Page 64 of The Deathless One
But no, she kissed like a vixen and devoured him whole.
Jessamine sucked his lower lip into her mouth, biting slightly at one of his old scars before laving it with her tongue. She didn’t shy away from any mark on him. No, she read them with her fingers, holding on to his jaw with a surprisingly strong grip as she turned the kiss into something she controlled.
Jessamine consumed him. Her fingers dug into his biceps, digging into the old scar tissue there. She kissed him as though she wanted him to crawl inside her.
And fuck, he wanted to. He wanted to lay her down in this meadow that smelled like crushed grass and far-off lavender fields. He wanted to cover her body with his, and then he wanted to discover how she tasted in every place that made her gasp with pleasure.
He’d forgotten this, too. The way that pleasure could be so addicting and how the little mewls that a woman let out in the back of her throat could captivate a man.
Sliding his free hand down her side, he moved it up to feel the delicate flutters of her ribs as she breathed in and out, ragged lungs dragging in air with every breath. He palmed her breast, feeling the hard bead of her nipple beneath his thumb as he gently squeezed the globe in his grip. He wanted more. So much more.
“Summon me,” he breathed against her lips. “Summon me now, Jessamine. Let me lie you down on a bed and not a dream.”
As soon as the words were pressed against those pillow-soft lips, she froze. He felt her stiffen in his arms, as though he had broken some spell and suddenly, she realized what they were doing.
She slowly pulled away, her lips clinging to his until the very last moment. And he let her go. He had to let her go, because she couldn’t find it in her to summon him even now.
Even when she had gifted him with a taste of her passion, she still didn’t trust him. Or perhaps it was merely that she was frightened of what he would do.
Or what she saw in his eyes.
Jessamine stared up into his gaze, and then she slowly shook her head. “I think I should wake up now.”
“Jessamine.” He drew out the sound of her name, not knowing if he was groaning it or begging her to stay. Words he wanted to say pressed against his tongue.
Don’t leave me here alone.
I don’t want to suffer without you.
The taste of your kisses is worth days of pain.
But he said nothing else as her shaking hand rose to trace his lips one last time. Then she faded out of his arms, disappearing back into the realm where her body waited for her mind.
She took all the color with her. All of it fled bit by bit, fading into shades of gray before the ink claimed it.
He sank to the ground in a puddle of black ink, villainous hands reaching for him already. All he could see was that bitter darkness and the memories that called out for him, because oh, he had done this before.
He had fallen for a witch, only to realize that he was nothing to her but a tool to be used and a pawn to die by her hand. He knew what it was to be discarded.
The speed with which he’d fallen for this one would surely lead him to ruin.
Jessamine sat up straight, breathing hard and blinking back into reality. She hadn’t just…
Theyhadn’t just…
No. There was no way she had kissed him. He wouldn’t have let her do that. The almost-kiss by the statue had been a mistake, but this was a disaster. Besides, an ancient god wouldn’t waste his time with a mortal woman like her. He’d likely had more partners than she could imagine. Hundreds of beautiful women who had thrown themselves into the opportunity to kiss a god. To do a lot more than just that. Kissing a human must make him feel like she had no talent in the arts of seduction at all.
Groaning, she ran her hand down her face before stopping at her lips. Her kiss-swollen lips that made her feel a little drunk the moment she touched them.
Because shehadkissed him. Like some wanton little witch, she had wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and drawn him down to her lips so she could suck on his bottom lip. She’d kissed him with all the desire in her body that she’d kept pent up for years. For much longer than she’d known him. Jessamine had put all her heart and soul into that kiss, and she was an idiot for doing so.
“You all right, girl?” a voice called out.
Looking up, she realized that a woman, a dirty rag around her head, was leaning out her window, peering down from the third story.
“Fine!” she called out, trying very hard to smile and make it seem likeshe wasn’t beating herself up for stupid decisions. “Just a lot of bad choices last night!”
“Stupid to linger in the streets,” the woman scoffed. “You have heard there’s more infected in the city now, haven’t you? That new king is bringing them in droves by the day.” With a shake of her head, she withdrew, slamming the window shut.
