I pushed gently against her hand, silently begging her to release me. She let it fall away.

I moved my hands down her body, skimming her hips, grazing her thighs, then trailed them back up, letting them linger against the sides of her gown, the sides of her breasts.

She gasped at the contact. Even through the fabric, it was electric.

I moved my mouth to one of the black straps of her gown and worked it slowly off her shoulder with my teeth.

Down in the courtyard, the man had gotten the blightborn girl completely out of her robe. She sat astride him, fully naked, as he fondled her breasts with one hand, caressing her hips with his other, his mouth still moving over hers.

The scene was incredibly erotic.

But not as erotic as the feel of Pendragon’s gown slipping down off her shoulders.

I pushed her other strap down then moved my fingers to the top of her bodice, and before she could stop me, slipped my hands into her gown and cupped her breasts.

She gasped and arched against me slightly, making no move to stop me.

My mouth went to her neck, kissing and licking hungrily, as I took her nipples between my fingers and worked them until they were rigid and stiff. The gown kept getting in my way, pushing against my hands. I shoved it roughly down to her waist, baring her fucking perfect breasts.

She raised her hands then, as if to cover her breasts modestly.

“Shy, little dragon?” I nudged my mouth against her skin, breathing a kiss onto her shoulder. “You’ve got nothing to be shy about. Everything about you is sheer perfection. Surely you know that.”

I felt her shake her head slightly. I smiled against her neck. I had her just where I wanted her. Fuck but she was beautiful. Beautiful and all mine.

I couldn’t get enough of her. I stroked her breasts, reveling in the heat of her skin.

Her hair brushed against my face, the curls soft and light, as I bent my head further down, kissing and licking her shoulders and nuzzling my mouth against the nape of her neck.

I was hard, so fucking hard for her. I pushed myself forward against the back of her gown, letting her feel what she’d done to me, and she moaned.

“This is the power you have over me. This is what you do to me every day, Pendragon. You drive me wild. I can’t look at you without longing to fuck you.”

She clutched my hand abruptly. “Look.”

Down below, the highblood man had moved his mouth to the girl's neck. He drew her closer, smoothing her hair off her neck, then yanked her head back. I watched as his fangs shot out, glinting under the dim light before sinking into the girl’s skin.

Pendragon stiffened, as if unsure if she should run or stay.

“No,” I murmured. “Keep watching. Look.”

The girl’s body arched, her breath catching in what seemed like a mix of pleasure and release.

Her fingers tightened on the man's shoulders, gripping him hard as he fed.

Blood trickled down her throat, running in rivulets over her bare breasts. Every few moments, she trembled, her head falling back in a perfect display of surrender and ecstasy. The man’s grip on her waist tightened as he fed, drawing long pulls of blood.

Finally he withdrew, his mouth rimmed with blood. He ran a finger delicately down the girl’s throat to her collarbone, then along the curve of her breast, tracing the trickle of blood before lowering his mouth to suck the droplets off.

In my arms, Pendragon let out a soft moan, as if in frustration.

I knew what was coming. So did the girl playing the Bloodmaiden.

The question was, did Pendragon?

The man’s hands were down around his robes. Slowly, he parted the fabric, exposing his long, hard cock.

The blightborn girl writhed impatiently as she felt him press it against her clit.

She rose up, pressing her hands against his shoulders as if too eager to wait. Then, bold with lust, she lowered herself onto him.

Her moan of pleasure broke through the silence, the sound thick with hunger and desire. Slowly, she began to ride.

“I know what you want,” I whispered in Pendragon’s ear. “I know what you need. The only question is, will you let me take care of you?”

I slid my hands down her bare stomach, feeling the smooth firm planes of her flesh.

“Just watch,” I murmured. “Just watch them. Let me do this for you. Let me give you what you need. What you’ve always needed from me but have never dared to ask for.”

I moved, as if to push her dress from her hips, but her hands shot out. They were shaking as they closed over mine.

“Fine,” I said, my voice husky with want. “I get it. The dress stays on.”

At least half of it.

I raised a hand to her hair and ran my fingers through it, then grabbed a handful and pushed her head down, not roughly, but not exactly gently either. When I had her half-bent over the balustrade, I raised the back of her skirt.

She was naked underneath. Even in the shadows I could see the pale swell of her perfect ass. I ran my hand gently over it, then slid my hand between her legs.

I suppressed a groan. She was soaked. Wetness dripped over my fingers.

“Fuck, Pendragon. You sure know how to make a man feel wanted.”

She squirmed with embarrassment under my hand and I grinned.

“What’s the matter? No witty comebacks now that I've got your pussy in my hand?” I slid a finger inside of her while another began to work the sweet soft rise of her clit.

She trembled against me and a moan escaped her lips. Louder than before.

Without hesitation, I let go of her hair, my free hand flying to clamp down over her mouth. It wouldn’t do for us to be discovered up here. Not at this perfect moment.

She squirmed, trying to fight against me, but I held her tighter.

“Hush now, little dragon,” I scolded. “You don’t want everyone to know what a bad girl you’ve been, do you?”

I started playing with her. Flicking and stroking her soft folds, slipping a second finger into her wetness.

It wasn’t enough. I wanted to be inside her. Wanted to sink my cock into her pussy so fucking badly, to feel her quiver and tighten around me, to spread her thighs as far apart as they could go as she rocked back and forth against me.

But I wouldn’t risk taking things that far. Not now. Not tonight.

Tonight would be for her and her alone.

I nudged her legs a little further apart, enjoying her resistance.

Of course, if she’d really wanted me to stop all she’d have had to do was bite my hand or hit me. I’d have backed right off. Reluctantly, but I’d have done it.

I wanted her willing or not at all.

But she didn’t do any of those things. She wanted this. No matter how much she wanted to deny it. So I’d take the silent treatment. As long as it meant I could also take her.

Below us, the blightborn girl was moaning as she rhythmically rode up and down on the highblood man’s cock, her breasts bobbing with each rise and fall of her hips.

The masked man had returned his mouth to the girl’s neck and was feeding again. Trickles of red slid down the girl’s body and were smeared against her skin by his greedy hands as he grasped her breasts, her hips, her buttocks, urging her on and on.

Meanwhile, my fingers were sliding in and out of Pendragon, working her clit in small circles, as I matched the girl’s feverish rhythm below. My fingers thrust in and out of her tight, willing body as her breathing grew more and more ragged, her muscles clenching and tightening around my hand.

She was close now. So fucking close I could feel it.

“That's it,” I murmured. “Come for me, little dragon. You come when she comes. You can feel it can’t you? The power of it all. The sheer lust.”

I longed to lower my face between her thighs and taste her slickness. Would she taste the same way she smelled? Like brine mixed with jasmine? Like iron and salt?