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Strands of shadows wound up my ankles until they reached my knees, and they pried me apart, baring me to the creature once again. I hadn’t had the chance to even scoot away.

He cocked his head, staring down at my sex. I was close to hyperventilating. I couldn’t move, and my heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears.

He lifted a finger, the tip of his sharp, black claw pointed upward, and shadows spawned. From mist to a thicker consistency that was more tangible than it looked. The pitch-black shadow slid down, and I had to tuck my chin closer into my chest to watch it lower between my legs.

“Stop.” I peeled my eyes so wide that it hurt.

The shadow grazed my sex. The initial touch was so cold that my entire body stiffened.Why was he doing this?!My throat hurt from how hard I was panting. The cold sensation prodded more insistently.

“W-w—” I choked off with a cry. The shadow pushed inside me; the iciness invading and stretching my core uncomfortably.

Gritting my teeth didn’t abate the pain, and my lower lip trembled. This couldn’t be real. The monstrous creature sat back, watching me writhe helplessly in place.

The shadow worked deeper, and I winced.

“Would you like more?” The eerie way he stared at me sent chills skittering up my spine.

Thethingpulsated inside me and grew.

I screamed, writhing to get away from the discomfort, but all it did was move. The pressure was more than I could handle, far greater than the fullness I had felt when fucking Andrew. Nausea swirled in my gut.

“Please stop.” My voice shook.

“You’re going to kill me.” I struggled to speak. Right when it felt like it would rip me apart from the inside out, the shadow inside me pulled back, and the forcefulness turned intosomething different. The prolonged pain turned to something worse . . . something pleasurable to the point that I could no longer breathe. Its attention spread to the button of nerves. I gasped, my stomach contracting.

The gentle caress became more insistent, and with it came electrical spikes that traveled up my spine.

Pleasure fired through my belly and pooled between my legs. A small whimper slipped from my lips. Such overwhelming shame accompanied my need, but even then, I didn’t want it to stop.

The creature looked demonic, staring down at me with shadows whipping around him. And still, its otherworldliness invited me in to explore. I wanted to touch the soft-looking feathering.

God help me.

He cocked his head, and the gentle rub against my clit and the shallow throbbing of the shadow inside me, tore my breath from my lungs. My hips lifted toward the delicious sensation licking through my flesh. Bunching the comforter under me, I whimpered. I felt so full and desperate for more. Flames licked through my core so intensely that I gasped. I was so, so close to the pinnacle. Coming felt wrong. I didn’t want this, but I couldn’t stop my body’s response. My legs wouldn’t stop shaking. I wanted—I wanted . . .

“But even your pleasure . . . I can take it away—just like that.” With the twist of his hand, everything stopped. The orgasm slipped through my fingers, elusive, as if it had never existed. My breaths sounded especially loud to my ears. I met his onyx gaze, then took in the impassive expression on his strange, angular face.

“You’re evil,” I spat. And I’d wanted to come even if the evil staring down at me was the cause. Heat flooded my entire body,and I twitched my hips with the bit of freedom they now had, trying to grind against the fullness that had gone still inside me.

His sneer widened.

“And you aremine.”

Just like that, the shadows disappeared to join the others binding my wrists together. The monster flicked his hand in an upward motion, and I was pulled upright.

I tried to pull my wrists apart, but it was no use. He gave them a little jerk. Just enough to turn my gaze to him. He held the end not attached to me like a leash. Keeping my gaze, he tugged, making me stumble forward with a gasp.

“Come, weak mortal.”

He said it like I was some sort of animal. Not that I would ever treat an animal this poorly, but he spoke as if I were nothing. I scanned the tension around my wrists. Kidnapping 101: Never let the kidnapper take you to the second location.

I kicked my foot out, connecting the tip of my sneaker against his pant-covered leg. I held my breath, waiting for the death blow. But he threw his head back . . . and let out a booming sound, similar to a laugh, but raspier and frightening. Nausea rose in my throat and my heart thundered so hard that it hurt.

The shadows gathered behind him, accumulating. They seemed to be undulating and alive. So slowly, he made the tendrils drag me closer to the black mass.

As much as I fought, I couldn’t stop the slow progression to him.

I’d be another statistic. Another woman to just . . . disappear.