“No. It’s a hazard of this power. Can you stop yourself from all you hear now?”
I bit back a retort. He was right, and yet …
“Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve loved every time you’ve done that.”
A blush crept across my cheeks, and I started to roll my hips, sucking in a breath as the heat there became more, and more. I arched my back, my hips undulating, seeking him again and again.
“Good kitten.” He wrapped his hands around my neck, stroking my skin as he moved to my shoulders, to the straps of my dress pulling them down, before at last, he palmed my bare breasts. They felt heavy in his hands, his thumbs sliding across my nipples until I cried out.
And only then, did I realize the voices had grown quiet. They were still there. My head still hurt, still pounded. But it was … less. The sounds faint. Distant.
“You see?” he asked, and kissed my cheek.
I could only pant in response.
“You need more. Come.”
He swept his arms beneath my knees, and carried me to the bed, laying me back before he crawled over me. I could hear his armor coming off. Metal hitting the ground, straps unbuckling. Cool air rushed against my skin, until his mouth fastened on a nipple.
And then he was lifting the hem of my dress, pulling the skirts above my waist, and slowly removing my underwear. He didn’t say anything as he slid his hand back up my leg, fingers grazing over my center, touching me there for the first time. His fingers moved in a circle, until I gasped and he pushed inside. I tightened around him, suddenly afraid.
“Shhh,” he thought again. “Don’t you feel it? Feel the peace. Feel the quiet?”
“Yes,” I thought.
“Good.” He returned to kissing me, moaning against my lips as his fingers started to slide in and out of me. The pleasure was starting to build, the way it did when I was alone. And before I could stop myself, my hips rocked to meet each thrust of his hand.
“You want faster?” he thought.
“Yes.” I groaned, shocked at my response. Shocked at how good it felt. “Gods, yes.” He did as I asked, giving me more, giving it to me exactly where I wanted it, where I needed it. And then I was losing control. Pleasure, raw and wild, fired through my limbs. The voices that had plagued me quieted even more. There was a silence in my head that I hadn’t felt in hours.
His tongue swept into my mouth, swallowing my cries as I came, my body shuddering around his fingers.
I’d just barely come down from the release when he cupped me roughly between my legs, then slid two fingers back inside, languidly stretching me, before adding a third.
“Morgana, you know what comes next.”
“What?” I asked, even though I knew the answer. I still needed to hear it.
“I’m going to fuck you,” he whispered.
I clenched around him, nervous again as I heard his belt unbuckle, and his pants slide down. My legs shook as he crawled on top of me, spreading me further. I could feel the soft hairs on his legs against the smoothness of my skin.
“Wait. I don’t know. I’m not sure,” I thought urgently. I still hadn’t seen his face. I still didn’t know his name. Or if I was making a mistake. How had I gotten here? What in Lumeria was I even doing? This was a stranger. This was the last thing I expected to happen today.
“It’s okay. I’m going to take away the pain, remember? Take all the pain that lingers.”
The high of my orgasm was starting to subside, and I could feel the torture of my vorakh already returning. The pounding headache amping up again with slow, steady beats. The inane thoughts of every person still awake in Cresthaven driving into my skull.
My mind was twisting, scared of what I was doing. Scared of who he might be. Wondering if I should wait, if this was supposed to be more special, more meaningful. Just … more. And yet … What did it fucking matter? I’d been wanting to do this, hadn’t I? And I wanted the pain to stop. Who cared who he was? Who cared how this happened? As long as it did, as long as the silence came.
“Okay,” I thought, and lifted my face, seeking out his lips in the dark.
“When I’m inside you,” he thought, “it will be different. We won’t be able to communicate like this. If you want something, if you need anything … you’re going to have to tell me. Out loud.”
“You won’t read my thoughts?”
“That’s the point. That’s the whole Godsdamned point.” He stroked my center.
