Chapter 13
Elexia
The balcony was a dream. A chilly, moonlit, perfectly cinematic dream that left my lips tingling and my heart racing at a speed that surely wasn’t healthy.
Liam’s jacket still hangs heavy on my shoulders, smelling of his expensive cologne and that faint, underlying scent of dangerous potential. He hasn’t let go of me since we stepped back inside, his arm a solid, possessive weight around my waist.
“One more stop before we find River,” he murmurs a low rumble that vibrates through my side.
I don’t even think of arguing. I’d follow him into a burning building right now and probably thank him for the fire.
He leads me up the grand staircase, away from the thrumming bass of the party and the sea of masked faces.
The sounds of the ball fade into a distant hum, replaced by the soft click of our shoes on the polished wood.
We reach the second floor, and he stops at a pair of massive double doors.
He pulls a heavy brass key from his pocket, and with a satisfying thunk, the lock turns.
“Where did you get that?” I wonder.
“A friend.”
I don’t ask more.
He pushes the doors open, and my breath hitches, a thrill rushing down my spine.
It’s a library. But not just any library.
It’s floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that seem to reach for the heavens, filled with leather-bound volumes smelling of history and secrets.
A massive fireplace dominates one wall, though the embers are low, casting a warm, flickering amber glow over the room.
There are velvet armchairs, rolling ladders, and a sense of quiet grandeur that makes me feel like I’ve stepped into the pages of Northanger Abbey.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, stepping inside as if I’m afraid the whole thing might vanish if I move too fast.
I start to wander, traveling to the second floor between the stacks, my fingers trailing along the spines of the books.
I can feel Liam’s whole attention on me—dark, intense, and unyielding.
He follows me, his shadow stretching long across the floor, always just a step behind.
He doesn’t say anything, just lets me explore, but his energy trails me everywhere.
It’s like he’s stalking me through his own private jungle of paper and ink.
I’m swept up in it—the smell of old paper, the weight of the history around me, the sheer volume of stories waiting to be told. I’m so lost in the wonder of it that I don’t notice the shadows closing in. I don’t notice him moving closer until suddenly, I’m pinned.
My back hits a bookshelf, and Liam is there, his hands slamming into the wood on either side of my head. He traps me in the small space between his arms, his body a wall of heat that makes my knees shudder.
He looks at me with a knowing, wicked grin that makes my insides do a triple somersault.
“Time for those five orgasms, Lexie Darlin’.”
Oh, God, my heart hammering against my ribs. “Here? Now? Liam, anyone could walk in. What happened to the dark, quiet corner where no one will see?”
He leans in, his lips brushing the sensitive skin of my jaw, then trailing down to my neck.
“Then, I suggest you stay quiet enough,” he murmurs against my skin, rough and thick. “But…I’ll be aimin’ t’make ya scream, my sweet girl.”
“Sweet baby Jesus…” A soft moan escapes me, and I squirm against him, the sequins of my dress rustling against the dark wood of the shelf.
The heat in the room seems to skyrocket. I can’t think, can’t breathe, but there’s a question burning in the back of my mind, fueled by the hundreds of novels I’ve devoured.
“Can I ask you a question first?” I whisper, my cheeks heating until I’m sure they match the deep crimson of my dress.
“Pray tell…” he croons, leaning in until our noses brush, his icy blue eyes like winter stars in the dim light.
I tilt my head, a small smile playing on my lips despite the frantic thrumming of my pulse. “Are you a dom?”
Liam chuffs a laugh, a sound of pure, dark amusement. Then, his expression shifts, his gaze turns deadpan and intense as the shadows seem to gather around him, making him look even more like the antihero of my dark dreams. Even the scars on his jaw seem to leer at me.
“No,” he says, his voice low and possessive. “I’m your dom, Elexia Carter. Choose a safe word.”
At first, I scrunch my brows. It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, agonized over it. But for some reason, this feels…different. He’s asking me, empowering me to make my own choice. So, I make it.
“I don’t want one.”
His jaw tightens. “Talk.”
Taking a deep breath, I say, “I know this is crazy. Really crazy. I mean, I’ve only known you for two days. But…I trust you. No safe word.”
A vein in his brow throbs. He scrubs a hand down his face, disbelief evident. “Fuck, your trust in me…it gets me so hard.”
“I know.”
I feel the evidence throbbing against my pelvis.
His features turn to dark steel, and he says, “Get ready to scream.”
