Chapter 41 #2
After dinner, Elias convinces us to end the evening at Hollows Tavern.
Somehow, Em was able to drag Zane up with him for the open mic portion of the night.
I was surprised to find out that Zane can actually hold a tune…
Emeric, on the other hand, not so much. Once Emeric dove headfirst off the small stage, we decided it was time to head out.
First Amaya with the flower bed and now Em with the stage.
Who will be Hollow’s next victim?
“Hello, dear maiden. May I accompany you to your room?”
I look up at Damien, who throws his arm over my shoulder. “Officer Delecroix, are you trying to take advantage of me?”
“Seeing as how I’m the one stumbling, I think you’re the one taking advantage of me.”
“Well, in that case, follow me.” The two of us carry on while the rest of the group stumbles slowly behind us. Once we make it a few feet away from my room, I grab the tie that he loosened hours ago, guiding him to my door. When we get inside, I close the door behind me. “Take off your pants.”
Damien throws his hands in the air. “Yes, ma’am. Whatever you say.”
I push him onto my bed and climb on top of him. He instantly wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him. Our lips collide as our tongues fight for dominance over one another. I can still taste the sweet wine on his lips.
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of you,” he whispers into my ear.
“I hope you never do.” My heat begins to rise, but I push it back down.
“Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
Damien wraps one of my front curls around his finger. “Don’t extinguish yourself for me. I want to be with you as you truly are.”
“Are you sure?”
“I can handle you,” he promises with a deep kiss that makes my skin glow orange with power. When he pulls away, he slowly runs his eyes down my body. “I want to see them.”
I glance around the room at all the things that would catch fire if I released the hold on my wings.
“It’s too dangerous.”
His mouth curves into a mischievous grin. “It’s a good thing I already had a witch cast a protective spell then.”
“You what?” I sit up, taking in his perfect physique lying beneath me.
“I want you, Reign. All of you.” He runs his hands up my thighs, begging me with his pleading eyes. “You’re safe with me.”
It’s not like he hasn’t seen them before, but this feels different. It feels vulnerable and scary. I’ve spent so much of my life making myself invisible that it feels wrong to be seen. To be known.
“I’m scared,” I admit as he lightly traces my shoulder blades with his fingers.
“I’ll never not love you.” He sits up and kisses my forehead. “Your power is beautiful, just like your soul, and it deserves to be appreciated.”
I lean my forehead against his and close my eyes. The room immediately heats, but I keep my eyes tightly shut as my wings stretch out behind me.
Damien pulls away. “Can I touch them?”
My eyes fly open at his request. “You want to?”
He looks at me, running his finger down the side of my face. “I want to memorize every inch of you. Fiery wings and all.” He pulls my chin closer and kisses me so intensely that my stomach somersaults. “There’s no part of you I don’t want to explore.”
As if my wings have a mind of their own, they flare, and it’s all the permission he needs.
I watch as his eyes drift to the top curve of my left wing.
His touch is gentle, and yet the feeling of it electrifies my entire body.
My fingers dig into his shoulders, and he immediately pulls his hand away.
“No, don’t stop,” I beg.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You’re not. Please keep going.”
The wicked curve of his mouth tells me he understands. Before he even touches them again, I can feel my flames reaching for him. I move my hands to his hair and brace myself.
This time, Damien is less cautious. His fingers run along the top, and I can’t stop the whimper that slips from my lips.
“What’s it feel like?” he asks into my ear as he works his way down the inner part where my glowing feathers shimmy in response.
I cling to him tighter, pressing my body into his. “It feels like I’m falling through an endless sky. It’s exhilarating and scary.” Each second it gets harder to breathe. “It’s addicting,” I whisper, letting my lips lightly graze his ear.
His free hand squeezes my ass as the rest of his body tenses, and it’s the response I was hoping for. It’s not fair for me to be the only one losing control.
“And what about now?” he asks just before leaning closer to blow on them. Words are impossible to form as my body shakes with pleasure. My thighs tighten around him, and I moan as the orgasm clouds my thoughts. “Mm, that’s good to know,” he taunts in a low rasp.
It takes a moment for me to regain my senses, but when I do, I push him back down into the silk sheets.
“My turn,” I command as I slide down, making sure to keep eye contact.
His eyes go wide when my hand wraps around him.
