Page 33 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Cedric

“No.” Not because I didn’t want it, but because this wasn’t how I wanted her to beg.

Lily was desperate to prove her worth to me without understanding that she already had. That was why I’d returned for her, why I’d brought her back here.

I already wanted her.

She had more than passed every test imaginable.

But her expression fell now at my refusal, her shoulders bowing in a defeat similar to the one I’d witnessed months ago before I’d left.

I released her hair to grasp her chin and pulled her gaze back to mine. “You’re not ready to please me yet,” I informed her gently. “But you will be soon.”

Because I intended to teach her my ways, to show her what true rapture meant.

We’d only begun our journey together months ago.

Tonight, I would take us another step forward.

Sadness filled her gaze as she released my throbbing cock. “Yes, Master Cedric.” Her voice held a note of despair to it that made me sigh. This was why she couldn’t properly please me yet. She’d been indoctrinated in this world of savagery, her mind warped to a point of no return.

I’d have to break some of that conditioning to make her fully understand.

Perhaps it was cruel to do this to her mere weeks before her Blood Day, yet it was the only real gift I could provide for her—memories to warm her heart and mind on her journey to death.

“I’m not failing you, Lily,” I promised her. “And I’m not doubting your skills or training. I know what courses you’ve taken, but those classes were not designed with my preferences in mind.”

Such as willing submission, not forced submission.

“When you call me Master in the bedroom, it will be because I earned the title.” It would be when she actually understood what it meant. And that kink might never even come to fruition between us, which was okay with me. I could handle all sorts of roles in the bedroom.

But I couldn’t have her like this.

I didn’t want a placid doll.

I wanted a blossoming flower. I wanted my Lily.

“I’m Cedric when we’re alone. I know I took that back before, but I’ve explained my reasons for that. And now that you’re mine for the next month, you can freely call me Cedric again.”

Unless someone told me I couldn’t have her.

However, the only one with the authority to do so was Prince Khalid. I doubted he would deny my request, but I’d find out during our evening breakfast.

Her blue-green eyes studied me. “I still don’t understand you.”

I smiled. “You will.” Or maybe she won’t.

It didn’t matter .

What mattered was our time left together. “Our game isn’t finished, Lily. My legs are clean, but that’s only the lower half of me.”

Her nostrils flared, her expression coming alive with renewed interest. “I… I can still touch you?”

“Yes. But I don’t want you on your knees tonight.” I stood and pulled her up with me by grasping her shoulders. “Now grab the sponge and finish the game.”

I took a step back to see what she would do.

Her eyes ran over me, her pupils pulsating as she took in my still-hard shaft.

She swallowed, her cheeks reddening.

Then she went for the soap, forgoing the sponge.

I arched a brow, curious as to what she intended.

She squirted a healthy amount of body wash into her palm, set the bottle down, and rubbed her hands together. “I want to touch you without the sponge.”

My lips curled at her attempt to be in charge. Unfortunately, her tone made it sound more like a question than a statement.

However, it was a good start to her showing some sexual independence.

So I provided the confirmation she needed to continue. “Proceed.”

Her shoulders fell, some of the tension seeming to leave her as she approached me.

I kept my arms loose at my sides, my focus on reading her facial cues. Determination etched a stern line into her forehead, her lips pursed and her gaze intent.

I half expected her to grab my dick and demand that I let her prove her worth.

But she pressed her palms to my abdomen instead, her touch warm as she began to lather the soap against my skin. She carefully cleansed below my belly button before venturing higher along my rib cage and up to my chest.

She was precise and methodical, ensuring that not an inch of the front of my torso was untouched—except for the area leading to my groin. “Rinse,” she said as she went back for more soap.

I almost told her to go down and finish the front but decided to obey instead. Perhaps she didn’t trust herself to touch me there again.

Or maybe she thought she wasn’t allowed after I’d denied her request to suck me off.

I’d wait to see what she did next before I commented.

