He released me to tug at the black cape, and it fell from the fixture on his armor. The brown satchel slung over one shoulder, the thick orb protruding a roundness from one side. My heart thundered in my ears, but I drew a breath to urge it to slow. I needed to pick the perfect time to reach for the orb.
Dray drew the satchel over his head and let it drop on top of the cape. He reached for the armor, but I stilled his grip.
Instead, I ran my hands over the leather plates and pulled away the fastenings on the top. Dray’s chest plate fell, and his black tunic followed. He let me undo the buttons on his breeches before waving my hands away and pushing them off himself.
My thoughts danced between the satchel on the ground and the glorious man in front of me. Without the pressure of a quick coupling, I took in the pleasantness of his form. Powerful muscles outline his figure, hinting at the strength I’d felt in his grasp. Budded skin perched along scars turned pink with age. His jaw sharpened into full lips, hugged by a rough line of stubble.
He pulled me near with a new gentleness to his touch. His fingers caressed my skin as soft as a groom to a bride. Tingles caught through my body and built at my sex. He felt the same, evidenced by the hard press of his cock on my stomach.
“Elys,” he groaned into my hair.
I closed my eyes. Dray’s light touches grew deeper, and he massaged my shoulders and upper back, washing away the knots from yesterday’s ride. I would have moaned, if I could have.
I opened my eyes again and glanced at the satchel laying on the floor beside us. Dray looked only at me.
He caught my breast with one hand, but I put my palm against his wrist.
His eyes darkened and his mouth opened, but I didn’t give him an opportunity to turn angry. I dropped to my knees before him and stroked the length of his cock with my fingertip.
The Reaper shivered, and his head fell back. Good. I wrapped my hand over him and gave him a firmer stroke, eliciting a grumble from his chest. He gave no indication of looking my way, and I intended to keep his attention elsewhere for as long as possible.
My other hand reached for the satchel. I caught my breath, but my fingertips barely touched the fabric strap.
“Don’t stop,” Dray said. I snatched my hand back just before he returned his gaze to me.
I smiled. I didn’t plan to stop until I had the orb in my grasp.
“Suck it,” he said.
I froze and bit my lip. That hadn’t been in my plans, but the mere suggestion caused my mouth to water in anticipation.
Dray secured his hand around the back of my head and drew me near him. I parted my lips and took him inside my mouth. For a moment, his size caught me unprepared. He pushed against the back of my tongue and I choked at the feel.
“Breathe,” he said, watching me with a hawk’s expression. Like a rabbit on the strike-path, I needed to evade his sharp gaze. “Through your nose.”
I sucked in air, and the choking sensation faded. He moved his hips back, then pulsed deeper into my mouth. I found the rhythm and added suction. Dray’s eyes rolled back, giving me another opportunity to reach for the orb.
My fingers brushed the cool material again. I struggled to keep the Reaper in my mouth, and ignore the twists of pleasure that his cock inside me drew from my core as I reached for the satchel. The very tips of my fingers caught the strap, and I eased it a hand spread closer.
“More,” Dray didn’t drop his head to look down again, though my pulse paused in my throat. “Suck me harder.”
Warm drool spilled around him, slipping down my chin. The satchel was finally close enough to grab the strap in one hand, but the other rested on Dray’s hip to steady myself as he continued to thrust into me.
A mix of desire and panic bit through me. My traitorous body turned eager the longer Dray kept his cock in my mouth, but long settled determination to break this curse beat away the building need.
I needed two hands to open the drawstring of the bag. I calculated the time it would take to open the satchel, find the orb, and break it before Dray stopped me.
There was only one way to try.
I pushed my head against his hand and broke the seal from his cock. Before the Reaper had time to restrain me, I flung myself away from him. My stomach landed on the hard stone floor, with the satchel trapped between.
An eerie growl escaped behind me. I ignored the hot tide of rage simmering from the Reaper’s place and pried the bag’s strings open.
An unyielding hand grabbed my ankle, sending shockwaves of pain through me. I gasped, but continued fumbling inside the bag.
My hand brushed a solid, round ball.
I drew the orb from the satchel, and the torchlight caught its molten middle. The gold inside seemed to stretch and fold as though alive, trying to hypnotize me with its very essence.
