Persephone Unchained
Chapter 21
Sophie snuggled into Erik's side as she held her hand up in the air to inspect the ring. It was stunning. She'd never seen such skilled otherworldly artistry before. The ring was shaped like a rose with a center stone nestled in the middle of a whorl of petals edged in smaller diamonds. The band was a twist of thorny vines, with tiny leaves, which encircled her finger.
"Do you like it?" He asked her in a timid voice.
"I love it. It's so beautiful," She exclaimed happily.
"You're beautiful," he said, and then he kissed her on the neck.
She absently wondered how he'd figure out her ring size. The band was perfectly snugged to her finger. Was there anything that her genius fiancé couldn't do? The thought filled her with warm feelings. Her fiancé. She wanted to say the word over and over again. Erik's hand stroked the skin of her bare shoulder and the sensation sent shivers down her spine.
Sophie rolled over and pressed her lips to his in a gentle kiss. His arm reached out to encircle her in an embrace and pull her even tighter against him.
She swung her leg over him and placed her hands on his chest and firmly pushed him away. He pulled back and looked at her in confusion. She pressed harder and rolled them both until he landed on his back and then she was sitting up as she straddled him.
His confused look turned sinful as he stared at her sitting on his lap and it made her throb in wanton desire. Erik hands reached up to grasp her by the hips as she leaned forward to catch his mouth with hers again.
She could feel him stiffening against her backside. He'd already recovered then, she thought. What stamina her fiancé had for her. She was pleased at this and ground her hips against him to show him her intent.
His hands wandered up and down her backside as she settled herself. Her hips rocked and ground against him and Erik moaned. She couldn't have helped the satisfied smirk that crossed her face.
She lifted her hips, despite his protests, and reached a hand back to find him. It took a few moments of fumbling and some false starts but then they were situated and Sophie was lowering herself onto him. She bit her lip to stop the initial hiss of discomfort as her now tender muscles stretched again around the girth of him. Erik groaned beneath her as she found a rhythm. Her hips rose up and down as she rode him relentlessly. She placed her hands against his chest to keep her balance and she was pleased when he began to moan and murmur nonsense. His breathing quickened as she worked him up and down.
Her muscles clenched around him and she was rewarded with another moan. She teased him tirelessly with a slow and steady pace, her muscles clenching and then releasing as she rode him on the bed.
Erik opened his eyes and met her gaze as his fingers tightened on her hips. His hips rose off the bed and then he was wrenching the control from her as he moved beneath her. She held still and let him seek his pleasure as his hips bucked wildly beneath her. Tension built deep within her as she sought her relief.
Her pelvis tilted in his haste and then he was hitting a new spot at a different angle. She moaned alongside him as he brushed against some knot of nerves inside. Her toes curled of their own volition and her hands grabbed at his chest and shoulders as he thrust in and out of her. It was all that she could do to stay upright and in place as he bucked against her.
At first she bit her lip to stifle her screams until she remembered that there was no one to hear her. So then she let herself lose control as he brushed against that spot again and she felt herself toppling over the edge of her release. His rhythm never faltered as she rode him through her waves of pleasure. She felt her muscles clenching and then releasing and her breath came in deep shudders as she all but collapsed on top of him.
But Erik was still bucking and thrusting underneath her until his pace became even more frantic and then his whole body jerked and was taut. His muscles tensed as he grabbed her hips and ground her against him.
Sophie took his cue and held completely still, using her muscles to stroke him from within. He shuddered against her and twitched and then he was still as well. He grunted as she rose up high enough to release him. Her legs quivered and felt useless.
His arms wrapped around her and he dragged her down on top of him then as he held her to his chest. Her hand had found his and their fingers intertwined as they laid together in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
"if that is your response then remind me to buy you more jewelry in the future," he joked with a chuckle.
Sophie slapped his chest playfully and laughed. Then she rolled to the side a little and settled into the nook between Erik's side and arm.
"How do you feel about June," She asked him when she'd caught her breath.
"Not too hot, pleasant in the evenings, usually less rainy than May," he said dryly.
Sophie tweaked his nipple and enjoyed the way he jumped. "For the wedding, you ass," she chided.
Erik placed a kiss atop her forehead which made Sophie smile.
"So far away?" he inquired.
She tilted her head to look up at him. "It's already April. That isn't so long to wait," she rationalized.
He was silent as he ran a hand up and down her arm. His fingers left goosebumps in their wake.
"You'll want to get married in a church, then?" he asked.
"Isn't that typically how it's done?" she rebutted wryly.
He shrugged. "I always liked churches. Nice architecture. Lots of music. And they're typically easy to break into for shelter. Bell towers and such. Are you Catholic?"
"yes… although I'm not a very good Catholic," she admitted.
