Page 132 of House of Crimson Hearts
“Oh, this is everything,” she says and then she’s back to kissing my apex. Licking and swiping that wicked little tongue until I relax and she’s able to work her finger in. This time it doesn’t hurt. It brings pleasure like nothing else.
She pushes her finger in deeper, then pulls it out in a rhythmic movement, all while focusing on that spot that has me shivering and gasping as waves and pulses of electricity spark through my body.
I’m trying to focus on the sensation, to understand what she’s doing so that I may do it back to her. But I can’t. My eyes squeeze shut, and I swear my soul leaves my body as I grasp my nipples, pinching them hard to ground myself. My hips rock, she moves her finger faster, faster, and then I come undone. Piece by piece, my world falls apart and all that’s left are the stars and the sky and the ripples of pleasure soaring through my body.
She holds me for a long time after that. She tells me that I bled a little but that it’s normal, and that it won’t happen again.
Once my body is calm, and I’ve recovered, we swap positions. She tells me again that I don’t have to if I’m not ready. But I have never been more ready for anything in my life.
I nuzzle between her legs and try to mimic the movements she made. It’s a mess. I catch her with my tooth, and she flinches. I can’t find where to slide into her with my hand.
But she’s patient the entire time. She tells me where to move and I inch myself up.
“A little softer, yes. YES,” she cries as I find a rhythm that works on her apex.
She guides my finger inside her and then says, “Use another.”
So I do and I find it so much easier with two.
“Harder,” she pants, and I can tell she’s enjoying it because my hand is wet and covered in her delicious excitement. It makes me lap faster and quicker and that makes her moan louder.
And then like a spell, she tightens around my fingers, and I realise she’s experiencing that magic sensation that washed through my body too and that makes me grin with delight.
When her body calms enough to release me, I pull my fingers out and clean up every drop of what she gave me. I collapse in her arms, watching the fire burn low and the sun drop beneath the horizon. It’s the most beautiful moment I’ve ever experienced.
And nothing else matters for a long, long time.
But like so many things in life, nothing ever stays the same.
There’s a rustle in the reeds on the other side of the river. We glance at each other, the blood drains from both our faces. A cloaked figure in shadows rushes away through the night and our world falls apart all over again.
Chapter33
RED
The following day, we’re all gathered at Castle St Clair for the presentation of the amulet and the point awarding for the first trial, back in front of the nobles and non-players. All of us have recovered from both the attack in the Montague Forest and the fight in the temple, but the atmosphere is tense. No one dares relax their guard.
Octavia is still smarting from having lost the challenge. She’s furious that Gabriel could have been so underhanded. We were so close to winning the trial, but he was clever and played to his strengths and she can’t disagree with that. She doesn’t have to like it either, though, which was her point.
We’re stood again in the main ballroom. The seating that surrounded the room for the partner pairing ceremony has gone, and instead, there are banquet tables dotted around the room full of groups of vampires or hunters. There is a little more blending of species, but not much. The stage has a space for Cordelia, the points display of five glass vials, one for each team, and a series of bloodstones in a bowl to the right.
Last, there’s an orchestra. Though they’re sat with their instruments between their legs, their backs straight against their chairs. As tense as the room then.
There are balconies furnished with lavish curtains and chandeliers dotted around the room. Vampire nobles occupy most of them, watching the proceedings and drinking from goblets of wine.
“I expected more of him,” Octavia mutters, still unable to let it go.
“Stop being a sore loser, we’ve plenty of time to win. Besides, he was clever, you can’t deny him that. While we were all distracted, he took advantage. And you would have done the same,” I say.
“I also won’t underestimate him again. Sadie neither. That boulder she smashed against Dahlia’s head was savage. I know there are rumours about her, but I guess I didn’t expect her to be so… so…”
“Violent?”
Octavia nods.
“You’re all vampires. Even those that seem gentle in their humanity acquire the vicious killer gene once they’re turned. You’re all capable. Why do you think the Hunter Academy exists? We’re not here for nothing.”
She nods, her lips pressed thin. “I think that I need to reassess my view of just about everything. These trials are going to be far harder than I anticipated but I am not willing to lie down and hand them to my siblings. I am one of the original three, and if anyone should rule this city next, it’s me. I am enough. Just as I am.”
