I hadn’t realized I’d slipped my control and reached into his mind until he responded with his own thoughts.
So impatientto order a king around like that.
His hands left that throbbing place between my thighs and he spun me around, plastering my back against the tile as his lips crashed into mine. God, he tasted amazing. I needed to taste more of him, feel all he was. His skin was smooth and slick under my hand as I reached up to touch his chest, his coiled muscles twitching under my fingertips. He groaned into my mouth. I slid my hands down the ridges of his stomach until I found him, thick and hard, but before I could take him into my hands, he grabbed my wrists.
“Not tonight,” he groaned against my lips. “Tonight is all about you. Let me ease your tension. Let me help you sleep.”
He didn’t give me a chance to protest before he dropped to his knees, arms sliding between my thighs, and I nearly yelped as he lifted me, hooking my legs over his shoulders before he dove between them.
I moaned, back arching, head falling back against the tile as his tongue swept up my center. He didn’t stop, didn’t pause for anything, and my fingers laced in his wet hair as I held on for dear life.
My eyes fell to him, and his gaze lifted to me, glossed over as he stared up at me through his thick, dark lashes. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think straight, couldn’t form words. He stopped long enough for me to see a teasing grin form on his lips, his finger tracing lines up and down the underside of my thigh. He watched me, his smile fading into something sinful as he slipped a finger deep inside me without warning.
I cried out his name, tension coiling deep and low, and he groaned before he lowered his mouth to me again, ravaging me until my body gave into the climax.
I laid on his chest, warm blankets draped over us as he held me. My fingers traced the black lines of his tattoo, the symbols bursting from the crescent moon on his pectoral, spiraling in smoky waves down his arm. “Where did you get this tattoo?”
He glanced down at it before letting his head fall back on the pillow. “It’s the symbol of my vows to Selene as a warrior and leader of the immortal race.”
“It’s beautiful,” I murmured, tracing over a space within the shadows and text. For some strange reason, it felt as if something were... missing.
“Every warrior of The Order gets one, and the pattern varies depending on their house.”
I tilted my head to gaze at him. “Do I get one now that I’m fighting the darklings with you?”
His eyes drifted toward the ceiling, an arm folded behind his head. “I don’t know. This is all so new. Everything we’ve done so far has kind of been learning as we go now that you’re human. Why? Do you want one?”
I shrugged. “I kind of do... Do they serve a purpose other than symbolizing a vow?”
“Outside of it being a symbol of our vow, it imbues some of her power into us. It amplifies our magic, but you have to master the magic first. With you, there are so many abilities you’ve yet to learn. It wouldn’t be good for them to be enhanced before you have control of them, and I’d be afraid of it furthering the strain on your body.”
What was it like to take vows as a warrior? I traced the black ink down to his elbow. When did he take his vows? Had I been there to see it happen?
“Thank you for the massage.”
A smug grin formed on his face, and he licked his lips. “I knew you’d be sore after tonight. You’ll still be sore in the morning, but I hope it helped.”
I bit back the smile. “Oh, it helped...”
His low laugh filled my ears, and he combed his fingers through my hair before pulling the blanket over my shoulders. “Try to get some rest,mea luna.”
I tried to focus on the sound of air filling his lungs, his heartbeat a soothing rhythm in my ear. I should close my eyes and sleep, but I couldn’t.
My thoughts drifted to my conversation with Salwa earlier that day, the things I had held onto over these last few months. I hadn’t been able to talk to him about the things that happened with Marcus, had wanted to, but...
“Damien?”
“Yeah?” he asked, gaze falling on me. I pushed myself up, and his brows scrunched together. “Everything ok?”
I parted my lips, but the words fell short. How would I even put into words everything that happened in that cell? Damien had told me time and time again that if I was ever ready to talk, he was there for me.
“I... I think I’m ready to talk about everything that happened...”
His eyes widened slightly, as if understanding the gravity of my words, and he pushed himself up to sit.
“I just...” I hesitated, chewing the inside of my lip as I struggled to find the words. “I’m sorry. It’s late and you’re probably tire—”
Damien’s hand grabbed onto mine, and my eyes shot back to him. “I’m ok. I told you I would be here when you were ready to talk.”