Sophie realized then that there was much that she still didn't know about her future husband.
"Are you not Catholic?" she asked him.
"I never had much use for religion, personally," he told her plainly. "Does that bother you?"
She shook her head against his chest. "No," she answered him.
His fingers found the ring which had twisted in their activity and he turned it around back into its proper place on her finger.
"I don't even know your last name," she wondered out loud.
"If I have one I've never known what it was," he replied. His voice was even and calm.
Sophie gazed up at him and saw his neutral expression. She pulled her hand free from his fingers and reached up to stroke the scarred, deformed side of his face. He turned his head until her hand covered that side of his face and then he placed a small kiss on her palm. She left it there and stroked the tender skin.
"You'll need a good last name. All famous composers have great names," she soothed him with her soft voice.
"I've… always fancied the name Ravel," he admitted shyly. The name rolled off his tongue.
"Rhuvelle?" she tested out the name. It felt unfamiliar in her mouth.
"It means to untangle or to unconfuse something. Or sometimes it's used to describe the creation of one thing from another like the weaving of a net from rope. It's Dutch, actually," he explained.
She smiles at him as the meaning became clear to her. "a transformation, then. Making something useful from something cast off," she inferred.
He kissed her palm again. "You see right through me," he muttered.
"Oh, no… not all all. I see you simply as you are. You've led a difficult life. You've done things that no child should ever have to do to survive. Your mother failed you in every way that she could have. No, Erik, don't make excuses for her," she added when he tried to interrupt. "She failed you. Believe me, I would know."
Erik locked her hand onto the deformed side of his face with his own. He closed his eyes and took a ragged breath. "You are too good for me," he whispered.
"Don't you dare do that either," she commanded imperiously.
His eyes flew open to look at her.
"I've done things too, to survive. Horrible things. Don't put me on a pedestal. It's a very long way to fall. I'm just a woman. You're just a man. We all make mistakes. What's important is what we learn from them and that we try to be better... for next time."
"I've done things that are considered unforgivable. I've taken lives with no remorse for the taking afterwards. That can hardly compare to your own sins, whatever those may be," he condescended.
"You don't know my sins. They can't be compared at all," she argued.
He snorted rudely and Sophie felt her ire rising.
"Murder is a sin. It is the worst sin that exists," he countered.
"Alright, then. I don't care. I suppose that makes me a very bad Catholic. So be it," She retorted.
Why were they fighting now? She hadn't meant it to turn out like this at all. Not when she could still feel the evidence of their coupling as it trickled down between her thighs. Not when they were both naked and exposed and raw.
"Did it fill you with pleasure?" she asked him brusquely. "When you killed those men. When you killed Nadir's son. Did you delight in it?"
He grimaced and made to move away. But she gripped him by the arm and would not let him pull away from her.
"I can see the disgust on your face at such a thought. You took no pleasure from their deaths. No more. Promise me that there will be no more bodies left in your wake and I will give you my forgiveness, if you want it, even though you do not really need it."
Erik pulled her hand from his face and stared down at her with a bewildered expression on his face. "How can you even contemplate forgiving me for such crimes? No one else did." His voice was weak and quiet.
Her eyes misted over with contained sadness. "Because I love you. Maybe I'm selfish. I'll add that to my list of sins," she joked melancholically.
The silence stretched between them. "No more. I promise you," he answered finally.
She dragged his face down to her and kissed him on the mouth in an attempt to force him to believe her: that she loved him, that she forgave him, that she wanted him, that she would still marry him. She relaxed when his mouth softened against hers and he returned her kiss.
Together they settled on the bed. Sophie curled against his side and draped one leg and arm over him. Erik pulled the covers over them and stroked her hair. Laying there like that they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Sophie awoke some time later to the feeling of Erik's fingers in her hair. She sighed and stretched against him. Her hand caressed his torso and she was startled when she brushed against his erection.
She opened her eyes to look down and see that he was quite fully aroused.
"Again?" she asked incredulously.
"How could I ever tire of you? It's like I was a dying man who found an oasis in the desert. You make me insatiable," he said as his hand tightened in her hair. He pulled her head back harshly and took the opportunity to leave a trail of kisses down her exposed neck. His other hand rose up to cup her breast and Sophie moaned.
Sophie enjoyed the mixture of pain and pleasure as his mouth trailed down her body and his hand fisted somewhat roughly in her hair. He pinched her nipple and pulled a moan from her as her body throbbed for him despite its soreness. Would she ever tire of his hands, his mouth, the feeling of him spreading her legs and thrusting into her? She moaned at the memory as he played with her breast and tugged at her hair.
"I was thinking sooner," he said abruptly.
Her brow furrowed in confusion. "What?" she asked him.
