57. Chapter Fifty-Seven

The days that followed were an inexplicable blur of heated flesh, tangled limbs, and gasping pleasure—all sought out with reckless abandon. The moment Kieran had touched me behind closed doors, the very second his mouth had met mine, it was as though I had never been touched before. Not in this lifetime, nor any other. I was a ravenous, starving thing, losing hours upon days of my life to the throes of desire—my most carnal impulses. Greedily, I took, and graciously, he gave.

Kieran and I had already been inseparable before—but now? Gods above and below, we were practically living together. As soon as I got out of a lecture, or within minutes of Kieran finishing his shifts, we both ended up in the same place, day after day: At the other’s doorstep.

We hadn’t spent a single night alone after falling into bed together that first night. That first kiss had been over a week ago now… and yet every spare second, every waking moment was being invaded by this desperate need to be near him, this driving force that I couldn’t quite comprehend.

Strangely, I found that I did not mind the intrusion. I was typically a creature who craved her personal space, needing time alone from the world to reset after each day. I was too easily overwhelmed, so often overstimulated… but Kieran had become my reset, my respite.

This wasn’t just lust, it was lunacy—and I was blissfully lost in this mutual madness of ours.

We had even tried to stay away from one another last night. It had been an experiment of sorts, an attempt to convince ourselves that we could preserve some semblance of rationality in whatever the Hel was going on between us. But then Kieran kept sending me dirty little notes all godsdamned night until I had outright demanded he come over and make good on certain promises—and he showed up with that stupid smirk plastered to his face like that had been his plan all along.

Cocky bastard.

At least today was his day off. We’d actually managed to leave the bedroom for once in favor of visiting one of his favorite galleries in the arts district, where a local painter had some new works on display. Kieran had failed to mention the subject matter of this particular exhibit, though.

A stunning study of oil paintings and the feminine form… with most of said feminine forms being bound by ropes in a variety of intricate patterns and positions. It was all rather tasteful, but the man knew damn well what he was doing.

“Trying to imply something here, Captain?” I murmured quietly as we browsed through the gallery, which was largely empty this time of day.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he replied, his tall figure leaning over mine from behind, one hand resting against the small of my back.

It hadn’t taken him very long at all to start touching me in public, in subtle ways like this that made my heartbeat erratic for multiple reasons.

The two of us were particularly physical people, and it’s not like we had really shied away from touching one another before all of this played out—we’d often nudge and shove the other around, even as friends.

As friends.

My mind lingered on the word for just a moment before it became deeply uncomfortable, and so I simply brushed it off. I could unpack that later, at another time where his breath wasn’t hot against my neck.

“Ah, right, of course not,” I parried, already bracing myself for how he was going to react to my snark. “Because that whole duress thing was just a joke, right?”

I felt him stiffen behind me, and could practically feel the heat radiate off his body as he dipped his head, his mouth beside my ear again. His voice dropped dangerously low.

“Is this really the game you wanna play right now, Little Conduit?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I mimicked.

“Hmm,” was all he said at first as we moved on to the next image.

“Would you like to be tied up like this, beautiful? I wouldn’t even need the rope,” he whispered.

I swallowed hard and tried not to show how flustered the thought left me. We were playing a different sort of game these days, though the win condition was similar: Who would break first?

“Hmm,” I replied, mimicking him yet again.

“Oh, I am going to fucking ruin you when we get home,” he hissed beneath his breath.

When we get home.It must’ve been a slip of the tongue, really. It was easier to say than my townhouse, or your apartment, or the studio. That was all.

“Don’t tempt me with a good time,” I said.

“Why not? I’m so very good at it…” Kieran trailed off, running his fingers softly against my exposed shoulders.

In response to his touch, I leaned back against where he still stood behind me. After taking a careful glance to confirm we were still alone, I very intentionally ground my ass up against his groin. I heard his sharp inhale at the same time I realized that he was already hard.

Insatiable.

“Who’s under duress now?” I teased, pressing my palm up against his cock and rubbing slowly. My pulse quickened, though I kept a straight face on the off chance that somebody walked in on us.

Kieran groaned softly under his breath.

“Godsdamnit, Arken…”

That only encouraged me to attempt to subtly dip my hand beneath the waistband of his pants and feel him up further. I felt his rough, calloused fingers encircle my wrist gently before clamping down like a human shackle.

“Your place or mine?” he asked roughly.

“Whichever one is closer.”

“Gods,” Kieran gasped as I traced the pulsing vein beneath his jawline with the tip of my tongue.

He had all but dragged me back to his townhouse after I had touched him in the gallery, his pace so brisk that it had been an effort to keep up as he kept hold of my wrist. Technically speaking, I think it had been my apartment that was closer, and he had just enjoyed watching me squirm with anticipation.

“Have I mentioned that I’ve wanted that smart mouth of yours on me since the first godsdamnedmoment I set eyes on you?”

