Chapter 18 - Camilla

“With pleasure…” Stryker drawls, and I’m on the verge of grabbing him with hungry passion if he doesn’t stop talking.

When he finally complies and crushes his lips to mine with a feverish kiss, relief washes over me and turns me pliant in his arms. Moaning and swaying on weakened knees, I fall against his chest as he catches me and keeps me pressed to the rigid contours of his firm body.

My soft curves seem to mold against his hardness, my mind etching every detail as if I were the artist behind the sculpture of his body. Even if I was, I would never be able to achieve such a magnificent structure or manage to capture how extraordinarily strong he is when he lifts me off my feet and guides me to a wall. With my eyes closed and my lips preoccupied, I surrender myself and trust him as wholly as I can.

My back arches off the wall, my body curving toward him in a desperate cry to feel his touch. When he breaks the kiss to give me what I want, I pout like a gluttonous vixen who craves the pleasures of his mouth along with what his hands should be doing.

He chuckles lowly, primally, as if he understands my greediness and relishes in the boost to his ego while he takes his sweet time folding up the hem of my t-shirt.

Each dexterous fold becomes a step toward my insanity while he watches me through hooded eyes and bites his bottom lip. It’s only when a gentle breeze passes that I remember that we’re out in the open, and I gasp.

“What’s wrong, baby?” Stryker sneers salaciously, a challenging brow lifting. “Afraid that someone might see us?”

When I nod timidly with heated cheeks, he rips the t-shirt from the hem to the neckline with one firm tug, leaving my heaving chest exposed under the moonlight.

His eyes flicker to the round mounds, and he groans. “Beautiful,” he murmurs appreciatively before capturing my breasts in each of his strong hands.

While he worships my voluptuous breasts, I feel so empowered. It’s a feeling that I never thought I’d achieve in this lifetime, not fitting into the mold of society’s beauty standards. But as Stryker rakes his devilishly hungry eyes over every inch of my thick curves, I feel like the most beautiful woman in the world.

It drives me wild, pushing aside any inhibitions I’d been clinging to before as I boldly reach for the strings tied in front of his sweatpants. His erect bulge pulls taut on the whimsical fabric, leaving little to the imagination but watering my mouth with the anticipation of seeing his arousal in the flesh.

His sharp intake of breath when I’ve untied the knot spurs me on as he releases my breasts and slides one hand behind my neck. My fingers are trembling right now, the build-up of excitement dropping into the crotch of my panties. With his free hand, Stryker helps me tug the waistband of his sweatpants down to reveal every delicious inch of his stiff cock.

Taking my sweet time to mimic the way he’d teased me just now, a self-satisfied smirk grows on my lips as I skim a single fingertip along the smooth, velvet shaft. His body shudders, and I notice the goosebumps erupting across his abs when he removes his t-shirt.

He sucks in a breath, replacing his hand on my neck in a distinctly possessive manner. It’s not threatening, but he applies pressure with his thumb and forefinger in warning.

“What are you waiting for…?” he drawls through tight lips.

I meet his eyes with a challenge as I stare deliberately through the curtain of my lashes. The thrill of his hand on my neck forces me to press my thighs together when another gust of arousal pools in my panties. “Tell me what to do,” I whisper and watch him soak in my innocent claim.

This is a bridge I’ve never crossed, and Stryker’s chest swells boastfully as he takes a step back with his bottom lip tucked between his teeth.

He knows he’s the only man I’ve ever been with. It’s a boost to his ego I’ll never get tired of seeing as it fills his heady, darkened eyes with lust. A hunger so intense and raw, that he’s practically growling as he nods to the floor.

“Get on your knees, baby,” he instructs, sliding the hand from my neck to my shoulder to apply pressure that coerces me to sink to my knees. Face to face with the swollen crown of his cock, my eyes widen, and I lick my lips with anticipation.

“Good…” he praises, curling forward to skim his thumb across my bottom lip. “Now, open your mouth…”

When I part my lips wide enough, Stryker gives a consenting nod as he moves his hand to his cock. Taking his member between long, thick fingers that barely cover the ample girth, a gasp escapes me.

I didn’t realize he’s that huge. Our first time together went by in a blur of excitement while he was gentle and took things slow enough that I wouldn’t feel any pain. Now that I see his size in all its glory, I gulp on the fear that he might bruise my throat.

It’s still thrilling and has me wiggling my rear on my heels as I get comfortable while shifting forward. Holding his cock near the tip, Stryker circles my lips and moistens them with the salty-sweetness of precum.

His eyes grow intoxicatingly heavier as he slides the tip between my lips, a long, drawn-out exhale filling the air. He hitches a finger beneath my chin and guides me to take all of his length in my mouth with a languid thrust.

“Ah…” he breathes as if he’s sighing with relief, throwing his head back the moment my nose hits his pelvis, and I feel my jaw widening as the tip hits the back of my throat. Close to tears, I mewl desperately, and he looks down at me again as he slowly pulls out.

I have a moment to catch my breath, wrapping my fingers around the base when he wipes at the stray tear that rolls down my left cheek. His excitement is evident in the way his chest heaves, but he gulps and taps my cheek gently.

“Take it at your own pace,” he soothes, planting both palms on the wall behind me and stilling himself as if he’s trying to exercise control when he passes the reins to me.

If it were up to him, he’d probably fuck my mouth. I can see it in the way his eyes overflow with greedy intent.

