head and he wondered how a girl as young as Nine had the capacity to care about anyone other than herself. If another Unfortunate was in her shoes, would they risk everything they had? Or would they be soothed by their newfound luxuries? These were pointless questions, but Kade genuinely wanted to know.
“Kiss me,” he whispered and the corner of her lips twitched.
The twitch on her lips pulled her mouth into a smirk. “On the mouth?”
His cock jerked as Nine dragged her thumb over its swollen, eager head. Swallowing hard, he cleared his throat. “For starters. If you play your cards right—”
“If I play my cards right?” She laughed, squeezing his shaft in her fist. “I’m not the one who has to play their cards right, Master Kade.”
He leaned in. “Is that so?”
“Mmhm.”
Nine moved her hand slowly, squeezing and pulling, pushing and relaxing, building him up to a point of no return. His heart pummelled his ribs, pounding faster than ever, and he revelled in it. Being with her was the only time he felt alive. It was the only time he felt remotely human.
Sighing, Kade pressed his lips to hers. It lacked the relentless fire of the first kiss, but it was filled with passion. It was overflowing with love. Why? Because it was important that she knew how much he valued her, how much he respected her body and her mind, and that he was thankful she’d let someone like him inside her. Some saw sex as the opening of legs and nothing more. He used to, but now he revered it as the opening of a soul. It was the one place two could truly become one. It’s where passion was born and life was created. In retrospect, it was the most sacred place on Earth.
And she wanted to share it with him.
Only him.
Kade tensed his thigh and pushed it harder against her core as their tongues caressed each other. In response, Nine gasped into his mouth and rolled her hips against him, wanting more friction, seeking more pleasure. Who was he not to give it to her? Who was he not to give her anything she desired? She wanted war? He’d bring down the Heavens. She wanted peace? He would paddle her out into the middle of the ocean and read her a book. She wanted him? He’d give her everything he had until there was nothing left to give. He would sacrifice everything because she’d given him a glimpse of a world he longed for—breathed life into the humanity he thought he’d lost. That was worth more than control, more than power, and more than gems. Peace on earth was worth more than prejudice, more than the separation of social classes. Once upon a time he thought the purpose of life was to be powerful. He thought that in order to live a fulfilling life, he had to build a legacy no one could forget. That wasn’t true. The deeper he fell into love, the more he realised the purpose of life was to live. Some butterflies live for two weeks, but in those two weeks they live a lifetime. Kade had been on this earth for twenty-five years and what had he achieved besides crushing his own happiness? Nothing. Then along came a beautiful butterfly who showed him a life worth living.
∞ Nine ∞
In one heartbeat he’s kissing me sensually and in the next, his teeth are against my collarbone, his hands gripping my hips as he presses his thigh harder between my legs. I love being intimate with him—not because he shows me pleasures I’ve never known, but because it’s the closest two human beings can be.
And I want that.
More than anything.
“Nine…” He sighs my name into the nape of my neck, sending a sharp flurry of tingles down my spine.
In a show of fireworks, they clash with the sensations emanating from the pit of my belly. Every hard press of his thigh stokes the fire that threatens to consume me. He kisses my chest, my breast, my flat tummy, and the inside of my thigh. I rest against the wall, allowing him to explore me any way he wants. He takes the quest seriously too. The tip of each finger at the back of my thigh dances elegantly, coaxing me to lift it high enough for him to hook it over his shoulder. My breath hitches as he presses his lips to the inside of my thigh and smooths the palm of