Treasure Ch. 02

"It's lovely," she confessed, and he smiled widely, a chunk of bloody meat in his hand. It made him look rather terrifying, and she returned his smile worriedly.

"Good. Excuse me for a moment." Adeon turned away from her and opened his mouth wide, exhaling sharply and engulfing the meat and his hand entirely in shockingly orange flame. It streamed through his mouth like rushing tides, fast and merciless, and Catherine felt the color leave her face. It was beautiful and utterly frightening, and she tried to keep her composure as he stopped and turned back to her, the meat in his hands charred and brown. "Here you are. Be careful, it's hot."

"I...thanks," she managed to say weakly, grabbing it gingerly with two fingers. He purred a noise of content acknowledgement and picked up a piece of raw meat, opening his mouth and pausing as he caught her eye and saw her watching him in horror.

"...Yes?" he inquired after a moment's pause.

"Do you...have to eat it like that? In front of me?" she stuttered faintly. Glowering at her impatiently, he turned away again, letting out a much briefer burst of flame over the slab of meat that turned it a light brown, and turning back to her.

"Better?" he asked dryly. She nodded, looking down at the floor. "You are much too delicate," he said before taking a large, savage bite out of the meat. "Eat," he ordered around a mouthful of deer as she studied her own chunk of meat. "I'm hardly going to poison you. That seems a bit redundant, considering you're already mine."

"A bit hard to forget with these," she replied, jingling her shackles morosely. "Poison isn't something I'm terribly worried about." She narrowed her eyes at him playfully. "Although I do have a bit of a suspicion that you're trying to fatten me up for Sunday dinner." A bit of juice from the meat trickled down the corner of his mouth as he studied her with surprise, and she watched as he delicately caught the drop with his tongue. But the look of shock on his face was fleeting, and quickly transformed back into his lazy, mischievous stare.

"And perhaps I will," he retorted, looking incredibly pleased, "if I'm forced to put up with your cheek." To her surprise, a broad, broad smile broke out across her lips, and she stifled a giggle by leaning down to take a small bite out of the deer, frowning when she couldn't bite off a chunk properly, and finally ripping it off impatiently. As she chewed, she looked back at him and saw him watching her, an odd look in his eyes. Although there was some distance between them, his presence seemed to buzz against her like static. It wasn't unpleasant...just difficult to ignore.

"It's very good," she told him around a mouthful of deer. "Especially considering it hasn't got any spices or butter." The bread broke cleanly in her hands as she ripped off a piece, taking a small nibble and smiling brightly. "Rosemary bread!" she exclaimed. "This is my favorite. Thank you."

"My pleasure," he replied, and he looked like he meant it. After a moment, she began to eat with abandon, sucking the juice from the deer off her fingers and taking a long draught of wine. He chewed slowly and methodically, watching her eat with an inquisitive look on his face, a few locks of hair fluttering over his eyes. Those long, tapered fingers wrapped around the stem of his goblet and he raised it to his lips, taking a sip and leaning back against the wall of the cave. Light from the setting sun streamed in through the entrance, staining his pale skin with fiery reds and oranges, and Catherine gazed down on the tiny kingdom that lay at the base of the mountain, the one that she had come from just a day ago.

"Did I really sleep for a whole day?" she asked curiously, gnawing on a chunk of meat and a wedge of bread she had fashioned into a haphazard sandwich.

"I'm afraid so," Adeon answered, pausing to take a long sip of wine. "You were exhausted, frightened, and incredibly drunk. You slept quite soundly." His lips were stained with wine, and they looked full and wet and incredibly kissable, she thought absentmindedly, immediately chastising herself. It must have been the alcohol making her think that way. A flush crept up her neck as she remembered his soft, long kiss from the night before, and she pointedly looked away from him, taking another long draught of wine. "Did I say something?" he asked, a tiny smile curling the corners of his lips. She drained the rest of her wine and finally looked back at him, taking a deep breath and willing herself to speak.

"I just think you look very handsome right now," she murmured, looking everywhere but at him. He raised an eyebrow, the cheer fading gradually from his face, his smile becoming pointed and sardonic.

"Resorting to flattery?" he inquired slowly, and Catherine's eyes widened. "How very clever of you."

"I didn't mean it like that," she said quickly, setting down her goblet. "I just thought..."

"Thought what? That the poor, lonely dragon would take pity on you and let you go if you showed him kindness?" he interjected, his eyes narrowing. Catherine's face suddenly contorted into a scowl, and his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Don't be an idiot," she snapped. "I was enjoying speaking to you, and I looked at your lips and thought it would be nice to kiss them. But now I don't think I'd like anything to do with them, let alone the self-pitying dragon they belong to, so I'll just sit here and finish eating and keep to myself." The dragon gaped at her in disbelief, and she grabbed the bottle of wine and turned towards the entrance of the cave in a huff, drawing the cloak close to her and pouring another glass. It was a bit difficult, pouring wine in shackles, but Catherine was much too angry to ask for help, and eventually the goblet was full.

