Tarot Academy 4 - Sarah Piper Page 0,25

just asking me to trust him with my body.

Cassius Devane is a master of mental magicks; his feelings, no matter how clearly I sense them, could very well be a ruse.

He’s asking me to trust that they aren’t. To believe it. To know it, deep down in my soul.

Emotion surges within me, the force of it making me stutter. “I’ve never… I mean, I…”

“You’ve never what, my beautiful Star?” Doc smiles softly, tracing a feather-light path along my jaw, content to ignore his throbbing erection as he waits patiently for my consent.

“I’ve never…” I swallow hard. I know what I want to say, but I can’t quite form the words.

I’ve never let anyone tie me up before.

I’ve never relinquished all control.

I’ve never given myself over so completely.

I’ve never wanted anything so deeply.

I’ve never needed anything to be so true, so real as I need this to be…

The last thought sends the butterflies swirling again, my whole body buzzing with the sheer terror of what it truly means to want this. To want him. Not just right now, not just in his bed.

But in my heart.

That wanting, that need, that ache… It means my commanding, naughty, complicated Dr. Devane doesn’t just have the power to tie me to his bed and dominate me tonight.

It means he has the power to break my heart.

How many times has he pushed me away already? How many times has he buried his own feelings and shut me out?

Yes, I want this night of bliss—my body is already melting for him. And deep down, I know he’s not manipulating my mind.

But this night, this moment… What if this is it for us? One night of pure, reckless passion before the walls go up again, and we’re back to pretending our feelings are just some side-effect of the Arcana bond?

Doc trails his fingers down my throat, my chest, his palms grazing my nipples, the heat of his touch radiating right through me.

“It’s okay,” he whispers, as if he can sense the direction of my thoughts. My fears. “I’m right here with you. I’m not going anywhere.”

“I know,” I whisper back.

“Do you trust me?” he asks again, his voice thick with emotion, his energy warming with the promise that yes, this is real. That he wants is as much as I do. That the dam around his heart has finally broken, the river unleashed, and there’s no changing its course now.

A smile breaks across my face, the warmth of his energy flooding my heart.

Suddenly, those butterflies don’t feel so scary.

I’m not afraid.

I’m simply in love.

I open my eyes, the right words finally emerging. “I’ve never trusted anyone the way I trust you, Doc. Tonight, tomorrow, always.”

He steals another kiss, lingering there for a deep, delicious minute.

“Cassius,” he finally says, pulling back with a smile. “In my bed, you call me Cassius.”

After the seriousness of the last few minutes, his latest command makes me laugh. “More rules for me, Cassius? Good to know some things never change.”

“Yes, and while we’re on the subject…” Doc—rather, Cassius—traces the shape of a heart over my chest, intensity building between us once again. “I’ve never known anyone with such an infinite heart—one I’m honored to share with my brothers. However…” He trails his hand down between my thighs, and a fierce wave of possessiveness rolls over me. “I will not share you here. When you come to me at night, when you’re lying naked and bound in my bed, you are mine, Starla Milan. Understand?”

“I’m yours,” I say, my own possessive energy rising just as fiercely. “But if you’re claiming me, I’m claiming you too.”

He brushes a finger over my clit, eyes sparkling with amusement. “And what does that entail, I wonder?”

“It’s simple. No more mixed signals and near-kisses. No more games, no more pushing me away, no more denying your feelings. I understand the need for discretion, but I will not compete with the ghosts of your past. You are mine, Cassius Devane. Understand?”

“I suppose I can live with that,” he says with one last smile, and then he’s inching his way down again, replacing his teasing fingers with his—

Oh, goddess. That mouth…

I strain against the leather belt, spreading my thighs as he licks a hot path between them. He swirls his tongue over my clit, then sucks it between his lips, gripping my thighs and spreading me wider, deepening his kiss.

After all the touching and teasing tonight, it doesn’t take much to push me to the very edge, and soon my