Page 161 of Tempt

Then I bite down, breaking some of the skin. I feel the rumble in his chest from his cry. His slit contracts, his cocks jerking against my own.

It doesn’t take much more than that for my release to fill him. My eyes roll back, my lips sucking on his tender skin. He knows what this means just as much as I do. And when I finally fall against him, he doesn’t let go. He holds onto me as I rock my hips back and forth, milking myself until I’m dry.

Then I stop entirely and let him hold me, his nails still embedded in my skin, his entire body trembling.

I hum lowly, satisfied at the feeling of emptying once more, of pushing my seed into his body.

We lie like that for a long time, his warm sheath holding my flaccid cock until I finally slip free and roll to my side. Our eyes meet, and he strokes my face tenderly. My own fingers brush against the mark I left on his shoulder, and he shudders.

‘Is it bad I did that?’ I ask with one trembling hand.

‘I do not know. No one has ever marked a Vyastil before, but it does not feel wrong.’

I let out a soft breath of relief and lean forward, pressing a kiss to his lips.

‘It doesn’t feel wrong to me either. It feels right. You feel right.’

His ears flutter, and he throws his leg over my own, the weight of him grounding me.

But then suddenly he freezes, his ears twitching, and he leans up.

‘What is it?’ I ask, pushing myself up onto my elbows.

‘Someone is at the door. They came quicker than I thought.’ He jumps up, still moving with a lithe grace I can’t quite comprehend, and he tosses a tunic at me.

‘Put that on.’

I do as I’m told with shaking hands, watching as Eissa throws on a garment and smooths out his hair.

It’s then that I feel it, a crash below. Something I’d normally attribute to Gerald moving furniture around, but it’s stronger, more forceful. Like someone pushing their way inside.

Eissa moves to stand next to me, putting himself in front of me as the door to the room opens and I see several Vyastil guards standing there, weapons drawn, eyes settled on us both. Eissa’s hand reaches back, and he pushes me further from view, but it’s no use. They lunge for him, dragging him forward. His mouth opens in a scream. I can feel it move through me as he tries to reach for my hand, but they don’t meet—just a brush before I’m pulled away from him and shackled roughly.

Eissa is struggling against them, but it only lasts a moment. One of the Vyastil guards leans in, and suddenly all the fight leaves his body. He collapses to his knees, and he allows himself to be put into chains.

Tell me what’s happening, I scream into his mind. I can’t ask with my hands. They’ve gagged me. And before he answers, something obscures my vision. I realize they’ve blindfolded me, and real panic sets in.

Calm, Eissa sends to me. Breathe.

I can’t seem to take in a single full breath, and I think I might be shouting, though in the haze settling over my body, I can’t really tell.

Calm, beloved, Eissa whispers in my head again. It’s not even a language at this point. It’s simply meaning. Warmth rushes through me, and suddenly, for just a moment, I can see. Only it’s not my eyes. It’s his.

I see myself on my knees with a black cloth over my eyes, hands bound behind my back. There’s a guard flanking me on the left, and one on the right. They look ready to get violent if I so much as give them a reason.

Good. Yes. Breathe. It’s going to be okay.

What is happening? I demand. Please tell me.

Jyrion has sent guards for us. He knows.

Terror rushes through my limbs. We were meant to escape before any of this happened. We were supposed to have more time.

It’s going to be okay. I have a failsafe, Eissa tells me.

How? Where?

Trust me, is all he says. Then the world is silent and dark once more, and I am entirely on my own.