29: The Crown & The Cage
29: The Crown & The Cage
POV – Ava
A day had passed since the elders' summons.
A day since they offered me a throne.
A day since Dante warned me that I would not walk away unclaimed.
I should have been thinking about my future.
About power.
About who I wanted to be.
Instead, all I could think about was Dante’s mouth between my thighs.
And fuck, that terrified me.
Because if he could ruin me with just his tongue—
Then maybe I never had a choice to begin with.
Dante pov
I wasn’t going to force her.
Not this time.
If she chose me, it would be because she wanted to.
So I wouldn’t take.
I wouldn’t command.
I would break her apart another way.
With pleasure so deep, so ruinous, that she’d never question where she belonged again.
\-------------------
A Night Without Power Plays
POV – Ava
The storm outside cracked against the windows, but the real storm was inside me.
Dante sat at the edge of the bed, his eyes burning into me.
Not demanding.
Not controlling.
Just waiting.
I swallowed. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
His smirk was slow, sinful.
“Because I want to worship you.”
I shivered. “You always take. You don’t worship.”
His blue eyes darkened. “Tonight, I do.”
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Ruined by His Mouth
POV – Ava
Dante eased me back onto the pillows, his hands spreading my thighs.
No words. No hesitation.
His mouth was on me before I could even breathe.
I cried out, my back arching as his tongue traced a slow, teasing path over my clit.
Heat spiked through me, my fingers fisting the sheets.
But he wasn’t rushed.
No brutal pace.
No punishment.
Just pure, indulgent pleasure.
His tongue flicked soft and slow, dragging out every sensation until I was panting, writhing, gasping.
“Dante, please—”
His fingers gripped my thighs, keeping me exactly where he wanted me.
“Shhh, little one,” he murmured against me, his breath hot on my soaked folds.
“You don’t have to beg.”
Dante pov
She was dripping, her body completely at my mercy.
And fuck, I loved it.
But this wasn’t about control.
Not tonight.
I licked deep and slow, savoring the way she trembled beneath my tongue.
Ava’s moans were soft, breathy, completely wrecked.
She was so used to me taking, pushing, demanding.
But now, she was coming undone just from me giving.
And that?
That was the real power.
Ava pov
I was burning alive.
Pleasure coiled tight in my core, heat surging with every stroke of his tongue, every slow suck against my swollen clit.
It wasn’t enough.
I needed more.
I needed everything.
I tangled my fingers in his hair, pulling him closer, desperate.
Dante chuckled against me.
“Still greedy,” he murmured, his tongue sliding lower, teasing my entrance.
I moaned, my body thrashing under the sweet, agonizing torture.
“Dante—”
He groaned, flicking his tongue faster, sucking my clit between his lips.
I shattered.
The orgasm tore through me, my body convulsing, my moans shaking with pleasure.
He didn’t stop.
Didn’t slow down.
Not until I collapsed against the bed, completely ruined.
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A Soft Surrender
POV – Ava
Dante hovered over me, his lips brushing softly against mine.
Not claiming.
Not demanding.
Just letting me taste myself on his tongue.
“You’re mine, Ava.”
A statement.
A truth.
Not a question.
And fuck, I knew it too.
I traced my fingers along his jaw, my heart pounding.
“I know.”
\-------------------
The Next Day – A Disruptive Arrival
The morning air was thick with silence.
I sat at the dining table, my body still sore from pleasure, my mind a tangled mess.
Dante sat across from me, watching. Waiting.
Like he knew something I didn’t.
Like he could still feel me breaking for him.
Then—a knock.
Sharp. Demanding.
Dante’s entire body tensed.
I froze, my fork hovering over my plate.
Dante stood without a word.
He moved toward the door, his shoulders coiled with warning.
And when he opened it—
Lucien stood on the other side, smirking.
Lucien pov
“Well, well,” he drawled, eyeing Dante’s disheveled state.
“Judging by the way she’s glowing, I assume you had a very... persuasive night?”
Dante’s snarl was immediate.
Lucien just chuckled, stepping past him without permission.
“You should thank me, actually,” he mused, taking a seat at the table.
Dante’s eyes flashed dangerously.
“Get. Out.”
Lucien ignored him, turning his golden gaze straight to me.
“I came with a message,” he said, his smirk fading.
My stomach twisted.
“A message from who?” I asked.
His gaze darkened.
“The elders.”
Lucien leaned forward, his voice dropping.
“They’ve moved the coronation up.”
I stilled.
Dante went rigid beside me.
Lucien exhaled sharply.
“Ava—you only have one more day to choose.”