Once I finished rinsing my front, she began on my back. Then she worked on my sides again, followed by my arms.

My ass and cock were both left untouched.

Either she was trying to tease me, or she didn’t fully grasp the concept of this game. I didn’t mind her exploring; I just didn’t want her to focus on my pleasure.

She watched as I rinsed off once more, showing no signs of going for the soap again.

“Are you finished?” I finally asked when she didn’t speak or move for a solid sixty seconds.

“I…” She swallowed, her brow coming down. “Am I allowed to…?”

“You’ll have to finish that question before I can answer it,” I replied.

She frowned, her gaze dropping to my groin. “You don’t want me to please you.”

“Oh, I very much want you to please me,” I corrected her. “But this isn’t about me, Lily. What do you want?”

“To please you,” she said without missing a beat.

Of course she would say that. It was exactly the sort of statement her previous instructors would have told her to use.

“How about you start by finishing what you started with the soap,” I suggested instead. Because I knew she wanted to touch me. She just didn’t understand how to voice that interest.

By the time we stepped out of this shower, she would better comprehend my expectations.

She studied me for a moment, then bent to grab the sponge. “I thought you preferred your hands?” I murmured, aware that I was taunting her. But she needed the subtle push.

Lily remained in her position for a beat, providing me with an amazing view of her shapely ass and a peek at her intimate flesh. It made me want to go to my knees and taste her. However, we had a game to finish.

She slowly stood up again, the action almost sensual, and stepped over to the soap. I admired her body as she leaned down once more, loving the graceful way she moved. She didn’t seem to be aware of it at all, her mind too busy calculating how best to respond to me and this situation.

If she would only look into my eyes, she’d know exactly what I desired.

Alas, she stepped around behind me to clinically soap up my ass. No fondling. No lingering touches. Just Lily performing as she was told out of fear of doing the wrong thing.

Which, by nature, made her actions incorrect.

I caught her wrist as she reached around me to repeat the process with the front.

She was barely touching me, just going through the motions of rubbing soap against my skin. It wasn’t anything like the way she’d explored my legs or abs .

“S-sorry,” she stuttered.

I faced her, still holding her wrist.

My opposite hand went to her face, my fingers clasping her chin.

“Touch me the way you want to, Lily. Not to please me. But to please yourself. Explore. Stroke. Study me, Lily. Follow your instincts, not your training.”

I guided her hand back to my hip and released her wrist.

But I held her chin, wanting to read her emotions through her wide eyes.

Her throat worked as though she wanted to say something.

I waited.

She remained silent.

A sigh caught in my chest, the realization that I would need to end this game hitting me hard in the gut. All I wanted was for her to live a little. However, her fear of failure was holding her captive, making her question every?—

Her fingertips twitched, cutting off my thoughts and seizing my focus.

What are you going to do? I asked with my eyes.

She drew her nails across my lower abdomen to the untouched skin below my belly button, the stroke teasingly light.

Then she ever so slowly ventured downward, tracing the thin line of hair down to the base of my shaft. Her pupils pulsated, her tongue slipping out to lick her lips. Then she gradually continued the movement along my length to the head. Just that tender drag of her fingertips.

I allowed her to see the desire in my gaze, the hunger for her to do more. To see how that light touch affected me. To understand how badly I wanted her .

Restraining myself while she explored was no easy feat.

But I did this for her.

A gift.

A way to apologize for confusing her. A way to show my gratitude for her bravery. A way to show how much her existence intrigued me.

I always took charge. However, tonight, I handed her the reins. To an extent, anyway. She needed to experience some control and seek her own enjoyment, to learn how to live .

Her fingers wrapped around me, stroking just a little to test the boundaries. I allowed it only because I could scent her own responding arousal.

When I didn’t speak or push her away, she grew bolder, her opposite hand joining the other in her exploration. Her cleansing job was much more thorough now, her palms going everywhere and even reaching around to more properly touch my backside.

