Therrin's POV
She felt the weight of him behind her — not just physical, but emotional. Ciaran didn't simply touch her; he claimed space, dominated it, made the very air thicken with awareness.
His fingers moved with that infuriating, practiced control — drifting just above her skin at times, barely grazing. Then, without warning, his palm would press firmly, grounding her. Possessing her.
Her chest rose with every breath as he mapped her like she was territory he'd marked but was only now exploring properly. His fingers slid down the slope of her collarbone, circled the edge of her breast without claiming it, then trailed lower — a teasing threat of all he hadn't yet taken.
"Say it," he whispered near her ear, his voice velvet-wrapped steel. "Tell me what I do to you."
Therrin trembled. Not with fear — no, she was far past that. This wasn't submission, it was recognition. Her body was starting to understand the language of his hands better than her mind could process.
"You make me feel like I'm on fire," she admitted, eyes fluttering closed. "Like every part of me is burning just to be touched."
A low chuckle rumbled in his throat, but it wasn't mockery. It was hunger — the kind that fed off her honesty.
He moved down, his lips and hands alternating as they passed over the soft curve of her stomach. Her skin was hypersensitive, like it remembered every kiss before he even gave it. Then his hands gripped her thighs, spreading warmth and tension across her muscles.
When his touch found her foot — of all places — she gasped. Not from shock, but from how intentional it felt. Like even this part of her was worshipped in his own wicked way.
"Say more," he growled softly. "Tell me how I make your body sing."
She opened her mouth, then hesitated. But the hesitation didn't last long.
"You make me ache," she said, voice low and sultry. "You make me want, more than I should. Even now — with Dion bound… watching — I still want you."
Her heart pounded. Not because she was ashamed, but because the truth had never tasted this dangerous before.
"And how does that make you feel?" he asked, voice curling around her spine like smoke. "Knowing he sees you like this… hearing every word?"
Therrin looked straight ahead, where she could feel Dion's presence — straining, seething, burning. And still… loving.
"It makes me feel powerful," she whispered. "Desired. Wicked."
Ciaran's laugh was soft, sinful. "Then show him just how wicked you can be."
Therrin's breath hitched as Ciaran's mouth descended — not to her lips, her neck, or even the hollow of her hips, but lower still, toward the arch of her foot. The unexpectedness of it made her nerves fire like lightning.
When his lips closed around her toe, a shudder pulsed through her — not from the act alone, but from the intimacy of it. It wasn't crude. It was reverent. Dominant. His tongue moved with agonizing precision, as if tasting a promise only he understood.
Her fingers twisted in the blankets, her thighs clenching instinctively. The way he looked up at her as he did it — eyes glowing with heat, devotion twisted in darkness — sent a flush crawling up her body like wildfire.
She didn't know whether to whimper or curse his name.
Therrin's voice was low, trembling with something dark and aching. She met Ciaran's burning gaze, her breath shallow, her body already attuned to the shadows coiling just beneath her skin.
"Do it," she whispered, a dare in her tone. "Call them back. Let them bind me again… I want to feel them holding me — your power owning every inch of me."
Her eyes fluttered shut as she added, "I want to be at your mercy."
Ciaran stilled.
For a breath.
For a heartbeat.
Then his grin split slow and dark across his face — sharp enough to cut.
"Oh, little shadow," he murmured, his voice curling with pride and possession. "You beg so beautifully."
He stepped closer, letting the space between them hum with tension. One hand lifted to her jaw, thumb brushing her lips. "You want to be bound? At my mercy?" He leaned down, just enough to make sure Dion heard every word through the bond. "Tell me — did you ever say that to him? Or is that gift just for me?"
Without waiting for an answer, he turned his head slightly, eyes cold as they flicked toward the still-bound Dion.
"She made her choice," Ciaran said, voice smooth as obsidian. "And now you get to watch her live it."
Then his hand lifted, fingers curling as he summoned the shadows with a single, whispered command in the ancient tongue. They obeyed instantly, pouring like smoke around Therrin's limbs, coiling with reverence and hunger — his magic responding to her need.
Ciaran's voice dropped to a velvet purr, thick with dark promise as he leaned closer, eyes locking with hers.
"Tell me," he breathed, fingers tracing slow patterns along her skin, "exactly what you want me to do. Every little detail. Don't hold back—I need to know. You belong to me now, and I want to hear it from your lips. Every craving, every ache, every secret desire."
His gaze deepened, hunger swirling in its depths.
"Speak for me, little shadow. Make me see it, feel it… so I can give you everything."
Therrin tilted her head back and closed her eyes. The memory of before flickered behind her eyelids—of the shadows when they had form, when they had hands. When they knew exactly how to make her unravel.
Her voice, husky with need, cut through the dark. "Bring them back," she whispered, then louder—bolder, "I want the shadows again… like before. When they touched me like they knew me."
