Page 31 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

“Kiss me, Thea. We can add it to our list of secrets.”

“I’m supposed to trust you," I whispered. Cassius’ hand holding my jaw pulled me closer to him, and he kissed me.Immediately I pulled him to me and kissed him back, but then he was pulling away.

“I missed you too, little viper.”

My eyes glided over his face as he watched me in a way that made me feel safe. He had moved a few feet away from me. The sleeves of his black tunic were rolled up, exposing that damn red crown again. My vision pulsed red as I looked over him.

“Thea,” he breathed.

“Cassius.” I stepped forward. His shadows burst out from him as I lunged at him. My mouth crushed his as he yanked me against him. Cassius lifted me and pushed me up against the tree. His hips rolled forward, and I moaned at the feeling of him. Fuck, this was better than anything I could think of.

“What are you doing?”

Cassius dropped me to my feet as soon as the man appeared next to us. My eyes moved from Cassius to the Kizar guard who had stumbled upon us. “Shit,” he hissed when he realized the man I was kissing was Cassius.

My darkness lashed out of me without permission and grabbed the man, squeezing until his body exploded. Chunks of his body fell to the forest floor, and I stared at him before looking at Cassius. What would he thinkof my magic? I was too worried, so I grabbed my dagger and slipped it back into my boot, readying to leave.

When I glanced at Cassius, his shadows swarmed around him in a frenzy. His eyes focused on me. For the love of gods, he was fucking beautiful and terrifying.

“Where are you going?”

“Running away so I don’t have to see you look disgusted at my magic.”

His eyes glided over me so slowly. Fuck.

“Run, my love.” He smiled. “I’ll give you a head start, but just know if I catch you, no one will interrupt us until after I’ve made you cum.”

“Fuck,” I whispered and took off into the dark woods. My lungs burned as I looked behind me to see Cassius watching but not moving from his spot. I smiled as I disappeared down a small embankment and out of his sight. Shit, maybe I should just stand here so he catches me. His heavy footsteps made me hurry into a thicket of willow trees and kneel. My heart pounded as I waited for him.

My breath caught as I watched him walk around the woods. I saw a smile tug at his lips.

“I thought maybe you would be waiting for me out in the open. Gods know how much you’ve thought about me making you cum in the past few weeks. Tell me, Thea, did you start touching yourself after that first kiss, or did youtorture yourself and pretend like you didn’t feel something for me? How long did you hold out for?”

Shit, I almost walked out of my hiding spot, but the anticipation of him stalking me and hunting me down like prey was making me stay put. He kept walking past me.

Cassius disappeared behind trees a good distance away. Smiling smugly to myself, I turned to move spots, but instead, I walked into his chest. He smiled down at me.

“Found you, love,” he whispered as he hauled me over his shoulder and carried me out of the trees to the small clearing by the creek. I thrashed around, not trying very hard to get away. Cassius set me on my feet, and I backed away from him. His eyes dragged over me slowly, teasingly.

“Fuck,” he breathed as he came at me, forcing me against a tree by my throat. His mouth dominated mine as his hand slipped into my trousers, and he moaned when he found me wet. He pulled his lips from mine and looked at me as I breathed heavily. “You are perfect, Thea.” He admired me as my hips rolled against his fingers.

“Cassius,” I breathed.

“Tell me how much you’ve thought about me making you cum.” His voice was demanding that I answer.

“Every fucking time I close my eyes,” I confessed.

His mouth crushed mine, and his tongue dominated mine. He consumed me and turned me inside out withthat kiss. His fingers gripped my throat as he pulled back to stare me in the eyes. His eyes drifted down to where his fingers were sinking into me. His thumb circled my clit with a pressure that was making me see stars.

“Cassius,” I moaned loudly.

“That’s right, my love, let me hear how good I make you feel.”

I closed my eyes tightly, and his movements stopped.

“Keep those pretty eyes on me. I want you to remember this moment and touch yourself later, picturing how perfect we are right now.”

“For fuck’s sake, Cassius. I like it when you say shit like that,” I moaned.

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