Shameless: A Reverse Harem Fantasy Romance (The Carnal Court Book 3) Read online

  Softly, I knock on the door. I hear footsteps inside, and Aeric opens the door. He’s wearing dark pants with no shirt, the contrast making the darker patterns on his skin stand out. There’s only been a handful of moments where I’ve literally lost my breath because something was so beautiful, and this is one of them.

  “Hi.” The word is more breath than voice.

  He takes my hand and pulls me into the space, and even though I was just here earlier it feels completely different. Dark curtains are pulled across the windows and candles make the space glow with sensual light. Just that simple change makes the space darker and sexier. The walls feel like they’ve become a deeper red and I swear that I can feel my heart pounding in every part of my body.

  “You’re nervous,” he says.

  Obviously he can feel it. “A little.”

  “Why?” It’s not a criticism but a genuine question. “It’s just me.”

  “It feels different.”

  Aeric walks over to the dark wooden table where there’s two glasses of wine and a spread of cheese, fruit, and other things. He brings one of the glasses of wine to me. “It’s just us,” he says again. “Experimenting. Seeing what works.”

  That’s true. I take the glass from him and look at the golden liquid. It seems to shimmer in the glass like a thousand galaxies are swirling inside it. “I’ve only had Fae mead. Never wine. You know there are rumors about what happens to humans who drink Fae wine.”

  Aeric chuckles, low and warm, and lifts his own glass to his lips. “It won’t do anything to you that human wine wouldn’t.”

  The taste as it hits my tongue is incredible. Fruity and sweet with layers of sugar and spice and none of the bitterness of human wine. But I can feel the way it swims in my veins and head right away. “I think it’s probably a bit stronger.”

  “Yes.” I feel his intention change as he reaches for me. “Come here.” I do, letting him loop his arms around my waist and pull me close. “I want to make sure you’re all right with this,” he says. “And that you understand that no answer can or will change anything between us.”

  Slowly, I shift so I can take one more heady sip of wine before raising my gaze to his. I’m used to being in control. Of taking charge. I had to as a dancer, when I opened the shop, and even now it drives me crazy that I can’t do more to fix whatever is happening around us. But like I told him this morning, with him it feels easy and right.

  It’s a hard thing to put my finger on. But all of this—him, the other guys, the Goddess, all of it—is not something that I thought I would have wanted. And it only makes sense that my relationship with every one of my mates is different and unique. That I give myself to Aeric completely when I’m in his bed clicks on a level so deep that I don’t think I could find it if I tried.

  “I want to explore this with you,” I tell him finally. “Because in the same way that I can’t unravel why I’ve been given this many mates—or mates at all—this feels…” I slip my free hand between us to rest on my stomach. “It almost…resonates. Right here.”

  Aeric leans down and drops a kiss on my shoulder. “Yes.”

  Taking the glass of wine away from me, he spins me towards the bed and walks with me to it. Though his hands are still around my waist and he’s leaning so his chin rests on my shoulder. Through our bond I feel anticipation and curiosity. And then I see why.

  On the bed in front of me are strips of dark green leather. Such a dark jade that I nearly think it’s just an inky black. The lengths of them vary, and I see holes and buckles like a belt. I know enough about the kinky side of sex to know what they’re for, and my heart starts to hammer in my chest. “Is that what you bought?” I ask.

  “Hmm?”

  “When we went to the sex store in New York, is this what you bought?”

  His low laughter vibrates up my spine. “No, these I made. For you.”

  “You made these?” I say, reaching out to touch the leather. It’s soft and smooth, the underside lined with even softer materials. “When?”

  A graze of teeth on the side of my neck that brings goosebumps to the surface. “While you were picking out this red thing that’s driving me mad.”

  I arch back into him. “I’m glad you like it. But seriously? You made these today? Where did you learn?”

  Aeric laughs again. “I know how to do lots of things.” His voice lowers. “And just because I am not a member of the Court of Dominance does not mean that I have not spent time there.”

