Chapter 53
Epiphany
Elyna’s body overcame her shyness; she climbed in Kazuki’s lap, knees bracketing his thighs. In one fluid movement, the plate was balanced between them. Kazuki’s eyebrows shot up, golden eyes dancing with anticipation.
Elyna proceeded to feed her lover pieces of juicy fruit; the game turned sensual, tongues darting out to lick fingers, lips teasing around each morsel.
This beats any titillating novel.
Heat pooled low in her belly as she bit into the melon; Kazuki laved his tongue on her lips to catch any droplet. Driven by instinct, her hips shifted firmly against him, eliciting a groan from her lover.
Eventually, Elyna dropped all pretence and discarded the plate. Kazuki dove for her lips like a starving man; she obliged, plastering herself against his solid frame. Their kiss grew urgent, tasting of lingering sweetness.
His hand settled at her waist, warm and insistent, pressing in tune with the dance of their tongues. The mesmerising rhythm overtook her senses as Kazuki's fingers slid underneath her shirt, finding bare skin. Elyna moaned shamelessly, lost in the solid warmth of him.
His breathing turned ragged, grip shifting from her waist to her hip while the other hand reached for her hair. Heat blazed through her core, demanding satisfaction; Elyna groaned, utterly lost.
When his mouth moved to her neck, sucking on her pulse point, a keen whimper filtered out of her. She reached for that sharp jawline she adored, tilting his head up to meet her gaze. His pupils had swallowed the gold freckled brown of his irises—eyes dark and heavy with want.
She couldn’t wrap her head around it, but her body had no care for her doubts. Elyna pressed close, nose touching his as her hips rocked. Kazuki gasped, hot breath fanning upon her lips as his hand stilled her.
“Elyna…”, he rasped, as if in agony.
The sound tumbled down her belly, lighting a fire within.
She attacked him fearlessly, an on the warpath.
Helpless, Kazuki could only welcome her.
Feverish, his body curled around her lithe frame.
He kissed her as if his life depended on it, seeking her warmth, basking in it.
And like the tides of Cornwall, wide and fierce, each parting was just a pause before they came together again. And again.
Tongues tangling in a fiery dance. The blazing in his belly spread south alarmingly fast, the sensation so overwhelming that Elyna didn’t even realise she was being manoeuvred backwards. Suddenly, her back hit the sofa.
Kazuki didn’t remember moving, instinct had driven him to cage his lover. Her long legs rose to bracket his hips, welcoming him in a cocoon of heat and softness.
Danger! Alarms blared in his head and Kazuki managed, just barely, to avoid grinding into her like a teenager. “Elyna,” he protested, overwhelmed. Her lips latched upon his jaw; he nearly combusted on the spot, hips rocking by instinct into the flower of her open legs.
“Oh!” Her back arched in his hold, breath fanning across his skin, beckoning him to dive into the cavern of her mouth. Deep in the indulgence of her—oh—so beautiful lips.
Before lust could consume him, Kazuki attempted to withdraw; she didn’t allow it, lavishing the skin with long, sensual strokes of her tongue. He struggled, shaking from the strain. Eventually, his patience snapped and he cupped her cheeks, effectively unlatching her.
Kami-sama! He was on the verge of breaking. “Elyna,” he warned.
Wide eyes met his; mussed hair fell in haphazard waves, as if she’d been caught in a tornado.
Her soft lips shone like a crimson beacon, devoured by the beast that lurked beneath his sheep’s clothing.
The disappointed whimper that escaped her almost undid him.
But he held fast, a samurai clinging onto the very last sliver of honour.
“Elyna. I am ready to stop right now,” he panted. “If you don’t want this, tell me to stop.”
The words were a plea, an appeal for her to keep him afloat, to remind him of his obligations. To prevent position and age to coerce her into something she would regret.
Eventually, she swallowed, dazed and hair askew. He bit back a groan. She had no idea how delectable she looked right now. How silky her golden mane felt beneath his fingers, how pleasurable her curves against his unyielding frame.
