But then she arched into my touch, water rippling around us, and my resolve cracked. My hands slid to her waist, turning her to face me and pulling her closer. She came willingly, her body aligning with mine until I could feel every curve, every breath.
"Atlas..." Her voice was barely a whisper.
I couldn't help myself. I pressed my lips to the curve of her shoulder, tasting water and salt and her. She shivered despite the heat.
"Tell me to stop," I murmured against her skin.
"Don't."
That single word shattered me.
My mouth moved to her neck, kissing, tasting, teeth grazing the sensitive spot below her ear that made her gasp. Her fingers tangled in my hair, holding me there, and the bond flared hot and insistent between us.
"Gods, Caelira..." I breathed against her throat.
My hands roamed freely now, no longer gentle, no longer careful. One slid up to cup her breast, thumb brushing over her nipple until it peaked beneath my touch. She moaned, the sound echoing off the stone walls.
The shadows writhed at the edges of the room, responding to her rising pleasure. I kissed lower, across her collarbone, down to take her nipple in my mouth. She cried out, back arching, water sloshing over the rim of the tub.
"Please…” she gasped.
"Please what?" I murmured against her skin, though I knew. Gods, I knew.
"Touch me. I need…"
I didn't let her finish. I lifted her onto the edge of the tub, water streaming down her thighs. Her eyes went wide, dark with want, lips parted on a breath she couldn't catch.
"I'm going to taste you," I told her, voice rough. "Every inch."
She nodded, trembling.
I started at her knee, kissing up the inside of her thigh with agonizing slowness. She whimpered, fingers gripping the stone edge.
"Atlas, please…"
Higher. Another kiss. Another.
"Please what?" I asked again, looking up at her.
"Stop teasing me," she begged, and the desperation in her voice nearly undid me.
I spread her thighs wider and finally, finally, put my mouth on her pussy.
She cried out, head falling back, and I groaned at the taste of her. Sweet and perfect and mine.
I didn't hold back.
My tongue moved over her in long, deliberate strokes, learning what made her shake, what made her moan my name. I circled her clit, teased it, then sucked gently.
"Oh gods, Atlas…"
Her hips rolled against my mouth, seeking more, and I gave it to her. I devoured her like a man starving, like she was air and I'd been drowning.
The bond blazed between us, white-hot and overwhelming. Her shadows exploded outward, wrapping around us both, pulsing in time with her racing heart.
"I can't… I'm going to…”
"Let go," I commanded against her. "Come for me."
