“I’ll always protect you, little bird.” His frown deepened. “I did it out of habit, I guess. If someone threatens someone I care about, I kill them. It’s in my nature. I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I just didn’t think to mention it.”
I rolled my bottom lip into my mouth and sucked it as I stared into his sad gaze. “If anything like that happens again, tell me.”
“Of course. I’m so fucking sorry.”
“Damien, I forgive you,” I murmured.
More tears trickled from his stormy gray eyes onto me. “I fuck up so much, little bird. Is it selfish of me to not want to let you go?”
“Let me go?” Fear slithered around my chest as I pulled his face toward mine and brushed my nose against his. “Never let me go. I don’t care what you do. Maybe that’s toxic, but—”
He groaned as his shadows brushed my hair away from my face. “So fucking toxic, but I swear to you, I’ll never harm a hair on your head so long as you don’t want me to.”
A tinge of desire laced between my legs, and my mouth opened to expose every thought on my mind. “You’ve mentioned that before. I got an idea the first time we kissed, but you mean that pain can actually enhance how good it... ah, feels?”
The pain on his face dissolved into something more primal as his lips curved into a predatory grin. “Yes.”
“Um, how does that work exactly? Does it work every time?” My cheeks flamed with heat.
Amusement twinkled in his eyes, along with the tears that had stopped falling. “Is my little bird interested in pain?”
Biting down on my lower lip, I stared up at him. “I’m interested in you, and I might be interested in what you can make me feel.”
Maybe it was the onslaught of emotions whirling in my mind, or maybe it was just that I burned for him. Every single nerve on my body lit up when he was near, and every time he touched me was like I was on fire.
I was tired of fighting the desire building inside me. I wanted Damien’s touch, whether it was pain or something else.
A low rumble vibrated his chest, and he leaned in to brush his lips over mine. “I’m not going to show you exactly what pain can do just yet. Tonight, I just want to make you feel pleasure. Don’t worry. I’ll shroud us with shadows so nobody hears.”
Slick heat pooled between my legs, and I whimpered as he leaned up and pushed my knees apart, moving himself between my thighs and lying his body on top of mine. His weight felt different with the pressure between my legs, and he brushed a hand through my hair.
Anticipation climbed inside me as my heartbeat pounded relentlessly. “What do I do?”
The hand he had in my hair started tracing, moving down until his fingertips glided across my collarbone before following down my sternum. “All you have to do is lie back…” Lowering himself down, he started moving down my body, following the path he’d made with his fingers until he reached just above the waistband of my pajama shorts. “And enjoy.”
My breath hitched. “What about you?”
“Oh, little bird.” He planted a kiss above my waistband and locked my gaze in a heated one. “Tasting you will be the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever fucking done.”
Warmth swirled in my belly, and my body throbbed with a need I knew he could meet.
His thumbs tucked into the sides of the waistband, and he pulled both my panties and shorts off in one smooth motion.
The cool air of the room hit my most intimate spot, and I stiffened, closing my legs out of habit. “Ah.”
“Oh, no.” He clicked his tongue with a smirk pulling at his lips. “Don’t ever hide this from me.” His hands slid over each knee before he pushed my legs apart.
“Okay, Damien.” The ache of need grew more insistent.
His horns slipped out from his skull, and he let out a satisfied growl. “Good girl.”
The words of praise made the desire within me explode, and I let my head fall back as I waited for what was next. I bunched the sheets in my hands, wishing he’d just touch me.
Damien’s shadows began to slip underneath my thin pajama top at the same time his calloused hands skimmed down my opened thighs. His icy shadows glided over my breasts, swirling around my nipples, and I couldn’t contain the cry that escaped my lips.
“Do you like it when my shadows play with you?” He chuckled, hot breath fanning over my bare intimates. “I can feel what they feel, and your breasts are fucking perfect. Your nipples are so hard.”
“Mmmm,” I moaned as desire continued to thrum through my veins. “Yes.”
