31. Jasper

Chapter thirty-one

Jasper

" O ne, two, three, one, two, three—ouch!" Reina yelps as I step on her toes. "Concentrate, Jasper!"

"I am. These stupid human feet are so inelegant!"

"Well, you can't attend the ball as a selkie," she snaps, pulling our hands back into place. She looks up at me with a determined glare. "Again."

"I would rather make you come," I say, tugging her arms around my neck.

"Be serious, Jasper," she growls. "I know you know how to dance. What's going on with you?"

I pull away as the enormity of what's to come yawns before me. I want more than anything to not put her in this situation, but I need her if I'm ever going to see my family again.

But what if I fuck this up? Or what if they're already dead?

What if all of this is in vain and I'm risking Reina for nothing?

"Jasper," she says softly as she cups my cheek. "Everything is going to be okay. Look at me."

She nudges me and I turn. She's gentle, loving even. She has the look of a woman who would go anywhere, do anything…for me.

"It's going to be okay. We're going to get them. I swear to you on my life," she says, her blue magic curling around her arm to my face.

I grasp her hand and pull it away. "You don't have to make a pact with me. I believe you."

"I want to. I want you to know how dedicated I am to this. To you ."

My heart breaks and yet somehow soars. I turn her hand and kiss her palm. "No pact required, my love."

She folds against me and wraps her arms around my neck. A wash of warmth fills up my chest and I sigh into her golden wildflower hair.

"I'm scared." The secret slips through my trembling lips.

"I know." She scrapes her fingers along my scalp and tugs in the comforting way I've come to love.

We hold one another for a long time as the sound machine in the corner runs down. When the melody slows to a stop, Reina pulls back and looks me in the eyes.

"Do not think for one second that we won't win. We will. Look at us. Nothing will shake us," she says, her voice so full of confidence that I can't help but share it.

We are strong. What was once a bond of necessity has become one of love, and caring. One built from the mate bond of the selkie. How will she feel when she knows her affections were ordained by the gods and not born from her own mind?

A trouble for another time.

I lean in close. "I bet I can make something of yours shake."

"Jasper," she admonishes with a smirk.

"Let me forget what's at stake for a moment and enjoy you," I say, rubbing my thumb below the swell of her breast.

She breaks into a sly grin. "What if I don't want to?"

I grab her wrist and push her hand toward her waist. "Stick your hand between your legs and prove it."

"I won't," she says, chin lifted in defiance, but there's a playfulness in her eyes.

She's bratting for me.

I capture her hands and hold both in one of mine as I walk her back toward the bed. "I suppose I'll have to find out for myself, won't I?"

"You wouldn't dare," she says, and suddenly I realize I'm in murky territory.

If she truly didn't want me to, of course I wouldn't. But we're playing a game, aren't we?

I release her hands. "If you want me to stop, you can say so at any time."

She shakes her head. "I didn't want you to stop. I was just trying to play to your very particular tastes."

I smile. "Bratty princess on her knees."

"Chained up, too. We'll have to get the manacles out," she says, guiding my hand back to hers. "If I want you to stop, I'll say ‘dark.'"

I scowl. "Why that?"

"Because I'm your sunshine. You wouldn't want to snuff me out, would you?"

I cup her cheek and run my thumb along her bottom lip. "No, I wouldn't."

She nibbles on my finger, but then her eyes turn wild and she bites. I growl and restrain her hands as I push her down to the bed.

"That wasn't very nice," I say.

She licks her lips. "You told me to save it for the bedroom."

"I did, didn't I?" I push her legs apart and settle between them. She wiggles like she's trying to resist me, but her hips push up against mine with desire.

I unhook the manacles from my belt with the other hand and clamp them around Reina's wrists, then loop the chain over the post of the headboard. She could easily remove herself from the situation if she wanted to, but it gives the illusion of detention.

"What now, tough guy?" she asks.

I run my finger down the soft skin of her inner arm. "Now I'm going to torture you."

"I've been trained to withstand torture," she says, and while I know we're still playing a game, I think she's telling the truth.

"I'm not sure you've been trained to withstand this particular brand of torture," I say, dragging my finger from her shoulder to her collarbone. Her pulse is already fast, blood flooding her cheeks and sensitive areas.

I sit back on my heels and admire her. Heavy breaths make her chest swell, pushing her peaked nipples against her cotton shirt. The position of her arms has the shirt pulled up at the bottom, revealing a strip of her tanned stomach. I trace my finger from one hip to the other, stopping only to circle her perfect little belly button.

She twitches and giggles. "Tickle torture? You're right, I wasn't trained for this."

