Page 92 of The Musician and the Monster

She stood on her toes, reaching up to kiss him with her whole heart. His embrace spoke more than words. Each press of his lips was a promise, one she accepted and gave back in return.

She couldn’t recall how they ended up on the bed or when he shed his pants, but none of it mattered. All she could think of was Drystan.

Ceridwen gasped as he reached between her spread thighs, gliding his fingers through her slickness. He rubbed his thumb over her taut nub, and she bucked her hips towardhim, eager for his touch. Books were her only experience of such things, but she knew what came next. She yearned for it. Feared it. Needed it with every speck of her soul.

“Drystan?” She tangled her fingers in his hair as he worked kisses down her body—her collarbone, one tender nipple, her belly—only stopping and glancing up at her after placing a kiss below her belly button.

“I want to taste you here, Ceridwen.” He palmed her between her legs.

“I—” She didn’t know what to say exactly, but she’d deny him nothing. She nodded, biting her bottom lip in anticipation.

Drystan’s devastating grin alone made her whimper, and then he settled in between her legs. He had kissed her mouth like a master, but the way he kissed her there put even that to shame. Each stroke of his tongue brought more pleasure than touching herself ever had. The short stubble on his cheek grazed lightly against her thighs, only heightening the sensation of his wet tongue against her opening. Ceridwen wiggled, unable to hold still amid the torrent of pleasure. Drystan flatted his palm against her stomach. The other gripped her thigh. She clenched the sheets, holding on for dear life as he brought her closer to the pinnacle of pleasure.

An entirely unladylike gasping moan tore from her lips as he slid one callused finger deep into her wetness. He thrust into her, firmly but gently, rubbing something within her. And then she tipped over the edge in a blinding spiral. She called his name, begged, as he drew out her release.

Sweat dewed her skin as she came back to herself, panting, pleasure tingling through her body, which settled in languid contentment atop the bed.

“You’re a beauty, Ceridwen,” Drystan said, wiping her wetness from his face. He crawled atop her, careful to keep his weight from pressing on her too heavily. “A wonder.”

“So are you,” she replied, breathless, before caressing his cheek.

Only a rare man could manage to remain such a tender lover and protector while containing a monster within.

Raised on his forearms, Drystan looked down in pure rapture. “I’ll love you all the days I have left and even beyond.”

She traced a scar on his arm, the evidence of years of magic and struggle. “Yet I’ll love you even longer.”

The hair on his legs tickled her thighs as he slid against the wetness between her legs, earning a whimper.

He adjusted his weight, sliding one hand between them to graze over one stiff nipple, around her naval, and lower still until he positioned himself. Their gazes caught and held in the meager light.

She gasped as he pressed into her. The fullness of him stretched her in new ways.

“Ceridwen?” He froze, breathing heavily.

“I’m all right.” She brushed away the hair falling around his ears as he eased his weight on top of her. The pain subsided as quickly as it came, a sharp stab that faded as she relaxed against Drystan and savored the feeling of him seated within her.

Another prickle of pain flashed through her when he began to move again, but she bit her lip and held on to the man above her. By the second thrust, it’d already begun to fade. The friction of his gentle thrusts stirred up pleasure even greater than what he’d given moments ago.

“Perfect. Glorious,” he praised with every motion of his hips.

Fire licked through her body as she moaned against him, unable to contain the sweet feelings he elicited as they moved together. Slow. Steady. Claiming. Infinitely more exquisite than a perfectly played sonata.

With each near withdrawal, she gripped him tighter, savoring the feel of his hot skin under her hands as they grazed his back, his shoulders, and tangled in his hair. Her body moved on instinct alone, her hips arching for his.

“Ceridwen,” he groaned the first time she moved, meeting his thrust with eagerness of her own.

A knot built in her core, constricting with each coming together. She was beyond words, beyond thought, giving in to the will of their bodies moving together as one in perfect harmony.

She slipped her hand from his hair to dig into the sheets when he adjusted his weight and grasped her backside to pull her tight against him. Impossibly, he slid deeper, testing the limits of her giving body in the most delicious way.

With two more deep thrusts, something within her snapped. Ceridwen screamed as pleasure like she’d never known barreled through her. Her toes curled into the sheets. Her back arched. Her head swam until she saw spots before her eyes.

Drystan still moved within her, drawing out her pleasure as she came back to the world, clinging to him with everything she had. “Drystan,” she breathed against his fevered skin.

His body shook as a groan slipped from his lips. She cupped his cheek as his eyes closed. With a few more quick thrusts, he stilled. His weight pushed her into the sheets as henearly collapsed atop her, but she didn’t mind. Instead, she savored the feel of his skin against hers everywhere they touched.

Being with him was perfection, bliss. Everything she’d never known she needed.

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