A Ruin of Roses (Deliciously Dark Fairytales – B&tB Book 1)
A Ruin of Roses: Chapter 11

“Tsk, tsk, Nyfain,” cooed the demon, the same guy that we’d seen at the bottom of the stairs. He had followed us out. “When you need to restrain your love interests, it means they aren’t having a very good time. Or maybe you think you can sex your way into her good graces? That is very demonic of you.”

Once again, I bit back a snarky response. But honestly, did he really think the sounds coming out of me as I barreled toward orgasm suggested I wasn’t having a good time? Did he never get women off?

Instead, I clutched Nyfain like the damsel I was trying to be, attempting an expression of uncertainty and fear. I probably looked like I’d smelled something sour. And with the stench of this demon hanging around, it wasn’t far off.

“What do you want?” Nyfain asked.

“Oh, nothing,” the demon replied with a grin. “I was just coming out to see if your lady wanted to sample another flavor. Like me, for instance. I can show her a good time without any need for restraints.”

Nyfain’s body tensed, and his fingers pressed into my flesh aggressively. He turned and yanked my pants up before fastening them gently and ensuring my shirt covered my exposed breast. His gaze roamed my face for a moment, and he smoothed my hair away from my cheek before wrapping his arm around my body.

“She touches no one but me,” he snarled, directing me from around the tree and starting toward the castle.

“For now,” the demon said silkily.

With my binding still askew and my swollen pussy throbbing from his deliciously rough treatment, I was staggering and walking askew. My core pounded, built up to impossible heights and then left wanting. I licked my tingling lips, remembering his kiss. Spank the goddess, he was a good time when he got going.

“What am I doing with you?” he growled softly—to himself, it sounded like—going to the back entrance where the couple was still pressed against the glass.

“Playing a dangerous game with my life, it seems like,” I retorted, my current situation making me a little saltier than usual.

He slammed the door forward. The couple flew into a heap of limbs on the floor. The man’s eyes were hooded and on fire, and the woman’s were soaked with arousal. Another flood of desire poured into me, sending my brain back to moments ago, when I’d been trapped against that tree with those tricky fingers deep in my pussy.

Goddess give me strength, I wanted more. Lots more. My body was not on the same page as my brain. Logic was completely absent where Nyfain was concerned. I needed to go sleep it off, preferably after a good self-love session.

Couples littered the hallway and my gaze skittered between them. A man with his face between a woman’s thighs. Two women writhing together in a corner. Another woman in the middle of five men, using every hole the goddess had given her and two hands to make up the difference. She was clearly excellent at multitasking dongs. Three men on the bench, one guy bent over sucking while a third took him from behind.

“Holy shit,” I groaned, staggering into Nyfain.

He glanced down at me, looked around, and then swept me up into his arms. He’d apparently been ignoring all of this. All the sex around us hadn’t made him flinch. I couldn’t even fathom that, because suddenly I was a wanton mess. Again.

“Let’s go finish what we started,” I purred, tracing my tongue along the shell of his ear.

“You’ll hate yourself for it in the morning.”

“Probably.” I ran my lips down his neck, delighting in his deliciously balmy smell, in the heat of his skin and the feeling of his strength wrapped around me. “I’ve hated myself for less.”

“I doubt that is true. We aren’t attracted to each other, princess. It’s our animals. We need to heed logic where they will not.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t feel your animal until the demon showed up.” I skimmed my lips against his jaw and lightly kissed the corner of his mouth.

He flinched away before hoisting me up and throwing me over his shoulder. “I always stay connected with my animal. I have to, or I might lose him. His desperation to hump you seeps through. Don’t let it go to your head.”

His words sounded hollow, as though he were willing himself to believe them.

He put me down roughly in front of the tower door and fit the key into the lock. The demon from earlier had been removed. I wondered if that was why the other demons had decided to go looking for us.

“I won’t always act like the damsel, you know,” I said defiantly, shoving away the residual desire.

“Good. It’s beneath you. But it’s important right now. It will stall the inevitable.”

“What’s the inevitable?”

“The demon king coming and the enemy closing in. You will need your grit by the end.”

Shivers arrested me. I breathed through the sudden uncertainty clutching at my chest.

“I need to learn to hand fight better,” I said. “I’m great with a dagger, and despite what the men will tell you, I’m the best hunter in my village. I’m good with a bow and a spear. I’m not so good with my fists, though. Also, I could use more strength.”

“You were just fine with that knife when you stabbed me.”

“That was my animal, I think. I don’t really remember doing it.”

“You have plenty of strength. You could use more conditioning with your animal.” He turned the key.

“And if you are going to lock me in this cursed tower every night, I need access to the library.”

He pushed the door open and shoved me inside.

