Page 44 of Tender Cruelty
From the time I was a kid, I’ve been taught to lead, to manipulate, tocontrol. I’ve never been taught how to protect. It’s not a skill I truly understood I was lacking until recently, when all I want to do is protect my sisters…and my wife. They won’t allow it any more than she will. If I were stronger, if I knew what the fuck I was doing, then maybe it would be different. Maybe they would trust me to stand between them and what’s coming for us all.
Wishes are for the pathetic fools who don’t have the power to make things happen.
Ihatethat my father’s voice intrudes on this moment. I hate even more that he’s right. I stroke my thumb over Callisto’s cheek. Over and over again, we’ve brushed against the opportunity to pivot this marriage into something real, and over and over again, one or both of us has shied away from taking that first step. I wish I could believe tonight will change things, but I know better. Tomorrow, it will be back to war.
But that’s tomorrow. Tonight, she’s mine.
“I’ll say your name as often as you like.” I brush a light kiss to her lips. “Callisto.” I kiss her again, deeper this time. She immediately melts into me, crossing the minuscule distance between us and sinking her hands into my hair. In this moment, we’re not Zeus and Hera, the perpetually warring king and queen of Olympus. We’re Callisto and Perseus, and if we aren’t fully committed as wife and husband, we’rehere.
I grip her thigh and tug her leg up and around my waist. Closer. I need to be closer. I grab her ass and slide my hand down to pressmy fingers into her pussy from behind. She makes the sweetest little whimpering sound in response. I want to swallow it whole.
Callisto bites my bottom lip, raking it gently between her teeth. “That feels good.”
“I’ll always make you feel good.” I don’t know what I’m saying; the sensation of her wet heat clamping around my fingers is enough to short-circuit my brain. I like having her like this, pressed against me, pinned on my fingers, grasping at my shoulders with demanding hands. She kisses me harder but I don’t pick up my pace, lazily finger fucking her.
She’ll never bemine. I know better than to play possession games in the bedroom, but fuck if I don’t want to growl against her mouth to remind herI’mthe one making her so wet the sounds fill the room even over our moans and kissing. It’s not that asshole Ixion driving her out of her mind, taking care of her when she needs it most.
It’sme.
It’s too much, but fuck if I care. “Come for me, Wife. You’re so fucking sweet when you do.”
“I need…” She shivers. “I’m so close.”
I shift our positions just enough to wedge my leg between her spread thighs. It’s a little awkward, but I’m able to guide her to grind against my thigh without sacrificing being able to reach the spot inside her that makes her go boneless and desperate.
“I’ve got what you need,” I murmur against her mouth. “Take it.”
She grinds on my leg, my fingers, her movements just as slow and sensual as everything has been since the moment I climbed into bed with her. I’m so hard, it’s a miracle I don’t come before shetouches me. The agony of pleasure is worth enduring so I can feel the moment she clamps around my fingers, her back bowing. “Perseus.”
Hearing her cry out my name when she orgasms breaks something deep inside me. I roll onto my back, taking her with me. Callisto lands straddling my hips, her eyes wide and wild. “Perseus, I—”
Fuck, I could get addicted to this. I pull my fingers from her and wrap them around my cock. “You can take more.”
“I need—” Even as she protests, she lifts herself so I can position my cock at her entrance.
“Callisto.” I have to stop, to focus on breathing, as she descends a bare inch. She’s so fucking beautiful, it’s unreal. The overhead lights in our bedroom lovingly caress her body, lingering on her fuller-than-normal breasts, on the faint curve of her stomach, on her strong thighs. They even manage to reach her perfect pussy as she takes my cock, inch by inch.
Watching my length disappear into her is something I’ve fantasized about more often than I’ll ever admit. It’s so much better in reality. Even with her orgasm slicking the way, she has to fight to descend on my cock. We’ve done this before, but I’ve never been able to drink in the sight of her in the process. The lights weren’t off on our wedding night, but there was no room for this kind of intimacy.
“You can take it,” I murmur. I grip her thighs, holding her wide as she rocks to take me deeper. “There you go, love. Just like that.”
Her rocking hitches, and I have a beat to realize what I just said before Callisto plants her hands on my chest, her nails pricking my skin. “The way you watch me…”
Be careful.I ignore the internal warning. I can’t think of anything but her right now. “How do I watch you?”
She sinks the last inch, sealing us together tightly. Callisto shivers and it feels so good, I can’t stop my grip from spasming on her thighs. She slides her hand down her stomach to her pussy, creating a V with her fingers. She starts fucking me slowly, applying friction to either side of her clit. “Like you want to tattoo your name on my ass.”
That surprises a choked laugh from me. “Not your ass, love.” Damn it, I didn’t mean to say it again. The word just keeps slipping out. “I’d do it right here.” I shift my touch to cover her hand, pressing her harder against herself. She moans, which is a fucking mistake because my words once again get away from me. “So that every lover you take is constantly reminded of whose ring you wear.”
“You aresucha brute.” The words come out slow and sensual. Callisto rides me with a steady rhythm as if she could go all night. She’s beautiful enough to make my control shudder, lean and sharp and all too willing to cut the unwary. I’ve never wanted to feel the edge of a partner’s blade the way I do with her. The little moments hurt, but the hurt means they happened.
And now here she is, flushed and fiery, coming back to herself, one stroke at a time. It’s there in the way her spine straightens, the angle her chin tilts, in how she finally lets her eyes flutter shut and head fall back. Without her gaze challenging me, I can drink in the sight of her at my leisure.
I want to believe there’s a future wherethisis how we are together. I love the thorns and viciousness, but I’m a greedy fucker because I want all of her. I want her fury and her strength and her trust and her vulnerability.
I want her…love.
Right now, she’s giving me her trust, even though I don’t deserve it. How can I when she was harmed under my watch? My gaze tracks to the bandages marring her golden skin. I should have been there to protect her.
