Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
Caspen didn’t hesitate. “I am undone by you,” he said. “I crave your scent, your skin, your voice. I think about you all the time, to the point of destruction. You are unbearably overwhelming. I cannot resist you no matter how hard I try.”
To hear Caspen describe her in the exact way she felt about him was unfathomable. Tem wanted to hear more.
Before she could ask for it, Caspen was already speaking, his words accentuated with every thrust. “I am afraid of how much you mean to me. You occupy every inch of my mind. If anyone ever hurts you, I will rip them apart. No one compares to you. No basilisk or human has ever captivated me the way you do. I want to fuck you all the time. I want to come inside you.”
His pace was increasing. Tem couldn’t breathe.
“You.”
Thrust.
“Are.”
Thrust.
“Perfect.”
This time when she came, he spoke a command into her mind:
Open your mouth.
Tem did so without question.
Caspen’s hand wrapped around her throat, arching her neck back so he could position his face directly over hers. He opened his mouth but didn’t kiss her. Instead, he made a guttural sound-something between a hiss and a growl, something completely and undeniably inhuman. Tem felt him come at the exact same time as a black liquid emerged from his mouth.
Tem’s eyes stayed wide open as the substance dripped down the back of her throat.
It tasted like smoke.
When the last of the liquid had slid from his mouth to hers, Caspen finally kissed her. He was soaked with sweat, and so was Tem. Their combined wetness was spreading all over their legs, but neither of them bothered to clean it up. There was no point; Tem liked being covered in him. The vibrations of their union ebbed away slowly, and it wasn’t until the air began to cool that Tem finally asked, “What was that?”
The gold was returning to Caspen’s eyes. He hooked a single finger through the chain around her neck, pulling her closer.
“My venom.”
“Your venom?”
“Yes.”
“But won’t that kill me?”
Caspen scoffed. “Of course not.”
Tem sat up straight, hardening her voice. “Don’t you dare make me feel stupid for asking that. Everyone knows basilisk venom is lethal.”
Caspen’s expression softened. “My venom is only lethal if I bite you. It is harmless on its own.”
“What?”
This was complete news to Tem. All her life, she’d been raised to think that basilisk venom was deadly.
“Venom is fatal when administered straight from the fang,” Caspen continued.
“So I’m not going to die?”
He pressed his lips to her neck. “Not from what I just did.”
Tem felt a sudden swoop of anticipation. What had he just done? She’d never heard of a basilisk giving its venom to a human, even if it wasn’t lethal. He’d told her to open her mouth, and she had obeyed. No part of her had hesitated to follow his order because she trusted him. It was that simple. But was she foolish for doing so?
She pushed him away. “You should have asked me first.”
Caspen frowned.
Tem continued before he could. “You can’t just decide what to do to me. I deserve an equal say.”
“I cannot consult you on every single decision I make, Tem.”
“You can when your decisions concern my body.”
He didn’t respond.
“I would have said yes, Caspen,” Tem whispered. “To anything you asked. I always say yes to you. So just ask next time.”
He looked at her finally. “Very well,” he said quietly. “I will ask next time.”
Tem nodded. Then, “But what…exactly did you do?”
“I already told you. I gave you my venom.”
“I know what you did. But why did you do it?”
Caspen’s eyes met hers. “You are not safe in my world, Tem. Every time you come here, it is a risk.”
Tem knew her excursions under the mountain were dangerous. But she also knew they were worth it. “You keep me safe,” she said.
He shook his head. “I am not always here. You were alone with Rowe tonight.”
“He didn’t do anything.”
“Only because I was nearby. Next time, he will not hesitate.”
“To do what?”
“To crest you.”
Tem frowned. Crest her? It wasn’t a term she’d heard before. “What does that mean?”
Instead of answering, Caspen lifted her off his lap and set her next to him on the bed. Anticipation slipped down her spine as he said, “The crest is a way for a basilisk to gain power.”
Tem mulled this over. Basilisks drew their power from sex. Was he worried Rowe was going to have sex with her?
“Caspen.” She laid her palm on his shoulder, leaning in. “Nothing happened between us. I promise.”
He shook his head. “The crest is not sex.”
“Then how does it work?”
“Limited contact is required for the crest. Rowe would only need to touch you”-as if to demonstrate, Caspen wrapped his hand around her throat before finishing quietly-“in order to crest you. When you are crested, you are forced to orgasm. It is a violent, nonconsensual act. My venom will protect you from this.”
“But why would Rowe want to give me an orgasm?”
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.