Page 5 of To Dwell in Shadows (Shadows of Aurelia #2)

S elene watched as Sam went to work, flipping through books. He seemed to know exactly which ones he was looking for and where they were. Eventually, he held up a beat-up-looking book bound in purple fabric.

“This one,” he said.

He held out the book for her. It was opened to a page depicting a series of penciled drawings of a Malkina couple. In each one, the female lay spread-eagle on a bed, blindfolded, while a male Malkina did wicked things to her body.

“Ohhh,” Selene breathed, eating up the image with her eyes.

“Would this be all right?” His words were thick with desire.

“Yes. Do you have a blindfold?”

“I’ll find something.” The roughness of his tone made moisture pool between her legs. “Take off your clothes, then lie on the bed.”

Selene enthusiastically obeyed. As she undressed, she watched Sam dig through a trunk in the corner of the room. Eventually, he pulled out a white tunic and tore a strip of fabric from the hem. He also retrieved something else from the trunk—a shoebox-sized container that he tucked under his arm .

“What’s that?” she asked.

“You’ll find out.” When he came toward her, his eyes glowed red.

“What do you want me to do?”

“Reach back and grab onto the spindles,” he said, gesturing to the headboard. Once she had done that, he smoothed her hair away from her face. “Then just receive.”

It was strangely erotic to be laid out for him, naked and vulnerable, while he loomed over her.

Fully clothed and in complete control. His gaze dragged up and down her body as if making a mental map of everything he would do to her.

His features were so intense that Selene involuntarily stiffened, prompting Sam to ask, “Do you trust me, my love?”

“Yes. I just don’t want to disappoint you.”

“Impossible. My fantasy is only to please you.” He moved toward her face, holding out the strip of fabric. “May I put this on you now?”

“Yes.”

Sam’s heart pounded as he tied the blindfold around Selene’s head. He had imagined many scenarios from his explicit books but never dreamed he would be asked to perform one—and within the very chambers where he had first read about them.

His eyes raked over Selene’s curves, considering how he should start. So many options. He wanted to make her mindless with pleasure, screaming his name and begging for more. He needed to tantalize every inch of her.

Slow build.

He extended the claw of his index finger and drew it down her arm. “Does that hurt?” he asked.

“No. It makes me shiver.”

Perfect.

He repeated the motion on her other arm, and Selene shivered again. Then he gently swept his claw back and forth across her collarbone before moving down her sternum.

Lightly, he traced the sides of each breast. The way her nipples tightened before his eyes made his mouth water, but he didn’t stop to indulge himself. He continued to drag his claw downward, drawing lazy circles over her stomach until he skimmed the top of the dark triangle between her legs.

Selene’s breaths were coming quicker now. He drew swirls around her hips, then parted her legs so he could caress the sensitive flesh of her thighs. When he moved down to her knees, she giggled.

“Ticklish?” he asked.

“Yes. But don’t stop.”

When he finally reached the bottom of her feet, he reversed direction to make his way back up her body. But this time, he sheathed his claw. This time, he used his mouth.

He spread her legs wider, kissing and licking her thighs. He wanted to draw her pleasure out for as long as possible but couldn’t resist nuzzling his face against her core. When his hot breath skated over her swollen folds, Selene moaned, and he immediately pulled back, delaying her gratification.

“More,” she said. He marveled at how her flushed cheeks contrasted beautifully against the white blindfold.

“Patience,” he chided. “Try not to come until I tell you to.”

“Ugh, you’re going to kill me,” Selene said, but there was a smile in her voice.

“You’re going to feel me everywhere.”

She let out a frustrated sigh, which made Sam’s desire pound even harder. She was reacting just as he had always dreamed.

When he kissed his way to her stomach, he took extra time to linger over her satiny skin, knowing it was a part of her body she felt self-conscious about.

As he squeezed her plush warmth to meet his tongue, her hips began to undulate.

He stilled her pelvis with his hands then licked the underside of her breast. Involuntarily, he drove his erection into the mattress .

Must hold out longer.

Leaning up, he closed his lips around one nipple, sucking ruthlessly. The shift from gentle to rough made her cry out and tangle her hands in his hair.

“Hands back on the spindles,” he commanded. She obeyed.

He attended to her other breast, but his desire to taste more of her became undeniable. Roughly, he moved down the bed and draped her knees over his shoulders.

When he pressed his mouth to her sex, she cried out, “Sam, please. I can’t take much more!”

He delved his tongue into her wet heat, her taste wickedly delicious. In his mind, he had wanted to keep her on edge for hours, but his lust was so strong he knew he needed to make haste. Abruptly, he pulled away from her.

“What is it?”

“Hold on, I want to try something,” he whispered. “Just trust me.”

Sam slid open the wooden box he had placed on the bed. Nestled within a bed of velvet was a polished column of pink quartz. It was thick and shiny, tapered to be wider at one end.

“This might feel cold,” he warned then dragged the crystal across Selene’s outer labia.

She startled. “What is that?”

“It’s a pleasure wand,” he said. He moved the crystal over her inner thighs then worked it slowly around her folds. “Do you like it?”

“I… I… yes,” she panted.

“A merchant gave it to me many years ago.” He teased the wider end around her entrance, making her gasp. “He was under the false assumption that I was buying erotic books for a lover,” he explained. “I’ve always dreamed of using it.”

“More, Sam.”

Sam began to pump the crystal in and out of her. He quickened his pace until Selene’s head thrashed back and forth and she let go of the spindles to claw at the sheets. He didn’t correct her. The feeling of having complete control over her passion made him feel wild with lust.

“Sam… Sam, I can’t hold out?—”

He couldn’t hold out either. In a strained voice, he commanded, “Come for me, mate.”

Instantly, her body released. He felt her spasms against his hand, and her cries of pleasure made him moan, too. He continued thrusting the pleasure wand until her body stopped shaking.

“Oh my god. Oh my god, Sam, that was incredible.” Panting, she touched the blindfold. “Can I take this off?”

“Yes.”

Her eyes were heavy-lidded when they met his. He was shaking with pent-up lust. But although he wanted to pounce on her, he held himself back, knowing Selene’s body was sometimes too sensitive for more pleasure directly after release.

She sat up, tugging at his pants. “Your turn.”

He gasped with relief when she freed his erection from its confines. Before he could question whether she was ready, she bent her head and closed her lips around the head of his cock. He groaned and helplessly bucked his hips.

As she moved her mouth up and down, she grasped his bollocks and tugged them gently, stretching them the way she knew he liked. When her tongue teased the underside of his crown, his hands shook as they pulled at her hair.

“Selene… I’m about to… can’t hold out—” He moaned.

Her mouth was so hot and wet. She began pumping the base of his cock faster, urging him on.

Within seconds, all the tension coiled up in him erupted, lashing him with wave after wave of pleasure.

Selene didn’t pull away as he came against her tongue, his hips mindlessly thrusting. His roar of bliss filled the chambers.

When it was over, they both collapsed on the bed. They stared up at the ceiling for a moment, until Selene pulled the covers over them. She curled against him and whispered, “Was that as good as you imagined?”

Sam’s breathing was still erratic, but he managed to gasp out, “So much better.”