It took a second to get my wits back, but when I did I turned around to call after him, he was really gone. No longer in sight of the door. And I wasn’t sure if there were servants coming back now that he had left. So I hurriedly whipped off the robe and started pulling on the clothes…
And then I cursed him.
The pants were fine—black leather, though thinner than his. They were a little tricky to get on because they were tight. But the leather was soft and pliable, and once I had them up and buttoned I was surprised how comfortable they felt.
But then I grabbed the top and pulled it over my head—except when I got it down over my ribs I thought I had ripped it.
I looked down, freaking out—I couldn’t even put a blouse on without tearing it? But then I realized it was a crop top that had fooled me.
The sleeves fell silkily from the points of my shoulders, but the necklin
~ CASIMIR ~I had to pull away from Jesse because my need became so desperate I was at risk of frightening her, and that wouldn’t help her relax, which was the entire point of this little adventure. It was a frustration. But I had to keep reminding myself she was new to this. That her first experiences with me had to be positive to encourage her confidence. It was imperative to condition her body to expect pleasure so that she'd give herself into my hands and continue to submit.But the problem was, despite her naivete, she showed an eagerness and passion that matched my own.Dear god, her kiss was intoxicating.Of course, I was less enthralled with the heaviness in her—the fatalistic doubt drenching her. But her childish embarrassment about dancing had given me this idea, and I trusted it would draw her out and hopefully offer her a reason to continue exploring with me, rather than drawing into herself a
~ JESSE ~Following Cazz into the tunnels below the palace felt like being swallowed by a mountain.Down levels. Down stairs. Down, deeper into the earth below, where the hallways became caves, and half of the side tunnels didn’t even have doors.My breath got shorter, and not just because we were walking quickly, but because I could feel the immense weight above us and every instinct wanted to scream that we were about to be buried in a cave-in.But both Cazz and Rake seemed completely comfortable down here. So I just clung to Cazz’s hand and kept following.It was a maze under here, but slowly, as the walls got rougher and more natural, and the ceilings got lower—though still high enough for these massive men to move comfortably through them—I also became aware of a kind of… vibration.At first it felt like the air was humming, but then I started to notice trembling in the rock un
~ JESSE ~When we reached the floor of the Den, I was hanging back against the drag of Cazz's hand.“Cazz,” I hissed. “Can you teach me some of the steps first, or something? I'm going to make a fool of myself if I don't—”Cazz turned, looking stern, his mouth open like he was about to snap at me. But his eyes flipped up, over my shoulder for a moment, and he went still. Then he pressed his lips thin, shaking his head as if he didn't like what he saw. But he didn't reply, just turned to scan the spaceThe music was climbing towards another crescendo. The lights surged, then faded in time with the beat. That mass of bodies writhed. When the lights flared again, they made Cazz's eyes spark.He was staring at something, and smiling. I started to follow his gaze, but then he turned towards me again.“I have an idea,” he said, leaning down so his breath fluttered in m
~ JESSE ~Cazz moved like he was made from water. Really muscular, strong water. His torso was a study in sexy perfection.Sexfection.I giggled breathlessly and let my head drop back, letting Cazz take my weight in his large hand splayed at my spine.Cazz's eyes flashed when I laughed, but instead of speaking, he only leaned closer, his flat pecs brushing my chest as he loomed over me and rolled his torso deliciously, the muscles rippling and flexing in the pulsating lights. He touched my face with his free hand as he writhed against me.I was a little giddy, and doing my best to move with him, to keep time with the music, but my mind kept drifting—and so did my hands.I was fascinated by the carved lines between his pecs and under them, the ladders of muscle up his abs and over his ribs. Even as I rolled my hips and Cazz ground against me, I ran fingertips along the lines on his stomach, my breath catchin
~ CASIMIR ~The moment Jesse tapped into the pack mind I got hard.Watching her open herself and lose that tension in her shoulders—watching her smile and move as if her own body didn’t frighten her. Or mine. It was stunning. I suddenly saw all the strength in her that the reapers must have identified. And I wanted her.I could have swept her out of there and taken her on the spot.When she lost her self-consciousness and just let herself move and respond to me… Dear God, the way she stroked me, the heat in her eyes.I was convinced bringing her to the den was the best idea I’d ever had.When she turned back to face me I took her hips in my hands and pulled her against me, shamelessly grinding on her, keeping her plastered against me. As we moved together, more and more in sync, deeper and deeper in the bond and unaware of anything else, adrenaline flooded my system.I
~ JESSE ~ Someone behind me leaned in and I was pressed closer to Cazz, which was wonderful. He'd put that hand at my back again and I leaned into it, letting my head drift As our hips met and pressed together, as he swept me in a rolling turn, my heart beat even faster. I felt the crowd around us press in again, could sense them and instinctively reached for them the same way I reached for Cazz—my arms hooking around his neck while my mind embraced everyone. A chorus of howls rose, bouncing from the height of the cavern overhead and my heart pounded. My eyes were closed, but I felt Cazz lean into me, felt a puttering growl roll in his chest that was pressed against mine. The feeling of being so close to him even as others surrounded us was suddenly intoxicating. Images filled my mind, things I'd never thought before, let alone acted on. Hands reaching, fingers stroking, mouths, bodies, everything twisting, pressing, rolling together. And even though I knew they were only thoughts
~ CASIMIR ~If Jesse hadn’t been quite so fucking beautiful tonight that she lit a fire in my insides, if my need for her wasn’t quite so urgent, and if we didn’t have the entire fucking pack breathing down our necks, I would have given in to the fury. Ignorant of the packmind or not, she was Queen. She was female Alpha. She, of all of us, had to control her urges and lead by example.She, of all people, could do nothing to undermine my power.Instead, she’d enticed males to her. She needed to understand the very dire circumstances she had created, and the consequences of them.I should have punished her on the spot.But the door behind me shuddered and rattled as the males, overcome with lust and intoxicated by the challenge, tried to break through to reach her.They would not have her.But I had to rip myself out of that kiss, still holding her face, panting. Jesse took a moment longer to blink and find herself.“Cazz…?” she murmured, barely audible over the crashing and pounding be
~ CASIMIR ~Kill, or claim?Anything less, and the moment that door was unbarred, those males would kill me to take her. Or force me to compel or kill all of them.The truth was, even after this, I didn’t want her dead. She was the most fascinating of the females who had ever been brought to me. I looked forward to awakening her, teaching her, molding her. And the power she brought me when she submitted…That power throbbed in my veins as, despite her fear, she must have chosen to give herself, because suddenly my blood pulsed with fire and heat and power, and my hands were shaking.But if I wasn’t going to kill her, that meant there was only one choice left. And I hadn’t planned to claim her. Wouldn’t even have considered it until she gave me an heir. Yet she’d found a way to force my hand.God, I could have smacked her for that. But I refused to become my father.While I was still working to contain the anger bubbling in my chest, the door bulged with a hammering rush of bodies on t