Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
“He told me that I’m the prince’s type. Apparently, he wants a curvy girl.” Vera’s eyes raked snidely over Tem. “A girl like me.”
Tem felt her anger flare. “Caspen said that I-“
“Caspen?” Vera hissed, her face pinched with sudden jealousy. “He told you his name? Mine didn’t tell me his. He didn’t even touch me.”
“Mine didn’t touch me either,” Tem admitted. But she left out the part where he’d undressed for her, as she had for him. She left out the part where they’d touched themselves in front of each other. And she certainly left out the part where he’d given her a piece of himself and that piece was inside her right now.
“Well, why would he?” Vera snapped.
Tem shrugged. The words hurt, but the hurt was alleviated by the pulse between her legs, and she wondered whether Caspen had felt her pain. She closed her eyes, focusing on the sensation. It was gentle at first, then more insistent. Tem couldn’t help but smile; he was teasing her, the pulses lasting far longer than usual.
“And what exactly are you smiling at?” Vera interrupted her thoughts.
Tem’s eyes flew open. “Nothing,” she said, stifling her expression and brandishing the basket. “Take your eggs.”
Vera huffed away, making a big show of retrieving Tem’s payment before handing it over. “I guess I’ll see you tonight,” she said.
“You sure will,” Tem replied.
She left the bakery with a spring in her step. For the first time in her life, an interaction at the bakery hadn’t left her in tears. Not only that, she still had one more card to play with Vera: as soon as she found out that Tem was with the Serpent King, she’d be so jealous she might actually respect Tem enough to leave her alone.
The rest of the day passed in a blur of farm chores. Tem went through the motions mechanically, cleaning out the chicken coop on autopilot. She couldn’t think of anything but tonight. How would the basilisk greet her? Would they talk about the pulses he had sent during church? Would they finally touch? Kiss? More?
The claw didn’t pulse for the rest of the day, and Tem’s heart was pounding by the time night fell and she joined the line of girls headed for the caves.
Her mother didn’t escort her this time; she simply clasped her hands in hers, ran her fingers over Tem’s freckles, and kissed her on the forehead before ushering her out the door.
When they reached the end of the trail, Tem was sick with anticipation. All she could think about was what might happen tonight. She could do nothing but put one foot in front of the other, and by the time she entered the cave, the pain in her chest was borderline unbearable.
There was Caspen, standing calmly in the center of the room. Tem’s heart only beat faster as he closed the distance between them.
“Tem,” he said quietly, and she remembered the deep smoothness of his voice. “How are you?”
“Oh,” she said, clearing her throat. “I’m fine. How are you?”
He smiled, baring his teeth, but didn’t answer. Instead, he nodded at the fireplace built straight into the stone wall. A thick mat had been laid out in front of it.
“Come,” he said. “Let us begin.”
Tem followed him to the mat.
Just like last time, he splayed his hands and said, “Whenever you are ready.”
This time, Tem didn’t demand that he undress first. Instead, she pulled her clothes off slowly, letting them drop to the ground in an easy pile. Caspen watched her, his mouth still tilted in a smile. He wasn’t even touching her yet, but Tem could feel his power from here. Without a word, he undressed too, and once again, she let her eyes wander over his infuriatingly perfect body. Gabriel was right. Caspen was delicious.
Tem felt the same surge of power when she saw he was already on his way to being hard. It was incredible knowing he was hard because of her. It felt like the most intoxicating thing in the world to have this effect on him-to finally be perceived by someone other than her mother and Vera, someone who mattered.
“Lie on your back,” Caspen said.
She did so.
“Open your legs.”
She did so, and he knelt between them, pulling her thighs around his so he was centered above her. This wasn’t the first time she’d been exposed in front of him, but it was the first time he’d touched her, and the second his skin met hers, Tem felt a jolt of energy so strong that her heartbeat would not be soothed.
The claw was still inside her, and Caspen caressed the tip of it with his finger. He wasn’t touching her yet-just the claw-but he was so close that Tem could feel herself getting wet just from the thought.
“Did you enjoy what I sent you?” he asked quietly.
“Yes.” She nodded, hoping he would send another pulse right now. But he didn’t. Instead, he slid his finger along the curve of the claw and pulled it out in a single, smooth motion.
Tem gasped at the sudden emptiness.
Caspen set the claw aside. His hands returned to grip her thighs, pulling her even closer. Tem had never felt so vulnerable.
He paused.
Tem had absolutely no idea what to expect and briefly debated asking what they were about to do. Thankfully, Caspen spoke before she had the chance to.
“In order to understand a man’s body, you must first understand yours,” he said, his eyes tracing over her. “Do you know your own anatomy?”
Tem felt her inexperience rear its head once more. “I’m…not sure what you mean,” she whispered.
Caspen extended his fingers, trailing them gently up her thighs. When he reached the center of her legs, he touched the most sensitive part of her, brushing against it with his fingertip. Tem had only touched that part herself, and now that Caspen was doing it, she feared she might go slightly insane.
“I mean,” he continued, “do you know what this is called?”
“No,” Tem managed to say, and it was the truth.
“A clitoris.”
Tem had no idea it had a name. She knew it only as the part she teased just before she was about to finish-the part the tapered end of the claw pressed against, which throbbed with pleasure whenever Caspen sent a pulse.
“The prince may play with it,” he said.
“Play with it?”
“Yes. Like this.”
Caspen applied pressure with his finger, the veins in his arm flexing suddenly as he rubbed her clitoris hard. Tem cried out in surprise and pleasure. She could barely think, much less speak. Yet she felt the need to say, “Am I to be played with?”
Caspen withdrew his hand. The sudden absence of his fingers left her cold. He leaned in, and Tem flinched at the hardness in his eyes. “You are to do exactly what the prince wants. If he wants to play with you, you will let him. If he wants to do anything at all, you will let him.”
His words were harsh, and Tem knew they were the truth. She was not the one with the power-she was here for the prince’s pleasure, not the other way around.
“Right,” she whispered. “Sorry.”
Caspen’s expression softened.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
His fingers returned to her clitoris, and for a moment, all he did was touch her. Tem felt the familiar stirring of desire rear its head, and she wished she could sit up and touch him too. She wondered if Caspen wanted her to. He was clearly hard, but she had no idea whether that meant he was actually enjoying himself since he didn’t stroke his cock like he did last time. He only touched her clitoris, and although it felt amazing, she desperately wanted more from him.
As soon as she thought it, he slipped two fingers all the way inside her.
Tem gasped. Caspen’s eyes flicked to hers. If she didn’t say something, she was going to moan, and that seemed inappropriate given Caspen’s silence. So she said, “Does that have a name too?”
Tem’s mother had always called it her “womanhood,” which was decidedly vile. Vera called it her “flower,” which was even worse.
If Caspen thought the question was weird, he didn’t say so, instead answering calmly, “Pussy. Center. Vagina. Cunt. You can call it whatever you like.”