Chapter 72
CHAPTER SEVENTY-TWO
Briar
When he moved, I didn’t realize where he was going until the mattress sank beneath me. Knox planted his hands beside me and his thigh between my legs as he pressed me back into the bed.
I gasped at the astonishing sensation of his heavy body encompassing mine. He was all I could see and feel, all I could breathe, as he filled my senses.
He made my body come alive in ways only he could as his fingers glided down my belly before unbuttoning my pants. With a quick jerk, he tugged them down. I lifted my hips to make pulling them off easier. Without breaking the kiss, we worked them off together.
As they hit the ground, he grasped my shirt, tearing away the buttons as he pulled it open.
Cool air caressed my skin. I hadn’t bothered with a binding before coming here; I’d told myself it was only because I didn’t have time for one and would soon return to my room, but deep down, I’d known the truth.
I hadn’t bothered with a binding because this was exactly where I wanted to be. If I ever saw him again, things would be completely different between us. And there was a chance this was the last time I’d see him.
When sorrow threatened to overwhelm me, I focused my attention on him as his fingers grazed my aching breasts. The head of his cock glided between my legs, spreading my wetness, but he didn’t enter me.
Instead, his hand slid down my belly and between my legs. When his fingers found my swollen clit, he rubbed in a leisurely, torturous circle before pinching the throbbing nub.
Pain and pleasure rolled into an enticing aphrodisiac that had me begging for him to end this overwhelming, delicious torment. I hovered on the edge and lifted my hips, demanding more. My entreaties fell on deaf ears as his fingers slid away from my clit.
He dipped first one finger and then another into my pussy, stretching me further. My back arched off the bed when he rubbed his palm against my clit.
“So fucking wet and tight,” he groaned as he shoved into me again.
I ground against his hand as the coiling tension in my belly spread throughout my limbs.
“I’m close. So close,” I breathed.
I was teetering on the edge of bliss when he moved away again. Groaning in disappointment, I grabbed at his back, but instead of giving me what I wanted, his weight eased off me.
As he moved, he left a trail of searing kisses down my chest and belly before settling between my legs. My heart raced as our eyes locked and his mouth settled over my core.
With long, deliberate movements, he licked my entrance before nipping my clit. I bucked against him when his teeth scraped the bud before he drew it into his mouth. When he bit it again, my body shuddered in response before he eased the sting with his tongue.
“Oh gods,” I breathed as our eyes remained locked while he tongue fucked me.
He lifted his head as his fingers plunged into me, wrenching a startled cry from my lips.
“There’s only one god for you, Briar. Me.” My eyes widened at his harsh tone as he plunged into me again. “I’m the only one you’ll ever pray to again. The only one whose name will fall from your lips. If you cry out to anyone, you’ll either say Knox or God, because from now on, I am your god.”
My breath left me, but before I could truly absorb his words, his tongue settled back over my clit, and all reasonable thought vanished when he took control of my body. My breaths became pants as I grasped his ears, drawing him closer.
When his hands gripped my hips, he pulled me snug against his mouth. My head fell back, and my fingers bunched in the comforter as I arched off the bed.
“So close,” I panted. “I’m so close.”
And then he was tearing his mouth away as he lifted his head, rose, and settled over top of me again. The orange of his eyes burned so brightly that I was certain the fires of Hell lit them, and from what I knew of him, they just might.
While the sight should unsettle me, it sent a thrill of excitement down my spine. I sensed a growing unraveling within him, a loss of control that I never believed I’d crave, but I did. I didn’t want to have sex with the beast, yet I craved this wild side of Knox.
When his pupils slitted, self-preservation surged to the forefront. I almost rolled over to run, but his heavy weight had settled firmly over me, and if I tried to flee, I’d unleash the beast.
He’d have me back on this bed before I made it more than two feet toward the door, and then he’d be inside me, fucking me… claiming me. My heart thumped a little faster—in alarm and excitement.
Are you eager to die or be claimed?
I wasn’t eager for either of those things, but he’d worked my body into a near frenzy that only he could ease.
The muscles in Knox’s arms bulged when he planted his hands on either side of my head.
His barely leashed control was as enticing as the man himself; I skimmed my fingers down the hard planes of his chest, admiring the tattoo and the way his abs rippled beneath my touch.
Every inch of him was chiseled perfection.
If I didn’t know better, I might think he truly was a god. How can I leave him?
Because you must.
But I wasn’t so sure about that now. Maybe we could work through all of this and become something more.
We could never be what we were before. I wasn’t ready to be claimed by him. I might never be, but maybe we could be something new, possibly something better with time, trust, and understanding.
When I grasped his cock, my hand couldn’t completely encircle his thick shaft. I traced the large vein running down its side before circling the precum around the head.
His eyes didn’t leave mine while I worked him up and down. I admired the way the shadows played over his powerful body and ruthless contours of his exquisite face.
Those slitted pupils and the fangs pushing against his closed mouth were a little unnerving, but I saw no other signs of the beast as his hips moved with my strokes. The scent of woods, musk, and man engulfed me.
Knox grasped my hand, pulling it away from his dick. He was so close to coming, but he’d be inside me before doing so.
He guided his cock to my entrance, and I breathed out, “Oh,” when he pushed inside me.
No matter how wet I was, I didn’t think I’d ever get used to his size. I trembled beneath him and shifted my hips to draw him deeper.