“Do you want to?”
A choked groan was his first response. Then he gathered enough brain cells to speak properly.
“I want what’s best for you.” He kissed her forehead to ground himself in reality. Her smell assaulted his senses; he breathed in the soothing fragrance of her jasmine shampoo to keep his inner self from raging like a trapped beast.
“I want you to feel like you have a choice, without any kind of pressure. I’m a patient man…” The desire coursing through his veins started rioting against his rational mind; he held fast. “I’ll still be there when you want me.”
For a little eternity, she just looked at him, as if searching his soul. Kazuki drowned into her eyes, noticing how her dilated pupils ate away their blue depths. What is she looking for?
He forced himself to take even breaths, a desperate attempt to find his centre.
Then Elyna shattered him. “Am I allowed to want you?” All air left his lungs. Stunned, Kazuki was about to pull back when her hand shot out to grab his nape, trapping him. “Am I?” she repeated. Bold, assured, and completely offered.
Checkmate. Elyna had just turned the tables on him like a seasoned strategist.
Numb, he could only nod. Elyna’s features bloomed, smile dazzling. “Take me to bed?”
He gaped, just for a second, before she fisted his juban and allowed her blond head to fall upon his chest. “Please?”
The plea was so earnest that he melted completely. “Anything you want.” He kissed the top of her head. “Anything.” Kazuki gathered her in his arms and strode to the huge bed. Melon forgotten.
The linen awaited, warm and welcoming; he laid Elyna on the covers and started a languid exploration of her body. Cataloguing every response.
Slow and gentle, Kazuki parted the flaps of her juban, revealing underwear that set him ablaze. That scarlet soft lace hid places she trusted him to stroke and caress with reverence.
Kazuki took his time, enveloping her in the warmth of his embrace. Little by little, layers of cotton conceded to his gentle hands; each piece of cloth removed was covered with kisses. As his lips explored her; Elyna fell into a heated trance from whence she refused to awaken.
Eventually, Kazuki slid behind her to embrace her fully, hands more daring as his tongue danced with hers. Soft grunts became mewls, moans turned into surprised squeaks as he explored sensitive skin. He swallowed each and every sound like a man starved.
Her lithe frame danced against his, and he regretted his hastiness when the cotton of his juban didn’t allow the skin of his chest to touch hers.
I should have undressed first…
Elyna opened up in his arms, draped over him, panting his name as his hand played with her heated flesh.
She did not resist an inch, so confident that he would keep her safe.
Sane. Her pitch rose, higher and higher, the sexiest moans ripped from her throat as she thrashed.
His desire pulsed with need behind her back as he coaxed pleasure out of her body.
When, at last, she lay sated and boneless, Kazuki wrapped his arms around her middle and kissed her sweaty temple. His body begged for more; he quelled that selfish thought to caress wild strands away from her face.
When her little hand reached out to cup his cheek, he closed his eyes and nestled in her palm. How strange it was! That her presence soothed him so easily! Elyna’s chest heaved, a testament to his skill that fuelled him with pride.
Once she’d caught her breath, she called his face to hers.
Her lips chased him, tongue sweeping in persistently.
Kazuki laid her back into the sheets, heart threatening to explode.
Her eyes pierced him with need, making his manhood ache.
He heeded the siren’s call, rolling over to cover her body with his.
“You are so beautiful,” he breathed, rocking against her core, mouth suckling upon her neck. Her thighs rose, encasing him in a welcoming embrace. “Then let me see how handsome you are,” she whispered in his ear.
Her lithe fingers tugged at his juban, insistent, calling him back from the brink of his feverish state. “Are you sure?” A sliver of fear flickered in her eyes, but she nodded resolutely. His manhood pulsed as she reached for him again, mouthing the side of his neck sensually.
“I am sure,” she murmured, nose buried in his throat. “Very, very sure.”
