Page 10 of Caught in the Devil’s Hand

He tilted up her chin. “Close your eyes,” he urged in a bare whisper. Heart pounding, she complied. “And just feel.”

Oh, his lips… So warm and gentle. They touched the corner of her mouth and were gone in an instant only to reappear on the other corner. Then he laid a tender kiss on her bottom lip, one that made her heart skip. She gripped his arm, finding it firm and muscular.

He held her closer and deepened their kiss, a growl rumbling in his chest. She heard a strange, throaty sound. Had that come from her? He pulled back to change angles, giving her a scant second to gulp for air, and when his mouth returned, she heard that sound again. A soft moan, and she had made it. By the dueling gods…

Something warm and wet swiped between her lips. His tongue. He dipped it into her mouth again, shallow but sensual. Without thinking, she opened wider, and when the heat of his tongue slipped alongside hers, she curled her fingers into his sleeve. How was she light-headed already?

His free hand was not idle. He ran it over her hair, somehow managing not to get his fingers tangled, and swept her messy locks over her shoulder. Having exposed her neck, he stroked her from earlobe to collarbone, his touch so light she shivered. But she wasn’t cold. Everywhere he touched was feverish.

He continued downward, slowly dragging his hand over her breast. When his thumb reached her nipple, he rubbed and teased her through her thin, worn dress. She made a sound of surprise, arching her back without meaning to. The tip of her breast stiffened, and he pinched it through her clothing. She dropped her basket.

“Oh!” She pulled her mouth away and blinked up at the demon holding her. He hadn’t drastically changed in appearance, but something about his eyes was different. Wilder.

Still tugging on her nipple, he brushed another kiss across her cheek and spoke into her ear. “Let me pleasure you, sweet miss.” Oh Divine One, he was wrenching so much sensation from her breast. He hadn’t come near to touching her between her legs, and yet she’d grown so warm and heavy there. “Let me worship you.” He touched his wet, smooth lips to her neck. “Let me feast upon you. Say yes.”

“Yes,” she groaned. “To all you’ve promised.”

He swept her into his arms and easily carried her several paces off the path into the meadow. His horse had moved off to graze. He spoke without strain as he lowered her to the grass. “I’ll keep you warm.” Then he was tugging at the collar of her dress, and indeed, his hot breath on her skin kept the cool evening breeze at bay. He lay alongside her, his leg draped over hers, and mouthed the upper swell of her breast. His hair tickled her and only added to the wash of sensations sweeping up and down her body.

Having parted the collar of her dress as far as it could go, he yanked impatiently on her belt, which was almost as old as she was. Thus, rather than loosen at the back where she’d tucked and folded its length into a simple knot, it ripped partway.

But before she could think to worry over her clothing, he parted her dress and sealed his lips around her nipple. Wet heat, suction… She moaned as she speared her fingers into his hair, for each pull sent a sharp tingle through her core. Had she been so sensitive here, all this time? The pleasure heightened when he swirled his tongue around her aureole, then flicked the hardened tip.

She felt his hand on her bare stomach, slowly sweeping down and parting her dress as it went. “O-Oh my! I—” She tried to clamp her legs shut, instinctively shy, but his leg was in the way, and she could not stop him from cupping her mound.

She gasped once, softly, then again louder as he massaged her. It felt so good. She knew it would, but— How many times had she woken from a dream, sex tingling with desire, without the privacy to explore herself? How many times had she gone down to the river for a “bath” and stifled her cries while hiding among the shrubs that lined its banks? Too many to count, and yet the way he groped at her—pushing and sliding her moist lips together, teasing at more to come—was so deliciously lewd that her mind went blank.

He released her well-loved nipple, and she shivered as he trailed passionate kisses up her chest. When he reached her neck, he slipped his finger between the folds of her flesh and quickly found what he sought.

“Ah!” she keened, thighs twitching. She felt his lips on her cheek a second before he captured her mouth, and she let him swallow every moan she made. He knew just how to touch her, not too directly and not too hard. Well, of course he knew, but he so effortlessly followed the ebb and flow of her pleasure, pushing firmly when doing so would feel good and pulling back the instant before it became too much. She found herself grasping his shoulders, kissing him back, and squeezing her thighs around his leg and hand. In moments, her entire body from head to toe became sensitized to his touch. Hadn’t he promised he could bring her to the brink in no time?

“The sweet cries you make, they're like music to my ears,” he said against her lips. “And your response is…persuasive.” His caressing voice turned rough on that single word. “You make it easy to enjoy you.”

If Shumei weren’t lying on the ground, she’d have thought she was flying. Her lover’s touch had overwhelmed her. She rolled her hips involuntarily, seeking something. The peak of pleasure, yes, but also fulfillment.

Pulling his hand away, he lifted his head and spoke in a voice pitched low with desire. “I can wait no longer.” He pushed her knees apart and crawled over her. She lay meekly beneath him, both hands by her head as he slid his arm between their bodies and hurriedly pulled at his belt. He set aside his sword, then he curled closer and slid his hand into his clothes.

For a split second, she was nervous about what would soon happen. They would come together, though she wasn’t sure quite yet how, and when her peak came, he would somehow consume it. Would feeding him be painful? Would it be scary?

He settled against her, not too heavily, and a part of him butted against the swollen lips of her sex. “Lift your knees.” She did as he said and found the cool grass with her soles. He nudged her entrance. Pressure. Then he bucked, ripping through her virginity like paper. Yelping in pain and shock, she grasped fistfuls of grass and slowly tore them out. Tears sprang to her eyes. She looked up at his tense face, dismayed the pleasure had ended so abruptly.

“Forgive me, sweet miss. I’ll help you.” He stroked her cheek and uttered a few whispered words that sounded foreign.

The pain receded as if it had never happened. She was able to relax and really feel how they’d become connected, how completely he filled her. The part of him inside her was so warm and hard, so…invasive. Should she like it as much as she did? And had that been magic just now? Had he called upon it using that strange language? Before she could ask, he began to move. And all thought flew out of her head.

She gave a choked groan and wrapped her arms around his back, holding fast to his trim sides. The motion was so compelling, so singularly fixating. She couldn’t think of anything but the friction, and how he felt over her and inside her. Every thrust built upon the tension sizzling in her core. Wanton sounds escaped her throat. Her breath hitched with every jolt of pleasure.

“You’re mine. By the dueling gods are you mine,” he growled. A gentle breeze brushed against her bare legs, reminding her unexpectedly that they were outside and on the ground. The weight of their bodies was crushing the newly grown grass beneath her and releasing its herbal scent. The stars swaying overhead were partially obscured by her lover’s shoulder.

“I-I’m losing my mind,” she groaned, closing her eyes. He was quickly building her back up, changing angles often and going deeper every time to find new, pleasurable places to stimulate. What made her moan the loudest was holding her legs back and grinding, followed by short, deep thrusts. The tension inside her coiled tight.

She almost didn’t want to come. Maybe feeding him would be painful. No, the real reason was she didn’t want their interlude to end. The rubbing and plunging and grinding felt too good. She hadn’t known how wet she could get, having only ever touched herself while bathing. Oh, but her climax was inevitable. And for the first time, she’d be clenching around something. That thought alone—

“O-Oh gods,” she panted.

“That’s it, sweet miss. Come hard. And feed me.” He gave a long, strangled moan and pressed deep. “Omae wo shibatteyaru…eien ni na.” He lifted his head to the sky. The sizzle of an impending lightning strike charged the air. Thunder rumbled. But no lightning appeared.

She pulled him close. Her heart seemed to thud as loud as a drum. Then the tension in her core melted into bliss. It stole her voice and rolled up her body.