Chapter 32
A chime woke me. It was dark, and every breath I took was labored.
My vision blurred, the edges of the room swimming in dark shadows, and my nose stung, clogged by the thick, hurtful residue of the lilies.
Sabine stained every inch of what was supposed to be my home.
Ethan was here, but just out of reach. He watched me from the shadows, the silence stretching between us.
I reached for him before my lashes fluttered closed again.
They were so heavy, weighed down by an exhaustion I couldn’t fight.
I felt sick, my blood moving slow through my veins—not grief, something heavier.
My fingers wouldn’t close the way I told them to.
This is what a broken heart feels like. It had to be.
My mate. I sensed him.
His firm arms enveloped me, pulling me into his heat.
I rubbed my cheek against his chest as he growled—a low painful sound that made my soul ache.
Large, calloused hands slid over my hip, claiming and trembling.
My anger bled away. I needed the heat to settle the unease, the pain.
I needed him, his weight crushing the insecurity, the jealousy I felt.
“You came back,” I rasped, my voice a broken whisper against his chest. I couldn’t open my eyes. I wanted to make sure there was no guilt in his gaze. I wanted him.
“Always,” he rumbled against my cheek. “I just wanted to see you—”
“I need you,” I confessed, my hands roaming up his chest and around his shoulders. He tensed as they began to slide off. His hands gripped them, pulling them back where they belonged. Warmth greeted my fingers.
In my haze, I felt only desperate, sticky heat.
“Make me forget,” I whispered. Everyone else. Sabine. Everything.
The figure above me stiffened. Then his hand traveled between us, moving lower with a needy energy that mirrored mine. His fingers tore my dress in half before cupping my ass cheek, then greedily seeking out my wet core.
“Oh,” I rasped as his fingers slid into me. Multiple fingers slid in slowly and my jaw fell slack. So good.
My body was alight with feeling. Every stroke of his fingers pulled me closer to the edge.
He curled his fingers inside me and I arched back.
My gaze darted to his, the moonlight playing tricks until a hazy, fractured gold stared back.
I swayed to the side, but his other hand gripped my hip—holding me.
He didn’t give me time to adjust—fingers sliding deeper, moving faster.
Every moment felt like my muscles were widening, opening for him, but it wasn’t enough.
“More,” I whined as I pulled him closer, desperate for him to fill this emptiness inside of me.
The pleasure was building—like a fever that wouldn’t stop until it killed me.
I touched the warmth between us as I slid my hand down, pulling him out.
His breath hitched as I wrapped my hand around him.
It only encouraged me. I was pleasing him.
I did this to him. I leaned forward, my forehead resting against his heaving chest as I spat, the hot slickness coating his tip and my trembling fingers.
I coated him, my hand sliding easily down his length, and the lower I got, the more I enjoyed how massive he was. Harder, sharper, thicker. My hand barely fit around his girth, but I gripped him tighter, wanting to disappear into this sense of power.
His chest heaved as his hips thrust upward.
His fingers sped up and I moaned as he slid a fourth finger inside me.
I whined as we worked each other—deeper, faster, harder.
I squeezed his knot and continued working him, but the ecstasy was overwhelming, my body falling lax.
His hand wrapped around mine, squeezing as he helped me do it the way he liked it.
“Yes,” I moaned, muffled and breathless as I came crashing around his fingers.
I rode out the orgasm, looking up through the dark.
I pulled my hand free, sliding down until my knees hit the floor, my head resting against the inside of his thigh.
I wanted to serve him, to show him I could make him feel good.
That he didn’t need anyone else. My tongue slid out and I lapped his knot.
“Fuck,” he groaned as my hand continued in that motion he’d showed me.
His hand gripped my hair, fingers dragging my head back with a force that made my neck hurt.
His lips parted as the line of saliva connected his cock to my tongue.
He pushed my head down, holding me there, his cock hitting the back of my throat.
I choked, but opened myself for him. He hardened further, his girth thickening as his thrusting became frantic.
“Oh, Adea.” I felt his thighs tighten as he came.
He held me still as he emptied himself. My tongue darted out, lapping at what I could reach of his knot.
I swallowed what I could and when he was empty, he released me.
My lungs ballooned with air. My head rested on his thigh as his fingers touched my lips reverently.
His hand wrapped around my neck, pulling me up to him. His lips touched mine, devouring. His tongue forced its way into my mouth, tongue darting against mine, and I drank him in as he tasted himself on my tongue.
When we pulled apart, I was a panting mess. My pussy throbbing with need. I wanted more. He lifted me from the ground before I could ask, carrying me in his arms.
I drifted in and out. The hallway lights were off as we reached the bedroom. I didn’t want to be in here with her scent in our sheets. He dropped me onto the bed, the mattress groaning. The pillow met my cheek and something was off. I tried to name it, but my limbs were heavy and my thoughts slow.
“All you have to remember is that you are mine,” he murmured.
The words were a vow, but they felt like a cage. He got on top of me, lowering himself between my legs, the bed dipping beneath him.
“Try to relax or it’ll hurt.”
My eyes refused to open, but I clawed at his biceps.
He grabbed himself and positioned the head against my opening.
I felt him. Wanted him. I lifted my hips, meeting him.
He let out a tortured groan as he entered me.
My nails broke flesh as he pushed a few more inches in.
He was lower now, his chest against my cheek.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers digging into his back as he grunted. He stilled, taking a few deep breaths.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he breathed. “I could come and I’m not all the way in.”
I kissed his chest as he pushed in further, filling me. I’d never felt so full. He thrust inside me, sheathing himself completely in me, and my jaw fell open in a silent scream.
“It hurts,” I cried, tears escaping. It felt like I was being torn in two. It hurt. He didn’t move, letting me adjust to his size. He leaned down, his tongue lapping up my tears as he peppered kisses on my neck and cheek.
He slowly pulled out and I flinched when he pushed back in.
Again and again until the pain melted away, replaced by pleasure.
It felt like coming home. His pace quickened, the sounds of our bodies joining echoing in the room, bouncing off the walls.
My legs wrapped around his waist, my nails carving into his back as the terror of him leaving utterly broke me.
“Harder,” I demanded. He obeyed, thrusting his cock inside me mercilessly, his knot slamming deep against my battered core.
“You’re,” thrust, “so,” thrust, “fucking,” thrust, “perfect.” He growled as he folded me, so deep I couldn’t help but cry.
“Don’t stop,” I whimpered as he sucked, kissed, and nipped my flesh.
“I won’t,” he said breathlessly. “I can’t.”
My pussy clenched around him. His thrusts were harder, faster.
“This is mine.” Thrust. “You are mine.” Thrust. “You belong to me.” Thrust. “All of you. Say it!”
“I’m yours,” I cried out, the words ripped from my lungs as the world began to spin. “I’m yours!”
My body tightened, my pussy clenching, squeezing him.
“Come for me, Princess.”
My body obeyed. I stiffened, my back arching off the sheets as a scream of pure ecstasy broke from my throat.
I came and came, my walls clenching around his length desperate for all that he could give me, but as the pleasure peaked, his knot pushed into me, testing my limits, shattering them.
I screamed, my nails clawing at him, desperate to get away. It hurt. It hurt. It hurt.
He thrust into me, a fuse blowing in my brain as I took all of him.
My toes curled into the silk, my mind fracturing as the room bled away.
I tried to hold onto him, to stay with him, but the darkness was stronger.
Everything went black as he roared. I fell lax beneath him as I lost the fight for consciousness.