Page 157 of The Cannibal

He pulled me forward, kneeling before me as I sat in the window.

The brush of fingers by my ankles, then up my leg. As the fabric uncovered my knee, he laid a kiss on the skin, then another as he gathered the skirts.

“You remember what I told you?” I brushed my fingers through his hair.

He nodded against my skin, tipping his head to look up to me from my lap. “And if it doesn’t work?”

With a tilted head, I touched his cheek, smiling as I held his face. I leaned forward to kiss him. He reached up to hold the back of my head in place as he captured my lips.

“You were supposed to be my bride,” he whispered, cupping my cheek. Some petals from the flowers brushed against his face as they fell.

I brushed my bottom lip against his. “Then make me yours for tonight.”

“I wish to have you always, not just tonight.” With all the possessiveness of his words, he could not hide the pain in his voice.

He tipped his head to kiss my palm, then across my wrist and to my shoulder.

As he nipped at my neck, I gasped, holding him close against my skin.

“Do you know your vows?” I whispered.

He nodded as he sucked on the skin, rising to press his hips between my legs.

Every breath across my skin sent chills up my spine, every touch made me crave more of them, every heartbeat made me hurt the longer they beat together.

“To love,” he spoke against my jaw, his arms wrapping around my waist as he leaned forward.

“To cherish.” I looked up at the night sky as he peppered kisses up my neck.

“To obey.” His chin touched mine as he dipped me farther.

My arms spread wide on either side. My hair blew in the wind as the city’s lungs exhaled. I was caressed in the promise of freedom once more, it would only take a second of bravery and a single leap.

My arm hooked around his neck and I touched his face, my thumb pulling his bottom lip down, as if to prepare him to fully consume the words.

“Until death.”

“May he never find us apart.”

He lifted me, cupping under my thighs as he carried me from the window.

He swayed with each step. His mind was too busy on me and not enough on the path ahead. Our lips locked together, a fervor like we were running out of time. That somehow the wound would close if we felt enough, touched enough, loved enough of each other this night.

I fell back into the bed, caressed by the pillows and sheet before adding Silas’s hands and mouth brushing against every piece of skin he could.

My mind went back to the garden, where we made love in the grass. There was no helping ourselves when we gave in to our greater urges, into ourselves.

He lifted my chemise, kissing along my leg, then down my thigh. His forked tongue flicked out as his head went under the fabric of the gown.

The only thing keeping me quiet was the grip on the sheets and the bite on my knuckle.

The form between my legs lowered, and I felt the heat of his tongue swipe my inner thigh. His hand placed firmly on my abdomen, reaching upward to cup my breast.

Just the tickle of the noises in my ear made me close my eyes, my legs unable to still as they twitched.

The split tongue twisted along my clit before he sucked, swiping back and forth over the sensitive nerve. He then would slip it between the folds, his free hand keeping stimulation at the apex.

“Silas.” I pulled the fabric off his head.