64. Chapter Sixty-Four

As Arken licked her lips in anticipation, I couldn’t resist the urge to reach out and stroke her cheek. This wasn’t precisely what I had in mind for tonight, but it was almost… better, somehow. There was a certain softness present between us, an affection that I had never experienced before, at least not while indulging in this specific taste.

Yes, I was still holding myself back a bit, but after our conversation in the kitchen, that felt right. It felt appropriate, given that our nerves were frayed. We had all the time in the world to explore the depths of her depravity—because Fates only knew that mine was a nigh-endless pit.

She was eye level with my waist now, an adorable expression of focus affixed to her face as she began fumbling with the buttons on my trousers. I resisted the urge to help her, instead weaving my fingers through the hair at the back of her head with gentle encouragement. Watching her fingers tremble as she continued her quest to slip my erection free was a dark pleasure in and of itself.

I smiled to myself as she finally managed to claim her prize, looking up at me with hesitant pride.

“Thank you, Sir,” she whispered huskily before taking me in her mouth—suddenly, and with no further hesitation to be found.

For a moment, I lost the ability to think straight.

As her lips wrapped themselves firmly around the sensitive head, pushing me into her mouth against the wet warmth of her tongue, it was all I could manage not to immediately thrust the rest of my length down her throat.

No amount of fantasy or schoolboy acts of self-pleasure could have ever prepared me for the way it felt when Arken took that tongue of hers and swirled it over the crown of my cock, where a bead of pre-cum had already started to leak. She lapped it without so much as a flinch, and then began to use her hand to stroke my shaft while simultaneously taking me in and out of her mouth.

Every time, she took it deeper, until finally, I could feel that I was starting to hit the back of her throat. The hand of mine that had been playing gently with her hair had now gathered those silken locks in a tight grip at the nape of her neck.

Easy… Don’t lose yourself to this just yet. Let her lead… For now.

Still, I allowed myself to apply a small amount of pressure to the back of her head, and she moaned while keeping me deep in her throat. I could feel the gentle vibrations as she took me in even deeper, and it was at that moment that I realized she wasn’t even pausing to take a breath. She’d just started breathing through her nose, determined to keep as much of me in her mouth as possible.

“Fuck, Arken,” I groaned. “You are absolutely incredible.”

Her eyes sparkled with pleasure at the compliment, stroking her tongue even harder against my shaft with impressive enthusiasm.

I was a selfish bastard in so many ways, but not tonight. Despite my most carnal desires to fuck her throat raw and watch her swallow my release, I wanted one thing more than anything else tonight. Holding that fistful of hair tight, I tugged upward.

“I could watch you do this literally all night, but there are only so many hours until morning,” I murmured.

Arken made a small noise of discontent.

“What about my reward?”

“I promise you, Little Conduit, I’ll make it worth your while. Now up, please. Turn around. Good girl,” I crooned.

As she turned to face the bed, exposing her back to me, I took a moment to admire her glorious ass. First with my eyes, quickly followed by my hands.

“Can you spread your legs just a little for me?” I nudged at her foot, showing her the stance I was looking for.

“Yes, Sir.”

Good gods, I loved the sound of those words coming out of her mouth.

This was hardly the first time I had dabbled in power dynamics in the bedroom—one of the few benefits of a lack of serious relationships meant that I had little to fear in my sexual exploration. You can’t really ruin what was never meant to last.

But this was different. Arken made me feel like a damn god as she gave me her submission. And though I was unworthy, I was also a greedy motherfucker—and so I took it. I’d take anything, everything she had to give.

“Do you have any idea what the sight of you like this is doing to me, Arken?”

My voice came out heavy and thick under the weight of this, the most decadent indulgence of my life.

“You know, I think I may have some idea…”

Slowly, and with obvious intention, she pushed herself back a little and bent over to grind her ass into my cock, still wet from that talented mouth of hers.

“Oh, you have no idea,” I warned, grabbing her ass with both hands. “But you will, soon enough.”

At that, I pushed on the small of her back with enough force that she fell forward, torso pressing into the mattress, hips still high. Thanks to the way her legs were spread just wide enough, her ass was in perfect view—as was the slightest sliver of her pink cunt. As my hands ran down her back, I let my nails dig in, just a little.

