It hadn’t even crossed Brundar’s mind to put Calypso face down as was his habit. Her ass was magnificent, but he liked the frontal view better. Taking a long moment to admire the woman sprawled before him, he started with her lush lips that were upturned in a little secretive smile, continued to her slender wrists and ankles that were secured to the bed frame, then back to her face and her beautiful green eyes that were regrettably covered by a silk scarf.

What would it have been like to look into those eyes as he made love to her? Watch every expression?

Except, he had little choice in the matter. It wasn’t about him seeing her, but the other way around. Besides, she already had him spellbound. Her eyes had the power to cement that spell in place for good.

“Calypso,” Brundar uttered her name like a prayer.

No woman ever looked as beautiful, as majestic, and as powerful as the one spread-eagled on the bed before him.

A goddess.

She had him wrapped around her little finger, and they both knew it. He might have been the one who’d spanked her and tied her up, but there was no question as to who held the power in this exchange—not in his mind, and not in hers, judging by that victorious smile on her lips.

Were men fools for thinking they were ever really in charge?

He was reminded of a passage from the human Bible that had struck him as odd. As a whole, it was hard to claim the Bible as anything but patriarchal, and yet it said; “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh.”

The reality of the human world Brundar had grown up in was that the wife left her father and mother and followed her husband. Not the other way around. But he was starting to think that the Bible was spot on. For the right woman, a man would leave everything and everyone dear to him because she was the key to his happiness, his future, and without her there was nothing.

Or more accurately, nothing important.

Being a master swordsman and the clan’s best fighter provided Brundar with a sense of worth and no small amount of pride, but only Calypso made him feel needed, wanted, and desired.

“Brundar?” There was a note of worry in her tone.

Did she think he’d left?

He would never leave her side after tying her up, but in a way she was right. He’d retreated inside his own head and had stayed there for far too long. “I’m here.”

Her smile was back. “Why are you over there and not over here?”

“I had to take a moment to admire your beauty, sweetling.”

The smile got wider.

As he started unbuttoning his dress shirt, Brundar wondered if Calypso was listening for clues. Did she hear him shrugging it off and laying it on the dresser?

“Are you taking off your clothes?” She sounded so hopeful.

“Impatient?”

“You bet.”

Kneeling beside her on the bed, he caressed her soft cheek.

“Kiss me,” Calypso whispered.

He took her sweet lips, licking into her mouth and sliding his tongue along hers in lazy swipes. Even though his impudent cock strongly disagreed, there was no hurry. Brundar intended to take his time feasting on the beauty before him until he got her senseless with need and climaxing all over his face.

She was already panting restlessly, her nipples so stiff they must've ached.

He would be neglecting his duty if he didn’t do something about it right away, providing the relief she needed.

Moving to kneel between her spread legs, Brundar lowered his torso and braced on his forearms.

In anticipation, Calypso arched her back.

Not wanting to prolong her torment, he dipped his head and closed his lips around one turgid peak, treating it to a few swipes of his tongue, then moved to the other and repeated.

The first sound Calypso made was a sigh of relief, the second was a throaty moan, and as his fingers gently tugged on one hard peak while he sucked on the other, her moans became louder.

He loved that she was uninhibited this way. Her moans and her cries of pleasure were his rewards, and she was just as generous with those as she was with everything else.

Kissing his way down her flat belly, Brundar closed his eyes and inhaled the unique mask of her arousal. If he could bottle that scent, he would carry it with him everywhere and take whiffs every time he missed her. She was addictive.

Her belly quivered under him, the muscles contracting in anticipation. “Brundar,” she whispered his name like a plea.

“I’ve got you, sweetling.” He licked into her, touching the pad of his thumb to her sensitive nub. She bucked, and he pressed his hand to her belly, holding her down as his tongue rimmed her entrance and his thumb moved in slow circles around the second most erogenous part of her body.

What most men didn’t realize was that the seat of a woman’s pleasure resided between her ears. That was why sex games were more about altering perception than a specific touch, and why pain could in certain situations be interpreted as pleasure but not in others.

A true master manipulated body and mind.

He pushed a finger inside her, then added another and flattened his tongue over the needy button jutting from the top of her sex.

Her head thrashing from side to side, Calypso alternated between needy moans and impatient hisses. Hanging right on the edge, but unable to dive over it, she needed one final push.

Brundar curled his fingers inside her, pressing on that bundle of nerves that was sure to send her flying, and yet she didn’t, her frustrated groans sounding pained.

Strange. Up until now, he’d marveled at how responsive Calypso was, how easily she reached her climaxes, but something seemed to bother her, preventing her from letting go.

Female orgasms were finicky.

Slightly too much or too little touch could make the difference between a woman’s ability to orgasm or not. And a disturbing thought could have the same effect. Maybe the ties were too tight?

“What’s the matter, baby? Are you uncomfortable? Do you need me to loosen the knots?”

Biting on her lower lip, she shook her head.

