Page 51 of Death

Ari smiles in the dark. “That’s why you found your way to me,” he says, not asking a question.

“I think so,” I whisper. “Is this real?”

“Yes, Tannis,” he says. “This is very real.”

Ari stands off the bed and walks toward me. He stops in front of me and places his hands on my shoulders.

“To see you here,” he whispers. “Finally. It’s...” He rests his forehead against mine. “I don’t want to let you go.”

That warm ribbon tickles up my spine. “I don’t know how long I can stay,” I say. “I don’t understand how this works.”

“Shh,”he says, his lips touching my temple. “Don’t think about it. If we believe we own the night, then we will.”

Ari wraps his arms around my waist and easily lifts me off the floor. My toes dangle as he carries me toward his bed and I steady myself with my arms around his neck.

He sets me back down and kisses me, gently tilting my chin upward with a firm finger. I kiss him back, drawn even further into this beautiful dream. Somehow, my heart pounds harder than it did earlier today in that cabin. The heat within this sheet is far warmer than the heat beside a blazing fire.

“Tannis,” he whispers, our lips touching. “Get on your knees for me.”

I inhale sharply, but not to object. The sound of his voice, so deep and full of lust, sends me to places I’ve never been before. His desire spreads through me, awakening a new woman in me.

Awakening his woman.

“My queen,” he says.

My throat constricts. To be or not to be, as the ageless question goes. Or maybe, it never was an option not to be.

Have I ever had a choice at all?

Haven’t I always been his?

He’s been by my side my whole life. He healed me when I was sick. Comforted me when I was scared. Whether I was aware of it or not...

I have always been his queen.

I look up into his eyes, seeing more of the man inside than ever before. “Will you teach me how?” I ask.

He smiles in the dark and draws me even closer to him, so close I can feel his hardness dig into my hip. A laugh trembles his throat but he doesn’t say a word. He just moves us, slowly sitting down on the edge of the bed and guiding me to stand between his open knees. I follow his gestures and lower myself to kneel before him.

His hand glides to rest on my cheek. I quiver against his powerful palm, gently turning my head to kiss his thumb as it grazes my bottom lip.

“Open,” he says.

I part my lips and he teases his thumb along the front edge of my teeth.

“Don’t bite,” he says. “Use your tongue.”

I taste his thumb. He holds it still and I lick at it, playing and learning new ways to use my tongue. Ari watches, his breath quick and warm. His erection stands on end in front of me, waiting for its turn, but Ari sits with patience as I swirl my tongue around him a little bit more.

“Good,” he says. “Use your lips.”

I tighten my lips around his knuckle. Part of me instantly feels silly. Can’t say I even remember the last time I sucked on my own thumb, though the action feels more instinctual than I thought it’d be. I suck on his thumb as he slowly moves it along my tongue.

“That’s right,” he says, lust burning in his eyes. “Do it like that.”

I close my eyes to focus. Soon, the movement comes easier and I begin to bob my head rather than rely on his short thrusts. It turns me on, truth be told. The thought of pleasing him, of obeying him to give him pleasure. It’s more intoxicating than I ever thought it’d be.

I pull back, removing his thumb from my mouth. I open my eyes and look at him again, my gaze quickly falling to his groin instead. I lick my lips, feeling ready for something more.