Page 56 of Starfall

Ari

A ll I could feel and taste and touch was Elias. All I smelled was him. If I didn’t give in to the fire burning hot in my core, I would surely die from need.

Elias groaned at my declaration, his hips jerking upward. His length slid in my hand, so large and thick, that a part of me feared he wouldn’t fit. I shivered in anticipation, running my thumb over the velvety softness of him.

“Hold on, sweetheart.” I let out a surprised yelp when Elias flipped me onto my back. One hand wrapped around both of my wrists and held them above my head. “I’m going to worship you,” he breathed, his hard body like stone pressing into my curves.

I frowned when he abruptly released me and moved down the bed. “Elias?”

He didn’t answer, but he grabbed each thigh and spread me apart, his fingers digging deliciously into my skin. Warm air coasted against my center, and my heart lurched in my chest.

“What are you?—”

“Worshipping,” he rasped, right before he lowered his head between my thighs, his warm mouth latching onto my aching bud. My back arched, a guttural cry sounding from deep within. I cursed and called his name as he slid his tongue up and then down, moving slowly enough to end me. To torture me.

He groaned when he finally, finally , pushed his tongue between my folds and thrust into my aching core, the sensation a tease, making me yearn to be filled with more . More of him .

Elias fed off of my whimpers like oxygen, his desperate movements quickening, his tongue inching upward, just barely touching where I needed him most before he slowed. I grabbed his hair, my hips jerking, my pulse pounding wildly in my ears.

“Please,” I begged, needing him to take away the nearly painful throbbing.

He chuckled against me. “I love it when you beg for my tongue, Arina.”

Fuck. When he used my full name in that tone, I didn’t stand a chance.

“Now, be my good girl and break for me.”

I couldn’t respond. Not when his mouth closed around my sensitive bud, his relentless ministrations making my limbs tremble.

One hand gripped my thigh, the other moving to lay splayed across my stomach, keeping me in place.

I was under his influence as he devoured me like a starved man, helpless but to swim in every wave of ecstasy he delivered.

I cried out, the foreign feeling overwhelming every sense I possessed.

A finger joined him, easing into me and curling, reaching some spot I hadn’t known by my own hand.

I squirmed, but Elias’s hand firmed on my stomach as he continued with his delectable torture.

It was too much, too much of everything, and tears slipped down my cheeks as he worked me, growing frantic as if he needed me to let go as much as I did.

“Come for me,” he said, the vibrations of his command wrecking me. “Let me taste you, my beautiful little light.”

When he added a second finger, I fell apart.

My vision burst with white light as I came, my core clamping down on his fingers. Liquid bliss filled my insides as I plummeted over the edge, Elias holding me down so I couldn’t escape the onslaught of the beautiful madness he’d wrung from my body.

When he slowed, I grabbed his hair and pulled him back up to my lips, to where I could kiss him. He groaned when his tongue met mine, and I tasted my release. “More,” I demanded, my core still pulsing. “I need more.”

My hands went to his chest, feeling the hard lines of his abdomen as he held himself aloft.

His body was a work of art, the muscles rippling beneath my touch.

Breaking our kiss, I leaned forward to run my tongue from his neck to his stubbled jaw, my hands continuing to memorize every perfect inch of him.

“You’re killing me, Ari,” he whispered, angling his head to pay attention to my aching nipples. He took one peak between his teeth and gently bit down before his tongue soothed the bite. I made a noise I didn’t think possible; low and deep and primal.

Eternal, I wanted him. I should know better, should resist the pull between us, but if this was my last night on Earth, I wasn’t going to hold back. I was far too selfish.

“Please. Make the ache go away,” I begged, lifting my hips. Shit, it hurt—that physical tender ache.

Elias’s jaw tensed, but he eased up and kissed my lips gently, a stark contrast to how he’d handled me seconds before. “I’m really trying to take it easy on you,” he murmured, his breath catching. “You’re making it so damned difficult.”

“Good.” I smirked and stroked his length, silently telling him exactly what I wanted.

