His lips curl into a smile that feels like a reward, a gift only for me, before he brushes his mouth over mine. “Precious girl.”
Koen’s fingers curl into the waistband of the boxers, his gaze burning into me as he peels the fabric down my legs. Cool air kisses my skin, and I shiver, every nerve alight and waiting. The boxers join the rest of my clothes on the floor, and Koen uses a firm grip on my hips to pull me to the edge of the bed slowly.
Then he sinks to his knees in front of me.
A breath shudders out of me because—fuck.
Koen Lane is on his knees.
For me.
His hands slide up my thighs, spreading me open with the same reverence they held when he looked into my eyes. Like he’s worshiping both my body and who I am inside with his touch. My pulse is beating in my clit, thrumming out a frantic rhythm of need.
He lowers his head, his mouth brushing along the skin of my inner thigh before he places a slow, open-mouthed kiss, then another, the scrape of his teeth making my muscles tighten.
“Now repeat after me,” he murmurs, his lips brushing against the valley of my hip. “Nothing is wrong with me.”
I draw a shaky breath through my nose. The words feel foreign as I form them, but the need to feel his mouth where I want it overpowers my hesitation.
“Nothing is wrong with me.”
He hums in approval, his tongue flicking out to taste my skin. “Just like that, precious. So damn perfect.”
The praise melts through me, a wave of warmth that settles in my core as I tilt my hips toward him in desperation, seeking his touch.
His lips trail lower, his tongue tracing patterns that leave my skin tingling. He sucks at the flesh of my inner thigh until a bruise blooms beneath his mouth. The sharp pull of his suction makes me gasp, my thighs twitching as pleasure ripples through me.
“Say ‘I’m worthy.’”
My heart skips a beat at his command. I want to obey, but the words lodge in my throat as my mind races.
Worthy of what? Of him? Of this? Of something that feels dangerously close to love?
My mind rebels, whispering old doubts, old wounds. “I…” My words falter, and he nips my skin in either warning or encouragement, or both, so I press out, “I’m worthy of some things, I guess?” It’s more a question than a statement.
His teeth close around the flesh of my thigh, and the bite is sharp enough to make me yelp and send a jolt of pleasure-pain shooting straight to my core, making my pussy clench and ache for more.
But then Koen’s mouth leaves my thigh, the imprint of his teeth burning hot, a sting that fades into a dull, delicious ache.
Mine.The thought is sudden, unbidden, but it sinks in deep. He’s marking me as his, but I want to mark him too. So I reach down and dig my nails in his forearm. He hisses, but it only stokes the fire in his eyes.
He pushes up my thigh, pressing it toward my stomach, opening me wider. His tongue follows the path of his hands, tracing a wet, heated line from the tender bite mark all the way up to my knee. He moves torturously slowly, every nerve in my body strung tight with every sensation.
“Didn’t you understand the instructions?”
“I’m not dense, Koen.” I glare at him, frustration swirling with desire. “You don’t need to train me like one of your mentalism subjects.”
His low chuckle rumbles against my skin. “No, precious. You’re too sharp for that. But you still don’t see what I do.”
His fingers slide along my slit, a feather-light touch that makes me gasp and arch toward him. “I’m worthy,” he repeats, his tone commanding. “Say it.”
I shake my head. “You said I shouldn’t lie.”
Koen exhales sharply, looking almost pained. Like my refusal to believe this hurts him more than anything else could.
He growls softly, letting go of my thigh, his fingers tracing my slit, spreading the wetness but deliberately avoiding where I need him most. It’s maddening, a slow torment that makes my body hum with desperation.
“That’s not a lie. Youarefucking worthy.” His fingers continue to tease, skirting the edges of my clit but never touching it, never giving me the relief I crave. My hips roll toward him once more, but he holds me firm. “You think your body is your weapon. Your strength. Your worth.” His tongue flicks out, tasting the crease where my thigh meets my hip. “Maybe you think it’s the only thing you’re worth.”
