Page 48 of Every Shade of Shadow

He smiles, slow and predatory. "Spells to ignite passion, strip inhibitions, give and receive exquisite torment. The higher trial delves into the shadows completely, into pain and pleasure, sacrifice…transcendence."

I swallow hard, heat and desire already gathering between my legs. "And at the highest level?"

"Dominion." His breath caresses my ear. I shiver. "Over yourself, your lover—the forces of magic themselves. So I ask again, are you sure you want this?”

Fuck yes, I want this. I want him—the power and pleasure he offers. I want his cock, inside my mouth, my sex…

I want it all.

"Yes." My voice comes out husky, laced with need. "I want it."

"Are you certain, witchling? This path is not for the faint of heart." His hand closes around my throat, thumb stroking my pulse point. I groan at the touch, the promise of pain laced with ecstasy. "The shadows are seductive, but they do not give up their power easily. If you submit to me, there will be no turning back. So, if you are certain, truly certain, say you are mine.”

I grasp his wrist, holding on to it as I stare into the emerald catacombs of his eyes. "I'm yours, Professor." It’s barely a whisper, but the words are there.

A slow, wicked grin splits his lips. "Then let us begin."

He releases me and I sag, body thrumming with anticipation. What have I gotten myself into? But the heat in my core, the slickness between my thighs tells me this is the one step too far I’m happy to take.

“Tonight, we ascend, but first, foreplay.” His voice rolls over me in a dark caress as he begins the incantation. "Luminis Orgasmus, Lux Umbrarum."

"Feel it flow through your body, little lamb. Do not fear it."

And then something quite unexpected happens.

Heat explodes inside me, racing through my veins like liquid fire. I cry out at the intensity, stepping back until I reach the edge of room, my fingers find purchase on a short desk there, knuckles bleached white.

The hell is happening?

Sensations begin to swirl through me as the heat intensifies. I sense pressure over my clit and around my entrance. There’s another sensation, mild—almost featherlike, but it’s deliberate all the same, a welcome contrast to the fire fanning across my sex.

My body gently rocks back and forth, the lips of my sex flowering open to let god knows what in. My pussy clenches with need. The need to be filled. To be owned.

Possessed.

My legs spread wide, and I throw my head back, moans of ecstasy leaving my mouth.

I’m close, to what exactly I don’t know, but I feel it growing, intensifying.

The fire builds, concentrating itself between my legs. It’s like I’m being burnt alive.

I see it, in my mind’s eyes—a young, naked girl bound to a pole, the flames rising fast and licking up her legs, her skin and flesh sloughing free.

I squirm against it, trying to ease the ache and burn, but it only grows more insistent. Dimly I realize I'm panting, chest heaving as a coil of rapture tightens deep within. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen when I reach whatever it is I’m barreling towards.

I am the girl.

I am being burnt alive.

Through the haze of sensation, I'm aware of Darkwood watching me, eyes hot and viridescent. His gaze rakes over me, stripping me bare, and I've never felt so exposed, so delirious with fear and need.

"Let go," he urges in a rough whisper. "Embrace the magic and let it take you."

The girl cries out in anguish, the pain gone but the knowing proximity of death worse.

I don’t want to. I don’t know what this is, but it’s alien and dangerous—dark.

The coil tightens and the burn intensifies further, Darkwood whispering another incantation and the fire suddenly fanning outwards.

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