Page 27 of Mastering their Maiden

Dex pursed his lips, then he lifted his hand and set it on my shoulder, pushing back my hair and brushing his thumb over my jaw. “There is a reason we sought out your villages, Aria. You are all unique. Not only can you bear our children, but your bodies adapt to us so easily. I’ve seen a few maidens and paramours with markings like you have,” he murmured, drawing his thumb over the dark spot behind my ear, the one I’d had since I was a child. It was circular, almost like a spiral, and his fingers sent shivers down my spine as he traced the lines, still smiling gently.

“It’s just a birthmark.”

He shrugged. “Could be. Or it could be a link to your origins on this plane. A thread to your past. There are legends that mention a tribe lost in a near apocalyptic event. It was said some of their members were elite servants of their goddess, tasked with offering their bodies up for pleasure to those seeking connection. They gave seed to those without, and wombs to those who were barren.” He traced the birthmark again, smiling softly. “Perhaps you and the other humans are their descendants, and any essence of their goddess left in you calls to us. Like a siren.”

I swallowed, fighting hard not to lean into Dex’s touch. His hands were so warm and soothing, and I wanted to succumb to his comfort just as much as I longed to pull away. “Maybe it’s not an essence,” I said softly. “Perhaps it’s nothing more than lust.”

Dex laughed, his lips dipping down to press against my cheek. “Lust itself is an essence. One that can create as easily as it can destroy.”

His mouth moved along my jaw, and I shivered, forced to grip his tunic as he pulled me close to his body and lifted me almost off my feet. “Is that what you’re doing now?” I asked. “Trying to destroy me?”

“Never, sweet girl.”

“Then why are your hands so hot?”

His laugh tickled my ear, and he pulled back, setting me on my feet again and continuing to run his palms over my body. “I’m easing the aches you’re carrying. The stiffness in your muscles from working with Zander yesterday.”

I stared at him, checking in with my body and noticing that the tightness in my back and hips had faded. Zander had not gone easy on me with his spear. I’d savored the challenge, but it left me exhausted, stiff, and achy when I got out of bed. But now it was rapidly fading away under Dex’s touch.

“So, you’re the healer in the group?” I asked, watching Dex nod. “How does it work? Did you cast a spell on me?”

“No, our magic is not like that. We’re not warlocks or witches. There are no incantations or potions we use to harness our power. It comes from within. The essence of the gods who birthed us. The ones who sourced their strength from the sun and their passion from the moon.”

Dex pulled me close again, and this time he cupped the back of my neck, his other hand pressing against my chest. “Close your eyes.”

I did as he asked, shivering as the remaining tension seemed to melt out of my body into the ground under my feet. “Minor injuries or soreness can be eased with a touch, deeper wounds take time and more of our strength,” Dex murmured, and he released my neck to wrap that arm around my waist, tucking me against his solid body. My hands pressed to his chest, and he kept his palm over my sternum, not reaching down to fondle my breasts or taunt me in any way. He held me. Just… held me, letting out a soft sigh when his head fell against mine.

“What wounds do you have, sweet girl? What other aches would you like me to ease?”

A sad, breathy laugh slipped past my lips, and I closed my eyes to avoid looking at the tender expression on his face. I don’t think you can ease the pain I carry.

Instantly I averted my gaze. The words were on my tongue, but I somehow managed to keep them from spilling out. My face flushed, body tensing with dread as emotions I hadn’t let myself feel for years burst to the surface. Like a dam unleashing itself. The force of it was so strong my eyes pricked, and when they did Dex’s hand seemed to grow warmer. Almost hot. His fingers flexed slightly, then he slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me close while I kept my eyes on the ground.

Why had I thought that? Worse, why had I almost said it out loud? Confessing something like that… It was like turning your back on a predator.

Dex said he was no warlock, but I begged to differ. That was the only explanation for why I’d almost let that confession slip out. He’d pulled it out of me through some unspoken spell.

The dull ache in my chest intensified, and Dex kept his arm around me while I continued staring at the ground, watching a small chipmunk skitter up into a tree. I felt his lips press to my temple, and I bit my cheek to scare away the shiver of pleasure that tickled the base of my spine.

“Maybe I can’t ease that ache with my hands,” he murmured, “but new bonds make your pain easier to bear.”

I bit the inside of my cheek harder, studying the intricate patterns in the bark of a tree and trying to ignore the warm sensation of Dex’s breath against my ear. How could he think he’d ease my pain when his tribe had been partly responsible for it? How could I crave this bond he spoke of when his people were the ones that destroyed mine?

“That’s what the Moonlight Rite does, Aria,” he went on, smoothing his palm up and down my back. “It forms a bond between us, one not easily broken.”

“What if I don’t want your bonds?” My voice was shaking, and so soft despite the anger I tried to force into words. “Are you going to force them on me? Take me even if I scream and demand you stop?”

Dex’s hand stroked over my hair and he laughed softly, then cupped my jaw to turn my gaze back to his. “Would you truly fight it? Deny yourself the chance to heal the pain I can feel? The one buried deep inside your heart?”

The hand he held on my chest warmed again, and I tried to twist away, unable to keep looking at those golden eyes that seemed to bore into mine. A sharp inhale betrayed my attempt at anger though, and Dex smiled as he lifted his hand, curling it around my jaw to hold my gaze. “Does it feel safer for you to resist? To fight us and keep your heart and soul caged rather than risk being hurt again?”

I clenched my fists, looking away as I tried to fortify this cage he spoke of. My chest felt hot. So did my cheeks and my eyes. My whole body was warm and as much as I wanted to shove him and run away, I wanted to lean in.

Because he was right.

Trusting them was a risk I wasn’t ready to take. Traipsing through the forest, facing wild animals or Skepna, seemed safer than opening myself to their control. Bowing to them meant risking losing my sanity to pleasure, but worse, it meant risking losing the heart I’d barely managed to put back together after Esme left.

After she was taken.

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