"I don't think I've ever been called an idiot before," he wondered out loud, and Catherine rolled her eyes, setting the bottle back down so she could take a sip of wine.

"You could have fooled me, making rude assumptions like that," she said swiftly.

"Forgive me. I just find it incredibly hard to believe that a pretty young thing such as yourself would ever want to kiss a dragon," he explained, and Catherine could hear the sincerity in his voice. She turned to glare reproachfully at him from over her shoulder, and he smiled at her. "You're cute when you're angry," he teased. "Like a puffed-up little bird scolding a fox."

"I am not a puffed-up little bird," Catherine insisted, and he burst out laughing. She turned back towards him and scowled at him from over her glass of wine, taking a long gulp that almost emptied it. He leaned close to her, bracing his hands on the floor so his face was inches away from hers, and she leaned away from him instinctively.

"Prove it," he murmured, and she stared at him uncertainly.

"That I'm not a little bird?" she asked slowly, and he smiled.

"That you want to kiss me," he breathed, and each word was soft enough to send a tremor shooting up her spine. She bit her lip for a moment, and he slowly turned his head to the side, watching her with half-lidded eyes and parted lips, his movements languid and slow. Her hands shook, and she steadily closed the distance between their lips, her eyes closing as he let out a shaky breath of surprise against her lips and gently tangled his hand in her hair. After a moment, she pulled away, and his eyes were glazed and bright, his mouth was pink from kissing, and his expression was distant.

"I'm sorry," she whispered breathlessly, her body warm and weightless. Her lips were buzzing from where he had kissed them. "I'm not very good at kissing. I don't do it very much."

"I think you kiss beautifully," he said unsteadily, jerkily moving closer and sitting up so he could cup her face in his hands and claim her lips with his again.

"Mmmm." She wrapped her arms around his neck, trembling as his mouth opened in a rush of warm breath. Suddenly, his hands slid downwards to pull her body up against his, and she made a noise of surprise as he straightened up and lifted her into the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist, and every part of her body exploded into jitters as he pushed her up against the wall and kissed her hard, frantically, like the world was ending, then trailed a line of kisses from her cheek to her neck.

"Can I touch you?" he murmured. She shut her eyes tight, the movement of his lips against the skin of her neck wracking her nerves.

"Yes," she whispered, her hands clenching into claws on his back and raking his skin with her nails. He let out a groan and turned to lower her shakily onto the ground, laying her down and parting the fabric of her cloak to expose her body. She quivered as his hands slid across her torso, cupping her breasts and stroking the sensitive skin of her belly. With a contented smile, he dipped his head down to gently suck one of her nipples into his mouth. His teeth lightly caught the pink tip, causing her to yelp, and his right hand mauled her other, pinching and rolling and squeezing in a way that made her tremble and jerk. She tangled her shackled hands in his long, white hair, her breathing hitched as if she had just run several miles. Her hips were making desperate little circles underneath him, her body silently pleading for him. He pulled back and kissed her, his lips moving hungrily against hers.

"You slay me," he sighed after he pulled away, watching her writhing below him with that lazy stare of his, one that was fascination and craving and chaos. He trailed his mouth down Catherine's body and nipped it sharply every few seconds; her belly, her thighs, eliciting several little cries from her, and she felt herself dissolve as he ran his wet tongue up the length of her lips. Her body was tense and alive with electricity, and it was all building up inside her like a scream in the back of her throat.

"Adeon," she moaned, holding her hands to her chest and gasping as he nibbled at her inner thigh. He grabbed her calves to hold her legs steady as she tried to jerk them away from him at the sharpness of the sensation. His hair tickled against the sensitive skin, and her breath was hitched and unsteady in her throat. "Oh, God, I think I'm going to scream if you don't stop..."

"Then scream for me," he breathed, giving her thigh another sharp nip. She put her shackled hands to her mouth to stifle the tiny yelp that escaped her lips, and he laughed. "Somebody has very sensitive thighs," he crooned delightedly, trailing his tongue up her skin until he reached the crook of her knee and making her take in a quivering gasp. Then he trailed a line of soft, soft kisses down her other inner thigh towards her lips, holding her legs fast as they bucked against him. She exhaled shakily, trying to contain herself, but then his tongue was swirling against her clit and she shut her eyes tight. He released her legs and stroked her stomach with one hand, the other sliding between her legs so his fingers could probe at her lips, a noise of pleasure escaping his mouth as he felt her wetness.

