Page 50 of Where the Dark Knelt (Worshipped by Darkness #1)

“No, it’s not okay! You have dried blood in your hair,” I hissed, trying to stroke him more gently. His eyes fluttered closed as he pressed closer, and he let out a low, contented sound that felt like a purr against my neck.

“I’m fine… trust me. It’s fine now that you’re here…”

His words made my heart clench, beating faster in my chest. I looked down at him with pity and longing. With my free hand, I squeezed his fingers, stroking his knuckles softly. He let out a gentle, barely audible sigh, followed by a quiet moan.

“Eveline…”

“I… I… I was so worried,” I breathed, my voice shaking. “I can’t… I can’t handle this… I…”

My anxiety was spilling out, tearing me apart from the inside. Meeting him felt like a curse and a blessing all at once. He was tearing apart my peaceful world, shattering everything I knew, and it terrified me.

Soon, I would have to take my vows – celibacy, renouncing life except for serving God twenty-four-seven. I would belong to Him, and hardly even to myself. The thought sent shivers down my spine, leaving me cold and aching.

Desmond’s lips pressed a warm kiss to my neck, pulling me back to him.

As if saying, ‘Please don’t take these vows, come with me, love…

please, please, please.’ His hand slid over my ankle, lifting the hem of my dress.

He stroked small circles over my kneecap, sending pleasure rippling up my body until my eyes fluttered shut.

His hand moved higher, bunching the fabric up, and when his fingers brushed the inside of my thigh, I shivered violently.

The touch was electric, pleasure blooming deep in my core.

My clitoris throbbed, heat pooling between my legs, and a moan escaped my lips.

“God, Desmond… don’t stop…”

“And I won’t, love,” he murmured against my skin, his voice low and dark. “I need a distraction too… Give yourself to me.”

His words sent a shudder down my spine. My heart thudded wildly, but I shook my head, trying to clear it. “Give myself to you? Are you crazy?” I giggled softly despite myself.

He chuckled against my neck, his breath hot on my skin. “It’s a metaphor, little saint. Of course, you belong to yourself… and maybe to God. But one day… one day, you’ll be all mine. Body and soul.”

His words were both romantic and terrifying. But the passion blazing inside me burned even hotter, devouring every last doubt. Nothing could extinguish this fire.

His fingers reached my panties, sliding under the fabric to touch my folds. When he ran his fingertips over my clitoris, I moaned louder, my hips jerking into his touch.

“Desmond… no, no… we can’t…” I gasped out, trying to form words through the haze of pleasure.

“We can do anything, ashpetal,” he whispered seductively in my ear. “Trust me. Give yourself to me completely… give yourself to pleasure.”

I exhaled shakily, licking my lips as his fingers began to gently circle and tease my sensitive bundle of nerves.

Heat exploded through my core, and I was so wet his fingers glistened with my arousal.

The sight alone would have embarrassed me, but his low growl in my ear sent another ripple of pleasure through me.

“Desmond…” I moaned his name, gripping his arm as he licked my neck with his forked tongue, the piercing brushing against my skin, doubling the sensation. My eyes squeezed shut as I surrendered to his touch.

But then… the car stopped.

And we didn’t move.

“Damn it,” Desmond cursed under his breath, abruptly yanking my skirt down. My face burned with heat and embarrassment, the excitement still thrumming in my veins.

“We’ve arrived…” the driver whispered as the tinted glass window slowly lowered. I glanced out and saw the familiar stone walls rising before us – we were already parked in front of the monastery.

“Are you… are you going to the hospital now?” I asked softly, inching toward the door. But before I could reach it, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me roughly back to him.

“I’m not done with you yet. So no,” he growled, his voice low and rough.

My clitoris throbbed again in response, sending a wave of hot, trembling pleasure through me.

I wouldn’t be able to escape him today… and to be honest, I didn’t want to.

I didn’t want this day to end, even though parts of it had been terrifying and horrible.

He was alive. Desmond was alive, and he was here, with me.

Did I really just think that? My lips curled into a soft smile, but the horror of that realization hit me almost immediately. No. No… no… this was all wrong. Panic clutched my chest as dread gnawed at my mind.

He would ruin everything. My initiation into monastic life, my vows… oh God, oh God. Anxiety wrapped its cold fingers around my neck, squeezing. I began to hyperventilate, but before my spiraling thoughts could drown me, Desmond pulled me out of the car.

We walked quickly around to the monastery’s back entrance, slipping through the shadows. He led me with impatient determination, as if he’d walked these paths countless times, as if this place belonged to him.

At the side entrance, he pressed me against the cold stone wall, rough rock biting into my back.

He pinned my wrists above my head, his lips crushing into mine in a searing kiss.

His tongue slid into my mouth, dominating and claiming.

In that moment, it felt like he owned me completely – body, mind, and soul.

As if I had already given myself to him in my every breath, in every shiver and sigh.

“Damn, what are you doing to me…” he whispered against my lips, his voice so low I almost didn’t hear it. He moved my hands from above my head and guided them down, placing them over the bulge in his pants.

It was so hard… so big under my trembling fingers. I accidentally squeezed, and he hissed through his teeth, his eyes darkening with lust.

“Oh, you… bad girl…” he growled. “You want me. Say yes, and I’ll do whatever you want… please… say yes…”

“I know you… need to relax too…” I whispered shakily.

“Yes… I want to relax with you,” he breathed into my mouth, biting down gently on my lower lip before brushing his piercing across it.

The sensation sent sparks shooting through my entire body, making me arch against him.

His hard frame pressed against my softness, igniting something wild in my chest.

