Chapter 25 #2
Rowan huffs under his breath, but he doesn’t pull away.
He usually hides everything so well. I’ve seen him in class, sitting behind the Noctis for hours without giving anything away.
His face is usually a mask carved into place.
Controlled the way he plays the Noctis, every movement measured, every feeling hidden somewhere beneath the music.
Which is exactly why moments like this destroy me.
Because right now, Rowan isn’t hiding anything.
I can see every reaction. Every flicker of uncertainty. Every flash of want. Every shallow breath he’s trying not to let me hear. And Light, I never get tired of being the one who pulls those things out of him.
Maybe that’s the part I like most. The fact that Rowan gives almost nothing away to anyone else, but he gives it to me.
His annoyance. His temper. His jealousy. His want. I get all of it.
I want all of it.
“Smug,” Rowan mutters.
A laugh slips out of me. “You noticed?”
His eyes narrow. “Kind of hard to miss.”
The satisfaction that shoots through me is probably unhealthy, and I honestly don’t care.
As if realizing exactly what he’s admitted, Rowan rolls his eyes and reaches for the hem of my pants.
I let him. “What are you doing?”
“Getting rid of the problem.”
“You’re a bold one when you want to be, aren’t you?”
“Shut up, Ciaran.”
I obey for approximately half a second. Then we’re both kicking our pants and boxers onto the floor. I get an arm under him and haul us both onto the bed.
We’re chest to chest, fully naked, nothing between us but the silk sheet I’ll be mourning later.
His chest thuds against mine, and heat coils low in my stomach at the feeling of his erection rubbing against my thigh.
I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the sensation of his warm flesh pressed against mine.
Or the knowledge that he wants me as much as I want him.
I cup him, and his low, rough voice brushes close to my mouth. “I like it when you do that.”
Light. I catch the words before he does.
Rowan seems to realize it a second later. I register the way his pupils dilate, his mouth parting just enough for me to see the tip of his tongue before he looks away.
And there it is again. The thing Rowan never seems to realize he’s doing. The way he leans into every scrap of attention I give him while pretending he doesn’t need it. The way he goes soft whenever I make it clear I chose him. Like some stubborn creature that keeps expecting me to let go.
“Oh?” I grin. “You like that?”
Color rushes into his face. “Don’t ask.”
“Mouse,” I murmur against his mouth. “Was that a compliment?”
“No.”
Too fast.
I stare at him. “Rowan...”
His eyes narrow. “You’re doing that on purpose, aren’t you?”
“Maybe.”
I grin, and it ends in a moan because I’m licking a trail down the center of his chest, my mouth watering and my dick throbbing in my hand.
“Or maybe you just love being used...” I trail off, lifting my eyes back to him. “I can see how badly you want to be taken in charge. You’re making a mess as usual.”
Precum already coats the tip and slicks across my hand, making everything easier.
“You like it.” He thrusts powerfully, pushing his hips forward into my heat.
“What was that?” My words come out muffled because I’m kissing and nipping my way across his chest, watching every reaction I can pull from him.
My body reacts to him automatically now, balls drawing up.
Not because of what he’s doing, but because of the sounds he makes for me.
The way his breathing keeps catching. The way he arches closer without realizing it.
Every little reaction winds me tighter. One hand grips his hip, the other rubs him with violent urgency, only to ease up the next second, making him shudder beneath my hands.
“Please...” Rowan catches a fistful of my hair, his voice rougher than before. “That’s not fair.”
I glance up. “What isn’t?”
“You love that I’m so... so hot and bothered for you,” he pants, yanking at my hair. “You know exactly what you’re doing to me.”
I huff a chuckle that vibrates against his nipple. “You make me horny, you fucking menace.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you. Why do you think I keep coming back? Something about you, mouse...”
He goes quiet, waiting for me to finish, but I don’t. I just watch anticipation spread across his face and enjoy it.
Fuck. This feisty creature is my own brand of crazy. I love the tinge of pain, the way his skin seeks the rough squeeze of my hands.
“Something about you...” I repeat, this time biting and sucking along the lines of his V, lingering there far too long.
He notices what I'm doing somewhere around my third mark and goes still under my mouth. "Halvern's going to see that tomorrow."
"I know." I don't stop. "That's most of the appeal."
"You're a menace."
"Mm." I shift lower between his legs and settle there, still deciding exactly what to do with him. "Tell me to stop."
He doesn’t. He goes quiet in a way that isn't reluctance.
