28. Chapter 28
28
Chapter 28
Bronwen
August’s breath was warm against my lips, his forehead resting lightly against mine as his hand slid further up my thigh. Each movement was slow, as if he were savoring the moment. My fingers gripped his shirt tighter, the rough fabric grounding me against the rising tide of heat and confusion.
The room was quiet save for the faint rustle of fabric as he shifted closer and the uneven cadence of our breathing. Even the creak of the floorboards beneath us seemed distant, swallowed by the crackling tension in the air.
His hand brushed my thigh again. His touch sent a shiver coursing through me, unbidden but undeniable. I arched into him instinctively, my breath hitching as his lips quirked into a faint, maddening smirk.
“You can’t even admit it, can you?” His voice was soft, carrying a dangerous edge of amusement that only stoked the embers burning beneath my skin. “What you feel.”
I swallowed hard, my throat constricted with unspoken words. “I hate you,” I whispered, the lie trembling on my lips even as I forced it out.
His smirk deepened. “Then ruin me, Winnie,” he murmured, his voice low and heavy as his lips brushed against the shell of my ear. “Take everything you hate and make it yours.”
The pounding of my heart drowned out any rational thought. My chest heaved with shallow breaths, my body betraying me as I fought to keep control. I hated how he made me feel—hated the way he unraveled me with just a touch, a look, a word. But what I hated most was how much I didn’t want him to stop.
“Do you think this is a game?” I asked, desperate to push him away from the place he had drawn me into. “That I’m just some—some plaything for you to toy with?”
His expression darkened, the playful smirk vanishing as his hand stilled against my skin. “A game?” he repeated, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. He leaned in closer, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that sent a chill through me. “No, Winnie. This is survival. And you—” His hand moved again, sliding around to rest possessively at my bottom, his fingers curling slightly as though to stake his claim “—are the only thing keeping me alive.”
His words snapped something in me. With a frustrated growl, I grabbed his face, pulling him into a kiss that was as much defiance as it was surrender. He let out a low, guttural sound, pushing me harder against the wall as if he needed the contact to keep himself tethered.
I kissed him harder, threading my fingers into his hair. It was softer than I’d remembered, slipping between my fingers like silk. The hum of his magic brushed against my palms, a faint, electric vibration that sent a thrill down my spine.
“Fuck, Winnie. Why are you doing this to me?” he mumbled against my lips, his voice ragged and strained.
His lips left mine, blazing a trail down the column of my neck. I gasped, my head tilting back to grant him better access as he lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist. The floorboards creaked beneath us as he carried me across the room, his movements steady and confident. The warmth of his breath against my skin mingled with the faint scent of cedar and earth that clung to him, intoxicating and wholly him.
“Tell me to stop,” he murmured, his voice softer now, almost pleading. His words ghosted over my skin, daring me to push him away even as his hold on me tightened.
I couldn’t find the words. My throat felt raw, constricted by the storm of emotions raging inside me. Instead, I let my hands slide from his hair to his chest, fingers brushing against the hard planes of muscle beneath his shirt.
“Damn you,” I whispered, barely audible, as his lips found the hollow of my throat.
He chuckled softly, the sound low and dangerous. “Haven’t you figured it out yet, Winnie? You’ve already damned me.”
His words hung between us, heavy and unyielding. My hands moved to the buttons of his shirt, fumbling slightly as I tugged them free one by one. Each undone button revealed more of him, his pale, unblemished skin taut over the hard lines of his muscles. My fingers trailed over his chest, and the texture of his skin—impossibly smooth—sent a jolt of electricity through me.
His gaze burned into mine, something raw and unguarded flickering in his eyes as I pushed the fabric off his shoulders. His smirk returned, softer this time, tinged with something almost vulnerable.
“This changes nothing,” I said as I rubbed my hands against the muscles in his shoulders and arched my breasts into his chest.
“Keep telling yourself that,” he said quietly, his voice carrying the faintest edge of a challenge. Then, with a swift motion, he threw me onto the bed.
In an instant, he was on top of me, pulling at the strings that held my dress together. I grabbed his pants and tried to push them down.
“Not yet,” he mumbled as he pulled my dress over my head.
Before I could protest, he kissed me and whispered, “I want to taste you first.”
I let out a gasp as the words caught me off guard, but I wouldn’t fight him. Every bit of my will had given into him, and deep down, I wanted to feel his bite again. I waited as he kissed my jaw before trailing kisses down my neck, heat forming in my lower belly until my breath hitched as he continued down. Kissing my breasts. Kissing my stomach. Kissing my—oh gods. He nibbled down, sending a jolt of pleasure through my body.
