Page 45

“Grace,” he said, his voice barely audible as his grey eyes locked onto mine, searching for something—permission, assurance, I wasn’t sure.

Either way, I answered him with a kiss, pouring every emotion I couldn’t put into words with the press of my lips against his.

I lifted his shirt over his head, and my hands immediately went to his chest, feeling the taut muscles contract beneath my touch.

His fingers skimmed along my sides, sending shivers down my spine as they slid beneath the waistband of my trousers. He paused for a fraction of a second, his forehead resting against mine before he claimed my lips again, deeper this time.

We were crossing a path we knew we couldn’t come back from. A kiss was a kiss, but this was more to us. Everything was.

“You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmured, his thumb brushing against my cheek.

The words sent a jolt to my heart, and I pulled him closer, needing to feel and drown in him. His hands guided me as he unbuckled his belt and pressed himself against me. His cock jutted out from his boxers, and I inhaled a deep breath at the size... at the veins running along it.

But then, a thought struck me like a bucket of ice water. “Hunter,” I whispered, pulling back slightly.

He stilled, his grey eyes narrowing in concern. “What is it?” His voice was rough and husky, filled with the same longing that coursed through me.

“Do you have...?” My voice faltered as I tried to find the right words. “I mean, we don’t have—”

He closed his eyes briefly, and I saw his jaw tighten. “No,” he admitted in frustration.

Of course, he didn’t. He was an Ascendant. I should have expected him not to have any form of protection.

My cheeks burned, but another thought slipped out before I could say anything else. “But have you ever...” I didn’t even want to finish the words.

Hunter’s jaw ticked, his teeth clenching for a moment before he said gruffly, “Yes.”

My mind reeled. “But—”

His expression darkened before he kissed me again, harder this time, as though he was trying to erase the weight of the past and the questions that still lingered between us. His lips moved with a desperate intensity that I could no longer think straight.

Whatever secrets he held, whatever his past entailed, I knew one thing for certain—I still wanted this. I still wanted him. Hunter Cain, in all his complexity and contradictions.

“We should really stop before—”

I shook my head, tightening my hold on him. “I don’t care.”

That unleashed something within him as a low groan fell from his lips and he lost all resistance.

“Do you trust me?” he whispered against my lips.

I was a virgin, through and through. And I believed he knew that already. He could tell, but the reassurance I was giving him with just one look told him everything I wanted from him. “Yes.”

“I’ll be gentle,” he assured me, and I nodded like a lost puppy, waiting for what was to come. “As long as you don’t kick me in the balls again.”

A breathless chuckle burst from my lips, and he smiled, causing my stomach to dip. “I won’t.”

He nuzzled his nose against mine, whispering, “Good.”

I bit my lip, shaking with nerves and anticipation as I lay back against the table and felt how hard he already was without having to look.

My shaking legs parted, letting him have full access to me.

He positioned himself by my entrance, and my heart raced as he leaned above me, his hands finding mine above my head.

The world outside faded away, and it was just us in that moment.

“Just keep looking at me. Don’t look anywhere else,” he breathed, and I nodded, too lost for words to speak yet.

Seconds later, I breathed in, and what was once a barrier gave way as he pushed the tip of his cock into me, and a gasp escaped my lips.

He stilled, his gaze never leaving mine as he slowly moved all the way into me.

I clenched my eyes shut, biting the inside of my cheek as the tight sting overwhelmed me.

It felt full and warm, like a hot knife gliding through butter, until I was whimpering as that sting became a throbbing delight.

His hand came up to cradle my face, his thumb brushing away a stray tear I hadn’t realized had fallen. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, opening my eyes as I released a shaky breath. “Yes,” I whispered. “Don’t stop.”

He didn’t.

His thrusts moved in rhythm with my body, his thumb running circles against the inner part of my wrist. I arched my back, and he pushed his hips forward, stretching me even more.

“Hey,” he said gently, trying to capture my attention as my eyes became heavy. “Keep looking at me, Bambi. It’s just us, no one else.”

I nodded again, gasping as our bodies rocked against each other and the table beneath me creaked under our weight. At any moment, we could be caught. A Celestial could come down those steps and see us or, worse, the Council. But it didn’t matter, not then, not when it was us two.

He kissed me, and I sucked in a ragged breath as his moves grew faster.

Pain mixed with pleasure, and I bit my lip, hoping he wouldn’t back down.

I clenched my thighs around his hips right as his lips moved to my breasts, and he took one into his mouth.

