Page 38 of An Empress of Earth & Darkness

Pulling her against his chest and forcing her to wrap her legs around him, Emara didn’t have time to breathe before his mouth landed on hers again, hot and searing. He moved gracefully towards the bed, and before she could find time to kiss him back, he had her on her back.

Torin was over her then, moving her hair from her face as he placed himself between her legs and let one lazy thrust roll his hips. “Tell me you are mine.”

“You know I am.”

He moved back, placing a finger on the bundle of nerves between her thighs. Already, she was about to cave under his touch. “Tell me.”

“I am yours.”

“Say it again when I am inside you.” He slid one finger inside her and then two, wasting no time. Sparkling orbs formed in her vision as he stretched her.

Through staggered breaths and a moan, she managed to say, “I am yours.”

“You are so ready for me.” He withdrew his fingers and placed all of his hardness against her centre. He moved his hips, circling and rubbing, driving her wild.

Always teasing.

“You are going to tell me you are mine when my cock is inside you, and I am going to hear only my name from your lips when you release. Do you understand, angel?”

“Yes,” she pleaded, not knowing if she had whispered it, shouted it, or even sang it.

He pushed himself into her, and she took a breath, finding his neck and broad shoulders to grab onto. Every solid, thick, long inch of him filled her, and a gasp left her mouth. Both delight and an unusual stretching mixed together beautifully, causing a moan to slip past her lips.

He moved slowly enough at first as she got used to him, but as his mouth landed on hers, the pace of his thrusts picked up.

Emara couldn’t think of anything else as he moved inside her. Nothing else mattered. Only this. Them.

“Say it.”

“Torin, I am yours.”

“And I am yours,” he said as the love between them became wild and untamed.

He grabbed the back of her head, pulling her hair back, and a moan escaped her throat as he pounded inside her. Her eyes closed as he slammed his mouth to her neck and sucked. In that moment, Emara could have sworn she saw a whole other galaxy above her as the pleasure morphed into something more, something unexplainable.

She could have cursed, could have prayed, could have roared, as the pleasure of Torin Blacksteel’s strokes hit her core endlessly. She lifted her hips to roll into his movements, and a groan from his throat made it clear that he liked it. Loved it. The way he bit into his lip also suggested that he was fighting the pleasure of release.

His fingers untangled from her hair for a sweet moment and made their way across her skin to her peaked flesh. He took one of her nipples into his mouth, still not missing a stride. Her head fell back against the pillows as she continued to meet his thrusts, each one building to something momentous.

As she dragged her nails across his skin, he hissed, but that only seemed to encourage his wicked tongue to flick her nipple quicker.

They were on the verge of ecstasy. It was dark and it was raw and it was invigorating.

He lifted her other leg, wrapping it around his back, lifting her ass from the mattress as he rolled his hips against her.

A swirling, coiling tension rose from her body, and Emara felt it from her neck all the way to her toes. She had felt this sensation before, but she could feel the power in this climax. So much more power. So much more pleasure.

As Torin slammed into her again, her release broke, fluttering all the way through every morsel of her being, pushing her senses out of her body and her heart out of her chest. She cried out his name again, and as she did, a tingling spread over her spine. Arching her back, she called out something intangible and her muscles went weak. Emara heard a change in Torin’s breathing, his movements altering as he chased his release, finding the pleasure of hers all too much.

A moan ripped from his throat and his body ceased, every Gods-carved muscle tightening and then releasing. He only just stopped himself from collapsing on top of her. They both took a deep breath before their gazes met once again.

He leaned down, placing his strong nose to hers, and kissed her lips, making her heart flutter in a different way. Her stomach rolled and flipped.

How could he be so strong and wild in one moment and so careful and gentle in the next?

For a few moments, they both lay together as he curled up beside her, their hands and legs intertwining.

“I promise, Emara”—his voice came out broken and low—“I will protect you and your heart until this world dissolves into nothing and we are not anything more than lost stars in the universe. I can’t lose you again. Not for any man or any oath.”

---