Page 37 of The Rake OR The Orca Who Met His Match in a Selkie Desiring Revenge

Or was it nothing more than simple comfort? Was he only just warm? Was it only nice to be held? Eventually, he decided it didn’t matter. He’d enjoy the moment, willingly embark on the course she'd charted for them, or perhaps they had discovered it together, in their sleep.

Then again, it might be that infernal bond that was so confusing, and how it toyed with them. He hated how strong his feelings were, hated them,becausethey felt so real. For so long, everything had been fabricated, and his feelings mocked him, tricking even him with their carefully crafted authenticity. They felt real, and so he hated them, even as he allowed himself to drown in them. Because even if they weren’t, perhaps this was the closest he would ever get.

Last night, he'd been worried that he was allowing too much of himself to slip into his character, but perhaps it was good, perhaps he just needed to reshape who he was around her to allow for that. In his years of work, if he learned anything, it was that almost no one was as real or authentic as they would have you believe. Almost everyone held parts of themself back for fear of rejection. So, even if it was for a short time, he saw in that moment that they’dalso been granted something beautiful; they’d received a gift along with their curse, caught a glimpse at a love otherwise only found in stories.

He'd read plenty of love stories. After all, what better way to woo a partner than to read what they wanted in a book. All he'd needed to do, most of the time, was determine what book would fit for the person he needed to seduce, and then embody their love interest, following it like an instruction manual. With Elspeth, though, none of the characters, the scenarios, the manuals seemed to fit. She was something entirely new, and while he should be panicking, he realized that for once he didn’t need the manual. Because he could just be himself—which scared him deeper than any danger he’d ever faced.

The sun was still low in the sky, the beams of the early morning sun painting highlights across her face when she began to stir. She stretched against him, relieving pressure, only to inspire new contact in other areas—had he ever enjoyed the feeling of someone’s calf before? Likely not, but the smoothness of her skin as it brushed against his, the short downy hairs that tickled his own legs, was perfection.

And as she woke up, he felt her realization as their bodies impacted andinteracted. For a moment she stiffened upon feeling his own stiffness, but almost immediately, he could feel her begin to melt. Tension dripped from her slowly, yes, but it drained all the same, so that within minutes, she was relaxed and pliant in his arms. The pattern, the releasing, was echoed in her face, eyebrows raising and relaxing, only to raise slowly again, pulling the corners of her mouth up with them.

With the smallest movement, so infinitesimal as to perhaps be an accident, she pressed back against him. He might have brushed it off as nothing more than that, but then it moved slowly to the side, her lush ass dragging sensuously along where he swelled in his pants. Aegir bit his lip, clamping down on the sudden urge to buck his hips into her, and allowed her exploration. She needed this, he realized, she needed the freedom to explore, to reclaim what he was increasingly certain had been taken from her.

Instead, he allowed himself the luxury of humming in her ear, knowing she would feel the vibration echo through his chest and with it, he told her 'yes, please.' Elspeth stilled and released a little gasp, the telltale pinkness of a blush returning to her cheeks. Though she was embarrassed, she was still brave. It was no longer than a minute before she resumed her testing, pressing back so that once again,his shaft sank between her cheeks. On, and on, she teased him, the drugging scent of her arousal building in between them, tantalizing and torturing him with the fullness of the experience. The scent of her was so thick he could taste it, hinting at what she would be like on his tongue.

He gave her his sounds, and as they lay there, not speaking, she grew bolder, reaching down to grasp his hand and inch it up to grip the globe of her breast. As he squeezed it gently, he marveled at how perfectly it fit. It filled his hand so that when he squeezed, she overflowed his fingers, so much like the rest of her body, but if he didn’t press, if he just held her gently, she fit perfectly. The tiny sound she gifted him when he shifted his hand to roll her nipple between two fingers caused perhaps the sweetest use of the letters 'NG' he had ever heard. He stayed on that breast, grasping and pressing, pinching and rolling with varying amounts of pressure, conducting his own experiments and cataloging his results. If they were to have this, this window into a perfect love, he would do everything in his power to ensure she remembered it that way.

Chapter thirteen

Elspeth

IN WHICH DIFFICULTIES ARE ENCOUNTERED AND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS ARE EMPLOYED

With firm hands andcalluses that rasped against the fine fabric of her new chemise, Aegir picked Elspeth’s sanity apart. He didn’t stray, never ventured beyond the parameters she gave him. Within that, she found the freedom to experience her own pleasure again. When she shifted, offering him her other breast in her desperation, he wasted no time spoiling it.

Elspeth moaned, unable to stop the sound from escaping her lips. She bucked back into him. The thick, decadent pressure of him was not where she needed it, but it was better than nothing. Better than having to saywhat she wanted.

Howcouldshe say what she wanted, when she didn’t even know? She knew she wanted him, she knew she wanted to slake this incessant thirst. How much did she want? If she was honest, she wanted everything, but she wasn’t certain if she was well enough yet…

Aegir’s hand brushed her side, where her pelt was draped over her and Elspeth froze. Vague memories of her time on the boat flashed through her head, sending panic—like a wave of frigid water—coursing through her. Hands roamed across her and her pelt, asserting their claim.

No. She shook her head, willing the thoughts away.

She wanted to be here.

She wanted to be now.

She wanted Aegir.

Those werehishands on her, which she desperately wanted.

And yet, the feeling of them, so pleasurable one second before, had morphed into something that made her shiver without her assent.

Behind her, Aegir froze.

“Elspeth? Are you well?”

“I—of course I’m quite well. Why ever would I be anything bad?”

Aegir's hands shifted on her, leaving her breasts to pull up the shoulder of her chemise where it had fallen off. He picked up a strand of her hair, toying with it.

“Perhaps I haven't mentioned that I can scent your pheromones," he said. “So, when you’re scared, I know it. I don’t want you to be scared of me, a murúch."

“I just had a bad memory, and felt like I couldn’t separate then and now… it’s silly really."

“It’s not silly at all. Honestly, I wondered if this might happen after what you’ve been through.”

Elspeth rolled over onto her back so she could look at him. "What do you mean? You don’t even know what I’ve been through."