Page 21 of Monsters Wear Crowns (Crowned Monsters Duet #1)

My fingers dragged down his chest, feeling the strength beneath his skin. The build-up and anticipation were almost torture. “ I like danger. And so do you.”

His eyes flashed. “You think you know me so well?”

“I think I know enough.” I smiled, slow and taunting. “You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t crave it, the risk. The heat. The possibility that I might destroy you.”

His grip tightened, and I gasped as he pulled me closer–my body flush against his, every inch of him hard and unyielding. “The same goes for you, Adela,” he warned, his voice velvet over steel. “If you defy or betray me, I cannot promise you’ll survive.”

“If that was a threat of physical violence, then I can play that game, too, Rafe,” I shot back. “I have fantastic aim.”

Something flickered behind his eyes, something malevolent and hungry .

His mouth crashed down on mine, and suddenly, there was no space left between us.

Only the desperate, reckless pull of his body against mine.

It wasn’t soft or sweet. It was teeth, tongues, and hands that knew exactly how to make me melt.

But even as my head spun and my body ignited, I couldn’t help the words that slipped out between kisses. “Why is it dangerous? Why is this dangerous for you?”

He froze, just for a second. And then his mouth was on my throat, his teeth scraping over my pulse as his hands gripped my hips, dragging me tighter against him.

“You already know why,” he said against my skin. “You felt it the first time I touched you.”

“That’s not what I am looking for,” I whispered, but my breath caught when his teeth grazed my collarbone.

“It’s what you’re getting,” he growled.

I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes, dark, wild, and filled with something I couldn’t quite name. “I think you’re afraid,” I said softly. “Afraid of getting close. Afraid of what it would mean to need someone. To want someone so much.”

His jaw tightened, but his hands didn’t let me go.

“Because if you let someone in,” I continued, “they might become your weakness. And a man like you can’t afford weakness, can you?”

“Stop,” he warned, his voice rough.

But I didn’t.

“Or maybe,” I whispered, my lips brushing his, “you’re just afraid of me.”

His control snapped.

He kissed me like he was trying to silence me, like he was trying to remind me exactly who was in charge. But I kissed him back just as fiercely, my nails dragging over his scalp, my body arching into his as his hands moved over me, rough and demanding and so, so good.

But even as we burned, I pulled back enough to murmur against his mouth, “Admit it.”

“Admit what? ” he rasped, his breath ragged. He was annoyed that I kept interrupting.

“That I’m bad for you.”

He tucked me beneath him with a frustrated growl. “You have no idea how bad,” he whispered.

The room spun–or maybe that was just him. His weight pressed me into the mattress, his mouth on mine like he was claiming territory, not kissing. Rafe didn’t believe in caution. He took what he wanted without apology. And I didn’t want apologies. I wanted this.

I whimpered when his teeth grazed my ear, shivering as his hands found my ass, yanking me flush against him. Every inch of distance vanished. His lips were hungry and demanding, and when I tugged at his hair, the low growl he gave sent heat straight to my core.

His touch was everywhere, memorizing me. When his teeth sank into my shoulder, his tongue chasing the sting, I gasped. My back arched, body hypersensitive. He didn't relent. He liked unraveling me.

When I tried to take control, he caught my wrists, pinning them above my head with ease. His wild eyes burned into mine, daring me to fight. Daring me to surrender. And I did.

“Oh, god.” The sound of my own voice was unrecognizable, breathless, and desperate. But it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but his touch and the fire he lit inside me.

“Yes?” he whispered back, his voice rough and amused. I smiled as he pulled my shorts down my legs and pulled down my tank top. His eyes drank in my body beneath him while he removed his underwear again. I was greedy. I was starving.

Before I could even ask, he shoved his cock inside me again, pushing as deep as I could take him. I yelped, my nails clawing at his shoulders.

He groaned, his hands pushing my hips down.

I’d never let anyone in. Not really. Men were fleeting, disposable distractions. But Rafe? He could dismantle me with a look. With a word. With the deliberate power of his body claiming mine. And I let him.

I told myself it was just sex. Lust. But the way my body bent to him, the way my heart hammered in my chest...it was already more. “Show me I’m yours,” I gasped, wincing at the stretch.

“Jesus, Adela,” he growled, control fraying.

His rhythm was merciless, his strength lifting my leg to open me wider, pushing me towards the edge again.

I clung to him, nails raking down his back.

He kissed me like the goddamn devil stealing his favorite angel’s soul.

“If you ever leave or betray me,” he snarled, “I’ll fucking kill you. ”

I didn’t flinch. I matched his darkness. “So will I.”

He stilled for half a second–then groaned, teeth scraping my throat. “Perfect. Because I’m never letting you go.”

My body tightened around him, wave after wave of pleasure crashing over me.

I wrapped my legs around his hips as he chased his own release, his thrusts rough and desperate.

He grabbed my chin, kissing me hard, and with a final groan, he came inside me again, pulsing deep.

And still, I couldn’t stop kissing him. Didn’t want to.