CHAPTER FORTY #3
I reveled in this dark side of myself, a side I never even knew existed before him. Jeremy would have tried to control this, to contain the fire and the shadow, but Asher? He wanted to see it.
He wanted me to delve into the depths of it and bring it out into the world.
He loved every single jagged part of me, just as I loved his.
I followed the bond toward the outskirts of the academy grounds. "Warmer."
I smiled, finally knowing exactly where he was. Our place. The moonlit baths.
I followed the hidden path, the air growing thick with the scent of sulfur and minerals.
As I stepped into the clearing, the heat spiked.
"Hot, hot, hot," he purred.
There he was. Steam curled from the surface of the baths—the Academy mages made them hotter as the winter chill set in, creating a hazy, ethereal world of white mist.
Asher stood near the edge, his body sculpted to absolute perfection. His back was toward me as he swept the water from his dark hair, the muscles of his shoulders rippling with the movement.
He turned as I approached.
A slow and predatory grin spread across his face.
He walked toward me, stepping out of the water completely naked, his length hard and throbbing with every step he took.
My breath hitched in my throat.
He stopped directly in front of me, looming over me with a lethal intensity.
I gazed up at him, my eyes tracing the stubble of his jaw before locking onto his silver eyes.
"Gods, you are so fucking hot in this outfit, darling," he rasped, his gaze raking over the pleated cheer skirt.
"Up."
He gestured for my arms, and I obeyed without a second thought, lifting them above my head.
He peeled the tight top off me in one fluid motion, and my nipples hardened instantly as the cool evening breeze hit my damp skin.
He grinned, his fingers reaching out to pinch the sensitive peaks, and I gasped at the sharp, electric spike of pleasure that shot straight to my core.
"Tell me you’re mine," he demanded, the words a low, possessive growl as he sank to his knees.
He looked up at me through the steam, his eyes burning with a hunger that made my brain short-circuit.
One of his hands slid up my leg, the friction of his palm searing against my skin.
Before I could even catch my breath, he turned me around with a rough, impatient strength.
He yanked my skirt down, exposing my bare ass to the cool night air and his predatory gaze.
"Say it," he commanded.
He didn't wait for the answer.
He leaned forward and bit into my ass cheek, the sharp sting of his teeth sending a jolt through my spine.
I screamed out, the sound echoing off the stone and lost in the mist.
"I’m yours," I gritted out, my fingers digging into the edge of the stone bath to keep from collapsing.
"Good little firecracker," he murmured against my skin. He shifted, his mouth opening over the mark he’d just made, sucking until I knew it would leave a dark, bruised brand for the world to see.
He spun me back around, bringing me flush against him.
He leaned in, closing his eyes as he breathed me in, a low groan vibrating deep in his chest that made my entire body thrum.
Then, his tongue flicked out, sharp and precise, before he caught my clit between his teeth in a punishing nip.
I cried out, my hands flying to his head to steady myself as the pleasure turned into something sharp and overwhelming.
He didn't let up, planting his tongue deep between my folds while thrusting three fingers inside me in one brutal, filling motion.
His other hand reached back, grabbing my ass and pulling me flush against his face.
If this was what the darkness looked like—this raw, beautiful ruin—then I would revel in it for the rest of my fucking life.
He was still on his knees on the damp grass, the steam from the water curling around us in thick, white ribbons.
My fingers knotted in his damp curls as he continued his relentless assault, his tongue and fingers working in a brutal, synchronized rhythm that had me hovering on the edge of a jagged release.
I was a mess of fire and fractured gasps, my head lolling back as I stared up at the darkening sky.
"Asher, please," I whimpered, my knees beginning to shake.
He pulled his fingers out with a wet, lingering sound, only to replace them with the rough friction of his thumb as he ground it against me.
He looked up, his eyes blown wide with a lethal, dark satisfaction.
"Not yet," he rasped, his voice vibrating against my sensitive skin.
"I want you dripping for me before we even hit the water."
He stood up slowly, looming over me once more.
His hand stayed between my legs, possessive and heavy, while his other hand reached around to pull me flush against his rigid length.
The contrast was maddening—the cool breeze hitting my bare back, his searing skin against my front, and the promise of the scalding bath just inches away.
He leaned down, biting the shell of my ear before whispering into the bond, "I'm going to ruin you tonight, and the gods themselves are going to watch."
He didn't wait for a response.
He scooped me up, my legs instinctively locking around his waist as he carried me toward the edge of the stone bath, the heat rising to meet us like a physical wall.
He stepped into the steaming water, the scalding heat a shock against my chilled skin.
I gasped as the water rose around us, swirling with the dark flower petals he’d prepared.
He didn't let me go, pinning me against the smooth stone edge of the bath while the submerged heat made my already sensitive skin scream.
"You like the heat, don't you?" he murmured, his silver eyes dark with wicked satisfaction.
"Let's see how much you can take."
He didn't give me a chance to answer.
He seized my waist and lifted me slightly, aligning us before driving upward.
I cried out, the sound lost in the thick mist as he filled me completely.
It was a fierce, possessive claim that felt like coming home and being destroyed all at once.
The water sloshed violently against the stone as he began a relentless, rhythmic assault.
Every thrust sent a wave of scalding water over my chest, mirroring the fire spreading through my veins.
My magic reacted, orange sparks dancing across the surface of the dark water, meeting his shadows as they rose from the depths of the bath to coil around my arms.
"Look at me," he commanded through the bond, his voice a lethal vibration.
I forced my eyes open, meeting that molten silver stare.
He looked like a god of the abyss, his wet hair pushed back, his jaw tight with the effort of his own restraint.
"I'm never letting you go again," he growled, his pace quickening, his hands bruising my hips as he anchored me to him.
"You’re going to belong to the shadows just as much as the flame. Tell me you want it."
"I want it," I sobbed, my head lulling back as the pleasure peaked, turning into a white-hot roar.
"I want all of it. I want you."
He let out a raw, animalistic sound, his teeth finding the side of my neck as he came undone inside me.
The bond flared between us, bright and overwhelming, leaving me breathless and shattered against his chest.
We stayed like that for a long time, tangled together in the cooling water, the only sound the ragged beat of our hearts and the distant, fading echoes of the night.