Page 4 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson

I expected something far more grotesque than what he showed me. Pretty golden eyes stared directly into my green ones. His dark hair was chaotic, and his straight nose led to a kissable mouth pulled into a cocky smirk.

He was devastatingly handsome, and he knew it. My eyes drifted over his muscled shoulders and chest, where all these tattoos decorated him, butmy eyes were drawn to one. The letter ‘T’ with a viper coiled around it sat above his heart. Something in my mind fought and clawed to release, but whatever the tattoo triggered never surfaced.

“Are you hopelessly in love with me now?” He teased me.

I shook my head to stop my gawking. My body begged me to look at him again, but I fought the urge with everything I possessed. I still didn’t know who this man was. I should be wary of him always lurking in my dreams, but maybe he was just a figment of my imagination. Maybe my broken and confused mind mustered up his existence, so I wasn’t so lonely.

My eyes drifted back to him. Nothing about him made me feel scared. If anything, I felt like I needed to be near him. The darkness inside me urged me forward at the thought of touching him. The man watched me in a way that had my chest tightening. He looked like he missed me.

My darkness urged me forward again, only so much more persistent this time that I had no choice but to listen. Turning, I set down my dagger and looked at him again. I took a small step toward him and saw that it surprised him.

“You aren’t real, are you? My lonely mind made you up,” I said as I reached forward and felt his warm skin under my fingertips. He felt real. He should feel real, though, if I made him up. When my eyes looked up, he was staring at me. Any sane fae would have stopped my touch if this were real.

Myfingers traced the ‘T’ over his heart, which was beating extremely fast under my touch. I moved my hands to his face and felt the stubble on his chin scrape against my skin. His golden eyes swarmed with flecks of black, making me shiver with anticipation. The man lifted his arm and slowly brushed the hair from my face, but he didn’t stop touching me. His hand slid to the back of my neck and pulled me forward hesitantly. He paused an inch from my mouth, so I leaned forward and pressed my lips to his. It was like a tension I didn’t know inside of me snapped at the feel of his mouth on mine.

I found what I had been missing.

His big hands yanked me, so I was flush against him. Our wet skin rubbed effortlessly against each other as he deepened the kiss. All thoughts disappeared, and so did the confusion that had plagued me for months. I felt nothing, and it was pure bliss. My arms wrapped around his neck so I could pour everything I could into the kiss. A low hum of appreciation escaped him.

His hands rubbed over my back and thighs like he couldn’t help it.

“My love,” he spoke with a sadness that had me pulling back and looking over him. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

I nodded because there wasno hesitation on my part. It was the only encouragement he needed. His fingers traced down my stomach before reaching where I needed to feel him the most, as his mouth devoured mine. Noises fell from me without permission as the pit in my stomach became heavier and heavier.

“Such pretty noises, little viper,” he growled so possessively I locked my stare to his. “Hearing what I do to you may be the closest to the heavens I may ever get.”

His mouth skimmed along the skin of my neck and bit me so softly that my orgasm ripped through me so violently that I wondered if the stars above could hear.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” he sighed as my mouth found his. My body filled with a need I couldn’t explain. My lust coiled tightly within me like a venomous viper waiting to strike its prey, and right now this man was my target. A surge of possessiveness cascaded over me in a wave as I took control of our positions. My hands pushed against him, so his back was leaning against the side of the spring. His golden eyes changed to a darkness, which reminded me of the shadows he hid in. I smiled at him as I lifted my hips and sank onto him without warning. My greedy eyes watched him as his eyes clenched tightly and his hands squeezed handfuls of my flesh. His head fell back to rest against the shore of the hot spring. Mymovements slowed when he opened his eyes and stared at me.

The look called to something deep within me, something dark. His features were fixed in hard lines as he watched me move faster and faster.

“How’s your love doing?” I found myself asking.

A feral growl escaped him as he wrapped his fingers in my hair and pulled me down, so I was face-to-face with him.

“You’re doing such a good job, my love. You look so pretty taking what you want from me.”

“Fuck,” I whispered as his words soaked into me.

“Let me hear you, Thea. Let the realm hear you. Let the gods above know how fucking good we are together. Let them know that they can’t keep you from me.” His hips thrust up into me at such a delicious pace that my breath caught in my throat.

His mouth possessed mine, his tongue dominating me with the same dominance of his thrusts. It was too much. It felt too good. Whimpering pleas fell from me as I pulled back.

“You’re mine,” he declared as his hands squeezed my hips tightly. “Only mine. No one ever gets to see you like this. No one else gets to make these pretty noises fall from your perfect mouth. You belong to me, do you understand?”

“Yes,” I cried out. “I’m yours.”

“Good girl.” He clenchedhis jaw tightly, and the tempo of his hips increased, pounding into me so perfectly that another orgasm tore through me.

“Please…”

“You wanted it, my love, so you’ll take it until I’m done with you.”

My eyes squeezed so tightly as I called my orgasm into the dark star-painted sky above us just as his release crashed into him. When my breathing slowed, I looked down at him, smiling.

“That was…” I swallowed as emotions bubbled up and tears filled my eyes. “It felt so right.” I didn’t know how to say what I was thinking or feeling.

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