Page 21 of The Bartered Soul

“Patience, Andromeda. I told you I would make sure you find your pleasure. Would you like me to tell you what I want to do to you?”

“Yes,” I pant through my longing, running my hands over my body, clutching my breasts.

“I’m going to tease every inch of you until you are begging me for more.” He kneels on the bed, leaning his body across mine while I recline beneath him. His tongue trails up the sensitive side of my neck until he is breathing against the shell of my ear. “Then, I’m going to make you come so loudly that every man on this ship hears your screams, and knows that you’re mine,” he whispers, pressing his nakedness against me. His words are a dark promise, and I part my legs in wantonness, whimpering with desire.

Lennox slides his length between my thighs, teasing me again, and I arch my hips in response, desperate for the feel of him inside me. But instead, he leaves a trail of kisses along my neck, sucking at the tender spot where it meets my shoulder.

“Lennox. Oh Goddess,” I gasp, as heat surges through me under his touch.

Then, he cups my breast in his rough hand and takes my nipple in his mouth, sucking and nipping it until I writhe beneath him. Trying to rub against him. I can feel his smile as he treats my other breast to the same attention and continues to kiss down my belly, stopping just below my navel. I clutch his hair in my hands and raise my hips again, begging with my body for him to take me.

He slides his hot mouth against me, kissing and licking back up to my breasts, where he nips at me again before smiling up at me with a wicked gleam in his emerald eyes. When he slides one long finger through my slick core I buck beneath him, unable to control my reactions to this delicious torture. As he slowly slides his finger inside of me, he whispers against my neck, “Is this the kind of distraction you desired, my pretty priestess?”

I’m so engulfed in the pleasure he is wringing from me that I can’t form words as he presses the heel of his hand against my aching core, sliding a second finger inside of me, so I pull his mouth to mine in answer, fisting his hair between my fingers.

“That’s right. Come for me,” Lennox murmurs against my lips. My climax coils as he claims my mouth, sliding in and out of me while rubbing against the sensitive bundle of nerves until I come undone.

“Oh, Goddess!” I pant, still gripping his hair in my hands as I bury my face against his shoulder. Once my waves of pleasure stop, he smirks in satisfaction, biting his lip with his brow raised in question.

“Are you distracted enough, Andromeda? Or do you need more?”

I raise my hips to rub against his arousal in answer, reaching my arms up to clasp the back of his head, and bring his mouth back to mine.

“I want you inside me, now.”

“Thank fuck.” He smirks as he teases my entrance, slippery and ready for him.

Slowly, he slides inside of me, and I gasp at the sensation of him filling me. He smiles against my mouth in a gentle kiss, before it shifts to something deeper, needier, as he moves his hips against me.

When I run my hands down his back, my fingers trace over thick scars running along his skin. He stills for a moment, pulling away from my lips as he stares down at me. His jaw is tightly clenched as his eyes meet mine, but he resumes his motion once my hands reach his hips. I pull him closer, clutching him as our bodies move together. I found my pleasure, and now I want him to have his.

“Take me from behind,” I murmur, bringing my mouth back against his as he thrusts. He pauses, pulling out for a moment, while I roll over. His hands grip tightly on my hips as he yanks them into the air, and I gasp when he thrusts into me.

“Fuck, Andromeda,” Lennox groans while I moan into the pillows, clenching his length. His fingers wind into my hair, tugging it firmly while he keeps up a punishing pace. It isn’t long before he finds his release, growling a moan as he finishes.

A few moments pass, his body draped over my back while we are still joined, before he slowly slides out of me. I collapse onto the feather bed, and he turns to lay beside me. His fingers gently skim my spine, then over the smooth skin of my backside and thighs. I cannot help but smile to myself at the gentle caress. When I turn my head to look at him, he is smiling at me – not the wicked grin I am used to, but a small, genuine smile of contentment. I can’t help but return the look and lean over to kiss him gently.

“Was that distracting enough?” his chest rumbles with a laugh when we break apart.

“I believe it will be sufficient, Captain. Thank you,” I reply coyly, a blush creeping over my pale flesh.

He settles onto his back, a hand behind his head, almost as relaxed as when he slept beside me after my attack. I swallow hesitantly, but can’t help but ask, “What happened to your back?”

Any sense of relaxation is gone at my inquiry. His body tenses, the lines on his face deepening, and I instantly regret my decision to question him. Surely such injuries bring back terrible memories.

“I’ll tell you,” he says finally, “if you tell me why you ran down the streets and hid like a rabbit being chased by hounds.”

My breath is ragged, but I nod. “Deal.”

Chapter 13

LENNOX

A long exhale fortifies me before I begin. This isn’t what I thought we would discuss immediately after she begged me to bed her. But then again, I hadn’t expected her to be the one begging. I imagined I would be spending far more time seducing her than I have, so nothing is going to plan. But, a deal is a deal.

Rehashing this history is made only slightly better by having her naked body next to mine, where I can admire her round backside, and freely touch her soft hair as she lays on her stomach waiting for me to speak.

“When I was twenty-one, I was pressed into service aboard one of Blackwell’s ships. They ambushed me on the docks when I was visiting town from my village. I was not an obedient sailor, and I was rewarded with the cat. Often. The only good thing that happened on that ship was that I learned to sail and to be cruel.”

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