Page 14 of Forbidden Empire (Sinful Gods #1)

I arched my neck in one fluid motion, exposing the pulse point where he couldn't help but stare. The corner of my mouth curled upward as I looked at him through a veil of lashes.

"Our little secret," I breathed, closing the space between us. My fingertip traced the vein running up his forearm, feeling it jump beneath my touch. "And afterward..." I let my nail scrape down his skin, watching goosebumps rise in its wake. "I'll make you forget your own name."

"Ma'am—" He leaned in, his breath hot on my face, pupils blown wide.

The word hit like a gunshot from down the hall. "Touch her and I’ll cut off your fucking hands."

Seth jerked away from me like he’d touched a live wire. I whipped my head toward the noise.

Aidon’s boots pounded down the marble hallway, every step a threat I could feel in my teeth. His jaw was clenched so hard I saw the muscle twitch, a vein showing at his temple.

I stumbled backward, slamming my shoulders into the wall.

Aidon never paused.

He grabbed Seth by the collar and tossed him aside like he weighed nothing. Seth crashed into a side table, glass shattering everywhere.

Before the sound even faded, Aidon’s hands were on me, his grip like iron around my wrists, pinning them over my head. No way I wasn’t going to have bruises tomorrow.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His words broke in hot bursts against my face.

Seth’s footsteps disappeared down the hall, leaving just the two of us.

Me.

Aidon. And Aidon’s temper.

And, Jesus, the way my pussy clenched at the sound of his voice.

His grip was brutal this time, way harder than before, fingers digging into my wrists. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he wanted to leave marks to prove a point.

His eyes locked onto mine, all wild and furious, like he was two seconds from snapping.

Whatever cool, controlled version of Aidon I had met before? Gone. The guy staring me down now looked like he wanted to tear the world apart.

He shoved his body against mine, heartbeat pounding so hard I felt it everywhere. His pupils were blown wide, hardly any color left.

Sweat beaded along his forehead, his cologne fighting with something raw and almost animal, and it hit me all at once.

He leaned in, close enough that his lips brushed my ear. It made my skin prickle, every nerve snapping awake.

“Did you think I wouldn’t notice you trying to leave, Esme?”

My pulse tried to jump out of my throat, but I kept my face blank, even when it felt like lightning shot through me from every place he touched.

“You’re playing dangerous games, woman.”

I snorted, or tried to, but then his thigh shoved between mine, rough fabric scraping and dragging heat up my skin.

The wall was hard behind me. My shoulders ached from how he pinned my arms overhead, fingers tight enough that my hands tingled.

And right there, pressing against me, his cock pulsed against my clit, making it throb even harder.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying and failing to act like I didn’t care.

“Maybe you’re scared I’ll win, Aidon.” His name pushed out on a dare, curled sweet and pointed on my tongue.

I leaned in, nipples grazing his chest, ignoring the warning in his eyes.

Something flickered there. Wild. Dangerous.

His knee drove upward, the pressure against my pussy. The jolt wrenched a gasp from me before I could pretend I didn’t care.

"You lost the second I found you."

He didn’t bother with the rest. His mouth crashed into mine, teeth catching, tongue everywhere. Unapologetic.

Hot. Unyielding. Starved.

His teeth caught my lip, sharp, and blood burst, mixing with the whiskey burn he carried. My vision blurred, my thoughts fuzzed, and still his mouth took more and more, until I was dizzy and shaking and boneless. He held me up anyway, hands sure and tight, like I was something rare and breakable.

Heat blossomed deep inside me, billowing into a bubble of desire that clouded my mind. His kiss was hard and painful and invasive, like a punishment that he’d been waiting for a very long time to unleash upon me.

All the anger, all the rage, all the fury that he’d hidden behind his cool demeanor seemed to rush to the surface and flow from his prodding mouth, stealing the breath straight from my lungs.

If I weren’t careful, he’d know how much I wanted him, too.

“No!” The word ripped out of me as I jerked my head to the side.

The tendons in my arms screamed, wrists twisting, bones rubbing together under his grip. I shoved against him, every movement just grinding my hips tighter to his, my nipples hard and aching against his chest.

