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When Bree got home from work that afternoon, she had a bag of takeout slung across her arm and two to-go cups of Thai iced tea in each hand. The crisp condensation chilled her fingers as she kicked the door behind her with more force than necessary. It was unintentional but Bree still internally chastised herself for letting her stress and anxiety get the better of her, bubbling over from her day on campus.
While she couldn’t say she had grown accustomed to the long, hard hours and poor treatment she had received as an adjunct professor, Bree had told herself time and time again that it would all be worth it in the end. That is if her interview went well and she was promoted to a permanent position at UNC like she hoped.
She didn’t think it was disastrous by any means, but she felt it was hard to feel good about it when she knew how competitive it was. Bree knew she was a qualified applicant; her portfolio and experience were up to par, and with any luck she had an actual shot at getting it. And she wanted it bad .
Bree was desperate for more time to conduct her research, and she was sick and tired of teaching at multiple institutions. Somedays she felt like she was running around like a headless chicken. Full-time positions rarely opened up and when one finally did at UNC of all places it almost seemed too good to be true. Bree had tried not to put too much pressure on herself but that wasn’t finding much success on that front.
She deposited the bags and cups on the far side of the table, the only area of the space that wasn't covered by scatterings of small puzzle pieces. Sel sat at the head of the table. He looked up at her expectantly and she knew he wanted to ask if she had heard back from the committee.
Bree knew that she couldn’t delay the conversation for long. But she really did not want to tell him that they had not called her, even though they had said they would have reached out to her by the end of the workday. Verbalizing it would make the possibility of rejection feel more real. A solid, tangible thing that she could not so easily push away and ignore.
So for that reason, Bree took a step closer to examine the progress of the puzzle that Sel had been working on for the past few days. Some parts were missing here and there, but the lighthouse scene seemed to be more complete than not. Bree could clearly distinguish the glittering waves that violently crashed into a rocky cliffside while sunbeams peaked through the clouds above and onto the lighthouse in the middle.
“Where did you say you got this one from again? It’s really pretty. I don’t know why but it feels very you.”
He eyed her, knowing full well that she was avoiding the job topic, but he let her do it anyway. “Aww are you saying I’m pretty?”
“Oh no I’m sorry, I misspoke. It’s hideous and I can barely stand the sight of it.” Sel scoffed at that, yet still, he grabbed her by the hand and gingerly pulled her into his lap.
“This one’s from a puzzle trade with William,” he says while picking up a cloudy white piece with the hand that isn’t at Bree’s hip, "I gave him the Japanese garden for it.” Sel trailed off at the tail end of his sentence, his attention was fixated on clicking the piece into place.
When Sel was really into a puzzle he would unknowingly stick his tongue out of the corner of his mouth. And sometimes—if she was lucky—she would manage to catch him in the act.
But not today though. Today, Bree closed her eyes and leaned her head on Sel’s shoulder. She inhaled a deep breath and tried to imagine her worries wooshing away with every exhale. It didn’t work.
When she felt a firm squeeze at her hip, she knew her time was up, so Bree just told him before he even asked. There would be no point in trying to avoid the inevitable.
“They still haven't gotten back to me about the position I applied for, even though they said they would have called me by now.”
“And…” Sel tried to drag more out of her.
“There is no ‘and’, that’s it.”
“Oh, I’m sure. And I'm a dancing sugar plum fairy,” Sel said with that dry humor of his, “What? I thought we were making things up.” Bree rolled her eyes even if she knew he couldn’t see it.
“It’s just that I can’t stop thinking about it. At all. And if I had gotten the job then wouldn’t they have called me by now? Maybe someone else got it.”
He hummed in understanding. “Maybe.”
Bree turned to face him and punched him on the shoulder. “Aren’t you supposed to make me feel better?”
“Listen, I think that you did everything that you could. We both know you’re more than qualified, and I saw all the work you did to prepare. They would be fools not to hire you in all honesty.”
“But?”
“But there is nothing else for you to do. You just have to wait for it.”
She wanted to punch him in the shoulder again, but she didn’t because she figured that he had a good point. It was just hard to accept that she couldn’t do anything about it, she liked to take matters into her own hands and make things happen. But it doesn’t always work like that.
“Until then, you can help me if you want,” Sel said while he clicked a puzzle piece in place.
“Hm?” Bree thought she heard him correctly, but maybe not. Maybe her music listening volume is finally catching up to her after all like her dad said.
“With the puzzle.”
While the offer would seem perfectly normal coming from anyone else Sel was weirdly possessive of his puzzles. Although she could have taken him up on the offer to distract herself, she didn’t think that she would have been much help at the moment.