"For the wedding," he clarified.
"Don't we need at least a month for the bans?" she countered rationally. His fingers were rolling her nipple around and the distracting sensation was making thinking difficult at the moment. She swallowed and tried to stifle the moan that rose in her throat.
How could something so rough feel so delicious?
He kissed her deeply, then pulled back from her. "Don't forget who you're marrying, my dear," he ordered her with a sudden mock severity edging his voice.
"Even you can't change the word of the Pope, Erik," she said calmly with a wry smile on her lips.
"Do you doubt me, then?" he asked her as he rolled them both until he was on top of her. His hands grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the bed above her head. The movement left her entirely exposed to his eyes and his one free hand. She shivered and felt her nipples as they tightened in response.
"I'd like to see you try," she challenged him. But since he'd pinned her to the bed and was now towering above her suddenly she wasn't sure if she was referring more to their conversation or to the situation at hand. Erik's fingers were tight but not painful as she struggled against him weakly.
She wriggled and writhed to test him and his intentions. But he held her fast and there was nowhere to go. Not that she really wanted to get away anyways. His lean muscles were taut with the strain as he pinned her in place.
"How shall we set the terms?" he asked, and then he leaned forward captured her nipple in his mouth.
All thought fled from her head as his warm tongue teased the sensitive tip and sent shock waves down her body. It made her tender parts throb.
He seemed satisfied with himself as released her nipple and looked up at her again. "if I can make you speak a single word then you will let me make all of the arrangements," he bargained with her.
She licked her lips and held his gaze. "And if I don't?" she teased him and then grinned.
His grip tightened on her slowly and then he repositioned himself so that his leg came up between her own and shifted her knees apart. She felt exposed as he held her there and forced her legs to open and her tender, throbbing sex was exposed to him.
"If you can resist and not speak a single word," he said slowly then paused to nip her breast lightly. It made her inhale loudly and then gasp. "Then we will wait till June," he added.
"Do you agree to our little game?" he inquired.
She nodded mutely, and so it began.
Erik held her arms in place above her head in one of his large, strong hands. He let his other hand roam about her body. He started at the hollow of her neck, then his fingers trailed down the outer curve of her breast. It tickled and made her squirm as he ran fingertips lightly across her ribcage and side. She bit her lip as he moved from her side to her hip. His fingers made little circles as they shifted to explore the tender skin of her inner thigh.
Her legs made to close in reflex as he brushed against the tender, throbbing junction between her thighs. His knee intercepted it and forced her legs apart again. The cool air of the cavern made her warm, moist sex twitch at the change. The whole time his tight grip on her wrists never slacked.
He leaned forward again to take one nipple into his mouth as his fingers caressed the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. He brushed against her aching sex but ignored it and her sudden need for him as he focused wholly on her breasts instead.
Sophie gasped as he nipped her lightly, then swirled her nipple in his mouth. His hand reached up and slapped her breast lightly. She gasped in shock and stared at him with wide eyes. The corner of her mouth tipped up in a grin.
"Say 'stop' and I will," he advised her.
Sophie clamped her lips shut and raised her chin at him resolutely in her silent reply.
And then his fingers were moving where she needed him. Her body arched off of the bed as his thumb brushed against the bundle of nerves within her folds.
It didn't matter that he'd already taken her twice that night, suddenly she ached for him again despite her soreness. Would it always be this way? Would he always have her, then leave her wanting even more of him? She felt like a wanton harlot as his fingers brushed against her sex and teased her slick folds apart.
Erik took advantage of her muteness as his fingers grabbed and groped at her. And then suddenly he was grabbing her by the hip and shoulder and he'd rolled her over onto her stomach. He pulled her wrists back to the small of her back and held them firmly in place.
She turned her head to the side to get more air. When his fingers trailed a path along the sensitive skin of her inner thighs she couldn't help the moan that escaped her. His hand was caressing her backside then, his fingers alternating rubbing and grabbing.
Erik's hand pulled away from her, and then suddenly it was there again with a sting. Sophie gasped, unable to stop the sounds from coming from her, as he repeated it. He was… spanking her? She bit her lip at the pain as he delivered five more blows to one buttock. She felt her flesh rebounding with each thwack as his fingers stung against the tender skin. And then he paused and he was running his fingers ever so faintly against the smarting skin. Sophie moaned at the sensation. The soft skin was made even more tender, and the sensation of his fingers felt tenfold more sensual than before. As he caressed her smarting backside the confusing sensations sent tingles to her throbbing sex. She arched her hips beneath him. His fingers brushed along her folds as he switched from one buttock to another.
