“No,” he rasps, his hold on my chin tightening.
Graylen sinks to his knees, his stare holding mine as he lowers himself to the floor. Gently, he places a hand on my stomach, pushing until I lie down with my back on the bed and my feet still on the floor.
“Let me take care of you, Lu,” he whispers.
Goosebumps roll across my skin as his words drift down my body, stirring heat in its wake. No one has ever taken care of me. In every sense of the word, it’s always whatIcan do for other people.
Growing up, it was what my name could get them. Once I was older, it became about being a wife—a bargaining chip to both Reichardt and theboysthat showed an interest in marriage.
Even with Opal, it was how we could help each other stay sane in the camp—a transactional relationship of what we couldgiveeach other. If anything, I was always afraid of someone hurting her and constantly looked out for the both of us—I learned to protect not just myself, but her, too.
Linnick was the only person to see me as just Lu, but even then, there was only so much he could do for me.
And by the time I came to Penyth, the only thing I knew was how to take care of myself. It was a slow process of allowing myself to trust others or to ask for help.
Butlettingsomeone take care ofme?
It was easier to never let someone that close, because the deeper I let people in, the more they could hurt me.
As much as I need this, Graylen needs it more. He’s the one hurting, the one who needs to be taken care of.
“But you?—”
“No.” He cuts me off, gaze burning. “Doing this,thisis what’s going to stop me from succumbing to the memories, little princess.”
My breath catches, and I nod. I would give him the world if he asked for it.
Graylen’s fingers wrap around my ankles, our gazes still locked as he begins to run his hands up my calves. With hisascent, he lifts the skirts of my dress, raising it until it bunches at my waist.
Still, his eyes stayed on mine.
I’ve never been good at letting someone take care of me, but this isGraylen. The man I trust more than myself sometimes. He keeps me grounded—keeps me anchored. If there’s anyone for whom I would let my guard down, it would be him.
Every. Single. Time.
“I trust you,” I blurt. “I don’t think I’ve said that out loud before.”
Graylen pauses, tilting his head to the side as he murmurs, “And I wouldn’t be here right now if I didn’t trust you. You own me, Lunaria. Heart, body, and soul. They’re all yours for the taking.”
A soft smile tugs at his lips, and he leans forward, his mouth hovering above my inner thigh. “Now relax,” he whispers. “And let me worship you.”
When he presses a kiss to my skin, I don’t try to tamp down the groan that rumbles in my throat.
“This is what I needed,”Graylen says into my mind. His hands slide under my knees. In one fluid motion, he hooks both of my legs over his shoulder, leaning in closer until my thighs bracket his face. My back arches off the bed, and I prop myself up on my elbows, looking down into his heated gaze.“I needed to drown in you so I could breathe again.”
He doesn’t give me time to answer—doesn’t give me time tothink—before he lowers his mouth and devours me. My hands fly out to grip the bed, fisting the sheets to keep them off of Graylen. Giving them something to do so that he has freedom to do as he pleases without being touched.
He buries his between my legs and beneath my skirts.
His tongue works a punishing rhythm as it swirls in and out of me. He unhooks one of his arms to push my stomach down, angling my hips forward.
I squeeze my eyes shut as he presses down. But the handholding me in place doesn’t stay there for long. The pressure of it falls away at the same moment his mouth lifts off of me.
“Look at me while I touch you,” Graylen demands softly. “Let me see those pretty eyes while I remind myself what you taste like.”
My gaze flies to him, still on his knees before me.
He slides my legs off of his shoulders and rises to his feet. I don’t break his stare as he leans over the bed, setting his hands on either side of my face as he presses his palms into the thin mattress.