“No, it’s okay. Thank you though.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah,” she moved to get up but his hold on her tightened.
“At least stay? Only for a little bit, I’m almost done and then we can reheat dinner.”
Waiting was not one of Brees' better skills. She kept opening her email and refreshing her inbox, because maybe—even though she distinctly remembered the interviewer saying they would call her, maybe she misheard them somehow? She refreshed her inbox again and again until Sel finally took it away from her and placed it on the table.
By the time Sel finished the puzzle she still had not heard back from the committee, and she had already triple-checked that she had her ringer on.
The wooden dining chair squeaked behind them as Sel stood up with a great big sigh, with Bree in his arms. He placed her on top of the completed puzzle and peered down at her with one hand on each side of her.
“Stop it. This is ridiculous.” She crossed her arms but said nothing. Sel stepped closer and leaned into her space. His nose hovered above her temple as he spoke. “You’re not very patient. Are you?”
Bree thought she knew where he was going with this and she liked it very very much. She could feel every inhale and exhale of his breath when she closed her eyes.
“Why don’t you help me take my mind off of things then?”
“Oh, Bree.” His mouth inched lower, lightly grazing her cheek. The sound and feel of her name against her skin never ceased to send shivers down her spine. “You know that I am always at your disposal. But today I’d like to take some…creative liberties with you.”
“And what might those be?”
“I could tell you if you would like, but I think it would be better if I didn’t. Is that okay?”
Bree racked her brain for what he could possibly have in mind, but she came up with nothing. Over the years they had experimented together in the bedroom a little bit, with ropes and bondage and things of that sort. At the end of the day, she trusted him. She would be willing to try it if it was with him, she said so while she slid off her t-shirt and undid her bra.
Now topless, Bree felt the all too familiar burn of his gaze on her body as he eyed her curves and her chest. She realized then that Sel had far too much clothes on for her liking and that he didn’t seem to be doing anything about it. When she reached for the hem of his shirt Sel pushed her hand away, instead moving to pick her up and carry her towards their bedroom.
He tutted. “I’m in charge today, understand?”
“Fine, bossy pants.” He raised her eyebrows at her, because they both knew that she could be just as bossy as he could sometimes. She laughed at his unspoken words. “Okay but the last I checked I can walk.”
“Maybe, but this is far more enjoyable,” Sel said while he threw her onto the bed before he slid her pants off and tossed them somewhere she couldn’t see.
She lay there on the bed with all of her clothes strewn about the house, except for her underwear, which she supposed that Sel left on deliberately. For some reason wearing that small piece of clothing made her feel extra bare before him, fully clothed and looming above her.
With nimble fingers, Sel undid the clasp of his belt buckle while his other hand pinned her wrists above her head on the headboard. The firm pressure of his hold was inconsistent with the soft lips that lingered at the crook of her neck. The ones that peppered her with fluttery light kisses and sweet words. He told her that he loved her. That he would take care of her now, and that he would make her forget about everything.
His words seeped into her bones and squeezed her heart—that must be why it was beating so fast, why she could barely breathe. He could say these things to her a million times and she didn’t think she would ever get sick of it.
She felt more than saw him bind her wrists together. When his hands left her wrists, the ghost of their warmth was chased away by the sharp cool of the leather belt. Calloused palms slid down her forearms and along the contours of her body. They swept over the swells of her breasts, teasing at her nipples in a way that made her toes curl. Down her stomach, and over her hips where he traced the lines of her stretch marks with his fingers.
Trails of heat burned in the wake of his touch, which was somehow both tortuous and reverent at once. Each brush of his skin against hers charged up a static-like surge of desire within her.
When his fingers finally grazed her cunt, he gave her an amused smirk. “You, are soaked,” he said, lingering over the fabric and sounding insufferably pleased with himself. As if she needed him to tell her that.
“Well then be a gentleman, and do something about it,” she gritted out. She reflexively strained against her bindings above her head but he held her steady.
“Make no mistake my love, I am a Kingsmage, not a gentleman. But you like it that way, don’t you?
“Sel—” Her words died on her tongue when his thumb came up from between her legs and up to gently hold her face.
“But don’t you worry. I would be glad to serve my King if she asked for it. Nicely.
“You can’t be serious.”
“What makes you think I’m not?” What she could only describe as a cat-like grin overtook his features. “And don’t be coy. Let me hear you.”
Prick. She wasn’t going to make this easy for him. Not if she could help it. Something about that look on his face fueled the defiance in her, so she arched her brow, restraining a grin of her own.
“Make me.”