“My God… Desmond…”

“That’s what I want to hear. Let’s go…” he whispered, his lips brushing my ear before he began leading me inside.

I tried to stop him just past the threshold. “You know that you’re not allowed in the sisters’ quarters…”

“I can do anything, ashpetal… stop pushing me away already, and you want me too, just admit it, goddammit,” he said darkly, dragging me forward down the dim corridor. We closed the door quietly behind us, the monastery silent and sleeping around us.

“Desmond, no! If someone sees you here, I’ll be kicked out,” I whispered harshly, panic flooding me again.

“I’ve been in your room before, babe and besides I have everything under my control.

I’m a demon after all, remember? Everyone’s been asleep for hours.

And I’ve feasted on you in the monastery before and it didn’t bother you that much, what’s wrong with today, huh?

Don’t worry… I promise it’ll be fine. Please…

” His voice softened at the end, almost pleading.

My teeth clenched, torn between fear and the burning ache in my body. He pulled me along the corridor toward my chambers. Before I could argue, he scooped me up into his arms effortlessly. My breath caught in my throat as he carried me up the narrow staircase toward my bedroom.

We quietly slipped through the dimly lit corridors, neither of us uttering a single word. The only sound was the hushed rustling of our clothes and the distant creaking of old monastery wood as we moved.

When we finally reached my room, I glanced at Astra’s door, that was opposite mine, terror pooling in my gut.

“But Astra… she’s–”

“Don’t worry about her. I told you, I have everything under control,” he interrupted firmly. “Stop worrying. Enjoy life already, for your God’s sake.”

He shut the door softly behind us, locking it with a quiet click before turning to me with that predatory look in his eyes.

Without warning, Desmond lowered me onto the bed.

His hands moved with urgency yet incredible gentleness, slipping off my shoes before lifting the hem of my skirt slowly, revealing my thighs inch by inch.

He kissed each patch of newly exposed skin, lingering over every freckle and mole as if memorizing them.

Under his touch, I squirmed, trying to lie still and silent, desperate not to moan from the overwhelming pleasure building inside me.

He touched me with such reverence and softness that I wanted to melt into him, to get lost forever in his embrace, to spend every moment in this forbidden warmth.

Oh God… no… what am I thinking? Panic rose again, but before I could ground myself in reality, he was already ripping my dress off, tossing it carelessly onto the floor.

My bra followed swiftly, and then, with a wicked grin, he began tugging my panties off with his teeth.

“N-no… we can’t really… we’ve played enough… you need to go to the hospital, Desmond,” I whispered shakily, trying to sound firm. But that dark, passionate light in his eyes only grew brighter, more feral.

“Ah… you like to play, you bad, bad girl…” he murmured, slapping my thigh lightly, the sting sharp and delicious.

Then his lips pressed against the inside of my thigh, his tongue flicking out to taste me.

The contrast of his teasing warmth against my trembling skin sent jolts of pleasure up my spine.

My hand dove into his soft blond hair, gripping it and pulling him closer instinctively.

He only smiled wider against my clit, his lips brushing me before he bit down gently on my inner thigh, making me gasp.

“Damn, Desmond… what are you doing…” I whimpered, but he moved quickly, covering my mouth with his hand and leaning over me, his emerald eyes burning into mine.

“If you moan… your sister Astra will hear you…” he whispered against my ear, his tongue darting out to lick my earlobe before biting down softly. The sensation made me bite my lip hard under his palm to keep from crying out.

“And now, my bad girl… be a good girl and don’t make a sound,” he commanded softly, his voice dripping with sinful promise.

Then he lowered his head between my legs. I barely had time to process before I felt his tongue slide over my wet folds, parting them expertly with his forked tip. The sensations were indescribable. The intimacy and the delicious heat made my eyes roll back as my hips arched off the bed.

I was already so close, teetering on the edge from all the teasing earlier in the car.

There was no point in trying to hold back.

His tongue flicked my clit with quick, skilled strokes, the piercing brushing against the sensitive bundle of nerves, sending electric sparks down to my toes.

His hand stayed firmly over my mouth, muffling my broken gasps as my hips rocked against his face desperately, my cunt grinding against his nose and tongue.

“You’re not patient… bad, bad girl…” he growled softly, his words vibrating against me.

His tongue slipped inside me, the piercings adding new waves of unbearable pleasure.

A muffled moan escaped despite his hand.

That seemed to drive him over the edge; his tongue flicked and circled my clit rapidly until I shattered.

My orgasm ripped through me so suddenly that I trembled all over, thighs clamping around his head as I rode his face, my muffled cries breaking into the quiet room.

He didn’t stop until he had licked up every drop of my release with his long, forked tongue, humming softly in satisfaction as I lay boneless and trembling beneath him.

“Did you…” he began, his voice husky as he leaned close to my ear, “…did you just have another amazing orgasm with the help of my tongue, love, hmm?”

“Desmond… you…” My voice was barely a whisper.

But before I could finish, he was already standing, pulling away abruptly. “I have to go,” he said, his voice unreadable. In one fluid movement, he slipped out the window onto the stone eaves outside.

“Desmond, wait—” I scrambled to the window after him, but when I looked down, he was gone. Vanished as if he had never been there.

I sank back against the window frame, pressing a trembling hand to my chest, my heart thudding wildly.

Every time he disappeared like this, I wondered if he was just a figment of my imagination.

But as I glanced down at the deep red marks blooming on my inner thighs – his hickeys, his claim – I smiled softly, running my fingers over them.

I turned my gaze to the moonlit sky, the stars glittering like cold diamonds above the monastery towers. Crawling back into bed, I slipped under the covers completely naked, the taste of him and the scent of his skin lingering on me.

That night, I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.