Chapter Fourteen

Late that night, as Rem slipped into the room they shared, clearly exhausted from a long day, she was no closer to reaching an answer. She knew it was unfair to give only half her heart to Rem if he loved her with the passionate intensity his mother thought he did. Yet, how could she force herself to not love Jalen? Though it had been more than a month since their parting, she still yearned for him.

“You seem pensive,” said Rem as he stripped off his clothes and stepped into the bath servants had brought up moments before he returned home for the night.

She blinked, attempted to push away her thoughts, and rose to her feet from the sturdy chair she’d occupied. Rem’s breath escaped through his clenched teeth when he saw her in the white gown. The gossamer material did little to hide her curves. “I’m not pensive. I was, however, growing impatient waiting for you.” As she spoke, Nadya walked toward him, swaying her hips in an exaggerated motion.

He knelt in the tub. “Give me five minutes to clean up.”

Nadya gave him a crooked grin. “I don’t think so.” In a smooth motion, she stripped off the gown and tossed it aside. “That’s too long,” she added, stopping beside the tub.

“Two minutes,” he said in a breathless rush.

She shook her head and lifted a foot to step into the tub.

“Honey, there is no room…” His groan swallowed the rest of his objection when Nadya cupped her foot over his cock. She stroked up and down the length of him, wiggling her toes experimentally. She giggled when he grunted, thrusting against her foot. “Okay, we’ll make it work,” he said, offering her a hand.

Nadya put her foot on the floor of the tub before bringing in the other one. She perched on the lip of the tub, keeping her thighs parted. She ran her nails through his long hair before rubbing his cheek. “Scruffy.”

“I didn’t have time to shave this morning.” He lifted his hand to cup her breast. “You kept me in bed later than usual.”

“I kept you?” She batted her eyelashes. “I’m not the one who woke up with a raging hard-on that needed attention.” Her last words were more exhalations than anything as he thumbed her nipple.

“You’re the one who caused my condition.”

“And I took care of it.” She licked her lips, remembering the taste and feel of his cock inside her mouth, longing for it again.

“My turn.” He cupped her thighs to push them farther apart. Nadya dug her fingers into his shoulders to balance herself when he lowered his head. His lips were soft and coaxing on her pussy, though she needed no encouragement to open to him. At the first touch of his tongue, moisture flooded her sheath. She shook as he flicked his tongue across her clit.

Nadya voiced no protest when he lifted her from the tub and laid her on the rug in front of the fireplace. The fur wicked away the beads of moisture from their bodies as the burning fire warmed their skin. She did push his head away when he would have resumed licking her pussy. “No.”

He quirked a brow. “You don’t want me to taste you?”

“Not right now.” She leaned forward, forcing him backward so she could straddle his thighs. Nadya lowered her head to kiss his stomach, starting with light, teasing nibbles. As he groaned and shifted underneath her, she deepened her touch, lengthening the kisses, biting harder, and stroking his skin with her tongue. As she worked her way lower, he grew more rigid in anticipation. She smiled at the evidence of his arousal just before taking his shaft into her mouth.

“Ah, love, you’re killing me.” The cords in his neck stood out, showing the extent of the control he exerted not to come in her mouth. She closed her eyes and lowered her mouth, adding a slight twist as she reached the base. Rem cried out her name several times as she worked the length of him, sucking and licking his cock until he was spasming in her mouth, clearly on the brink of orgasm.

“Not without me,” she said as she lifted her mouth, discreetly wiping it on the back of her hand as she scooted up his body. Rem grasped her hands as she lifted her hips, cuddling the head of his cock in her cleft. Nadya lowered herself on his erection, moaning as he filled her. It was still as exciting as it had been the first time they made love. He still stretched her to a point that was almost uncomfortable, but somehow enhanced her pleasure. “And not until I say so.” His eyes widened, and he looked puzzled. “What?” Nadya grinned. “Indulge me. I am in control tonight.”

After a moment, his tension faded. “If it makes you happy, honey, you are in control.”

