Page 53 of Their Reckless Thief (The Below #1)

He silenced me with a look, his hands moving to the waistband of my panties. He tugged them down slowly, carefully, as if he was unwrapping something fragile, until I was completely bare beneath him.

“So fucking perfect.”

The weight of his gaze made me squirm, but he didn’t let me hide.

He climbed back onto the bed, his body hovering over mine, his warmth enveloping me.

His lips returned to my neck, trailing kisses down to my collarbone, then lower to the swell of my breast. When his mouth closed around me, I couldn’t stop the moan that spilled from my lips.

“Look at me. I want you to see how much I care for you. How much I need you.”

I opened my eyes, meeting his gaze, and the intensity there nearly broke me. He was worshipping me. Every kiss, every caress, every whispered word was filled with a devotion that made my heart ache.

His mouth continued its journey down my body, leaving a trail of fire in its wake. When he reached my hips, his hands gripped them gently, his thumbs brushing the sensitive skin there.

“I’m going to take care of you, Celeste,” he said, his voice low and raw. “Let me take care of you.”

I nodded, unable to speak, and then his mouth was on me. The first touch of his tongue sent a shockwave through my body, and I gasped, my back arching off the bed. His hands held me steady as he worked, his mouth and tongue moving with a precision that left me trembling.

Pleasure built slowly, like a rising tide threatening to pull me under. I gripped the sheets, my knuckles white as I fought to hold on. It wasn’t only the pleasure that overwhelmed me—it was the way he made me feel. Wanted. Cherished. Safe.

That terrified me. I wasn’t safe. Not with him. Not with any of them. They could shatter me without even trying, and I wasn’t sure I’d survive it.

“Dorian,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I can’t?—”

“You can,” he said firmly, his gaze meeting mine as he rose to press a kiss right at the corner of my mouth. And gods, if that didn’t feel like a promise. “You don’t have to be afraid, Celeste. Not with me.”

His words undid me, and when his mouth returned to my body, I let go.

Dorian climbed over me with that confident, playful smirk, his impressive cock standing proud, the sheer size of him making my heart race and my thighs clench in anticipation.

His amber eyes burned into mine, filled with lust but also something deeper, something that terrified me because it felt like he saw me in ways I didn’t want to be seen.

“I’m going to fuck that beautiful mouth of yours, love,” he growled, his voice thick with need. The words sent a jolt straight to my core, nerves and raw anticipation leaving me trembling beneath him.

With his length hovering above my lips, a war raged within me. Every rational thought screamed for me to put up my walls, to protect myself from what this could become. But my body? My body betrayed me. It yearned for him, for the way he made me feel like I was the center of his world.

I opened my mouth slowly, tentatively. When he slid past my lips, a low, guttural moan escaped him, vibrating through my core.

His taste hit me immediately—heady and intoxicating, like honey warmed with the sharp edge of whiskey.

I moaned around him, the vibrations pulling a deep, guttural groan from his chest.

His fingers threaded through my hair as his cock stretched my throat in a way that felt both overwhelming and exquisite.

The raw power of him, the intensity of his need, set my body aflame.

My fingers dug into his muscular ass, urging him deeper, harder, until he hit the back of my throat.

With every thrust, his scent surrounded me—sweat, musk, and something uniquely Dorian—making my head spin with its potency.

He pulled back suddenly, leaving me gasping and yearning for more. He shot me a devilish grin as he moved lower, his hands tracing the curves of my hips. “Gods,” he murmured, his voice softer, reverent, “I need to taste you again.”

His lips found my inner thigh first, teasing and tasting, leaving a trail of fire in their wake.

My breath hitched as his mouth moved closer to my center, his hands parting my legs with a tenderness that made my chest ache.

I hated how much I needed him, how much I wanted this, but gods help me, I was powerless to resist.

Dorian’s tongue made contact with my clit, and I cried out, my hips jerking off the bed.

His low chuckle sent vibrations straight through me, and I unraveled beneath him.

His tongue flicked and swirled, teasing me, driving me to the edge, and then pulling me back just enough to keep me wanting.