“Oh, I was hoping you would say that,” Sel said before taking her with his lips. This kiss was nothing like the ones before. Those were light and airy, soft and sweet. But this was rough and needy, with too much teeth and too little care. And she couldn’t get enough of it, enough of him.
Her head was already swimming when his hand descended back down between her legs. Sel hooked a finger beneath the lining of her panties and swept them off to the side. It was a frustratingly controlled motion. If she had it her way Bree she would have ripped them off herself ages ago.
She was fantasizing about it about it when Sel suddenly broke their kiss, leaning back on his forearms. It was like the ground beneath her feet was just swept right out from under her. He was still close, but not close enough.
Bree was about to voice her complaint when he started calling his aether into flames from the air. The rich honey amber of his signature flooded her senses, clouding around her in a haze that was so overwhelmingly Sel.
It was only when he finished forming it that she got a good look at the construct. Her breath caught when it dawned on her what exactly he had made for her.
It glowed a faint silver-blue color, its light slowly pulsing from Sel's effort to keep its shape. It was long and solid in his hands.
He made her an aether dildo. It was a fucking dildo.
“Be careful what you wish for,” he said in a low voice. She couldn’t take her eyes off its sturdy length and was starting to think that Sel was going to let her off the hook today. But something about that seemed too good to be true.
Sel took the toy and rubbed it in between her folds, and all her critical thoughts melted away. Back and forth, up and down. It quickly became slick with liquid, making filthy sounds with each motion.
She wanted it in her now. And she told him just that.
She was surprised when he indulged her, putting up no resistance to her wish whatsoever. A part of her was a little disappointed that he wasn’t making her work for it. Maybe he just wanted to be extra nice to her today?
All of her thoughts scattered when he slowly slid the silver-blue toy inside of her. Inch by inch until it was completely seated inside of her. It took a moment to adjust, but once she did she relished in its fullness. He pumped the toy in and out, steadily picking up his pace.
The hand at her wrists moved down to soothingly stroke her cheek while he relentlessly plunged into her with his construct. Again and again and again. She felt every ounce of persistence that he possessed—as a Merlin, as a Kingsmage, and as Sel —, all poured out into this one movement in between her legs.
His thumb skimmed across her lip before it lightly dipped into her mouth. It rose and fell in tandem with the heavy, needy pants that escaped from her. She sucked it deeper into her mouth, it was like her very own anchor amid crashing waves and treacherous seas.
With each rocking motion, she climbed higher and higher towards release, until she was right there, teetering on the edge. It was so, so close. It felt like it was just within her reach, but every time she thought she was almost there something that she could not describe snatched it away from her.
“Faster,” she growled in frustration.
Yet again, he obliged her with no resistance. Sel’s thrusts could only be described as wild at this point, as steady as any sort of man-made machine would be. As tireless as a Merlin. But no matter how fast he moved, it wasn't working. She still wasn’t there.
“I need more, please, just—”
“Of course, love,” he said, stupidly composed compared to the writhing mess that she was.
With a murmured incantation Bree could feel the toy grow in size, still inside of her. It was an even tighter fit now. She squeezed with her internal muscles around it, testing it out the snugness. But it did nothing for her. Absolutely nothing to free her from this.
“Please!” she cried out, and actual tears began to well up in her eyes. Bree didn't even know what to ask for anymore. No clue how long she had been held captive by the sensations thrumming within her, it was as if she were suspended in time. Bree didn’t know what it would take to get her to the other side, to her breaking point. She was completely at a loss.
Bree was just hovering at the brink of this horrible in-between and there was nothing Sel could do and she was just stuck and she really really really wanted to come.
She was sobbing at this point from a confusing mix of frustration and pleasure boiling over completely out of her control. Bree tilted her chin up at him to see if he was just as confused as she was. She could feel tears roll down her cheek into the crook of her neck as she did so.
But instead, what she found was that glint in his eye. After years and years of being together, it was a look that she knew well. It was a look of mischief.
And then she understood. It was like the puzzle pieces in her brain suddenly clicked together at once. This was all part of it. All part of the game that they were playing.
“Clever bunny, aren't you?” he drawls, a smug smile on his face.
Bree's instinct is to do something— anything —to wipe it off, so naturally she bit down on the thumb still in her mouth.
Sel winced a little and pulled it out. But he didn’t draw her hand away from her face entirely. Instead, he wiped her tears with the sleeve of his shirt. That smile didn’t leave his face, but the smug look melted into something closer to an affectionate one.
“Gorgeous girl, you look beautiful like this,” he trails off, wiping another tear, “my beautiful mess.”
“I hate you,” she gritted out.
