Page 48

Just for tonight

Adrian

I lost control, destroyed my penthouse, and installed chaos, but beyond that, I had hurt her…

. Fuck, I hurt her. I should have had more control over these abilities, over this power, but what terrifies me more is that I don’t remember tapping into that power, I only remember our conversation, what she told me, how she blamed herself for something she’s had no fault at.

I shouldn’t have lost control, but the rage I felt, how much I hated that council member, and her ex-fiancé—it clawed at me. The idea of her being with someone else left me uneasy. My fist curled on its own, but I buried the thought. Now it’s not the time.

I was unfamiliar with expressing emotions and preferred to conceal them, so displaying them in front of her was tormenting, but since I first saw her, she sparked a fire in me I couldn’t contain.

Bring me to life when all I wanted was to disappear and leave the metaphorical shackles my father put around my neck.

Her red scar caught my attention as it ran from her left shoulder down to her collarbone. The deep crimson color made it seem like it could reopen at any moment .

I rubbed the back of my neck, eye fixated on the floor, unable to meet her gaze.

Guilt flooded my lungs like smoke, silent, choking, impossible to scrub out.

How could I be any different from the man who already hurt her?

Because of me, she had another scar to add to her existing ones, which pains me because, although we met in odd circumstances, I was falling for her, and seeing I hurt her made me sick to my stomach.

I swallow down the heavy lump in my throat along with the rising bile, ready to ask her how to control these powers and my emotions when fervent heat courses through me hot like lava, memories of how her body responded to my touches and the way she sounded when I was giving her pleasure, invade my mind like a tsunami sending a trail of desire towards my cock.

The heat I was feeling wasn’t mine, though.

My gaze trailed her face. A pink blush adorned her cheeks, and she averted her eyes, looking down.

She had to be thinking the same. I tugged at the bond the same way I had received before, but this time, I focused on what she was thinking.

I focused on her mind. If I heard her that morning, I could hear her again.

But instead of listening to her thoughts, I saw images of us, not images, memories.

Naughty little princess.

I said it to her through the bond.

Smirking slightly, I turned in my seat, parting my legs. “I guess that means I’ll have to be careful around you,” my voice was low as a murmur.

The heat intensified, and her breath hitched. The pink blush turned into a deep red. I could almost taste her as her tongue trailed over her lips and her chest rose in rapid, heavy breaths.

I stood, one goal set in mind, to kiss her and take her to my bed. Tonight, I would claim her in my sheets, in my space. She pulled back, but I wasn’t letting that happen. My hand gripped her waist, pulling her flush against my chest, and a small, helpless whimper slipped from her lips.

“What’s wrong, princess?” I murmured, my mouth trailing along her neck up to her earlobe.

“Isn’t this what you wanted? I saw it in that little mind of yours.

” She moaned as I nipped at her ear, my lips moving down her throat, grazing her collarbone.

Her scent drove me insane, a mix of her own and my cedarwood cologne.

She embodied the ocean itself—powerful, fierce, and unapologetically wild.

An alluring creature that called to my very core, and all I wanted to do was to consume her, lose myself inside of her.

“I know you can’t resist this,” I groaned, my tongue tracing down her cleavage, fingertips playing at the slit of her dress. “So why keep fighting it?”

“Because…” She inhaled sharply. “Because this is forbidden, Adrian,” she whispered, her words faltering as I pressed a kiss along the curve of her neckline. “I have a duty to my people, and soon, I’ll be leaving—”

“Don’t,” I cut her off, my voice low and insistent. “Just for tonight, forget about your duty, your council, your court.” I lifted my head, looking into her dazzling eyes. “Stay with me. Let’s enjoy this moment.”

I didn’t want to think about her hesitations, reasons, or any problems waiting outside this room. All I knew was that tonight, she wasn’t running. The tables had turned. This was my territory, and I wasn’t letting her slip away.

She seemed to consider my words, and for a tense moment, I thought she might pull back. But then she exhaled, her gaze softened, and she whispered, “Just for tonight.”

I didn’t waste another second. My breath hitched, leaning in before my lips met hers.

I was both fierce and unrestrained, pouring everything into that moment.

