Page 42 of Essa

"What are you—"

Her voice cuts off when I wrap my fingers around the back of her thigh, holding her close to me as I plant more kisses against her, in a long line up, up, up until I reach where her pelvis bone is pronounced and start to nudge her skirt to the side, wanting to reveal more of her skin to my waiting lips, my eager tongue.

Essa reaches down, her fingers trailing over my cheek, and I let my eyes flutter close at her touch. She skates her fingers lower over my jaw, my neck, then she wraps the chain of my leash in her hand and gives it a soft tug. It's barely there, but my eyes snap open. She's seeing if I'll allow it or if it's too much for me. She doesn't know that the collar hasn't been nearly as difficult to wear now that I know it's for her. I close my eyes again, tilting my head to the side, offering her my neck.

"You wish to worship me?" Essa asks, her tone no longer unsure or self-conscious. No, she's into this almost as much as I am. Before I get to tell her I'd crawl over glass for her at this point—which is good because that's way too desperate—she turns to Seth. "Why aren't you on your knees as well?"

"Fuck," I groan.

There's something so sexy about a female powerful enough to kill me, wanting me on my knees for her. No, not any female. Just one, just this one. Anyone else who wants me on my knees can get fucked, but Essa, she deserves so much more than what I can give her.

Seth falls to his knees beside me, his hands moving to reverently touch Essa's ankle, behind her calf, and then he lowers himself. His lips brush the top of her black, strappy sandals. He kisses the top of her foot, her ankle, and nuzzles against her before lifting his eyes back up to hers.

"I'd be honored to worship at your altar."

I don't need to be enough on my own. No, because I'm never on my own, and now, neither is Essa.

seventeen

Seth

Essa fumbles with the chain of my leash where it connects to her waist. It's the only sign she's not confident in her new role. I don't know what her sexual relationships were like with other males, and I don't care.

The excitement pooling off her, mixed with uncertainty, makes me think this might be as important to her as it is for us. She'll be good at taking control, though. And it's not like we want a cruel mistress. No, we want her to understand her worth and that she deserves to be worshipped. Not by anyone else, but by Adam and me? Every fucking day.

"You wish to please me?" Essa asks.

She tries to make the question rhetorical but needs an answer. She needs reassurance because she might know she's powerful, but she doesn't see that she's more than that. She deserves so much, and I want to be the one to show her.

"We want nothing more." I lift my mouth higher up her leg, trailing kisses up her calf and over her knee. I lick a line up herthigh, wanting to continue my exploration underneath the scrap of fabric she calls a skirt. "Will you let us?"

Adam's lips pull back in a snarl at my question, but Essa tightens her grip on his leash, and I swear I see him have a mini orgasm. I don't know where he's been hiding this weirdly submissive male this whole time, but it's not anything he's ever let me see. I doubt it'll be something he does for me.

"I don't know if Adam's been good enough," Essa says.

She releases his leash and steps away. I sit back on my knees, but Adam's leaning against her, and when her weight moves, he falls slightly before righting himself. His cheeks flush bright pink as he straightens, but there's no more snarling or hatred in his eyes. No, he's eager and willing and so horny it's radiating off him.

"I can be good," he says with a hint of desperation that has me biting on my lips to keep from laughing. Essa catches it and shoots me a warning glance.

"Seth," Essa says my name so sweetly that I have to stop myself from moaning.

I want her to say my name while my face is buried between her legs. It'll sound even sweeter then. She holds her hand out to me, and I take it, letting her lift me back to my feet.

I have questions, but she's leading right now. Adam's emotions are still positive, so it's working for him, too. Essa guides me back toward her bed. I chance a glance over my shoulder to see Adam watching us with pink-stained cheeks, blown-out pupils, and so much desire. He doesn't move from where he's kneeling. He just tracks us with his eyes.

"Sit," Essa says, ushering me onto the bed.

She stands in front of me, notching her body between my legs as she runs her fingers through my hair. She's gentle with her touches as she lowers her hands to my cheeks, traces the line of paint on my lips, and then works the buckle of my collar.

"Is he behaving?" Essa's voice is barely a whisper as she lays the collar on the nightstand and unclips the end of the leash from her belt. Her hands return to their perusal of my body. Fingers tracing over the swirls of paint she added to my body earlier today, smudging them as her touches grow more desperate.

"He's kneeling and watching," I tell her, my breath catching when she twirls a finger over my nipple.

I check in with Adam's emotions, making sure he's not getting upset with being left out. If anything, he seems to like it. I wouldn't peg him to be someone into being cuckolded, but here he is, sitting there watching the two people he wants ignore him to be with each other.

"Are you going to make him watch the whole time?"

Essa gives me a thoughtful look before turning around. "Crawl."

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