And then his hand was gone and he was spanking her again. Five smarting slaps and one lingering touch had her hips writhing in response. The sensation was beyond curious as he mixed pleasure and pain. Her lips parted as she panted. Again, Erik's fingers trailed across her folds as he moved from one buttock to another.
She thought that she'd become accustomed to this new game until Erik changed things yet again. He abandoned his forming pattern and began to assault her in a way that no one had ever touched her before. It felt so shameful to be taking pleasure from something like this. But Erik gave her the perfect mixture of pleasure and pain as he teased her and played with her.
His fingers brushed against her, and then his stinging blows were landing a little more carelessly towards her sex and her thighs. She yelped when his hand found the extra sensitive spot where the thigh met the buttock.
His hand which had been holding her wrists together at the small of her back let go and he was grabbing at her hips and pulling her into the air.
She made to get up until his hands forced her shoulders back down, leaving her ass up in the air. Sophie blushed and was glad that her face was turned away from him. It seemed extra shameful to be in such a position while he was kneeling behind her on the bed.
Erik's hands continued the assault on her backside. The addition of the other hand was too much. Instead of alternating between teasing and spanking, now he was doing both at once. One hand buried itself in her slick folds and teased at the bundle of nerves between her legs while his other hand rained sharp, stinging, heavy blow after blow on her thighs and buttocks and occasionally across her throbbing, dripping sex. Her thighs quivered at the strain as her pleasure began to build.
Sophie felt the familiar sensations stacking within her as he slapped and caressed her tender skin. Her backside was throbbing, pink and warm, just like her sex now. She bit her lip to stifle the moans that would escape her as he spanked and teased her and drove her close to orgasm. Everytime she neared that cliff his pattern would change. He kept her on the edge as he toyed with her. Yet she kept her silence. She refused to give in.
His assault on her paused as he fisted a hand in her hair and pulled her head back. She arched her ass up higher in response and he seemed pleased with that response because his fingers returned to where she ached the most for him. He sank two fingers into her and stretched her wide.
When Sophie attempted to tilt her hips and thrust against his fingers she found them withdraw. She mewled her disappointment as his fingers left her aching and empty. Her thighs quivered with the strain as she edged on the cusp of orgasm yet again. The craving to be filled and fucked were too intense. Her breath was ragged as his thumb brushed against her swollen, tender sex.
She heard him shifting behind her and then his hands were grabbing her hips. Sophie felt the tip of his cock as it brushed against her entrance and she smiled, pleased that he would end her sweet suffering finally. But he held her still and when she tried to shift backwards, to sink herself around him, he held her immobile and away from him as he teased her.
"Beg," he commanded.
She panted and quivered in response as he brushed against the entrance of her and denied her what she wanted most in that moment.
She grunted in response.
Her hands left her back to grasp the sheets beside her as he rubbed his erection against her. One hand held her hips still as the other reached around to tease her swollen flesh. His fingers probed into her slick folds and found the swollen nub that made her writhe. He played and toyed with her until she felt her resolve crumble. She knew his game then. He'd play dirty until he won. He'd deny her what she wanted, needed most, until she caved.
"Please…" she begged him, her voice barely a whisper.
He thrust into her roughly then and pulled her hips back onto him in response.
She cried out in response as he filled her completely, and then she panted as he worked his thick cock in and out of her.
He was thrusting in and out again and again as he placed a hand on her back and pushed her down again. And then he was pulling her hips up and angling her pelvis. She complied and raised her ass higher into the air as her took her roughly from behind. The shame of such a wanton, sinful position heightened her pleasure as he pounded into her again and again.
Sophie buried her face in the sheets and grabbed at them with her hands as he fucked her senseless. His fingers reached around to play with her nub again as he continued to thrust in and out of her.
It was too much. She peaked and crested quickly, then screamed her release as she felt her muscles spasming around him.
Erik's pace was frantic now as he pushed and pulled her and locked her into place and took his pleasure from behind.
A moment later he cried out as he found his release, his fingers dug sharply into her hips as he pulled her back and forward on his spurting cock. She tightened her muscles around him and smiled as she wrenched a moan from him.
Sophie stroked him from within as he spasmed, and then he was still. He laid on top of her and crushed her to the bed and she found the weight of him comforting.
His fingers reached out and found her own and their hands intertwined as he kissed her cheek. She felt his body spasm again as his now limp sex disconnected from her own. Her thighs were slippery from their combined pleasure as he rolled to the side and pulled her to him.
She was wrapped in his embrace as he pulled the sheets over them and he whispered that he loved her in her ear.
Her last thoughts as she fell asleep in his arms was that she was happy to let him think that he had won their little game. She couldn't keep the smile from her face. What difference did a few weeks make, really?
Erik's grip tightened on her and Sophie burrowed deeper into him as he spooned against her.