Page 5 of Shattered Veil (The Dark Ascendant #2)

Brigid

I push open the door to my room. The air feels wrong.

It’s not until I scan the darkened room that I see him. Marius leans against the wall, casual as you please. Like he owns the fucking place.

“ What are you doing here?”

Marius smirks. “ Waiting for you.”

“ Get out.” I spit. “ Now.” All the rage I ’ ve been keeping contained starts to boil over. Fiona. Rory. Marius not pulling his shadow magic back before it was too late.

He pushes off the wall. Stalks toward me.

I stand my ground as he approaches, but my body threatens to give me away. My pulse quickens. Breath catches. I feel the shadows that are part of me want to reach out towards him.

“ I don ’ t want you here.”

Marius stops inches from me. His scent envelops me. Spice and smoke and danger.

“ I don ’ t believe you.” His eyes roam my face. My body.

I swallow hard. Fight the urge to step back. To close the distance between us.

“ Believe this, then.” I bring my hand up to slap him across his handsome face.

Marius catches my wrist before it can make contact. His lips curve. He ’ s enjoying this.

He tugs me closer. My chest brushes against his, nipples stiffening at the contact.

“ I see the way you look at me, Brigid.” His voice drops and turns husky. “ I know what you want.”

My breath hitches as he traces a finger along my jawline. I should push him away, but I can ’ t move. My limbs are heavy with longing and resentment intertwined.

“ You don ’ t know anything about me,” I whisper, anger seeping into my words despite my racing pulse.

“ Oh, but I do.” He leans in, breath warm against my ear. “ I know more than you think.”

I shiver at his nearness, hating myself for it. I try to pull free, but he holds me firm, his grip unyielding.

“ You keep saying that, Marius. You ’ re a broken record.”

“ You got the broken part right, little bird. I ’ m broken like you.” He leans in. “ Together, we can be whole.”

I try to shove him away, to break out of his grip on me.

“ I ’ ll never be anything with you,” I spit. “ Not after what you did.”

His fingers dig into my skin. A jolt of heat surges through me. Fuck.

“ What I did? You mean save your life?” His eyes flash. “ Or open your eyes to your true power?”

I snarl. “ You let Rory fall into the void, you bastard.”

“ The dog is unimportant.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “ I set you free.”

I stop myself from leaning into his touch. I hate him. I want him.

“ Why are you really here?” I demand. “ What ’ s your connection to the Raven King?”

He smirks. “ You should already know.”

Rage boils over. I slam my palm against his chest. “ Stop playing games!”

He doesn ’ t budge. Just pulls me closer, until our hips align.

My breath catches. Wetness pools between my thighs. No. I can ’ t want this. Can ’ t want him.

He chuckles low in his throat as my hand meets his chest. The sound reverberates through me like thunder before a storm - ominous yet thrilling in its intensity. My stomach flips as our hips press together - an unwelcome reminder of my traitorous want for him pushing against my anger at his callous words about Rory.

“ You know who I am, Brigid.” He whispers, his lips brushing against my ear like a forbidden temptation. “ And you know exactly what I can do for you.”

His fingers still trace patterns on my skin, leaving trails of heat that spread through me like wildfire. It takes all my willpower to resist the urge to lean into his touch, to let him consume me completely.

“ I don ’ t want anything from you,” I lie through gritted teeth even as my body betrays me by swaying towards him. “ You ’ ve taken enough already.”

“Ah, but see, that ’ s where you ’ re wrong.” His hand slides up my arm, cupping my shoulder before sliding down my back. His touch feels like branding iron against my skin, marking me as his own. A shudder runs through me, half fear, half anticipation.

“ You want something from me, Brigid.” He murmurs, leaning in so close that I can feel his breath against my cheek. “ You just haven ’ t admitted it yet.”

“ I don ’ t need anything you have to offer,” I snap, pushing him away. “ Especially not after what you did to Rory.”

Marius grabs my upper arms, holding them tight enough to bruise. His eyes flash with a dark promise that sends a shiver down my spine.

“ Rory was nothing,” he says. “ He distracted you. He doesn ’ t matter.”

“ Fuck. You.” Tears threaten, but I refuse to let them fall. I won ’ t give him the satisfaction. “ You ’ re a monster,” I hiss, trying to wrench myself free.

“ Perhaps,” Marius concedes, releasing my wrists. “ But I ’ m your monster, Brigid. And you ’ re mine.”

His words, his touch, his kiss - they all feel like a trap, pulling me in deeper and deeper. I hate myself for wanting him, for letting him get this close to me. But in this moment, with his lips on mine and his hands roaming my body, it ’ s hard to fight the pull he has over me.

Marius pulls away slightly, leaving a trail of hot kisses down my neck and collarbone. His teeth graze against my skin and I shiver at the sensation. He chuckles against my throat before sucking on the delicate skin there. The pleasure-pain mix ignites something primal inside of me.

