Page 43 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

He spreads my thighs, and I try to lean up, wanting to watch him. The water bites at my wrists again, causing me to suck in a sharp breath.

This bastard.

A frigid line of water travels the length of my legs. The heat of his hand meets my folds before he parts my lips. Each movement he makes is calculated and patient. There’s a dastardly, predatory gleam in his eyes that I haven’t seen before this moment.

His head dips, but his mouth isn’t what touches me. Cold water rushes from my thighs to my clit. I gasp at the icy assault before it warms and lightly pelts against me, much like playing with a detachable shower head. Except this water changes temperature at his command, and it isn’t soaking the bed below me.

I fight to keep still, only allowing myself to praise him… Until he stops my first orgasm. Then I curse him, but the words are stolen as a moan spills from my lips with the next touch.

Again, the water starts as cold torture. The pressure increases as the temperature ebbs and flows. It fades from chilling to just hot enough in a perfect rhythm.

My core tightens as his fingers toy with my entrance. I feel as though I will lose my mind to the blistering pleasure that’s building up within me.

The water is cold once more, right as I reach the edge of release. Then it’s gone. The heat of his mouth replaces the stimulation, devouring me as my orgasm finally crests.

His name is wrenched from my mouth as I moan through the onslaught. I gently tug my wrists, using the pain to ground me as my legs begin to shake. Then the liquid restraints dissolve, and I sink my fingers into his hair as I shove his face away.

I’m too sensitive. I need a minute… And then I need another round of the Mongrels’ version of water play.

Jesus, Neptune, and Osiris.

He’s peering down at me before I can formulate any actual words. It’s as if he knows I’m about to speak, and he wants to shut me up. Because he’s suddenly kissing me into submission, nipping at my bottom lip as he lines up the head of his thick cock.

In the next instant, he thrusts into me, stealing the breath from my lungs. He’s not rough. Just slow and deep, punishing us both for grievances I’d gladly commit again if they put me in this situation.

This is the kind of drowning that sweeps a woman away.

Ecaeris moves as if he is the tides, pushing and pulling until I’m lost beneath him. Pleasure crashes into me like treacherous waves eroding a cliff’s edge. My hips meet his languid thrusts, tilting to hit the treasured depths within me.

The hurricane builds between us, speeding toward destruction and devastation. We’re an estuary; the place where the salty ocean touches the sweet river. We don’t mix, though we do collide.

Why I thought this was a good idea is beyond me, but I feel the swell of emotions twisting into something new and frightening.

My next orgasm catches up to me, silencing my thoughts as I cry out his name. I clench around him, bringing his release crashing into me. His groan is painfully savage, as if this is all he’s wanted while never wanting it to end.

Or maybe I’m projecting my thoughts.

As he stills inside me, he rests his forehead against mine. I close my eyes and smile. The tug of my lips is equal parts sated and sad.

“You’re my favorite kind of liar,” I inform him, whispering the words like they’ll startle him.

Ecaeris finally pulls away, stretching out on my left as he props his head up with his hand. His intent focus burns, leaving behind a physical caress as he gazes down at me.

“Why do you say that?”

“Tomorrow. You’ll be gone.” I shake my head as I glance at him. “And we’ll both act like this never happened.”

“Why is that your favorite?”

“Because I hate how awkward people can be after they have sex.”

His chuckle turns into a groan as he lays back, hands tucked under his head. I flip to my stomach, studying the warring emotions in the amber and blue swirls of his irises.

“We’ll have to accidentally meet in the water sometime…”

I scoff. “Sex in the water is never as fun as the woman thinks it’ll be. Been there, done that.”

“You aren’t human anymore, Ada.” A fleeting grin slips across his lips despite him trying to stop it.