Page 41 of Merciless Wager
“Such as?”
“You don’t want to know,” he said, emphasizing that with a hard smack to my thigh, which made me yelp.
“Okay, okay. I thought you were a sadist, but it turns out that you’re a masochist, too,” I replied.
He chuckled. “I aim to please, now get to talking before I reintroduce you to the sadistic side of me.”
I slapped him hard, and this time it was close enough to his mouth that my nail nicked his lip, causing a spot or two of blood to bloom to the surface. I paused before continuing to watch his tongue dart out to remove them, and it was the sexiest damn thing I had ever seen.
A slight ache struck me as I watched his tongue as it slowly traced the curve of his upper lip, then the bottom, leaving a glistening sheen on them. His lips slowly parted, and the longer my gaze lingered on them, the more my core throbbed. My own parted in silent invitation, and I nearly sucked his finger into my mouth when he brought it to my mouth and softly tapped it.
“Talk, Bellezza.”
His voice was a delicious rasp, and maybe it was because he knew what I was thinking. Or maybe it was because in moments like this, he seemed more human. He wasn’t my kidnapper, and the only one who could help me avoid my fate. He was a lover in that moment, and a soft sigh escaped from me as I moistened my own lips with my tongue, drawing a low groan from him.
“I hate that I’m so scared, not of you, but of where I’m going. And what I have to do when I get there. What if I hate this Mik?—”
“Don’t say his name,” Zarren interjected. “And you hated me at first, yet here you are making eyes at me, hoping that I not only kiss these lips,” he said as he tapped them once more, “but these ones as well.”
I gasped as his free hand disappeared between my legs. “I did, and I still do, but... umm... things can change.”
“So you like me, Aurora?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t push it. I can still slap you again.”
“I have no doubt about that. Do it, but just remember the terms.”
I shook my head. “Your face is safe for the rest of the night. I’m actually tired of talking about myself. Will you just hold me?”
I’d never held a woman, unless it was to hold her up as I continued to break her. What Aurora was asking was quite the opposite. She wanted me to hold her as she tried to meld the shattered pieces inside of her back together. Still, I lifted her off me momentarily as I leaned back against the back of the sectional and drew my legs up onto the cushion.
Once in the position I wanted to be, I opened my legs enough to allow her room between them. As soon as she settled into place, I pulled her back against my chest, then wrapped my arms around her. “At running the risk of you slapping me again, I noticed that you didn’t mention Drake.”
“He didn’t deserve mention,” she replied absently. Her voice had changed, although her body stayed lax against mine.
I stroked her arm up and down before having to know. “Why didn’t he deserve mention? Did he not hurt you?”
The very idea of her having any forgiveness in her heart for that loser made me wish I did own her completely so I could wipe all traces of him from it. One day, I’d own those pieces she still kept under lock and key, but until I did, I could get rid ofhim another way. I might not be able to fully erase him from her heart and head, but I could wipe him from the face of the earth.
“Because I realize now that he never mattered. He isn't worth a moment more of my time,” she elaborated.
A warmth filled me as a smile tipped my lips. “That he is not.”
“There is one other thing,” she finally said as she dropped her head back and tipped her chin toward me.
“Should I cover my face now?”
She smiled, and again, I was drawn to her lips. So full... soft... fuckable...
Hard was a constant state around her, but as I pictured my cock sliding between them as I fucked her mouth, it swelled painfully. If she realized it, she said nothing, but did speak. “I want to know more about you. Since you know so much about me, can’t you let me in a little, too.”
“You don’t need to know about me,” I told her as I leaned down and trailed a few kisses along her forehead.
She pulled her head away from me. “It’s only fair.”
“I’ve told you before that there’s nothing fair about this situation. You were born from the blood of the wrong man, and as such, you’re now going to help my family advance its agenda.”
“You make it sound so cold,” she retorted.
