I trusted her with more than my life.
Deftly, Faylinn reached over and sliced the inside of my left forearm. There was a slight sting from where the blade kissed my flesh, but her overwhelming scent flooded my senses and took away any pain I would have felt. Just as soon as sheappeared, she left my side, walked to the other side of the bed, and repeated the action on Gisei. I heard her hiss a breath of pain, and Faylinn murmured some soft-spoken words too quietly for me to hear before reappraising at my side, her finger coated in Gisei’s blood.
With precise movements, she sketched the Bonding Rune on my arm, the touch of her skin on mine lighting a fire in my blood. She wiped her finger on one of the towels before pushing the sleeve of her dress up to the crook of her elbow and, with no hesitation, shallowly cut her own skin. Dipping her finger in her own blood, she traced the lines of the rune once more, muttering ancient words I couldn’t even begin to understand.
The rune on my skin glowed hot, but the heat didn’t burn—it simply felt like it was absorbing into my skin, my soul. Faylinn delicately swiped a few droplets of my blood from the cut on my arm before quickly repeating the process with Gisei.
Once she traced Gisei’s Bonding Rune with her own blood, I felt the rune heat further before it glowed softly, sinking into my skin to return as a tattoo—the black ink shiny and stark against my skin.
I felt immediate relief—the headache that was a constant pounding presence since the sickness first appeared ebbed and disappeared nearly entirely, the pain in my chest eased, and I felt like I could breathe deep for the first time in months.
Shakily, I inhaled and exhaled, testing the weight of the Bond that I felt nestled deep within my chest. She was there—Gisei—and I could feel her empty wells of power. They were small, much smaller than I could normally pull, but I at least had a lifeline, a way to survive.
“Thank you,” I rasped to Faylinn as she silently cleaned and bandaged Gisei’s and my cuts. “Don’t forget your own,” I said, nodding my head toward the slice on her arm.
Faylinn said nothing, her face a complete stone mask, but her lips quirked slightly. “I can handle a slight slice, General.” She vaguely indicated the scars on her arms—both from creating runes and from the time she couldn’t remember—and I winced both at the action and at her use of my formal name.
What did you expect? You Bonded someone and made her perform the ceremony.
“Now, the Bond will need to be sealed with . . . intimacy. I will check back in a few?—”
“Rune Master,” Gisei said, cutting off her attempt to flee. “Will you please wait in the sitting room in case we need . . . assistance? I know there are Bond Specialists that help with that sort of thing in the temple but, seeing as we’re not at the temple, I would feel more comfortable if you stayed. Just in case.”
Faylinn’s cheeks reddened, but she jerkily nodded her head before gathering her effects from the table, leaving the clear bottle of lube like a lone, mocking statue. The door clicked shut, bathing my bedroom in a blanket of silence.
I quietly willed my dick to rise of its own accord—Lex assured me that’s what happened to him with both his Bonds—but there was no movement downstairs. Not even a twitch.
He did say I may need some more . . . stimulation with a Forced Bond.
Just the thought made me cringe.
The covers rustled and the bed dipped as Gisei moved until she was perched on her knees between my thighs. The blankets still covered my nakedness, but she worked quickly to remove that final barrier.
I glued my eyes to her bent knees, not wanting to actually look at her.
Why don’t I want to see her naked? She’s my Bonded. What iswrongwith me?
“Can I . . .” Gisei’s hand flashed in my vision as she gestured to my soft cock. I jerkily nodded my head once and involuntarily tensed at the idea of her hands touching me.
It felt like I was being unfaithful to Faylinn—a woman I’d never fucked, never had a relationship with above or beyond our close friendship. But I couldn’t get the feeling of betrayal out of my head.
I closed my eyes as Gisei’s small, cold palm wrapped around my dick. She squeezed once before tugging on it lightly, testing the weight of me in her palm.
“You’re the largest I’ve ever been with,” she admitted quietly, and I grunted in response, not wanting nor needing to hear her platitudes.
Gisei’s hand worked at my flaccid dick, tugging from root to tip in an effort to get me hard. Her other hand joined at one point, holding me at the base and rolling my balls while the other continued to pull.
I tried desperately to feelsomething, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t will my dick hard.
This is a disaster.
“Maybe my mouth would help,” Gisei remarked quietly before abandoning her hand on my shaft and adjusting her position so her lips met the crown of my cock. She kissed it lightly, her tongue feathering over the slit there before pulling me fully into her mouth. Even soft, I touched the back of her throat, but it was easier for her to swallow around me and massage my shaft with her tongue.
Her mouth moved with expertise precision, every suck and lick belaying experience. But nothing did it. Nothing worked.
At some point, I opened my eyes and watched as her naked back flexed slightly with each bob of her head. When she was like this, I couldn’t see her face and it was easier to pretend that she was someone I wanted.
Minutes passed and an erection never appeared. Eventually she let my now wet dick fall from her mouth before sitting back on her heels. This time, I did let my eyes trail over her body, hoping to spark some sort of lust.
