Page 70

The room fell dark, the candlelight casting shadows that danced across my skin as he inched toward me, each step more greedy and alert than the last.

“Don’t you dare ,” I snarled only seconds before another moan tore from my lungs.

He halted, clenching his teeth and balling his fists as a low, wanting growl sounded from his throat. His gaze was like a brand, burning into me with an intensity that made my desire and hate braid together in my stomach.

My breathing grew more ragged with each passing second, my heart pounding in my ears as I pushed myself closer and closer to the edge.

Pleasure shot through every nerve ending in my body as I plunged a second finger inside me and cried out from the sheer ecstasy it sent spiraling through my limbs. My back bowed toward the ceiling as I raced toward my release.

Dukovich’s eyes locked onto mine once again, his gaze filled with a mixture of restraint and lust that sent need coursing through my blood. He took another quick step toward me, and before I could stop myself words were flying from my mouth.

“Kneel,” I hissed, my eyes searing into his. He stared back at me for a long moment. “ Kneel .” It was a command this time, and he obeyed—lowering himself to his knees only feet away from me.

I felt a surge of confidence and control flow over my body.

It was my turn to torture him.

My heart raced as I held his gaze, refusing to back down.

His eyes were pitch black with desire—a starving animal ready to devour its prey.

His hands reached up to his shoulders, his fingers wrapping around the fabric of his tunic as he pulled it over his head and the breath hitched in my throat at the sheer beauty of him.

Scars like my own littered his body, strewn underneath a tattoo that covered every inch of his chest—his shoulders. My eyes snapped back to his to see the hunger there had only intensified.

“Crawl to me,” I breathed as my nipples hardened against the arousal flooding my veins.

A muscle ticked in his jaw as he placed his palms on the cold floor. Inch by agonizing inch, he crawled toward the bed—toward me —like a beast stalking its quarry. The coiled power in his muscles, the dark intensity radiating from him— it set my fucking blood on fire .

He reached the edge of the bed, his shoulders heaving with each breath as he knelt before me. I pressed my foot against his muscular chest, his fingers wrapping around my ankle as his lips brushed over my skin.

I pulled away from his gaze and shifted on the bed, spreading my legs further apart as I let my head fall back.

I closed my eyes, reveling in the power I felt knowing how desperately he was trying to control himself, how hard he was watching me pleasure myself—knowing that one word from me and he would be buried inside of me in an instant.

A gasp left my throat, my body shattering at the thought, as my orgasm finally hit me like a bolt of lightning scorching my veins. My body shook with each pulse that wracked me, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

My chest heaved, my breathing heavy as the aftermath of pleasure settled into my bones.

Knowing he was there, knowing that he had just watched only heightened the arousal I still felt. My clit ached, begging for more as I slid my hands over my thighs, leaving remnants of my orgasm glistening in their wake.

“You look so beautiful when you come, love,” Dukovich whispered, his voice a husky rasp as he lowered his lips to my inner thigh and dragged his tongue over the path my fingers had just traced.

A low animalistic growl rumbled from his chest as he tasted the essence of me, his eyes connecting with mine. “I am going to devour you.”

“Then shut up and fucking do it.”

He didn’t hesitate.

His tongue delved between my legs, lapping up every bit of my arousal with long, firm strokes that sent my head falling back on a gasp. Pleasure ripped through me as he nipped at my clit, stoking the inferno raging inside me.

I wanted to hate this— needed to hate this. Hate how fucking good this felt.

But as his lips closed around my clit and sucked hard, every coherent thought fled my mind.

There was only the sensation, the relentless fucking pursuit of rapture.

A moan tore from the back of my throat, my hips undulating against him as I fisted my hands in his hair, holding him right where I wanted him.

“Don’t stop. Don’t you dare fucking stop.” The words were sharp as they left my lips.

A threat drowning in unbridled pleasure.

He sealed his mouth over me and drove his tongue inside, fucking me with deep, dominant thrusts. The sounds of his groans vibrating against me mingled with my own desperate cries.

I was so close, teetering right on the knife’s edge of my climax.

He pushed two fingers inside me, curling and stroking them in a way that made stars burst behind my eyes and I fucking shattered.

My orgasm tore through me, threatening to break me in half as my body quaked from the sheer force of it. Wave after wave of ecstasy crashed through my nerves until I thought I might drown in the depths of it.

My body was still trembling from the aftershocks as he slowly withdrew his fingers, bringing them to his mouth to savor every last drop. The sight of it sent another jolt of desire straight to my core.

I watched as he lowered his mouth back to my skin, kissing up my body, his lips and tongue mapping a scorching trail over my stomach, between my breasts. I wanted his mouth on mine with a desperation that bordered on violence, but I wouldn’t give in. Wouldn’t cross that final line.

His eyes burned into mine, dark with a hunger that was far from sated. No, it had only grown, consuming him from the inside out. He rose to his feet in one fluid motion, his hands going to the waistband of his pants and dragging them off his body.

My mouth went dry at the sight of him—all chiseled muscle and barely restrained power. His cock jutted out, hard and eager, a bead of moisture glistening at the tip. I watched as his hand wrapped around his shaft, slowly pumping as he took a step toward me.

