Page 18 of Feeding Beauty (The Lost Girls #5)

Licking Merry

AURORA

A beautiful woman walks through the doorway in a tan trench coat. She's a little older than both Talon and I. Thick, curled dark hair falls over her shoulders, and her makeup is heavy, dramatic and sensual.

As Talon closes the door behind her, she takes me in, brows lifting in surprise.

There's no preamble. I'm naked and adorned.

"Aura, this is Merry."

"Hi." She waves a little shyly.

I do my best to give her a reassuring smile, but I'm out of my depth. Not only because this is a new playing field where the rules aren't as clear and it's an unfamiliar setting, but also because Talon just dropped his feelings on me like it was nothing.

Despite having an immunity to my power, sometimes I convince myself he lusts after me the way everyone else does. That he is victim to my power, and my actual self is a far distant being.

Well, he blew that out of the water.

My hot guardian made it completely clear that I am far from perfect, and that he sees all my unattractive qualities, and he wants me just as I am. All that I am.

The volume on my screaming hunger dialed down as I took that in. Now I'm standing here, and I’m supposed to feed off this woman and not acknowledge my heart is in a vise grip, like he reached into my chest and gripped it with his fist and hasn't let go.

Some part of me doesn't want him to let go.

"You're..." Merry scans my form up and down before glancing back at Talon with uncertainty. Her gaze lingers on his scales.

"We're from the Realm of Roses. You said you didn't discriminate against race," Talon says, brows furrowing but he's already anticipating a problem. It's what he does. Assess and mitigate risk.

Half her mouth quirks up in a smile. "I was going to say you're both very pretty."

"Oh, uh, thank you." Talon says. His tone is gruff, and it occurs to me he rarely hears that.

I certainly don't tell him. I figured he's always been painfully aware of how gorgeous he is, but maybe he's not.

People seem to whisper it from a distance rather than have the courage to say it to his face.

"You're also beautiful," I tell Merry, meaning it.

I’ve always believed beauty lives in everyone, in the way creases of compassion line the face, or how desire can turn awkward limbs into poetry.

But the truth is, most of the people I’ve been sent to feed on weren’t just flawed.

They were predators. Monsters with charming grins.

Feeding off them didn’t feel like stealing, it felt like justice.

Merry is different.

She’s kind. Open. Eager, yes, but not desperate. Not dark. And that scares me more than anything. Because it means I can’t hide behind morally gray lines or pretend I’m doing the world a favor.

This is for me. For survival.

And I don’t want to ruin someone soft and good with my hunger.

"So, you like to watch?" Merry asks Talon.

"You said you were okay with that,” he says. Always confirming the rules and boundaries.

"Oh, I am," she says, her hands fiddling with the belt of her trench coat. "Though if you decide to join in, I wouldn't be opposed either." A hunger deepens in her eyes, and she looks back and forth between us.

Talon and I exchange a look. She doesn't know what he is. With our silent exchange we agree there is no reason to elaborate more than is necessary.

"Thank you, but I prefer to remain an observer in this event." He's polite, but firm.

She nods, moving her attention to me. With seductive grace, she comes to stand before me. "Well, shall we get started?"

"Yes, please," I say. The hunger inside me roils and rips in excitement. "May I?" I ask, poising my hands over her coat ties.

"Please," she nods, openly eager.

My body clenches with anticipation.

I untie her coat and slide it over her shoulders, making sure the material scrapes against her skin, intentionally exciting her senses. My power catches a whiff of her arousal and it's like a delectable fruit sliding along my tongue with its sweetness.

The relief of a mere taste has tears springing to my eyes.

Don’t cry. Don’t cry. Don’t be weird.

Merry is clad in a corset, panties, and stockings held up by garters. "You smell good," I say. It's true, an inviting cherry blossom perfume emanates from her skin.

"So do you," she says. "Like a light, sweet candy."

My anxiety lessens slightly as I realize how well Talon chose for me, yet again. Women are lovely to be with in a different way from men, as there is often a genuine mutual admiration and complimentary nature to the exchange.

I lightly push her hair away from the smooth skin of her shoulders and lean in, slowly enough to give her time to move away.

When she doesn't shy back, I press my lips to hers experimentally.

They are soft and taste sweet, compelling me to deepen the kiss and slide my tongue past her teeth. When I gain entry, she moans.

I can’t wait any longer.