“And if you don’t stop manhandling me,” I said as I stood in the room, “you’re going to be sorry.”

A grin pulled at his lips. “Is that a challenge, princess?”

His rough voice and the excitement I could see glittering in his eyes fired me up in ways I couldn’t really explain. Fear and arousal created a heady mix.

I didn’t have a reply, so I turned my back to him, waiting for him to leave.

“Strip out of your shirt, and I’ll help you out of your binding. Your lady’s maid will be…busy at present.”

I groaned in annoyance and pulled off my shirt. My face heated, and I made sure to stay still so he wouldn’t see the evidence of my embarrassment, my vulnerability. His presence moved up behind me, and a soft tug pulled at my middle as his heated breath washed over my exposed flesh.

“You didn’t get to come earlier,” he rumbled, his fingertips tracing lightly over my shoulders.

“Just another one of your torture devices, I assume.”

His touch traced down to the clasps of my binding. It tightened and then opened, falling down my chest. The breast that had still been tied up bounced down with the other. He didn’t move away. The electricity between us flowed over my skin.

I closed my eyes and felt his hands touch down on my shoulders again, kneading softly.

“You’re tense,” he whispered.

I couldn’t stop my hands from floating backward, bumping against his legs. I grabbed his thighs, craving that anchor. Something about him made me feel grounded. Despite all the shit he’d dragged me into, his presence, his smell, his possessiveness made me feel safe in a kingdom that was anything but.

“I’ve had a lot of stress lately,” I murmured.

“I checked on your family earlier tonight. They are sad for your loss, but they are well. Your village is safe, at present.”

Something hard and uncomfortable thawed within me. I let out a sigh of relief. “You spoke to them?”

“No. I watched them like a creep. I will hunt for them as soon as I can. I know that was the task you used to do.”

I ran my hands upward a bit, stopped myself, and let them drift back down.

“Thank you,” I said softly.

He skimmed his touch down the outsides of my arms. He pulled his hands away and then reached under my arms to my waist. His rough palms traced my skin, drifting across my stomach and upward. They bumped into the bottoms of my breasts as I moved my hands farther up his thighs again. He traced up my soft skin with his thumbs, inch by inch, maybe wondering if I would stop him.

I should’ve, goddess how I should’ve, but my body was blisteringly hot, and the electric sensation of his touch flowed over and through me, like lightning striking down and engulfing me in its energy.

His thumb flowed over the center of my breast. A jolt of pleasure coursed through me.

“What was I doing to you in your dream?” he asked, taking each of my nipples in his fingers and lightly pinching.

“I awoke to you between my legs.” I groaned, bending my elbows so I could work my hands higher. I stroked his upper thighs, reveling in their strength.

“Then what?” He cupped my right breast and worked the other hand back down my stomach.

I reached in, massaging his upper thighs now. Working inward. “Then you bent to lick my pussy.”

He reached down and opened the button on my pants. “It turns me on to see you in my clothes,” he said huskily. “It turns me on more when I strip you out of them.”

He pushed them down my thighs until they dropped at my feet.

“I like these lacy little panties.” With one quick yank, he tore them off me. “I think I’ll keep them.”

I stood bare in front of him. I slid one of my palms over his hard bulge.

I didn’t get it—he wanted me; he didn’t. He rejected me, then he came on to me. He touched me with such passion, and then he went cold. It was mind fuckery, and for some messed-up reason, I was excited by it. I liked the unexpectedness of it. I liked the constant need to react and adapt. I knew I could walk away at any time, and he wouldn’t push the issue. I knew he would respect my distance if I asked for it (and kept my animal under control). But right now? I was here for the challenge of it.

Or maybe I just wanted to finally get fucked. The man was a cunt-tease of the highest order.

“Spread your legs a little,” he commanded, his power blistering through me.

I moaned and did so, rubbing at his hard cock trapped in his pants.

He slid one hand back to my breast and the other lower, dipping it between my thighs. His middle finger traced through my slick wetness.

“That’s right, princess, get nice and wet for me.” He sucked in a spot on my neck, hard. A bite of pain quickly mixed with pleasure as his finger made lazy circles across my clit. “What else did I do in your dream?”

“You finger-fucked me, like you did against the tree.”

“Did you like it?”

“Yes,” I breathed.

I whimpered as he worked a finger into me, pulling more wetness to work against my clit. The pace of his strokes increased, and he bit into my neck. The pain and the pleasure, the heat and the sparks, lit me on fire from the inside out.

He pushed me forward so fast I staggered, grabbing the edge of the bed to keep myself upright. He braced one of his hands against the center of my back and with the other reached down and pushed two fingers into my wet depths. He started thrusting. My body roared to life, nearly picking up right where it had left off after the tree situation.

