And from there…everything unraveled.
His touch became relentless, his movements driven by something deeper than intention, something that felt dangerously close to breaking free entirely.
There was no slow build this time, no careful restraint,only raw need.
Desperation.
And something far darker rising beneath it.
His kiss turned frantic, consuming, as though whatever control he had been holding onto had finally begun to fracture. Ifelt it in the way his hands moved over me, no longer measured, no longer careful, but everywhere at once, pulling, gripping, needing.
My legs parted instinctively as he stepped closer, fitting himself between them as though there had never been space between us at all.
“I have to have you,”he breathed against my lips, his voice rough, unsteady in a way I had never heard before.
“I fucking crave you.”His hands dragged down the straps of my dress, pushing them from my shoulders as his mouth followed. His lips were hot and relentless, pressing along my neck and my collarbone, leaving no space untouched.
I felt it fully when his lips brushed my ear, and he growled, low and unrestrained,
“I need to fuck you.”
My head fell back, my body reacting before thought could catch up, and the only answer I could give him was the soft, breathless,
“Yes,”that slipped from my lips, and that was all he needed.
His hands slid up my thighs, firm and unyielding as he hooked his fingers into the fabric of my underwear, dragging them down my legs in one smooth motion. My shoes slipped free as I kicked them off without thinking.
He moved just as quickly, his own hands fumbling with his clothes and his boots as urgency replaced precision. Whilst my own hands reached for him in return, fingers trembling as I worked at the buttons of his shirt. Time stretched, the seconds dragging as though they refused to pass quickly enough.
Until they did.
Until he stood before me, bare and glorious, every muscle one I wanted to trace with my fingertips. Every mysterious line of those strange tattoos, ones I wanted to see light up beneathhis skin. However, even I knew there wasn’t time for that, as his gaze was nothing short of devouring.
“You’re wearing too much,” he muttered, his voice low, strained.
Before I could react, his hands gripped the bodice of my dress, and with two sharp pulls, the fabric tore clean down the center.
I gasped as the ruined dress fell open. Each side still clinging to me but parted, framing my body rather than covering it. The red fabric was now hanging on either side like curtains for the main show.
His eyes drank me in. Hungry and unrestrained.
“I can’t hold back, Eliza.”
I lifted my hand, cupping his cheek, grounding him for a moment.
“Then don’t,”I whispered back, and he stilled for a fraction of a second, pressing his forehead to mine as a strained groan left him.
“You don’t understand what that means.”
I frowned, confusion flickering through me, but he didn’t give me time to ask.
“My demon,” he said, his voice rougher now, less controlled.
“He needs to be sated, too.”Something in my chest tightened at that, despite not fully understanding the depth of what he meant.
“I don’t want to frighten you,” he added, quieter now, though the warning in it only made my pulse spike harder.
“This is who I am, Eliza,” he said, his gaze locking onto mine.
