I felt the pull from her hair as she tried to nod, but her head stayed from my grip. When she couldn’t answer that way, she began to step backward toward the wall behind her. A dark chuckle of approval came out of me as I moved with her. The moment she made contact, I released my hand and placed it around her throat. I held it there for a moment and counted to ten, waiting for her to show any sign of remorse, but she didn’t.
I flexed my fingers and tightened my grip as I leaned down to whisper to her. “I am trying really hard to be the person you need me to be right now.” My thumb shifted against her soft skin, slightly rubbing the space below her ear as a reminder. “I amtryingto make sure you stay in control so you feel comfortable around me.” Inhaling her smell, I exhaled the next words slowly. “Do me a favor and don't light the fire between us until you're ready for it.”
She didn’t move at first. In fact, it was the most still I'd ever seen her. Even her breathing had stalled. I knew exactly what was happening inside her head, even without seeing the thoughts behind her eyes. Every option, every outcome, she weighed them.
Slowly, her hands landed on my chest. Then, she shoved me ashardas she could. The force from her push was so strong that I had to take a step back.
Before I could even register what happened, she stepped up to me and put her chest against mine. Next, she ripped off her mask and looked at me. I could feel the heat rising in my body, pooling low and dangerous. Every choice she made was another button of mine, pushed.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth before she spit on me.
It landed on the cheek of my mask and slowly slid down. The impact made the last bit of restraint melt away. I couldn’t see. I couldn’t think, and the feral need to have her climbed faster than I’d ever felt before. I watched her expression change from playful to victorious, and instantly, there was nothing I’d like more than to peel that smile right off her face.
This time when I forced her against the wall, the force made her head smack against it. At this point, I was shaking, trying torestrain myself from what she had loosened. “I’m not going to say it again. Stop.”
Ember looked straight up at me and wickedly licked her lips. My whole body spasmed, and a rough groan fell out of my mouth as her hand suddenly gripped me through my jeans. I completely forgot how to function as she stroked me. All of my thoughts ceased to exist besides her and the drug she was to my system—the one I would never recover form.
Closing my eyes, I tried one more time to talk sense into her. “Ember.”
A soft hand tore my mask off and then yanked my chin down. When I opened my eyes, I didn't see her. I saw the goddamn pyre I would spend the rest of my life burning at.
Staring into the depths of her flames, I leaned in to trace her bottom lip with my tongue. Her approval was instant as she groaned into my mouth. As I pushed my lower half into her, her whole body melted into mine with a slow, aching desperation.
Bringing my hand up to the back of her neck, I anchored her as I kissed her. This time, I didn’t hold back, I gave her everything she could handle.My possession over her. My need for her.The feral energy between us grew from one form of chaos to another as she started to claw at tmy back. Leaning her back, I grabbed the hem of her shirt and threw it to the floor. The sound sent another jolt through my dick as my eyes raked over her.
The light hanging above us highlighted every curve of her body, and I fought the instant urge to lick every inch of herskin. I wanted to start at the divots from her collarbone and then move to every spot of sweat that was starting to form. Eventually, all of those spots would be claimed. Every single part of her would be, because she wasall mine.
I groaned as I moved my mouth to her neck, tasting the skin there. Demanding more from me already, she bucked her hips and moved my hand to her waist. Letting it stay there for only a moment, she eventually placed it on her lower belly and then pushed it down.
The snap within me ricocheted through my entire body. Pulling my arm free, I gathered her into my arms and carried her to the back wall of the room. Pushing against one of the mirrored panels, the wall gave way and revealed a hallway. Holding her, I walked the ten feet I knew led somewhere else entirely. In this new, hidden room sat a four-poster bed with buckles attached to each of the columns. I carefully set Ember down, before I walked to the corner of the room and unplugged the cable from the back of the camera.
Now that she had given herself to me, I was going to take my time. She would be worshipped, like she deserved. With that being said, there was no way anyone else was going to be able to watch what I was about to do to her.
28
Ember
The restraints he’d put me in felt equally exhilarating as they did unfair. Attached to each corner of the bed, they separated my limbs completely, which only allowed me a small area to move. The leather bit just hard enough to remind me that I wasn’t going anywhere, but that also meant I couldn’t touch him, and it was already driving me crazy. Every time I pulled, my wrists burned against the bindings. I knew it was because they were buckled over the gauze that covered my injuries.
None of it mattered though, not when I was focused on the fact my body buzzed from him. Both of his hands slowly made their way to different parts of me, moving across my skin and massaging each place they touched. The act was both incredibly sensual and unexpectedly arousing.
This was the exact type of thing I wanted when I had chosen to run. Despite him trying to remain in whatever form hethoughtI needed, the truth was that I just needed him.
In the last twelve hours, he’d shown me exactly who he was, and I had finally settled on how I felt about him. In his time with me, he had had every opportunity to take advantage of me. There were multiple times he could have used my vulnerabilityagainst me, and he hadn’t. In those moments, his one goal was to create a safe space for me. Every time I thought he would take the chance to be the villain, he would do the complete opposite of what I had expected.
In fact, all that I’d ever felt from him was comfort. Our experiences together never blinded me to the dark parts of him. I was fully aware of the way he handled things. Silas could be a bit…excessive, but he made it so I always felt comfortable and safe. That was what my mind had been trying to tell me all along. He was unconventional for sure, but he was everything I wanted. He gave me air in a world where I’d always held my breath.
Not once had he let his frustration or anger bleed into his interactions with me. I kept waiting for it, counting on it—where his control would become cruelty. I thought his restraint would snap and he would remind me of what truly came with darkness…but that wasn’t who he was.
With every choice he made, he had shown me that. From when he gauged my reactions to being concerned of how I would feel—it was clear I came first. In just the short time it had been, he had already assessed, learned, and mastered what I needed from him. His instinctive ability to know me better than I knew myself was layered over his desire for me, and I could see that now.
He was so very twisted and full of broken parts, but so was I, and somehow, it worked.
His methods in the beginning had been a little unorthodox,but he never pretended to be anything he wasn’t. Silas had simply waited for me to accept the darkness—to choose it for myself.
As his hands continued to run over my body, I realized the truth that had now settled deep in my bones. I didn’t want him waiting to see where I stood anymore. I wanted him to know he didn’t have to be gentle with me, because I’d accepted him.Us.
“Do you know how infuriating you are?”
