I can leave you in peace now if you’d like,” he said, standing from his chair.

“I don’t.”

“You don’t what?”

“Want to be left alone.”

She stood and crossed the space between them, moving into the heat of his body. She was only inches away from him, gazing up into his silver-blue eyes. They looked down on her with a mixture of desire and fear. He put his hands on her shoulders letting out a ragged breath.

“I don’t know what to say about everything you’ve told me, Titus,” she said.

His explanation of the past had opened up a new understanding inside her. Maybe she had been immature and selfish back then. Even though she couldn’t quite remember it, she knew he spoke the truth. Just behind all her vague memories was the reality of her own impulsive, stubborn nature. She’d kept it up for years. From the age of seventeen to twenty-one when she’d died, she had pressured Titus into making her a birthing goddess for him.

Shame bit her cheeks as the blood rushed to the surface. He pulled her against him, wrapping her in his arms. For the first time, Desdemona collapsed into his tenderness. All this time, so many countless centuries and lifetimes between then and now, and she had carried her foolish resentment all along. He really had been trying to protect her from herself. She couldn’t even imagine wanting to be the person she’d asked to be back then. How could she possibly give birth every year for centuries? Even if she lived a hundred years, she couldn’t imagine being prepared for that.

Supposedly, witches remained the people they were before. Desdemona questioned that. She felt she was a completely different person. She had Patrice’s memories, but not her desires. She had an opposite desire as a matter of fact. She could barely imagine having one baby. All Desdemona wanted was to play her guitar and sing.

“You don’t have to say anything,” Titus said, patting her back. “It was a long time ago. You’re a different person now, although you are the same in so many ways.”

“How am I the same?” she asked, looking up into his eyes.

“You’re still stubborn as hell and you want to get your way no matter what.”

“I don’t think that’s true. I know how to compromise.”

“Do you?” he asked, his eyes burning into her.

“I can. You know I taught the younger children at our farm in the mountains. It was a lot of work.”

“I think in many ways you have changed. Your many lifetimes have taught you something. Given you some wisdom.”

“So, my soul is ancient, but my body…”

“Your body is my virgin bride.”

“Your bride?”

“You are if you want to be.”

“I don’t know what I want, Titus. It doesn’t seem like what I want ever matters.”

“Of course it matters.”

“What do you want, Titus?”

“I want what I’ve always wanted: what’s best for you,” he said, closing his eyes.

He took a deep breath through his nose and pulled her against his chest. She let him hold her and listened to the sound of his ancient heart beating. To imagine that this man was five thousand years old still sent a strange thrill through her body. It had only been two years since the emergence of immortals, and their existence still startled her sometimes. Not to mention the impossible truth of her own immortality and magic. What should that mean to her? All the normal human markers of her life would vanish. They would become irrelevant and no longer make any sense.

High school, prom, college, losing her virginity, career, marriage, children. As a being who would live indefinitely, how should she view her life? Patrice had wanted to give herself to Titus. But what did Desdemona want? Did she want to be bound to a man, just because she’d wanted him in the past? She still didn’t know.

“I don’t think I know what I want,” she said, looking back up at him.

“What about this?” he said, running his strong hand up her back.

It cupped the base of her head as he leaned down to press his lips against hers. The heat of his body penetrated her, and she felt a desperate need for his warmth. She wrapped her arms around him and drew him closer, letting out a gasping moan. The sound of her excitement drove him on, and his tongue darted between her lips. All of her went soft and wet.

Their hot tongues danced, making her ache for more. The unexplored space between her legs begged to be discovered. Titus cupped her ass with his other hand and pulled her against his hard erection.

She had never felt a man against her before, the rigid length of it pressed her stomach like a steel bar. The violence of it made her want to withdraw, but also part of her wanted to give herself up to it. She had no idea how to withstand his power as he slid his hand down the crease of her ass and lifted her leg over his thigh.