She rode him slowly, setting a leisurely pace. Rem deferred to her rhythm, but it was clear from the way he squeezed her hands and breathed raggedly that he was having a difficult time maintaining his control. Nadya squeezed her folds around his shaft, massaging him as she thrust down onto him. He grunted, and a shiver coursed through his body, but he didn’t come. She repeated the movement several times, and then rotated her hips.

“Nadya, I can’t hold out much longer.”

“Yes, you can.” Her words were harsh from her uneven breathing. Convulsions started deep in her womb, and she squeezed her thighs. “I’m about to come.”

“Thank God,” he whispered.

“Feel my pussy squeezing around you, Rem?” He nodded, and she tightened her inner muscles to milk him. “You feel so good to me.”

“Me too,” he said breathlessly.

Nadya cried out as her orgasm approached. “I’m coming, but you aren’t.”

He tensed in mid-thrust. “What?” Rem either made no attempt to, or couldn’t, hide his incredulity.

“Not yet,” she hissed as she climaxed. Nadya thrust urgently against him, cresting the waves of pleasure and wringing every last drop of satisfaction from the orgasm. All the while, Rem’s cock remained hard inside her, though he was clearly struggling.

Nadya lifted herself off him as the orgasm faded, ignoring his sound of protest. She wasn’t done testing the limits of his endurance. “Do you like my ass, Rem?”

Sweat beaded his forehead. “Nadya.” There was a hint of warning in his tone. “I’ve had just about enough of this.”

She pretended to pout. “I guess you don’t want my tight little ass then, since you’re almost through?”

Rem’s eyes widened. “You know I do.”

Nadya smiled, enjoying playing the temptress. “Yes, I know.” He’d been nudging her in that direction since they became lovers. She’d known he was preparing for the day when he would enter her backside when he started anal play—his fingers, toys, and his mouth. “So, take it.”

“Honey, I can’t hold out tonight.”

“Yes, you can,” she said in a firm tone. “Put your cock inside my ass and fuck me until I tell you to come.”

He responded to her command with bemused obedience, aligning his cock with her anus. Nadya reached for the bottle of oil she had placed near the fireplace earlier in the evening, in anticipation of this turn of events. She sprinkled a dollop into her palm before sliding her hand up and down his cock. Rem groaned, and his shaft twitched against the confines of her hand. She knew it wouldn’t take much stimulation to make him come, and as much as she wanted to please him, making her point was more important. Withdrawing her hand, she inched backward to align her cleft with his erection. “I want to feel you inside me.”

Carefully, he eased inside her, taking possession of her ass an inch at a time. Nadya winced occasionally during his entry, but remained relaxed as he filled her up. She struggled to breathe, finding it much more pleasurable than she’d expected.

They remained without moving for a long moment. Rem grasped her hips, looking up at her inquiringly. “May I move now?”

“You’re not taking this seriously.” He was too amused, but she couldn’t be that annoyed with him. After all, a man like Rem didn’t easily surrender control to others. The fact that he was willing to indulge her enough to let her top him, even for the night, was enough to make her happy.

His lips twitched before his expression turned intent. “I have never been more serious in my life. If I don’t fuck you, I’m going to die from the agony.”

Nadya nodded. “You may move.” The prim command was so at odds with what they were doing that even she couldn’t hold back a small giggle. All traces of amusement fled when he thrust into her again. Scarlet stained Rem’s face, and he gasped each time he surged inside her. She was in the same shape, but not constrained to wait for permission to come. “Finger me, Rem.”

He brought a hand between her thighs, spending a leisurely minute stroking her clit. Nadya rubbed against his hand, which rotated her hips. She heard Rem groan and smiled with satisfaction that he was holding off. She forgot about controlling the moment when he buried two fingers deep inside her pussy and thrust them in and out of her in time with the pace his cock set. She clenched her anus around his shaft as her thighs quaked. Her slit convulsed, and she cried out as another orgasm consumed her.

