Page 25 of Take Me Darkly

She shook her head against the pillow, her gaze glowing with a sultry, provocative warmth. “It’s fine. I have an IUD and I’m clean. I trust that you are too?”

My dark gaze held hers, my heart slamming against my ribs. “I am.”

“So, what are you waiting for?”

I leaned down, pressing my forehead against hers, my breath hot on her lips.

Christ, this woman is going to be the death of me.

I didn’t give myself time to second-guess it. I aligned myself with her center and drove forward, sliding slowly, bareback, all the way to the hilt. Her tight, seamless heat swallowed me whole, so agonizingly good that a dark curse ripped from my throat.

“Fuck, Serena... you’re so goddamn wet for me.”

Her head tilted back into the pillow, her throat arching as she let out a broken, breathless gasp of pure pleasure. Her inner walls clamped around my girth in a series of rhythmic, instinctive pulses, squeezing my shaft like a vise. I froze for a beat, burying my face in the crook of her neck, fighting with every atom of my being not to unravel right then and there.

I began to move—slow, deep, agonizingly thorough thrusts that drew a whimpering moan from her lips. I absorbed every gasp, every arch of her spine, every subtle shift of her hips. Her responsiveness was intoxicating. I was hovering on the edge, but I held back, adjusting my angle to friction against her clit, increasing the tempo of my stroke.

Moments later, her lashes fluttered shut, her delicate features contorting in that exquisite, agony-laced expression that signaled she was close.

“Just like that... I’m right there, Anton,” she panted, her fingers digging into my shoulders. “Come with me.”

Her words were the spark that blew my control to ash.

I pulled out almost completely and slammed back in, setting a relentless, punishing pace. Her fingernails raked down my back, leaving searing tracks in their wake as her body stiffened beneath mine. Our gazes locked, dark and wild, as I drove us both straight over the precipice.

Her shattered scream filled the room, and my own orgasm tore through me—a violent, explosive rush of supreme pleasure that bordered on pain. A strangled roar tore from my chest as I poured myself deep inside her, the intensity of the union shattering every wall I’d ever built around my heart.

I collapsed over her, instantly catching my weight on my forearms so I wouldn’t crush her or put pressure on her shoulder. My shaft continued to pulse inside her as her body quivered with the lingering tremors of her release, clutching me tightly.

This woman—this fierce, beautiful, broken creature—had somehow become the center of my universe.

The frantic desperation that had driven us into the bed slowly ebbed, leaving behind a warm, heavy quiet. Her breathing evened out against my chest, her body going soft and pliant beneath mine. I wrapped a heavy arm around her waist, tucking her flush against my side, keeping her exactly where she belonged.

Her fingers traced a lazy, light path across my ribs before resting flat over my stomach. I looked down at her—dark hair wild against the white sheets, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen and kissed red.

She looked beautiful like this. So real. So unguarded.

I reached up, my thumb tracing the line of her collarbone before coming to rest on the amethyst stone lying against her skin.

“I told you once that this neck was made for jewels,” I murmured, my voice deep and rough. “You might have to wear this panic device for now, princess, but the day is coming when I get to drape you in diamonds.”

A faint smile touched her lips, though a shadow lingered in her eyes. “I’m scared, Anton,” she admitted softly. “Everything I thought I knew... everything I ever trusted feels like a lie.”

“You can trust me,” I said, covering her small hand with mine and squeezing firmly. “I will never lie to you, Serena. From this second forward, you get the absolute truth from me.”

She looked up, searching my face. “I know you can’t unlock all the doors to your past yet—and I won’t force them open. I’ll wait until you’re ready. But for today... give me one truth.”

My brow furrowed. “What kind of truth?”

“Anything. Just make it real.”

A dozen truths flashed through my mind—truths about Jerry, about the blood on my hands, about the darkness that lived in the corners of my soul. I could tell her the most terrifying truth of all: that I was falling hopelessly, irrevocably in love with her, and that the sheer vulnerability of it terrified me more than any crime ring ever could.

But I couldn’t tell her that.

Not yet.

She was already drowning in grief and trauma. Laying the weight of my heart on her right now might be more than she could handle.