Garden of Serpents (The Demon Queen Trials #3)(36)

Slowly.

Too much lust too quickly would overwhelm her. I’d have to take her to the brink and keep her there for as long as I could. A slow, erotic build-up was the best way to restore a Lilu depleted of power. A simmering heat. And with my hand on her chest, I could already hear her moaning quietly. Even if she couldn’t think clearly yet, her body’s primitive instincts knew what she needed.

I extended her arms toward the corners of the bed and followed suit with her ankles. I spun my index finger in the air, and tendrils of my magic coiled around Rowan’s limbs, holding them fast. If anything went wrong—if I overwhelmed her with power—I needed her under control.

Her heart started to race, her chest flushing. Something in her body liked being bound, which was a detail I’d have to think about later when her life wasn’t on the line.

Already, her warm succubus magic stroked over my skin. It invited me in, making my breath quicken. There was still a chance to bring her back.

My gaze raked down her naked body, and I fought for restraint.

I remembered reading about a glutton demon named Shedim who used famine and starvation as torture devices, but with a kicker. He kept mortals on the brink of death, within a heartbeat of the end, for weeks or longer. He’d provide just enough sustenance to keep the mortals breathing. Just strong enough to move and stand, but no more. The twist was that he’d then present the poor fools with a sumptuous feast—a long table filled with all manner of rich meats and cheeses, fruits and desserts, breads and wines. The starving people would inevitably gorge themselves like wild animals, trying to stuff everything into their mouth at once.

Shedim fed off their gluttony.

They’d become violently ill. And some would go so far as to eat until their stomachs burst, much to Shedim’s delight.

And as I stared at Rowan now, tied to my bed, I had some inkling what had driven those starving mortals, because she looked like a feast before me. That same madness threatened to overwhelm me.

But really, this wasn’t Rowan at all. Her mind wasn’t functioning.

And I’d promised not to kiss her until she trusted me. I hated breaking promises, and she had no way to tell me she trusted me in the state she was in.

I threw one of my blankets over her, covering her from her breasts down to her thighs, and she sighed at the contact. Every muscle in my body went taut at the sound, my blood pounding. Already, she was feeding off my raw desire, healing from it. All I had to do was be in the same room with her, and she could drink from my erotic charge. But with the right technique, I could heal her sooner.

I reached down to touch her bare legs, slowly letting my fingertips trace the swell of her calves up to the backs of her knees.

When I reached her thighs, my palms flattened, and her muscles tensed and relaxed involuntarily as I pressed on them more forcefully. She made a tiny, whimpering sound, her mouth opening as she breathed more deeply. There it was—a little more light in her eyes, and her gaze was locked on me. She tugged at the bindings. Already, she was healing—feeding off me. Her body was calling to mine like a siren.

I traced slow, gentle strokes over her thighs. Hungry for me, she breathed faster, and her heart raced.

My nostrils flared as my own arousal stampeded through my body. My incubus magic slid over her as I caressed my way back down her legs to her feet, massaging them one after the other, my thumbs applying pressure up and down her soles and down to the balls of her feet. I took my time returning to her upper thighs, which made her groan as she moved her body against the restraints. The blanket slipped down a little, revealing a nipple that seemed painfully peaked, aching to be touched.

She whispered my name so quietly, I could hardly hear it.

And it took everything inside me not to have her right then and there, to act as one of Shedim’s tortured mortals and surrender to my basest desires. I growled, a low, guttural sound, and I moved my hands to the hollows of her hips, pulling the blanket aside just enough that I could stroke her skin. Holy hell, I wanted to rip the blanket aside and see all of her, but this wasn’t the time.

Sparks danced where I touched her, as if she were made of steel and my hands were welder’s torches. I watched it, entranced. The Lilu were truly amazing creatures.

Light flared in her eyes, and she whispered my name. Relief flooded me as I realized it was working, and I traced my fingertips down her ribcage.

“Rowan?” I whispered back. “Are you returning to me?”

She gasped as I slid them up again, just below her breasts. “Yes,” she breathed.

Her hips rose, rocking, as her body sought the sexual release that was the lifeblood of a succubus. When she said my name again, I started stroking her thighs again, stoking her lust.

Every part of me burned for her, and each beat of my heart sent blood pumping to the only place I needed it.

Fuck.

Nothing mattered at that moment except her.





20





ROWAN





Hot, velvety, erotic magic charged the room, making my body swell with need.

I needed Orion.

I’d never ached for something like this before. Not just one Orion—I wanted two of him. Three? Mouths on my nipples, one between my legs—

I could imagine a whole bunch of them surrounding me, kissing me everywhere, giving me the sex I craved. The silky blanket was a light, torturous friction on my naked skin. Had he done that on purpose?