I was going to fucking regret this .

“I fucking hate you,” I breathed up at him as he slowly lowered himself to the bed, his knees pushing my legs open wider—readying me for him.

“Then hate me, love. Hate me while I am tasting you.” His lips lowered to my ear. “Hate me while I am kneeling to you, crawling to you . But fuck me like you mean it.”

With a visceral growl he surged forward, burying himself inside of me in one powerful thrust. A guttural moan ripped from my throat as he filled me.

The sensation of him inside me was overwhelming—all-consuming.

I dug my nails into his back, dragging them down his spine hard enough to break skin as he began to move, each snap of his hips driving him deeper.

I rolled my hips to meet his thrusts, needing more— craving more.

The drag of his cock against my walls ignited flames that licked through my veins as pleasure ricocheted through every cell in my body, coiling tighter and tighter in my core.

He slipped his hand between our bodies, dragging his chest from mine. His thumb landed on my clit and a moan rolled from the depth of my throat as he watched himself disappear inside of me.

“Gods,” he groaned, thrusting in deeper. “Look how fucking well you take me, love.”

What the fuck was I doing?

Of all the mistakes I had made, this might be the worst. I should stop. I needed to stop. But I could no longer find where my loathing ended and the desire began.

Instead, I wrapped my legs around his waist, gripping as I pushed from the bed and twisted on top of him. His hands ran down the expanse of my back, brushing over every scar and settling on my waist as his own back raised from the bed.

His hands gripped my hips possessively as I rode him, grinding down on his shaft with a ferocity that matched the maelstrom of emotions swirling inside me. I braced my palms on his chest, my nails digging into his flesh as our bodies moved in a frenzied rhythm.

His eyes seared into mine, the intensity in them threatening to consume me. I wanted to look away, to hide from the depths of feeling I saw reflected back at me, but I was powerless to break his gaze.

Our chests pressed together as I rolled my hips against him, sweat glistening on our skin.

His hands slid up my sides, calloused palms rough against my scarred skin as they cupped my breasts, kneading and teasing.

I arched into his touch, a moan falling from my lips.

Rage and lust warred within me, the line between them blurring until I couldn’t distinguish one from the other.

“I despise you,” I hissed, even as my walls tightened and drew him deeper.

A dark chuckle rumbled from his chest. “And I fucking worship you.”

I clenched around him in response, reveling in the way his eyes rolled back and his head fell toward the ceiling on a tortured groan.

My hand snapped to his throat, squeezing and digging into his flesh. “Eyes on me. You need to watch what you will never fucking have again,” I growled, my voice dripping with venom as my body sang with bliss.

Our mouths hovered a mere breath apart, so close I could feel the heat of him against my lips. It would be so easy to close that distance, to take what I craved like a drug. But I resisted, clinging to that final shred of control.

I wanted to curse him, to spit vitriol and hate, but all that came out was a desperate moan as he collided with me, stroking that spot inside me that made the whole world fall away.

A scream tore from my lungs as I broke around him, my nails raking bloody furrows down his back as my body dissipated into the fucking galaxies. It was as if heaven and hell had reached through the veil to snatch the soul from my body—a sin and a blessing colliding with an otherworldly force.

A roar ripped from his throat as he followed me into oblivion, his release flooding me as we clung to each other, fighting to catch our breath as the pleasure slowly ebbed away.

Reality came crashing back in stages—the sweat cooling on my skin, the rasp of his stubble against my jaw, his chest heaving against mine. Regret and self-loathing curled in my gut, warring with the traitorous satisfaction humming through my veins.

What the fuck had I done?

Disgust churned in my gut as I slipped off of him and pulled the blanket over my body.

Dukovich watched me, his dark eyes finding mine in the glowing candlelight. Something unreadable flickered across his face—an emotion I couldn’t quite place.

“This never happened,” I bit out, my voice harsh as granite. “It meant nothing.”

He let out a harsh laugh, the sound scraping against my raw nerves. “Keep telling yourself that, love. It will not change the truth.”

I whirled to face him fully, my eyes flashing with barely leashed rage. “The only truth here is that I despise you with every fiber of my being. This changes nothing between us.”

A smirk slid onto his face as he reached for his discarded clothing and pulled them back onto his body. “Like I said, if hate is all you have to give me, I will take it.”

I shoved myself off the bed, not bothering to cover my nakedness as the blanket fell from my body, and stormed toward the bathing chamber. I needed to scrub his touch from my skin—to wash away the evidence of my weakness.

The stone was cold beneath my feet as I stepped into the room, the chill a welcome shock to my overheated skin. I closed the door behind me, flicking my fingers toward the bath, watching it fill as my head fell back against the wood.

I fucking hated this place.

Hated the control it took from me, the need that it brought to the surface. Any other place I could have kept it buried, could have kept it caged in the depths of my soul.

Tears pricked at the back of my eyes and I blinked them away furiously, refusing to let them fall.

I would not cry over him— over this .

He didn’t deserve that emotion.