With his impossible strength, he lifted her up, holding her against his cock. She quivered, groaning. His kiss penetrated deeper as he carried her across to her room and laid her on her bed.

“Do you want this?” he said, standing above her as he pulled off his sweater and the T-shirt underneath.

He was left bare-chested, his muscles gleaming in the dim light. Desdemona panted, her body awash with new sensations. Her mind was swept up in the current, fuzzy and fleeting. All she wanted was to follow the driving passion that throbbed in her core. Titus had spread her legs when he laid her on the bed and stood on the floor between them looking down at her. Her sweater had ridden up her stomach. Her breasts were swollen and round in her push-up bra. She leaned up on her elbow, bit her lip, and whimpered.

“Yes. I do.”

Titus unbuttoned his pants and moved toward her. He rested his forehead against hers as he pressed his hardness between her legs. Desdemona gasped, her mouth dropping open.

“Do you want to feel this inside you?”

“Oh God,” Desdemona gasped, lying back down on the bed.

She became a pool of languid putty, Titus above her, slowly rolling between her legs. The waves of pleasure radiated through every nerve. Her body was electric and alive. Her nipples squeezed tight with need and her pussy was so wet she was afraid he could feel it through their clothes.

Titus drew back and slid her out of her sweater, exposing her lacy bra to his eyes. He unfastened the hook and slowly pulled it away. Desdemona covered her breasts out of habit, but Titus gripped her wrists and pulled her hands away. He held them above her head as he ran his tongue down the flesh of her chest, leaving a trail of fire until he flicked her tight nipple and sent her reeling.

She moaned and squeezed her eyes closed, too excited to think or move. The feeling of his hands holding her down and his cock pressed against her wet pussy as his tongue played with her nipples drove her to the edge of sanity. But he was there above her, holding her, giving her this pleasure.

All she had to do was let go to it. She moaned and pushed back against his grip on her wrists, but he didn’t let go. He held onto her and held her still and he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

The sharp bite of his teeth punctuated her desire and she grinded against his shaft. Titus made a purring sound against her breast, slowly moving down her belly. He let go of her hands and gripped the waistband of her leggings. He pulled her out of them and her shoes and returned to her. Even in those quick seconds without him in her arms, she longed to have his heat against her again. He kissed her belly softly, so softly.

His kisses ran down her thighs and grew harder until they grew softer again. He kissed her undiscovered country, buried beneath the curling mound of hair. Her quivering virgin sex screamed to be taken. Titus slid his tongue into her slit and licked up the gushing moisture he found there.

She could hear him moaning in enjoyment. He gripped her thighs and spread them open, exposing her fully to his eyes. She looked down at him as he gazed at her pussy. His eyes were dark and full of danger. He glanced up at her and met her gaze.

“Your pussy tastes so fucking good,” he growled. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to taste you.”

He licked her up and down, lapping up her juices as if it was candy. He slid his tongue over her tight throbbing clit and began twisting and biting and licking the root of her desire. She gasped and set up on her elbows, staring down at him. His black hair covered his eyes but he gazed up at her as he continued to lick her vigorously.

Her legs were spread wide. He held them down and open as he ate her pussy with methodical devotion. The look on his face and the feeling of his immortal mouth on her virgin sex made her throw her head back and groan. She moved her body against him as he licked her, the budding orgasm growing at the base of her spine. She needed the release so badly, but her mind could not comprehend the pleasure he was giving her. She fell back against the bed and let herself go.

Titus held her thighs and rolled his tongue over her clit. All at once the pleasure broke through, gripping her pussy and mind in equal measure. The pleasure was like an electric shock, radiating out from her clit and electrifying every other nerve in her body. She had never experienced anything so intense.

Titus groaned into her clenching pussy and stood up from the floor. He kicked out of his shoes and dropped his pants. His cock was long and hard, pointing at the ceiling. It was impossibly thick and big, and Desdemona gasped when she saw it. She inched away from him on the bed, but he caught her and slid between her wet thighs. Her pussy was still clenching from her orgasm and he pressed himself against the quivering flesh. She bit her lip and he caught her chin in his hand, forcing her to look in his eyes.

