Page 11

Chapter

Nine

F ire engulfs my flesh, dragging a scream from my chest as I flail to get free.

“Shush, Daphne, stop fighting me. We are in the healing pools. I’m here with you,” Theo urges.

“It burns,” I whisper.

A forehead presses against mine. “I’ve never been so happy to hear your voice.”

My hands thread into his damp hair, and I arch my back as the burn intensifies. “Why does it hurt?”

“It’s the magic in the pool. Don’t fight it.”

I try to relax, but the agony suffocates my senses and urges me to break free.

“Daphne,” Theo snaps, making my limbs jolt. “Stop.”

I shake my head. “I can’t. It’s too much.”

“Open your eyes.”

I draw a deep breath, forcing down the knot of anxiety that swells within me, and slowly lift my eyelids.

The very first sight that greets me is Theo’s mesmerizing green eyes.

I glance past him to the radiant amethyst crystal cave.

The walls glisten like a thousand stars—an otherworldly tapestry of deep purples and vibrant blues, casting ethereal reflections onto the crystalline surfaces.

Each facet of the stones seems to pulse with hidden magic, illuminating the cave with an enchanting glow that dances across the air, mingling playfully with the warmth of the hot water we are enveloped in.

“That’s it. Good girl,” Theo says. He supports my body in the water, making sure everything but my head is below the surface. I wriggle as the water finds a fresh wound and rushes to knit my flesh together.

I suck in a breath and squeeze my eyes closed.

“I know it hurts now, but it’s a good pain.”

“No pain is good pain,” I grumble as tears sting my eyes and threaten to fall.

Theo manhandles my body beneath the water, and I grind my teeth together to keep in the scream lodged in my throat. He grabs my outer thighs and wraps my legs around his waist. My eyes fly open, and my mouth parts. No clothes... on me or him. Oh Idols.

“I’m going to give your mind something else to focus on,” Theo rumbles as he strides toward the edge. My back hits the smooth stone, and I’m grateful it’s not sharp crystals that push against my flesh. My hands wrap around his head, and I tug him down to meet my lips.

He groans the moment our mouths touch. Yes, this makes the pain more manageable. More, please. He chuckles as he pulls back, and the unbearable pain filters through again. “Don’t stop,” I plead. “It helps.”

He blows out a steady breath. “If it gets too much, you promise to tell me?”

I nod. “Please, Theo. It helps distract me.”

He drags his bottom lip between his teeth. “I’m heading for Blazes anyway,” he mutters. “May as well enjoy the ride.”

His mouth descends on mine, and he pushes his tongue past my lips, flicking his tongue against mine in a testing caress that sends shivers down my spine and makes heat pool between my legs.

My body moves against his in an ancient dance that’s built inside of us all.

I moan low as my core brushes against his huge erection.

He grabs my hips and pins me against the wall. I cry out in frustration instead of pain. “You need to keep your injuries below the water,” he tells me as his thumbs rub small circles on my hip bones.

I glance down, and my eyebrows raise as I take in my wounds, which look weeks old. The healer or the water’s intervention? “I seem well enough,” I whisper, tightening my hold around his neck to draw him back.

He cocks a brow. “Does it still hurt?”

“Only when you stop kissing me.”

His lips twitch. “Meaning you haven’t healed yet. Stay below the water, or I’ll stop.”

My eyes narrow. He’s blackmailing me into remaining here, but I can’t be too angry about it.

He waits, but I’m not interested in playing this game of capon. “Fine,” I agree. There’s a lot we can do with me still below the water. “But you need to make it worth it.”

He presses his lips together to contain his laugh. He thinks I’m joking? I’m two tempos away from climbing my dragon like a tree. An enormous tree, because my dragon is huge.

Theo’s hand wraps in my tangled curls, and his eyes shimmer with gold before settling back to green. “You are taunting my beast, Daphne. Don’t.”

“He doesn’t scare me,” I breathe.

Theo’s mouth skims my bared throat and down my shoulder before clamping his teeth into my flesh. It’s not enough to break the skin, but a jolt of pleasure makes everything inside me clench, bringing my awareness to the fact I am painfully empty.

“Fuck,” he grumbles. “You like my teeth on you?”

“Yes. But I need them elsewhere. It’s not enough, Theo.”

Whatever control he is clinging to snaps, and his mouth dips, drawing my nipple into his mouth. His gaze never leaves mine while he sucks hard. My back bows, but his hand on my hip keeps me from seeking the friction I need. I cry out into the vast crystal cave and beg the Idols for release.

Theo releases my heavy breast by dragging his teeth over my nipple. “No Idols, Daphne. I’m the only one you should beg right now.”

I buck against his hold, catching him by surprise.

He stumbles back a step and curses. His eyes flash once more, and his hands wrap under my butt, his mouth descending on the throbbing ache between my legs.

He pushes me down beneath the water, submerging his head and following me down.

I tug on his hair, but he ignores me. He’s going to drown.

His tongue sets a relentless rhythm inside of me, and I fly toward that cliff so fast I can’t catch my breath.

“Theo,” I whimper as a war rages in my veins between wanting him to finish what he started and stopping altogether. He wouldn’t stay down there longer than he could cope with, right?

I groan and drop my head back as he slides a finger inside of me. Everything clenches, and I squirm. It’s not his fingers I need.

“Please,” I beg.