Ciaran's head tilted with a wicked smile. "Do you now?" His voice dripped like honey over broken glass. "And what exactly do you want them to do, little flame?" His eyes flicked to Dion with venomous satisfaction. "Be specific—for all of us."
Therrin's pulse thundered in her ears, but she didn't flinch. She met his gaze, voice steady, sensual. "I want them to take their time… to explore me the way only shadows can. Slow. Deep. Everywhere."
Ciaran inhaled sharply through his nose, clearly affected by her audacity. His gaze burned like a brand. "You hear that, Dion?" he murmured, dragging one fingertip up Therrin's thigh with possessive reverence. "She remembers how it felt. And she wants it again. What kind of man lets another carve his name into a place he'll never reach?"
Then, to her, lower now, dark as midnight thunder, "Say the words, my flame. Invite them in."
Her voice came out low and shaken—but strong. "Then carve it deeper," she dared, her lips parting with the weight of the words. "If you're going to mark me, do it in a way no one—not even me—can erase."
A flicker of heat flared beneath her skin as the shadows stirred in response, like they'd heard her soul speak.
She leaned closer to Ciaran, her mouth near his ear now, her tone softer, hungrier. "You want me to say it? Fine. I want them inside me again. I want to feel them move… to feel you move through them. Every inch. Every pulse."
She glanced over her shoulder—toward Dion, toward the tension humming in the air.
"Let him watch what forever looks like."
The shadows obeyed. They formed the hands she knew before. Pulling her hair so fiercely that I could rip her hair out. They took control of her breasts. Squeezing and twisting her nipples.
The shadows within her core snaked out just a little to play with her clit. She bucked. And moaned. More spread her thighs apart. Ciaran turned around to face Dion and removed the rest of his clothing. Slowly. Undoing his pants to reveal nothing else underneath. He began stroking his already long, thick, and erect cock. With the movements of his hands, he continued to grow.
Dion's eyes went wide in shock, for that was much larger than he was. He went to turn his head to look away. But Ciaran had the shadows grab him by the jaw and force him to watch as he massaged himself, precum dripping.
"Therrin is going to thoroughly enjoy this don't you think? And your gonna stay there and watch while she takes me all in her beautiful lips" he said.
Therrin, watching, became even more aroused at what Ciaran was doing, taunting Dion like that. She was so close already.
"Ciaran…please"
He turned to her then, walked closer. And climbed over her. He stood on his knees before her. Tracing her lips with his thumb, still stroking himself with the other hand.
"Once you get a taste of me," he murmured, voice curling like smoke around her spine, "you'd better hold on, little flame. Because I won't be gentle after that. You'll feel every part of me—until you forget there was ever anyone else."
He pressed his tip to her lips, and as soon as she licked the precum, he shoved himself into her mouth. So deep. All the way down her throat. It was too much. But so, so good.
He began fucking her throat then. Pounding with such force her eyes rolled in the back of her head. He commanded the shadows within her to move in a frenzy. She started bucking her hips and opened her eyes. She could see Ciaran for what he was. Basked in their need. But this time, she could see Dion as well, to the side of them, watching with his breath caught in his throat. He looked broken.
She stared at Dion the whole time that Ciaran took control of her mouth.
It seemed like hours went by, and perhaps it had. She felt like a mess. Tears running down her cheeks, the teasing and relentless shadows moving inside her but stopping her short of her orgasm. She stopped looking at Dion, and pleaded into Ciaran's eyes.
"Begging without a word," he murmured, voice thick with satisfaction. "That look alone could bring kingdoms to their knees. You want it that badly, little flame?"
She nodded her head.
"Then I'll give it to you" he said with a final thrust so deep she gagged. And at the same time, the shadows had finally allowed her release as well.
Cum filling her throat, she swallowed every bit of it. Her juices splattered everywhere between her legs, and still dripping out of her.
Ciaran turned to Dion again.
"I'm going to allow you one thing Dion" he spat his name out with disgust. "You can touch her, just one last time. Clean up her beautiful mess. The mess I created. It'll be the last time you get to taste her".
The shadows dragged him forward on his knees and placed him between her legs. Pushing his head into her core. He licked every drop from her while Ciaran praised her with his kisses.
She started moaning again under his touch, that was aided by Dion. Another blast of pleasure drifted through the air.
"Greedy little thing" Ciaran murmured darkly, his fingers trailing over her flushed skin. "One taste is never enough for you, is it? Always needing more, more of me, more of this. Say it."
Therrin shivered beneath his touch, her breath catching as his words sank into her. "It's never enough," she whispered, eyes locking with his, bold and unwavering. "I want more—need it. But not with him here. Just you, Ciaran. I want you all to myself."
Ciaran grinned at her declaration.
"As you wish" and waved his hand through the air making Dion disappear from her newly developing sight.