The Demon Lord’s Cloak

Chapter 3

Damien turned slowly, then fought hard to mask a grin.

Voletta had pulled the coverlet up to hide her breasts and was tugging it higher still. He wondered if she was considering pulling it over her head altogether.

He pretended indifference to the fact she lay naked in his bed and covered their dishes even though it wasn’t necessary. As soon as he walked away, they’d vanish.

He strode toward her, pausing in a pool of light, and then starting with his cotte and undertunic, he untied the knots holding them together and dropped them on the floor before glancing at Voletta.

Her gaze darted away from his naked chest. Rosy color flooded her cheeks.

Her interest in his body deepened the thudding of his heart and reaffirmed his decision not to wait. When his hands began to work at the ties of his chausses, she squeezed her eyes shut,

He chuckled softly. “You may as well look, love,” he murmured. “As it is, I have the advantage of you.”

“Because you’ve seen all of me?” she bit out.

“There are some views I’ve only caught glimpses of.”

Her brows drew together in a fierce frown, then one eyelid peeked open as he began to slide the rest of his clothing down his thighs.

The other eye opened and both rounded as his cock was freed and bounded upward toward his belly. Her innocence was proven by her expression of astonishment.

He hadn’t realized how much he cared he’d be her first. The townspeople had sworn to provide only virgins, but he’d found several who had hidden their indiscretions well, although he hadn’t really cared.

Again, everything about this one was different. A primal, fierce satisfaction filled his chest, and blood rushed south to thicken his already swelling cock. No other man had taken his pleasure with her.

Watching her cheeks reddening and her mouth parting around shallow breaths, he approached her cautiously, slowly, letting her look her fill. “You have no need to fear me, Voletta. ’Tis only flesh.”

“I know,” she said breathlessly. “But I’m thinking about where that flesh must fit.”

“Don’t worry that it won’t.”

Her wide eyes filled her small face, but she scooted to the center of the bed and lifted the edge of the covers.

Damien accepted her invitation and slid beneath them, noting her body had already warmed the sheets. In no hurry to press for more intimacy, he rose on an elbow to look down on her.

She was lovely, her face almost elfish with its small pointed chin and high cheekbones. Her eyes, slightly slanted and tipped upward, blinked warily back.

He lifted his hand, careful to move slowly so he wouldn’t startle her, and stroked her cheek with the back of his fingers, enjoying her womanly softness.

“You’re very beautiful,” he murmured.

“You think so?” she asked, sounding surprised.

He almost asked if no one had ever told her that before, but didn’t want to hear about any other men.

Cupping her cheek with his palm, he slowly rasped his thumb across her fulllower lip and then slid his hand down to grip the coverlet. “May I dispense with this?”

“If you must,” she said but gripped it tighter to her chest.

“You won’t be chilled, I promise,” he said, giving it a tug.

“I’m already shivering.”

The hint of defiance in her tone pleased him. She didn’t fear him, only the act to come. He’d thought he would be days, maybe weeks from this moment. Triumph filled him with heat, drawing his balls close to his groin, tightening his belly, and readying his sex to join with her.

He drew the coverlet from her fingers and tossed it to the end of the bed, baring them both.

Voletta’s hands covered her breasts.

“Are your nipples cold?” he asked, teasing her.

“I think they are,” she whispered.

“Do they tighten?”

Her breath caught. “Why are you toying with me? You know they are sensitive.”

“To the chill in the air?” he asked, noting the air was warm.

“To your presence,” she admitted, her eyes filling, her bottom lip trembling.

Another sort of warmth crept inside his chest, lodging next to his heart. “Then we are blessed,” he said, teasing her lower lip again and earning a pouting moue that kissed his thumb.

“Why?” she asked, her voice so soft he had to lean closer.

“Your body already knows its master.”

“I have no master.”

“Shall I prove you wrong?”

Her eyes closed, and she swallowed. “Please.”

Voletta couldn’t look into his black eyes. They seemed to cast a spell over her, drawing responses she’d never dreamed of giving. Something in the darkness of them spoke of loneliness—a feeling she understood all too well, and she didn’t want to empathize with this dark, powerful man.

“Shall I tell you what I want to do?” he asked, swirling his thumb across her lips.

The movement, slow and sensual, seemed to drug her. She felt the rasp across her tight nipples where they sprang hard and alert beneath her palms. Feeling like a coward for hiding, she forced her eyes open to meet his intense gaze. “I want to know what you intend to do.”

His long body nestled closer to her side, his cock brushing her thigh, then resting there, heavy and hard. Its presence disturbed her more than she cared to admit. A promise lay in the thick, satiny flesh that throbbed slower than her racing heart.

“My hands will cup you here and here,” he whispered, moving his hand from her face to press the backs of hers, then resting heavily upon her belly. “My lips will follow to suckle them gently until you clasp the back of my head to deepen my caress.”

Voletta shook her head. “I’d never do that.”

