Page 15 of Cast in Shadow (Drenched in Darkness #1)

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Emerson gathered me up in his arms, pressing his face to my hair and inhaling deeply, igniting a familiar ache in my core.

“For you, Sai.” His fingers tangled in my hair as he tugged my head to the side, exposing my neck to his soft lips. “I came here eight months ago because that’s how long it took me to find you again.”

My body was at war with my mind. One was screaming at me to run, the other was desperate to hold onto this moment.

He nipped gently at my sensitive skin. “You are an incredibly difficult woman to track.” His lips traced over the same spot to smooth the sting, triggering a wave of goose bumps that bordered on painful.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my words slurring on my tongue. Gods, I felt drunk having him this close.

“I have been trying to control myself, but I need you, Senna.” The hand in my hair tugged harder, sending delicious pin pricks of pain along my scalp as his teeth skated along the tendons of my neck. “Now.”

His other hand came up, wrapping around my throat so fast I barely had a chance to pull in a breath before he squeezed just the right way.

I knew it was wrong when he spun us around and walked me backward through his bedroom door. I wasn’t thinking clearly when the back of my leg bumped the mattress, and he squeezed a little tighter.

Then his grip loosened, and a single word rumbled out of him that made me forget why I was fighting him at all. “Breathe.”

He gave me just enough time to let out the breath that was burning my lungs and drag in another before cutting off my air again.

“Do you remember the signal?”

I should have said no. I should have broken his hold on me and run for my life.

Passion burned in Emerson’s eyes as his grip on my throat loosened again, just enough for me to answer with a whispered, “Yes.”

My air was cut off again. “Show me.”

Instinct took over, and I reached up and tapped his wrist three times.

He hummed his appreciation. The sound was so low it reminded me of the purr of a giant cat. “Good.”

My blood was already boiling. I was slick and swollen. Every inch of me wanted more, but he just held me like that as the seconds ticked by, with his strong fingers wrapped around my throat as he stared into my eyes with a hunger that called to something deep inside me.

“Deep breath this time, Sai. In three, two, one.” He loosened his grip, and the air whooshed out of me in a rush, taking with it all the fear and doubt that were begging me to stop this before it went too far .

When I inhaled, I filled my lungs to the brim, and his grip tightened again.

His lips crashed into mine. Rough. Feral.

He tasted the same. Like over a century hadn’t passed since we’d shared a bed. Just like he’d tasted in every lurid dream I’d had about him since.

Like home.

And my control slipped a little more.

The ache in my core grew. My nipples hardened beneath his demanding touch.

Feeling him on my skin, with our teeth and tongues starting a war I wasn’t sure I wanted to win, was like being dragged back in time.

My head began to throb as I balled his shirt in my fists, torn between the need to pull him closer and my instincts screaming at me to shove him away. But his kiss was too raw, too deliciously brutal, and all I could do was hold on and pray I didn't break.

He pulled back, sucking in a ragged breath, but his hold on my throat didn’t ease. “Fuck,” he growled, watching me. “You always did love to push me.”

The pressure in my head built. My lips tingled. I could feel my cheeks flushing from pink to red while my lungs begged for fresh air.

“The signal, Senna.”

I knew what he wanted, but I stared back at him, suddenly desperate not to lose the moment and the euphoria it promised. If I let him in and he hurt me again, there wasn’t a chance in hell I would survive the fallout.

But maybe I could have this moment.

He shook me gently, his grip firm. “Give me the signal.” The gravel in his voice was a warning.

When Emerson took me to the edge, it also tested the limits of his control, because he was a killer at heart. An ancient being with a black soul that was built for destruction. For him, the thrill of holding my life in his hands was something he got off on as much as I got off on giving myself over to him.

Even now, apparently.

His jaw tightened and he pulled me up higher, until the toes of my boots barely scraped the floor and his lips were an inch from mine.

Gods, I was so close already. I squeezed my thighs together, searching for the friction I craved. The way every muscle in my body stretched as he held me up was almost enough to push me over the edge.

His fingers dug into my skin. “Dammit, Senna.” He fisted my hair tighter.

Black spots danced at the edge of my vision. My eyelids fluttered, the sensation heady but still controlled. Barely.

So.

Close.

My hand felt like it was floating when I finally reached up and tapped his wrist three times. For one breathless second, I felt the shift in him—the hesitation, the fight to hold on. Then his grip vanished, and I fell back onto the bed, sucking in the sweetest air I’d ever tasted.

Emerson didn’t give me any longer than that to recover before he grabbed my belt and hauled me to the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”

I gave him a quick nod—part lie, part truth. My mind was still catching up, my pulse still chaotic from what we’d just done, but my body was already reaching for him as his fingers made fast work of my belt.

He tore my pants down my thighs, panties and all, before he’d gotten the zipper halfway down. My boots were still on, and when the bunched fabric caught at my ankles, the frustration radiating from him raised the short hairs along the back of my neck. The man was all kinds of terrifying, but that was part of his appeal.

