Kieran tilted his head and stared down at me, waiting for me to tell him something he already knew. But I was afraid of what he'd do if I voiced it.
Kieran wasn't going to hurt me, but there was that tinge of fear that I had for him, that I also had with Lucian. Something about the two of them screamed danger, even though inherently I knew they were doing their best to keep me as far away from that as they could.
I cleared my throat. "If you already know...why do I have to say it?"
"I want to see your expression when you admit it," he said. "Whether you'll look proud, embarrassed, or even smug. Now...tell me."
I clenched my jaw. Of course I'd look embarrassed. There was nothing to be embarrassed about, but openly admitting it to someone caused a wave of heat to wash over my body.
For someone who was naturally cold, it was odd how often these men were making me warm.
I ran a hand over my face to try and wipe away the growing nervousness. "I...slept with Lucian."
"Slept with sounds like you took a little nap with him." His lip twitched. "Was it that boring?"
I opened my mouth to spit out some sort of retort, but that was what he was expecting and wanting out of me. So I closed my mouth slowly and glared at him, keeping my thoughts to myself.
It was not boring by any stretch of the imagination, but why did he need to know that?
That lip twitch turned into a full-on grin before he moved closer to me. His hands rested on the couch on either side of my head and he leaned forward, chuckling when I didn't move away.
"I love brats," he admitted.
My eyebrows furrowed. What the absolute hell did that even mean?
"Do you want to know why I love them?" One of his hands came up and wrapped in my hair before he pulled hard enough to jerk my head back. He placed his lips by my ear. "Because their need to be stubborn and disobedient makes someone like me so excited and ready to punish."
I froze.
"If you weren't in pain from training earlier," he paused to run his tongue over the shell of my ear, "I would bend you over my knee and spank you until you begged for me to let you come."
"What makes you think I'd even like that," I asked, proud of myself for not having a tremor in my voice.
Honestly, the thought of someone like Kieran being dominant made my entire body shiver. I never thought of myself as one to enjoy the idea of being dominated, but I found myself wondering how it would be if it was Kieran doing the dominating.
He didn't look the type. What I pictured when I thought of dominance was a dark haired man wearing a suit. But that could be because of the few guilty pleasure books that I read. He wasn't the stereotypical dominant from those books. He was too pretty with his long hair and slim build, even though I knew he had plenty of strength.
"Nova," he cooed, pulling away just enough to meet my eyes, "while a werewolf can smell your arousal, I can hear the speed in which your blood travels through your body. How it pumps through your heart at a quicker rate whenever I mention punishing you. Then those eyes of yours could never lie even if the word no is uttered from your lips."
A rush of air escaped my lungs and then I went back to holding my breath. Apparently I wasn't good at breathing in these circumstances. But who would be, when a man like Kieran was standing over them threatening God knows what to them?
I read books like that for the simple reason anyone does - to experience it without actually experiencing it.
A hand slid down my side until it rested on my hip, where he slipped a finger under the waistband of my shorts. His eyes burned into mine so fiercely that I wondered if I could catch on fire.
"Tell me no," he said, "and I'll never try again. I'll let you have your werewolf and only your werewolf. But also know, if you let me take these shorts off and you let me make you come, you're also giving me permission to take control over you whenever you're with me."
He was being completely serious too. If I said no, he would drop it - and me - and never try again. Our relationship would only be teacher and student, as well as the go-between when it came to finding his vampire and Lucian's werewolf.
I couldn't think straight. "But you said since I'm in pain-"
"That was for punishment," he said. "Not reward. Your reward will be my mouth."
"What am I being rewarded for?" I knew he was still waiting for that answer. While his face remained calm, his finger curled slightly, like he was about to rip the shorts off regardless of my answer.
"For saying yes," he replied.
And what if I said yes? Would he think I was a whore for sleeping with Lucian then allowing him to do what he wanted to me?
"What would you like," he asked. "Me to let you go, or do you want your reward?"
I forced myself to breathe. Even if I could process any of the thoughts swarming around in my brain, I doubted I'd know the correct answer. Saying yes would mean the relationship we had would change. He'd own a part of me that he would control every chance he got. But if I said no, everything would stop - the flirtation, the games...everything.
Call me what you will, but...
"Reward," I said quietly.
His finger slipped from beneath the waistband of my pants and he stood straight. I felt a tinge of embarrassment when I thought he was rejecting me, then I went to explain that I was kidding and that I'd prefer everything to stop. I had to cover my embarrassment somehow.
"Take off your shorts." There was absolutely no nonsense in his tone, and left no room for argument.
I said yes, so I'd get my reward. But first I'd have to show him I could listen to instructions.
I stood and slid off my shorts, stumbling a little when I had one leg out and went to lift the other to allow the shorts to fall to the floor.
He sat me back down and spread my legs open, and I fought against the urge to close them. I was wearing panties, but I still felt too exposed.
He knelt in front of me, then lowered his head and nibbled gently on my thigh as he forced my legs further apart. The feeling of his mouth on my skin made my body shake and goosebumps to dance across my skin.
Then he turned his head and licked me over my panties and all thoughts disappeared from my mind. My fingers gripped my couch as he moved his tongue slowly against me, creating an odd sort of friction that made me want to scream.
I raised my hips, but he forced them back down onto the couch with one hand as his other hand moved to take the place of his tongue, circling the wet fabric.
"Hands above your head and keep them there," he said, pushing against me harder with his fingers when I did as I was told. "And don't move."
Then those fingers left me and he moved my panties to the side, baring myself to his eyes, which seemed to drink me in before his head moved to meet that sensitive area once again. This time though, there was no fabric between me and his tongue, and the feeling made me dig my fingernails into the palms of my hands to keep from moving.
His tongue moved in lazy circles as his violet eyes raised and met mine. I let out a whimper at the speed, wanting him to go faster but knowing he'd do it in his own time. He was teasing me, bringing that need up to a point where I would start begging if it came down to it.
When he sucked gently, pulling my clit into his mouth before slowly letting it go, I moved my hips. I couldn't help it.
He hummed, reaching up under my shirt and bra forcefully before pinching my nipple so hard that I had to bite back a scream. As soon as the pain was there, it disappeared as he rubbed my nipple gently, as if washing away the pain with the touch that hurt me seconds before.
Then he flicked his tongue faster as his other hand came up and he slid two fingers inside of me. They moved in and out of me with so much speed that the beginnings of an orgasm turned into a ball of tension that coiled tighter and tighter the faster he moved.
"Kieran," I hissed. "Shit."
He hummed again, and the vibration, mixed with his tongue and his fingers made that ball of tension explode into an orgasm that had lights exploding behind my eyes and a scream ripping from my throat.
He continued to lick me slowly until my muscles were nothing but a shivering mess.
He stood and leaned over me, placing his lips on my forehead. "Good girl."
•••••
A/N: Happy New Year! 🎊