Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
Thick, black smoke filled the cavern. Caspen was growing, his human form long gone. Join me.
They barely sounded like words anymore. Caspen’s voice was just a hiss, thundering through her mind and rattling her teeth in her skull.
Tem tried again to break free-to fling away the anchors that weighed her down, to cast aside twenty years of pain and insecurity and self-doubt. Caspen’s mind surrounded hers, pulling her toward him, forcing her in two different directions.
You can do it.
But Tem had had enough.
“I CAN’T!” she screamed. Her voice echoed endlessly around the cavern, cruelly repeating her own failure back to her.
A moment later, Tem was back in her own mind. She saw Caspen’s outline shrink behind the smoke, and she knew he was returning to his human form. The sweltering temperature dropped to a tolerable degree, and before she could even blink, a man stood before her once more.
Caspen’s hands went to her waist, holding her gently. “We will try again tomorrow, Tem. Do not despair.”
Tem didn’t even have the energy to nod.
Instead, she collapsed against him, tears stinging her eyes. The frustration and disappointment were too much for her. She had never felt so defeated.
Caspen held her as she sobbed, waiting until she was calm before carrying her out of the lake and through the passageway, murmuring soothing words the entire way back. By the time they reached his chambers, Tem was fast asleep in his arms.
When she woke, the first thing she felt was shame.
Tem couldn’t imagine how things could have gone any worse. She was completely hopeless. It was one thing to feel out of place as a human, but to know she couldn’t transition either was a blow she hadn’t expected.
You cannot transition yet. That does not mean you will never do so. Caspen was awake, watching her.
I’m hopeless, Caspen.
Caspen touched a single finger to the bottom of her chin, raising her head to his. I never want to hear you say that again.
Tem was on the verge of tears. Caspen pressed his lips to hers.
Rest today, Tem. We will try again tonight.
By the time Tem got home, she had cried twice more and received a pounding headache in return. The farm work did nothing to soothe her, and despite cleaning the chicken coops with unhinged aggression, Tem’s mood only worsened.
It wasn’t fair that Caspen could transition so easily. There had to be some trick to it, something Tem was missing. And what if she never figured it out? What if she never accessed this part of her-the part that was capable of performing the crest? There was too much at stake for that to be the case. She had to master this. For Leo’s sake and her own. She could not shoulder the burden of war.
Her mother mercifully made the trip to the bakery again. If this was their new normal, Tem certainly wasn’t going to question it. She savored the time alone in their little cottage, taking the opportunity to smell the sea salt spray on her mother’s dresser. It had been a long time since she’d used it, and she spritzed a tiny amount in her hair now, pressing her curls to her nose and sniffing deeply. For some reason, it made her feel connected to Caspen, and she wished the claw was inside her.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
Tem bounded into the kitchen, half expecting to see Leo on her porch. Instead, it was a footman, who handed her a letter before disappearing. Tem opened it in a rush to read:
Temperance Verus,
The prince requests your presence at the castle for a formal ball in two days’ time.
The dress code is evening wear.
There was a note on the back, written in tangled red ink:
Next time, I get to torture you.
Tem couldn’t help but smile. The memory of what she’d done with Leo in the carriage came back to her in a fevered wave, bringing a rush of heat to her cheeks. Then, just as quickly, her face fell.
Two days.
That meant Tem had only two nights left with Caspen. Two nights to learn how to transition. She crumpled the letter in her hand. She was done holding herself back.
Tem ate a quick dinner with her mother before setting off once more for the caves. This time, Caspen was waiting for her, and she knew it was to prevent another incident like the one that had happened with Rowe.
They didn’t bother going to his chambers. Instead, they traversed the passageways that led beneath the mountain, crossing through the empty courtyard before continuing on to the cavern. When they reached the lake, they waded out into the water just as they had the night before. Caspen turned to her.
We will try something new this time. He leaned in, drawing her into a kiss.
This isn’t new. She felt him smile against her lips.
We will transition while we are together.
You mean while we’re having sex?
Yes.
And how is that going to help?
Caspen dipped his hands behind her thighs, lifting her and wrapping her legs around his waist. I will talk you through it.
Tem wasn’t really listening anymore. His cock was rubbing against her, and she could feel her mind going blissfully blank. Maybe Caspen had a point. Sex was natural to her-sex with him even more so. Nothing made her feel more peaceful and alive than being with Caspen.
Are you ready?
Tem nodded.
They both moaned softly as he entered her.
Her arms wrapped around his neck as he thrust slowly upward, their motions creating ripples in the lake. Tem angled her hips to meet his, letting him all the way in. Caspen pressed kisses to her skin, distracting her from what she knew was to come. Eventually, she lost herself in his arms, thinking only of how good he felt inside her.
Every time she became anxious, Caspen would soothe her with his body and his mind. At no point did he let her panic; at no point did he allow her to spiral. Whenever a wave of fear threatened to overtake her, he quelled it.
Focus on me, Tem.
It was not hard to do so.
Their bodies were pressed together-two beings becoming one. Caspen pulled her closer with every thrust, bringing her to the brink of orgasm. Every time his hips met hers, her clitoris throbbed.
I want it, Caspen.
I know you do. He was thrusting faster, his eyes turning black.
I want it.
So take it.
He was growing in the same way he had during the ritual, his cock becoming bigger and harder and ridged. Only this time, Tem wanted to take it-was going to take it. She clawed at the edges of her mind, feeling for the same vibration of power she felt in Caspen’s.
You can do it, Tem. Join me. Be with me.
There was pain interlaced with the pleasure now, coursing through her in shards of fractured lightning.
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.