Page 45 of Bonds of Magic (Vesperwood Academy: Incubus #3)

“Those big puppy-dog eyes. That starving orphan look. Do you have any idea how hard that is to say no to?”

“I do now,” I said with a laugh. “But I mean it. Show me how to make it good for you.”

I pressed a kiss to the hollow of his neck, just below his Adam’s apple. He stroked my hair with one hand, then looked into my eyes.

“You kill me, you know that?” His voice was surprisingly gentle. “What am I going to do with you?”

“You’re a teacher,” I laughed. “So teach.”

And to my surprise, he did. He moved my hand back to his waist and said, “Well, I think you have the main idea now. What you did last time is a good start.”

I stroked his cock through his joggers, relishing the feel of it. Then I slide a hand underneath. His boxer-briefs were tight, but his cock was doing its best to push them up. I shivered as my fingers touched him again, and my teeth closed on his shoulder.

It didn’t make any sense, getting overwhelmed by touching his cock. It should have been the other way around. But it was equally as exciting, if not more, to give pleasure instead of receiving it.

I tried to tug his shirt up again, but Noah brushed my hand away, then helped me pull his joggers off instead, revealing pale blue boxer-briefs. I forgot about his shirt very quickly.

I hooked my fingers under the waistband of his boxer-briefs, but he shook his head.

“Not yet. Play with it a little first. Get me excited. Make me desperate.”

“With my hand?”

“With your mouth.”

Another shiver ran through me as I slid down the bed.

I felt a little embarrassed, running my tongue across his cock while it was still trapped in his underwear, but Noah hummed appreciatively, which sent a different kind of shiver through me.

I sucked the head of his cock through the fabric, and he groaned.

I looked up. “Is that okay?”

“Yeah.” He sounded short of breath. “Excellent.”

I flushed and reapplied myself to the task, trying to taste and smell as much of his cock as I could without taking it out completely. I licked his balls, too, and he gave another groan.

I looked up again, biting my lip. “Good?”

“You’re maybe a little too good at that.”

I warmed at the compliment. I could put up with looking a little ridiculous if this was his reaction. Hell, the embarrassment was what made it feel so good.

Noah was a very good teacher, telling me exactly what he wanted. When he finally—finally—let me slide his boxer-briefs off, my breath caught at the sight of his cock. Sure, I’d seen it before, but that was different. Noah was in my bed now.

It was different from every dream I’d had, too. In my dreams, there was always the fear of discovery, or the thrill of humiliation after I was discovered. Or there were my dreams with that monster, where I was as scared as I was turned on.

Even with Sean, there was an undercurrent of fear. Sure, I was the one who’d asked him to stay in that bathroom. But he’d enjoyed making me nervous. And I’d been able to tell myself I hadn’t wanted it—even though I had.

With Noah, there was no lying to myself. Hell, he kept trying to stop me from touching him. Kept trying to spare my feelings, not understanding that I didn’t want them spared.

There was no fear with him. Not of discovery, not of humiliation, not of his presence. He could easily do whatever he wanted to me, and I wouldn’t be able to stop him. But he didn’t. He was gentle. Almost too gentle.

There was a knot inside me that had been pulled tight for so long, it had become rock hard. But Noah was tugging at the loose ends of the rope, beginning to untie it before I even understood what the knot was for. Noah made me come undone.

Sucking him off, I felt as tender, as cared for, as I had when our roles were reversed.

He guided me, telling me where to put my lips, my tongue.

He taught me how to use my mouth and my hand.

He was patient and responsive, grunting with pleasure when I licked his balls or ran my tongue across his slit.

“So good,” he groaned. “Fuck, that’s good.”

His words fed a hunger inside me that I didn’t think could ever be sated. Tell me I’m good, I begged him silently. Say I’m a good boy .

He was so close. And I knew he didn’t have a problem saying it. He’d said it to Lew at the Balsam Inn. I’d heard him.

Why wouldn’t he say it to me?

Maybe he needed some encouragement. Noah’s cock was large enough that when I took as much of it as I could, there were still a couple inches I couldn’t get into my mouth.

But I wanted to take more, so I shifted, sliding forward far enough to push his cock down my throat.

