Before she could think anything else about it, his strong arms scooped her around him, lifting her off the ground, his warm hands gripping her arse as she wrapped her legs around him, the wetness of her pressing into his abdomen. The hunger in his eyes told her he was aware of it too, that he knew the friction of his vest against her was delicious torture, just enough to tease, not enough to build. She couldn’t look away, their eyes fixed onto one another as he lifted her off him and on top of the ruined wall, the muscles of his arms bulging.
Aelia looked down at him from her perch and couldn’t breathe at the heat that blazed in his eyes. There was no hint of the restraint that had been there moments ago as he placed a hand on the inside of either thigh. His eyes locked with hers as he opened them, spreading her legs wide to reveal the glistening warmth between them.
Then and only then, did he tear his gaze from hers, looking greedily at what waited for him at eye level. He had never looked as predatory as he did then; she’d never seen him so unleashed, the power in him darkening his eyes, turning them so black theyswallowed the light. She didn’t need to remind herself that this was what she had wanted, her whole body throbbed with need at the sight of him so raw, so himself. She lifted her shirt higher, offering herself to him with a shift of her hips.
Keeran needed no further encouragement. His fingers squeezed into her thighs as he lowered his face towards her. He ran his tongue up her in one breathtaking sweep, as if he couldn’t wait to taste every inch of her, and the growl that escaped him sounded more beast than man.
He pulled away, shutting his eyes to savour her taste for a few rapid heartbeats, swallowing with a throaty moan. And then he feasted on her in earnest. There was no other way to describe what he did. He feasted, as if he were a man starved.
All thought of self-control was forgotten as his tongue set to work. She wasn’t even aware of the cries that escaped her as he set about discovering what she liked, playing and flicking and sucking until she quivered on the wall, only his grip on her thighs keeping her from falling as her body turned to liquid.
Her hips ground against him with a mind of their own as her pleasure coiled tightly, on the brink of exploding through her, so close her entire consciousness held its breath. And at that exact moment, Keeran pulled away.
Aelia gasped at the absence of his tongue, the need inside her desperate and frenzied. But when her eyes jumped to his, her heart twisted in her chest. She’d seen glimpses of the darkness in them, seen the black overtake the rich brown of his irises, but this was something else. Keeran was gone, and the creature looking out at her from the obsidian depths of his eyes made her blood run cold.
“You already told me once you would work with me,” Keeran said, his voice dark and gravelly, “that you would stop insisting on doing things your way.”
His thumb brushed over her clit with firm, deliberate strokes, sending tremors of pleasure up her spine. The shock of his eyes had brought her down from the brink, but just a few passes of his thumb had her biting down on a moan.
“And then you go and do it again today, putting yourself in harm's way because you won’t stop to include me in your decisions.” It wasn’t Keeran talking. There was nothing familiar in the menacing growl of his voice, but as his thumb worked over her, she found it difficult to care. “So you have no one but yourself to blame for this.”
Aelia barely had time to register what he’d said before his fingers slid into her. She felt herself clench involuntarily around them, her body needing him in a way she’d never experienced before. He curled his fingers inside her, hitting something that had a delicious ache building within her in mere moments. He settled into a rhythm, curling his fingers towards him over and over until her head hung back, her mouth dropping open in a silent cry of previously unknown pleasure.
Then his tongue got involved.
In seconds, she was close to the most earth-shattering release she’d ever felt. It rippled through her, building to the point of breaking, and then he stopped again.
Aelia groaned, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she tried to stop him from pulling away, but to no avail.
“How can I protect you if you keep doing things like this?” Keeran tilted his head as he looked up at her from under his brows, no hint of playfulness in his expression, and Aelia’s stomach flipped nervously. He wasn’t teasing her for fun, for any sense of enjoyment. This was her punishment, and by the look in his eyes, he was going to make her pay.
“I... I’m sorry,” she stammered, heart racing.
“So you’ve said.” Keeran bent to kiss the inside of her thigh, tightening his grip on her possessively. “But you apologised lasttime too, and it didn’t stop you tearing off without me today. There could have been anything waiting for you over that hill. Anything.”
The hand holding her let go, making her cling to him for fear of tumbling backwards off the wall.
“Hang on tight, Aelia,” he said, with a wicked smile.
His mouth latched onto her clit and sucked, sending her eyelids fluttering closed at the wave of bliss that washed over her. His fingers followed, slipping into her and curling up to match the rhythm of his tongue. The fabric of his vest bunched in her hands as she cried out, her legs wrapping around him to try and pull him closer. She felt his satisfied smile, but he didn’t change his pace. Instead, the fingers of his free hand slipped under her shirt to gently push her back, before his fingers trailed down her stomach with the lightest of touches. Her muscles bunched under them, and her neck dropped back as she lost herself to the sensations building within her. When he reached her pelvis, he pushed down with the flat of his hand, pressing against the relentless curling of his fingers.
Her world realigned, pleasure she hadn’t known existed coursing into her as his fingers fucked away her sanity, as his tongue devoured her inhibitions. Her legs shook, bliss wracking her body until she thought it would break her, until she forgot who she was.
She wanted to scream when he stopped the next time, pulling his mouth from her and leaving his fingers motionless, ignoring the way the walls of her clamped around them desperately.
“I wonder how long it will take for you to learn your lesson?” he asked, rhetorically. “I wonder how long it will take before you break.”
Her heart was already thundering in her chest, her breathing uncontrollable and ragged. An icy shiver of fear flooded her veins, his words making her wonder how long he planned todo this to her. Her whole body was already trembling like one giant exposed nerve, every touch, every sensation sending her whirling.
The answer came in time.
Over and over again, he took her close to the edge, each time more intense and spine curling than the last. But he stopped just as release was about to crash over her, scolding her as he waited for her to come down.
She cursed him, begged him, cursed him again, but it made no difference. He edged her until her heart thundered so loudly in her ears she was sure it would give out on her, until her need was so intense she felt like she would buckle under the force of it. And there was nothing she could do to stop him. She was stuck on the wall, his hulking form blocking her escape, with nothing but a sheer drop onto rubble behind her. She was utterly at his mercy.
And she’d fucking agreed to this. She’d asked to see his dark side, like a fucking sadist.
Sweat glistened on her skin, sticking her hair to her face, her cheeks hot and burning. Her muscles gave out on her, leaving her half draped over him.
