Page 32 of Bound and Tide

A deep breath pulled more of her scent in, muscles relaxing but cock straining against itself. When had someone done this to him last? There was that acolyte a few years ago, but Xander had only been playing at being caught and tied to an altar for cleansing because he wanted to corrupt and then fuck that monk, but with Red…well, maybe he was just playing now too, but it had never really been his idea of play before to be made so vulnerable.

When someone tied him up, they always thought they were in control, but Xander knew better. Red, however, seemed to be under no pretense, yet she had left it up to him—left to writhe naked, swollen, bloody purple? At least his length looked rather impressive, a bit angry, but also like it could conquer an entire realm. Unfortunately, all it did was ache and pine.

He exhaled and focused on the ceiling instead—or rather on the long, thick, hard beams that held up the ceiling. The el’erium was just beyond that, and its magic was probably bolstering the torturous salve, but he couldn’t be angry at it, not after seeing its brilliance.

He should have simply explained to Red his disappearance and the Abyss he’d been through learning water arcana, but he just couldn’t, and not only because he still wasn’t very good at wielding the element. It was bad enough he’d let slip he was searching for his father—an embarrassment unto itself—and that he was a blood mage who was clearly in a vulnerable state, especially when she was so good at putting him in the same. How could he add on that he was being trained by his long-lost, younger, and significantly less talented siblings?

Well, he just…could tell her, and then? Of course he would feel an Abyss of a lot better, but Xander Shadowhart was not quite ready for that revelation.

So again he flailed.

When would she be back? Minutes? Hours? He was a blood mage, he should have been able to drain his cock and relieve some of the pressure, but that ointment she’d used was overpowering what little magic he’d managed to tame. He was sure the recommended time to remain so stiff was less than four hours, but what if she left him like this for even longer? He’d need to see an apothecarian, but it was one that had done this to him in the first place!

Abyss, he could have just warned her in vagaries and untruths, he supposed, that he had his own business to attend to and would be gone for a while. It was just—why in the realm did she care? She was so bloody set on kicking him out of the shop for days, and now she had him bound up in her home, kept in a locked room, and…safe?

He swallowed down the word so that it sat like a river rock in his belly. If Xander Shadowhart had ever known what it was like to be wanted before, it would have perhaps been a warmer feeling to be confined. A cozy, treasured sensation could have run through him then, comforted him, but instead it was utter bewilderment tinged with anger. For how long had he been running, been on guard, been struggling against anything that resembled being tied down? He was caught, wasn’t he? Or was he simply being held?

His shoulders relaxed further into the pillow that she had gone to the trouble to nestle properly behind him, and he felt then the softness of the silk around his wrists instead of the constriction. There was still pain between his legs, but there was a new one in his chest too that led to a deep, confusing contemplation.

She just wants to keep me here.

There is nothing I should do to be free.

There is nothing I have to do at all.

And so he did nothing.

The light in the chamber had gone all out when movement in the room stirred Xander from a cloudy thought about freedom and protection. A softness nuzzled up to Xander’s side, a body fitting in against his. He hadn’t heard Red unlock the door, slipping outside of himself sometime in the passing hours since she’d left, but his whole body once again ignited with the warmth of her return. Absolute torture it had been, the pain, the wait, the thoughts, but then she laid a hand on his chest. “You’re still here.”

“Barely,” he breathed, throat constricting around the word like he wished something—anything—would constrict around his cock. “You’ve almost killed me, you witch.”

“Stiff as a corpse, I see.” Her hand came around him, and it was all pain at first, so swollen he thought it would burst. “Oh, that worked so well on you—it’s been hours and you’re even better than I left you.” Her voice was deeper than normal, a husky purr just in his ear. It sent tingles down his spine that met the lower ache in his groin, and the pain twisted itself into pleasure at her hand’s gentle caress. “Now, what have we learned?” she whispered, giving him a tighter squeeze.

“That you might be more demonic than I am,” he groaned.

She clicked her tongue and released him.

“Gods, Red, no, please don’t leave me again.” His fists tightened against the restraints, still refusing to break them.

She hummed into his ear as she pushed her body closer, thigh inching up over his. “Oh, I like that. Say that again.”

“Please,” he repeated between huffing breaths. “Don’t leave.”

“Since you asked so politely,” she cooed, and her hand returned to him, working him more earnestly. “Maybe you did learn something.”

Xander nodded, eyes squeezed shut tight at the sudden build in his stomach. “I did,” was drawn out of him almost against his will. “Just don’t go. I don’t want to be alone in the dark again.”

Red worked him right to the edge. “Of course not, koul’tah, I’m staying right here with you.” Her lips brushed his ear as her hand encircled his crown and drove all the way down to his base. “Promise.”

Xander came undone so fiercely that had he not been clenched in her grip, he was sure his cock would have shot right off. His breath was gone, senses following quickly after, and he cried out a strangled but relieved sound before collapsing. Red nuzzled him with her nose as she slowed her tugging, but kept her hand and body wrapped around him protectively, so warm, so fucking wonderful.

The chamber spun, his stomach clenched, and he wondered if he would ever move again. It was fine if not, so long as she remained there too. But then Red shifted like she might leave, and the noxscura bloomed to life in his palms, severing the silks. Pins and needles ran through his arms, but they weren’t useless, not for grabbing her, at least.

Arcanely abetted, Xander flipped himself atop her, fingers digging into Red’s upper arms. She sucked in a sharp breath as he pressed her down beneath him, surely shocked at how quickly he’d freed and composed himself. Her eyes reflected what little light was left in the room, wide and on him for the first time without that angry, knowing glare.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Evangeline.” Xander’s voice was a wreck, painful as it pushed up through a dry throat. He swallowed back the lump that threatened him as he held her to the linens.

“I wouldn’t,” she said, emerald eyes flashing back into steeliness. She slipped a hand between them, fingertips grazing his cheek so gently as she repeated in a whisper, “I wouldn’t.”

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