Page 51 of The Coveted
“I could send you flying into another wall, you know,” I whispered.
In a quick movement, he shifted our positions so that he was on his back, and I straddled him. “No, you can’t. Focus, Áine. Let it all go and do as you’re told. Earn your release.”
The part of me that heard his commands as gospel was stronger than the part that wanted to feel powerful and invincible, at least for now. I fell back under his trance, unable to fathom how he could do this to me without magick.
We glared at each other, but soon I was lowering my head down to kiss him, my hips falling in line with his. I kissed his neck. Then his chest, the hard lines of his abs, then lower. I ripped off his boxers much like he’d removed my panties, using my magick to cut through the fabric. Amusement flashed in his eyes.
He moaned, grabbing ahold of my hair as I teased him just as he’d done to me, first with my hands and then with my lips and tongue. “Good girl,” he purred.
I stopped the teasing and felt his body tense beneath me. He groaned as I continued, and his obvious pleasure only drove me more and more into unbearable frustration. I needed him; I had never needed anything more. I only stopped when I knew he’d been driven to the same frenzied insanity that now coursed through my veins.
“Come here, little witch,” he said softly, though his eyes were churning with a fierceness I’d rarely witnessed.
I lifted my head and obeyed.
I moved back up his body slowly, never breaking eye contact. His features were softer now, even as he pulled me down harshly for a kiss. In another sudden movement, he flipped me over, pinning me underneath him. “You’re rewarded when you listen to me,” he said, and one of his hands found its way between my thighs once more. His other was first at my neck, then shifted to cradle my face. His thumb brushed over my bottom lip.
It only took seconds for me to find myself on the edge of release, his fingers moving expertly against that bundle of nerves. The look in his eyes held me down more than his body did, like invisible, unbreakable bondage.
“Can I—please—” I didn’t even recognize my own voice. I leaned my face into his touch, and I lifted my hips.
He gave me a satisfied grin, knowing that whatever game this was, he’d won this round. “Yes, Áine.”
I lost myself, clutching onto his arm as my whole body shook with waves of ecstasy. He forced me to stare into his eyes as I panted, gasping for breath. The intensity never left his gaze, so strong it raised the hairs on the back of my neck. He’d entered a headspace primal and all-consuming, staring down at my body like it would be his forever. And I believed him.
“I need you to take more,” he said, lightly grasping my throat. Then he entered me, and I winced slightly from sensitivity.
I nodded, leaning into his hand that now cupped my cheek. I couldn’t stop myself from crying out as his movements matched the ferocity in his eyes, and his hand quickly covered my mouth.
“Shh,” he said softly, his breath tickling my skin. “Who knows when Sebastian might show up.” It looked as if he enjoyed the prospect, but my eyes widened with fear before I quickly forgot what it was I was supposed to be afraid of.
I lost my concept of time as he went faster and deeper, revealing again our deepest, most hidden, and guilty desires. I didn’t know how much longer I could take this. I dug my fingers into his back, and he went harder in response.
“Daelon.” My voice shook, and I had a hard time keeping its volume down.
“I know, baby.” He kissed me for a moment, then met my eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I managed, barely able to string words together. His lips turned up in amusement.
Soon he finished. And he began planting kisses from my lips to my breasts before collapsing and pulling me onto his chest.
“You’re not going,” he repeated, after we’d caught our breath.
I wanted to promise that to him, but I knew I couldn’t. He surely knew that I couldn’t too. I took a page out of his own playbook, quickly changing the subject. “Lucius doesn’t care about my energy reading anymore. He’s planning something, and I’m not sure what. He was almost… nice to me, as much as he could be.”
“I know. I don’t know what he’s up to, but you need to be very careful around him,” he said. “He’s been spending a lot of time by himself, asking not to be disturbed. Sometimes he just disappears from the castle without a trace, and he tells no one where he goes.”
“I feel like he’s winning the race. We still haven’t made any real progress, and I know we’re running out of time. I—I can’t think clearly right now.” I frowned. Everything was floaty, my magick still caught in a frenzied dance, and my mind still thirsting for pleasure and lightness.
“It’s the magick from the ball. It’s meant to work in tandem with elixir to numb everyone into just feeling the beauty and the pleasure of this world. You being an energy reader just makes it more intense. We’ll meet with Amos soon and figure it out, okay?”
Wasn’t there something else we needed to talk about? Oh, yes. Our fight. I opened my mouth to remind him, but a breach in the surrounding energy washed all other thoughts away. I tuned in. “Sebastian is here. He’s talking to a guard outside.”
Daelon tensed. “You’re not—”
“Daelon, I have to. Just like you had to do whatever you did this week for Lucius,” I said, letting my words cut at him with the undeniable hard truth of our situation. I rushed to the wardrobe, keenly aware of how little time I had to get dressed. “Just like you had to kiss Renata,” I said flatly.
“Don’t,” he said, his voice icy but desperate. “I can’t bear the thought of anyone taking advantage of your altered consciousness, or you…” he trailed off, moving to stand close to me. I refused to meet his eyes.