I’m driving the dragon shifter wild, and I’m enjoying every second of it when I slide my lips back down, taking every last inch inside my mouth. Hollowing my cheeks, I hear him growl, but I keep my mouth on him until I can’t fight my gag reflexes anymore. I pull back to the tip, using my tongue to flick at the sticky warmth that oozes from the tip, feeling it course down my throat as I take him in again.

Now that I’m familiar with his cock in my mouth, I work a steady pace of bobbing my head back and forth, rocking to the beat of his grunts and moans at every peak of pleasure. Sucking him ignites a wanton need so strong in me, that I have to touch myself. I slide a hand through the side of my shorts and gasp on his cock when I press my bundle of nerves in a circular motion.

“What are you doing…?” Stryker drawls when he catches me with my hand up my shorts. “Are you touching yourself?”

I nod gently as I slide my lips to the base of his cock. He groans huskily, muttering a string of curses under his breath as he hooks a hand and pulls my mouth off him, then grabs my arm and abruptly pulls me to my feet.

Pinned between his hard frame and the wall behind me, my hand stuck between us as he grunts on my lips.

“That’s so fucking hot…” he rasps, tugging my hand out from my shorts and lifting it between our faces. He eyes the way slick rolls down my forefinger, following the drop of translucent stickiness and capturing it with the tip of his tongue before he licks a fat stripe over my finger.

Humming when he swallows, he grabs my neck and plunges his tongue between my mouth, making me taste the sweetness of my arousal that mingles with the saltiness of his precum still lingering in my mouth. The cocktail of carnal fluids is the richest intoxicant I’ve ever tasted, the pleasure soaring on my tastebuds when he grabs my bottom lip between his teeth and grazes them when he departs from the kiss.

Without a word of warning, he grabs the waistband of my shorts and firmly yanks, the ripping of silk slicing the air like a soundtrack that magnifies the might of our passion. He grabs my thighs and hooks them over his waist, lifting me off my feet as if my body weighs nothing. His extraordinary strength is evident in the way his biceps bulge, hot blood rushing through the veins of his arms that are prominent now.

As I smooth my palms over the taut, hot flesh of the arms that keep me in the air, Sryker reaches between us and wields his rigidness with one hand, sweeping my folds with the bulbous tip. Shuddering from anticipation, I tuck my bottom lip between my teeth, watching closely as the crown of his cock slips between my folds.

“Oh, my God…” I gasp, the delicious stretch feeling utterly satisfying. It’s as if my walls hug him perfectly, parting only enough to securely embrace him in the warmth of my essence.

I meet his thrusts by rocking my hips, greedily wanting more and more of what he can give me. My nails bite into his shoulders as I cling to him from the intensity of the pleasure, a knot coiling in the pit of my belly and raging to be set free.

“It’s happening…” I squeal, sliding my hands to his nape where I interlock them in an attempt to hang on when he quickens the pace, his thrusts becoming shallower as he pounds with immaculate speed. My moans escalate into desperate cries to be set free from the torment in my belly before the final leap, his name falling from my lips like a mantra that invokes his beastly nature. Sweat beads his brows as he slams into me, lewd sounds of skin slapping skin, filling the air and joining our moans.

“It’s—It’s happening!” I yelp out, clinging to Stryker ferociously. He folds his arms around me tightly, pulling me as close as our two bodies can collide.

“Me too,” he growls lowly. “Come with me, baby. That’s it,” he praises as his thrusts slow down just enough for him to slam as deep as he can go, grunting as he spills hot ropes of cum between my walls that contract and expand in a rapid pulse when I let go and soar into the waves of ecstasy.

Stryker doesn’t let me go, holding me tightly as he carries me into the bedroom and gently lays me down. Still reeling from the height of my climax, I hang onto his neck as if my life depended on it.

Behind my eyelids, through the darkness, two pairs of eyes stare at me, and I shriek when I recognize them as the eyes of the two dark figures from my dreams. The one who passed me a knife before removes her hoodie, but I snap my eyes open before I see what happens next.

I already know what’s going to happen. She’s going to pass me a knife and prompt me to harm a surrendered Stryker.

As my breath comes out in a panicked sob, Stryker scoops me onto his lap to soothe me.

“No… No…” I welp, unable to close my eyes and forced to look into Stryker’s warm hues while I’m petrified.

“What’s wrong, Camilla?” Strong arms hold me steady as my body shakes uncontrollably. “Talk to me. Please.”

Unyielding tears storm from my eyes as I keep them open in fear of meeting the woman who looks so much like Abuela but shows no compassion like my grandmother. Haunting me at the peak of my existence is too cruel and unkind, and I can’t get the words out. Instead, I bask in the safety net of Stryker’s arms, burying my face in the crook of his neck until I’m done wailing from fear.

When I’m calmer, I lift my head and meet his worried eyes. Eyes so pure, that my heartstrings are strummed into the realization that I truly care for this man, for this dragon shifter. I could never let any harm come to him, even if that’s what my destiny calls for.

I’d rather stick to being fated to him.

“ The Grimoire …” I reveal with a quick glance at the chaise lounge where the book I was called to take out of the Aurora Island library lies face-down on the seat. Opened on the page with the symbol I recognized, there’s a deep, inner need to tell Stryker about it.

Maybe I’m too scared, and I need his protection.

“I think there’s something wrong with me.”