She looked at Rem through heavy-lidded eyes as her body trembled with release. He was certainly hovering on the edge. His fangs seemed to be furrowing into his lower lip, and he swallowed audibly. His hips bucked upward, but his cock remained hard inside her. “You can come now, love,” she said as she sagged forward, letting him support her.

The words hadn’t fully left her mouth when his cock jerked inside her, spurting out hot jets of his semen. Nadya clenched her buttocks to milk Rem as he pumped inside her back passage, crying out his satisfaction loud enough that others in nearby rooms no doubt heard him. He didn’t seem to care about who might overhear, and she soon forgot the concern. Instead, she lost herself in the beauty of his release, overcome with emotion to see him so sated.

Slowly, he stopped rocking, and she collapsed atop him. Rem withdrew his semi-hard penis and rolled onto his side, tucking her against him. She breathed in his scent and was content to lie in his arms forever. In moments like this, there was no confusion or question that she could be with him forever and not yearn for Jalen.

“Impressive,” she whispered against his neck. She felt more than heard his chuckle as it rumbled through his chest. “You never have to worry about losing control, do you?”

He lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug, and his tone was both self-mocking and amused when he said, “I dominate all I survey, except for one slip of a girl.”

She smiled, lifting her head to look at him. Nadya schooled her expression into one of utter seriousness. “I want you to feed from me, Rem.” Seeing his expression slam closed, she rushed to add, “I trust you not to lose control.”

He shook his head. “I have others for that need.”

Nadya shivered at his arctic tone, but pressed on. “Rem, love, I want to be everything you need.” She shifted position to frame his face in her hands, ignoring his resistance. “I want that intimate connection between us. Please let me give you what you need.”

“Why is it so damned important?” He curled his lips. “You should be grateful that I don’t want that from you.”

She stroked one of his cheeks. “Do you remember how it was when you first fed from me? How intimate? That was before we were lovers. Don’t you want that deeper connection now?”

“Yes,” he snarled, jackknifing into a sitting position. “Yes.” Rem’s shoulders slumped. “Of course I do, but I won’t risk hurting you.”

She put her arms around his shoulders. “You won’t hurt me. I trust you completely.”

“What if I can’t trust myself?”

Tentatively, Nadya scooted closer. “Let my trust be enough for you, until you prove to yourself that you can maintain control.”

“Nadya.” Her name was a tortured plea on his lips, tempting her to give in.

She couldn’t afford to, though. It was too important to know if he would feed from her. Not just because she wanted to be so intimately joined to him, but also to see if his mother was right. If she was the one to whom he’d completely given his heart, she had to know now. “Please.” She bent her neck to offer her vein. It was vital to know if he would feed from her.

“Damn you.” He crumpled against her, pressing his mouth to her neck.

Nadya tensed with anticipation as he breathed on her neck, but didn’t seem inclined to continue. She was about to acknowledge defeat when his lips finally parted, and his teeth penetrated her skin. She gasped at the brief flash of pain, but it soon faded into a haze of passion that consumed her entire body. Her mind floated, and she could see colors in her mind, swirling behind her closed eyes. Nadya’s body hummed with sensation. Desire was part of it, but it went so much deeper than that. This was more than physical pleasure. It was spiritual.

He broke away abruptly, gasping for a moment. Nadya saw him wipe his mouth as she opened her eyes. She was woozy, but more from the onslaught of emotions than from blood loss. He could have drunk more deeply and longer had he chosen, but the experience had been enough. For now. “I love you.” She rested her cheek against his arm.

Disappointment surged through her. In her secret heart, she’d hoped that sharing a blood bond with Rem would crystallize her feelings for the two men warring for her heart. She’d prayed that one or the other would clearly inspire a deeper connection, thus making it possible for her to choose. Instead, her connection with Rem was as deep and special as the one she shared with Jalen. Dissimilar in the emotions it evoked, and the sensations accompanying his bite, but identical in intensity. How could that be? How could she love two men equally? More importantly, how could she stop loving one and commit fully to the other? It wasn’t fair to Rem to secretly long for Jalen.

She had to decide soon. Somehow.