Page 153 of Crown of Olympus
Her thighs tensed around my ears, her toes curling with every stroke as I dragged her closer to that damned edge.
And when I finally sucked that tiny piece of her into my mouth, she ruptured. Nyssa cried out, uncaring who might hear. Her whole body arched into me as she broke.
It was better than anything I’d ever imagined.
Her delicate hands gripped the edge of the bench. Her long legs trembled. The tension in her body finallysnappedlike a twig underfoot.
It was beautiful.
Shewas beautiful.
I felt her shatter, every piece of her unravelling against my mouth. My vision narrowed to her — just her, and the way she fell apart at my touch. The echo of her release lingered on my tongue; the feeling of her surrender clung to my fingertips.
And a damp patch soaked through my pants — one not caused by the still-running shower.
A blush crept over her pretty cheeks as she straightened. Before she could speak, my hand was cradling her head once more. I leaned over her, tilting her face towards mine.
I kissed her, deeply, fully, knowing she could taste herself on my lips; knowing that as much as I wished it weren’t so, this moment was only temporary.
Her hand grazed the already hardening bulge in my pants, eliciting a hiss from my lips. It almost tore me in two, but I pulled back gently, kissed her forehead, and straightened.
I could not tear my eyes from her. I knew they were swirling, on the verge of a lightning show. It was taking every ounce of control I had left not to turn her bathroom into a symphony of lights and moans. And I wouldn’t have been at all surprised to hear that the Underworld’s starlit sky had been lighting up for the last ten minutes.
My breaths were ragged, echoed by hers, and my pulse raced in my throat. I yearned to scoop her up and never let go. But I knew I needed to leave, to put some distance between us, lest I rush her into something she might later regret.
I had been captivated by this woman for twenty fucking years, fifteen of those spent longing for her touch. A little longer wouldn’t kill me. Though my balls throbbed painfully, suggesting otherwise.
“Caelus?” Nyssa whispered. “I want more. I want to taste you too.”
I shook my head, temptation raging painfully through every inch of me.
“Not tonight. I told you once that I need this to be more than temporary. And unless you’ve changed your mind about this being a one-night deal, I won’t take this any further. I can’t.”
Her silence said more than any answer she could have given.
Even though it damn near killed me to pull away, I did, reaching back to grab a soft green towel and placed it beside her on the bench.
Through the thread that bound our souls — the one I suspected she felt but didn’t yet understand — I sensed her inner turmoil. She wanted this. But she couldn’t forgive what she didn’t understand.
I left her to finish showering alone, following her scent to her bedchamber. It was exactly what I expected from the daughter of Hades: black, elegant, immaculate. I had no idea which clothes to grab for her though, and I floundered around through a chest of drawers aimlessly, until a large violet snout entered my field of vision.
Nyssa’s dragon slammed the drawer shut with her nose, fixing me with one large, golden eye before retrieving a scrap of silk from a hanger. She tossed it at me, then gestured back towards where I’d left a sodden goddess in the bathroom.
“This is what she wears to bed?” I asked the beast, groaning at the scandalous length.
Tonight was going to be thehardestnight of my life.
Part Three
CROWNS & CONSEQUENCES
“Grief teaches the steadiest minds to waver.”
— SOPHOCLES,ANTIGONE
CHAPTER 44
Nyssa
