Filed To Story: Between Two Kings: A Split or Swallow Book PDF Free
As if in a trance, Tem’s face rose to his. Their lips were an inch apart. She did nothing but breathe him in, feeling the warmth radiate from his body to hers. He was so warm, as if the flames that crackled in the fireplace originated within him.
“Tell me you want me,” Leo murmured, his voice low and rough.
He smelled incredible. Like summer and cigars and deep, dusty libraries. It was impossible to ignore-impossible to resist.
Tem closed her eyes. If she looked at him for another second she was going to kiss him. “I already did,” she whispered.
“No.” His breath fanned her face. “You said you missed me. That’s not the same.”
“It’s close enough.”
“No,” he said again. “It isn’t.”
Almost against her will, Tem arched her neck.
“Tell me, Tem. Say it.”
She opened her eyes. His gray ones were boring into hers, his pupils blown wide with desire. “I want you.”
It was only more painful once she’d said the words. Because nothing had changed. She couldn’t have him.
Leo raised his hands, touching his fingertips to the underside of her breasts, tracing their shape. Then he went higher, brushing gently over her nipples, the sensation lighter than air.
Tem let out a whimper. She couldn’t help it. The moment she did so, Leo pinched both nipples, capturing them between his fingers. As quickly as he did it, he let go. The sudden release left her breathless.
Then he did it again.
There was no proper contact-no skin on skin. Yet Tem’s entire body was on fire, as if someone had taken a torch to her bones. She wanted him to rip the dress off her-wanted him to press his lips to her neck and fuck her against the mantle.
“What if I asked to kiss you right now?” he murmured. “Would you let me?”
He was so close, she could smell his cologne-so close she could feel his heat. “Leo,” she whispered. “We can’t.”
He didn’t move. “Why not?”
Tem closed her eyes. It was too much. His scent, his skin, his presence. It was becoming difficult to concentrate-to breathe. Tem remembered the Frisky Sixty, when all Leo had wanted was to get her naked. Now it was Tem who was staring at the undone buttons of his shirt, imagining what it would be like to rip the rest of them open with her teeth.
He’d been her husband just weeks ago. What was so wrong about touching the man she loved and allowing him to touch her back? Tem knew he wanted to. His pulse thrummed an erratic rhythm. She could hear the blood pulsing into his cock, hardening it. She wanted to relieve that tension-wanted to hold him in her hands and stroke him to sweet release.
And why shouldn’t she? Evelyn didn’t love Leo the way Tem did. Maximus had confirmed as much. Tem was the one who had sacrificed her happiness for his. Tem deserved to indulge. But she couldn’t. Because the moment she indulged, Caspen would be forced to kill her. The situation was out of her control. Tem had to get out of this room.
She opened her eyes. “We just can’t.”
Leo’s face darkened. He dropped his hands. It was then that Tem realized just how close they were standing. Their bodies were nearly touching; every time he took a breath, his chest pressed against hers.
“Then leave,” he said.
Tem didn’t need to be told twice.
Mercifully, there was nobody in the hallway. She rode alone back to the caves, thinking of nothing but what had just happened. When she reached her chambers, the fireplace was lit, but still no Caspen. He was hunting, Tem supposed. Or perhaps he was elsewhere. Did she really have a right to wonder about his whereabouts when she herself had been sequestered with Leo?
Tem curled up in their bed.
Would Leo be thinking of her tonight, as she would surely be thinking of him? Would he return to his bedroom, wake Evelyn, and fuck her the way he wanted to fuck Tem? Brutal jealousy tore through Tem at the thought. It was supposed to be her in that castle. It was supposed to be them. What happened in the parlor shouldn’t have happened-was not allowed to happen. But part of Tem-and she knew perfectly well which part-was deeply aroused by it. Part of her wished they’d taken it even further. She played it out in her mind, how she would slide her palms under Leo’s shirt to touch the warm muscles of his torso. Tem could picture it vividly-the way his skin would feel against hers, the way Leo would mutter fuck when her hands roamed lower, the way his cum would taste in her mouth.
