Crown of Thorns by E.M. Snow
26
I’m reelingas I make my way through the house. Everything that was revealed during that fight is rushing through my head, and my mind keeps settling on the fact that Phoenix and Gideon’s parents have been MIA for months now. Far longer than I’ve been living here. Every time I asked him when I would see his parents, when I could speak with them, he’d blown me off or given me the business trip excuse, never once telling me his parents were just … gone. I want an explanation, and I think I deserve one after all the shit he’s put me through.
After searching a bit, I finally end up outside the library. The door is closed, but I don’t bother to knock and storm inside. To my relief, he’s there, lounging in one of the leather armchairs in front of the fireplace, a crystal glass of amber liquor dangling from his fingers. He casts me an almost bored expression as I shut the door behind me and cross the room to stand in front of him with my arms crossed. I glare down at him.
“Where are your parents?” I demand to know without preamble.
“Hello to you too, Luna,” he drawls, taking a long sip of his drink. “I figured you’d be with Aric, but I guess you’re full of surprises tonight.”
“If you know where they are, why haven’t you told me?” I demand, not willing to let the topic go. “Why all the lies?”
He heaves an annoyed sigh. “Don’t pay attention to what Alaric says. He’s full of shit.”
“No, that’s definitely you.” I drag my hands through my hair and let out a harsh cry. “You’re avoiding answering me, Phoenix. Just tell me where they are.”
He pushes to his feet so he’s towering over me. His brilliant green eyes flash with irritation, but his tone is cool, calm, and collected when he opens his full lips to speak. “Don’t you have more important things to worry about? Like your brother and his whereabouts? The fact that he only has weeks left and he hasn’t produced a fucking thing? I would think you’d be putting more focus into finding him and getting him to save your ass.”
“No.” At that, he walks away from me toward the liquor cart in the corner to pour himself another drink. I follow him, not willing to let him distract me. “We’re not talking about Jasper. And it would actually be much easier if I could explain everything to your father and get him to let me go than to try and hunt down my brother.”
“I doubt it,” he snorts.
“Why?” I demand. “Because Aric is right, and your parents are really gone?”
The brutal look he shoots my way makes me swallow hard. “You really need to learn to keep your mouth shut, you know that? You’re going to get yourself into trouble someday.”
“Is that a threat?”
“More of a promise,” he rumbles. “Now, get out of here before I make you.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
I don’t know why I insist on challenging like this. In my head, I know it’s only going to lead to trouble for me, but I just can’t seem to help myself. I think a part of me wants him to know that he can’t just push me around anymore. That I’m not his toy or plaything, no matter what he likes to think.
He glares at me for several long moments before he finally churns out, “Do not fuck with me, Luna. Not unless you’re ready to face the consequences.”
“I’m not scared of you,” I respond in a firm tone. “All I want is for you to tell me what I want to know. Where are your parents?”
He closes the distance between us before I realize he’s moved. He grabs the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my black hair, and yanks me in for a brutal kiss. I gasp and grab onto the front of his shirt as his tongue sweeps into my mouth to dominate mine. As if my body has just been waiting for this, I sag against him in what seems like relief as he devours my lips.
Grabbing my waist, he pulls me back with him toward the chair he was just sitting in. He drops down in the seat and then drags me with him so I’m straddling his lap. His hands drop to my ass, and he presses me down so I’m flush against his growing erection.
“Phoenix, don’t—” I murmur against his mouth, but he tugs my bottom lip between his teeth to stop me.
“Your pussy is already wet for me,” he husks when he releases my flesh, and a thrill shoots through me. “Is that what you get off on?”
Before I can respond, before I can even think of a response, his mouth is on mine again.
Everything we were just fighting about leaves my head as I grow drunk on his kiss. How does he have this power over me? Why can’t I seem to feel this way with anyone else? Even that feeling I’d had as I almost kissed Alaric again doesn’t come anywhere close to the mind-numbing intensity of what I experience with Phoenix.
He grabs the bottom of my t-shirt and then begins to yank it up, but suddenly stops half-way through.
“Your bedroom,” he growls.
“No one will come in here,” I manage, surprising myself with my words and my breathy tone. I grip my shirt myself and yank it up and over my head, leaving me topless except for my bra.
His eyes land on my breasts and his jaw clenches. As if he can’t help himself, he raises his hands and cups them, squeezing and molding them until I throw back my head and groan.
“You’re so fucking soft,” he murmurs, though I don’t know that he’s necessarily talking to me as much as he’s talking to himself.
“Phoenix,” I whimper, my fingers playing at the waistband of his pants before I slide one palm down to grip his dick through his clothes. A hiss escapes his lips, and his hips buck involuntarily.
“Fuck,” he snarls. “Your room, Luna, and then you can suck me off.”
“Here.” Before he can respond, I slide off his lap and onto the floor in front of him. Gripping his knees, I push them apart and then begin taking off his pants. When he doesn’t immediately move to help me, I glance up at him with a small frown. He’s gazing down at me with this torn expression, and for a moment I wonder if he’s going to tell me to stop. I don’t know why he would, though, just like I don’t fully understand why I’m so willingly on my knees before him without him cajoling me at all. I’m not really in the mood to fight this, though.
At length, however, he lets out a growl and lifts himself so I can pull down his pants. His erection springs free and I reach out to wrap my fingers around his base. I stroke him once, twice, and then I lean forward and lick at his head. He releases a low groan and then I take him into my mouth completely. He grasps my head in both his hands, but he doesn’t try to force the pace, but lets me set it. Whatever objections he might have had before disappear as I bob my head up and down on his cock, reveling in the sounds he’s making that I know he’s trying to hold back.
He doesn’t let me go on for long. Gripping my hair, he pulls me off him and leans down to kiss me fiercely before grabbing my arms and pulling me to my feet as he stands. I can tell that he’s lost in the moment, and I’m really no better. I don’t put up any resistance as he guides me over to a decorative couch next to the wall by one of the windows. He guides me down so I’m lying on my back on the cushions.
He strips off his shirt and then bends down to grab my shorts and yank them down and off my legs. Naked, he lowers himself over me and the next thing I know, we’re kissing again and he’s resting between my parted legs that I have wrapped around his waist. Things are escalating quickly, and so I really shouldn’t have been surprised when he slips his fingers in my panties and begin pulling them down my thighs.
We’re about to have sex. That’s what’s happening right now. Obviously, that would be where this was heading, but I feel as though my head is spinning and I’m suddenly playing catch-up with the moment.
“Wait,” I gasp, reaching down to grab one of his wrists.
He pauses, but I can see that he doesn’t want to. Still, he’s holding himself back, waiting for me to say whatever it is I need to say.
Suddenly, I feel nervous. A small part of me just wants to keep going and say screw it to telling him the truth, but I know enough that I understand sex probably won’t be great if he’s not made aware.
“What is it?” he growls when I don’t speak up right away.
“I…” I take a deep breath and just let it out. “I’m a virgin.”