Page 18 of Elegy of Twilight
I said, “I knew I sensed good in you.”
“It’s not good that you sense,” he murmured.
This time, when he pressed his lips against mine, I was both ready and not ready at all. I closed my eyes, fingers tightening on the rock-hard muscles of his arms. He pressed one hand against the small of my back, the other tangling in my hair as his tongue twisted around mine. Fingers inched the skirt of my dress upward before he scooped me into his arms.
“Not here,” he said, glancing at the sky as though the stars were watching, judging us. “Close your eyes,” he commanded.
Swallowing hard, I obeyed, and he carried me away, past the music of the waterfall, back into themusty caverns. “Stay with me tonight,” he whispered, laying me gently on a bed.
I opened my eyes, rising on my elbows. Titus walked across the room, lighting candles, which gave me a view of the hallowed place. Unlike the first place he’d taken me to, this was an actual bedroom. Shadows flickered, displaying the crimson sheets, sheer drapery surrounding the bed, carpets covering the floor, and on the furniture sat thick candles, giving the room a romantic glow.
Statues covered one wall; some were half-carved, and others completed. All were of nude creatures—half-human, half-creature figures in various stances. A series of antlers reared from one wall, and then a table was covered with rough-shaped wood, strings, and, oh, half-made lutes. By all appearances, he was an artist, a hunter, and a musician, a connoisseur of fine things.
“This is your home,” I said. What kind of man lived in a cave? A man with something to hide. An outlaw.
Titus stretched out beside me and rolled to his side, placing a hand on my belly so that I lay flat on my back, staring up at him.
“This is where I dwell,” he admitted. “For now.”
I tore my eyes away from the temptation of hislips and studied what the shadows revealed. Seeing his home was like seeing a piece of him and grasping the truth of his soul. He did have passions and work that brought him joy, but in the unfinished work lay a sort of desperation and frustration as though it wasn’t good enough and then. . resignation that it would never be complete as intended and thus lay unfinished.
My breath hitched as his fingers explored, tiptoeing up my chest, delving underneath the folds of my clothes. My heart hammered as Titus traced my runes, a worshipful expression on his face as he tugged my dress down, exposing one bare breast. I gasped at his boldness, but his hand palmed my breast, fingers gently stroking my erect nipple.
“Even your nipple is silver,” he said, awe and wonder in his tone.
Bending his dark head, his mouth closed around my nipple, and he sucked, teeth nipping me.
“Titus,” I moaned.
He released my breast, although his tongue flickered out to lick my nipple. “You’re a virgin, aren’t you?”
I didn’t have to respond. He knew.
“I don’t want you to fall in love with mebecause?—”
“I’m not going to fall in love with you. It’s against my vows.”
He squeezed my nipple, drawing another gasp from my lips. “Isn’t this against your vows? I don’t hear you begging me to stop.”
I closed my eyes. “I’m conflicted. I want you to stop, and I want you to keep going.”
“Because it is forbidden, and what is forbidden is delicious and decadent. It’s tempting, and you want to know because it is denied to you. I will give you a taste of pleasure and let you decide.”
His hand moved down my belly, resting on my thigh. “Trust me, you’re going to enjoy this.”
Trusting Titus was stupid and foolish, but I was already in his lair, and I’d succumbed to his kiss. Nothing within me wanted to leave, and I was aware I couldn’t without his blessing. I sensed if I asked, he’d yield to my request. I needed him to guide me home, but not right now. So I didn’t protest as he pressed his hot mouth against mine, and his fingers explored.
He leaned over me, fingers roaming up the sensitive spots of my inner thigh. Was it bliss, or was it torture? I couldn’t tell for a thousand sensations fired through me.
All sense of shame and embarrassmentevaporated under one desperate need, but I didn’t know what it was for until he touched me there.
A bloom of pleasure creased over me, and I let out a sigh of relief as I soared into bliss.
I felt as though I’d run a thousand miles only to reach my destination with good news, the best news, but I gasped and gasped for breath, my chest heaving, Titus’s fingers playing across my body as though I were his lute. Indeed, how he’d made me sing, what magic, what sorcery.
When I opened my eyes, his face hovered just above me, his eyes dark and his expression unreadable. He traced a finger down the curve of my cheek across my lips, pressing his thumb into my mouth.
“There, my moon goddess, you have ascended,” he whispered.
