Page 28 of The Librarian of Souls
Joanna gently sets her now empty teacup on a side table and wanders up to the statue of a Rubenesque woman holding a pitcher. I watch her for a moment before lighting a fire. The room warms slowly as I let her explore the small details of the space that I am sure we will be spending many countless hours in. I can already picture her draped in a silk robe lounging on the settee while we read together. It is cosy, and wholesomely warm with just an underlying hint of more.
Desire quickly melts the innocent image into one, her spread out in front of the fire, my sands teasing her body while I enjoy an evening drink. Joanna is whimpering and writhing as I tease her, feeding off her need until I am satisfied enough to allow her release. The toe of my shoe presses into the ornate rug in front of the fire. I will need to procure some kind of pad to place under this rug.
“Joanna,” we turn to meet each other’s gaze. “How are you feeling, physically?”
“I’m-” She cuts her speech off and tucks a strand of damp hair behind her ear as her cheeks colour. Her embarrassment perfumes the air, but so does her sweetness. “Better after the shower, still a bit sore, but shit, I feel like I’m gonna crawl out of my skin if you don’t fuck me.”
I do not understand why the foul words that come out of her mouth irritate me so, but they do. She is decadent, and those words are below her. I take a deep breath and crook a finger at her to come to me. Joanna comes on command.
“Now, I have spent over a year in your dreams. I know all that you desire,mon abeille.” I start, “But I would like to discuss them and the bond. Would you like to sit down?”
“No,” her voice squeaks and she clears her throat. “I, um, have tried to have relationships like that before, and they haven’t gone well. We don’t need to do that stuff.”
She folds her arms across her chest and the sour taste has me pursing my lips. I am not jealous of Joanna’s past relationships, but something inside me threatens to snap at the idea of someone treating her poorly for simply having desires she wishes to explore.
“Why didn’t they go well?”
“The few exes I dated didn’t like that I wanted to be forced. They wanted someone more giving. It made them uncomfortable.” She refuses to look me in the eye now, shame overwhelming my senses as she takes a deep breath. “It’s fine, I know it’s a ‘niche’ interest.”
Joanna makes quotes with her fingers around the word niche, but it feels deeper than what she tells me.
“Nothing is ‘niche’ to me.” I take her hands and lead her to one of the chairs in front of the fire. It takes me tugging on her hips to get her to sit down on my lap, but when she finally does sit perpendicular to me, her body leans away from mine. “Is this uncomfortable?”
“Are you comfortable?”
“I would be if you relaxed. Trust me when I place you somewhere.”
That colour rises to her cheeks again as she eases into her position on my lap. I place one hand in the middle of her back to support her and let the other rest on the chair. Joanna’s heart thumps beneath my touch, strong and steady. I do not stop the tiny tendrils of sand that slip from my fingers.
“I meant what I said, Joanna. I want to worship you, treat you like the worthy queen you are, but I also have those darker desires that humans shy away from. I want to possess all of you, and I will, by any means necessary.”
“Possessions are replaceable,” she says, head turned towards the fire.
“But once we complete the bond, there is no breaking it. Your soul will be mine for the rest of existence. You may decide you do not want to play our game, or maybe you will grow to hate me, but I will always crave you,mon abeille.”
“Augustine, I can’t- we barely know each other, and- and- and…”
“We have eternity to know one another, and to grow together. I have spent months waiting for you, anticipating your visits to the library. I am not going to change my mind.”
Joanna nods along, her fingers twisting around the strings of her sweatshirt again. Honeyed arousal floats off of her the longer she ponders my commitment. The tendrils of my sands support her back, allowing her shoulder to relax the longer we sit. Her weight on my legs only threatens my control. More of my sands thrash against my skin just to hold her, to taste her, but I remain a gentleman for now.
“I want a date, a real one, before we complete the bond.”
“If that is your stipulation, then courting you shall be my pleasure.” I take one of her hands and kiss her knuckle. Finally, she looks at me again, and I see the heat in her gaze. My sand slips from the hand holding hers and surrounds her fingers. “Are you agreeable to discussing the relationship you dream about?”
“Yes,” she says, her tone hushed suddenly.
“Can you confirm your hard limits with me?” I watch Joanna’s throat move as she swallows, while visions of where my teeth will sink into her pretty skin make my sands grip her harder.
“No degradation, no mess like food, no feet stuff.”
“Thank you for telling me,mon abeille.” I kiss her knuckles again just to watch her blush. Her thighs shift across my lap and I smirk against her skin. “I know you have a verbal safeword, but I would like you to think of a hand signal as well.”
“Two snaps,” she says quickly, doing the action. Her fingers loudly click, something easy enough to hear. “I, um, have fantasised about this a lot and thought knowing more would be good.”
“You are a very good girl, aren’t you?” My words cause her arousal to spike and sweeten the air between us. Joanna leans further into my touch now, moments away from curling up in my lap like a tired kitten. “I know it can be common in these types of relationships to have rules, but I only wish for two things,mon abeille.”
“Okay.”