Catherine's world was spinning, her heartbeat was throbbing in her ears, her mind was cloudy and hazy and dizzy. All she could do was lay wide-eyed and gasping as he gently slid two fingers inside of her, moving them in and out of her slowly. Her breath caught in her chest as he gazed up at her from in between her legs, his green eyes bright and wicked, and he gently sucked her clit in between his lips, lashing it with his tongue and fucking her slowly with his fingers. It was all too much, and Catherine was sent over the edge, letting out a little cry as her body convulsed with release and went limp. She clenched around his fingers, wet and throbbing.

And then suddenly he was knelt over her, his breathing uneven and desperate, his right hand seizing her hip as he pushed his hard, eager cock inside of her. She gasped as he entered her, oversensitized and frantic. She could feel her passage strain against his width and clenched her teeth at the dull soreness he was eliciting with every inch that slid into her.

"Do you want me to stop?" he whispered raggedly. She shook her head helplessly, lifting her legs obediently as he tilted her hips upwards and closing her eyes as he leaned in to give her a fierce kiss. Her mouth felt bruised and raw from kissing, and her body was fever-hot against his chest, which was cool from the cave. He began to move in and out of her at a deliciously leisurely pace, and she hooked her shackled arms over his neck, feeling the taut muscles of his back move under her fingers.

This wasn't sex, or carnal pleasures, or sin. This was making love.

His left hand supported the back of her neck, his thumb brushing against her throat as he moved inside her, and he moved his lips to the soft area underneath her chin and kissed it before burying his head in the crook between her neck and her shoulder. His movements were so slow, his body was shaky and hot and damp with sweat, and the soft noises that escaped his lips made her quiver. One of his hands slid underneath her, gently cradling the small of her back as he pushed into her. She brought her mouth to his shoulder and gave it a small kiss, nipping the skin before she pulled away. With a soft noise of pleasure, he lifted his head and tangled his hand in her hair, his gaze intense through eyes slitted with lust. He gave her hair a small tug, punishing her, sucking air in between his teeth. His actions and the utterly covetous look in his eyes were making her melt, and his pace seemed to quicken as he watched her quiver beneath him.

"I love watching you," he hissed in a strained tone, giving a couple more desperate, rough thrusts before he closed his eyes in ecstasy. His breath came in gasps as he crushed her against him, shuddering blissfully and groaning against her shoulder. Catherine let out a little moan and wrapped her legs around his hips, holding him close as he throbbed inside of her. After several moments, he opened his mouth and slowly slid his hot, wet tongue from her chin, over her lips, to the tip of her nose. When he opened his eyes, they were positively burning.

"Mine," he moaned softly, his eyes wide. She trembled with the intensity of his tone. It was like he was begging for something, like he wanted something so badly that he would certainly die if he couldn't have it. She caressed his back softly with her fingertips, her lips quivering as they parted to speak. He watched her hopelessly, bringing his face so close to hers that she could feel his warm breath on her cheek.

"Yours," she finally whispered. He exhaled shakily, as if in relief, lowering his face to kiss her frantically.

They lay there like that for a while, the cavern silent except for their labored breathing and the soft sounds of their kissing. Catherine's heart was beating fast. This was a side of him she hadn't seen yet-desperate, vulnerable, almost insane. It was both lovely and terrifying, and it made her stomach do complex twists and turns of giddiness and nervousness. After what seemed like an eternity, he slid out of her and ducked out from under her arms, gently pulling her up with him into a sitting position. As if in a trance, he brought her shackled wrists up to his lips and kissed them gently. His gaze was pleading and distant as he turned his eyes back to her, and he smiled faintly.

"Can I trust you?" he asked quietly. Catherine nodded slowly, and he pulled hard against the manacle that encircled her left wrist. With a loud clanging snap, the metal broke apart where he pulled, and she stared at her wrist in disbelief as he moved to the other one. It was only her second day here, and he was going to let her walk around unbound. She looked up at him hesitantly once he had freed her and saw him watching her in silence.

"Thank you," she said sincerely, rubbing her left wrist with her thumb. She paused, and then gently leaned her head against his shoulder, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso. He sighed, kissing the top of her head and entwining her in his embrace.

"Now, I don't know about you," he finally said into her ear, and Catherine was relieved to hear the air of clever confidence return to his voice, "but I am incredibly thirsty. More wine?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Catherine squeaked out. With a sigh, he pulled away from her, scooping up the goblets and filling each with a generous portion of wine. He turned the bottle upside down after he finished, frowning at it as a single drop slid out and fell to the floor.

"That went quickly," he commented, handing her a goblet and sitting behind her, spreading his legs open so she was leaning backwards against his chest, cradled in his arms. She made a noise of agreement, taking a long sip and closing her eyes. "How are you feeling?" he inquired lightly.

"Exhausted," she answered after a pause, craning her neck to look up at him with a small smile playing across her lips.

"But happy?" he asked softly, scanning her face curiously. She nodded after an uncertain pause. He exhaled slowly and gave her a squeeze, tilting his head back to drink deeply of the wine. "Good," he sighed. "I'm finding that I rather like it when you're happy."