He was everywhere—the wall of muscle pinning me in place, the thick press of his thigh between mine, his cock hard and insistent against my stomach.

Wetness rushed between my legs, soaking through my underwear. My clit pulsed, greedy and desperate.

When he went for my mouth again, I bit him. Hard. Teeth sinking into his bottom lip until blood coated my tongue.

He jerked his head back, a drop of red beading at his lip and running down his jaw, bright and sharp. It hovered, then dripped onto his perfect white collar.

His pupils were blown wide, swallowing any color in his eyes.

I lifted my chin, still tasting him, teeth bared.

“Fuck!” The sound tore out of him, raw, rough, feral.

A vein pulsed at his temple as he pinned me harder against the wall, the pressure crushing the air from my lungs.

"You little—" His breath came in hot bursts against my face, each exhale carrying the scent of expensive whiskey and contained violence.

"Get. Off. Me." Each syllable dripped venom as I twisted against his grip. The bones in my wrists ground together beneath his fingers.

The corner of his mouth curled upward, revealing teeth stained pink with his blood.

“Look at you,” he whispered, so close his lips grazed my ear, “fighting what we both know is inevitable.”

“I’d rather die,” I shot back.

It sounded tough, but the lie tasted like battery acid, especially when my body was betraying me so hard I wanted to punch myself.

I did the only thing I could think of and slammed my body forward.

For once, it worked.

Well, for a second.

His grip slipped, but then his hands locked down again, fingers digging in so hard I was pretty sure I’d be wearing his fingerprints for days.

He laughed.

Not just a regular laugh, either.

It was this dark, low sound, and I could feel it, the way our bodies were mashed together. His eyes looked a little bit insane and animal hungry.

“Bastard!” I jerked and twisted, but he just held on tighter, his whole body pressed against mine.

“Mine.”

The friction was so electric, I had to bite back a moan.

“Never—” I tried to say, but it came out as a snarl.

He didn’t care. He just kissed me. Hard. Like teeth and tongue and zero patience.

It was more like a fight than anything romantic, and he was winning.

I gasped, which was an engraved invitation for him to shove his tongue into my mouth. He went for it, rough and greedy.

And yeah.

I wanted to resist. I tried to claw his face off, or at least slap him. Would’ve tried if he wasn’t pinning my wrists above my head.

I wanted to yell. Or scream. Or call him something even worse than bastard.

But all I could think about was his mouth. His tongue. And how much I wanted him, no matter how much I told myself I didn’t.

My resolve started to slip. I whimpered into his mouth.

He knew.

God, he knew.

He could feel me teetering on the edge, ready to melt into him. If he pushed just a little more, my thighs would open wider and I’d let him in—no defenses, no hiding—just the dark, desperate want clawing at my insides.

And he saw it. I hated that he saw it. Hated it with every cell in my body, but I couldn’t deny it.

No turning back now.

There was nothing I could do to stop the need that was bubbling up and spilling over, wild and uncontrollable, something with teeth and claws, something shadowy and fierce and impossible to ignore.

His kiss got rougher, deeper. My mouth went slack. I let him in, the fight draining out of me fast.

He tore his mouth from mine, eyes burning, searching my face like he had to confirm it.

Was he looking for a sign? Did he see that I wanted him just as bad? Had I given myself away already?

He must’ve found what he was looking for, because just like that, his mouth crashed back onto mine. This time, he was hungry. Confident. No hesitation.

Fuck.

The thing between us wasn’t just a flicker anymore—it was wildfire, all heat and chaos and no room to breathe. I could barely gasp for air, let alone think straight.

Clarity? Gone.

All I could do was hang on and try not to get burned alive.

With every kiss, he dragged up shit I’d spent years shoving down. Wanting Aidon had never been safe. We’d done this before, twisted up together, and it never led anywhere good.

This was the same old routine: we’d dance, we’d burn, and it would all go to hell.

So I tried to bury the feelings. Let my body take over, shut everything else out.

Fine, I thought.

I’d fuck him, just once more.

Let him inside me. Watch him fall apart. See the look on his face when he came.

And then? I’d vanish.

Smoke, gone before the sheets even cooled. He’d wake up and wonder if I’d ever been there at all.

Like I always said I would.