“I need to be inside you,” he growled into her ear, pressing the head of his cock against her opening.

“Oh, Titus,” she moaned.

He slid his hands down her body and moved her over the bed, moving with her. He slid his cock up and down her slit, covering himself in her juices. Then he kissed her hard and deep as he pushed through her barriers and sank inside her for the first time. Desdemona sucked in a startled breath, his thick cock stretched the walls of her core, sending thrills of pain and pleasure through her body. She panted and clung tight to him.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he growled, holding back.

She leaned up to him and reached to his lips to kiss. Her body was alive and electric under him. It was as if her body had always known this was her destiny and she wanted it more than anything she could imagine. She slid her hands down his back and cupped his ass while running her tongue through his lips.

“I want you inside me,” she said breathlessly.

She had waited for so long. For two thousand years. He pushed deeper and she let out a sharp scream. Finally, she felt Titus release her from her innocence. The pain sliced through her and the blood gushed hot, but it was worth it. It was then that she could truly let go. She leaned back and raised her arms above her head, closing her eyes. Titus slid deeper and deeper until he had buried himself completely inside her. He rested there, both of them breathing heavily from excitement.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“I’m better than okay,” she said.

He drew back his hips and thrust forward again, giving her the full force of his manhood. She groaned with surprise, awakening to the new reality of her sex. Desdemona had known for quite a long time how these things worked. But it wasn’t until that very moment that she truly understood what it meant to be a woman. Titus licked her earlobe and thrust again, this time more slowly. He moved into her in waves, building up the deep-seated desire that grew inside her.

“That’s it, sweet girl.”

Desdemona squeezed her eyes closed as the warm bubbling rush broke through and overtook her. Titus held her close, her body like a doll in his hands. His strong arms and sure movements turned her into jelly. She let go and let him move inside her, pushing the rolling orgasm along until it peaked and flooded her with pleasure.

Time seemed to stand still as she rode on the waves of Titus’s love. She felt his teeth brush over the flesh of her neck, hard and sharp and pointed like daggers. He growled into her ear and whispered, “I’m going to claim you.”

She looked into his eyes. They burned into hers.

“No,” she gasped, wiggling beneath him.

“No?” he said bluntly.

His face contorted and his lips curled back in an angry expression. It startled and surprised her, but shifted quickly. Titus ran his hands down her hips and kissed her cheek.

“You still don’t know what you want,” he said, his fingertips pressing hard into her flesh.

He thrust into her forcefully again and again looking down at her with his eyes, shining like silver-blue torches. She groaned at the violence of his thrusts. She twisted away, the pleasure of it still pushing her to the brink. She felt him grow harder inside her, his shaft expanding against the walls of her core. He leaned down and thrust his tongue into her mouth as his cock exploded in her pussy. His hot cum shot hard against the back of her channel.

As Titus pulled away and she looked into his face, she regretted not giving herself to him. She should have done it. She should have let him claim her. She could tell she had hurt him. As much as she wanted her freedom, the pained look in his eyes was like spikes in her heart. She had denied him yet again.

She sat up on the bed and pulled the sheet over her nakedness, seeing the smear of blood on the bed. Shame burned hot in her face, and she couldn’t look at Titus. He stood to pull on his clothes. The distance between them felt like a gaping chasm. She couldn’t cross it. She couldn’t reach him.

“Titus…”

He turned to her and shook his head.

“You don’t need to explain. I understand. You want to keep your options open. Maybe you’re right. Maybe we’re fooling ourselves that we can be mates now, after everything. But you did make an agreement to bear my child. I’ve planted my seed inside you. All that matters is that it takes root. There need be no romance between us.”

“That isn’t…” she started, but he cut her off.

“You refused my bite. I won’t forget it.”

He opened the door and left, shutting it behind him. Desdemona was alone and naked, staring at her own blood on the sheets.