27. Jasper

Chapter twenty-seven

Jasper

W aking up with Reina in my arms sparks a joy so deep in me, I feel my soul might be permanently altered by her. The warmth of her body, the softness of her breath, the smell of her wildflower hair—everything makes me feel like home is right here.

She mumbles something and wiggles, waking up my dick, too.

Fucking hells.

Taking care of my own needs has become completely impossible with her consistently attached to me, and it's been quite some time since I've taken care of hers. I can't go on like this, and I'm sure she can't either.

How do I propose this to her? Would she even be willing? Gods, she doesn't even have to touch me, I just need some relief from the aching in my balls.

The image of snaking my hand down my pants and handling things with her asleep, wrapped in my other arm, flitters through my mind, but something feels dirty about it. I don't want her to be asleep. I want her to approve of my need to pleasure myself to thoughts of her. Why is this suddenly so complicated?

"Rei," I whisper against the shell of her ear.

"Mmph?"

"I hate to be a terrible scoundrel, but…you're driving me mad and if I don't touch myself, my dick might actually explode."

"So you were lying," she says.

"Lying?"

"The first morning you said all men get erections while sleeping and it doesn't mean you're aroused, but you just said I'm driving you mad." She moans sleepily and wiggles against said erection.

I'm not sure if she's trying to tease me, torture me, or both. I decide surrender is the fastest way to relief. "Fine, you were driving me mad then, too. Does that make you happy?"

She hums and shimmies. "It does."

I thrust against her without thought, groaning low in my throat. "Rei, I need to come."

She titters and looks over her shoulder at me. "So, come. I won't stop you."

Thank all the gods, and hers twice as much.

But now I want more. I'm greedy, and I want her to orgasm, too. I'm not sure where we stand, and I don't want to push things too far, but I need this.

"Touch yourself for me," I half ask, nuzzling her hair.

My words light a fire in her eyes and her cheeks flare with heat. "You want me to pleasure myself while you pleasure yourself?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

I almost laugh at the preposterousness. Why wouldn't I want to hear her come? "I want to know you're taken care of, even if it's by your own hand."

She takes a shaky breath. "Okay."

Fuck, yes. It feels like my nameday and she's given me the best present of all.

I slide my arm between us under my pants, keeping the other wrapped under her head and across her shoulder. She's going to let me come with her in my arms, and she's going to come for me, too. Relief floods my system when I grip my cock and give it a slow pump.

She grabs my hand on her shoulder and pulls it lower. "You can touch me some…please."

"You don't have to beg, sunshine," I say, covering her breast. Her nipple is already hard against my palm, and I take a moment to stroke her gently.

She sighs, putting her arm between her legs. She opens her knees, propping one leg up and creating a little mini tent within our tent to hide our desire. I pull her against me and thrust into my hand, relishing the little whimper that escapes her.

She makes long, languid strokes and breathes softly, but I don't want soft. I need moans from deep in her throat and cries that demand a kiss. I press my forehead against her temple and nibble her ear.

"Faster," I command, increasing my pace, too.

She follows my order. The shlick of her fingers through her center is loud and delightful. I want to eat that sound.

"Tell me what your hand feels like, Rei," I say, pinching her nipple over the cloth of her dress. She moans and her hips writhe against mine. I thrust into my hand, loving the feeling of her against me, creating the pressure that will surely be my undoing.

"Tell me," I urge.

"It feels warm, like silky fire spreading through me," she says, her voice tinged with pleasure.

"More," I groan, thrusting into my fist and groping her breast in time.

"It's sharp, my focus here. Control. My muscles are tight. They want to burst, but I'm so wound up," she says, and I feel her words deep in me.

"Don't try to control. Just feel," I whisper, my arousal spreading down my shaft with every pump of my hips.

"I don't know how," she whimpers, her legs shaking. But I know she knows how. I made her feel and forget on the beach. I can do it for her again.

"Listen to me," I say, tightening my grip on her breast. "Move in the ways most pleasing, and when you find the rhythm, don't stop, don't hold back. Focus on that feeling and ride it like a wave to the shore."

We pant, progressing as one, thrusting and pleasuring ourselves together.

"Have you found it? Your wave?" I ask, keeping myself well beyond the edge as I wait for her.

"No," she whimpers helplessly.

I need to try something different. "Did you like my mouth?"

She breathes harder. "Yes."

Just envisioning that night puts me even closer to release, but I have to hold back, hold on for her. Not before her. Never before her.

"What did you like?"

"You…moved your tongue side to side over my…my clit," she whispers.

Clit . Not a word I was taught. She must mean her little pleasure pearl. Perfect, now I know what to call it.

"Move your fingers over your clit in the same way."

She lifts her hips but I can tell by the sound her arm makes against the blanket that she's not doing as I've told her.

Little brat.

"Do it. Now," I command, and she moans.

Her movements shift and her sounds get louder. I ease into her, relishing it. She's learning how to self-pleasure through me, and I can't deny that it brings me so much satisfaction.

Almost too much.

"What else did you like about what I did?"

"Inside me," she keens. "You stuck your tongue inside."

"Put a finger inside that tight heat," I say, pushing my face deeper into her hair and my dick harder into my fist.

She does, and the sound she utters is so rewarding I might come apart.

"Now explore. Find that spot that makes the sky open and the stars shine," I say, trying not to let myself slip over into oblivion without her.

I flick her nipple between my fingers, loving the extra mewls I get out of her. I pluck, circle, slide, and pinch, seeking her pleasure through the noises she makes. Each time I find something she likes, I focus on it for several seconds before moving on.

