“That’s it, baby. I want you wet for me.” He lowered his head and nuzzled her curls. “You smell so damned sweet.” He splayed her folds wide open and lowered his mouth.
She gasped, unbearably aroused when his hot breath settled over her clit and he began licking her in earnest.
His lips whispered along her flesh, stroking and teasing, deliberately keeping his touch light. She writhed, needing more, and he inserted a blunt finger inside her. He wouldn’t move it, so she rode him, moving with the pressure of his tongue and teeth.
Dark need settled over her, and she realised with some surprise that part of her arousal came from Cadmus. Her energy and his meshed, their sensual desire building as their bodies demanded more.
Great stores of power flowed into her, and when he added a second finger and rumbled small, elemental vibrations over her clit, she cried out with pleasure.
“That’s it, love, tell me how much you like it.” She could feel how much he desired her through the musk in her mind. His Dark arousal mirrored in her own. “Give it to me, baby. I want you to come in my mouth.”
His words were like a fever, and as he sucked her flesh, he stirred something Darker, something foreign and yet familiar within her. He groaned and aroused her with nips and bites that made her crazed. She was so wet, so close, on the edge between sensation and utter chaos, when a tendril of Light whipped through her, a thread of love that snaked from Cadmus.
She exploded in an orgasm so fierce she lost awareness of everything around her. Power rushed, a sudden understanding of who and what she could be, and the half of her heart that had been missing for so long joined hers in a whirl of joy. Glorying in the feeling, Ellie barely registered Cadmus’ worry under his passion and caring…and love.
“Ellie, dammit. You’re in truth.”
Gradual understanding dawned, and she stared at her lover with new eyes. In truth, she saw everything differently. Cadmus looked like a dark flame, a man suffused with bright white light and strange streaks of black that she instinctually knew came from him. Yet the feminine power surrounding him was hers. Like an aura of sex, her Darkness clung to him like a lover should. An unbreakable bond, the erotic beauty in Cadmus called out for equal measure, and as her power thrived, so did her feelings.
“Cadmus, this is so incredible.” She held a hand up to her face, seeing in it the pure energy of her very essence. “I can feel you, all of you, your magic, your strength.” Your love. She kept the words close to her heart, aware she might have projected onto Cadmus what she herself felt for him. What they shared went far beyond the physical, that she knew. But rejection had never been an easy thing for her to accept. From Cadmus, she knew it just might crush her beyond repair.
He licked her palm and smiled. “It’s funny, but you’re even sexier now than before. Naked energy is so appealing.” He reached out and stroked her breasts.
She sighed, the feel of his hand over her body—her energy—like liquid climax.
“Ah,” he groaned and closed his eyes, leaning back. “Fuck, that’s good.”
She noted the steely erection he now caged in his hand and gave him a sly smile. “Let me take care of that for you.”
“Anything you want, baby.”
She wasted no time switching positions with him. She took him in her hands then her mouth. His hiss of satisfaction as he arched into her touch pleased her like nothing could.
“Light’s breath, Ellie.”
He felt like steel in her mouth, his flesh cool and hard, and wet with need. She swallowed a tease of his seed and sucked harder, running her teeth gently along his shaft, licking the slit at his crown. She cupped his balls and caressed the soft globes in her palms, aware of the contrasting energy of her hands against his flesh. She lapped up his cries like warm honey.
“Oh yeah, baby. Fuck,” he swore, grasping her head, his fingers captured by her dark flame. “You’re killing me.”
He gasped her name and pumped. And the harder he thrust, the more she took, making him shake with lust. She felt the tightness in his sac and knew he was close.
“Come for me, Cadmus. Come hard.”
He thrust one final time and came down her throat in hoarse shout. She swallowed him, thrilled at his powerlessness under her touch. He continued to come, moaning her name, and Dark pleasure streaked her soul, making her want him in ways that shocked her.
“No, baby, that’s me you’re still reading.” Finally spent, he withdrew from her mouth. “I’ve never felt so good in my entire life.” He hugged her close.
Without thought, she reined in her energy and lay against him, flesh to flesh, no longer in truth.
Aloud, he said, “I want you to flame in truth the next time I fuck you. Especially when I take that pretty ass of yours again.”
He whispered more erotic suggestions in her ear. Words that had her blushing and wet, readying for more. Glancing around her, she noted the creeping tendrils of purple-flowered vines wrapped around the gazebo. She inhaled deeply and sighed. The scent of scythia had increased as well.
“This happened before too,” she murmured.
“Hmm?”
“After we made love in the woods, the plants and moss around us exploded.”
“That’s me, sweet. When you excite me to certain levels, apparently my power outlets to the earth around me.”
“Apparently?”
He stroked her shoulder, his eyes bright with satisfaction, and if she wasn’t mistaken, possession. “I told you, I’ve never lost control like that with anyone else. Only with you, Elliara.”
For the first time, the name didn’t bother her. Smiling, she burrowed closer, revelling in his male scent and earthy strength. Now. Now is the time to tell him how I feel. Screw perfection. This feels right.
“Ellie,” he began, hesitating.
Shit. Not now. Don’t you dare break off with me now.
“Break off with you?” He sat up.
She swore. Why hadn’t she closed off her thoughts? Now, he knew how vulnerable she really was.
“Cadmus, I—”
“Break off with you? How could you think that?” His eyes darkened, but not with sensual passion, with anger. “I poured myself into you, Ellie. Shared my soul with you. And you think I’d break off with you as if it meant nothing?” His lips flattened. “Or maybe you think that way because it meant nothing to you.”
Her own anger flared, and she gave it the freedom it deserved. “Don’t you put this back on me. You’re the ass who told me how I disgusted you, how my kind didn’t deserve to live. And I was a heartbeat from telling you how much I lov—”
He froze, staring at her in shock. “How much you what?”
“Forget it.” Wrapping her arms around herself, she sat up, looking for her clothes. Too bad she hadn’t paid more attention to Jonas’ teachings. He could fashion clothing on a whim.
“Focus, here, Ellie,” Cadmus snapped. “All those months ago, what were you going to tell me?”
Not so lighthearted now, hmm? She watched him with new speculation, noting the panting breaths, the overeager gleam in his eyes. His erection hadn’t faded, but stood stiffly under her attention.
“What do you think? I’d only spent weeks making love with you when I hadn’t given Darius the time of day. I hate to break it to you, but I could have had any man I wanted with the snap of my fingers.” Damn, if felt good to say that.