I sip from her sexual energy. It's the barest trickle but the relief of knowing it is the first taste of a meal I desperately need is near overwhelming.

My hands skate teasingly over her arms and body, and she does the same in kind. Soon we are devouring each other, hands mussed in hair, limbs sliding and pressing against each other.

Oh fuck. Oh fuck. I need more.

Merry licks and sucks down my jaw as she plucks and pulls at my nipples. My eyes flutter and I meet Talon's hot, focused gaze.

Gratitude swirls and deepens my arousal, and I try to convey it to him with my eyes. We've spent more time speaking through our eyes than with our mouths, though that's been changing recently.

Still, I recognize his relief for me. He can't stand me in pain. Not from a splinter or a bruise. I'll be sure to point out how annoying that is to him later, since he was so generous to share all my faults.

And yet I want him too. Flaws and all. Deeply, forever.

For the thousandth time, I wish it was him touching me. I wish it was his fingers finding my slit the way Merry is, gently running his fingers along it, spreading my wetness and causing my stomach to coil tight with slow building anticipation.

I dream of it being his lips tugging at my aching nipples, pulling and teasing them, sending electric shocks down to my sex.

Talon's intense expression never changes but his stance shifts, and I know he hears my thoughts. I'm broadcasting them as loudly as I can.

I want you with me.

I want you in me.

I always want you.

A hunger pang strikes me in the gut, and I turn my attention back to Merry, kissing her thoroughly until she comes away panting.

Another sip. Delicious .

"Shall we?" she says, tilting her head toward the bed.

I nod.

"Wait." Talon stops me with a word. He picks up the long chain attached to the collar. It could extend across the length of the room, but he wraps a significant amount of it around his fist while giving me plenty of slack. He nods, signaling me to join Merry on the bed.

Again, we speak with our eyes.

I won't let you hurt her. You're safe.

I nod back.

Sliding between Merry’s legs, we plunder each other's mouths, exhilarating in the soft supple skin of each other. I tear down the corset and tease and tug at her tight brown nipples with my teeth as my fingers rub at the lace panties. I press the roughness of the material against her clit and lower lips until they’re soaked.

Merry's head falls back, and she moans, surrendering to my touch. Another sip.

Fuck. Fae lords. Thank witchtitting gods.

The pain of starvation is slowly but surely being replaced by Merry's sexual energy. Soon her corset is gone, and she's bare from the waist up.

I already know this meal might be the best I've ever had since I've never been so hungry, and she is so very lovely.

Dropping down to my knees, I tug her panties to the side and swipe up her wet pussy with my tongue. Her hips jerk as she gives a pleasured shout. Oh lords, she tastes like honeyed lust, and I’m lost.

The cold crystal chain traces my spine, leading to where he has a hold on my collar.

My mouth works harder against Merry, her taste coating my tongue, her moans vibrating down my throat.

I spread for him anyway, ass high, offering him the view.

The shame of it, the heat of it, the way I’m performing for both of them at once—it makes me wetter than I can stand.

Merry grabs the headboard behind her as my tongue quickly swipes and dips inside her honey. Then I’m suckling, attacking her clit, my hands pushing her thighs further apart, spreading her like a meal for me. And she is.

I take my first substantial drink of her energy.

Oh fuck.

It's so good, hot stinging prickles attack the backs of my eyes. I'm close to weeping with relief.

I need to go slow, but I can't stop myself. I drink her sexual energy in deeply a second time.

A harsh jerk, the crystal chain scraping between my ass cheeks as Talon yanks me out of it.

Too much.

This time I want to cry from frustration, but he's right. I was taking too much, too soon.

As if sensing the dynamic needs to change, Merry directs me up and turns me around so I'm facing Talon up on my knees. Pressed to my back, Merry plays with my breasts, dropping hot kisses over my shoulders. My hips jerk. The apex of my thighs is dripping wet.

Finally, her manicured hand finds my mound. I shout in relief as her fingers rub at my clit. I'd curve over if she weren't holding me up against her with the other hand, still playing with my breast.

"Do you want it slow or fast?" Her husky words send a shiver through me.

"Slow.” My request is raspy.

I look directly into Talon's eyes as she rubs me with deliberate and steady strokes.

I'm trying so hard to be careful, to not lose focus. Grounding myself in Talon helps.

"Spread me so he can see," I tell her.

Surprise registers only slightly on Talon's dark expression, but I know he's rocked by me voicing that out loud.