Without thinking, I reach up and tangle my fingers in his dark hair, pulling him closer to me. His hand travels down to my waist, gripping it tightly as he lifts me up and presses me against the wall. My legs wrap around his waist as he continues to devour me with his mouth.

The air between us is charged with electricity, our bodies pressed together in a feverish heat that threatens to consume us both. My resistance crumbles under the weight of desire coursing through me. I give into the moment - giving myself over to him completely. I need this. I need to shut off my brain and stop thinking. Need it to numb the pain in my heart.

Marius pulls back slightly, his eyes dark and intense as he gazes down at me.

“ I want you,” he growls, punctuating each word with a kiss on my lips.

I moan softly in response - unable to deny the truth any longer. I want him too - despite knowing how wrong it is for me to give in.

He carries me towards the bed without breaking eye contact—laying me down gently before climbing on top of me again. I feel his fingers undo my buttons, then cool air hits my bare skin.

In this moment, I make my mind blank. No thinking, just sensations.

My body is one step ahead of my thoughts, responding to his touch despite my anger and disgust. I find myself melting into him, my hands reaching up again to tangle in his hair as I kiss him back with a passion that surprises even me.

Marius wastes no time, his hands wandering over my body with a hunger that matches my own.

“ You can ’ t deny what ’ s between us, Brigid,” he says, ripping off the rest of my clothes with a savage intensity that leaves me feeling exposed and vulnerable. “ Admit it. You want me just as much as I want you.”

I want to deny it, to push him away and tell him to leave. But I can ’ t. The truth is written all over my face, in the way my body responds to his touch, in the way my heart races whenever he ’ s near.

“ Yes,” I whisper, my voice barely audible. “ Yes, I want you.”

Marius smiles, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“ Good,” he says, his voice low. “ Because I ’ m not letting you go. Not now, not ever.”

His words send a thrill of fear and excitement coursing through me, a cocktail of emotions that leaves me dizzy and disoriented. I know I should be scared, that I should run away as fast as I can. But I can ’ t. I ’ m drawn to him like a moth to a flame.

And as he claims me, I realize that I ’ ve made my choice. I ’ m his, whether or not I want to be. I can feel the truth of it. It ’ s not anything rational, or anything I can explain. It just is .

Marius ’ s touch is electrifying, igniting a fire beneath my skin that I can ’ t ignore. His hands roam my body, exploring every curve and contour, as if he ’ s trying to memorize every inch of me. I gasp as he takes one of my nipples into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the sensitive flesh.

“ Marius,” I moan.

He looks up at me, his eyes pools of darkness that seem to see straight into my soul.

“ Yes, Brigid?” he asks, his voice seductive.

“ Please,” I beg, my voice thick with need.

His fingers trace a path down my stomach and into the wetness between my legs, then he pushes two fingers inside me, swiftly and fully.

“ You ’ re mine, Brigid,” he growls, his fingers moving inside me with a skill that make me shake with pleasure. “ Say it.”

I resist his demand. “ No.”

His fingers keep thrusting with a deliberate rhythm that drives me wild.

“I can make you scream my name,” he whispers in my ear. “ I can make you beg for more.” His free hand reaches up to take hold of my hair as he pulls my head back roughly. “ Say it.”

Another thrust of his fingers deep inside me makes me gasp again. My body betraying my mind as I cry out involuntarily.

He smiles cruelly before capturing my lips in another bruising kiss while continuing his relentless assault on my senses with his skilled hands between my legs - driving me closer toward an edge I both crave yet fearfully anticipate falling over at any moment now.

“Marius,” I pant, my body trembling with need.

His lips curl into a knowing smile as he adds a third finger, stretching me further, filling me up in a way that makes me feel both owned and possessed by him.

“ That ’ s right, Brigid,” he murmurs against my lips. “ You ’ re mine.”

My hips buck against his hand, desperate for more.

But Marius isn ’ t finished yet. He starts to move his fingers faster, building a rhythm that has me clawing at his shoulders, my fingernails digging into his skin.

“ Please,” I beg again, my voice barely above a whisper.

Marius shakes his head, his eyes glinting with a cruel satisfaction. “ Not yet,” he says, his voice low and commanding

He slows down his movements, pulling back just enough to leave me teetering on the edge of release.

“ No,” I whimper, my body begging for the release it craves.

But Marius is relentless, denying me what I want until I ’ m writhing beneath him, my breath coming in desperate gasps.

“ Beg for it,” he commands. “ Beg for me to let you come.”

“ Please, Marius,” I plead, my voice trembling with need. “ Please let me come.”

He smirks, his fingers quickening their pace once more.

“ Good girl,” he murmurs.

And then, finally, I fall over the edge, my orgasm ripping through me with a force that leaves me breathless and shuddering beneath him.

As the waves of pleasure subside, I lie there, spent and utterly at Marius ’ s mercy.

He withdraws his fingers, leaving me feeling empty.

“ Remember who you belong to,” he says, his voice soft but firm.

And then he gets up and leaves, leaving me lying there, still reeling from the intensity of our encounter.