My hands fisted the sheets, my body arching toward him instinctively as he devoured me like a man starving.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take any more, he pulled back. I whimpered at the loss, but before I could protest, he pulled me on top of him. He twisted my body around until I was straddling his face, my mouth mere inches above his cock.

“I–I’ve never done this before,” I admitted, my voice barely a whisper.

Dorian’s grip on my hips tightened, his thumbs stroking soothing circles into my skin. “There’s no time like the present, love. Trust me. I’ll take care of you, but you have to follow my rules. No coming until I say so. Understood?”

That sent a fresh wave of heat through me. “Yes. I understand.”

“Good,” he said, his voice dipping into a growl. “Now, be a good girl and take me in that pretty mouth.”

My body trembled as I lowered myself to him, wrapping my hands around his thick shaft.

He was impossibly hard, the veins pulsing under my touch.

I licked the tip experimentally, savoring the salty-sweet taste of him.

He let out a guttural groan, his hips bucking slightly as I took him deeper, swirling my tongue around his length.

“Fuck, Celeste,” he groaned, his voice rough with restraint. “You’re going to undo me.”

Before I could respond, his mouth was on me again, his tongue plunging into me with a fervor that made my vision blur. I moaned around his cock, and he hissed against my skin as he gripped my hips.

I was caught between pleasure and need, every nerve in my body alight with sensation.

His tongue teased my clit before dipping lower, pressing into me, and then trailing even farther back to my most sensitive, untouched place.

I gasped, my body jerking at the unfamiliar sensation as his tongue circled and pressed gently.

“Relax, love,” he murmured against me. “Let me make you feel good.”

I wanted to resist, to hold on to some semblance of control, but his worship of me left me helpless.

I moaned around him, taking him deeper into my throat as his tongue worked its magic.

His groans of pleasure sent shivers through me, and I felt his cock throb against my tongue, a tangible reminder of how much he wanted me.

“Not yet,” he growled suddenly, pulling back just enough to deny me the release. “You don’t come until I say so.”

I whimpered in frustration, but I obeyed, focusing instead on the way he felt in my mouth, the way his hands held me like I was something precious.

He resumed his ministrations with renewed intensity, his tongue driving me to the brink again and again, only to pull me back at the last moment. The tension built and built until I thought I might shatter, my legs shaking as I fought to hold on.

I pulled my mouth off him. “Please,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “Dorian, please.”

His hands tightened on my hips, his tongue flicking over my clit, sending a fresh wave of pleasure crashing through me. “Not yet,” he growled. “When I say.”

And then, finally, his grip on my hips loosened, and his voice softened. “Now, love. Come for me.”

His words were my undoing. The orgasm tore through me, wave after wave of pleasure so intense it left me gasping, my body arching as I cried out his name. Dorian didn’t stop, his tongue drawing out every last shudder, every last tremor, until I collapsed against him, utterly spent.

He pulled me down beside him, his arms wrapping around me as I trembled with aftershocks. He brushed his lips against my ear. “You’re incredible, Celeste. And one day, you’ll believe it too.”

Tears pricked my eyes at the tenderness in his words, and I hated how much I wanted to believe him. How much I wanted to let myself care. But I couldn’t. Not yet. Not when the cost of giving in felt so impossibly high.

Dorian had promised to show Vivian and me around the city, and after everything we’d been through, I think we both needed that. Vivian had never been in The Below before, and this was Dorian’s attempt to ease the tension between us all.

Especially between me and Viv.

We met outside the mansion, Dorian’s grin breaking through the tension. He leaned casually against a stone wall outside the mansion, exuding confidence. His presence was so commanding that it was easy to forget how dangerous he could be when he wanted to.

“Ready for the grand tour, ladies?” he asked, flashing that trademark grin of his.

Vivian looked around the street with wide eyes, her lips slightly parted in wonder.

She hadn’t spoken much since we left the mansion, but I could tell she was already overwhelmed.

I remembered feeling the same way when I first ventured into The Below.

The city had its own pulse, a beat that ran through the veins of every street, alleyway, and hidden corner.

“Where are we even starting?” I asked, trying to sound casual even though something in me twisted at the idea of walking through The Below like it was any other city.

Dorian winked. “You’ll see. I know all the best spots.”