Page 29 of Summer’s Seduction (Sinful Seasons #2)
LARKSPUR
R iding a pegasus was incredible. White wings stretched from the top of their shoulder blades, the pristine feathers glinting in the starlight as we sailed through the night sky. My hands wrapped beneath the wings, feeling the thick muscles flex with each beat as the cloak gifted to me by the huntresses billowed out behind me.
Closing my eyes, I allowed my head to rest on the soft coat as I breathed in the moment. I felt weightless gliding over the clouds, like I was floating in a surreal world where nothing and no one could reach me. The pine forest flashed beneath us, the terrain growing rockier and the mountains sharper, but despite the chill in the air, there was hope of coming out of this alive.
Artemis was sure we needed to go to The Glass Palace in search of Hypnos, but after learning it was, in fact, not a palace but a prison, I had this blossom of warmth in my chest telling me this was where Psyche was. Hecate had confirmed as much before she’d left, relaying that Hypnos had many prisoners kept in the palace-turned-prison. All we had to do was retrieve a key from a prominent family in the north, and then Psyche would be in my arms. Safe.
Morpheus had assured us obtaining the key wouldn’t be an issue. Despite Commander Egerius once being loyal to Hypnos, Morpheus pointed out that the head of infantry remained behind while his father ravaged The Realm of The Living. Artemis hadn’t looked convinced, insisting we spend the better part of the day just outside his territory to allow more of her huntresses to join us.
“Just ahead is where we’ll sleep,” Camilla told the huntresses flying around me.
I leaned forward on my pegasus, glimpsing a slab of rock jutting out from the mountainside—a perfect landing location for all of us—and a few meters below it was a narrow stream cutting through the pine forest. Thank the gods for that because I seriously needed to bathe.
Camilla had given me the uniform of the huntresses: a short tunic cinched in at the waist that had been paired with flexible pants built to run and a thick cloak. I’d allowed myself the cloak but tucked the rest away until I could scrub off the blood still clinging to my white linens.
The blood of all of the vile dark ones who’d thought they could touch another being without their permission, all to fulfill some sick perversion of power. Morpheus had slaughtered them all, making each beat of their wretched hearts pump with fear in their last, agonizing moments.
He’d left the ground stained with their blood in honor of me.
I glanced over, easily finding the dark wings in a sea of white. His golden eyes were already trained on mine as if he’d been watching me the whole time… as if I were someone worthy of being watched.
When we’d woken, he’d been worried I wouldn’t accept this part of him—the vengeful prince—but didn’t he know I was just as twisted as he was? And maybe that’s why it was impossible not to fall for him. Because he saw me. He looked into my mind and my fucked up past and didn’t think I was used goods or a dirty, crumpled thing to be tossed aside. When he looked at me and spoke my name in that deep rumble of his as if I were already his, it made me think there could be something in me still worth salvaging.
Morpheus’s golden eyes ringed in red from his earlier execution, grew hooded, smoldering with lust as his gaze tracked everything, from the way my umber curls flew behind me to the flecks of blood staining the white of my clothes.
“We’ll take turns bathing in the stream while the others set up camp,” Artemis called, leading the descent.
Megara looked to Camilla, who spared a glance at me as well before offering a soft smile. “There’s a network of caves if you prefer to sleep inside. Like many of the huntresses, I wish to sleep beneath the trees. Artemis will place an alarm of sorts around the camp, so you’re safe either way.”
Megara smiled in relief before following close behind. And then my pegasus angled forward and my stomach fluttered as the ground rose to meet us.
C amp setup was fairly easy with the network of caves already being stocked. It was clear this area was a frequent stopping point for the goddess, meaning the moon was still in the sky when I stepped along the banks of the shallow river with a bar of soap, clothes, and a small towel in hand.
“I’d hoped to help you bathe, little monster. You enjoyed my talents so much the last time.” Morpheus’s voice rose from the shadows of a great pine tree. The subtle crunch of river rocks sounded as he neared, his eyes roving over me.
My heart skipped a beat as his black wings stretched and settled behind him. Morpheus grinned as the scent of my arousal filled the small space between. Gods below, I couldn’t stop thinking about just how much I’d loved seeing his head between my thighs, how desperately I’d been craving the feel of his tongue on my pussy.
He lifted a hand to my cheek, his thumb brushing away a flake of dried blood. “That is if you will still have me.”
“What you did today was deserved.” I swallowed, leaning into his touch. “Am I horrible for thinking it was the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me?”