His lips curved at the corners. “Oh, you will. Heat will travel as fast as lightning to dampen your woman’s flesh, and you’ll begin to writhe.”

She wrinkled her nose, pretending disgust when her woman’s flesh was already becoming embarrassingly wet. “I cannot believe I’ll writhe,” she lied.

“You’ll be so overcome by your passion,” he said, so close his breath tickled her ear, “you’ll spread your legs eagerly and beg me to kiss you there. You’ll demand I use my tongue to tease and lap—”

“Never!” she said, scowling at his crudeness. “The very thought—”

“Excites you, doesn’t it?” When she opened her mouth to voice another protest, his finger pressed her lips closed. “Doesn’t it?”

When he lifted his hand, she whispered, “Yes,” with more longing than she’d wanted to reveal.

His eyes searched her face. “Are you still frightened?”

“I never really was.”

“Shall I begin?”

“What must I do?”

“Not a thing. Let this be my gift to you.” Then he came over her, his body settling atop hers, pressing her deep into the mattress. “Can you breathe?”

Of course she couldn’t, but not because he squeezed the air from her lungs. He rested on his elbows, supporting the weight of his broad chest.

“I’m fine,” she said, her words clipped due to the shortness of her breath.

“I can see that. Do you gasp often?”

Had he only crawled atop her to torment her into submission? “Will you touch me now?” she asked, mortified as soon as she blurted out the words.

“Are you already begging?” he asked, a lopsided grin stretching his mouth.

“No! Only wondering if you are keeping with your plan.”

“I’m thinking of changing my direction,” he said, staring at her mouth.

“If you veer, how will I be prepared?”

His gaze narrowed, sending her heart racing faster. “Are you going to argue with me the entire time I make love to you?”

Voletta swallowed, then rolled her eyes. “Probably.” At his soft laughter, she felt a smile tug at her lips.

“Is this helping?”

“Helping?”

“To settle your unease.”

She nodded, fearing another word from her might send him into gales of laughter at her pride’s expense.

“Good.” The amusement in his expression faded, and he swooped down, pressing his lips to hers.

Voletta murmured, wanting to speak to end the torment tightening her body, needing to move against him as his kiss deepened.

His face slanted to better align their noses. His lips sipped and bit at her lips, tender little bites that fueled her ardor. When his tongue swept into her mouth, she grew silent beneath him at last, touching his tongue with hers, then thrusting into his mouth so their kiss melded, just as their bodies soon would.

She had no fear he’d harm her. Felt no reluctance to venture deeper into this passion. With her heart beating asloud as a drum inside her head, she lifted her hands and clasped the back of his head, threading her fingers deep into his dark hair to hold him there.

When he drew away, she moaned, gasping for breath as he moved down her body, his lips and tongue tracing a path along her neck, down her chest until he was fulfilling his vow to ravage her breasts.

His lips drew on the hard little buds, his tongue swirling on the tips, and her hips did indeed rise and fall, writhing against his belly and his chest as he moved lower, his fingers slipping between her dampened folds to part them.

When his mouth sucked on her nether lips, Voletta’s eyes shot open, and her hands twisted in the bedding. Her hips rocked up and down, seeking a deeper caress…until finally, his wicked, wicked tongue lapped between her folds, stroking into her opening, laving upward, touching on the hardened little kernel at the top of her sex that seemed to swell larger the more he touched it.

Suddenly, Voletta screamed. She was outside herself, exploding upward, the light narrowing as darkness enfolded her, wrapping her in a delightful, boneless lethargy as she fell back against the covers. She closed her eyes, dragging in deep breaths, feeling as though she’d run miles across a meadow.

“What have you done to me?” she gasped.

“Given you pleasure, little one.”

Voletta’s hands fell on the pillow beside her head, and she didn’t care that her legs were splayed wide, her knees arched, his shoulders clasped tightly between her quivering thighs.

As the last rapturous pulses faded from inside her and her knees opened to fall languorously apart, she wondered if he’d killed her.

Damien’s hands slid beneath her buttocks to cup the soft globes, ready to take her again. He’d tasted her passionandfelt it slide onto his tongue in a creamy trickle. He’d have her again and feast on the flavor of her pleasure. He just needed her to wake up to begin again.

However, she lay with her mouth still agape, her hands tucked like little birds within the tangle of her hair. He bent over her and rolled his face against her moist folds, coating his chin and mouth with her essence. Lord, how he’d missed the taste of awoman.

Somehow, he didn’t think any before her had ever been as sweet or fresh of scent. Her cries when she’d surrendered to her release still rang in his ears. Sharp, enthusiastic—howling, nearly yipping at the end.

Would she awaken embarrassed by her enjoyment? Damien pressed a kiss to the red little button that peaked from beneath its hood. Still, she didn’t stir.

Sighing, he crawled up her body and, once again, hovered over her, waiting for her to open her eyes.

His cock surged against her soft belly, and he gritted his teeth. He was old enough, experienced enough to withhold his own pleasure. His hips ground once, just to relieve the ache building in his balls, and he moaned.

