65. Chapter Sixty-Five

There was a glimmer of pride in Kieran’s gaze that I caught as I glanced back at him, and it was doing unspeakable things to my ego. I was desperate for more of his praise, reveling in his approval and appreciation as if it were the very moonlight that poured through my window.

Even though I had been naked all night, had even stripped down to my skin under his watchful gaze, for some reason it was now that I felt most exposed. Perhaps it was the lack of mobility, now that he had me bound by his Shadows. The artful manner in which he’d tied me up was almost a relief on my aching muscles, not at all uncomfortable. It was…

Perfect. He was perfect at this.

I continued to allow myself to unravel in the safety of his control and supervision. The only thing keeping me tethered to this plane was the sound of his voice, and gods, I felt drunk on that low rumble. His dark command. My eyelids felt so… so very heavy.

At the very edge of my consciousness, I remembered that just before this moment, I’d been feeling a little hesitant about the honorifics that pleased him so much—unable to ease the embarrassment, the fear that he wouldn’t be able to take me seriously. Was I using them too often? Not often enough? All of that insecurity was gone now, released into the aether without a care in the world.

Gone, gone, gone.

There was nothing weighing on my heart or mind at that moment, and that was a very, very unfamiliar sensation. In the absence of all the other noise, there was barely a thought in my mind. It was only him, and the sensation of his fingertips as they teased at my skin with a feather-light touch.

“Ready?” Kieran asked, his voice husky and low.

“Yes, Sir,” I said.

The flesh of his palm swiftly met my ass, and I cried out—startled by the sting. I had been spanked before, but never quite that hard. Adrenaline surged through my veins. I wanted more.

The second strike came without warning, harder this time, as though he could read my mind. My toes curled, tears beginning to prickle in my eyes, though they did not fall.

There was awe and admiration present in his voice when he spoke next.

“You really do enjoy this, don’t you, Little Conduit?”

I did. I always had, and I couldn’t quite explain where it came from. It hadn’t been Graysen, not really. Our tastes had just simply seemed to align at the time, and over the years I continued to find that the rougher the sex, the better it felt. There was an exquisite edge to the pain, something that wasn’t just psychological—it actually felt physically pleasant to me. Like scratching an itch in just the right spot.

“More,” I begged.

“Address me appropriately, you demanding creature,” Kieran growled. “Or I won’t touch you at all.”

“Harder, please, Sir,” I whispered in apology, and he so graciously obliged.

Even as the pleasure gave way to pain, I was enthralled. Kieran was giving me everything my more casual encounters had been too afraid to try, because he trusted me. He believed that I knew what I could take. Gods, I adored him for that. It felt as though I was finally waking up from a dream, the winds of a tempest clearing all the fog from my mind, and suddenly I was more alert—more alive—than ever.

After several more delicious strikes, Kieran took a step back, withdrawing his touch. I was prepared to complain until he came into view in my periphery, crawling into my bed.

“I’m getting awfully tired of not being inside of you,” he explained, as if it were obvious.

For a moment, I just stood there, marveling at the sight. Kieran was fully naked now—one arm casually strewn behind his head. My eyes drifted down from his chest to his lean, chiseled torso, to his thick, muscular thighs and the twitching erection between them.

“Like what you see, Little Conduit?”

I nodded aggressively, biting my lip.

“Come ride it, then.”

Following his instructions was somewhat of a challenge. Lifting my legs up to get onto the mattress without my hands required some extra concentration as I tried to remain steady. Something about the sated, amused expression he wore told me he knew damn well what he was doing, too.

That smirk of his melted into something far more reverent once I managed to straddle him, slowly sinking onto his cock.

“Gods,” he groaned, and I sighed in unison, tipping my head back as I took him in full.

Slowly, I began to rock my hips. Kieran let me lead like that for some time, allowing me to find my own pleasure as I bucked and writhed against him. Eventually though, he grabbed at my hips, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ve got you,” he swore.

And then hebegan to move.