Page 143 of Burning Ember

I moan and start rocking. Mav separates my legs and pulls my thigh over the top of his, spreading me open for him. He moves closer and when I feel his erection at my opening, I whisper his name.

His first thrusts are torturous, slow, and deep. I reach back and hold on to his neck.

He breaks our kiss and, in the voice with the power to make my body shudder, he says, “You make the darkness fade and breathe life back into my world.”

Against my will, my fears tumble out of my mouth. “Mav . . . you can’t say these things to me . . .”

“Why?”

“Because you make me feel something I don’t want to feel when you do. My heart opens and lets you in, and I don’t know if I’m ready for that. What if this doesn’t work? What if you change your mind about me? What if something from my past makes you look at me differently?” I squeeze my eyes closed. “The more I let you in, the harder it’s going to be to move on from you.”

“Is this where you want to be?”

“Yes.”

“Then this is where you stay, and it’s my fuckin’ job to make you happy. I see who you are, Doll, and I want all of you. Every fuckin’ piece of you, you’ll give me. I’m not gonna change my mind about that.”

I turn and kiss him. His thrusts get faster, and his breath and my breaths get heavier. Our moans collide as he strums my clit and slides deep and shallow. Mav leans up and pulls his arm from under me so he can push into the bed and work himself deeper into me, hit the bundle of nerves inside me that puts me on the verge of exploding.

He backs away slowly from our kiss and smirks down at me. His pace changes.

“No, faster.”

He laughs.

“Luce, give me what I need.”

He growls and starts fucking me hard, fast, and deep, and doing it so relentlessly like only the devil could do.

“Fuck. You grip me so tight, Doll. Come for me, babe.”

He rubs my clit rapidly and it’s my undoing. I cry out and my body goes tight. I have never once seen the Northern Lights, but I’d bet my life that’s what flashes behind my eyelids when my orgasm sweeps over me in a rush of blinding pleasure. It hits me in one big crash and then tapers out in waves.

Mav shouts and buries himself inside of me as his body releases into mine.

Afterward, he pulls me into his arms and wraps me up nearly to the point I can’t move.

I keep thinking, I should hate it. I shouldn’t want to be locked down and caged by another man. But I love it. I feel safe in Mav’s arms. I feel safe and guarded from all the wrong in the world. And maybe in his arms, I am like he says . . .unbreakable.

I’m amazed that in one day Mav’s destroyed the image of the man I thought he was. He’s revealed he’s so much more than I ever could have hoped for, and he’s shown me that sex is unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. Mind-blowing, beyond intense, and soul-searing deep. I never realized sex could be about pleasure and wanting to be so close to someone, that it consumes you.

I feel like some precious rare thing he can’t get enough of. And I’ve discovered a side of myself I never knew I had. A passionate side that might easily get addicted to all the wonderful ways he makes my body sing for him.

Before I drift off, Mav whispers in my ear. “Tell me I’m not alone, Doll. Tell me you feel how good this is too.”

I wrap my hands over his and snuggle back into him. “I feel it. But it scares me. Like it’s too good to be true.”

“It’s true, Doll. I’ll prove it.”

Smoke isn’t always the first warning of a fire.

EMBER

I wake to the sound of a low hum, a clank of metal against metal, and a string of curses. But where they’re coming from or why is too much for my sleep addled brain to handle.

What I do know is that the warm body that blanketed mine throughout the night is gone, and the black, silky sheets surrounding me are empty. I’m alone although a familiar musky scent lingers on my pillow. I move and nuzzle closer, drawn by the smell, and as I do, a pinch of pain zips through my core.

In quick flashes, I relive last night.