The white cotton obeyed her whims, the last layer of his clothes discarded with barely a rustle. Soon, he was kneeling before her, completely exposed, blood pumping in anticipation.
Elyna was still warm and slick from his earlier ministrations; she welcomed him with such eagerness that his nerves melted. As he sunk into her with slow, measured strokes, the tightness that engulfed him made his breath stutter.
Assaulted by pleasure, Kazuki watched for any signs of pain. He shouldn’t have; her body moulded around his as if she’d been created for him. The friction of those warm, delicious muscles curled up his spine.
Slowly. Slowly.
Every agonising inch flooded his veins with mind-numbing ecstasy, so sharp that he couldn’t escape the sensation.
Hold on, he murmured to himself, trying to rein in the instinct to plunge into her.
When, at last, he bottomed out, surrounded by plush skin and a sheath of warmth, Kazuki was utterly wrecked.
“Kazu… ki…”, she gasped.
His name had never sounded so beautiful, so sensual. He couldn’t resist, diving for those delectable lips, just to punish her for making him lose his mind. As their tongues tangled, her taste exploded in his mouth. His hips rocked and she cried out. Kazuki stilled.
“Elyna?” he stuttered. Did I hurt her? A feverish gaze met his. “Again,” she pleaded. “Do it again.”
His lips curled as he flexed his hips in a long drag, coaxing another moan. And another. Kazuki connected them both in a sensual dance, flesh against flesh. Her voice became rough, muscles spasming around him in a feverish heat.
He kissed every patch of skin available, delirious with need, lost in bliss as she called him further in. His nose dove in her neck, tongue feasting upon her pulse point while his body rocked, driven by instinct and fierce desperation.
He’d never known such overwhelming pleasure, never felt so cherished. Each stroke brought him to the brink of insanity, and from the English words that tumbled from her mouth, he gathered he wasn’t the only one spiralling out of control.
“My… Tsuki… Kazu!” she cried, grabbing his nape as her body bucked around his.
The sound of his name, half-broken in passion, sent him careening over the edge. His peak triggered her own and they both twisted, fists gripping the sheets as pleasure exploded in his guts. A gasp escaped him as it trailed up his spine, setting him ablaze.
Kazuki held onto Elyna like a man lost at sea, swept away by waves that slowly abated, replaced by an acute sense of belonging; her grip was equally desperate, an anchor that pleaded him not to let go. Strong arms that claimed him as hers.
As he sagged against her, heart hammering in his chest, Kazuki was hit by an epiphany. A sudden truth surged from within, levelling every certitude in a brutal onslaught of clarity. A knowledge, raw and radiant, that swept him away.
I had never loved before her.
Pressure built behind his eyes; before he could catch them, tears escaped. The final band-aid was ripped from his heart by the gift of Elyna’s love. Her hands caressed his back slowly as he gathered himself, skin tingling; droplets of both joy and sorrow spilling in her neck.
“Thank you,” she murmured, kissing his sweaty temple. “Thank you.”
Panting, Kazuki blinked all evidence of his breakdown. Her ocean eyes found him, looking at him as if she’d found the most precious gem. Suddenly, it all seemed too ridiculous. Kazuki chuckled, chest plastered against hers.
“You’re not entitled to thank me for giving me the best damn pleasure of my life.”
An adorable blush was his only response. He tilted them aside, pulling her tight against his ribs. Then, his hand slid over her spine and guided her head upon his chest. Elyna melted into him with a sigh.
“You smell so nice,” she breathed, half asleep already.
Kazuki smiled, breathing in her hair. “So do you, my golden lady.”
“Oyasumi[19], my Tsuki.”
His breath rushed out, disturbing Elyna’s plastered strands at her temple. Her warmth seeped into him, his fingers brushing the bare skin at her hip. When her hand grabbed his to set them both over his heart, Kazuki completely dissolved.
He drifted in a matter of minutes.
Elyna: Merry Christmas, my favourite dolt.
Aksel: Aye aye, Merry Christmas.