feet, she stepped out of her panties. The cool, slick fabric of the dress brushed against her backside in an unexpected, exhilarating way.
She twisted her hips, making her dress swish around her legs, the fabric tickling her skin and causing goosebumps to erupt all over her.
Soraya shrugged her shoulders. “It’s alright.” While she loved the feel of the material against her now-exposed skin, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of teaching her something she didn’t know at “her young age.”
“Turn around,” he ordered.
She crossed her arms.
With patience, he rested his arms on the back of the yellow sofa and looked at her expectantly, his face a blank mask. This was not a man used to being disobeyed.
Interested to see where this was headed, she rolled her eyes and turned—slowly—until she was facing the wooden door. She looked at the latticework and watched as a silent, shadowy figure strode by.
“Sit.”
His second command made her back stiffen, but only for a moment. With an evil thought, she did as he asked. Bending over, she ensured he got a full face of her ass before sliding it down his chest until she sat herself between his legs.
Once she settled between his thick quads, she felt something hard push against her lower back. Smiling to herself, she wriggled her bottom, trying to get comfortable, and a dark, promising laugh met her ears.
Grinning, she lounged back against him and rested her head on his shoulder. “Do you have any more orders for me, Lestis?” She was testing him, just to see how far she could push him.
His hand shot up, wrapping around her neck with such casual speed that it froze her in place. He brought his lips close to her ear and, in a deep, sensual voice, murmured, “Oh, Love. If you want to play with me, I can guarantee I will have you crawling by the end of it.”
A pulse of pleasure shot through her clit as her thighs squeezed together. Her arousal had been building slowly, and now with her underwear gone, she felt wetness coating her inner thighs, making them slick as she rubbed them together.
Soraya hadn’t realized just how wet she had gotten and wondered if it was normal for her to be this turned on in such a short amount of time.
Then decided it didn’t matter.
A shaky laugh escaped her as she turned her head to look at him, his hand still wrapped around her throat. “Do you promise?”
A wicked grin slashed across his face, revealing for the first time the primal male lurking beneath the facade of the gentleman.