Page 54 of Crescendo (Beautiful Monsters #1)

He counters every hit he took in the cage by grinding himself into me, making sure I feel every ridge, every ribbed curve of his cock.

I did this for you . I shift, sore and greedy.

I’ll remember every inch of him no matter what happens the moment we leave this stall.

I let him fuck his victory into me. I wait until he grits out curses and increases his pace.

Then I move, letting myself fall back, forcing him deeper. Harder. Faster.

My mind drifts. I’m higher than I could ever reach with only a narcotic. I’m in the heaven that kicked him out, floating high above the hell Vinny made of my life. Every harsh, brutal thrust takes me even higher...higher still.

But the stall is too small. He’s too big.

His body is forced to bend over mine to find the right leverage, and he slips out so suddenly that I can’t silence a whine.

Panting with lust, he’s clumsy when he palms his cock and tries to dive back in.

The head of his cock bats between my legs, but when he starts to thrust, it’s against the wrong opening, and my body clenches against him.

I cling to the stall, panting. Even Vinny never touched me there. It’s the one part of me he never seemed interested in claiming—not even on the women he forced me to watch him violate. Lucifer’s presence inspires an entirely new fear. And I want him to vanquish it.

“N-no,” I choke out when he starts to head lower instead. “Here.” I take one hand from the wall and reach back, dragging his hand back up...

He stiffens. “F-fuck...fuck no!” He jerks back, horror flashing through his eyes. He’s disgusted. He’s...terrified, but it’s a fear I know well .

My fingers shake when I reach for him and grasp the tip of his softening cock. He doesn’t resist when I ease him closer, stroking the head with sloppy, unsteady motions of my thumb.

“Please.” My voice rings stronger than I’ve ever heard it—at least not since I was a girl of eight, telling a cruel bully to go fuck himself. “Please. I need... I need you...”

It’s too sick of a request to put into words. Too selfish. I need him to claim me in a way even Vinny wouldn’t. I need him to rip me open and leave his mark on the ruined flesh. I need .

But it’s only when the fear clouds his eyes that I remember what he told me when he thought I’d be too disoriented to remember.

“He fucked me like an animal.” Something inside me breaks.

My heart? Scarred and battered, it cracks open, and something slithers out, directed at him.

Understanding? A fallen angel can only relate to another cast-down creature, after all.

I may not be an angel—merely a lost soul—but the fires of Hell have burned us both.

“Please...”

While Lucifer stares down at my stroking fingers, his gaze darkens, fire and brimstone spilling out.

“No lube,” he grits out, but apparently, he’s already thought of another makeshift substitute.

Batting my touch away, he grips himself with his bloodied palm, painting himself with the result of the promise he swore he’d never make.

His eyes meet mine, devoid of any compassion.

He won’t make this easy. This will hurt.

But I don’t look away from him. I don’t grit my teeth and brace myself.

I’m panting even before he finally eases the head of himself against me, testing the give of my body.

One thrust and he can only ease the tip of himself inside, but he groans, his head shooting back against his shoulders.

Pleasure thickens each beautiful sound that spills from his throat, enticing the heat building within me to burn even hotter.

Two more thrusts and he’s forced an inch.

Then he bucks, sinking deeper, thrusting harder.

My body resists, fights...spreads...surrenders .

“Oh, God.” I rock into the invasion, blinking back the tears that blur my vision.

“F-fuck. Jesus. Fuck!” My voice breaks, echoing off the walls, and then I can only moan when he sinks in fully.

My body is on fire with the aftermath of every searing thrust. It’s too tight a fit.

Too much. He’s too deep. Too big. Too hard. Too perfect.

I lose my voice when he starts to thrust in earnest. Bitter.

..burning...electric. The vicious friction makes it too hard to watch him.

I have to brace both hands against the wall and press my cheek against the glass instead.

His gaze burns the back of my neck. His blood paints my skin.

His groans form a melody more haunting than Bach.

I could never recreate it on my cello no matter how many combinations of strings I played. I’ll have to rely on memory...

SoI struggle to remember everything about the way he feels inside me and consumes me from the inside out.

It’s too hard. My thoughts scatter as my head lolls—I’m drunk on him.

It’s only when he thrusts deep one last time that I realize the words leaving my throat are more than just inane nonsense. It’s a name.

“Dante. Dante...”

His growl drowns me out, and then I’m flooded with his release. I feel it drip down my legs when he finally eases himself out of me, panting. He almost seems drunk as he staggers back against the wall of the stall, rattling the glass in its frame.

Boneless, I sink to my knees, my body aching, throbbing, burning and my heart bleeding and gaping. I’m not sure which feels more assaulted. More violated. I’m even less sure which pain frightens me the most.

I wait for him to leave me here, but when I finally hear him move, I’m not expecting the grip on my forearm that yanks me upright.

My strength is no match for his, and he pins me easily against the wall.

Murder is written in his eyes, and I can’t fight when he lowers his head, his mouth crushing mine.

He shoves his tongue inside me, forcing me to react and push him back with my own.

Within seconds...I don’t know what’s happening.

Vinny only ever kissed me on the cheek or with a closed mouth.

Never like this. I never wanted him to kiss me like this.

Hungry, violent, brutal—even harsher than the sex.

He bites my lower lip until it bleeds. Then he steals the droplets away and swallows them down.

I’m dizzy when he finally does pull away. Then he drags his pants up and storms out of the shower and then the bathroom...eventually the small apartment altogether. The building trembles with the force when he slams the door shut.

Left alone, I can only trace my lips with my fingers and wonder why the hell the assault of his mouth pierces me deeper than the sensation of his cock. A beast could fuck anyone.

But not just anyone could get close enough to wound one...