“I need to taste you.” He dropped to his knees behind me, slapping against my ass and taking a healthy grip. He pushed me forward and spread me wide as he licked up my center. I shivered, moaning his name. It felt so much better than that dream. So much better than anything I’d ever experienced.

I pushed my butt back at him, and he sucked down my folds. His tongue played with my clit until he sucked that in too, pulsing the suction. I groaned in bursts, gyrating. He slid his hand over my butt cheek and snaked his thumb in between. He moved the pad gently over my puckered hole, and a strange thrill arrested me. He didn’t go farther, though. He stood and flipped me, then pushed me farther onto the bed.

His hair was tousled and his eyes hooded as he raked his gaze down my naked flesh. I let my knees fall and dropped my fingers between them, stroking within my wetness.

I thought he would unfasten his pants and free that big cock, but he just adjusted himself before he flung my hand away and bent eagerly. He worked his fingers into me and sucked on my clit. With his free hand, he reached up and rubbed my breast, playing with my nipple in a way no one else ever had. Circles and loops and little pinches. It enhanced the pleasure of his mouth. Drove me out of my skin.

I arched into his hand, jerked my hips against his mouth. I grabbed his hair in a hard grip to keep him put until I was finished.

He growled and worked harder, faster. My body melted and then started to fray. The pleasure crowded me, blocking out the room and everything else. Everything clenched and then I fractured, coming in a thick, heady burst of raw sensation.

He slid his hands down my sides but didn’t push up. His kisses against my pussy softened. His tongue stroked in the aftermath, giving me pleasant shivers. He ducked a little, pushing my knees up, and licked down farther still, over that forbidden hole. The tickle made me squirm, and I wondered if it would hurt for him to take me there, or if it would be pleasurable. I wondered just what sort of kinks I might have. It was impossible not to in a place like this.

I wondered if he’d always had the same sort of thoughts but never let himself explore them.

He shoved my legs over and stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his arm. Even that was sexy for reasons I couldn’t explain.

“Get some sleep,” he barked, before turning. “And don’t bitch at me when you regret this in the morning.”

With that, he pushed through the door and yanked it closed behind him. The key turned.

I laughed softly at his quick personality shift. The guy was clearly battling his arousal. He might not like me, but he clearly wanted to fuck me. It wasn’t just our animals, or why had he taken my panties? We were in the same boat. And given I didn’t want to ruin my incredible high from that orgasm, I’d deal with it tomorrow.

I pulled my animal to the forefront, sharing space. She gave the feeling of stretching lethargically, and I crawled to the head of the bed.

Fuck, that male is so alpha, my animal purred. I love when he asserts his dominance. He has a lot of power. He’ll be good protection for our young.

Yikes. That’s not going to happen. I tucked myself into the covers, looking out at the brightly lit night. Soon the moon would wane and I’d have to be better about lighting candles. We need to stop letting him touch us, actually. It’s fun, I’ll admit, but it’ll likely end badly for us.

Probably. I get the impression from his beast that the man carries a lot of guilt for his actions before the curse. That he has resigned himself to this half-life as a penance. He is duty-bound but doesn’t want to drag anyone else into his misery. His beast needs you to save the man. I implied that the man has to save himself. That didn’t go over well.

When did you talk about all that? How did you talk about all that?

We didn’t talk. There are many ways to communicate—speaking is just one of them. You need to learn.

I rolled my eyes. I hadn’t even shifted. I’d only felt and known my animal for a day. How the hell was I supposed to know anything about being a shifter?

I let it go, though. I was too sleepy.

Save the man.

That wasn’t really my specialty. And even if I did, it wouldn’t help those dying from the sickness.

No, first I needed to figure out a way to save the people. I agreed with my animal—Nyfain needed to save himself.

I closed my eyes, supremely relaxed. Goddess help me, I felt really good.

My mind drifted back to the tree situation. Usually I did not allow people to strip me of my control. With the ex, I’d never wanted my hands bound. I hadn’t trusted him with my vulnerability.

But with Nyfain earlier… I’d trusted him completely. I had been completely at his mercy. Yet instead of being scared, I’d been incredibly turned on. I’d trusted him without a thought.

I’d still push back when he was being Broody McFucker, but I believed in his ability to protect me. I believed that he wanted to. Hell, I even liked when he got all possessive over me with the demons.

He was getting to me. Damn it. I shouldn’t have let him help with the everlass. He’d wormed under my skin, and now he was starting to fester. That couldn’t be good.

Save the man. Save the kingdom.

Why are men so breakable? I thought as my eyes drifted shut.

Because it gives us room to swoop in and save the motherfucking day, my animal chimed in.

She had a point.