Page 151 of Every Shade of Shadow

I nod.

The Professor begins the second part of the spell, his voice rising and falling in a hypnotic cadence. The air around us is lit with energy, lightning flashing across the inky sky above.

A current races over my skin as the spell intensifies, setting every nerve ending aflame, chasing away any hint of moisture there. I gasp at the sensation, pain and pleasure twisting together until I can no longer tell them apart.

The rain falls harder, a million pinpricks that land on my charged skin and evaporate just as fast.

Our bodies press together, heat and magic radiating between us. He enters me in one swift thrust, stretching and filling me.

A strangled cry escapes my throat. The spell has made me hyperaware of every sensation, magnifying it a thousand times. I feel the ridges and heat of him inside me, the scrape of the wet stone against my back, the hot burn of energy in the air.

Overwhelmed, I cling to him, nails digging into his shoulders. He begins to move, slowly at first before gaining speed and force. Each stroke sends a shock through me, as if electrified. His body gluing to mine, his groin rubs into my clit. My eyes stay open, my brain struggling to accept the immenseness of my arousal. Darkwood is plunging in and out of me, groaning in my face as he stimulates my clit.

But stimulating? No. That’s not it.

He’s setting me on fire.

The storm rages above, wind and rain lashing at our bare skin. But I am only aware of him, of the relentless, punishing rhythm that drives me ever closer to the edge.

Suddenly, he rises, lifting his head. “I’m sorry,” he says.

I lift my own. “For wha—”

But I never get the word out. The whole world goes white, an intense, impossible heat following. I’m momentarily blinded and deafened—stripped of sight and sound. My entire body goes stiff, a searing pain starting in my legs and making its way upwards until the pain is pure and sickening.

I go to scream, but my jaw is locked in place. Whatever heart I had, it’s been burnt to a crisp. I’m sure of it.

But when I open my eyes, when my heartbeat finally kicks back into motion and my lungs do what they’re supposed to, I see Damien smiling.

And the power…

Holy fucking hell.

The power is incredible.

“How am I not dead?” I whimper.

Darkwood reaches down, pushing a wet tendril of hair from my eyes. “The spell. Each strike will only add to your power.”

The thought of taking another hit like that fills me with a sick dread, but there’s a deeper longing for it—a desperation.

I claw into his back. “Again.”

“Not so soon.”

I press harder into his flesh. “I can take it.”

He speaks again.

This time I see it—the bolt of lightning as it drives down to us, the blinding column of it before it strikes.

The pain is indescribable. It’s a solid, churning, molten core of fire and heat that goes to the very center of my body. A pulsing, throbbing web of pure pain funnels out. It’s like being on fire from the inside out.

It’s like I’m being burned alive.

I will it to end, the pain all I know, but it slowly filters away until all that’s left is a lingering discomfort. In its wake the shadows return energized, more powerful than ever.

Darkwood growls, lips pressed to my ear. His thrusts become savage, nearly unbearable. "Do you feel it, little lamb?”

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