City of Thorns by C.N. Crawford
Chapter 31
He touched down in the shadows and lowered me to the floor. When he spoke a word in a demonic language, lights sprang to life in a chandelier above us. The flames cast a warm glow on amber stone walls, and licks of fire rose in lanterns in alcoves.
I turned to look at Orion, whose wings were still spread out wide behind him. In the light, I could see how absolutely exquisite they looked, flecked with pearly white constellations that glowed like stars, blending to silver.
“Nice wings.”
With a swirl of smoky, dark magic, his wings disappeared again. “They’re all right.” A seductive smile played over his lips. “You’re the first person I’ve brought to my grotto.”
When I turned to look at it, I realized it wasn’t simply a cave. The walls were built with golden stones, and cool, blue water flowed into a pool inset into a tile floor. By the side of the fresh pool stood a bed of flat rock, covered with a mattress and turquoise pillows.
“What is this place?” I asked.
“When I got out of the dungeons, I needed to find a quieter hideaway. In my cell, I craved other people. But now that I’m around them, I’m not used to the noise of the city.” The look in his eyes was endlessly sad, and his throat bobbed. “So this is where I go to escape. Except right now, it’s where I want to be with you.” He took a few steps closer to me.
I reached out to touch his chest, the steel beneath a soft shirt, and he shuddered. “But it must be hard to look at me when I look so much like her.”
His eyes sparkled in the warm light. “It’s confusing for me, too. But you aren’t her. Apart from how you look, you’re nothing like her.”
“Because I’m not sexy?”
His expression turned fierce. “Because you’re willing to risk your own life. Because you put avenging your mother’s memory above your own safety. And because you’re not afraid to admit your flaws. I guess we’re alike in these ways.”
“And we’ve both spent a lot of time alone.” My pulse was racing as I looked up at him, still stunned by his shocking beauty. The candlelight wavered over his high cheekbones, sculpting the divine planes of his face. A dangerous pulse beat through my body, making it hard for me to think straight.
I reached down for the bottom of his shirt, and I slid my hands underneath the soft fabric. When I pulled it off him, my eyes went wide. Holy hell, he looked like a god. His body was thickly corded with muscle, his abs chiseled. He was a warrior dipped in gold.
A thrill lit up my body just looking at him, and I wanted to taste him. When I met his eyes again, I saw them searching mine. I reached for the straps of my gown, and I let it fall to the floor. I heard his sharp intake of breath, and his expression was reverent as his gaze roamed over my sheer blue underwear. With his eyes on me like that, need built within me.
Then he simply looked ravenous. He moved for me and lifted me up against the wall, his hands under my ass. I heard him moan quietly as his mouth met my throat. A hint of his fangs grazed over my skin again. Was he going to bite me? I didn’t hate the thought, and I found myself arching my neck, giving him more access.
But instead of the sharp sting of teeth, I felt the warmth of his tongue swirling over my skin. My fingers threaded into his hair, and I closed my eyes. His sensual magic was stroking over my body now, a hot and dangerous caress. With my legs wrapped around him, I felt my hips rocking against his body.
As I gripped his hair, my breath sped up. “But how is it that you won’t kill me? Isn’t that the whole problem with incubi?”
A dark laugh. “It is a flaw, yes. But I can make you scream with pleasure even if I don’t fuck you. It’ll take an extreme amount of restraint on my part, but you’ll be fine.”
My core clenched at his words, and I was already slick with desire for him. “You’re quite confident in your abilities.” Truth was, I was, too.
He looked up at me with a seductive smile. “I’m an incubus. Along with killing, it’s the one thing I know I’m good at.”
The cool sea air rushed over my bare skin, and my nipples hardened. The look in his eyes was positively primal now, sliding into darkness.
I arched an eyebrow. “Did I mention that I’ve never actually had an orgasm?”
“You did.” He stroked his hands up my ribs, his thumbs sliding under my bra. “That’s about to change.”
He caressed me just below my nipples, and my body went tight, heat flooding me. With hooded eyes, his gaze brushed down my body. “You are perfection, Rowan.” He leaned down to kiss me, claiming me with his mouth.
As his powerful body pressed against mine, my lips opened for him. The kiss deepened as his tongue caressed mine. His thumbs slid up higher now, sweeping over my breasts—his touch so light that I shuddered against him. Incubi drank from lust, and I was giving him a feast right now. I felt myself melting into him, my knees already going weak. Another brush of his fingers over my breasts, and I clenched with desire.
With a nip to my lower lip, he pulled away from the kiss. I felt dazed as I stared at him.
“I want to see all of you, Rowan,” he said, and it came out like a guttural plea. “I want you naked and spread out on my bed.”
His gaze slid down to the apex of my thighs, where my sheer panties hid almost nothing. Dark shadows snaked out from his body like smoke, and he bit out a curse in another language. I sensed his restraint was slipping. I could feel the glorious, hard length of him straining against his pants—something else that set demons apart from human men.
He kissed me deeply again, tasting me. As my tongue brushed against his, my mind swarmed with images of the glittering sea. I felt like I was floating above it, still flying.
When he pulled away, his midnight eyes slid down my body, over my aching breasts, and then landed on the little scrap of material between my thighs. Lifting me from the wall, he carried me over to his bed and laid me down on the soft pillows. I was liquid, aching for him.
I thought he was going to lean down and kiss me, but instead, he knelt over me. Demonic magic snaked in the air around him, and his eyes were endless darkness. “Take everything off. I want you to show yourself to me.”
My heart raced as my face flushed. I knew how stupid it was to come here with him in the first place, and yet, I needed him so badly that I wanted to do whatever he’d asked. I’d do anything for the pleasure he promised.
A seductive smile ghosted over his lips. “Take it all off. Now.”
I reached behind my back and unhooked my bra. When I pulled it off, the ocean breeze rushed over my pebbled nipples.
A low, hungry growl rose from his chest. “Now take off the rest.”
I slid my fingertips into the side of my panties. He seemed entranced with my body, which weirdly made me excited by the power I had over him. Because Orion was a powerful, ancient demon, feared even by the king. And the way he was looking at my body, it was almost with a sense of worship.
Basking in the attention, I was moving very slowly as I started to pull my panties down one millimeter at a time. Part of me ached to rip them off and spread my legs for him, but I was enjoying this too much.
When my panties were finally low enough to show him everything, I watched every one of his muscles go tense, his fingers clutching the pillows. His dark, intense gaze on my body was a thrill I’d never experienced before, and I wanted him to see exactly how turned on I was. But I still kept my panties moving at a glacial pace down over my hips.
His breath had shallowed, and he moved forward, planting his hands on either side of my head. “Why are you going so slowly, Rowan?”
“No reason.” With a sly smile, I slid them down a little more around my thighs. “I just like the way you’re looking at me.”
He shifted back, then reached for my waist and lifted me. He turned me around until I was on my hands and knees, his body folded over mine. He covered my hands with his, and he whispered in my ear, “How about we go at my pace, love?”
When he’d first called me love,I’d hated it. But right now, it made me even wetter.
He moved away from me, but he stroked his hand slowly down my spine. As he touched me, my back arched, my ass rising to meet his touch. He kept tracing his hand down lower, over my ass, then between my thighs. An excruciatingly light touch, making me shiver. I wanted to force my hips back against him…
I gasped and raised my hips up even more. Shameless. I was throbbing with need for him. What I really wanted was for him to pull my panties aside, for him to fill me where I was wet. Aching for him, I let out a moan.
And that was when he pulled his hand away from me.
“Now,” he said in a low voice. “Take those the rest of the way off for me, and I’ll give you what you need.”