He draws the dagger from my left sheath and presses the cold side of the blade to my belly. “Did Cassius tell you that these daggers came from Tenebris?”
“No.” My voice comes out breathy and uneven, the cold edge of the blade barely tracing up my skin toward my left breast. My daggers are insanely sharp, but I trust him even when he presses the point right under my pebbled nipple. The lace of my bra is no barrier, and I feel the icy bite, just on the edge of pain. Oddly, as cold as the steel is, only heat rushes to my core. Wetness pools between my legs. I straighten, my breath coming faster with my excitement.
“Oh yes. These are Stygian blades, forged by Stygarde’s renowned blacksmiths in the belly of Mount Damocles. Warrior blades. Perfectly balanced. Made of the sharpest metal our world has to offer. It’s a silver alloy, effective against vampires and shades alike.” He uses the blade to cut the lace beside my nipple. Although I feel the edge, he doesn’t so much as scratch my skin. My breast spills from its containment, the tip straining toward his mouth.
He pauses, simply staring, as if the sight of my breast is too beautiful, too distracting, to even remember to breathe. The adoration in his eyes sends a rush of heat through me, causing my breath to stutter. He hears it and flashes me a wicked smile before removing the blade and replacing it with the curl of his tongue. He sucks the tip between his fangs. The scrape of his teeth against my skin is exquisite. I feel it all the way down to my clit. I gasp and bury my fingers in his hair. The rumble of his growl tickles my flesh as he draws back and uses the dagger to cut through the other cup of my bra. I press my thighs together and squirm as he sucks my other nipple between his fangs, heat kindling deep inside until I think I must burst into flames.
The entire time, his eyes are on me, worshipping, hungry.
“You owe me a bra.” I slant him a grin, then snatch my other dagger from its holster, bringing it to the collar of his shirt. I grip the cloth with my opposite hand and cut it off him, throwing the garment aside.
“The shirt makes us even.”
I trace my hand over the smooth expanse of his broad chest, hard bands of muscle leading my touch south. I point the tip of my blade toward the tent in the front of his pants. “Will you remove those, or do I have to do it for you?”
His eyes dart from the blade to my face. “I think I’ll do the honors.” Tossing the blade in his hand aside, he stands from the bed, forcing me to take a step back as he toes off his boots and strips off his pants and everything underneath. I release the blade in my hand, and it clatters to the floor.
A naked Damien is an overwhelming sight. For a moment I’m left breathless. My gaze roves over the rippled landscape of his abs, thinner now after his time in the silo but as tantalizing as ever, up to the blocky structure of his chest and shoulders, then to his neck. His dark waves are longer now, down to his shoulders, but his face is exactly as it was the night we met. Strong jaw, full lips, hollow cheeks that hold a hint of hunger, and ice-blue diamond eyes that cut right through to my soul.
His lids sink low until he’s looking at me through his lashes. “Do you know what it does to me to see you like this?” His erection, thick and long, juts from between his legs, and I lick my lips, my body throbbing with need. “You’re larger than life. You’re like a god.”
His eyes close as if the compliment causes him physical pain. I remember then what he’s been through, what the queen did to him. I can’t smell her on him the way he could smell vampires on me, but I make a silent vow that by the time this day is over, the only scent on either of us will be each other.
I fist his hips and turn him as I kneel on the bed, his intimidatingly large length swollen between us. Lifting my eyes to meet his, I load mine with all the love and longing I’ve felt these past months. His cock twitches at the feel of my breath, sending a jolt of need through me. Our gazes locked, I flatten my tongue against his shaft and lick him base to tip.
He moans, his hands finding my hair and digging in. I circle the head of his cock with my tongue, humming at the salty bead of moisture I find in its crease. He tastes incredible, and I wonder if this is something that comes with our mating bond or if it’s just him. I can’t get enough. I suck his balls into my mouth until he growls, then lick his full length again, savoring the moment as I swirl my tongue over the tip.
“Gods, Eloise…” His chest rises and falls like he’s in a full-out battle.
I stop, smile up at him, and then suck him deep, opening my throat to allow him even deeper. He’s too big to fit, but I take as much as I can, stretching my mouth wide.
He growls, his expression somewhere between ecstasy and awe. It kindles the fire within me. I squeeze my thighs together as I wrap a hand around the base of him and fall into a rhythm, sucking and stroking until his fingers in my hair grow more urgent, cupping the back of my head as his thrusts grow in intensity.
“Mmmm.” I hum my pleasure, feeling him harden and lengthen.
He finds his release on a silent, shuddering scream. I swallow everything he gives me, our mating scent filling the room like the best musky cologne. When his body finally relaxes, I sit back on my heels and offer him a slow, sinful smile.
He cradles my jaw in his enormous hand, beholding me with a possessive and singular focus. “What a good little bird.” In a flash, he scoops me off the bed and sets me on my feet in front of him. With a firm grip on my hair, he leans down to whisper in my ear. “How shall I reward you?”
Neither of his hands moves, but cool fingers trace up my thighs. I glance down to see his shadows coil up my legs and around my waist. Air caresses my skin as I’m stripped of everything below my waist and currents of darkness lick up my legs like a growing fire. I feel them along the backs of my knees, between my thighs, rounding over my hips, exploring my ribs. They sweep under my breasts, then tease my nipples like a breeze against naked flesh.
“Damien please.” The ache between my legs is almost painful.
The shadows tease their way lower, fill my navel with silken darkness before slithering south to circle the swollen bud between my legs.
I moan, unable to contain the pleasure I’d forgotten my body was capable of. Damien kisses the sound away, his tongue claiming my mouth like an unexplored land. His fang knicks something, his lip or mine I have no idea, but the slight taste of blood flavors the kiss. It must be his. I feel no pain, only a building ecstasy. Desperate for more, I thrust my hips, seeking friction, wanting the shadows to press harder, faster.
I tremble with need.
“Do you know what I thought about every day I was a prisoner in that fucking tower?”
I shake my head as the shadows lick between the mounds of my ass, teasing my back entrance, up my sides. It’s like a thousand tongues flicking along my skin.
“When the pain was too much and I thought about giving up, I thought about you and how if I could just be in your arms one more time and have you look at me like you’re looking at me now, it would be worth every moment I spent burning in that hell.”
I reach up and dig my fingers in his hair, the shadows up to my shoulders now, like I’m surrounded by a million beating butterfly wings. I tip my head back, groaning as one parts my folds and enters me, stroking deep and leaving me breathless.
With my hands on his chest, I gasp. “Please, Damien, I need you inside me. I’ve waited so long.”