I’d seen how much of Noah Lew could take. I wanted to match him.

I gagged immediately, though. I wasn’t used to feeling anything back there, and the minute his cock filled my mouth, it was hard to breathe. Panic flared when I felt Noah’s hand on my shoulder, but he pushed me back instead of keeping me trapped.

His cock was covered in spit when it came out of my mouth. I coughed and tried to wipe the drool away from my lips. I looked up at him, fear still beating in my chest like a drum.

“Sorry,” I said quickly. “I didn’t mean to—I can do it again. I’ll take more this time. I just wasn’t ready.”

“No,” Noah said severely. “You won’t.”

I blinked. He wasn’t going to tell me we had to stop again, was he?

“I’m your teacher,” he reminded me. “You do what I tell you to do.”

I flushed. “But I wanted to show you—”

“You want what I tell you to want.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “I just want to make you feel good, is all.”

“You are making me feel good. In case you hadn’t noticed. But you don’t have to hurt yourself to do it. You don’t have to prove anything. I want you to enjoy this as much as I do.”

Did he? I wasn’t sure. Back at the Balsam Inn, he’d been so dominant. Like he was just using Lew. I thought that was the kind of sex Noah liked.

He must have seen my hesitation, because he said, “Unless you think you’re done with this lesson.”

I bit my lip and smiled. “No, Sir.”

He laughed. “You don’t have to call me ‘ Sir .’ You just have to get your mouth back on my cock. Now.”

I put my lips on him again and took him down. I did my best to follow instructions when he told me how fast to go, how hard, when and where to use my tongue.

Yes, Sir , I thought in my head. Maybe he didn’t want me to call him that. But I kind of liked it. I liked the idea of him protecting me, as long as I obeyed him.

Soon, his breath came faster, his moans more frequently, and suddenly, he clamped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m gonna come. If you don’t want me to come in your mouth, pull off now.”

But I already knew my answer to that. I wanted to taste him.

Noah gripped my shoulder tighter, his cock throbbed in my mouth, and I tasted the salty tang of his cum on my tongue.

It was sour, but a little sweet too, and I lavished his cock with attention, keeping him in my mouth until he told me to stop.

He pulled me up after that and kissed me deeply. I was pretty sure I’d swallowed every drop of his load, but he seemed to be trying to find some trace of himself in my mouth anyway. I was happy to let him.

When he finally pulled back, I smiled. “Did I do a good job?”

“A+.”

I wanted to ask if I’d been a good boy, but I couldn’t quite bring myself to do so. As if he could see the silent question in my eyes, he said, “I mean it. Come here.”

He tugged me tighter, and I let myself be pulled. It was perfect. Lying there in his arms was the best I’d ever felt. Like time could stop. Like I could die right then, and be fine with it. I never wanted this moment to end.

“It worked, by the way,” I mumbled into his neck.

He stroked my hair. “What worked?”

“You said you wanted to keep me safe,” I told him. “It worked. I always feel safest when I’m with you.”

I meant I felt safest when we were tangled up like this, but it was true even when our clothes were on. Being around Noah loosened the tension inside me. He made me feel more like myself.

He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “Good.”

I wanted to ask him to stay the night, the way I had at his cabin. But I knew he would say no, and I didn’t want him to push me away again.

“Now get out of here so I can sleep,” I said, smiling.

“Oh, I see how it is.” He grinned. “You use me for my body, then kick me out when you get what you want?”

“Basically.”

He laughed, and I laughed too. I could do this. No clinging. No whining. No feelings. This didn’t have to be anything more than it was.

“Fine then.” He brushed a final kiss across my lips before getting dressed. “But you’d better actually be sleeping. No getting up to trouble while I’m gone.”

“I’m way too exhausted to do anything more than lie here.”

Which was mostly true.

I kept smiling until Noah left the room, then rolled over onto my side. I was exhausted, but not so much that I didn’t wish he were still here with me. Not so much that I didn’t start shaking now that I was alone.

With Noah gone, it didn’t take long for the doubts to start creeping back in. The voices telling me I was worthless. That I should be ashamed of myself.

I did my best to push them away again, but it was a long time before I fell asleep.