I’ll fucking take it.
Leaning in, I watch his face as I try to figure out what he likes most. And fuck me, the sight of it nearly undoes me—his full, wet lips parted as I take him in, licking away the precum with a low moan.
“That’s it,” I murmur, my voice rough. “Just like that. So fucking beautiful.”
His lashes lower at the praise.
And Light, that gets me every time. Somewhere deep in my bones, I know there’ll never be anyone else after me.
The thought alone pours fuel on the fire already burning through my veins.
Rowan always pretends he doesn’t need reassurance, but the second he gets it, something softens in his expression.
“Good,” I tell him, unable to keep the satisfaction out of my voice. “There you go, mouse.”
His fingers tighten in my hair, his back arching as he follows my lead. The look of pure, shattered ruin he sends me nearly strips the remaining thoughts from my head. I shift, my hands sliding up to his thighs to spread him wider.
I rock my face forward, taking more of him. I use my own saliva as lube, coating the length of his cock until it glistens under the dim light, then I slide all the way down. I watch him follow the movement like a very good boy, his eyes locked on mine while his breath comes in fractured gasps.
Once I bathe the length in my spit, I lick the underside before catching the crown again. I suck harder this time, the friction nearly exorcising his soul from his body.
“Mm, yes. Your mouth feels so good, Ciaran.” Rowan’s voice is a wrecked whisper, his pride melting into desperate need.
“Does it feel better when I’m quiet?” I murmur against the head of his cock as it drags heavy against my lips.
The purple veins throb, demanding access to that wet heat again.
I reach up and tangle his fingers deep in my hair, my knuckles turning white as I force his hand to hold me there.
“If you stop pulling me now, mouse, I’ll make you regret ever having a tongue. ”
I hum, liking the way he trembles as I suck harder, taking him halfway in. I keep my eyes square on his, forcing him to witness exactly what I’m doing to him. His fingers dig into the bedsheets, his back arching off the mattress in torture as the friction burns.
“Holy... more, Ciaran. I need more.”
"Not there." I catch his wrist and move it off the sheets. "Here. Where I can feel it."
His fingers close in my hair before I've finished, and the grip he settles into isn't tentative at all.
My moan vibrates against his cock, sending another jolt through his system. I take him deeper, swallowing more than most can manage. He’s big, and my throat strains to accommodate him. I’m gagging, my eyes watering, but I handle the weight of him with a hunter’s focus.
And he’s my prey.
“You training that gag reflex for me?” he asks in rough, broken words. His voice is thinned by the pressure, but I can feel the smug edge of it vibrating against my tongue. I look up at him with a grin, relishing the way he looks so completely undone, and take even more.
He gasps, his fingers spasming in my hair. “You’re going to take all of it, aren’t you?”
“Mm.”
I move my hands from his thighs to dig my fingertips into his hips, anchoring him. He shakes his head, his gaze locked on mine the whole time. He’s searching for affirmation, for some sign that I’m not going anywhere, and when I nod, he plunges deeper.
It makes me feel like I’m about to come apart at the seams. This gorgeous man is burning through his every defense just to feel me.
I take him all the way to the back of my throat, slurping and smacking against the meat of him before I pull back, breathing harshly. My saliva coats his dick as I growl.
“I could stay down here until you forget your own name.” My mouth drags over him. “Say the word and I will."
His skin flushes deep, a tell-tale sign that he doesn’t want to admit how much he starves for the sensation. Seeing that skittish pride in him—the way he’s so clearly undone—makes a new, jagged level of possessiveness claw at my chest. He is mine to break, and mine to fill.
“We’ve wasted enough time,” I whisper, my fingers tightening on his hips as I drag my head back down.
A low hum vibrates out of me as I swallow him, bobbing along the shaft until he’s buried deep in my throat.
Saliva and precum slick him up. The sloppy, wet sounds fill the room, stripping away the last of his control.
The sight alone, my lips wrapped around him, my mouth stretching wide to accommodate his size, is enough to break him.
He’s finished. A complete goner in my hands.
“I’m so close,” he groans, the words fraying. “Yes... Ciaran, please.”
“Mm,” I growl around him. I move faster, harder, driven by that same violent force that sparks whenever we collide.
And then he breaks. He bursts inside my mouth, and I take it all. I suck, lick, and drain every spurt like I’m starving for it.
“Yes... take it all,” he chokes out, his grip going rigid in my hair.