A true smile tilted his lips, revealing the glint of fangs. “No, little monster.” He leaned down, capturing my lips with his. He tasted like spice and leather. Like a haven of peace in an existence of chaos. “But know that is just a hint of what I’d do for you.”
His lips trailed down my neck as his fingers pressed the cloak off my shoulders. “I would bathe the realms in blood for you, Larkspur.”
I gasped as his fangs scraped the edge of my collarbone. He tugged the straps of my dress down, one and then the other. “I would drench the realms in death, letting the corpses of all those who’d ever been foolish enough to hurt you rot for eternity.”
The cool night air caressed my skin, causing my nipples to harden as Morpheus’s hands trailed lower. He kissed his way down my sternum before dropping to his knees to unlace my boots.
“They would never know rest.” He tossed one boot aside, his fingers gliding up my calf. “Never feel peace.”
The next boot thudded in the rocks as I fought to control my breathing, but his hands were at my waist now, working the laces free. His thumbs looped inside my pants, dragging the fabric over my ass and down my legs. Still, he stayed on his knees, dragging his nose over my core as my thighs clenched.
“I would give you my heart, Larkspur.”
My chest squeezed at the devotion dripping from his lips because I’d already given him mine. Somewhere in the mess of blood and pain, he’d captured my heart and woven our frayed souls together. I never allowed myself to hope, but maybe I had a chance in this life of finding happiness—of experiencing true love.
Morpheus leaned forward, pressing a chaste kiss to my pussy as his hands cupped the back of my thighs. “As black as it may be, every last piece of it beats for you.”
I looked down, staring into the red-ringed eyes of The Dark Prince kneeling between my legs still covered in the proof of his devotion to me and tugged for him to stand. His brows furrowed, but the look of concern was quickly replaced by desire as I stripped him of his clothes.
His cock twitched as I brushed against it, the thick length of it pressing into my stomach as I reached up to twine my fingers around his neck. My brown skin was cast darker in the light of the setting moon, Morpheus’s skin bleached further. We were a contrast in some ways—a half-witch destined to hate The Slumber Prince, both of us tainted by the blood of our mothers—but we fit together in every way that mattered.
As if hearing my thoughts, Morpheus’s hands cupped my ass, lifting me until I straddled him. He walked us into the stream, the water surprisingly warm compared to the bite of the night air. A shiver worked up his spine, his body tensing as his waist sank beneath the water’s edge.
I lifted a brow, unable to help the smirk tilting my lips. “A little too cold for you, Lord Morpheus?”
He narrowed his eyes at my playful tone, sifting my body lower until his cock was nestled against my pussy. My breathing hitched as I felt how big he was, my spine stiffening as he grinned.
“Better now, little monster, but I would prefer the heat of your body to this water.”
Swallowing, I nodded, raising the bar of soap to scrub off the grime of the day. All the while, he kept me there, teetering on the edge. Morpheus leaned back, rinsing all the soap from his body and hair for the river to carry it away.
“Keep your thighs right here,” Morpheus commanded, enunciating his words with the press of his cock dangerously close to my entrance. “Be a good girl for me, little monster, and I’ll reward you.”
I whimpered as he took the soap from me, his hands working over my body while I did my best to not move. My pussy throbbed, needy for more than just the promise of him. It was torture knowing that if I just angled my hips a little further, he’d sink inside me.
Unable to take it, I shifted my hips, dragging my clit against his head. I moaned at the friction; the sensation made only better by Morpheus's hands over my breasts.
“Such a needy little monster,” he breathed, dipping my body back into the river as a low chuckle rumbled in his chest. His lips closed around my nipple a moment later, causing another moan to escape me as I rocked my hips, but his arm wrapped around my waist before I could get any further. “That’s going to cost you.”
Water cascaded down our bodies as Morpheus flitted us from the stream and through the trees until the world stopped.
“We can sleep in the caves if you like, but I thought this might be better.” Morpheus’s voice pitched with uncertainty as I slid from his grip, gazing at the scene before me.
Thousands of stars glimmered in the sky above, peering down at us between the branches of ancient pine trees. There was a roaring fire in the center of a small clearing, the warmth licking at my chilled skin and thawing the shivers that had taken hold. A bed constructed out of half a dozen blankets was set up alongside the fire, the thick material looking soft and inviting. Morpheus even procured a small bowl of berries and nuts for me to eat.
“You did all of this?”
He shifted on his feet as I turned to face him. “The huntresses didn’t want my help, and I thought you deserved a good night’s rest after everything.”
My chest heaved with the thoughtfulness behind this, my heart feeling like it might burst as I walked toward my dark prince.
“Sleeping is the last thing we’ll be doing tonight.”