Page 296 of House Ignis

My fingers knotted in his damp curls as he continued his relentless assault, his tongue and fingers working in a brutal, synchronized rhythm that had me hovering on the edge of a jagged release.

I was a mess of fire and fractured gasps, my head lolling back as I stared up at the darkening sky.

"Asher, please," I whimpered, my knees beginning to shake.

He pulled his fingers out with a wet, lingering sound, only to replace them with the rough friction of his thumb as he ground it against me.

He looked up, his eyes blown wide with a lethal, dark satisfaction.

"Not yet," he rasped, his voice vibrating against my sensitive skin.

"I want you dripping for me before we even hit the water."

He stood up slowly, looming over me once more.

His hand stayed between my legs, possessive and heavy, while his other hand reached around to pull me flush against his rigid length.

The contrast was maddening—the cool breeze hitting my bare back, his searing skin against my front, and the promise of the scalding bath just inches away.

He leaned down, biting the shell of my ear before whispering into the bond, "I'm going to ruin you tonight, and the gods themselves are going to watch."

He didn't wait for a response.

He scooped me up, my legs instinctively locking around his waist as he carried me toward the edge of the stone bath, the heat rising to meet us like a physical wall.

He stepped into the steaming water, the scalding heat a shock against my chilled skin.

I gasped as the water rose around us, swirling with the dark flower petals he’d prepared.

He didn't let me go, pinning me against the smooth stone edge of the bath while the submerged heat made my already sensitive skin scream.

"You like the heat, don't you?" he murmured, his silver eyes dark with wicked satisfaction.

"Let's see how much you can take."

He didn't give me a chance to answer.

He seized my waist and lifted me slightly, aligning us before driving upward.

I cried out, the sound lost in the thick mist as he filled me completely.

It was a fierce, possessive claim that felt like coming home and being destroyed all at once.

The water sloshed violently against the stone as he began a relentless, rhythmic assault.

Every thrust sent a wave of scalding water over my chest, mirroring the fire spreading through my veins.

My magic reacted, orange sparks dancing across the surface of the dark water, meeting his shadows as they rose from the depths of the bath to coil around my arms.

"Look at me," he commanded through the bond, his voice a lethal vibration.

I forced my eyes open, meeting that molten silver stare.

He looked like a god of the abyss, his wet hair pushed back, his jaw tight with the effort of his own restraint.

"I'm never letting you go again," he growled, his pace quickening, his hands bruising my hips as he anchored me to him.

"You’re going to belong to the shadows just as much as the flame. Tell me you want it."