20 Ariadne

20

Ariadne

This morning, when I woke up well rested and slightly peeved at Dionysus for drugging me, I couldn't shake the conversation we had. Or the truth within it. Dionysus was right. Doing this now, for me, might be a leap of faith, but is it really a leap of faith when Asterion will be there to catch me?

Our conversation this morning, the way he's looking at me now, has made things even clearer. He was never going to kill me. What he said in the maze is the truth between us.

And now he stands before me, as vulnerable as I've ever seen him. There is no wall of coldness and violence between us now. Only the truth. It's going to take some time to process all this. But I don't have to do it right now. Not when I can offer this experience, not when I can give us both something pure and free. All our challenges will still be waiting on the other side.

I hold his gaze and hook my fingers into the front of his pants once more. This time, there are no secrets left between us to stop things. We put them all to rest. Or at least I hope we have. I tug his pants down to free his cock. "May I?"

He huffs out a strangled laugh. "Sweetheart, I might die if you don't."

Considering I feel the same way, I don't hesitate or ask again. I simply lean forward and take him into my mouth. I've read about this act more times than I can count, have fantasized about it an equal amount. In reality, it's…different. His cock is wide on my tongue, and it feels like I barely take the tip of him into my mouth before my gag reflex kicks in. I ease back, embarrassment heating my cheeks. I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing.

But when I look up, Asterion is staring down at me just like he did that first day we met. As if I'm a goddess he fully intends on spending the rest of his life worshipping. As if he can't believe how lucky he is that I even deigned to acknowledge him.

That gives me the courage and confidence to lean forward and lick the head of his cock. He makes a sound like he's in pain. He tentatively slides his fingers into my hair, but he's not pulling me away from him—or pulling me closer. It's almost as if he's hanging on for dear life. Maybe he feels as unmoored as I do in this moment.

I lick my lips. "I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're perfect, sweetheart." He still sounds strangled.

I cautiously wrap up my fist around his cock as best I'm able to and take him into my mouth again. This time, I go slower, feeling my way. I'm able to take him deeper before my gag reflex kicks in again. His fingers spasm in my hair.

It seems to defy belief that my awkward ministrations are affecting him so deeply, but I can't deny the evidence right in front of me. Every touch, suck, and lick results in some kind of noise pulled from his lips seemingly against his will.

Distantly, the solution comes to me. What I need from this interaction, what he might need as well. I ease off him again. "Fuck my mouth."

"What?"

I could tell him that I'm worried I won't be able to give him what he needs, that I'm flat out floundering, even as I enjoy this exploration. But the truth is simpler. He was right when he said that soft isn't the way. I can enjoy it for what it is, but it's not what I need . What I suspect we both need. "Please."

He clenches his jaw hard enough that I can see the muscles flex beneath his skin. His fingers twitch in my hair before he seems to force himself to ease his grip. "Sweetheart, you can barely take half my cock without choking on it. If I fuck your mouth, I'm going to hurt you."

No, he won't. Not in any meaningful way. Even at his most vicious, he's always been remarkably careful with me. He's only giving me just as much as I can handle. "I trust you."

Asterion curses long and hard, the vicious words slicing from his lips. Maybe he should scare me, but all it does is make me clench my thighs together. He glares down at me. "If it's too much, you slap my thigh." He wraps one hand around my wrist and mimics the motion. "Do you understand?"

"I do."

For a moment, it almost seems like he'll keep arguing or adding stipulations, but he grips my jaw and touches his thumb to my bottom lip, guiding my mouth open. His dark eyes are downright forbidding as he angles forward, and the head of his cock presses into my mouth.

I half expect Asterion to start pounding away at me. I should've known better. He eases past my lips and delves inside with one long, slow stroke. On and on, until I have to choose whether I'm going to submit or fight the intrusion. In the end, it's no choice at all. I open for him entirely.

In response, he stops. I didn't realize I closed my eyes, but when he doesn't move, doesn't seem to breathe, I flutter my lids open. He's staring down at me as if he wants to memorize every moment of this. He catches me watching him, and his expression goes harder yet. "I want to make you cry."

If anyone else had said those words to me, I would do everything in my power to put as much distance between us as possible. But with Asterion? I swear to the gods there's a gush between my thighs. I shiver. I can't nod, but I do my best to make a sound of consent. I never would've guessed that was something I wanted, but with this man, it's not a want. It's a need.

Only then does he start moving. He slides almost all the way out from my mouth and then pushes forward. Again, he defies my expectations. He's not going fast, but he's not giving me much time to adjust, either. This time, when he reaches the point of my total surrender, he pushes just past it. I gag, but he's already retreating, only to start the whole process over again.

Did I think that I surrendered before? What a joke. This. This is true surrender. I take what he delivers, and he gives me just a little beyond what I can manage. Tears spring to my eyes and my jaw aches.

I love every moment of it.

"What a perfect little slut you are, sweetheart. You take my cock whichever way I choose to give it to you. And now you're going to take my come, too. Aren't you?"

I've never wanted anything more in my life. I don't know if salvation truly exists on the other side of his orgasm, but it feels like it. My eyes flutter closed without any choice in the matter, but this time, he allows it. He never picks up his pace. He's never particularly rough. But that doesn't change the fact that he's fucking my mouth in a way that feels imprinted on my very body.

And then his strokes become less regimented. Desperate. "Sweetheart, fuck, I need—" He curses and shoves forward, and I gag around him. But this time, he doesn't retreat. His fingers are tight in my hair and his breathing is ragged. "Going to…"

Yes. This. I need this .

I moan around his cock. Not enough. Still not enough. But then, I know what he wants, what he needs to get him over the edge. I skate my hands around his hips to grip his ass and dig my nails in. Hard.

"Ariadne!" His whole body jerks and then he's coming down my throat in hot spurts. Asterion's knees buckle. For me, because of me. He eases out of my mouth and sinks down next to me on the couch, his body loose and more relaxed than I've ever seen him. I swallow, relishing the ache in my jaw and throat. Witnessing him completely undone is its own special kind of reward. Especially when he kisses me, his fingers tangling in my hair.

"Perfect. You're so fucking perfect I can barely stand it." He nips my bottom lip. "Pull up your dress, sweetheart. Let me see where you need me the most."

I brace myself with one hand behind me and use the other to lift my dress. The silky fabric feels decadent against my skin, and with how oversensitized I am, it's almost unbearable. Especially when I get the dress up around my hips and show him that I'm not wearing any panties.

"Thought so." He's regaining control of himself, his voice still ragged but no longer unraveled. Asterion grips my thigh, right over his bite, and exerts the slightest amount of pressure, guiding me to open for him. "You better have nowhere to be today. We'll deal with tonight tonight. Today you're mine, Ariadne. And I'm not going to rush. Not again."

"Okay."

"Say it," he snaps.

There's no misunderstanding what he means. Not anymore. Not ever again. "I'm yours, Asterion. Just yours. I've only ever been yours."

He covers my pussy with his hand. It's possessive and wondrous at the same time. He parts my folds and strokes two fingers up my center to press against my clit. "But that's not all, is it?"

Again, I know exactly what he's talking about. Because this thing between us has never only gone one way. He might've known sooner than I did, but I do know, don't I? "And you're mine. Only mine."

"That's right, sweetheart. So when you get to thinking too hard later, I want you to remember that." He turns his hand and presses two fingers into me, slowly enough that I can actually watch my pussy part for him. I'm so wet that it might embarrass me if I could think straight. Instead, I take it as simply another piece of evidence that this thing between us has always been fate. Or as close to fate as I can believe in.

"I'll try," I whisper.

"Do better than try. You're going to survive this bullshit we're in the middle of. I am, too." He wedges a third finger into me. "That fucking barrier is coming down, and when it does, I'm taking you away from this place. Do you understand me, Ariadne?"

I feel like I'm making promises I can't possibly follow through on, but I'm not going to let that stop me. "Yes, Asterion. I understand you."