"Don't stop talking," she moans, her hand moving faster.

Fuck. What else do I say?

"Let the heat build in you until it's not soft anymore, until it feels like it's going to burst out of you. Until it's filling up your lungs and begging to become a sound that will make the world tremble."

Her legs shake and her breathing turns shallow, each pant ending in a delightful whine.

"Let the fire grow into an inferno, a beacon so bright it can't be ignored. Let it take up space and fill up the void of darkness."

I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, letting my mind go off unfiltered as I chase the fine line between control and release, waiting for her. Waiting to hear that wail of pleasure that lets me know I've done my duty as her mate.

"Jasper," she says, her voice loaded with desperation.

She's close.

"That's right, sunshine. Let your pleasure be known. Take what's yours. Fulfill your needs." I'm getting too close. I can't hold out. "Come. Make yourself come, Rei."

Her bottom lip quivers and she sucks in a deep breath. How I wish to kiss that trembling lip and keep the sound all to myself. But she clamps her mouth shut as she moans. Her back curls off the bed and her eyes wince closed.

"Yes, Rei. Come," I groan, thrusting faster against my slick palm. "Gods, you're coming so hard, aren't you? Fuck—"

The pressure in the stem of my cock is so intense, it pulls all my attention. The sensation spirals up and my muscles seize as I spill into my hand. I can't stop thrusting, the sounds of her muffled moans urging me to keep going, keep pumping.

Finally, Reina relaxes against the bed and shivers. I knead her breast a little more, loving the way it gives in time with my cock sliding into my other hand. This moment feels like perfect bliss. Like maybe we have something more than just a useful marriage. If nothing else, we can at least have pleasure together, and maybe even a friendship.

"Thank you," she whispers.

I can't help the euphoric smile that spreads over my face. "Thank you for being amenable to this."

"Yes, well, if your dick explodes, how will we ever have heirs?"

There's cum in my hand and she's talking about heirs.

She's thinking about sex.

With me.

About carrying our child.

Fuck, can we even have children? Are we compatible? No. Now's not the time to worry about that. She was just making a joke.

Oh, gods, and I've waited too long to joke back. The time has passed and it's awkward.

There's cum in my hand and it's awkward.

"Maybe there's some selkie magic that could help keep your dick intact," she offers when I'm silent for too long.

"Yes. Of course there is." I release her breast and slide my arm out from under her as she rolls away.

She uses her other hand, the one that hadn't been between her legs, to smooth down her hair. "I need to, um, handle my morning business, and get water so…you take your time and I'll be back."

"Yeah."

She keeps the forefinger of her right hand jutted out at an awkward angle and I notice the slight sheen of blood. I suck in a breath and reach out to say something, but she cuts me short.

"It's just my monthly bleed. No need to get feral," she says as she pulls on her boots.

"Right," I murmur.

"Be back soon," she says, then exits the tent.

The scent of her orgasm lingers here with me. It's heady, and intoxicating, so I let myself relax in it for a moment.

She masturbated with me.

And it was incredible.

I pull my hand out of my pants and look around the tent. There's nowhere for me to deposit my load. I grunt to myself in displeasure. I'm not going to leave this anywhere for her to find.

I close my fist and use one hand to get my boots on. Finally outside, I flick my wrist at the grass, then wipe the rest off on a nearby tree. I'd much prefer Reina to be eating it out of my hand—the thought of which has me half hard already—but it's likely too soon to ask her something like that.

Hello, princess, I just jacked off, will you lick it out of my palm for me?

I shake my head.

"Mornin'," calls a familiar voice and I jump. It's the man whose wife lent me the thing for Reina's monthly bleeding.

"Good morning," I call back, waving before quickly tucking my still-damp hand away.

"She gettin' on all right?" he asks.

"She is, yes. Amaya, my wife," I say, stupidly.

"I'm Anthony, wife's Gizelle," he says.

Squid ink. I don't have a cover name.

What's a name for a Fynish man?

"I'm Geoff."

Fuck.

Stupid name.

"Hi, Geoff, nice to be travelin' with such nice folk from the north," he says, approaching for a handshake. I reach out and take his hand in the one I didn't just jerk off in, noting that Wols do not shake, but Fyns do.

"Not many speak Common Fynish 'round here," he says.

"Amaya is Fynish."

Anthony chuckles. "I noticed. She's high-born, a lady?"

I stiffen. "What makes you say that?"

He shrugs. "Her way of talkin'. It's very proper."

I would have to coach her in less proper dialect so we can remain incognito.

Anthony laughs. "Don't get your dick in a twist, I'm not sayin' anything. I think it's sweet."

"What is?" I ask, thoroughly confused.

"Obviously, she gave it all up for you. And you're doin' everything you can to make her life as comfortable as it was."

I stare at him, waiting for the point.

He scoffs. "You're in love! Love is a wonderful thing. Not enough of it out there anymore."

I nod, unsure what to do with this revelation. If someone else saw it, how is it that I didn't? Love…something I didn't think I was capable of without the abdication of my guilt. With that close at hand, though, perhaps I have space in my head for more.

"Anyway, I've gotta get moving. Caravan's leaving in thirty," he says, giving a gentle wave.

"Let me know if you need any help," I call out, uncertain what's provoked me to offer my assistance to him, a Man.

"You just take care of yourself and your lady. We've got things under control over here," he says, starting the process of dismantling his tent.

My lady…

My love…

Oh, fuck.