“Please,” I finally said, voice barely above a whisper. “Take off the mask.”
He pulled back just enough to reach up and remove it, and suddenly it was just Julian, his eyes dark and hungry, his mouth curved in that wicked smile I'd come to know so well. The one that meant I was in trouble. The best kind of trouble.
“There you are,” I breathed.
“Here I am.” He tossed the mask aside and kissed me properly this time, deep and demanding, his tongue sliding against mine in a way that made my knees weak. I clung to him, fingers tangling in his hair, pulling him closer.
His hands roamed, one sliding beneath my jacket, the other gripping my hip hard enough that I'd probably have bruises there tomorrow. I didn't care. I wanted them. Wanted the reminder of this moment, of him claiming me in the darkness of this empty library.
“Do you have any idea,” he murmured against my mouth, “how hard it was to stay ahead of you tonight? How many times I wanted to just grab you and fuck you up against the closest wall?”
“Why didn't you?”
“Because watching you look for me was too good.” His lips moved to my neck, teeth grazing my skin. “Seeing that determination on your face. Seeing how badly you wanted to find me.”
I tilted my head back, giving him better access. “I really did want to find you. You could’ve given me more of a chance.”
“I know.” His hand slid higher beneath my shirt, fingers tracing patterns on my bare skin. “But I wanted you to want to be caught even more.”
“Cocky bastard.”
He laughed against my neck. “You love it.”
He was damn right. I did.
His mouth found mine again, more aggressive now, and I matched his intensity, biting his lower lip hard enough to make him groan. His hips pressed against mine, pinning me completely to the bookshelf, and I could feel exactly how much he'd enjoyed this little game he’d created. I also had the feeling it would be the first of many more to come.
“Julian,” I gasped when he moved to my collarbone, sucking hard enough to leave a mark. “Wait. We're in the library.”
“Empty library, remember?” he corrected, hands already working at the button of my jeans. His fingers slid beneath the denim, teasing. “Called in a favor. The building's ours for the next three hours.”
“Three hours seems optimistic,” I said, breath hitching as his fingers moved exactly where I needed them.
His grin turned absolutely feral. “Baby, I'm going to take my time with you.”
And oh my god, hedid…
He dropped to his knees right there between the stacks, pulling my jeans down with him, his mouth replacing his fingers in a way that made my vision blur. I had to bite down on my fist to keep from crying out, my other hand tangled in his hair,holding on as he thoroughly destroyed any coherent thought I had left.
"Julian," I gasped. "God, Julian—"
He hummed against me, the vibration making my legs shake, and I would've collapsed if he wasn't holding me up, hands gripping my thighs, keeping me exactly where he wanted me.
When I finally came apart, it was with his name on my lips and stars behind my eyes.
He stood slowly, kissing his way back up my body, and I could barely stand, barely breathe, barely think. Somehow we made it to one of the study tables, books and papers scattering as he lifted me onto it. Then his hands were everywhere, stripping away the rest of my clothes.
"Last night before we're married," he murmured against my skin, lips trailing down my sternum. "I wanted to make it memorable."
"Mission accomplished," I gasped as his mouth closed around my nipple.
He looked up at me, eyes gleaming with wicked intent. "I'm just getting started."
With that, he drove into me in one forceful motion, filling me so suddenly it knocked the air from my lungs. My head tipped back as my body struggled to catch up, and then he was moving again, setting a brutal pace that left no room to breathe or adjust.
The stretch of him burned deliciously, thick and demanding, pleasure sparking so sharply it had me seeing bright stars in the dark library. I gasped with every drive of his hips, clutching at him, legs wrapping tight around his waist to pull him even deeper.
There was nothing gentle in the way we were fucking. No romance or softness. Just urgency and fury and want colliding in a way that felt almost violent. Julian’s thrusts turned harsher, faster, and I met every one of them, pushing back just as hard.
