CARLYLE

“There’s really no way to teach siphoning unless you do it,” Dair finally agreed, leaning closer to the bed. I grinned in victory.

“I guess I need some magic, then,” I whispered, and his shoulders straightened. His gaze grew dominant and commanding, and my pussy clenched with need. I craved our games.

Anticipation thrilled through my blood as he reached out and pressed gently on my shoulders.

I sank back onto the bed, ending up on my stomach, my neck craned up to his gorgeous jaw. His waist was right in front of my face now. It would be so easy to reach over and draw him near, unzip his slacks, and start the lesson.

“Scoot closer. Shoulders on the edge of the bed,” he directed. When I did as he asked, my face hung at the perfect spot to take him in my mouth. Remembering his tongue on my clit through those infernal silk panties, I stretched forward and pressed my open mouth to the bulge of his cock, breathing out against the material.

He groaned and stepped back, just out of reach. “Good girls wait,” he said, his voice rough.

“Fuck waiting,” I grumbled, but I waited.

Slowly, he slipped his belt apart and drew it through the loops. I fidgeted in anticipation as he took his goddamn time unhooking his pants and sliding them down to his muscular thighs. Finally, he freed his cock from his boxer briefs. A tiny moan slipped from my mouth - damn, I wanted to taste that gorgeous cock.

He held up a finger in warning. “Do not open your mouth.”

“Wha-” I began, but I cut myself off at his look. I wasn’t going to ruin the game. Damn him, he was going to make me wait. He was such an ass - and I was loving every second of it.

He stepped close enough that his cock pushed heavy against my lips, and I groaned. Holy shit, it was nearly impossible not to dart my tongue out and... Dair wrenched my wrists behind me in a quick motion and leaned over my back, my face smothered in his perfect abs.

“Tell me no,” he dared. I didn’t even breathe, much less tell him no, as he began to loop the belt around my wrists. Within seconds, I was bound and nearly drooling against the very hard cock teasing my lips.

“Do you still want to suck?” he asked.

“Yes,” I whispered, feeling desperate to taste him.

“Begin.” He centered himself in front of me and reached high to grasp the top brace of the canopy bed. I opened my mouth, and his velvety tip slid between my lips. I sighed as I licked up his shaft, and he pushed his cock deeper, testing my limits.

He began to thrust, slow and gentle at first. The more I moaned and sucked, the rougher he got, fucking my mouth. I wanted so much to meet his eyes - to see him come apart beneath my lips - but the angle and the belt binding my wrists behind me kept me right where he needed me.

My hair fell around my face like a white curtain, making me feel like sucking his cock was my whole purpose. I was totally okay with that. I arched my back and lifted my ass to give my knees some grip, and I took him even deeper, loving the feeling of him gliding in and out of my throat.

He hardened like molten steel against my tongue, and then he came with a groan of smooth Latin cursing, as though he were casting a spell over us. I sucked him down, swallowing everything he gave me and swirling my tongue around his thick head.

His breathing slowed as he drew himself away from me. A soft moan escaped my lips. “So good,” I murmured, feeling almost as sated as if our places had been swapped.

He knelt and grasped my shoulders, flipping me to my side and brushing my hair back with gentle fingers. My head still hung over the edge of the bed, but he lowered his mouth to mine, kissing me with a passion I hadn’t expected.

“With or without any of us to give you power, there is something magical about you, Cariño,” he whispered against my lips, and I melted a little. “I will always want this,” he added, his kiss sliding into an edge of uncontrolled ferocity.

I met the hard clash of teeth and jaw with the soft curve of my tongue, and he gasped sharply as his magic spilled into my chest. It was more than I’d intended to channel, and something new flared between us like a match bursting to life.

It snuffed out as quickly, though, as Dair reigned himself back to his normal, strait-laced self. He slid his hands down my spine and released the belt buckle, drawing me forward into his arms.

“Pull us into a siphon, and I’ll pull us out,” he commanded, holding me tight against his heaving chest.

I closed my eyes and worked to push aside all thoughts of Dair’s sweet cock and sweeter kiss - I’d revisit those memories again soon.