“August!” I screamed as he slid a finger inside me, continuing the motions with his tongue. His pace quickened as he sucked and nibbled. Tension built as warmth spread through my core, and I arched my back as I gripped the sheets. I rocked against his mouth and fingers, chasing release, but before I could reach it, August raised his head, his eyes locking on mine.
“I want to see exactly what I do to you, Winnie.”
He slid a second finger in, and I tilted my head back as he thrust harder, drawing a sharp gasp from my lips. I rolled my hips to meet his motions, my body tightening around his fingers, desperate for more.
Just as the tension started to build again, his thrusts slowed, causing a desperate whimper to escape me. “Look at me, Winnie.”
I had never listened so easily, but I’d do anything he said right now. August’s eyes darkened as he brought his thumb to my sensitive spot and circled it in cruel, taunting motions.
“August,” I begged, my voice breathless as I rocked against his fingers.
That was all he needed to hear.
His thumb stroked harder as he curled his fingers, sending me over the edge. His eyes never left mine, watching every bit of me unraveling and giving into him.
He stared at the mess he made of me as he stood and pulled his pants down, exposing his long length. “I can’t wait to feel you come all over my cock.”
My body ached in anticipation. I had relentlessly denied Lowen—and every man before him—this part of me. I had never done this, but I had never wanted someone the way I wanted August. It isn’t just a want, it was a need.
And there wasn’t one part of me that wanted to deny August this part of myself.
If he could make me feel like he did with just his fingers, what was this going to do to me?
In an instant, he was on top of me and took my mouth again, sliding his tongue against mine. He slid his hands along my body as his chest pressed against mine.
The tip of his length nudged against my entrance. He reached down, inserting it partially causing a gasp to escape my lips. He took slow, shallow strokes, giving me a moment to adjust.
“Winnie.” His body tensed as he took deep breaths, as if he was trying to hold himself back.
“Stop fighting yourself.” I arched my back. “I want it all.”
The little bit of restraint he had left seemed to fade away as he pushed in as deep as he could. I moaned as I adjusted around him. Trailing kisses down my neck, he pounded into me. Our bodies slapping together mixed with our breaths growing more ragged filled the silence of the room.
He turned me over, gripping my neck as he brought me onto my knees and thrusted into me hard from behind.
“Say you’re mine, Winnie,” he whispered into my ear.
I bit my lips as I tried to stay silent. I wasn’t his.
I couldn’t be his.
He pinched my nipple with one hand as he kept his other gripped tightly around my neck. I cried out as the pain warped into pleasure.
“You want to come again?” He pulled his length out slowly before slamming into me again. “You want to clench around my cock? Then say it.”
Warmth spread to my lower belly again, begging to be released with each taunting thrust.
“I’m yours,” I whispered.
He reached around me, rubbing his thumb over my sensitive spot as he pounded into me so much force that the bed shifted against the floor.
“August!” I screamed as release shattered through me again. My body went limp, but he held me tightly against him as his strokes grew quicker, and he followed me into release.
The warmth of his body against mine left me in a hazy lull, my breaths slow and deep as I stared at the ceiling. The quiet after felt heavier, tinged with something neither of us dared put into words.
Then, as my fingers trailed absently over the sheets, I noticed how much the sun had dropped. The golden light that had once streamed through the window had faded. Now, a dim orange glow stretched long shadows across the room.
Panic surged through me.
“I have to go,” I gasped, sitting up abruptly. My heart pounded as I swung my legs over the side of the bed and reached for my dress.
August propped himself up on an elbow, watching me with a lazy smirk, but his eyes held curiosity. “Leaving so soon?”
I ignored him, my thoughts consumed by the realization that Mama must be worried sick. She had no idea where I was.
August mumbled something snarky under his breath as he pushed himself up from the bed. He reached for his pants, sliding them on before making his way to the fireplace.
I walked to the door, pulling my cloak onto my shoulders and began tying the strings. “I still want to find Carrow. That is my priority.”
After securing the knot, I looked up at him. He was crouched down next to the fire and moved the logs with an iron poker. The flames made his messy hair seem almost iridescent and the sweat on his chest glistened, making me want to walk back over to him and never leave.
When my eyes reached his, I realized he had been watching me the entire time with a smile stretched across his face.
“Why don’t I come get you midday tomorrow and bring you back here? That way, you don’t have to freeze, and I don’t have to deal with a headache from the sun.”
I nodded before almost running out of the door.