Page 110 of His Eternal Claim

I shake my head.

“You have something…” Zagreus murmurs.

“Where?”

I reach up to wipe my lower lip.

“Allow me.” He dips his index finger into the thick, sweet cream, and before I can protest, he leans across the small table and smears it across the center of my collarbone, right where the lace of my dress dips low.

My breath catches, a shiver rippling down my spine.

Oh.

His eyes darken to the colour of a stormy sea as he stands up from his chair. He stops right beside my chair. His hand stretches back out to the low table nearby, dragging the forgotten dessert platter into our space. The rich scent of dark chocolate and ripe strawberries fills the air.

“You think you’re ready for me to just take you?” Zagreus asks, as he picks up a ripe strawberry, rolling it between his fingers as his eyes trail down the length of my body. “We’re going to take our time. Every single second of it.”

A wave of rebellion surges through me, fueled by the wine and the certainty of his obsession. I don’t want to just sit here and be consumed; I want to push him just as hard as he pushes me.

I shift on the leather cushion, get on my knees and make him sit on the chair and crawl forward until I am directly between his thighs. I look up at him through my lashes, my heart hammering a fierce rhythm as I reach out and take the strawberry from his hand.

“Who said you get to make all the rules?” I whisper.

Zagreus’s hands grip the edges of the chair, his knuckles turning white as his grey eyes darken to near-black. A low, warning growl vibrates in his chest, his jaw tightening as he watches me take control of the space between us.

“Careful, baby,” he rasps. “You’re playing with an absolute monster right now, and I promise you; I don’t break easily.”

“Then let’s see how much you can take,” I reply, my fingers sliding up his chest to unbutton his shirt, determined to unravel every bit of his control.

I part the fabric of his shirt, my nails scraping lightly against the hardness of his chest. His heart thuds rapidly and heavily beneath my palms.

I reach back toward the platter, my fingers wrapping around the stem of a deep red strawberry. Keeping my gaze locked onto his stormy grey eyes, I drag the fruit slowly down my own body, intentionally coating it in the slick, tight heat. The contrast of the cool fruit against my burning skin makes me gasp, but I don’t break eye contact.

“You think you’re the only one who can play dirty?” I whisper as a wicked, rebellious smile breaks across my face.

His knuckles turn white where he grips the edges of the chair. “Selene,” he warns, his voice dropping to a gravelly, dangerous register.

Ignoring his warning, I lean closer, crowding into his lap until the rigid, demanding length of him presses against my thigh. I bring the strawberry up to his face, resting it right against his lower lip. “Open,” I command softly.

He complies, his teeth catching the fruit as I push it into his mouth. He chews slowly, swallowing the sweetness mixed with the taste of my arousal. The dominance in his gaze should make me shrink back, but instead, it only fuels the wild, reckless fire in my veins.

Driven by the urge to completely undo him, my hands go to the fastening of his trousers. My fingers brush against his heated skin until he frees himself, thick and fully aroused. The sight of him makes my core ache with a fierce, empty longing, but I refuse to give in just yet.

I reach for the small bowl of dark chocolate fondants.

Dipping my fingers into the thick, warm sweetness, I look up at him through my lashes before deliberately smearing the dark chocolate down the heavy shaft of his cock.

Zagreus’s head snaps back against the headrest. “Dio cane,” he growls, his entire upper body stiffening as his abdominal muscles ripple beneath my hands. “You have no idea what you’re doing to yourself right now.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” I murmur.

I lean down, the scent of rich cacao and raw masculinity filling my senses. I wrap my hand around the base of him, and I press my tongue against the warm, chocolate-coated skin. I lick upward, tasting the bitter sweetness combined with the salt of his skin. I take him into my mouth, my tongue swirling around the crown, cleaning the dark traces.

A ragged gasp breaks from his lips. His large hands fly to my hair, his fingers anchoring firmly into the loose waves at the back of my head. He doesn’t pull me away; instead, he guides the movement, as I continue to slick him with my tongue.

“You’re a wicked little creature, aren’t you?” he rasps down at me, as he tugs slightly on my hair, forcing my face up so I have to look into his dilated, near-black eyes. “Look at you, on your knees in front of me, covered in tattered lace and acting like a little slut just to see me lose control.”

My thighs clench. I love it. I want him to pull the truth right out of me.