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She always wanted men so badly until the part where they started grabbing her and pushing her and making demands. She had always thought that was just the way they were. She had always thought she would simply push through her dislike of it when she found a man she liked enough. She’d thought that perhaps she would learn to like it, if she tried hard enough.

Why was Nero not like that?

“You are only doing this for me,” she said. “Because you know that I am… broken, and you want to be careful with me.” It was nice that he wanted to treat her well, but she didn’t like the idea of him doing things that he didn’t enjoy just to please her. “What do you really want to do?”

“Shall I answer that honestly?”

“Of course.”

“I want you to hold me down and bite me.”

She stared at him through the darkness, struggling to make out his face. She saw nothing, only heard his ragged panting and felt his cock brushing her thigh through their pants.

She moved her lips beneath his chin, and he tilted his head up to bare his throat. Her mouth skimmed along delicate skin, then opened wide and bit down lightly. He exhaled huskily, his entire body rolling in a slow, sensual wave beneath her.

She trailed her lips to the side until she reached the muscle between his neck and shoulder. This time, she bit down hard enough that he jumped, his arms jerking reflexively, and she leaned her weight on his wrists to hold him down. The effect it had on him was glorious. He writhed beneath her, groaning in pain and pleasure. She felt his cock straining against his pants. She would have killed to see what his face looked like in that moment. With her mouth still sealed against his skin, she flicked her tongue over the place she’d just bitten.

“Gods, why are you so good at this?” he breathed.

“Why are you?” she countered.

Emboldened, she lowered one hand to the bulging length in his pants. He didn’t speak as she explored the firm shape of him, and he did not stop her when she began hurriedly unlacing the opening to his pants. She was already imagining him arching his back and gasping with pleasure because of her hands or her mouth.

Her past experiences with sex had been either brief and passionless, or not consensual. She had never been given free rein to explore someone else’s body and try to coax pleasure from them, nor allowed to put her mouth near anyone’s genitals. This was so different from anything she’d ever done.

She pulled his cock free carefully, like it was sensitive and breakable—because she knew it was, despite how hard and strong it felt. Wanting to draw another moan from him, she held it in her hand and brought her lips to its base. His skin was deliciously soft there. She had never known men could be so soft, or moan so sweetly.

“Zara…” Nero breathed. There was desire in his voice, but also tension, almost nervousness. She wondered if he worried she would bite him here, too. “You don’t have to…”

The end of his sentence was cut off by a wordless huff of breath when she closed her mouth over the head of his cock. She flicked her tongue against him, holding him with one hand and flattening her other hand against the tense triangle of muscles just above his legs. She dug her nails into his stomach, and his velvety cock bobbed against her tongue in response.

“Fuck,”he groaned.

She drew back. “Does it hurt?”

“No,” he said urgently. “Please don’t stop.”

Zara became vaguely aware of a light in the periphery of her vision. She was so distracted by what she was doing that it took her a few seconds to realize that the light shouldn’t be there.

She looked up abruptly. There was a lantern in the distance. Nero hissed a string of curses, sitting up so quickly that she was thrown sideways.

The light stopped moving as the Paladin who carried it stopped short, squinting in their direction. Then the Paladin turned and ran.

* * *

The human holdingthe lantern in the distance was running away from them, his armor glinting in the light. Nero was fairly certain the human hadn’t gotten a clear look at them, but he already was calling for the other Paladins.

He stumbled to his feet. His legs felt like jelly. He was pretty sure all the blood that should have been in his feet was still in his cock.

Gods, he hated Paladins.

Zara’s eyes were on the Paladin. Nero held out his hand to her, then remembered that she probably couldn’t see it. He took her hand, and her head jerked toward him.

“Come,” he whispered, casting his fade over both of them.

They dashed silently across the rocks and dry grass, giving the Paladin a wide berth. Zara was watching the Paladin with narrowed eyes. If she was caught with him, the consequences could be just as bad for her as they were for him.

Nero paused, waiting until he was certain the Paladin had lost them before he took a turn and started back toward the village.