Page 81 of The Duke and the Disciple

“Scaring me?” Rahn repeated her words, but his eyes had traveled away from her. “I look to you for how we pace this. Your comfort.”

“If it were up to me, Scholar...” Aesylt lifted onto her knees so she was looking down at him. She didn’t finish.

Rahn tilted his head up to look at her. “What? If it were up to you, what?”

Aesylt’s words caught.If it were up to me, we’d be making love instead of talking.

“When I saw you and Pieter in here, I thought, at first...” He pursed his lips. “And then I saw what he did to you, and I was furious, like I haven’t been in years.”

Aesylt ran her hands down his face and kissed him firm on the lips. “There’s no reason we can’t start this day over. No reason we can’t climb a little higher and put the past hour behind us.”

He seemed more surprised than he should. “You know what the next rung is?”

She nodded, looking up at him.

“Aesylt.” Rahn tucked his chin when she nipped up for another kiss. “Are you sure? Are you sureI’mthe man you want to share this memory with, and not someone you love?”

She let the wordloveroll over her.“I’m sure that if you ask me the question again, I’ll shove you onto your back and take advantage of your vulnerable position, corrupting us both forevermore.”

Rahn’s calm demeanor disappeared. He licked his lips. “Promise?” A soft smile appeared and then dissolved. “We don’t have to do this now. I can see you healed yourself, but?—”

“Healing is a curious magic, Scholar. More complicated injuries linger, requiring multiple sessions, but simple wounds can be erased in an instant, like they never happened.” Aesylt wrapped her arms around his neck, letting her hands fall down his back as she leaned in. “I need you to lead. Can you do that for me?”

He nodded, the edges of his cheeks tightening. With a grunt, he lifted her onto his lap. His eyes traveled her face, then moved down her neck. She started ripping at the stays of her dress, offering him a slow reveal.

Soon he was helping, sliding the gown off her shoulders before bunching it and lifting it over her head. He’d seen her nude before, but not so vulnerable and exposed. His shaky inhale told her he was just as nervous.

“You’re truly exceptional, Aesylt. Never settle for anyone who doesn’t remind you of this every damn day.” He dipped in to kiss the hollow of her neck, saving her from a response to the second most wonderful thing anyone had ever said to her.You are as imitable as the stars in our interminable sky.Her skin raised as his warmth traveled lower, across her breasts, and stopped at one of her nipples, which he took into his mouth.

“Oh,” she moaned, her eyes burning with more tears that would never form.You’re truly exceptional, Aesylt. Never settle for anyone who doesn’t remind you of this every damn day.“That feels lovely.”

Rahn whispered something unintelligible as he suckled her, then moved to the other breast. She knotted her hands in his hair and tilted her head back, ready to be lost with him.

His hands moved down her sides, sliding along the curve of her hips, and tightened when his fingers dug into her ass. She tore at the buttons on his shirt, frustrated when they wouldn’t open fast enough, but then she had it off, pressing it over his shoulders and strong arms.

Rahn released her nipple and kissed her mouth again before gently laying her back on the bed. She pulled her legs up tight, conscious of her exposure, but something in his eyes made her relax them again. He moved off the bed and unbuckled his trousers, letting them fall to the floor before climbing back up, the throb lifting the bottom edge of his shirt.

He brushed her hair off her face and kissed her. His cock rested on her mound, sending her whole body into a solid clench of anticipation. She almost hoped he didn’t fit, that he would plunge inside and tear her open until the pain was replaced by something new and beautiful.

And then the sensation was gone, because he was sliding down her body, spelling it with kisses in places she never knew could be sensual. Her collarbone. Her shoulder. The underside of her arm.

Rahn sighed along her flesh, trailing the tip of his tongue. Her skin pebbled, the hair standing up in response to his passing through. Aesylt closed her eyes and relinquished herself to the raw openness, to the trust she felt for the first man who’d made intimacy seem not only desirable but safe.

He exhaled down the center of her torso and moved to her thigh, which he hooked over his shoulder, peppering more gentle kisses all the way to her knee. Aesylt sighed in capitulation, her legs falling wider as she let go of her awareness of her exposure.

Rahn nibbled the edge of her foot and kissed the underside, drawing a surprised giggle from her. He grinned against her flesh and did it again before moving to the other leg and repeating every tender ministration, moving back between her legs for another gentle graze.

He made a soft, rumbling sound when his tongue met her readiness. She used to think she’d be mortified if he ever knew she wasalwaysready for him, but not anymore. He enjoyed seeing what he did to her. He was proud of it.

His head raised, his eyes full of hunger. Forher.Science or no, he wanted this. She would make sure he knew how much she wanted it too.

Rahn came down over her, spinning her pulse faster and faster. “You decide the pace, Squish.” He locked his mouth to hers and lingered. “You decide, at any time, if it ends.”

She nodded, knowing full well she would push him all day and night if he allowed it.

With his forehead pressed to hers, balancing himself on one arm, Rahn reached down and circled his cock in his hand. He pumped it twice, his eyes rolling back. Aesylt tightened in expectation. Then he met her eyes once more, settling his head at her opening. He seemed to be waiting for one final confirmation.

“Yes, Scholar,” she said, breathless.

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