Filed To Story: Spit or Swallow: Kiss Of The Basilisk
“Maybe that’s part of the fun,” Leo said coldly.
Tem heard the clink of a glass and wondered if whiskey had been poured.
“I will not have you repeat the mistakes of your past,” Maximus continued.
“Evelyn was not a mistake.”
The king let out a dull laugh. “You were a fool then, and you are a fool now.”
Another pause. When Leo spoke, his voice was laced with hate. “I let you control me once. I won’t let you do it again.”
“We have a reputation to uphold, Thelonius. This is not how things are done.”
“Things are done the way we say they are. Isn’t that what you’re always telling me? Laws are made to be broken.”
“I won’t have my son wed to a chicken farmer.”
“Then you won’t have a son.”
There were footsteps as one of them walked away.
Before she could be discovered, Tem walked away too.
Tem had no idea what to expect the next night in the cave.
To be fair, she never knew what to expect from Caspen-whether he would be attentive or distant, caring or cold. Would he ask her about her date with the prince? Would she have to tell him about how they had dinner on the patio? How Leo hadn’t kissed her? Or would Caspen pretend that the prince didn’t exist, like he always did? The last time they were together, Caspen had tried to taste her. Whatever was in store for her tonight, Tem was quite sure she wasn’t ready for him to do that.
And then there was the fact that they hadn’t had sex.
Part of Tem wanted to yell at Caspen for holding out on her. She couldn’t understand his behavior, and she didn’t know how much longer she could survive without an explanation for it. The other part of her was terrified of pushing him away. Their connection was already perilous to begin with; the very last thing she wanted was to give him a reason to sever it.
Her worries followed her throughout the day-on the farm while she did chores, to the bakery where Vera was still infuriatingly absent, and all the way to the entrance of the cave. But the moment she saw Caspen standing next to the fireplace, they fell away. There was no trace of worry on his stony features, no sign that he had any troubles whatsoever. His eyes were focused on her and her alone, and she knew she wasn’t imagining the heat in them.
“Come here, Tem.”
She would’ve come whether he told her to or not.
When they were finally toe to toe, Caspen raised a single finger to her chin and tilted her face up to his. With that isolated motion, Tem allowed herself to forget the date with the prince. It was clear Caspen wasn’t going to ask about it anyway. She forgot her anger, her frustration, her insecurity. She remembered that these precious hours in the cave were all they had, and she didn’t want to waste them talking.
“What shall we do tonight?” Caspen murmured.
Tem couldn’t believe he would ask her that. It undermined everything the training was supposed to be. It put her in charge. She wondered if it was his way of appeasing her-if he knew somehow that she needed to feel in control right now.
She took a moment to think about her answer. There were a hundred things she wished to do. But only one thing made sense to do tonight. Something that, if Tem did it, she might gain the courage to receive it in return.
“I want to taste you.”
Primal hunger bloomed in Caspen’s eyes. “As you wish,” he said quietly, his finger slipping down the expanse of her throat. “On your knees.”
Was worshipping one god really so different from worshipping another?
Tem knelt for Caspen the same way she knelt for Kora, looking up at him as he untied his trousers and slipped them down his hips.
He gave her no instructions. Instead, his fingers laced into her hair, grasping the back of her neck and pulling her forward. His other hand held his cock level with her mouth.
He paused.
In what felt like slow motion, Tem’s lips parted.
Caspen let out a tortured moan as her wet tongue touched his velvet skin-soft and hard, water and stone. Tem saw his eyes roll back as he moved her head with his hand, coaxing himself farther and farther down her throat. Just as he’d taught her how to touch him, Caspen taught her this too. He directed her movements, guiding her back and forth, up and down. She was taking the very core of him inside her-tasting the part of him that exemplified his formidable power.
And yet Tem felt power too.
There could be no question of Caspen’s pleasure-he was gripping her hair like his life depended on it, and with such an important part of him in her mouth, Tem wondered if maybe it did. He pulled her closer, deepening their union, sinking into her one glorious inch at a time.
Eventually, his grip on her loosened, and the message was simple: Now you.
Tem obeyed without hesitation, continuing the motion, feeling saliva build at the corners of her mouth as she took him down her throat, trying to consume as much of him as possible.
But there was only so much she could take.
She’d always known he was big; it was an undeniable truth. But to have him in her mouth meant feeling his length in a different way. It meant her lips straining to take him, her jaw being pried open beyond what she thought was physically possible. When he hit the back of her throat, she winced.
“Relax, Tem.” His voice came from somewhere above her.
Tem tried to obey, but it was an impossible request. She couldn’t take him-he was simply too big.
Suddenly, Caspen pulled away, leaving her empty.
Then, to Tem’s complete shock, the basilisk knelt down in front of her. Her heart skipped several beats as his chest, then his shoulders, then finally his blazing eyes came into view.
“You must relax, Tem. It is the only way.”
Even when he was kneeling, he was still taller than her. She shook her head, looking down at her hands.
“I don’t think I can.”
“Tem.” He cupped her chin in his palm, pulling her gaze up to his. “You can do anything. Of that I am certain.”
His eyes were completely black. They bore into her like bottomless pools, darker than the deepest corners of the cave-darker than death itself. Tem felt a part of herself cower at the sight. But another part liked what she saw. She recognized his darkness, and she felt a kinship with it.
Caspen shifted his weight back, lowering himself even farther for her. “Try it from here,” he said. “If you need to rest, use your hand.” He released her chin, letting her determine when she was ready to try again.
In the absence of his touch, Tem took a moment to simply breathe. Her mouth felt numb, and her palms were damp. All of her was damp.
“Tem,” Caspen whispered. “Do you want to stop?”
She shook her head. “No.”
He leaned in, and the temperature rose several degrees. “Are you sure?”
A fire flared within her. Of course she was sure. She’d been sure ever since she was thirteen and realized she wanted to kiss a boy. Caspen was the one slowing their progress. Caspen was the one holding her at arm’s length. Caspen was the one who refused to have sex with her even when his duty demanded it.
She was sure. Even if he wasn’t.
Without another word, she lowered her head. Except this time, she didn’t try to take him all at once. This time, she let herself explore, lifting him with her hand and trailing kisses all the way down his shaft. She swirled her tongue where the base of his cock met the swell of his balls, immediately aware of the way his hand returned to her hair when she did it.
Now, with Caspen on her level, Tem could relax.
She took her time, pacing herself even though the last thing she wanted was to go slow. His cock was warm, every vein standing out beneath taut skin. Tem worked her way back up his shaft, taking only his head into her mouth and sucking on it gently. Caspen gave a sharp intake of breath, his fingers tightening in her hair. When she was sure she had his full attention, she took him as deep as she could over and over, losing herself in a motion that felt as steady as the tides. Vera had made it sound so clinical, like a transaction to be performed. But that wasn’t true at all. Tem could never have anticipated there would be a rhythm, a harmony, a flow to it that was as natural as her own heartbeat.