19. CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

SERA

His kiss tastes like fire and pain.

Although I can't read his mind like he can mine, I swear his emotions flow through me.

Need.

Guilt.

Agony.

They coalesce inside of me, swirling like a hurricane.

And I break apart underneath his touch as he cups my breast.

"Please!"

In response, Ender scoops me into his arms, bridal style, and marches me into his house.

He takes the familiar path to his bedroom before placing me in his bed.

Terror flashes through me when the Teraphim chains my wrist.

Is he leaving me after everything that's happened?!

"I'm not going anywhere. This is to ensure you behave," Ender murmurs.

Understanding bursts over me as I realize the man is going to punish me for making him talk.

For making him feel.

"No teasing, not tonight," I practically beg.

Ender just clicks his tongue in a soft tsking manner.

"This is what you wanted—for me to touch you, right?"

I glare at him because he knows exactly what I want.

He smirks, a ghost of the smug smile I saw when I first arrived.

The sight of it fills me with hope that maybe the old Ender isn't lost.

Ever so slowly, he begins to explore my body with his claws and tongue.

Of course, I'm wearing the leather get-up instead of a dress, not that it would make the man move any faster.

Once he's set his mind to something, Ender is committed.

And right now, he's committed to torturing me.

His fingers swipe under the waistband of my pants, and my thighs clench.

"You smell so fucking good."

Ender growls this against my throat, more to himself than to me.

As if he can't believe that he's finally joining me on his bed.

The Teraphim nuzzles his beak along my jaw before drifting to the deep V of my cleavage.

All the while, he tugs at the top of my pants, insinuating he might rip them off at any moment.

But never does.

Fucker.

Ender chuckles, clearly hearing my thoughts, but he doesn't take the hint.

If anything, he begins to move even slower, like he's part molasses.

I squirm and buck, but the man ignores me except to sharply smack my ass once.

"Behave."

"Make me," I snap.

Ender's crooked smile becomes positively feral.

"With pleasure."

He pulls my legs wide while simultaneously pinning my wings down with his.

A rush of air escapes me at the sensation of his feathers rubbing against mine.

Then Ender ducks his head and runs his beak along the seam of my crotch.

Leather isn't supposed to get wet, and I'm concerned that I'm about to ruin the fabric from how much I'm already gushing at the Teraphim's touch.

I whimper when Ender nips and pecks at my pussy and clit through the barrier of my clothes.

The feel of him sets me aflame, but whenever I get close to grinding against him, the man pulls back.

Like our first time together, he's edging me as punishment.

My body melts under his attention, and I grip the silken sheets like they're my lifeline.

Maybe they are.

Maybe they're the only thing keeping me tethered to this moment so I don't drift away in a flood of sensation.

Ender's tongue licks against the leather seam of my crotch, and I growl.

Part of me wants to order him to give me what I so desperately need, but demands won't get me anywhere.

Begging might, but my stubborn streak is rearing its ugly head.

I've already pleaded with him before, and Ender didn't budge.

I won't give him the satisfaction of doing it again.

Unless that's his evil plan—to bring me to the brink over and over again only to watch me break into a million pieces.

From previous experience, I know the orgasm will eclipse anything I've ever had, but I hate how well Ender plays my body.

How well he knows me but I don't know him because he's in my mind.

It's hard for me to focus given everything Ender is doing to me, but I faintly recall a conversation about his ability to hear my thoughts.

I assumed it was part of his Erlking abilities, but now I wonder.

Is it because he's accepted me as his mate?

If so, what would happen if I accepted him—the very thing the man doesn't want me to do for some reason.

The question rolls through my head, and I quickly banish it before Ender can hear it.

Instead, I focus on the pleasure thrumming in my core.

I'm so close.

My hands release the sheets and reach out to squeeze my breasts.

Ender pauses as I play with myself, cocking his head to the side.

"Did I say you could touch yourself?"

It's uncanny how well he knows everything that's happening just by sound alone.

"Um…"

"No, I didn't."

He shakes his head as if he's genuinely disappointed in me and then the room flashes with light.

When I blink back the spots, he's wrapping an identical chain around my other wrist and tightening both until my arms are pinned above my head.

"Ender! Let me go!"

"You told me to make you behave—you practically dared me. We talked about this. They're consequences for acting like a brat."

When the Teraphim acts all controlling, it usually just pisses me off, but right now…

Right now, it's hot as fuck.

Not that he has to know.

Ender laughs. "I know."

Rats.

"Will you please just let me come!"

"Yes." Relief washes over me. "When I'm ready."

The sweet feeling bubbling inside of me pops, leaving only a spark of anger.

But I refuse to kindle that fire.

Ender wants me to be mad—he wants me to lose control of myself.

It's the game we play to see who loses first. Sometimes it's him, but the majority of the time, it's me.

And that stings.

An internal war rages inside of me as I decide whether to hand Ender the reins or to fight him.

Both promise me pleasure, but each a different kind.

I realize that perhaps I'm a bit of a masochist because I secretly crave Ender's sick form of discipline.

Anything to just come.

So I spread my legs wider and force myself to go limp.

Ender rewards me by tearing my pants to shreds.

My underwear quickly follows the same fate, and my heart rate spikes when his beak finally touches my bare skin.

Strangled sounds escape my lips, but I don't beg—not yet.

But soon, I won't be able to take anymore.

The Teraphim rolls my clit between the tip of his beak.

A pinch of pain makes me squeak before my eyes roll back inside my head.

I shake, trembling so bad that my feathers rustle from the movement.

They brush against Ender's wings, adding to the immense pleasure already swamping me.

And then I break.

"Please, fuck me with your beak. I dream of you—"

Ender doesn't let me finish. He plunges inside of me swiftly.

Like before, I scream at the invasion filling me so perfectly.

There's just something so depraved about him doing this to me.

It brings ‘face fucking' to a new level and I love it.

Higher and higher I go, and I'm about to crash over the edge when Ender pulls back.

"Don't come just yet."

He speaks in a clipped tone, like he's barely holding on himself.

"I don't know if I can!"

"Try for me."

His words sink into my very soul, and despite my desperation, I now fight my impending orgasm.

Tears leak out of the corners of my eyes as I concentrate.

The moment is pure torment, and finally, I break—just as Ender planned all along.

I scream and cry, pleading for him to make me see stars.

And when he finally lets me come, I'm boneless with the ecstasy consuming my body.

Mindless with it.

So mindless, I'm not even aware of the words tumbling out of my mouth.

A litany of promises and praise heaped upon the man's head for finally giving me what I've been craving.

But one thing in particular works its way through the lovely haze fogging my brain.

It's Ender, and he's horrified.

Rather, his thoughts are horrified, and I can hear them now…

Because I claimed him as my mate.