Voletta stirred, and she widened her legs, her thighs moving restlessly alongside his.

“Don’t move,” he whispered.

Her inner thighs tightened, just a light, aimless squeeze, and Damien lifted his buttocks, settling his cock between her legs. The length of him rested along the furrow of her sex, still wet and steamy from his efforts.

A little tentative glide, and he knew he wasn’t in control, wasn’t able to even wait until she roused.

His cock pulsed against her, and his belly jumped.

He pressed his face into the corner of her shoulder and gathered up her thighs, hooking his arms beneath them. Then centering his cock at her entrance, he slowly pushed inward.

Voletta came awake, her eyes rounding as he pressed into her. “Oh God! Stop!”

Her opening constricted around the head of his cock as her body resisted his intrusion. Damien’s teeth ground together. “You must let me ease inside.”

“I must? You said you wouldn’t cause me pain.”

“Damnation!” he growled and eased out, then rolled to his back beside her. His balls ached for release, and he gripped his cock, determined to give himself release before he lost control completely and frightened the woman to death.

“Are you in pain?”

“Yes,” he ground out. He dropped his hand from his cock and splayed his legs to ease the pressure in his ballocks. “No,” he amended. “I only ache.”

A sniff beside him drew his attention from his own distress. “Are you crying?” Had he hurt her?

“Of course not. Your scent is ripening.”

“You have a keen nose,” he muttered.

“You’re aroused.”

“And keen insight,” he growled.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

Damien drew a deep breath and forced himself to relax. “No, I should have waited until you were ready. It’s my fault.”

“This whole experience is very enlightening.”

Damien grunted, trying to concentrate on breathing, inhaling slowly, exhaling even slower to lengthen his heartbeats and ease the fullness of his cock.

“If I were to be completely honest, I’d say that was the most…curious experience of my life.”

The woman obviously liked to talk in the afterglow of her release. Sighing, Damien put an arm beneath his head, determined to listen closely to what she said. Perhaps following the meanderings of her mind would take his own thoughts off his dilemma. “I take it you’ve never felt passion?”

“Oh no. I’m a virgin.” Her head turned toward him, her brows drawing into a worried frown. “I am still, aren’t I?”

“Decidedly so,” he said with wry amusement.

“And yet, I feel changed somehow. Lighter of spirit.”

“I gave you pleasure.”

“Pleasure,” she wrinkled her nose. “Well, it wasn’t quite like rolling in a field of flowers or tasting a particularly sweet strawberry. I’m not sure pleasure is the right word.”

“How would you describe it?” he asked, starting to enjoy the silly conversation.

“Well, parts of it were uncomfortable.”

“Which ones?”

She shrugged, the movement lifting her breasts. “Should we be talking about it?”

“We can say anything to each other. We’re lovers now.”

“Well, perhaps you’re mine, but I would think I don’t qualify until I’ve participated.”

He liked her logic. “You have a point. But go on. Which parts were uncomfortable?”

“Most of it, actually. My body was wound so tightly, I felt almost ill—until that last moment, that is.”

“You felt ill? Sickened?”

“More like everything inside me was constricting, and I couldn’t breathe easily. My heart raced so fast I thought it would stop.” She turned her face on the pillow, looking directly into his eyes. “Actually, I believe it did.”

“For that last moment?” he asked, smiling.

“I suppose you think I’m terribly stupid.”

“No. Sweet.”

“The thing is,” she said, pausing to take a deep breath, “even though it was terribly confusing…and almost frightening…I want to do it again.”

Damien felt more of his tension ease. He’d truly pleased her. He lifted his hand and traced a finger along the side of her cheek. “Perhaps you’d like to try something different this time,” he said, trying to keep his tone casual.

“Oh no!” she said, enthusiasm brightening her gaze. “I’d like exactly the same thing again.”

Perhaps he’d pleased her too well. “If I tell you I can produce the same sensations inany of a hundred different ways, would you be willing to experiment?”

Her golden eyes widened. “A hundred different ways?” she breathed.

He nodded, enjoying the way her teeth nibbled on her lower lip as she considered his proposition. What would it feel like to have those teeth nibble on the soft skin at the head of his cock?

“Will you kiss me again?”

“Of course,” he said, then added slyly, “but which set of lips would you prefer?”

Her mouth gaped. Violent color flooded her cheeks. “Sir, you shouldn’t say such things!”

“If I am to know what pleases you, you must tell me.”

Voletta’s chin lifted in the air. “I think our experiment will be cut short,” she said, her tone prim.

With a soft laugh, he clasped her wrist and pulled her onto her side so they faced each other, chests and knees coming together. She smiled shyly as they arranged their legs more comfortably, her thigh slipping between his.

He cupped her stubborn chin, forcing up her gaze. “Will you trust me then to guide you? Will you allow me to do anything I wish?”

Voletta’s smile dimmed, and her eyelids dipped, cutting off his window into her thoughts. “In this bed,” she said, her words measured, “I will let you lead.”