My hands gripped her hips, pulling her firmly against me as I deepened the kiss and she melted into me, every inch of her pressed against my body.

She tastes of spices. Her lips were soft and warm, igniting a fierce hunger within me I could barely contain, and I’m famished.

Her fingers slide into my hair, her touch urgent, her breaths mingling with mine, against my skin like hot lava as we lose ourselves in each other.

A low groan escaped me, her response to my touch fueling the fire building between us.

My hands trailed down to her hips, fingers sliding lower until they gripped her ass firmly, pulling her even closer.

She panted against my lips as I squeezed, claiming every inch of the space between us.

Her soft moans urged me on, her hands pulling me deeper into her mouth.

I wanted to feel every shiver, every reaction.

I wanted her completely lost in this moment with me.

I lifted her effortlessly, her legs locking around my waist as if they belonged there.

Like she knew, this was inevitable. Her arms curled around my neck, and I felt her heartbeat racing against mine, a silent rhythm of surrender and anticipation.

My hand slid low, dangerously close to where underwear met skin, and her lower lips pressed against my erection through the fabric.

The heat of her, soaked and wanting, bled through every barrier between us.

God, she felt perfect under my touch. Soft ivory skin kissed crimson from my mouth, my hands. Every inch of her bore my mark. My palm dragged slowly up her spine, and when I cupped the nape of her neck, pulling her back just enough to watch her body arch for me, I almost lost control right there.

“That dress is a crime,” I growled against her ear, voice low, feral. “You’re a fucking vision in it. Dangerous.”

She buried her face in the crook of my neck, and the moment her breath ghosted across my skin, I groaned, deep, guttural. Goosebumps flared down my back. Every breath she gave me was gasoline, and I was already burning.

“Let me ruin you one last time, princess.” My voice was a vow wrapped in sin.

Her breath hitched. She clawed at my back like she needed to anchor herself to something real, something solid. I gripped her thigh with one hand, firm and claiming, and carried her through the hall, slowly, deliberately, savoring every pulse of tension coiled between us.

Her legs tightened around me like she couldn’t stand the idea of being anywhere else. Her fingers skated over my spine, leaving claw marks. I kicked the door open and stepped into the room, the low light casting us in shadow. Desire thickened the air, heady and electric.

I set her down at the edge of the bed, then drop to my knees before her like a sinner at the altar of something holy and forbidden. I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek, my voice raw and reverent.

“Tonight, I take all of you. No holding back. No pretending this isn’t what you want.” I leaned in, lips at her throat, a growl beneath my words. “You’re mine. You’ll stay here until I say otherwise.”

Propped on my elbows, I stared into her eyes. No, drank from them. Searching for hesitation, weakness, regret… but all I found was hunger. Mine. Reflected at me in those eyes like green wildfire.

I smirked.

She was mine. She’d chosen this, me, knowing full well what I was. And that was the most intoxicating part.

I dipped down, brushing my lips against the curve of her neck, trailing slow kisses toward the faint scar I’d left behind like a signature.

I lingered there, mouth hovering over it as I whispered., “I’m sorry for hurting you, princess. It won’t happen again.” The words rolled off my tongue sweet and easy, even as my breath ghosted over the mark. I didn’t mean to hurt her then, sure.

But I’d hurt for her . Kill for her . Burn for her .

And gods help anyone who tried to touch her again, including me.

Her fingers grazed my shoulder, soft, like a balm to the darkness in me. “I know you didn’t mean to. It doesn’t hurt.” Her voice cracked just enough for me to hear the ghosts behind it. Someone else had . And badly. That thought alone nearly split me in two.

I looked up at her, a wolf in silk skin.

“Let me make you forget.” My voice was a low rasp against her throat, and her pulse betrayed her, beating faster beneath my lips as I kissed along her collarbone.

Her dress slipped easily beneath my fingers, the straps falling away like they wanted to expose her just for me.

She didn’t stop me.

Her breathing hitched as I slipped the straps of her dress from her shoulders, baring her to me, and I reveled in the goosebumps that rose on her skin as I traced a line with my fingertips, following the curve of her cleavage.

I moved slowly, savoring every inch, until my hand brushed the edge of her underwear, feeling the heat of her skin beneath.