Larger than Bane?
“But he wins her approval and trust to join with her.”
His low tone drew her in. Curiosity won over her need to remain silent. “How?”
Each breath he took huffed at the point where her neck met the juncture of her shoulder. Her flesh pebbled but again she remained unmoving. What an odd picture they probably made. She, wilted in his arms and he, curled around her, supporting her weight. Tight yet gentle.
Shivers erupted across her flesh. He kissed the hollow of her throat, his tongue licking her skin from the base and back up her neck. She thought he was too distracted to answer her question.
“Look down.”
The grip around her middle loosened but Dharma didn’t pull away. Silver threads spooled out from his wrists. Fascinated, she couldn’t look away from the webbing spilling over his fingers. He stroked her palm with his thumb, then lifted it and looped the ends of the strands about her wrist. Round and round. He picked up her other hand and did the same then linked the threads until her hands were joined together fingertips to fingertips, palms facing.
There was a trace of something sticky there as well. Nothing she could see but it had to have been a secretion from his fingers.
“He has to show her that he’s strong enough for her,” he continued in that same low melodic tone. “For Ceratons strength is measured by our silks or threads as others call them. We have two. Familial and protective. Familial is this type I’m using. Protective is black and has embedded thorns that can shred the toughest material. The male releases his familial silk from the glands on his wrists. The stronger the bonds he makes, the harder she knows he’ll fight for her.”
She tipped her head up to see his face and met his black gaze. Such intensity. Dharma couldn’t look away. Bane’s hands slid from her wrists and up her forearms. It was a caress she felt all over and left her toes tingling.
“I’m strong enough for you. Strong enough to fight for you.”
No one was strong enough to fight what she was up against.
As if reading her doubts, his gaze narrowed. His hands were at her shoulders now. She glanced down and her pulse kicked up again. Silvery white thread was wound around the length of her forearms, binding them together from wrist to the upper part of her elbows. She was trapped. Tied down. Fear returned in a rush. “Bane.”
“Shhh,” he breathed. “Let me show you.”
Every instinct urged her to break the bindings about her arms. Sweat trickled down her temple as she started panting.
“Don’t move.” Bane went to his knees behind her and placed a hand on each of her ankles above the top of her shoes. One at a time he removed them then looked up at her. “The male begins the fila telarum with her full awareness. He has shown his strength and now he must prove he is trustworthy.”
Fila telarum. Dharma didn’t know what that was, but the foreign word sounded beautiful the way he said it. He waited at her feet and she realized he wanted her approval for what came next. She glanced at the bonds he’d put on her arms. She wasn’t sure what he would do but a tiny part of her already trusted him more than any other male she’d ever come across. “Yes.”
He kissed her calf through the uniform pants. “Thank you.”
More silver threads came free as Bane nudged her legs together. Slowly and steadily he built a length of rope from the silk webbing and wrapped it around her ankles, then her calves before reaching her lower legs. She could only see the top of his head as he worked, but there was a single-minded focus to his movements. Determination and a steady regard she couldn’t dismiss. It calmed her even as a part of her was threatened by how close she was letting him in.
He stroked, caressed, and made his way up to her knees, then her thighs. His concentration was unshakeable and Dharma realized she wasn’t trembling anymore. Her breath came in smooth inhales and exhales. Tense muscles eased and her lids grew heavy.
“He takes his time,” Bane said, breaking the comforting silence, “because he understands the importance of the gift she’s giving him.”
He ran his hands over her butt and squeezed. She twitched and he smiled then returned to what he was doing. A thick white cocoon covered her lower half. She couldn’t move if she wanted to.
When he shifted in front of her body to bind her arms to her torso, she whimpered. Bane stopped. He didn’t speak. Just waited. Dharma swallowed. So far he’d done nothing to harm her. They continued to stare at one another and she wondered at the hypnotic effect he had on her.
Somehow he’d drawn her into this separate headspace and intuition or something else, encouraged her to let him do what he wanted. She should be scared of her willingness to trust. Running was the smart option. Instead, she nodded, and he continued wrapping the thread around her.
In the end, she was enshrined from shoulder to ankles in layers of silver and white webbing. Her balance was precarious but she knew Bane wouldn’t let her fall.
He stepped behind her, slid his arms around her and swayed, rocking her from side to side until she relaxed. Trusted. Her eyes closed on a sigh. She felt drugged, her body sluggish. Everything around her—the fear, the worry, faded.
They swayed together for an endless amount of time and yet not nearly long enough. Her mind floated on a sea of unheard of peace that was priceless.
Bane pressed her head back against his chest and tipped her face up, disturbing the quiet. She whimpered and he kissed her eyelids. “Now, the reason the female allows him to sex share with her is because he renders her helpless and immobile. She can’t attack or fight him off if he wanted to harm her. But he doesn’t. And because of that, he earns her trust.”
Then he picked her up and she startled, shaken from the odd silence he’d created not just with his webbing but with his words. He cradled her against his chest as he carried her toward his bed. He laid her down on her side and climbed in, positioning himself to where they faced one another. He tucked her face beneath his chin. “I have you. Feel me. Feel my strength surrounding you.”
He breathed in and out and Dharma found herself spacing her breathing to match his. Her eyes grew drowsy. She was safe. Secure. Nothing could hurt her.
***
Bane held Dharma in his arms as she slept, her expression filled with bliss. He released the breath he’d been holding. Not every female was open to the fila telarum. It was rare he got the opportunity to appease that part of his nature and perform the ritual before sex sharing. Some females panicked at being bound. Usually, he managed to get as far as the knees then they began crying and asked him to stop.
Knowing Dharma’s feelings about closed in spaces had worried him. He stared at the sleeping face next to his. She had been scared but hadn’t stopped him. His cock hardened, the throb almost painful. Nothing fueled his arousal more than a female facing her fear. She was stronger than she probably knew.
He stroked his fingers over her cheeks. In another few minutes, he’d have to release her from his silk. It wouldn’t be comfortable for much longer as the tensile threads tended to constrict. He didn’t want to risk causing her stiffness or injury.
For now, he enjoyed the sight. This was an image he’d carry with him far beyond this night. His maman had tried to explain what it would feel like, the emotions he’d experience if a female allowed him to complete the process fully. His imagination hadn’t come close. Bane closed his eyes and rested his forehead against Dharma’s. Her trust was a beautiful gift. He’d bind her in his silk every night if he could and dare any who thought to harm her.