Page 53 of Death and Desire

He slid his hands beneath the silk, his nails gently raking the tender skin on the inside of her thighs. A hint of panic seized her at the thought of his nails against her delicate sex.

Anubis chuckled, the sound delightful and strange in her ear. “I promise, I won’t hurt you.”

He pressed his fingertips into her thighs.

She blinked, realizing the sharp nails were gone. His touch remained firm, determined as it persisted.

“Isthiswhere you burn for my touch?” He cupped her sex over her thin cotton undergarment. The heat of his hand consumed her thoughts.

“Yes,” she moaned, arching into his touch. She rocked her hips, needing more friction, more pressure. If only he would slip his fingers beneath the fabric...

“I can read your thoughts, but I would rather hear your desires from your lips,” Anubis scolded.

Before she could respond, his fingers were beneath the fabric. One hand parted her thighs while the other explored between them. His smooth fingertips slid through the evidence of her arousal and desire. His gentle caress left her gasping with pleasure.

“So wet,” Anubis murmured as he explored her folds with two fingers.

Violet nearly buried her face in his neck to hide, but he held her fast.

He brushed his thumb over her clit, and she cried out.

“Oh god.” She ground herself into his hand. “Right there. Please.”

Anubis silently obeyed, stroking his fingers over the center of her ache. She clung to his arm, digging her nails into his skin as the pleasure grew and the tension spiraled higher.

When she’d found no fulfillment with her previous lovers, she’d taken matters into her own hands. Never had it felt this...intense. She threw her head back as he raked her clit once more. Close...so close, she just needed—

“Put–put your fingers inside me.” She gasped, barely able to form coherent thought.

Without hesitation, Anubis slid two long, thick fingers inside her, his thumb still pressed to her center. He filled her, stroking the inner walls as he kept steady pressure circling her swollen bud.

Panting, she clung to him.

Then he began to move. Slowly withdrawing and thrusting his fingers. Her hips met his movements, and they fell into a rhythm. Her panting turned to gasps as the tension inside her pulled tighter. Her eyes closed.

His scent drifted around her, sand and spice andhim.Heat surrounded her. His touch awakened things inside her she hadn’t known resided in her soul.

An incoherent shout ripped from her throat as her climax took hold. Every fiber of her being pulsed with awareness. Starlight burst in the night. She sagged against him, clinging to his muscular forearms as she rode the wave of fulfillment to the calm seas of satisfaction.

Gently, he slowed and withdrew his hand from between her thighs. She moaned at the loss of his touch. He shifted, gathering her into his lap, cradling her to his chest.

Violet gazed up at him and felt small in his arms. The elation of her climax and the heaviness it brought to her limbs weighed her down. Even so, she found the strength to press a kiss to his muzzle.

His golden eyes closed.

The familiar shift of darkness wove around them, enclosing them both in thick black smoke. When it cleared, Violet found herself cradled in Khalid’s lap, lost in his dark gaze.

“Thank you.”

A smile tugged at his lips. “Rest, Violet.”

Khalid rose from the bench, carrying her in his arms, as though she weighed nothing. They strode through the garden, into the hotel, along the corridor. No one paid them any mind, because he’d somehow shielded them from the world.

He protected her.

Inside her room, Khalid placed Violet on the bed. He removed her shoes and put them on the floor. She nestled into the pillow and sighed.

“Stay with me,” she murmured, reaching for him.

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