Page 36 of Drawn into Oblivion

“Allow me to remain near you. Let me protect you.”

“You can’t mean that. I’m sure you’ll have other duties to attend to as a commander, and I am not inept with a sword, you know,” she pointed out.

“I do not intend to relegate my duties nor do I doubt your ability to defend yourself. All I ask is that you let me be by your side,” he solemnly requested.

Stunned into silence, Mai looked at him standing there, so sincere and earnest. It hurt that he wouldn’t tell her why his eyes sometimes looked so ancient, and not because of his age. Although, she supposed she hadn’t found the courage to explain what had happened to her mother or how it had profoundly affected her. Shumei knew what curse he’d suffered, and she didn’t hate either Vallen or Rosuke. Surely whatever secret he guarded would not change how Mai felt, either.

How she felt… She couldn’t deny how much and how often she’d wanted to seek him out, know and understand him, touch him, and somehow…bind him to her. Nor could she deny how thrilled it made her when he did the same, how jealousy squirmed in her gut whenever another woman smiled at him, or how the thought of losing him in Oblivion made her heart stop.

His beauty hit her once again. His fervent wish had turned up his eyebrows, but determination drew his delicate features into sharp, devastating relief. His informal, black attire and his long, unbound hair offered stark contrast to his light skin, and the red all around them brought out the flush in his cheeks.

Desire flared. She needed him to touch her, longed to feel his rough hands on her skin, rubbing against her and inside her, bringing her to the peak of pleasure she had experienced in that small changing room. It felt like so long ago.

Before she knew what she was doing, she crossed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She stretched up, rising on tiptoe, and leaned against his solid chest.

He gave her exactly what she wanted. He pulled her against him and took her mouth in a deep kiss. Their breaths were harsh and loud as they desperately clung to each other, and his arms were tight clamps around her back. His erection dug into her stomach, hard and insistent, but she didn’t fear it anymore—didn’t fear him anymore.

They briefly came up for air, both of them panting. She gazed into his stormy eyes. “I will not be afraid to enter Oblivion if you are by my side.”

Chapter Twelve

Rosuke hiked her higher in his arms and kissed her as if starved. No, he was definitely starved—practically mad with hunger. And she still tasted exactly like honey. Was he imagining it, only wishing and convincing himself she tasted like a warm, sticky confection? Oh, but it was too real to be imaginary. Or perhaps the dire need to claim her had begun to wear on his sanity.

He rubbed his hand over her hip, her backside, her thigh, thoroughly enjoying how her dress pulled across her skin. She moaned in reaction, and it made his cock jump.

“Thank you for the dress,” she whispered between kisses while grasping the back of his shirt. She pulled herself closer, crushing her breasts against his chest.

“You’re beautiful in it.” He could think of no better compliment, for her eagerness was making his mind go blank, and he struggled to slow down when all he wanted was to open her dress, spread her across the table, and eat her. And then after that…

Mai lying on the table, red-cheeked, panting, ready to grasp him close. He’d open his clothes, curl over her, and enter her so gently he wouldn’t need a spell to dampen any pain. And once she was used to him, he’d grasp the table edge, wrap her legs around him, and thrust until that final, beautiful connection when he’d—

Fear took him as his control began to unravel. He needed to pull back, breathe. He was supposed to be concentrating on her and not on anything he wanted. Just her. Shaking, he trailed his fingers down her sides, roaming over every curve as he sank to his knees. She tried to follow him down, but he hugged her thighs to keep her standing.

Dizzy with excitement, Mai gripped his shoulders. She felt his hand on her ankle, his nose and cheek on her abdomen. He was so close to right where she needed him, and a wonderfully wicked picture entered her mind, one of Rosuke’s face between her thighs. Surely, that was just not done.

However, the thought had her heart beating in earnest, and her swirling head forced her to grip his shoulders harder. He caressed higher, massaging her calf and the back of her knee. Then he swept his hand to the front of her thigh and slipped it between her legs.

“Yes,” she sighed and unsteadily widened her stance. She needed him there so badly.

“What do you want, sweet Mai?” he rasped. “Tell me.”

She looked down at his heavy-lidded expression, full of lust and promise. “I-I…” Embarrassment swamped her. She couldn’t say such things aloud, couldn’t voice her desires and admit she had them. Playing cool and distant had become too easy.

“Tell me what you want.” He brushed his thumb against her thigh, back and forth, and she swore he was grazing the hairs that covered her mound. “I’ll do anything you ask. Absolutely anything.”

“You’ll laugh.”

“I would never laugh. Not about this. Name anything and I shall do it,” he pleaded.

By the dueling gods, the way he looked at her, and said what she needed to hear, and did anything and everything to make her feel treasured… No, he wouldn’t laugh. So she grasped for the words to describe what she wanted, and gathered her courage.

“I want you to…k-kiss me—down there,” she said, curling her fingers into his shirt as she turned her face away. Her cheeks burned, and she was certain they were beet red.

“Gladly,” he said, voice pitched deep. He pulled his hand from her clothes, and she glanced down at him. She saw no ridicule in his gaze.

“Really?” she asked, incredulous. He gripped her hips. “It’s really allowed?”

His slow smile was full of carnal mischief. “As far as I’m concerned, anything you wish me to do to you is allowed. I’d suggest you lie on your back, to start.”