Page 176 of House Ignis

"I'm yours," I breathed, the truth tearing itself free from my lungs before I could even think to hold it back.

His grin was all teeth—feral and triumphant. "Louder."

"I'm yours," I practically shouted into the silence of the corridor.

His mouth crashed onto mine, bruising and desperate, and gods help me, I kissed him back like I was starving for the taste of him.

Shadows wrapped around my thighs like iron bands, lifting me clean off the floor.

I locked my legs around his waist as he pinned me even harder against the masonry, his magic pulsing in time with the frantic beat of my heart.

"After tonight," he murmured against my lips, his voice a promise of total ruin, "you won't remember your own name. Just mine."

How we made it across the Academy grounds to House Umbra without tearing each other’s clothes off, I had no fucking idea.

The heavy doors of House Umbra slammed shut behind us, the sound echoing through the obsidian halls like a final declaration.

The heavy doors of House Umbra slammed shut behind us. I barely had time to catch my breath before his mouth was on mine again, savage and consuming, tasting of copper and heat, while his shadows coiled around my wrists, pinning them high above my head against the masonry.

The bond pulsed violently between us, flooded with hunger, lingering rage, and possession.

We didn't even make it three steps toward the stairs before his thigh pressed firmly between my legs, forcing me to grind against him.

My back arched, the friction of his suit pants against my bare skin through the lace making my vision blur.

"You think I forgot what you did back there, darling?" he growled against my lips, his voice a dark, velvet threat.

"Teasing me in front of the whole Academy. Letting him lay a hand on what belongs to me. Gods, you are my ruin in lace."

He didn't walk me to the bedroom; his shadows hauled me up the stairs, my feet barely skimming the dark wood, while he followed close behind.

By the time we reached his chambers, my legs were already trembling with aching anticipation.

He kicked the door shut door shut...sounding like a verdict and stalked forward until the backs of my knees hit the edge of the mattress.

His gaze dropped to my bodice, the sheer lace doing nothing to hide how my body was reacting to him.

That smirk of his turned downright predatory, his eyes fixed on me with hungry focus.

He didn't ask; he didn't wait.

He dropped to his knees. Not in worship. In hunger.

His teeth caught the lace just above the swell of my breast.

Rip.

The sound of tearing fabric split the air, the straps giving way as his mouth replaced the lace.

His lips were scorching, his tongue circling my nipple before a sharp, deliberate scrape of his teeth made me gasp, my head falling back

I barely had time to recover before his shadows slid around my hips, hauling me forward until I was at the very edge of the bed.

His hands gripped my thighs, spreading them wide as his gaze locked with mine—a silent, heavy promise of exactly how undone he was about to make me.

Then, his head lowered.

The first touch of his tongue was maddeningly slow, dragging upward from my entrance to my clit, tasting every drop of the slick heat he'd provoked.