Another soft whine escaped her mouth.

So pathetic, I mused to myself. So fucking perfect.

When I slipped one finger between her thighs to tease lightly between those wet, delicate folds of skin, she buried her head in the mattress to moan. My hand shot out, instinctively grabbing her by the hair and pulling back her head so she instead had one cheek resting against her sheets.

“None of that,” I ordered. “I want to hear you.”

I grabbed her ass again with both hands, harder this time, in emphasis.

“Kieran, please!”

The desperation, the begging, the want within that wail was like a siren’s song to me. I was drunk on the confirmation that I had been right all along. Arken didn’t just like being under duress. She fucking loved it.

So sweet. So compatible with this dark heart of mine.

The errant, dangerous thought flickered through my mind like an echo. I was too consumed by the sounds she was making to bother mitigating the risk.

“You like that, sweetheart?” I growled in approval, gripping her even harder, nails beginning to bite into the ample flesh below my palms.

“Fuck—Yes,” she panted.

I bent over, leaning my frame above hers. With my cock still out, it slid naturally between her slick thighs, absolutely coated with her arousal. I truly couldn’t wait to be inside her again, but there was something to be established, first and foremost.

“Do you want it to hurt?” I whispered in her ear softly.

I kept my tone neutral and even. It was a struggle not to expose myself as I offered a desperate prayer to the Fates that she would say yes. Regardless of how much I wanted this, regardless of what we had already so clearly implied, I needed an honest answer from her.

She stiffened, and for a moment my heart sunk.

Too much, you dumb bastard, I scolded myself. Too much, too fast.

I could feel the oily knot of self-loathing make its way into the pit of my stomach before immediately vanishing at the sound of the two sweetest words I’d ever heard.

“Yes, please.”

The words slipped from her mouth like her most furtive confession, and it was music to my ears. I felt her body relax beneath me, melting as she offered herself in deep, intimate submission. Flawless. She couldn’t see the shit-eating grin that crept across my face at her angle from where I stood, but even I could hear it make its way into my voice as I replied.

“Thank the fucking gods.”

I slid one hand around her throat again, a light caress with just the slightest hint of pressure. More a prelude than a threat.

“Do you trust me, sweetheart?” I asked.

“Yes,” Arken sighed.

“Hmm, I’m sorry? I didn’t quite catch that,” I murmured, slowly letting my fingers tighten around her neck. I felt her throat bob as she swallowed hard.

“Yes, I trust you, Kieran,” she said with sincerity.

“Mhm. From Sir, back to Kieran already?” I admonished. “That won’t do.”

I applied just a bit more pressure on her throat, forcing her to focus on her breathing and center herself.

“Let’s get one thing straight, Little Conduit. I don’t want to hear you say my name again tonight unless you are screaming it while I fuck you. Understood?” I growled.

“Y-yes, Sir,” she corrected. There was just the hint of beautiful strain in her voice. “I trust you.”

“Good. Now put both arms behind your back,” I ordered, focusing my arcana as she followed her instructions with haste.

Cool, smoky coils of Shadow aether began to manifest in the form of ropes—smooth like silk, but stronger than any cord or textile one could purchase in the Market District. As I began to weave the arcane material around her arms in artful loops and knots, Arken craned her neck, trying to glance back at what I was doing. I caught her eye and smirked, pulling the ropes of Shadow taut, fashioning a restraint that left her in a rather compromised position. She inhaled sharply as the rigging enforced some improved posture, bringing her shoulders back and binding her wrists and forearms in place.

“Well now,” I murmured. “I can’t say I don’t adore the sight of you like this. But before we continue, we’re going to make one thing perfectly clear, alright?”

I released my grip on her neck.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Good girl,” I reminded her, because she was. She was so fucking good.

Gods, I loved her.

“Everyone’s definition of pain is a little different, Arken, and so I need you to make me a promise. If I push you too hard, if I start approaching a line that you’re not ready to cross—all you need to do is tell me to stop. You just say stop, and we stop. I’m not going to ask you for a safe word because that’s not my goal here, not tonight. But I do need you to promise me that you’ll stop me before I hurt you in a way you don’t enjoy. Can you do that for me, sweetheart?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Perfection.