Page 212 of The Queen’s Shadow

“I thought you said it wasn’t sex!” I exclaimed, alarmed.

“It’s not.” He assured me, as he tossed me on the bed. He climbed on top of me and gathered my wrists up over my head, pinning both of them down with one hand. I squirmed beneath him in my underwear, feeling the familiar grip of panic take me. He noticed immediately, and cupped my face with the hand that wasn’t pinning my arms down.

“Do you trust me?” He asked softly, and despite all reason, I realized that I did. I swallowed back the panic and forced myself to take a deep breath.

I was safe.

He wasn’t going to hurt me… well, not unless I wanted him to.

“Say the word and I’ll stop.” He promised. “You’re in control here, Kasha. Do you want me to stop?”

He stayed perfectly still for a long moment, allowing me to get accustomed to his weight. I thought about it and tried to listen to my body. My heart was pounding but I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or from excitement.

I felt alive. And I felt in control, as strange as that sounded. I believed him when he said he would stop if I asked him to. There was no slavery bond here, and I had told him he could do this. I was a willing participant in whatever strange shifter ritual this was. It was oddly empowering. Like I was reclaiming something that had been stolen from me.

“No. You don’t have to stop.” I said finally. He paused for one more beat, inhaling through his nose, ensuring that I was telling the truth and had truly meant what I said.

“Thank fuck.” He breathed, finally seeming satisfied that I had meant it. Without warning, he buried his face in my neck and sucked so hard on the delicate skin of my throat that the suction forced blood to rush to the surface. I knew when he pulled away there would be a mark. I gasped and arched at the sensation of his tongue running up the side of my neck. He nipped the mark gently, before dropping a kiss on it and groaning against me.

Pulling away, he licked his lips. His breathing was erratic, and he met my gaze with heavy lidded eyes.

“I want to go harder.” His voice was breathless. “Can I bite you? It will hurt, if you say yes.” He warned, and I felt heat pool between my thighs. I didn’t know what the fuck was wrong with me that I wanted him to do it, but I nodded again, and a growl exploded from his chest before he dropped his head down to where my breast swelled over the cup of my bra. He sank his teeth into the soft flesh, and I cried out, involuntarily tugging at my arms. I wanted to curl around him and press his head closer, but he tightened his grip on my wrists, refusing to let me move.

Pulling a mouthful of flesh in between his teeth, he bit down again. The bite was hard enough that I knew I would bruise, but not hard enough to draw blood. It was a strange mix of pleasure and pain that made me gasp as he ran his free hand down my bare side and over my hip.

“Fuck, Kasha.” He groaned, before running his tongue over the mark he had left on my chest. He looked up at me, his eyes dark and hooded, and I was struck with how much calmer he looked. The tightness was gone from his expression, and he seemed to be experiencing something close to nirvana.

“I’m going to let go of your hands. Keep them where they are.” He ordered, and I nodded, swallowing so hard I was sure he could hear it.

He slid down my body, running the bare skin of his chest over as much of me as possible on his way down. He nipped me several times as he travelled lower, sucking on the skin after each bite and then kissing the marks better.

He settled between my legs and looked up at me. I knew what he wanted to do, but I wasn’t there yet. He had told me this wouldn’t lead to sex, and I trusted him.

“I know you’re not ready for more than this, but when you are, I’m going to make you feel so fucking good, Kasha.” He growled, his breath hot against my thighs.

I opened my mouth to respond but the words died on my tongue as he sank his teeth into my inner thigh, sucking on the skin so hard my hips bucked against him. He growled at the movement and pressed his palm flat against my abdomen, forcing me to stay still for him as he licked and sucked the mark he had left there.

When he was done, he looked up at me, his brow creased with concern and something close to arousal.

“You good?” He rasped, rubbing his thumb gently over the mark he had left on my leg. I swallowed but nodded.

I had liked it, and I liked it even more because I could see how much calmer he seemed to become with each mark he left on my body. I wondered how long he had been fighting against his need to do this.

“Yeah,” I assured him, making sure he could see that I meant it.

“Fuck…I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get enough of you…” He growled. Glancing up at me, he gave me a look that told me he wanted to give me another one. When I didn’t object, he eagerly latched down on my other thigh with a deep moan. He rolled his tongue over the tender skin he had clenched between his teeth before sucking my flesh deeper into his mouth, the sensation drawing another gasp from my chest. I squirmed beneath him and he pressed down on my pelvis again, holding me in place until he was finished. Finally, he pulled away, looking down at the mark he had made, almost reverently.

He gave it a gentle kiss, before sliding back up my body and wrapping his arms around me, burying his nose into my hair, and nuzzling into me with a possessive, but satisfied exhale.

“Thank you.” He sighed, nearly purring with pleasure. “You have no fucking idea how badly I’ve been wanting to do that.” He pulled his head away from my neck and met my eyes.

I traced the side of his face gently with my finger, noticing that his pupils had gone back to normal, and he now seemed much more relaxed.

“If you want something, just ask, Rycon. The worst I can do is say no.”

He pursed his lips. “I don’t want to push you. It’s hard to know what’s okay to ask for and what’s fucked up. Shifter shit is complex, and you’ve been through a lot of bullshit. I’m never sure if you’re going to be freaked out or not.”

I shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t really understand the need to mark me, but if you’re going to get so upset that you feel the need to drag me away from our friends and threaten to burn my outfit, I would rather you just tell me what you want, and we can figure it out together.”