Chapter 38
Ashes
THE REQUIEM | Past
Zagreus slams me back against the mirrored wall of the elevator, the impact vibrating through my spine.
Before I can even catch my breath, his mouth is on my neck, his lips and teeth marking the sensitive skin over and over until I am gasping for air.
My hands fly to his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt as if it’s the only stable thing left in a world spun out of control.
The elevator chimes, the doors gliding open directly into the quiet luxury of his private apartment.
He hoists me into his arms, carrying me down the short, dimly lit hallway straight to his bedroom.
He throws me onto the massive bed. I bounce against the soft mattress, my tattered yellow lace dress spreading out around me, but before I can even think of sitting up, he’s all over me as he pins my wrists above my head with one hand, his grey eyes burning down into mine.
This is different. The playful, teasing flirtation from the rooftop is gone, replaced by this animal.
“Look at me, Selene,” he commands, as his free hand slides down my throat, tracing the curve of my collarbone before resting flat against my ribs. “Tell me exactly what you want.”
“You,” I whisper.
He leans down, his lips brushing against mine.
As his mouth captures mine in a deep, surprisingly tender kiss, his hand travels lower, sliding between my thighs.
His large palm cups my center, testing the heat and slickness radiating from me.
A soft moan escapes my lips into his mouth as his fingers enter me, preparing me, stretching the tight heat of my core.
He takes his time, kissing away my breathless gasps, making sure I am unraveled and soft beneath him.
He pauses at the tightness, his forehead resting against mine as his breath hitches. His restraint shows in the rigid line of his jaw and the hard muscles of his chest pressing flat against my breasts. He wants to take me—I can feel his cock against my thigh—but he forces himself to hold back.
“You’re too tight, baby,” he growls softly against my lips. “If I take you now, I’ll break you. And I want this to be perfect for you.”
Before I can protest, he slides down my body until he is kneeling between my splayed thighs.
My hands, finally freed from his grip, fist into the velvet sheets as I look down at him through blurry, desire-heavy lashes.
The tattered dress is gathered around my waist, leaving me bare and vulnerable beneath his predatory gaze.
His grey eyes darken to near-black as he takes in the sight of my flushed skin.
“Look at you,” he murmurs, his hands sliding up to grip my knees, pushing them back toward my shoulders to open me up even further. “So beautiful.”
Zagreus leans in, his hot breath fanning across my inner thighs, sending a violent shiver straight down my spine. Then, his mouth makes contact.
I scream, my head thrown back into the pillows as his warm, wet tongue strokes flat against my swollen clit. The sensation is so potent my lower body jerks. He catches my hips with his large hands, his fingers digging into my flesh to pin me to the mattress, keeping me still as he devours me.
He uses his fingers to spread my lower lips wide, exposing the sensitive core of me to the cool air of the room a second before his tongue drives inside.
He licks me with long, deep strokes, mimicking the exact rhythm of what my body is begging for.
He tastes the sweetness of the wine, the lingering traces of the chocolate, and the intoxicating flavor of my own arousal.
“Zagreus, please,” I sob out, my fingers clawing at the mattress, my hips rolling against his mouth in a frantic search for friction. “I can’t… it’s too much.”
“It’s not enough,” he mutters against my wet skin.
He increases the pace, his tongue swirling around my clit in tight, merciless circles while he slides two long fingers deep inside me.
The fullness makes my core contract violently around him, milking his fingers as he stretches me, slicking my tight walls with my own release until I am loose and dripping beneath him.
He keeps up the dual assault, driving me higher and higher until the tension in my stomach tightly coils.
I am completely worn, weeping his name into the empty bedroom as the first waves of a shattering pre-orgasm ripple through my muscles.
Knowing exactly how close I am, Zagreus pulls back just enough to make me whimper in protest. He stands over the bed, swiftly stripping out of his clothes until he is entirely bare. He settles back between my thighs, the rigid, blunt tip of his length pressing directly against my slick entrance.
He leans down, fisting his hand into the loose waves of my hair to force my eyes to meet his. “I’m going to be gentle with you first, Dolcezza,” he murmurs, his thumb catching a tear that slips down my temple. “But you need to take me. All of me.”
I nod helplessly, my fingers anchoring into his shoulders.
When he drives forward, a sharp, breathless gasp tears from my throat at the sudden fullness, the brief sting of something breaking inside me.
Zagreus freezes, his muscles locking as he buries his face in the crook of my neck, holding me there until the tension in my body begins to melt into pure, throbbing warmth.
Slowly, he moves, setting a pace that coaxes a rhythm of whimpers from my lips until the initial pain completely dissolves into a blinding, heavy pleasure.
But the moment that first, gentle release shatters through me, the thin thread of his control snaps entirely.
The tenderness vanishes, replaced by the feral monster he warned me about. Zagreus pulls out of me completely, the sudden absence making me cry out in protest. Before I can recover, his hands grip my hips, flipping me over onto my hands and knees.
“On your knees, Selene,” he growls.
He crowds behind me, his chest pressing flat against my back for a fraction of a second before he fists a thick handful of my hair at the nape of my neck, forcing my head back.
His other hand comes down in a sharp, stinging slap across my bare ass; the sudden crack of sound echoes.
A violent jolt of shock and pure arousal bolts straight to my core.
“Look at how wet you are for me,” he rasps, his fingers sliding down to roughly part my lower lips, smearing the slick heat across my skin before delivering another stinging slap right against my aching center. “A good little wife, begging for her husband to ruin her.”
Before I can even find my voice, I am flipped, my back hits the mattress, and I find myself looking into his intense eyes.
They’re grey and endless.
He hooks one of my legs, pulling it high and draping my knee over his broad shoulder, completely exposing me, leaving me wide open beneath his gaze. He drives into me.
A choked scream escapes my throat, but it’s muffled as his large hand shifts from my hair to wrap firmly around the front of my throat, cutting off my breath just enough to send a dizzying rush of endorphins straight to my brain.
He pumps into me relentlessly, at a punishing speed, his hips slamming against mine.
“You’re mine,” he snarls, his grip on my throat tightening slightly as his other hand fists my hair again, pulling my head back so I’m forced to look toward the dark expanse of the room.
“Tell me who owns this cunt, Dolcezza. Tell me.”
“You,” I sob, my fingers clawing desperately at the velvet sheets beneath us as the pressure builds into an unbearable, terrifying peak. “Zagreus—please, you do… you own me.”
“Good girl,” he growls against my ear, his thrusts turning erratic as he drives himself into me one last time, totally consuming whatever is left of my sanity and morality.