I forced her to maintain eye contact with me the whole time, demanding that she witness my reactions.

Her cheeks were pink, her breaths came in harsher pants, and her pulse thrummed alluringly. I gave her several minutes, allowing her to do whatever she desired.

Each passing moment heightened the sensual scent in the air, her arousal a beacon that made my mouth water for her.

I wanted to dive between her legs and devour her. Make her scream my name. Listen to her whimpers as I forced her to come again and again against my mouth.

This was the foreplay I craved.

That mindless oblivion that drove women and men to do unspeakable things to each other.

“I’m going to kiss you now, Lily,” I whispered, my gaze going to her mouth. “And then I’m going to rinse off. ”

It would prolong the experience, heighten the illicit yearning between us, and force her into the mindless state needed for us to succeed in breaking down her walls.

I didn’t wait for her acknowledgment or acceptance; I merely claimed her mouth as I stepped backward beneath the massive showerheads. She moved with me, one hand still wrapped around my dick and the other on my ass.

I released her chin to catch the back of her neck, then I deepened our kiss with my tongue.

She moaned, her breasts meeting my chest as she leaned into me. Her grasp around my base tightened, her need a palpable presence between us as the water cascaded over our heads. I captured her ass with my free hand, forcing her even closer.

I wouldn’t fuck her.

Not like this.

Not tonight.

But soon.

Very soon.

Just as soon as she understood how pleasure would work between us.

“Games are not always about winning, little flower,” I said against her mouth. “Sometimes they are meant for the purpose of mutual enjoyment.” And that was the lesson here tonight—that our sensual experiences would entertain both of us, not just me.

Her hand glided along my shaft as her opposite palm slid from my ass to my hip. “I like this game.”

I grinned. “I know. I like it, too.”

I kissed her again, my grasp against her neck tightening as she applied pressure with her grip below. Then the hand against my hip ventured south to dip between my legs and cup my balls.

“Time for a new game,” I told her, breaking our kiss and grabbing her wrist again. I tugged her out of the shower despite the protest glittering in her gaze.

I wrapped her up in a towel before going back in to flip off the shower.

“Use the towel to dry yourself off. Then go get on the bed,” I said without looking at her. “I want you naked with your legs spread and your hands over your head. Understood?”

“Yes, Master Cedric.” There wasn’t a hint of fear in her tone, only excitement.

But I couldn’t stop the growl from leaving my chest as I exited the shower once more. “Cedric, Lily. No Master .”

She nibbled her bottom lip and considered me for a moment, making me wonder if she wanted to argue the title with me. But she must have decided otherwise because she nodded. “Yes, Cedric.”

Well, at least she was being less timid.

I accepted that as a positive start.

“If you really want to please me, you’ll spread your legs and bend your knees so I can see that pretty pussy when I walk into my bedroom.” I stepped toward her, still damp and naked and painfully hard. “If I like what I see, I’ll kiss you properly.”

She shivered. “I’m shaved.”

“I know. But it’s not your bare skin that I want to see, Lily.

” I leaned in to press my lips to her ear.

“I want you excited and begging for my tongue. I want your clit swollen with need. I want that alluring pink flesh so fucking soaked that you leave a wet spot on my bed. I want your natural perfume to choke me like a noose and bring me to my knees.”

That last part was already happening, her arousal spiking with each dark comment.

“Go get on the bed, Lily. Show me how you’ve blossomed. And if I’m impressed, you’ll know by how vigorously I lick you with my tongue.”

She quivered so violently that my hands flexed in preparation to catch her.

But she didn’t fall. Instead, she dropped the towel and pressed a quick kiss to my cheek before leaving the bathroom.

It was the sexiest invitation I’d ever received—that sweet touch of innocence followed by her shaky walk from the room.

Because those weren’t trembles of fear; they were shudders of need .

You’re almost where I need you, Lily , I thought, picking up the towel she’d dropped. Tonight, I’m going to make you bloom.