“Neither did you,” she countered, her eyelids dropping as I dragged my hand up her ribcage, then back down. “This feels nice. Really nice, actually.” Some of the tension left her shoulders, and she sighed. “I don’t want you to stop. I just… got spooked.”
“We are just getting started. I want to take care of you, make you feel good. Do you trust me?”
She didn’t laugh, but her hesitation made me want to rage through the streets before I remembered she had every right not to trust me. Half an hour ago, she’d wanted to kill me. Now, she was half naked in my arms. I’d take that as progress.
“Yes.” She sounded so bashful. “What did you have in mind?”
“I’d like you to lie down on the bed. On your back. Put your hands up over your head and close your eyes. I want you to relax and let me take care of you. Let me make you feel good.”
She obeyed immediately, her ass the most perfect thing I’d ever seen as she crawled across my bed, turned, and positioned herself exactly as I’d instructed. “I’m going to take your pants off now,” I warned, tugging them off, leaving her in nothing but a pair of black panties that did catastrophic things to my self-control.
I ran my palms up her muscled thighs, then dragged my fingers down the soft, pale insides as she shivered in pleasure. I couldn’t stop touching her soft, supple skin. There was nothing I would change about Emberline.
Nothing.
I closed my eyes and took a deep inhale, suddenly nervous, struck by the need to make this perfect for her.
To make this an experience she would remember—no,treasure—forever.
I ran the tip of my finger beneath the band of her panties, the intoxicating scent of her filling my senses. “May I take these off?” I asked, my heart beating fast. “I want to see you.”
“Why would you…” She blinked up at me. “Sure,” she mumbled, cheeks pink. “Okay.”
I dragged her panties down her legs and fell to my knees, my cock throbbing, aching to get inside her as I pressed her knees apart, air stalling in my lungs as I saw that pretty flash of pink.
Gods, her pussy was beautiful. Flawless. Like a fucking flower, already glistening with her juices.
Every broken piece of me came alive.
The body that had died in the pits, the soul that had withered away in the darkness of my stone cell, the heart that I’d crushed into dust, rather than feel pain ever again. All of them roared back to life, like I was being reborn.
And one thing became crystal clear.
I was totally, absolutely fucked because there was no way Emberline wouldn’t own every last, ruined piece of me after this.
45
EMBERLINE
My face was on fire, one hand pressed over my mouth so I wouldn’t tell Dante to stop.
I didn’t want him to stop, not really, but this was humiliating, having someonedown there, staring at my most private parts, not saying a word.
Was he horrified? Disgusted?Did I look weird?
Oh gods, why had I let him take off my panties? Why hadn’t I walked away?
Because I wanted Dante so intensely, my insides hurt. Because my entire body ached to be full, instead of empty, ached to have him inside of me, filling me up, to feel his warm, solid weight against me, like in the training room. His coarse, filthy words had unlocked something reckless inside me, my nipples tightening into nubs, wetness gushing between my legs in a way that scared and humiliated me.
I was used to feeling hate. Rage. A need for revenge. But lust was just as consuming and far more dangerous.
I wanted Dante to devour me whole.
And I might get my wish.
My husband’s hot breath skated over my belly as he leaned closer. My entire body shook in anticipation, my breath coming faster and faster. His fingers dug into my thighs as he slowly, slowly, slowly pushed my legs wider.
“Saints, you are perfect,” he finally breathed, his voice slightly slurred, fingers dragging up and down the insides ofmy thighs, tickling with every pass. “I knew you would be, I knew it, but you are so beautiful, Emberline, so godsdamned beautiful. What did I ever do to deserve you?”