I run my finger across her stomach again, lighter this time, then follow with my lips. I plant open-mouthed kisses along her warm skin and she sighs. Her pants slide down easily until I'm palming her bare ass. But I pull her pants down only to mid-thigh, trapping her legs together and making it impossible for her to grab me.

I kiss lower, sucking on the soft, lighter skin of her pelvis. She lifts her hips with a pleading whine that makes me chuckle.

"We haven't even started," I say, tracing the V of her sex with a finger.

She plants her butt firmly back down onto my palm, pinning it to the mattress. "I can take it," she whispers to herself.

I trace closer to her center and my heart quickens. "You'll be begging by the end of this."

She frowns, schooling her face and breathing. "Do your worst, then."

A feral grin pulls back my lips. "Oh, sunshine, you don't know what you're asking for."

I slide my fingers across her skin twice more before I spread her open. She drops her head to the pillow and closes her eyes as she swallows a sound of pleasure. I blow a soft puff of air against her little bud and she sucks down a deep gasp. I grip her ass in my other hand firmly to keep her from wiggling as I blow again.

She whispers a curse, her feet twisting and flexing behind me. The scent of her arousal is so fucking delightful. Holding myself back just to torment her is making my cock ache, but it'll be worth it to make her plead with me for release.

I open my mouth wide and lick her from opening to apex. Her taste pulls a desperate groan from me, and Reina whimpers. I seal my lips around her clit and groan again. She pants heavily, her hips thrusting up to meet me.

She likes the vibration there.

I lick again from her opening all the way up, then flick my tongue from side to side across her clit, just the way she's told me she likes it. Another high-pitched whimper escapes her, and she clenches her fists. She's not close, but she's trying to resist the buildup the sensations are giving her.

Without warning, I begin to feast on her. She yelps and convulses, her hips lifting off the bed. I suck, nip, and push against her with furious determination until I hear those sounds of ecstasy crawling up her throat.

All at once, I back off and sit back on my heels.

Reina lifts her head with a desperate half-moan. She pants open-mouthed as she stares at me.

I smile. "Did you like the introduction to your torture?"

She grits her teeth with a growl and flops back down. "I won't break."

I crawl up her body and let my fingers linger where my tongue was. She looks away from me, exposing her neck. I lick all the way from her pulse point to her jaw as I drag my finger through her slick center. She clenches her thighs together and murmurs a curse.

"You will," I whisper against her cheek as I slide a finger inside her.

Her bottom lip trembles. "Oh, gods."

"Cry out for them all you want, sunshine. It's me in control right now. I set the pace," I say, thrusting into her slowly. "I own the pressure," I whisper, pulling against her upper wall as I retract my finger all the way to her clit.

She mashes her lips together to stifle her moan.

"I manage the depth," I say, pushing all the way into her.

"Fuck," Reina gasps.

"And it won't end for you until you beg." I smile and move faster, combining my movements of pulling on her inner walls all the way to her apex and then thrusting back in.

She wiggles her hips, moving in time with me. Her cheeks flush bright red and her breaths come in panting little whimpers. Close, so close.

She takes a deep breath and I stop, rolling away from her and off the bed.

"Jasper," she cries in frustration as I circle around her.

"I haven't even begun to play with you," I say, licking my fingers.

Her flavor is decadence, like the little pout on her face.

She whimpers and throws her head back down on the pillow, having a mini-tantrum. I sit beside her and lift her shirt to the bottom of her breasts. She looks away from me as I follow the line of her tan under one breast to the other. Her nipples stiffen against the fabric, and she twists her shoulders in some attempt at getting satisfaction, I'm sure.

I slide my hands up her shirt and cup her hard. I massage her for a moment, then pinch her nipple between my fingers. She bites down on her lip and closes her eyes tightly.

"You like this?" I ask. "This torment?"

"No," she groans.

I flinch back, and her eyes shoot open. She looks at me with a nod and my body relaxes. Right, the keyword: dark. She didn't say it. We're still just playing.

I grab her other breast and pinch it even harder, getting a yelp out of her. I turn and lie beside her, then push her shirt up to her neck.

"You're such a little liar," I say, then drag my fingers across her sex.

She moans loudly, pulling on her hands.

"Look at this," I say, holding my slick fingers up to her face.

She opens her eyes and her gaze darts between me and her arousal. She leans forward and takes my fingers into her mouth. Now I'm the one whispering curses, my dick pulsing so hard I might come right here.

I tug my fingers free with a soft pop and she pulls in a lusty breath. "I want…you…in my mouth."

I smirk. "Not until I'm done with you."

"Please," she whispers. "I've never tasted you, and I want that."

She just wants to torture me back.

Fine.

I'll play.

"Only because you asked so nicely."