Give the girl some room to breathe, Kieran.
Of course I would. It was only fair.
Besides, this would give me an excuse to sneak around and do a little bit of shopping. The pantry required a restock of a few essentials to keep the two of us fed, but more importantly, I hadpromised I would replace those panties of hers—the ones I had sliced straight off her body with my aetherblade, just to prove a point.
I knew just where to shop for such unmentionables, another hidden gem in Sophrosyne that I was certain Arken had yet to discover…And I took great pleasure in surprising the most clever, curious woman I knew.
Already, visions of the scraps of silk and lace I wanted to see my Little Conduit adorned in was sending most of the blood in my body straight to my dick.
“Come here,” I murmured.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ARKEN
Ihad been trying to resist the urge to ask Kieran to come with me when his gaze darkened, glacial eyes going half-lidded with lust as my assertion that I could multitask sparked his interest.
It wasn’t exactly that Iwantedhim to come with me…I was actually kind of looking forward to a very short moment alone, hoping to catch my breath just for an hour or two before diving straight back into the Abyss of my addiction.
I just didn’t want him to think I had any real interest in being apart.
Still, I managed to bite back the temptation to ask just for asking’s sake. The last six days had addled my brain worse than downing a whole bottle’s worth of honey-whiskey atThe Clover—a mistake I had only ever made ononeoccasion under Laurel’s terrible influence, and never again.
I was far from hungover…But I was most certainly still drunk. An hour or two of solitude would surely help me get my head on straight, right?
Or it’ll just give Kieran enough time to realize he’s making a mistake.
I shoved the intrusive thought aside, not wanting to sour my mood. That may have been theotherreason why I’d been considering asking for his escort, but I was not about to be that pathetic.
Thankfully, Kieran offered the perfect segue out of my insecurities before they spiraled out of control.
“Come here,” he instructed, pushing away the blanket that had been covering his bare legs and turning on to his side. “Drape your legs over me.”
As I began to slip out from under the duvet to follow his instructions, he reached out toward my feet, guiding my movement.
“Over my lap,” he clarified, eyes smoldering beneath dark lashes.
Curious, I tossed the book in my hand aside and slid forward, raising my calves up and placing my thighs over his hips, as instructed, so that our bodies were lying perpendicular to one another. I wriggled myself into the position I presumed he was aiming for, my bare ass—among other things—exposed to the erection waiting for me between his legs.
“Yeah. Just like that,” he purred, and I felt the length of him twitch as it brushed against me.
Insatiable bastard.
“This is new,” I teased.
“Something, something,variety is the spice of life,”Kieran replied, stroking himself with one hand in slow, languid motions.
“Is that your new favorite phrase, Captain?” I asked, hungrily staring at the crown of his thickening erection brushing up against me, ever-so-slightly with every stroke.
“Maybe,” he said with a smirk.
“Perhaps?” I giggled, enjoying this ongoing bit of ours.
“Mhmm,” Kieran replied noncommittally, his focus split between his cock and the way I was exposed in this position.
“I really could have sworn you were more a creature of habit,” I mused, and then gasped audibly when Kieran took hold of his length and smacked it against my pussy—just once.
“Repetition and I get along, this is true,” Kieran replied. “But I also fully intend to have you in every possible way there is to be had, Little Conduit.”