With each stroke, he becomes harder, and when my tongue circles the ridge of his tip, his eyes roll back.
There’s a sense of accomplishment seeing him unravel, and I let my wings stretch over us as I claim him with my mouth.
His breath catches when he reaches the back of my throat, and I savor the feeling of control I have over him.
His hands clutch my hair as his hips buckle. I pull away and run my tongue up the side of his length, following the path again with slow, deliberate kisses. He curses my name, and our eyes lock.
“Not yet,” I order with my own wicked grin.
He falls back again, surrendering to my demand. I lick up the bit of him that he can’t hold back and work my hand and mouth in a quick rhythm that I know he won’t be able to handle. With one final stroke, his abs flex and his body tenses as he floods my mouth with the taste of him.
The control I basked in a moment ago is quickly replaced by submissiveness when he pulls me up and flips me over onto my back. I would’ve expected my wings to catch, but they don’t. They move with me just as naturally as the rest of my body.
“It seems your mouth is just as dangerous as the rest of you,” he says, his eyes narrowing on my glowing body laid underneath him.
“You said you could handle me,” I challenge, biting my bottom lip.
“Is that what you want? To be handled?”
He leans down, stopping a few inches from my face. I nod, and a moment later his pupils turn into slits, and sharp claws replace his fingers. My jaw falls open, and it’s clear from the satisfied look on his face that my reaction was exactly what he wanted.
I’ve never seen him only partly shift before.
Most shapeshifters don’t have that kind of control, but apparently, he does.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I know he’s far more advanced than most, but still.
Seeing him like this is… hot. Something about seeing the beast in him come out is sexy, and I find myself being even more turned on.
I realize now maybe that’s how he feels seeing my wings.
It’s the two parts of us coming together as one.
“Thank you,” I say, running my thumbs along the side of his eyes that now resemble his dragon form.
“Don’t thank me yet,” he growls, dragging one of his claws down the middle of my naked body.
Though they are sharp, deadly weapons, the tender graze he traces along my skin tickles. When he reaches my navel, he redirects his attention to my wings that are splayed out on the bed around me.
“Hold still,” he orders, wrapping one of his clawed hands around my throat.
I swallow hard, waiting to feel the sensitive touch against the top curve of my wing. Instead, I reflexively arch when his claws run down the feathers closest to my shoulder blades. The sensation makes me writhe beneath him, and his hand tightens around my throat, causing me to glow brighter.
Something about the sharpness of his claws lightly pressing into my neck makes me grow hot all over. I reach for his cock that is already hard again, and he allows me to guide him into me.
Intense heat seems to radiate from both of us as he slides himself deeper into my core.
The attention he had previously fixated on my wings has now been redirected to my aching breasts.
His eyes suddenly go dark, and he grips my hip with his claws, digging them into me with enough control that it doesn’t hurt.
As his lips wrap around my peaked nipple, his other hand releases my throat and crawls up the side of my face.
He moans into me, and I grind my hips, demanding more attention down below. He quickly shoots up, pulling me off the bed before I can even react. The gentleness he used earlier seems to vanish as he turns me around and bends me over with controlled assertiveness.
My fists clutch the sheets that have grown hot from our radiating heat as he trails a claw slowly down my spine. Once he reaches the lowest part of my back, he grips both of my hips and thrusts himself into me. I immediately gasp, and he seems to take it as a sign to keep going.
Each movement he makes has my breath catching. His hand wraps around the back of my neck like a collar, and I welcome the feeling of dominance.
“Are you ready, Reign?”
I nod with a pleading whimper, and he drives himself so deep inside me that my body can no longer hang on. Both of us tremble as white-hot pleasure takes over. Seconds later, my wings go limp with the rest of my body, and he guides us both back onto the bed.
“That was—” I try between breaths.
“I know.”
He kisses me sweetly, and when he pulls away, his eyes are back to normal. A moment later, the glow of my heat fades, taking my wings with it. There’s too much space between us so I inch myself closer until we’re intertwined with one another. The two of us lie silent, breathing each other in.
Witch. Phoenix. It doesn’t matter. He accepts every part of me. Loving me just as I am, embracing my fire as if it were his own. It’s different and special, and somehow, being consumed by our heat tonight reminds me just how much sense we make together.