  Oh. That’s where he learned.

  I play my hand on two of the much longer strips. “What are these for?”

  “It would be easier to show you,” he says, smiling into my skin.

  “Okay.”

  Coming from behind me, Aeric picks up the first of the leather cuffs and reaches for my wrist. He wraps it around my arm with slow yet deliberate tenderness, and I shiver. It fits perfectly—secure, but not too tight. And it looks sexy. The other wrist is cuffed, and then he moves to my ankles, placing kisses onto my thighs while he buckles them on. When he stands again he’s smirking in that devastatingly sexy way. “On the bed.”

  He catches one of my wrists as I settle in the center against the pillows, and then he’s threading black rope through the metal ring on the cuff. Rope attached to his bed posts that I didn’t even notice when I walked in. The way he ties the knot is smooth and efficient. Like he’s done it a hundred times before.

  Maybe he has.

  And when I test my arm against it, there’s no give. It’s not uncomfortable, but there’s no getting out. No escape. But I don’t want to get out of this.

  My other arm bound to the opposite post, Aeric joins me on the bed, settling on his knees in-between my legs. Casually, he runs a hand down my chest, over the lingerie, just to show me that he can.

  “I could have taken these off,” I say, trying to keep my voice steady.

  “And deny me the fun of tearing them off you? No.” He smiles down at me, “And this is what these are for.”

  The long strip of leather is in his hand, and he wraps it around my thigh, cinching the buckle tight. And then the other one. I swallow. “I’ve never seen those before.”

  I can feel amusement from him as he unravels another length of rope. “They come in handy.” The rope is tied to the cuff just like my wrists, and I gasp when he loops it around the bedpost where my wrist is secured and pulls, stretching my leg up and out. It’s very clear what they’re for now. I’ll be completely exposed and open for him.

  The surge of arousal that goes through me makes me close my eyes, and I feel like I’m sinking into the feeling. “I thought you might like this,” he murmurs, binding my other leg.

  Aeric settles over me, the hardness of his cock right up against me where I desperately need it. But the look on his face tells me he knows that he has all the time in the world. After all, there’s nothing I can do to make him move faster. Except maybe beg.

  That thought and the subtle rocking of his hips make me go blind with desire. “Woah.”

  “There it is,” he says, kissing me softly. “Let it all go.”

  I’m shaking with adrenaline and need and I try to lift up my hips to meet his, but I have no leverage. “Is this what you thought about when we were in the crystal court?” I ask. “When you held me down and used your mouth on me?”

  Aeric’s voice is a rich whisper against my lips, and in the warm light of all the candles his face is full of love, lust, and truth. “I was mainly concerned with keeping you alive,” he says. “But if I told you that the thought didn’t cross my mind I would be a liar.”

  “Is it like you thought it would be?”

  “Much, much better.”

  He rocks his hips again, and I moan. “You’re going to kill me.”

  “Little deaths only.”

  I laugh and it turns to nothing but air when he runs his fingers over the fabric of my panties. “Very clever.” There’s a French phrase that means the little death that
is often used to mean orgasms. Or in Aeric’s case, lots and lots of orgasms.

  “I try.” He strokes over me again, and I instinctively pull at the restraints, wanting more. “You know what I like about this position?” He asks softly.

  I shake my head.

  “There are so many possibilities. I could take you here,” he brushes his thumb along my lower lip. “And watch you suck my cock while you can’t go anywhere.”

  “You’re just saying it like that to turn me on more.”

  His smile is satisfied. “It’s working too.”

  Dammit, he’s right. I’m soaking through my underwear.

  “But I can also take you here.” Slipping his hand between us, he runs his finger over my clit through the fabric and down to my entrance. “Or even here.” Fingers keep moving, brushing over my ass.

  “Goddess,” I say. “I don’t know which one of those sounds better.”

  He grins, and kisses me hard. “You don’t get to choose.”