The sensation rocked me into euphoria as I gasped, and spots clouded my vision.

I didn’t understand what was happening; all I knew was that I didn’t want it to end.

My skin began tingling as sweat broke out across my chest and his. He lowered his forehead against mine, our breaths becoming one as he rocked back and forth.

I was losing myself to him, and I didn’t care. I would gladly lose myself over and over to feel like this with him again.

Hunter groaned, his thrusts growing faster.

I tried to reach for him, but his hands held onto my wrists, keeping me at bay as I felt myself clench around him.

His breath hitched, and for a moment, he stilled, his forehead still pressed to mine.

I could feel the rapid thud of his heart in his chest, pounding in time with mine.

His grip on my wrists tightened, not painfully, but like he was grounding himself—like if he let go, he’d lose control.

“Fuck,” he muttered.

I blinked up at him, dazed, my body thrumming with heat and pressure from having him still inside me. “Hunter...”

His jaw clenched, and he pulled back slightly, his thrusts slowing. “I—I need to stop,” he panted, grey eyes dark and conflicted.

The fog in my mind cleared just enough for his words to settle in. “What?”

He closed his eyes briefly, swallowing hard. “If I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to hold it in.”

I could barely think past the way my body still ached for him, but I heard the strain in his voice and slowly, achingly, he pulled out. I bit my lip at the sudden emptiness, a soft whimper escaping before I could stop it.

Hunter leaned his weight on his arms above me, chest heaving. His face was flushed, damp with sweat, and yet his eyes never left mine. “I want you,” he whispered, voice hoarse. “But not like this. Not here. Not when I can’t be sure...”

My body buzzed with frustration and need. I knew he could see it too as I reached up, my fingertips brushing along his jaw and used my other hand to grab his. I lowered his hand to my stomach, then lower and lower. I didn’t say a word the entire time; only my eyes spoke a million things.

Hunter’s breath caught, his jaw tightening. For a moment, it seemed like he might pull away completely, but instead something shifted in his gaze—an intensity that sent heat pooling low in my stomach.

He leaned down, capturing my mouth in a slow, deliberate kiss as his fingers traced along my inner thigh, slow and teasing, before he returned to the spot where I ached for him most. At first, his touch was delicate, barely brushing over me and causing me to squirm.

“Relax,” he breathed, kissing the corner of my mouth.

But I couldn’t relax—not with the way his fingers moved, exploring... coaxing.

He pressed a finger into me, slow and steady. I gasped, gripping his shoulders, nails digging in and all. At first, he moved carefully, letting me adjust before adding another finger, stretching me just enough to make my back arch.

“Hunter—”

“I know,” he whispered, lips brushing my neck. “Just feel me and nothing else.”

His thumb moved to circle that sensitive spot, slow and deliberate, like he always was. My hips moved on instinct, chasing the pressure, and he matched my pace perfectly. Every movement of his fingers was calculated, pushing me closer, deeper into that overwhelming edge.

My breath came in shallow gasps, my entire body tensing, coiling tighter and tighter.

I had never felt this way before.

It was as though the world around me no longer existed, and it was just me and Hunter. I was shaking—no, convulsing. I couldn’t stop it.

“That’s it, Bambi,” he murmured, his lips ghosting over mine. “Let go.”

And I did.

I shattered around him, trembling and barely holding back the broken sounds in my throat until I was left limp and breathless beneath him.

When I finally opened my eyes, his face was close, watching me like I was something fragile and precious.

His lips brushed mine in the softest kiss, his fingers slowly slipping away, leaving me sated.

“Better?” he whispered, voice smug but tender.

I let out a shaky breath and nodded with eagerness.

Hunter’s smirk softened as he brought his hand up to my face, his fingertips brushing my cheek with a gentleness that made my heart stutter. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the faint streaks of red staining his fingers.

My blood.

His eyes flicked to it, and I watched the smirk fade. He inhaled slowly, the weight of what had just happened grounding us both back into reality.

He had taken my virginity.

An Ascendant.

I couldn’t read the thoughts flickering behind his eyes, but poignant fear coiled in my chest at the thought of losing him. Not now. Not like this.

I didn’t know what we were now. We’d crossed a barrier that we could no longer recover from.

Without thinking, I reached up and cupped his face, guiding him to meet my gaze. His eyes searched mine with uncertainty as I held him there.

“No going back,” I whispered.

His jaw tightened, the muscles flexing as if he were holding something back. Then, slowly, he nodded before closing the space between us as his lips found mine in a firm, claiming, and irrevocable way.