He laughed. “Is that so? In that case...” Sel began to slow down, easing the movement of the construct inside of her until it completely came to a stop. Bree was horrified. She was perilously held at the brink of her climax for a brief moment before she felt it peter off into nothingness.
Bree could hear the sound of her own wetness when Sel slid it out of her entirely, slowly, slowly, slowly. It was as if he wanted her to be extra aware of the loss. She squeezed her eyes shut but her tears still seeped out.
“Nononono please please just...”
“Just what, Bree? Tell me what you want.”
She felt something wet and slick tap at her face, right there on the corner of her lips. Once. Twice. Bree opened her eyes to find that it was Sel, urging her to open her eyes and look up at him; with the toy that was just inside of her seconds ago.
He spoke softly this time. “Just tell me.” The light blue glow of the construct illuminated his face. When he glided it across her lips, smearing her with her arousal, the light danced across his features.
“I need to come.”
“You need to? That's a very strong word.”
“Yes! Yes, yes, please, I'll do anything.”
“Well then,” with his free hand, he untied the belt that held her wrists, “let me see you touch yourself.”
Now free, Bree’s hand immediately snaked down to her clit, obeying him before her mind could even think to. Every touch felt electrically charged. She felt like she could come right now. Especially when she watched as Sel brought the toy back down to her entrance. It hovered there, almost taunting her with how close it was to where she wanted it. But now she knew that it was entirely up to him whether or not it would actually make her come.
“You’ve done so good but you have to hold it for a bit longer. Just wait for a few more minutes. I know you can do it.”
Bree nodded eagerly, not so much because she agreed with him or believed in herself but more so because she desperately wanted him to fuck her again. With quick whispered words, the toy glowed a brighter hue than it did before returning to normal.
She groaned when Sel slammed the toy into her cunt with one swift motion, not allowing her any time to adjust to the size like he did before. Bree rubbed herself while he pushed in and out of her, and it did not take long at all for her to be built up to the cusp of her climax again. Her movements on her clit became less and less coordinated.
Something in her knew that she physically would be able to come now that Sel had “unblocked” his construct, but Sel himself hadn’t told her that she could yet. Bree didn't think she could wait for much longer but she wanted to be good and hold it just like he told her to. She was really trying her best, but it was getting to be too much for her.
“Please can I come I waited and I waited, please.”
Sel leaned into her and groaned into her lips as he kissed her bottom lip. “Come for me then.”
He bit and tugged at her bottom lip while she finally rode out her orgasm to its peak. Bree exploded into a million and one pieces like a supernova that she could feel in every cell of her body. She was weightless and rising up into the sky until she came back down on herself. In this bed, with this man, here in this very moment in time.
Bree lay languid on the bed, completely and utterly exhausted. Usually, she would have at least two or three more in her but not today. She would have fallen asleep if Sel hadn’t nudged her at her side.
“Let’s get you in the shower.”
“Fine.” Bree didn’t move an inch, waiting expectantly for him to pick her up.
“I thought you said that you could walk by yourself,” he retorted. But he was already scooping her up and heading in the direction of the bathroom.
“Well, that was before .”
Nestled into his body, Bree remembered something. With a jolt, she realized that he didn’t come at all . He still had all of his clothes on.
“Wait what about you?” She felt guilty that she hadn’t done anything for his pleasure and that she hadn’t thought of it until now.
“No, we're done for today. And besides, you’re exhausted.”
“But you didn’t get to enjoy it, it’s not fair for you.”
“Oh trust me, I enjoyed that plenty.” He dropped her by the door to the shower and gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the mouth. She stepped inside and turned on the hot water. She thought that Sel would leave her to get cleaned up but was pleasantly surprised when he began taking off his clothes to follow her in the shower.
“Now you’re taking your clothes off? Seems a little late doesn’t it? And here I thought you were becoming a man of modesty.”
“Why, were you getting worried?”
Bree laughed. “Yeah right, just turn around and let me get your back.”
They took turns scrubbing each other off, and Bree saw that Sel did enjoy himself because here she was cleaning up the come on his cock with soap and suds. She couldn’t remember at what point he must have come in his pants, but she was happy to know that he did.
Sometime later, the two of them stepped out alongside warm steam and the scent of coconut and jasmine that swirled in the air. They reheated their long-forgotten takeout and set up for dinner on the side of the table opposite the completed puzzle.
She was putting down their teas when she heard her phone ring. Plates and silverware jostled as Bree lunged for it on the other side of the table. She answered without even sparing a glance at the caller ID, hoping and praying that it was who she thought it was.
“Congratulations Bree! I’m terribly sorry for the wait—”