She’s fast but clumsy even with her improved vision, crashing through underbrush, her pale hair a beacon in the darkness. I could catch her in moments but hold back, letting her run, letting the fear and anticipation build.
Her breathing is ragged, punctuated by small sounds of distress as branches catch at the dress, at her skin.
When I finally close the distance, tackling her to the forest floor, she screams. The sound cuts off as I flip her onto her back, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand.
“Caught you.”
Her chest heaves against mine, her pupils blown wide. “You’re insane.”
“Yes.” I lower my mouth to her throat, teeth scraping skin. “But you knew that already.”
I work my way down her body, shoving the dress up to her ribs. Her panties are soaked through and I tear them away, the fabric giving with a satisfying rip. She tries to close her legs, but I force them open, settling my face between her thighs.
“Damien—”
“Shh.” I blow cool air across her centre and she whimpers. “You offered yourself to me, remember? Now lie still and take what I give you.”
My tongue finds her clit, and she bucks against my face, a strangled moan escaping her throat. I work her methodically, alternating between broad strokes and focused attention, learning what makes her gasp, what makes her fingers claw at the forest floor.
When I slide two fingers inside her, she comes apart, her release pulsing against my hand as she cries out into the darkness.
I don’t give her time to recover. I’m already undoing my belt, positioning my pulsing cock at her entrance. She’s still trembling from her orgasm when I thrust inside, filling her completely.
“Fuck.” The word punches out of me. She’s tight and wet and perfect, her body gripping me like it was made for this.
I set a brutal pace, one hand fisted in her hair, the other gripping her hip hard enough to bruise. The dress is ruined, dirt-stained and torn, but I don’t care. All that matters is the heat of her, the sounds she makes, the way she wraps her legs around my waist and pulls me deeper.
“Mine,” I growl against her ear. “Say it.”
“You’re mine.” Resisting, teasing. But her voice breaks, and the depth of feeling makes my head spin.“Mine.”
The unexpected claim destroys what little control I have left. I slam into her harder, chasing the building pressure at the base of my spine until it crests and breaks, my release pulsing inside her until I’m drained, pleasure flooding me in waves.
I collapse against her, both of us panting hard, my heart racing. The forest is quiet around us, just the whisper of wind through pine needles and our ragged breathing.
Ophelia’s fingers trace patterns on my back, her touch gentle now, almost tender. A deep, unfamiliar warmth spread through my chest, tight and possessive.
“We should go,” she murmurs eventually. “Before the police actually show up.”
“In a minute.” I nuzzle into her neck, breathing her in. “Let me have this for a minute.”
She doesn’t protest, just holds me while the chemicals in my brain slowly normalise. Until I can lift her into my arms and make the long trek back to the car. Her weight against my chest is a solid warmth that seeps into my bones, replacing the restless energy.
For once, all the static in my head is quiet. Even tucking her into the passenger seat brings a rush.
I pull into the road, taking the longest route back into the city because I want this night to last forever.
All it will take is one wrong move with Chelsea, with the school, with my father, and the future I’ve envisioned will be obliterated.
At best, exiled to some forgotten office in bumfuck, nowhere. At worst, he’ll send me to prison just like he threatened. A place I doubt I can find my way back out of, not with my temperament, and now Vincent’s threat lies alongside that.
Dangerous. This is so fucking dangerous.
But my hand finds hers, clutching it tightly in the cold dawn air.
CHAPTER TWENTY
OPHELIA
