Page 2 of Hers to Rule

“This was built to keep me prisoner inside of it, Cisco. If you let me go, there’s nothing left.” She passed her thumb over his sharp cheekbone. “Does it make it easier if I tell you that I’ve wanted exactly this for years?”

“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted to hear you say that.” His chuckle was dark and deep and made something tickle along her power that she couldn’t identify. “I’m still not sure you know what you’re signing yourself up for.”

“Would you like me to clarify, then?” She curled her fingers so her nails scratched along his jaw. “You need to claim me, publicly, so there’s no doubt about who I belong to. You need to utterly destroy the image he built this empire to protect and contain: the untouchable sex witch who powers this whole place. And most importantly of all, we need to provide them so much magic that they never think for an instant of betraying you.” She lowered herself to sit on his thigh, basking in the way he looked at her like she was answering his every whispered prayer for the last decade. “Does that cover it?”

She leaned closer while he was still searching for a response, rubbing as much of her body on his as she could manage, until her lips almost touched his. The simmering desire bubbled up through her, making her skin feel tight. She kept her eyes open, staring into his until she couldn’t stand the building tension anymore. “Use me,” she purred. “I want you to.”

He grabbed the back of her head at the base of her skull and pulled her into a blistering kiss that she’d been ready for but had not been prepared for the brutality of. He drank in the desperate sound she made as he bit her lower lip and then pressed into her mouth with his tongue, scouring every thought from her head with his fervor.

When he finally broke the kiss, he lowered his face to savage her neck, pulling her head back by tangling his fingers in her hair. She moaned when he bit her ever so gently, feeling her body’s visceral response to his razor-sharp teeth denting the delicate skin of her throat without causing even the smallest slice. His iron control almost undid her.

He pulled away slightly, his eyes searching her face for any sign of distress. He’d always been so desperately careful with her. “Is this okay?”

Mari nodded and moved his hand to where her heart raced and the eager bloom of her magic unfurled. “More than okay.”

He stared at the spot where his hand touched her as if he couldn’t believe she was real. She knew he could feel the desperate ache of her magic humming through her skin. “As much as I want you, we don’t have to do this tonight.”

She slid their joined hands around over her breast and pressed his fingers tighter against her gown. “I want to. We’ve both waited long enough.”

Cisco’s talons barely scraped the gauzy fabric but didn’t tear through it. She moaned as she imagined his massive hands all over her once he surrendered to desire. “We need to discuss a few things first.” He touched her chin lightly. “How far do you really want to take this?”

She knew what he was asking, and it touched someplace deep inside her where she was softest that he was so concerned. Part of this empire her father had built was the biggest and most infamous sex club in the city, where the wealthy and powerful went to have fun and get their kicks—because that was how her father had gathered his power, literally and metaphorically. “All the way.”

“You’re serious.” He exhaled hard. “You want me to parade you in front of his friends and enemies at the club for everyone to see?”

Mari shivered at both the slight growl in his voice and the image he evoked. She smiled slyly. “I think I would like that.”

He shook his head and laughed. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Mari ran her fingers down the buttons of his shirt, plucking at them with not quite enough force to unbutton them. She smiled again, not looking at his face. “Are you okay with all this?”

“That depends on a few things.” He lifted her chin so she looked into his eyes. “Listing you at the club is an absolute no.”

She let out a sigh of relief. A part of her had been afraid he might want that to prove his control over her, but her father had a lot of enemies, and some of them would love nothing more than to get their hands on her. She didn’t want to know what they would do with her, regardless of what the rules said and how valuable she was. “Agreed.”

“And me and Rio are also non-negotiable.” He smiled slightly. “I’m bound to him. I don’t have to share you with him, but I will still be with him.”

Mari didn’t know a lot about gargoyles, but she did know that while they were polyamorous, once bonded to a partner, they bonded for life. She’d suspected for a while Cisco was bound to Rio, but they hadn’t spoken about it before. Though he could take lovers, and even bond with others, nothing would part him from Rio; and in any case, she wouldn’t want to. “I don’t mind if you share me, with Rio or otherwise.”

His fingers tightened on her chin. He considered her again, searching her face for a moment that drew out long. “You know what I like, then?” he asked gruffly.

She swallowed and fought not to look away from his gaze, though she could feel the blush rising in her cheeks. She’d thought about this a lot, especially when she was alone in her room late at night. “I snuck out after one of the parties and watched through the window of the barracks.” Rio, Cisco, and a few others had shared one woman, passing her around between them while all of them watched and enjoyed themselves. At the time, she’d wanted to be that woman. Even now, the thought of it made her breath catch.

He whispered a curse in Spanish under his breath. “Is that something you’d want to try?”

She looked away, now truly too embarrassed to cope. “Only if you think it would help.”

He squeezed her chin gently until she met his eyes again. “So not good enough. Not for that.”

She licked her lips. “Yes.”

His gaze burned into hers. “Say it. So I know you understand.”

Mari exhaled a shaky sigh. She didn’t know what something like that would do to her power, but the prospect of it made something shiver along her veins. Her father had kept her chained in more ways than one. The necklace he’d magically fastened around her neck had siphoned her power for him to use, never letting it build in a way that was natural. “I’d like you to share me with people you trust and then take me yourself at the end.”

His expression sharpened into something more feral than she’d ever seen. “I’ll consider it.” He moved his hand to hold her neck. “Yes, I’m okay with all of this.” His thumb traced a small circle. “And I’m glad you didn’t leave, because I’ve wanted you for a long time.”

She shivered at the sincerity in his voice. “There was no world where I would have left you alone in this to be destroyed. Not after you freed me.”

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