I clenched my jaw to keep my lips from trembling and eased onto the mattress beside him. I laid on my back stiffly. Braxis laid his head beside mine, slid his bottom arm beneath my upper back, and draped his top arm across my belly to then bring them together in an embrace. His breath brushed my cheek, hot and insistent. I pulled up the blankets, closed my eyes, and tried to ignore the fact that I was completely surrounded by my enemy. I was able to even out my breathing and thought for a moment that I might find some rest but then, under the covers, Braxis slid his hand up my torso, over my shift, gathering its fabric as he went. The hem skimmed up my thighs and the edge of his pointer finger pressed against the underside of my breast. I flinched, my eyes shooting open.
“Relax,” Braxis whispered. “I'm just touching you.”
“Nothing below the waist,” I implored breathlessly.
“It's too late for negotiations, Amara.” He chuckled. “We've already made our bargain.”
“I will allow you to touch my breasts as much as you wish if you keep your hands away from my sex,” I tried again.
Something hot and hard twitched against my thigh. Braxis pressed his hips forward and that hardness wept onto my skin. A low growl rumbled through his chest as his hand lifted to squeeze my breast. I let out a little gasp.
“Bare your breasts,” he whispered in my ear. “Allow me to touch them without anything between us and I'll agree to leave your womanhood alone.”
I couldn't speak, just nodded.
Braxis drew a sharp, excited breath as his hand slid down my belly to the shift's hem. My breath came slower and deeper as I tried not to panic. His fondling me above the waist was far preferable to what he could do below. It was as good of a deal as I could have made. And yet, I shivered as Braxis drew the hem up slowly, trailing it lightly over my belly. His breath quickened in anticipation and the hot puffs of it heated the skin of my throat.
Braxis pushed the fabric over the rise of my breasts but didn't pull back the covers. Instead, he hid his ministrations beneath the blankets. That made it a little easier for me to bear and yet when he drew his palm across my nipple, the lack of a visual also allowed me to deny who was doing this to me. I closed my eyes and sank into the sensation of that flattened palm circling me without squeezing—my nipple beading up to roll beneath it. I let out a soft sigh and his fingers lowered to grasp my breast.
Soft lips brushed the shell of my ear and his sigh filled that cavity. I went still—tensely still. His hand began to massage me, gently at first and then more firmly. He plumped my flesh and circled it before closing his thumb and pointer finger around my nipple and clamping down hard. I cried out.
“Oh, yes,” Braxis breathed in my ear. “I love that sound.”
I bit down on my lip to keep from making it again.
Braxis chuckled, bringing his other hand up to brush against my lips. His thumb pushed my top lip up and rubbed my teeth. “So stubborn.” He groaned and nuzzled my neck. “I love your breasts, Amara. Lush but pert. Big enough to suck at and grasp all at once but not so much that they get in the way. They fit my hands as if they were made for them. And your nipples.” He pinched my nipple again and pulled it upward. “So responsive. They get long enough to roll over my tongue.”
“I thought you wanted a chance to win me?” I asked breathlessly. “This is not how you do that.”
“Oh, but it is,” he whispered.
“Please, Braxis, I need some sleep.” I rolled onto my side to try to dislodge him.
Braxis growled and pulled me back against his chest to spoon me. His hand went to my breast again and started massaging it in circles. His cock—fully erect now—nestled against my ass. I tried to pull away but he held me even tighter.
“You promised,” I ground out.
“I'm not touching your sex,” he panted.
“You're going too far,” I argued. “You won't be able to stop yourself.”
“I have more control than you give me credit for, Amara.” Braxis pressed a kiss against my throat. “But you're right, I have gone too far and now I need some release.”
Braxis let go of me and laid back as he flung away the covers. I looked down at my erect nipples, flushed from his ministrations. My breasts poked out beneath the rumpled drape of my nightdress, both of them tightened despite the fact that he'd only been touching one. I reached for the covers.
“No,” he growled as he pushed my shift even further up, folding it over my throat, and pulled me down onto my back. “Let me see you. I need to see you.”
My breath caught as Braxis took his enormous erection in hand and began stroking it roughly. The tender skin rippled up over its plum head, pushing pearly fluid out of the slit. He flicked that fluid with a finger and brought it down the shaft. His other hand gathered his sacs and rolled them, his auburn curls clinging to his fingers. I was mesmerized by the brutal way he worked himself and the sound of his harsh breaths only added to the savagery.
“Lick my hand, Amara,” Braxis demanded as he released his shaft to hold his palm in front of my face.
My stare flew to his. The green had gone muddy, on the verge of becoming red. Fear lanced through my heart. I licked him; I laved his palm until it dripped, and Braxis groaned as if I were licking somewhere far more intimate. He jerked his hand away from me and set it back to his shaft, sliding it over that hard, veined piece of flesh with a sigh.
“Ah, Gods,” he groaned as his stare dropped to my breasts. “Let me suckle you, Amara.”
“No,” I whispered.
“Fuck, woman! Please! Just one nipple in my mouth.” His hands moved rapidly, the wet sound making me clench my legs together. “It would send me over in seconds.”