He jerks his head up from the water, eyes wild with desire that mirrors my own. “What are you begging for?”

“You,” I whisper.

“You have me,” he reminds me as he pins me to the wall with his enormous body. My legs wrap around his waist, and I move against him.

“I need this part of you,” I point out.

He drops his head to my shoulder and growls. “If we do this, then my brothers will want you this way as well.”

“I’m not seeing the problem.” I really don’t. It’s them holding out, not me.

“We are a lot to handle. We’re ruthless, demanding, and relentless. So if you are ready to cross this line with me, then you need to be ready to cross it with all of us.”

My cheeks heat. “At once?”

He laughs against my shoulder. “Let’s work up to that.”

Holy Idol balls.

I run my nose down the side of his face, nipping his ear. “I’m feeling pain again, Theo. Take it away for me.” All true, but it’s a fraction of what it was only tempos ago.

His head snaps up, and he kisses me again. Slow, sensual, and utterly devastating. This time, when I move against him, he doesn’t shift away. He lets me chase the friction I need without restraint.

The bands inside of me snap tighter, a promise of the pleasure about to be my undoing. My breath comes out in a stuttered pant against his mouth. He presses his body against mine, halting my movements before cupping my face.

“Are you sure?” he checks. “One fumble with a boy behind a mud hut is not nearly enough experience for what I’m about to do to you. So be sure, Daphne.”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Thank fuck,” he growls as his hands wrap around my thighs, opening me wider for his hard length to line up between my legs. “Watch me own you, Daphne,” he demands.

My eyes drop to the water, which does very little to disguise his huge cock nudging at my core. I swallow as a little trepidation fills my veins. He would never hurt me, that much I am sure of.

His forehead presses against mine, and he pushes forward.

I suck in a breath at the delicious stretch I can feel all the way down to my toes.

He glides against something that makes my eyes roll in the back of my head and rocks against it a few times.

My thighs tense, on the verge of a different type of orgasm.

The previous ones were amazing, but something tells me this is going to wreck me inside and out.

But he’s treating me like I’m breakable, and he should have learned by now that I am made of stronger stuff than the average maiden.

Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made it through the annuses.

“Stop holding back,” I demand.

His eyebrow raises. “You want this to last half a tempo?” I shake my head. That would be a letdown. “Then let me take my time with you.”

I relax, and he works himself into my body one glorious inch at a time, until his pelvis is against mine and we are connected in the most intimate of ways. My chest heaves as I adjust to his size.

“You okay, Daphne?” he asks, his lips brushing my temple.

An emotional dam breaks in my chest. I didn’t realize sex could be and probably should be like this. Connected on the physical, but more importantly, the emotional plane.

“Yes, but I need you to move.” The stretch is stinging, and I need him to chase it away.

He withdraws and sinks back inside of me. A cry of pleasure echoes in the cave, and my thighs quiver. Damn, I’m about to come from three thrusts. I don’t know if that’s an achievement on his part or mine, but I don’t care.

“Kiss me,” he mutters. I keep my eyes open and kiss him with everything I am. I pour my fears, my hopes, and my dreams into it, sharing a part of my soul with this man who would burn the world down for me.

He keeps a slow but steady pace, winding me tighter and tighter. An impossible feat that makes my head spin.

“Eyes on me,” he demands. I didn’t realize I’d closed them. I meet his fiery gaze and clench around him. He curses and puts his thumb on my clit. He rubs once, twice, and I’m flying.

He freezes and watches with rapt attention as I fall apart in his arms. Smooth, slow thrusts make the climax last an impossible amount of time. He sucks and kisses my throat as he waits for my body to climb down.

“Wow,” I murmur.

He lifts his head and grins. “You back with me?” I nod, noticing he hasn’t finished yet. “Good.”

He withdraws from my body, spins me around, and lifts my hips before slamming back inside of me. My hands flatten against the smooth stone, and a low moan rips from my throat. This position makes him go so much deeper, my release aiding his efforts to own my body.

He builds a relentless, driving rhythm, and I’m helpless to do anything but cling onto his cock and the wall.

He growls low as I tighten around him, so I do it again and again.

“You trying to control me, Daphne?” he snaps.

I grin as the beast in him raises its head. He presses one hand against the base of my spine, arching my back to allow him to reach another level. Stars burst behind my eyes, and I cry out.

“Touch yourself,” he says. “I need another before I come.”

Touch myself? I would be embarrassed, but propriety doesn’t belong inside this cave. My hand moves between my legs, and my fingers touch him where he’s stretching me. The indecent act makes everything ramp up.

“Not me,” he snarls. “Fuck. Touch your clit, Daphne.”

I smile, taking note that the act makes him lose control, and then touch my swollen, throbbing bud.

Despite not having done this before, it only takes a tempo before I’m flying again.

The air gets sucked out of my lungs as Theo loses the battle with his own release and slams so deep inside of me I think he might have imprinted himself.

My forehead drops to my arm, and Theo covers my back with his front. “Did I hurt you?”

I shake my head.

“Good,” Nash snaps. “That means I don’t need to fucking kill him.”

I jump, making Theo laugh. My eyes narrow. Has he been aware of Nash’s presence all along?

“When you’ve quite finished corrupting our sweet maiden through not one, but two orgasms, join us at the entrance.”

“Oh my Idols,” I mutter. He knows I came twice? My core clenches. Wait, is that a turn on? Apparently so.