  Fuck. I wiggle underneath him, trying to get him to move, or do more. But he’s absolutely in control. “While I have you here, Kari, I want to tell you something.”

  That gets my attention, and I go still. “What?”

  “No matter what happens, I will always protect you. I don’t give a shit about Ariana’s motives or why she thinks she needs you. No one takes my mate away from me. You’re mine. And I’m yours.” Leaning down, he brushes his lips against my ear. “I’m not letting you go.”

  The words resonate across the thread that connects us like a bell. For him, this is a vow of loyalty and love. It strikes me directly in my heart, wrapping it in peace and comfort. He lets the moment hang between us for one more moment before he smiles. “One more thing.” He reaches out of sight and comes back with a length of silky black cloth. I don’t even have a chance to ask him what it’s for before he’s tying it over my eyes. “Aeric,” I say.

  “Breathe.” The command is simple and short, but I take a breath, relaxing into the sudden darkness as the fabric tightens. Nothing has changed. I can still feel his weight pressing against me, still feel that steadiness he’s projecting—even if that’s now spun together with his own arousal—and I can still feel that desperate need that I have for him.

  The air is so charged between us with lust and magic that I can almost feel Aeric move before he does. When he does move it’s with smooth precision. Up my body so he’s straddling my chest. I can feel the power in his legs and it only emphasizes my vulnerable position, open for him.

  Rustling fabric reaches my ears, and then fingers under my chin. “Open.”

  I know that he can feel the desire that slams into me like a wave, a pure reaction to the stark command in his voice. The tip of his cock brushes my lips, and I open for him. He tastes just as good as this morning. Like a fucking cinnamon lollipop.

  The thought almost makes me giggle, but I’m already too full of him to make a sound. All I can do is suck harder and enjoy. Bon appétit.

  Aeric thrusts his hips deeper, and I take as much of him as I can, enjoying that I can just do this. We’re mated. It’s not for any magic purpose but making him feel good. I never thought that being tied up and sucking a cock would turn me on so much that it makes my toes curl, but that’s exactly what’s happening right now.

  Swirling my tongue around his head, I can feel the swell of pleasure from him. He likes that. I do it again, and again, enjoying the echoes of his pleasure building on themselves. He groans above me, and I swear I can hear the wood of the headboard creak under his hands. “I think you’re the one that’s going to kill me, Kari.”

  I can only hum around his shaft, moving as much as I can, bound the way that I am. But he pulls away, swiftly moving so that he can reach my skin, working his way down my body in an echo of how he did this morning before we were interrupted.

  Fingers weave under the band of my bra. A flick of magic and it shreds under his hands easily, baring me to him. Only a feather touch of lips before his mouth is on my nipples, tasting one and then the other and back again before he slips down further. I want to reach for him. Hold him against my skin and wordlessly beg for more. But when I reach, I can’t. The cuffs keep my arms in place, sending me back into that state of delicious vulnerability, where my only option is to let go and feel.

  Aeric makes a low sound of pleasure. “I’d better not be interrupted this time.”

  I don’t have a chance to respond. His tongue is on me, directly through my panties, heat and texture already driving me insane. And with my legs held open the way they are, I’m spread like a feast for him.

  Magic curls up and into me—the first time that he’s used it to touch me—igniting a flare of arousal deep in my core. It steals my breath, working both with and against the motion of his tongue, steady and complimentary rhythm bringing me up and to the edge faster than I thought possible. I can feel myself grow even more wet, and Aeric groans. Another tiny flick of that magic and the fabric tears and disappears entirely.

  Through the magic of our bond, I can feel the sheer pleasure running through him when he tastes me for real. The echoes of his pleasure build on mine, making it louder and bolder and impossible to ignore. I hope that it’s the same for him at the same time that I’m in awe that I can make him feel this way—that I can make anyone feel this way.

  Aeric seals his mouth over my clit, sucking with determined ferocity. My hips are rising to meet his mouth as much as they’re able and I’m writhing in the restraints. The fact that I can’t move somehow makes this better and worse all at once. I can’t move or breathe or do anything to hold myself back from going over the edge, and he’s determined to send me there.

