Page 42 of An Unexpected Ascension (A War Between Worlds #1)
The Demon
To my surprise, Briar let me worship every inch of her body as softly as I once teased. However, now, when my lips graze her delicate, damp skin, she doesn’t recoil or tear at my hair. Instead, I’m rewarded with unsuppressed moans of approval. Even when I kiss the center of her chest right over her heart.
That moan…
That moan was straight from the wild, untamed beast within her. That organ that thrums in false pretense, tricking the mind into thinking you’re alive.
Oh, how desperately I want to be alive in this moment.
To lay here naked and entangled on our bedroom floor amidst a fire that wasn’t created from the heat of Hell. To drag my fingers between her thighs, wet and sticky with my seed, and to have hope. Hope that one day I could give her a chance at motherhood and that her heart would no longer feel that perpetual emptiness that echoes inside of her now.
A sudden ache lies heavy in my chest at all the beauty we will never see. Perhaps I do understand a fraction of the loss Briar feels for the child she never had. Until this day, I never once thought of kids or a family. Never even dared to love.
And now?
And now, I fucking love this woman with every ounce of the soul I thought I sold.
“I’m sorry.”
Her words are whispered on a wavering exhale.
With great reluctance, my lips part from her shoulder. Her eyes twinkle with the flickering flames of the fire beside us, the heat blanketing our naked bodies. I caress the side of her face, waiting patiently for an explanation while still buried inside of her.
“I’m sorry.”
This time she chokes on the words as tears fill her eyes.
“Briar—”
“For everything. For being so empty and treating you so horribly. I don’t hate you, Lynx.”
I kiss the tears spilling past her lower lashes, their salty tang staining my mouth.
“Never apologize for what the world has stolen from you.”
Her gaze glitters like the sharpest blades of grass.
“Stabbing me on the other hand...”
And then it falters from mine, shame eating away at her.
“You’re forgiven.”
As her chest deflates in relief, I chuckle. I would've gladly let her carve my heart right out of my chest if it meant filling hers.
“Thank you.”
Her fingertips feather over my biceps as her eyes search mine.
“I like this. I like your gentle touches, your soft kisses. I never wanted to like it, but I do.”
I smile, shifting my hips. “Yeah?”
She nods, her teeth sinking down into her plush lower lip. I lean down, stealing it away from her and suck the flesh into my mouth. She groans and I can feel myself thicken inside of her as I pick up the pace. Her legs wrap around my waist, feet hooking behind my back and for the second time tonight, I fill her with my seed and with all the love that’s only recently found me.