A moan escaped her lips. She realized she was touching herself, her fingers sliding steadily through her wetness. She imagined they were Leo’s fingers, deft and long, bringing her to orgasm. Tem spread her legs. She pictured Leo before her, imagining how he would stare at her center like it was the only thing he ever cared to see. His hands would grip her thighs, pulling her closer until his lips met her skin.
Tem arched her back, moaning. She wanted it. She wanted him. It had been far too long since they’d touched properly. The annulment was weeks ago, and that single brush of their fingers had barely sustained her since then. She needed more. She needed everything.
Leo would lick her until she came. Then he would slide his cock inside her and fuck her exactly the way he wanted. And Tem would let him. There was nothing she wouldn’t let him do-no part of her that was off-limits to him. She would give herself to him completely, and she would claim him in return.
Her fingers moved faster and faster. Tem missed the way he talked to her-ordering her to be still, to move, to do as he said. She worked her thumb desperately over her clitoris, her other hand moving to her breasts, pinching her nipples the way Leo had. But it wasn’t enough. It would ever be enough. Animalistic urge shot through her like a spear. She was on all fours, her fingers submerged to her knuckles, her skin wet with sweat. She imagined Leo taking her from behind, his hands gripping her hips. Tem knew the view would be irresistible, her bent over just for him. Leo deserved every part of her, and more. If only she could give him what she so readily gave to Caspen. If only things were different.
Tem was close. Leo would be too. He would insist on waiting for her, wanting to feel her cum coat his cock before letting himself release inside her. She knew he would fill her up, knew she’d be dripping with him. Tem thought about how beautiful he looked when he came-like an angel brought to life. Her savior. Her Leo.
Here, alone in her bed, the thought was enough to make her finish.
Tem fell back with a sigh.
She was painfully aroused. If anything, her climax hadn’t relieved anything, only made her want Leo more. But there was no way to have him. No solution to this problem. Tem was trapped, as she always had been, only now the circumstances were so much worse than she originally thought. There was no way out. She needed a distraction.
There was only one other person who could provide one.
Surely, it wouldn’t be difficult to find him. Tem reached out with her mind, feeling for him. He wasn’t nearby. She reached farther, determined. Still nothing.
She was just about to give up when Apollo’s voice bloomed suddenly in her mind:
You called, Temperance?
Now that she had found him, she almost regretted reaching out. But Tem was no longer interested in suppressing her needs. And she certainly wasn’t interested in feeling lonely anymore. Apollo was here, and Caspen wasn’t, and Tem desperately needed to talk to someone.
Yes.
I am honored. What can I do for you?
I’m…bored.
And you thought to contact me? How flattering.
Tem rolled her eyes even though she was alone. Apollo had that effect. Don’t make me regret this.
And what is this, exactly?
It’s… Tem paused. What was this, exactly? Was she really about to do this with Apollo? Tem knew what she wanted to say, but it felt impossible to say it. She soldiered on anyway. It’s a proposition.
I am listening.
Tem took a deep breath. She was about to cross so many lines. Some that Caspen had imposed and some that she herself would rather not violate. But the alternative was stasis, and that was unacceptable to Tem. She was done letting her circumstances determine her fate. She could not have Leo, but she could have this.
I want you to teach me how to petrify.
A pause.
In it, Tem broke out in a sweat. Had she really just done that? Was she really asking her brother-in-law to teach her the one thing her husband refused to teach her? It was inappropriate at best. Betrayal at worst. She was a traitor, violating Caspen’s trust in an act of pure rebellion. Yet Tem was done being the last to know. It had never seemed right to her that everyone else knew how to petrify and she didn’t. It was dangerous, even, for her to be missing this fundamental skillset. Caspen had left her no choice. Surely, he knew that. Surely, he would understand.
Apollo’s response came a moment later:
And when would you like me to teach you?
Right now.