My ego purred at the confession, and I smiled, lips still pressed against the warmth of his skin, where I could practically feel his pulse racing beneath the surface. He was so reactive to my touch, and I could hardly contain what euphoria that was awakening within me.

“What, in the Wyldwoods?” I asked, running my fingers through his hair.

These raven-dark strands were much silkier than I’d ever imagined.

“Before,” he confessed, his breathing growing more and more ragged with every touch. “I was in the Wyldwoods that day, looking for you.”

My heart fluttered for a moment and I paused, curiosity piqued.

“I beg your pardon?”

“Don’t you dare stop,” he demanded, both hands squeezing at my hips as I had him straddled on the couch—where all of this had started in the first place.

“Explain yourself, then, Vistarii,” I murmured, leaning back down to trail more kisses up the side of his neck.

“I had seen you a few days prior,” he began, lips brushing up against the shell of my ear. I shivered.

“You had your head buried in a book, on your way to the Biblyos or something. I was intrigued,” he explained. “And devastatingly attracted to you.”

I rolled my hips at that, grinding into where I could feel him hard and ready underneath me.

“Mm, couldn’t tell,” I teased again, remembering the way he’d made his point last week.

At that, Kieran grabbed a fistful of my hair at the nape of my neck and tugged down, hard enough so that my head was tipped back, my throat exposed to his eager mouth. I gasped at the pain for the briefest of moments, and then felt myself melt against him as it faded into a warm, tantalizing ache.

“You sure about that, Little Conduit?”

That was one of his favorite questions as of late. I had no coherent thoughts in this position, all I could really do was whimper as he bit down—just once, and gently, before continuing his explanation.

“I signed up for that guard shift in hopes that I’d see you again.”

“Lucky you,” I whispered.

“Lucky me,” he whispered back, his voice a blend of rasp and gravel. My eyelids began to flutter at the sound alone, and then he bit down again. Hard.

“Fuck me,” I hissed.

“I’m about to,” he growled back.

It was then, Fates be damned, that we both heard a sharp knock at his door.

“I swear to the fucking Source, if that is either Hans or Jeremiah, I am going to—” I started.

“Shit,” Kieran interrupted, glancing at the clock. “Oh, I am so screwed.”

It was both Hans and Jeremiah, looking gravely concerned at the fact that Kieran hadn’t shown up to an important strategy meeting this morning. All it had taken was one look at me, standing off to the side with tousled hair, disheveled clothes, and a furious blush, for the two men to burst out laughing.

“My gods,” Hans said, jaw practically on the floor. “There’s a first time for everything, ain’t there, Jer?”

“Don’t start,” Kieran warned.

“Ooof, you got him good, Ark,” Jeremiah noted, tilting his head to get a look at the bruise that was blooming on one side of his neck.

I covered my face with my hands, mildly mortified.

“Oh, don’t be shy, Arken,” Hans laughed. “It’s not like we didn’t see it coming. Kier gets ’em all eventually.”

“Hans,” Kieran snapped.

His lieutenant winced slightly, before straightening. The other, more level-headed officer stepped in, offering an apologetic glance in my direction.

“We covered for you at the meeting, said that you’d sent a sprite this morning suggesting you weren’t feeling well, Captain. Commander Ka would like to see you as soon as you’re… uhh, recovered,” Jeremiah explained.

“You uhh, might want to recover quick, by the way,” Hans added. “There are some… things you need to know.”

Kieran’s lieutenants knew that I wouldn’t pry, that I respected the secrecy in their line of work, but they still didn’t quite know how to deal with my presence when it came to discussing confidential subjects.

“Go,” I told him. “Leave a key or something, I’ll lock up before I head home.”

“You could always stay here,” Kieran offered gently. The two men behind him exchanged a look, but tried to be subtle about it.

“I have a lecture,” I replied apologetically. “But here, let me just clean up real quick—”

“No, don’t rush,” Kieran said, pulling his ring of keys from his pocket and deftly removing the one to the front door of his townhouse. I recognized the old-fashioned looking handle, oddly ornate compared to what I assumed were other keys related to work.

“I’ll come pick this up from you tonight, okay?”

“Alright,” I replied, not meeting his eyes. I was feeling more tender than I cared to admit as I mentally braced myself for his absence. Truthfully, I would have much preferred to spend another day or three—or another nine—in bed with him, but I was a selfish, greedy creature.

Kieran paused for a moment, studying my face, before he turned around and slammed the door on his lieutenants’ faces without warning.

I heard a muffled noise of confusion from the other side, but didn’t even have time to laugh before Kieran had me up against the wall in the foyer, his mouth on mine and hands cradling my face.

“Later,” he swore as he pulled away from the kiss. “We’ll pick right back up where we started, I promise.”

My heart skipped a beat or two as he pressed his thumb against my lower lip. I could see the conflict in his eyes, how he didn’t want to leave, but his sense of duty was the one thing that could claw him away from sex.

“Don’t miss me too much,” I murmured, attempting to be demure.

“Ah, I don’t make promises I can’t keep,” he replied. “I’ll see you later, beautiful.”