He doesn’t give me time to process that before his mouth is on mine again—hard, demanding, and utterly thorough.
His hands are everywhere, and for a few blissful, terrifying minutes, I’m lost in a sea of sensation that leaves me shaking and desperate for more.
Especially since he only touches me over my dress. My nipples tighten.
First, he fingers me. It doesn’t take long for me to come.
The climax courses through my body. My pulse races in my veins.
And like a true dom, Liam holds my gaze the whole time.
Soft moans escape my throat, but he doesn’t stop.
He’s only moved my underwear to the side, and I wonder when he’ll remove it.
A grin of masculine hunger crosses his face. The dim light of the library casts more shadows along his face, turning him into some Gothic villain. It makes my heart pound more.
And then, he stabs two fingers through my opening.
“Oh, God—”
His mouth crashes against mine, swallowing my cry. God, he knows what to do. My toes curl up as he plunges his fingers in and out, thumb rubbing my slippery clit. Heat fills every inch of me.
When my inner muscles clench around his fingers, Liam lowers his chin until our foreheads touch, lips hovering above mine. “You’re mine, Lexie. My sweet girl. My dirty, little slut.”
“F-fuck, Liam.” I lift my hips, trying to get those fingers to go deeper.
He stops. His fingers pause. I go still. The expression on his face…pure unfiltered predator. He tilts his head, eyes narrowing, piercing.
“You know better, mo Róisín.”
And then, it dawns on me. I resist the urge to brat. Instead, I nod and correct myself, “Forgive me, Sir?”
Muscles hardening, Liam smiles. “Absolution will be yours, Elexia Carter.”
With that, he adds another finger and pumps them in and out while grinding the heel of his hand against my clit. I tip my head back, and his teeth scrape along my throat.
I take rapid breaths, inner muscles fluttering.
“Give it to me, Luv.”
He sinks his teeth into my flesh—just a prick—and at the same time, he hooks his fingers inside me, penetrating to that magical zone I’ve never managed to find. Not with a dozen different sex toys.
The pressure snaps. Suddenly, I’m fucking his hand, screeching through my teeth from the smoldering heat, overwhelming me as the orgasm floods every part of my body.
As I come down, he takes his fingers out and makes a show of licking them.
My throat aches as I stare, wondering how he makes it look so erotic.
I’m still gasping, knees ready to buckle, until he lifts me by the base of my thighs. The shelves chafe my naked back, but I don’t care. My pussy is dripping, ready for more.
Liam drags his mouth along my neck, then my jawline, while I gasp, “I need…Sir, please, I need—”
“You need t’feel how much I goddamn want ya, Lexie.
” His Irish brogue thickens. His grip on my thighs strengthens.
And his cock jerks in his pants, throbbing against me.
With a single-minded focus, he lowers his voice to a silky growl, “I’m not just desperate to give you pleasure.
I’m dying for it. Fucking gagging for it. ”
A deep ache forms inside me. I reach for him, bring his mouth to mine, but he stops me.
“Let me see ya, Luv.” His sight lowers to my neckline, lingering, pleading. “Let me see the beauty that’s all mine.”
Desire pulses through me. I’m quivering with it, but I don’t know why the idea of showing him my front scrambles my senses and sends a chill through me. It doesn’t stop me.
Hands trembling, I lift them to the straps and slowly peel them down, revealing my breasts beneath the built-in bra. His dick nearly punches through his pants. I love it. To know the sight of me drives him wild.
“Fuck, you’re breathtaking,” he expresses. My nipples harden under his gaze.
And when he slides one hand from my thigh and takes my left breast in his palm, a moan lodges in my throat. One brush of his thumb along my nipple, and a wave of desire sweeps through me. Emotion engulfs me.
Liam takes one nipple between his thumb and finger, rolling it. The need inside me grows stronger, deeper.
“Love these tits. So round. Flawless. They fit my hands like they were molded for me.” My womb tightens, pussy practically drooling from his words. “You’re so goddamn sweet, Darlin’. And sexy. Killing me.”
He fondles my breast before pushing his pelvis harder against me. When his other hand leaves my thigh, I clench my thighs tighter around his waist, but he has me, barely an inch between us. Now, he cups my other breast, and both his thumbs rub my nipples. I choke on a breath, then hold it.
The sheer vulnerability of the moment makes my blood feel thick and slow. He’s still staring at my breasts, memorizing their every curve and making my skin tingle.
Every part of your body matters to me.