For now, I forced myself to focus intently on the spell and what I wanted to do, repeating the words again and again while I rotated my fingers slowly across each other. I imagined the magic pulling me limb by limb into the spaces between space, picturing the hallway beyond Dair’s closed door.

A tingling began in my chest, and my body began to feel weightless - lighter than air, but somehow still grounded to Dair.

The siphoning happened in slow motion. I opened my eyes in time to see my body fading away from the room, dissipating along with Dair’s. I felt his grip on me, but I could no longer feel the bed beneath us or see the slant of sunlight across the wooden floor.

We rested a moment in the empty nothingness between spaces - a place where reality paused.

Where Dair had claimed a mage could get stuck forever. It was dark and liquid, like being deep underwater, and my limbs felt heavy and pointless.

An edge of fear crept across my shoulders. What would happen if I really did get stuck in here? Could Dair find me? Could he pull me out? Would I pass out like I was drowning, or would I live in this non-space until I went insane or died of old age?

The questions spilled across my brain like ink, covering any rational thought, until I felt like I was gasping in lungfuls of water. I forgot all about wherever I was supposed to be going. This darkness was going to claim me, and I might never find the sun again. I needed the sun.

Something yanked at my wrist, then my waist.

Rough hands shook me until my eyes opened, my lids heavy like I’d been in a deep sleep.

“Carlyle,” a sharp voice said, close to my ear. I mumbled something, but my lips refused to form the syllables I wanted.

Soft lips pressed against mine, then the gentle sweep of a tongue. My senses gradually awoke, and with a sigh, I leaned into Dair’s kiss, running my fingers up the hard planes of his chest and tangling them into his dark, wavy hair.

“Thank fuck,” he whispered as my eyes fluttered open.

“Did I do it?” I asked, blinking around me. I grinned - we were actually in the next room over, sitting on Sol’s bed instead of in the hallway.

“You certainly did, Cariño,” Dair said, his eyes glinting with pride. I felt my cheeks heat. “Not only did you pull us into the siphon, you were actually very close to completing it.”

“It didn’t feel like that.” I shuddered.

“You seemed to change directions in the middle - I felt you shift from intent on the hallway toward Sol’s room.”

I frowned, reflecting on what had happened. I didn’t want to risk ending up in the wrong place again. “It wasn’t anything like when you siphon me,” I admitted. Thank fuck I wasn’t nauseous. The first few dozen times Dair had siphoned with me, I’d puked all over the place.

“Speed develops with practice. You have the basic technique. You’re a quick study.” He smiled at me, and I grinned back like an idiot.

I’d never been much good at school, but I’d always hoped it was because I moved so many times. I didn’t feel stupid. I liked to read. “You’re a really good teacher,” I said, my voice soft. It felt a little odd to compliment Dair, but it was the damn truth.

“The mental focus will also increase with practice. You felt lost, didn’t you?”

I nodded. “I felt stuck underwater, like I’d gone so deep I couldn’t see which direction was up. All I wanted was to see the sun again.”

“Drowning is a good metaphor. Everyone experiences it a bit differently. I used to feel like I was running in an endless black tunnel. It was very claustrophobic. The fear of being trapped can actually manifest and cause your magic to trap you, though,” he warned. “You must be very careful not to let your focus crack at all. Finding someone trapped in a siphon is nearly impossible.”

My stomach lurched. I was fucking crazy to be doing this for a car. I wanted it for Killian’s sake, but if I died doing it, what was the point?

Dair’s fingers brushed along my jaw. “Don’t fear it, Cariño. You’re already so much more advanced than we’d hoped. Besides, you found your sun - you turned to Sol’s room on instinct.”

As soon as he pointed it out, my heart flooded with happiness. Of course. Sol was like the sun to me - golden and warm, but also a source of hope. I was feeling more confident now. If I could just stay focused and ignore my fear, I’d be totally fine.

“Thank you,” I said again to Dair. He nodded and embraced me once more. I leaned into him, wishing he didn’t have to go, but glad I’d learned enough to fulfill the plan I was itching to try.

Hopefully, I still had enough magic left.