“Then what is it? You need to tell me.”

“I’m afraid,” she whispered.

He hadn’t smelled fear on her, but then the scent of her arousal was quite overpowering.

“Of me?”

She shook her head again, her cheeks turning bright red. “I’m afraid that you will make me come with your fingers and your tongue and then leave again like you did before.”

Poor girl. She was too anxious to climax.

“I have no plans of leaving without sinking my shaft all the way inside you and fucking you into oblivion like I promised. Where do you keep that stash of condoms you mentioned?”

“The nightstand drawer.”

Brundar leaned over her and pulled the drawer open. Calypso hadn’t been kidding. She must’ve emptied the store’s entire supply of the brand she’d chosen.

He picked a packet up and chuckled. “Should I be flattered? Size extra-large?”

Worrying her lower lip, Calypso smiled. “What I felt through your pants seemed extra large.”

Brundar shook his head, pressing his lips together to stifle his retort. What had she used as comparison? Was that jerk of a husband of hers an extra large? Or was he just a large, and Calypso expected Brundar to be larger?

To voice those thoughts would not only be a dicky thing to do, but it would most likely kill her mood. It was sure as hell killing his.

“Let’s try it on and see if you were right.”

“Like you don’t know.”

“Different brands have different sizes. Like shoes.” Or so he assumed.

He had no need for them. Immortals didn’t contract diseases, and the chances of him impregnating a mortal were slim. Besides, most were on the pill or some other form of contraceptive. The last time he’d used a condom was when a partner had handed it to him, insisting that he put it on before blindfolding her. He couldn't remember what size it was, only that it had felt uncomfortable.

Unbuckling his belt, Brundar hoped he remembered how to use the damned rubber. For his first time with Calypso, he would’ve preferred nothing between them.

Regrettably, it was not to be. Not unless he thralled her right now, which he didn’t want to do either. Sober consent aside, he just wanted to be with the real Calypso, to feel her responses, to hear her moan and plead loudly and clearly with nothing to dilute her experience.

Except for the bloody rubber.

Calypso’s belly quivered, and a moment later she erupted in giggles.

His pants and boxers hitting the floor, Brundar paused. “What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know. Maybe comparing condoms to shoes?” She erupted in a new wave of giggles.

It was anxiety. Calypso had been waiting and preparing for this moment, building up her anticipation, while all along fearing that he would back away. Now that he’d reassured her, her relief was coming out as laughter.

He didn’t know what to say in response, but he knew how to stop the giggles.

Thankfully, as he carefully rolled down the condom, it wasn’t as uncomfortable as the other one, which meant that Calypso’s assessment of his size had been accurate.

Climbing back on the bed, he lowered himself on top of her, bracing his weight on his forearms but letting his chest touch hers.

Calypso sighed in contentment, her body soft and giving under his.

“Are you ready for me, sweetling?” He nuzzled her neck.

“I’ve been ready since the first moment I saw you.”

Reaching a hand between their bodies, he stroked along her wet slit, gathering moisture and dragging it up to tease her.

She arched her back. “Please, Brundar, I can’t wait any longer. I need you inside me.”

How could he refuse her? How could he refuse himself?

Positioning himself, Brundar breached her entrance with just the head and stilled, giving her time to adjust to the invasion.

She pushed her pelvis up, impaling herself on another inch. “More.”

His control snapped, and he surged all the way inside her, filling her, stretching her in a way that must’ve been painful. And yet, Calypso didn’t cry out and didn’t drop back down. Instead, she kept her pelvis raised as if afraid he would withdraw before she was ready to let him.

He wasn’t about to.

Not yet.

Even the rubber couldn’t take away from this moment. Being inside Calypso felt like nothing he’d experienced before.

It was a true joining.

It was perfect.

Did it feel this way because he wasn’t indifferent to Calypso like he’d been to all the others?

Or was it something else?

The Fates must really hate him for taunting him with the perfect woman, sending him a human he couldn’t have instead of a Dormant or an immortal.

Cupping Calypso’s cheeks, he kissed her lips, licking inside her mouth, gently at first then with more fervor as holding still became too much.

He retreated and surged again, then again, ramming into her full force.

By the third thrust, her inner muscles fluttered around him, and she screamed her release into his mouth.

By the fifth pump, his own climax came barreling up his shaft, along with the undeniable need to sink his fangs into Calypso’s neck. Clasping her head in an iron grip, he hissed and struck her soft flesh. She tensed as his sharp canines broke her skin, but she didn’t jerk back, submitting beautifully to his claiming.

A moment later, Calypso’s body went lax under him, and her facial muscles relaxed into an angelic, blissful expression.

Brundar retracted his fangs and licked the twin puncture wounds closed, then buried his face in that same spot he’d just bitten—where her neck met her shoulder.

In a little bit, he would enter her mind and erase the memory of his bite. But in the meantime, he would enjoy the incredible sense of connection for a little longer.