Chapter Forty-Nine #2
Desire pulsed through her, sharp and aching, and she pressed in shamelessly, her thigh brushing against the hard evidence of his want.
Severin groaned, making a fist in her hair as he crushed her body against his.
“Stop me now,” he warned her. “Tell me if you don’t want this.”
She would tell him no such thing. For years she’d tried so hard to fit into the mold designed for her.
To be good, and virtuous, and pure. She’d repressed this side of her and buried it deep, but here with Severin, there was no judgment.
No shame to be shared. There was only the heat between their skin, and passion burning between them.
For the first time in her life, Aurelie allowed herself to fall into her own desire, all caution burned away. She knew as her fingers traced the column of his throat that Severin would not think any less of her for this, and such knowledge was more freeing than words could express.
She gasped as he took her bottom lip between his teeth, and he inhaled the sound like it sustained him. His thumbs pressed into the curve of her waist, a low groan escaping him as he pulled her closer.
His hands slid higher, fingers slipping beneath the ribbon of her dress and working it loose. Each pull was deliberate, as though he were savoring the sound of the fabric parting—a quiet melody written only for him.
Slowly, he eased the sleeves from her shoulders, baring her inch by inch. Moonlight kissed her skin, a flush rising high across her chest. When her bodice slipped away, she instinctively crossed her arms only for his gaze to stop her.
His face was reverent.
Carnal.
“You’re devastating,” he said, curling a strand of hair behind her ear. “You have no idea what you do to me.” The demon’s hands skated down the curve of her waist, over the swell of her hips, then returned to cup her breasts. She gasped when his mouth closed over one, her eyes fluttering shut.
“Tell me what you want from me, Aurelie.”
He groaned as she ground her hips flush to his, the hard length of him pressed against her. She caught his hand, guiding it to the soft skin of her inner thigh. “I want to feel what it’s like to be touched by you.”
His smile turned wicked. “Gladly.”
He tossed his cloak across the forest floor, then took her by the hips in one fluid motion and laid her atop it. He followed her down, kneeling between legs she parted for him, his hands tracing up her bare thighs.
Aurelie reached for his belt, intent on freeing him, but was met with a low growl.
“Not until I taste how much you want me.”
Her breath hitched as his lips found the crease where thigh met hip. Severin’s stare held hers as he lowered his mouth, their world hushed but for their heavy breaths and the rustle of the trees.
The first brush of his tongue sent a jolt through her, her whole body shuddering in response.
The whimper that escaped her was raw and breathless, and by the Light, she was burning for this man.
Every nerve was alive, her skin flushed and trembling as he worked her open with slow, maddening precision.
Each flick of his tongue unraveled her until her very thoughts began to fray.
She hadn’t realized just how much she’d been craving this—craving him—and with each breathless beat the bond between them drew tighter.
Severin’s grip on her hips tightened, holding her in place as he savored her. One hand slid down her thigh, and for a single horrible moment he peeled away. She nearly protested until his palm pressed against her as he buried a finger inside her.
Aurelie’s breath caught, back arching as her hips tilted toward him. Her fingers twisted the cloak beneath her as pleasure struck hard and fast. She bit back a moan, only for another to slip free when he curled that finger inside her, slow and certain, like he knew exactly how to undo her.
“I’m going to make a mess of you, knightling.” He was tasting her again as another finger slid inside. The combination was devastating. Each stroke pulled another sound from her, her legs trembling around him.
She couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
Light, was this truly what she’d kept herself from for so long?
Severin began to move inside her, slow and steady pumps that filled her completely. Each one sent a wave of heat curling through her belly, making her thighs lock around him. She rocked against his mouth, chasing the rhythm, helpless to anything but the building pressure within her.
She lifted a hand to his head, fingers curling around his horns. The touch drew a pleased growl from him, his tongue and fingers working in tandem to drive her higher.
“Severin—” she gasped, the word barely more than breath.
He stilled.
His mouth hovered just above her, holding her on the edge. “Say it again.”
Aurelie’s chest rose, breath trembling. “Severin, please—”
That wicked smile returned. “Good girl.”
And then he moved again, following the desire that pulsed through their bond, learning each and every touch she favored until she shattered with his name on her lips.
Her body clenched around him, her spine bowing as release tore through her, better than any night alone in her bedroom. Better than his night with Melisandre.
Light, it was better than anything.
Severin held her there, one hand gripping her thigh, the other still buried inside her, coaxing every last tremble until she could take no more. Only when she collapsed back against the ground, spent and gasping, did he ease back.
But something was different.
The bond pulsed sharper, as if awakened from a deep slumber.
She turned to look at him, and Severin was watching her with a war behind his eyes.
She swallowed hard, her voice ragged. “Did you feel that?”
He didn’t answer, just reached for her hand and laid it flat against his chest. His heart thundered beneath her palm, as wild and unsteady as her own.
Whatever their bond had been before, it was changed. Deepened, and twisted into something even more consuming.
All that he’d just given her wasn’t enough. It had only made her hungrier.
She needed to feel him. To have him. Not just his touch, but the weight of his body against hers, filling an ache she could feel so profoundly now.
“I want you.” Her hand found his thigh, then slid higher.
Severin’s breath caught, a muscle ticking in his throat. He leaned into her touch as if he couldn’t help himself, as if he’d been waiting for this just as long as she had.
But just as her fingers found the edge of his waistband, Severin’s hand closed around hers.
“Aurelie.” His voice was low, rough at the edges. “I need to tell you something, but I want you to hear me out before—”
A snapping branch broke through the hush of trees, and he went still. His posture changed in an instant, body angling to shield her from whatever prowled in the dark.
“It’s probably just a fox,” she said, smoothing a hand over his arm. “We’re fine.”
But the spell was broken. He pulled back, leaving her breathless and aching.
A flicker of anxiety tightened in her chest, but the moment he felt it his hand lifted to cup her cheek, thumb brushing softly across her skin.
“We should head back,” he said, voice gentle. “Not because I want to stop, but because you’re still burning up from the magic, and tomorrow is a big day. If we’re going to do this again, we’ll need to make it through.”
Aurelie held his stare, relaxing when he didn’t look away. “So you intend to do this again?”
The demon smiled, lips ghosting hers once more before easing away. “As many times as I can. Now let’s get you inside.”