He was quiet for a long moment before turning around.
“What if something goes wrong?” He ran his fingers through his long brown hair. “What if something happens to you?”
Ava came closer. She took his face in both her hands. His eyes were closed, his chest rising and falling. “Cas. Look at me.”
He opened his eyes, wet with the hint of tears, and pressed his forehead to hers. “I can’t lose you,” he rasped. His hands moved to her hips. “I want to be there to protect you.”
“I know. But you trust me, right? That I can handle myself?”
“Of course I trust you, love. My desire to protect you has nothing to do with what I think you’re capable of. Iknowyou can handle yourself. I just don’t want you to have to.” He cupped her face. “And knowing you’ll be facing him alone and I can’t be there…It makes my heart feel like it’s going to explode. It fights against every instinct within me to keep you safe.”
Her eyes prickled with tears. This was one of the things she loved most about him. He was fiercely protective without being possessive. Always supported and encouraged her independence. Had always believed in her even when she hadn’t believed in herself.
“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’m so damned scared…But I know this is the right thing. It’s what I have to do.”
He swallowed, placing a kiss on her nose. “I’m not going to stop you. But I still don’t like it.”
She leaned in and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. Closing her eyes, she inhaled his scent, reveling in the quiet. The peace. The calm before the storm. She traced a sliver of skin at the vee of his tunic, moving her finger in soft circles as she let his embrace steady her. His fingers threaded through her hair as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.
Tilting her head, she placed a subtle kiss on his neck. He shivered. She wanted to be close to him…needed to. To forget about her task; to not think…and just feel. They both needed this.
She traced his face with her fingers, sliding down his jaw, his neck, and gripping his tunic. Leaning in, Casimir’s lips met hers gently, kissing her in a way that spoke without words.
Running her hands further down his chest, she untucked his shirt. He gripped the back with his fist, and pulled it off in one swift movement, briefly breaking their kiss before he claimed her lips again. Casimir’s tongue met hers with a desperate moan and she ran her hands down the hard planes of his chest, through the dusting of hair. Lower she explored, tracing the muscles leading to the V disappearing below his trousers.
She palmed his hard length over his pants. He growled into her mouth.
Ava brushed her lips down his neck, licking and nipping his flesh, worshiping him as he had worshiped her. Hands roaming, she continued to torment him, her lips trailing down his chest, his abs, until she was on her knees. She ran her tongue along his abdomen, just above his waistband. His entire body shuddered.
She stared at him from beneath her lashes.
His expression had shifted, his pupils enlarged. Unbuttoning his pants, she allowed them to fall to his feet, his cock springing free. She wrapped a hand around the base, her thumb brushing the underside. Casimir cursed, watching her, his chest heaving.
She pumped him twice, tightening her grasp as she teased the tip with her tongue, tasting the saltiness of him. He groaned. Tilting her head, she ran her tongue along his entire length.
“Ava.” His voice was gravelly.
Swirling her tongue along the head again, she twisted her hand and moved it up and down.
She wanted to make him feel good. Wanted to help him forget what they were both terrified of. What tomorrow could bring. The horrors they would face.
So, tonight she would show him how much he meant to her.
Squeezing the base, she took him in her mouth, allowing him deeper. His hands immediately went to her head, fingers threading through her hair. “Fuck.”
Moving her hands to his thighs, she let him guide her further, let him take control. His hips began to move, and she hollowed her cheeks as she sucked him, looking up and meeting his feral gaze. Reaching a hand beneath her own pants, she prepared to touch herself, overcome with desire and the need for release.
“No, princess,” he ordered. She whimpered around him,causing him to moan again. “Don’t touch yourself. Let me be the one to make you come.”
A moan left her lips at his words and he gasped at the vibrations, pushing down her throat farther, his grip tightening in her hair. Ava let him continue to thrust in her mouth, never breaking eye contact. He pulled her back with a pop and she gasped, panting as he fisted her hair, looking down at her.
His finger traced her cheek. “So beautiful,” he breathed.
Releasing her, he stepped out of his pants, and stroked himself.
“Stand up and take off your clothes.”
She shivered at the command, rising and tossing her clothing to the side. His eyes took her in, raking over her with hunger as if memorizing every inch. He closed the distance between them and took her chin in between his thumb and forefinger.
