Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
Tem rolled her eyes. Caspen was still in her head, watching from behind her. Eventually, under the protection of his steady presence, Tem relaxed. She still hadn’t touched herself-hadn’t even moved from where she was standing. But she felt ready now to indulge, as Caspen had so eloquently put it. And she wasn’t going to do it from here.
Slowly, so as not to disturb the couple, Tem stepped forward and knelt on the edge of the mattress. The moment she did so, a wave of approval crashed into her mind. It wasn’t just from Caspen; Tem felt it from all over-everyone in the crowd who was watching her wanted her to do this. Their hunger was staggering.
She touched herself tentatively at first, hesitating only due to the acute awareness that everyone was watching her. Tem had been watched before, but this felt different from the ritual. Back then, Bastian had been involved, and she’d had a clear task to complete-one that Caspen had taught her to do. But this time felt more nebulous. This time the approval being sought was her own.
The couple was enamored with each other, and Tem was enamored too. She synced her motions to theirs, fingering herself in gentle, forgiving strokes, pretending that she was the only one in the room. Her basilisk side was turned on. But her human side couldn’t comprehend that the couple was having sex for her. Every time she thought about it too hard, her throat tightened and her heart sped up. She glanced around the crowd for a distraction. To her surprise, she found one. Apollo.
Everyone was watching the couple. But Caspen’s brother was watching her.
When their eyes met, Apollo’s mind brushed against hers, and Tem fought the urge to recoil. She didn’t let him in. She couldn’t. Instead she threw up a barrier-the same one she’d used against Caspen-to keep him out. His gaze dug into her like a knife, hot and insistent, unrelenting in its intensity. He wasn’t touching himself-no one was-that act was reserved for the Serpent Queen. But his cock was hard, and without thinking, Tem’s eyes trailed down his body to look at it. It looked so much like Bastian’s. The resemblance was uncanny. Like father, like son.
With a gasp of surprise, Tem came.
The moment it happened, the crowd erupted into cheers. Caspen picked her up by the waist and spun her around before setting her down and kissing her straight on the mouth. Tem kissed him back, squeezing her eyes shut tight, willing herself to forget what she’d just seen.
The couple was beaming; it was clear they were overjoyed by her blessing. Only Tem knew the truth: that the couple had not made her come at all.
“Now what?” she asked, still breathless.
Caspen smiled. “Now we celebrate.”
Celebrating, of course, meant sex.
Everyone around them was already doing it; the crowd was breaking off into pairs and groups, their bodies overlapping in an endless wave of skin. Caspen pushed her down on the mattress, and Tem wrapped her legs around him. She knew many were still watching, and she knew she didn’t care. She might even have preferred it at this point. Her basilisk side was alive and well, filled with the communal joy that her blessing had brought to the couple.
Caspen spread her legs, but she stopped him before he could enter her.
“Wait,” Tem said.
He paused. “What is the matter, Tem?”
“I…” Tem began. She looked up at him, and her throat seemed to close.
At her expression, Caspen took her face in his, pressing his lips to her forehead. “Talk to me,” he murmured.
For some reason, tears pricked her eyes. “Am I good enough?”
Caspen frowned. “Good enough at what?”
“This. Everything. You.”
His frown deepened. “Me?”
“Yes. One day I’m nobody and then suddenly I’m queen of the basilisks. It’s…too much.”
“Tem.” Caspen pulled her closer. “You have nothing to fear. You are doing beautifully.”
“How can you say that? I can’t transition without help. And even then I can barely-“
“Tem,” he cut her off again, pressing his forehead to hers. “Enough.”
She stared into his golden eyes, trying to understand the fondness in them. “How can you always think the best of me?”
“Because you are the best of me,” he said simply.
His words floored her. It was impossible to believe that she could make a centuries-old creature better.
“You are more than good enough,” he murmured against her cheek. “You are perfect.”
Tem smiled. Caspen smiled too, pulling her closer.
Are you ready?
Yes.
Unmistakable approval lit up his face. He kissed her on the lips.
Caspen thrust into her relentlessly, and she took him deeper and deeper. He was right; they did look better. Tem knew it by the way basilisks watched them enviously, as if they yearned to step up and join them. But for now, they belonged only to each other. There was no daylight in the courtyard-no way to know how much time had passed in the endless tangle of limbs and liquids and frenzied breathing. They lay on the mattress between climaxes, draped in each other’s arms, the celebration raging around them.
“I can’t believe this is what your life is like,” she whispered against his skin.
“It was not nearly so enjoyable before you arrived.”
Tem giggled. She looked out over the basilisks. “How late will it go on?”
“Quite late.”
At the look on her face, Caspen said, “We can take a break, if you need one.”
Tem hated to admit that she did. It was all too much-the bodies, the moans, the movement. She didn’t want Caspen to think she couldn’t handle it. But the truth was that she couldn’t.
Come, Tem. We will rest.
His hand found her waist, lifting her up off the mattress. Tem knew it was not in Caspen’s nature to take a break. But she appreciated that he did so for her, leading her to a quiet spot at the edge of the courtyard. They looked out over the chaos together. All around them, basilisks were kissing and laughing and having sex. Tem couldn’t help but think about how much Gabriel would love this.
“Caspen?”
“Yes, my love?”
“How old are you?”
He bristled. “I do not think my age is relevant.”
“Well, I do.”
“I am older than you.”
“I’d already guessed that, actually.”
He didn’t reply.
“Tell me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because you are too eager to know.”
Tem didn’t have the energy to push him. Instead she moved the conversation to their minds: