Page 109 of House Ignis

"I would never betray you. I can't. It made me sick; my bond rejected it," he growled, his face inches from mine. "But you were with him. And gods, I could feel every part of it. I needed a distraction."

Shame heated my cheeks, but I was still angry. Still hurt.

"You know what you need, Ava," he whispered, stepping closer, his voice a dark promise. "Stop fighting it."

I shook my head, stepping back. "I need space—"

But he grabbed my hand, spun me around, and pushed me against the tree in one fluid, blurring motion. My palms braced against the rough bark, the wood pressing into my face while my heart hammered in my throat. I gasped as he pressed in behind me, his shadows licking at my thighs and pushing the hem of my purple dress up. I could feel his arousal grinding against me, a hard, insistent weight.

Then his hands slid into the V-line of my dress and gripped my breast. I gasped at the contact, my back arching.

"Darling," he murmured into my ear, his fingers kneading my nipple through the thin fabric. His breath was a whisper of sin. "If you're going to dance with darkness... you better be ready to let it consume you."

His other hand slipped under my thong. I moaned as his fingers slid between my folds, rubbing slow, agonizing circles that made my knees buckle.

"You're soaked," he noted, his nose grazing the sensitive skin of my neck. "Hmmm… gods, darling."

I clenched my eyes shut, my thighs trembling as his strokes became faster. He slipped his fingers inside me, and gods, it felt like a lightning strike.

"You need me," he whispered against my skin, his fingers moving in a rhythm that matched the frantic thud of my heart.

And the worst part? I did. My nails dug into the bark, grounding me as our magic collided—his shadows tangling with my fire like lovers in a dance of ruin. It felt wild. Addictive. Like standing on the edge of a cliff I never wanted to climb down from.

And then—he stopped.

I whimpered at the sudden loss, the cold air hitting my skin like a slap. Before I could protest, his hand curled into my Dutch braids and pulled. A gasp tore from my lips, half pain, half pleasure, as he tilted my head back, forcing my eyes to meet his.

Wild. Ravenous.

And then I watched, stunned, as he brought his fingers to his mouth. He didn't look away as he tasted me, his tongue curling against his fingertip.

"Hmmm," he growled, the sound vibrating in his chest. "You taste divine."

My jaw nearly hit the godsdamn floor.

I was paralyzed, my skin humming, my breath coming in short, wrecked hitches. He stepped in close again and, in one smooth motion, pulled my dress back into place—his touch lingering over the glittered fabric like a promise. Then he turned me gently, his lips brushing over the glowing sigil on my collarbone.

The bond pulsed between us—alive, electric, and agonizingly tight.

"Let me know when you're ready to be claimed by me," he murmured, his voice dark velvet against my skin. "Because darling... I'm not nice."

And with that, he walked away into the trees. He didn't look back, leaving me breathless, burning, and completely undone in the moonlight.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"He left you there?"

Ember practically choked, her eyes bugging out as I recounted the humiliatingly electric final moments of last night's incident. I nodded, my hand absently stroking Aether's fur where he lay sprawled beside me, his tail flicking in annoyed judgment.

"He just said that and walked away?" she pressed, sitting bolt upright now, looking thoroughly scandalized. "Gods, Ava, that male is chaos in a hot body."

"He is the darkness, Em," I muttered, the echo of the bond still humming faintly in my chest like a low-voltage wire. "And apparently, his ego enjoys dramatic exits."

Aether made a sound somewhere between a huff and a growl, not bothering to lift his head. "Zya and I could feel everything," he grumbled through the bond. "You're going to need to give in at some point, little flame. The bond's only going to get more demanding."

"Not helpful," I snapped back mentally. He flicked his tail like he couldn't care less about my internal crisis.

I sighed, leaning further into the cushions. Ember was lounging beside me on the bed, her glitter makeup from last night still clinging to her skin like stubborn moonlight. She rolled onto her stomach, chin propped on her hands, her gaze turning sharp.