Elias’s arms trembled. “Careful,” he warned, barely holding back. But all I desired was for him to lose control. For him to break for me.

I smiled. “I’m never careful.”

He made a noise of pain before he shifted his body and positioned himself between my thighs. His arms caged me in, and his mouth found mine before he eased his impressive length into my warmth. We both stilled, and the feeling of him gradually stretching me caused my eyes to roll back.

I might have cursed out loud. Or screamed his name. Probably both.

“You’re glowing for me, Ari.” Elias cupped the back of my neck as he pushed in even further .

I could barely breathe. I’d never felt such indescribable bliss before.

Fisting my hair, he kissed me as he slid himself the rest of the way, swallowing my whimper. “So good.” Elias let me adjust to the fullness, to how his body filled mine.

I was soaking for him, but I gasped at the hint of pain.

“Tell me to stop,” he said, pausing.

I shook my head frantically, begging him to continue. I’d never done this before, but I needed it to be with him. Stopping now when I’d just gotten a taste would be agony.

I sighed when he gradually pulled out almost to the tip before driving back inside, his head thrown back as his chest vibrated with satisfaction.

“You feel like heaven.” He leaned down and kissed my lips, stealing my remaining air.

I frantically grabbed his back, my nails digging into his skin, likely leaving marks. Good .

I’d known sex—had seen it countless times before—but experiencing it wrecked me. How could I forget the feeling of him moving slowly, pulling out before thrusting back inside as he chanted my name? How he cradled my head and whispered in my ear, his deep groans a sound I never wished to forget?

I couldn’t. It would be impossible.

The stinging eased after some time, slowly turning into something new, eager and hungry. My core heated, a pressure forming. With each thrust, Elias heightened my nerves, and that pressure built, growing and growing until my limbs shook uncontrollably.

I lifted myself with each thrust, my fingers digging into his back as my heels pressed against his backside. I chased after that same high Elias had given me with his fingers, tears in my eyes. He groaned when I forcefully lifted, longing for that devastating bliss that came with a bite of pain.

“Let me feel you let go,” I pleaded, needing more. My otherworldly body already craved his intensity. “Let me feel all of you, Elias.”

He chanted my name before obliging, driving into me with abandon, his hunger insatiable. I couldn’t hold back the moans that rent the air, his powerful hips bringing me so, so close to the edge.

“You take me so well, Ari. Like you were made for me.” He ground out each word with every thrust, his voice a growl.

The way he moved forced me higher up on the mattress, our sweaty bodies sticking together, our combined moans filling the room.

He didn’t hold back, and I loved it. Loved each second that he slammed into me.

Adored every gentle kiss he placed on my lips, my neck, my breasts.

“I…I’m about to?—”

He cradled my face. “ Shh . I’m going to take care of you, sweetheart.”

Elias moved like a madman, unleashing all of himself. Each time he pushed inside lifted me higher, my approaching orgasm within reach.

“That’s it. I can feel you squeezing me,” he rasped. He lowered his head and took one nipple into his mouth. His sharp teeth teased before he bit down.

That was all it took. I fell, calling out his name on a gasp. Sparks shot across my eyes as I dove off an invisible cliff. I lay there, floating in his arms, swimming in a sea of endless sensation until he pulled out suddenly.

Warmth coated my stomach, and Elias groaned, his head tipped back in rapture.

I’d done that to him. Unraveled him. I soaked it in; his face, his body, the way he shook afterward. And when he lowered his head, his brilliant eyes found mine. Never breaking contact, he placed a kiss on my temple.

“This was never a dream, was it?” He asked as a tear ran down my face. Elias dipped his head and kissed it, licking away my joy and stealing it for himself. Rising onto his elbow, he stared at me, his eyes unreadable as he ran a finger down my cheek.

I shook my head before I realized. “Not a dream.”

All those nights I’d spent on the balcony on Maldia, staring down at the mortals lost to love?—

I’d never understood it entirely.

Not until now.

I was falling—but in a different way than I’d imagined.