His wants continued to escalate. Want her desperate for me. Want to devour every inch of her luscious little body. Want to sink to my knees, unfasten her pants, shove her panties aside and suckle on the soaked bundle of nerves at the apex of her thighs. Her cries of pleasure would echo through the cave. She would pull his hair, squeeze his head with her thighs and gyrate against his face, giving him every drop of feminine honey. She would demand a climax or five, and he would provide them. For once, a royal’s whim would be his joy to fulfill.

Perhaps she would return the favor and devour his length...

The act was forbidden in Adwaeweth. Long ago, a queen before Bane’s time decided no female should “debase” herself in such a way, and females must always top males.

He’d despised the law while Meredith had revered it. He’d never asked for head, and she’d never offered.

Now, the desire shamed him. As much as he hated Nola—did he hate her still?—he didn’t wish to debase her. And as big as he was, as small and delicate as she was, he could harm her irreparably. After all, he wasn’t just bigger than this woman; he was infinitely stronger, burning with lust after centuries on ice. When he came, he would be crazed, frenzied and beyond maddened.

But damn it, the desire remained, and not just for her lips around his shaft. He longed to assert his dominance, to pin her down as he’d never done to another and prove his mastery. To rule her, before she ruled him. To give as much as he took and experience true contentment after centuries of anguish.

Would he experience contentment? His lust for Nola was so strong—Correction: his lust for sex was so strong, he wasn’t sure it could ever be quelled.

Nola responded uninhabitably to his every suck, nibble and touch, the most sensitive female he’d ever enjoyed. “You are...” Everything. Necessary. “Driving me insane.”

“You share blame. You’re driving me wild!” Between panting breaths, she said, “That feels so good. You feel so good.”

Her voice had a throaty undertone, making it—her—seduction incarnate. His erection grew harder, wider, longer, threatening to bust through his fly. “You want me? Need me?”

“Yes! Please! I’m dying without you.”

Mmm, such a delicious entreaty. As delicious as her candy-sweet skin. How could anyone be this delectable? How could he want her this much, despite his past, despite the beast’s protests?

Wait. The beast no longer protested? Why had he gone silent?

Bane knew he needed to end the kiss and think. Something more than desire was at play here. But he couldn’t do it in slow degrees; he didn’t have the strength. He had to wrench his head up.