16. Submit to Temptation #2
Damien poured the wine into the two goblets, his dark brown eyes never leaving me. I could feel his gaze slowly yet covetously roaming around my body, from my face to my chest, then my crotch, my legs ... I felt like I was undressed by his eyes, piece by piece.
“Come here, I won’t bite ... yet.” His smirk was impish, as though daring me.
I muttered a curse, but let my legs carry me to his side.
He raised a wine-filled goblet to my lips.
I tried to take it, but he pulled it back slightly; his eyes glistened ominously.
“Drink,” he said simply, his tone commanding.
That was when I realized he wanted me to drink from his hand...
the audacity! I glared at him, and for a few seconds, the air between us was still, taut with tension.
I could grab the cup and throw the drink in his face, then storm away ...
but instead, I leaned in and pressed my lips to the edge of the silver cup.
He smiled in approval, tilting the goblet and letting the dark red liquid trickle into my mouth. I drank eagerly, though he still poured too fast. The wine trickled down the corners of my mouth and slithered along my neck.
I finished every last drop of the wine, and he removed the goblet. He stared at me, as though enchanted, then he ran his thumb over my wine-stained lips, pressing the tip of his thumb into my mouth.
I wasn’t sure why I just stood there and let him do that. I had to be out of my mind.
He withdrew his thumb, grabbed my hair at the back of my neck, and pressed his lips against mine.
Rather than kissing, it felt more like he was licking the wine from my lips, then tracing the drips down my chin, down my neck.
He pulled my collar open and buried his nose in my scent gland, inhaling greedily.
“The mask is wearing off, I can finally smell you again ...” He muttered into my neck. “How can you smell so good?”
I didn’t want to tell him I intentionally didn’t reapply the scent mask, just so he could smell me ...
He began to lick the skin around my scent gland, and I suddenly grew alarmed, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him away.
“If we do this again ... the mark will stop fading,” I said, slightly breathless.
He looked a little dazed, as though still intoxicated by my scent. He said petulantly, like a child, “I don’t want it to fade anyway.”
“It’ll be a big problem for me,” I said in a raspy voice, trying to keep my arousal down. “I can’t hide the mark forever!”
Damien suddenly turned away, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, as though trying to pull himself together. He then spoke in a much calmer voice, if not a despondent one. “Do you want me to stop, then?”
I should say yes. I should call it off. The mark had to fade, otherwise, I would risk everything. And yet ... I couldn’t say it.
Because I ... I wanted him.
I hadn’t stopped thinking about that night in the bathhouse.
It wasn’t just sex. It was something I’d been craving my whole life yet didn’t dare to pursue.
I never thought I could have it, never thought that an alpha like Damien, who could have all the most beautiful omegas in the world, would want me instead.
Conflicted thoughts raged in my head. On one hand, the rational thing was to call it off, to let the mark fade. On the other hand, I wanted this ... I wanted him.
How much of it was the mate bond’s effect on me? I wasn’t sure. But I still remembered how my body had reacted to his scent, his touch, even before he marked me.
Leif said that, as an alpha, I could live any life I wanted.
He was wrong. I hadn’t lived a single day for myself since I could remember.
Before I became the heir to Winterthrope’s throne, I lived to make my mother proud and happy, because she had suffered so much.
After I lost her, I lived for my father, for Leif, for the clan.
I performed my duties diligently and played my role on every occasion, being the strong, aggressive, dominant alpha son, the Jarl of Winterthrope needed, slaughtering invaders, drinking mead with soldiers, and bedding beautiful omegas and betas.
Why couldn’t I just have this one thing for myself? Was this really so wrong?
I could still be the strongest warrior and protect my homeland, even if I submit to another alpha willingly and privately, couldn’t I?
I took a deep breath and met Damien’s captivating eyes, then I shook my head, saying, “No, I don’t want you to stop.”
Damien’s eyes sparkled brightly, and a grin, equally striking and dangerous, stretched across his countenance. He turned back to me, his hand rubbing the bite mark he left on my mating gland in slow, deliberate circles, stirring the already awakened desire within me.
I raised my right hand, trying to unbutton his shirt, but he caught my hand.
“Did I give you permission to touch me?” His voice rumbled like thunder through black clouds.
I gulped. My heart thumped loudly in my chest, knowing the game had already begun.
“No ...” I said, letting my hand fall back to my side.
“You will do as I say, Fenris,” Damien muttered darkly, as his hand slipped under my tunic.
“You will submit to my will, obey my every order like a good little soldier, and I will take care of you.” He paused, then leaned in and whispered into my ear, “I will take very, very good care of you, my mate.”