I’d always secretly loved it when he was wild for me.

He shoved my knees apart and hiked my thighs up, pausing just long enough to lick his lips. The gleam in his eyes sent another wicked shiver through me. Then his mouth was on me, licking and lapping, devouring me like a starving man presented with his favorite meal.

He yanked me forward again, propping my ass up with his big hands before diving back down.

Fuck, his tongue was magic. I dug my fingers into his hair, riding his face for all I was worth. The pleasure that had started building when he had me by the throat spiraled higher, until I felt the scrape of his teeth on that sensitive nub, tearing a breathless scream from me.

He didn’t stop when my orgasm caught flame or when it burned through me like a wildfire, scorching my blood and sparking along my skin.

I threw my arm over my face, digging my teeth into my forearm to muffle my cries. My thighs shook violently, but still he didn’t let up, not until he’d had his fill. And even then, I knew he wasn’t done.

I hoped he wasn’t done, not when I was still aching for him.

He stood slowly, licking his lips. “Move back.”

I did as commanded, shuffling back with my jeans still tangled around my ankles. Before I made it too far, he grabbed me by my boots and flipped me onto my stomach. His rough hands hauled me up by the hips. A palm connected with my ass in a hard, thumping blow that had me rocking forward with a yelp.

He always knew how to do that just right, so I felt it in my bones, rather than a sharp sting biting at the surface .

After that, he fell silent. There were no more orders or commands. Just heavy breaths that drowned out the millions of thoughts trying to break through into the moment.

An indescribable thrill shot through me when the slow click-click-click of his zipper coming down filled the room. In that moment, I wanted him inside me more than I wanted my next breath. It was a need that pulled my skin tight across my body and made my pulse sing in my veins.

He had to know what he was doing to me.

I propped myself up on my hands and turned to get a better look at him. I wanted to see his face, the hunger in his eyes, the fire inside him that I’d missed for so very long.

Emerson gave me two ragged breaths to take in his disheveled hair and dilated eyes. Those delicious lips. He looked like exactly what he was—a demon riding the edge of control.

He grabbed his cock, dragging the head along my slick center. With his free hand, he grabbed me roughly by the hair and pushed me down until my cheek was pressed against the mattress.

I expected him to say something taunting, to tease or threaten the way he’d loved to back in the beginning. Instead, he didn’t say a word as he lined up his heavy cock and pushed inside me slowly. He just let out a barely audible growl that lit tiny electrical sparks all up and down my body.

The agony that came with stretching to accommodate him was perfection.

He pushed in then inched out before sinking deeper, letting the pressure and pleasure build little by little. A groan escaped me when he bottomed out, sending an indescribable tremor through me.

He was exactly like I remembered, like he was built to fit me perfectly. He ground his hips, making sure I felt every hard inch of him, and everything inside me tightened .

“Not yet,” he warned.

Emerson pulled almost all the way out before slamming back home. I screamed into the blanket, crushing the soft fabric in my fingers. These were the moments I used to live for with him, the pleasure and pain of it all, but I hated the mewling cry that slipped out when he pulled back again.

He leaned down and grabbed my wrist, twisting it behind my back as he took even more of my control. My shoulder ached from the strain, but it was a distant pain compared to the sensation that exploded through me when he drove into me with another punishing thrust.

“You.” He slammed into me again. “Are.” And again. “Mine.”

Doubt slithered through my building pleasure and the searing heat of the moment. Emerson had owned every part of me since the moment we’d met. That was why, when I’d left him a lifetime ago, I’d left everything behind. I’d cut every tie. I’d run from him with just the clothes on my back and not a penny to my name. To truly escape, I’d had to reinvent myself completely.

But even that wasn’t enough because here I was, caught in his web again.

“No,” he growled, releasing my wrist. He yanked me up onto all fours by my hair, twisting my head around to look at him. “Get out of your fucking head, Senna.” He sank into me again, gentler this time, and a weak whimper burned up my throat. “Unless you want me to stop?”

I ground my teeth. “No.” He knew exactly what I wanted. Rough. Wild. And with a bite of pain.

He withdrew again, just as slowly. “Focus on me then. Only me. Right now. Not the past. Not what happens next.” His fingers tightened in my hair, and I braced for impact.

He didn’t disappoint. His cock pistoned into me, hard and deep. My fingers dug into the blanket as I fought to hold myself up .

“This. Moment. Senna.” His ragged voice was a perfect match for my emotions as he pounded into me with each word, his thick cock swelling inside me.

He said my name again in a growl that sounded barely human before his body jerked hard.

My world imploded when he detonated inside me. My orgasm tore through me like a tornado, ripping my strength to shreds. I collapsed onto the mattress, pressing my forehead into the blanket as he came down over me with a final, rough thrust of his hips.

His chest rose and fell at my back, then his ragged breath caressed my neck just before his words carved me open. “I have missed you so fucking much.”