I arch underneath him, crying out as my hips buck.
He withdraws, stands, and peels his clothes off in sharp, impatient movements. I yank my shirt over my head, my heart slamming, as he rolls on a condom and drops back between my legs, cock hard and poised at myentrance.
“Ready?” His voice is hoarse, all need and no restraint.
I nod.
He drives into me with one long, hard thrust. I moan, overwhelmed by the sensation of him inside me, the delicious burn and stretch. He kisses me, his tongue in my mouth, warm and rough, as his body rolls against me, pushing him deeper.
“Now you’re mine,” he whispers against my neck, my lips, my forehead.
He repeats the word.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
His hips snap forward as he sets a brutal, relentless pace, like he’s trying to outrun the events of the day.
Good.
I don’t want soft.
I wanthim. The way he really is.
“Don’t hold back,” I tell him, my breath catching. “Not with me.”
That’s all it takes. He pounds into me, hot and filthy. Claiming me with every relentless thrust, the slap of skin on skin echoing through the room. His mouth finds my breast, his sharp teeth grazing my nipple, his tongue soothing the sting before he sucks it deep.
I cry out, my back arching, body shuddering at the friction and fire between us.
“Tell me you want this,” he says, his voice rough.
“I want you,” I gasp, too far gone for shame.
“I’m going to bond you. Put my mark on your hand,” he growls, something unholy in his tone. “Tie you to me forever.” Words vanish, lost to the dark, as he fucks me like an animal. Wild, erratic movements like he’s lost all control, like he’s operating on only instinct and obsession.
Outside, the storm rages. Wind screams along the eaves, rain lashes violently against the windows, and thunder rolls through the night with distant fury. For a moment, it feels like the world could fall apart around us, tear itself to shreds, and we wouldn’t notice, wouldn’t care.
Carrson rises to his knees, keeping my body flat beneath him, and drives into me again and again. His hand grips my shoulder, holding me steady. His gaze rakes over me, possessive, primal, revenant.
Like I’m the altar, and he’s already kneeling.
My body coils, muscles tensing, breath stuttering as pleasure grows, hot and sharp, deep in my core. My thighs tremble, my hips grinding to meet him, movement for movement, stroke for stroke. Every nerve is lit, every breath a gasp. I’m right there, teetering on the edge, so close to falling.
“I need you to come for me,” Carrson grits out, lowering himself until his chest presses flush against me, our hearts colliding. “Let that pretty pussy come all over my cock, so Iknowyou’re mine.”
That’s all it takes. I shatter around him with a strangled moan, walls clenching, body shaking, nails clawing down his back.
He follows a heartbeat later, hips grinding as he comes with a curse and a low, gutted sound, hands fisting in my hair like he’ll never let go.
We collapse together, trembling and breathless, still tangled in heat and sweat.
Outside, the storm rages on. A war of sky against earth, but it doesn’t bother me anymore. This house and the people within it have endured far worse, and I know, only after the rain can the flowers bloom.
Chapter thirty
Carrson
Another dream. I remind myself I’m not really here. I’m with Laurel, safe in my bedroom at Ashford House. We just made love as the thunder boomed and the room flashed with lightning. I try to feel her, her warmth, her breath. I know she’s there, sleeping beside me.