  Until he’s not.

  He pulls back, both with his magic and with the intensity of his mouth, and the orgasm I was about to have evaporates into mist. I moan, the loss of all that pleasure jarring and frustrating and somehow sexy, because he did it on purpose. “Fucking hell,” I say, and he laughs softly, even with his mouth occupied.

  “I’ve got all night,” he murmurs. “Can’t make it that easy.”

  “I think you could,” I say, lifting my hips as far as they’ll go, desperate for him to touch me again, for that cool spicy flow of magic rushing under my skin. He runs his hands up my thighs, and I shiver. “I want to see you,” I tell him. “Please.”

  I blink against the candlelight as he removes the blindfold, and the sight is one that has me half-way back to orgasm. Aeric is sprawled on the bed between my legs, the curve of his ass visible from the trousers slipping down his hips. His mouth is ravishing my clit, the flickering light making his hair almost shiver and drawing attention to the curling marks on his skin. I’m transfixed, watching him.

  Deep, slow pleasure unfurls under his tongue, drawn out with his lips and stoked with the barest hint of magic. Sealing his mouth over my clit, Aeric works me in rhythmic pulls of his mouth that have me moaning and wiggling and if he stops again I’m going to have to beg.

  I gasp when one little move of his tongue swirls over a spot that makes me see fire, and because he can feel me, he knows. Spreading his hands over the inside of my thighs, he pushes my legs even wider, locking me in place as he teases that spot. I may as well have kept the blindfold on, because I can’t see anything but white. I’m shaking under his tongue, the sharp point of it so close I swear I can almost taste it.

  Aeric’s magic strokes against mine, tangling it and teasing it and pulling it down into the mess of pleasure he’s created, and everything explodes. Ecstasy rolls through me like white-hot flame and I can hear my voices echoing off the walls. The orgasm has me shaking, pulling against the restraints while he doesn’t stop, drinking me in until I’m shuddering in the aftermath of pleasure.

  I come up gasping to find Aeric’s face close to mine. One glance downward tells me that he’s naked now. His cock is thick and hard between us, and I want it. So badly that I’m wet all over again. “Aeric—”

  My words are cut of
f with a kiss. His lips tease mine open as he slowly enters me. It’s delicious torture. Too much and not enough all at once. I love feeling what he feels—pleasure and satisfaction so deep that I’ve never felt the like. It’s perfect.

  And then he starts to move.

  This is the first time he’s been inside me like this since we’ve mated, and I swear to the goddess I feel the bond pull us closer. Like little bits of our souls are tangling together and merging. He’s not holding back, slamming into me with a force that’s shaking the bed, and I need more.

  He kisses me until neither of us can breathe, and when we have to break apart he buries his face in my neck so can still savor my skin. I reach for him, and am stopped by the ropes. I keep forgetting that he has me bound, and every time I’m reminded it pulls me back into that place of contentment and heat. He can fuck me as long as he likes while I’m like this. I am entirely his—just the way he wanted.

  It’s that thought that cracks me open again, orgasm spiraling up and out and rendering me completely senseless. Rolling waves of sensation crashing over me, and again when I feel Aeric come, both through the bond and the heat spilling inside me. It triggers aftershocks that carry me away into bliss. I’m limp and spent, pinned in place by Aeric’s body and his cock.

  Pressing a soft kiss to my lips, Aeric starts to untie me. “We’re done?”

  “Not even close,” he says, “but you need a rest from these.” He releases my legs first, one and then the other, helping me extend them slowly. They’re sore in a good way, and a little stiff. I love the way he massages my hips and thighs—digging in his fingers so that the muscles are forced to relax. He does the same with my arms, checking my wrists and massaging my shoulders before pulling me to him. My back rests perfectly against his chest and he kisses that place where my neck meets my spine. “How do you feel?”