When Knox didn’t move, I frowned at him, uncertain as to why he held back. I ached to have him fully buried within me, and the taut muscles of his neck and jaw revealed how difficult it was for him to maintain his restraint.
“Say it, Briar.”
“What?” I whispered, uncertain about what he wanted me to say.
His hand encircled my throat as he lowered his face mere inches from mine. “Say it,” he growled.
And then it dawned on me what he sought from me. “Knox.”
He didn’t blink as his eyes burned into me. “And what else do you call me and only me?”
I licked my lips. I felt like I was giving something away, but didn’t know what.
Control. You’re giving him control.
And while I had so little control over my life and craved more, I understood that here, in this bed, with us joined, he needed it far more than me, and I was happy to give it to him.
He was far different, far more demanding, controlling, and savage than Seth ever was, but he’d been through Hell, and I would give him this bit of paradise.
“God,” I whispered.
When he bared his fangs, I gulped. I’d told him not to mark me, to give me time, and I expected him to respect my wishes, but those fangs unnerved me.
“Whose god?” he demanded.
“Mine.”
“That’s fucking right. I am your god. There will never be another for you or for me.”
With that, he thrust forward, burying himself to the hilt within me. I cried out at the unexpected sensation of him filling me. He was too big, it was too much, yet it wasn’t enough.
He kept his hand around my throat when he bent to kiss me. His touch wasn’t as bruising this time, and his claws didn’t prick my neck, but he was making it clear I’d never escape him.
And despite everything he’d put me through, I didn’t want to. I may hate his overbearing demeanor and complete lack of empathy and trust, but I loved the way he made me feel when he moved within me.
Maybe tonight wasn’t goodbye after all. Maybe it was the start of something new.
“And you are my goddess.” He pulled back a little before driving forward again. He rocked me back, and the headboard banged against the wall. “My beautiful goddess who was made just for me. No other will ever know the ecstasy of your cunt.”
When he thrust forward again, I wrapped my legs around his waist and grasped his taut ass. He was steel and power all rolled into one truly magnificent man.
We fit so perfectly together that I wondered whether they were wrong and casters did have mates after all. I’d never heard of such a thing before, but he was the missing piece of me; I was sure of that.
When he used his thumb to stroke my clit, my eyes rolled back in my head. I begged for more while the tension within me spiraled higher and higher.
He released my throat and rested his mouth on my ear. “Don’t you dare come until I tell you to.”
I shivered at his words, both because of how hoarse they were and how commanding. This was the domineering man who’d taken me in the cabin, the one who demanded absolute control of my body and my complete submission.
He played my body expertly, and everything in me pleaded for release, but his words held me back. When will he tell me to come? When will he let me?
“Please,” I whispered as his thumb continued its leisurely circles around my aching nub.
“Please, what?” he demanded.
“Please, Knox, let me come.”
Instead of giving me what I’d begged for, he enfolded me in his arms and rolled so I was on top. He didn’t let me set the rhythm as his hands gripped my hips and he guided me. I rubbed my clit against him as my head tipped back and a low moan issued from me.
He pinched my nipple, rolling it between his fingers and pulling my focus back to him. “Don’t you dare come.”
“Knox, please.”
Too lost in my own bliss and impending release, I barely felt it when he pinched my nipple again. With a growl, he rolled me over again and pinned me beneath him. His face was harsh, his sweat-slicked body deliciously heavy against mine.
“I told you not to come yet, but I do love to hear you beg,” he said.
His hand skimmed down my belly to my clit once more. He circled it again before stopping and resting his finger against it. I lifted my hips, trying to get him to move, but he remained as still as stone.
“Now, mea eveto, ask me if you can come,” he commanded.
I could barely breathe, let alone form words, but somehow I managed to gasp, “Can I come, Knox? Please, can I come?”
“Yes, you can.”
When he started moving again, he didn’t have to wait, as my body fractured and a low, continuous moan issued from me. My toes curled and my fingers dug into his back as the most intense orgasm I’d ever experienced rocked me.
I could only cling to him as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through me while his body continued its relentless assault on mine. My fingers dug into his skin as my moan became an endless cry of his name.
I’d had countless orgasms with this man, but never one this extensive. It felt as if it would never end as he buried his head in my shoulder. Pain seared through me; I had no idea where it came from and didn’t care.
With a muffled shout against my shoulder, Knox thrust forward one more time. Inside me, his shaft thickened as it pulsed, and his whole body shuddered against mine. The throb of his cock continued as his seed filled me.
Thankfully, my mother gave me a potion to keep me from becoming pregnant before my Needing. It would last for six months; otherwise, I would probably be in big trouble.
Before, when we were together, I hadn’t gone through my Needing yet and couldn’t get pregnant, but I could now, and I was far from ready for a baby, especially with this man. This was the only thing the two of us did extremely well together; that wasn’t enough for a child.
When I had a baby, I planned to shower them with all the love my mother had never given me. I wanted them to have the best life ever; Knox and I couldn’t provide that.
Maybe one day, a hopeful little voice whispered.
Maybe, I had to agree. But it was going to take a lot of work.
Lingering tremors caused my muscles to constrict around his shaft. As I started drifting down from my high, I felt a warm, tickling sensation sliding down my back.
It wasn’t until Knox lifted his head from my shoulder that I realized what he’d done….
He’d left his new mark upon my flesh.