Page 41 of A Petal in the Crown

"Let go," he rasped. As his shadows reached her breast, whisper soft against her skin, Lea leaned her head back. Gray’s chest warmed at the crack in her armor, and he reached a hand around her back, undoing the laces of her dress. It fell to the floor as he lifted her, his hands cupping her ass as he carried her toward the wall. His shadows never stopped, pinching and brushing and teasing relentlessly.

Lea's darkness radiated outward, the black fire now behind them growing and spreading toward them, but he wasn't worried. Lea would never let him be harmed. She would rather die than allow him to be injured. Subconsciously, her magic would protect him, just as his would for her.

He pressed her back against the rock wall, her breath coming out in short, shallow spurts as he claimed her mouth. His hands found her breasts, and she arched against him as his thumbs rolled across her nipples. Gray stepped back, removing his shirt before leaning down and replacing his fingers with his tongue. Lea gasped, but still, Gray could feel her reserve. She was holding back, the shadows and fire streaming from her body only a whisper of what she was capable of.

"Let go," he said again. Dropping to his knees, he pinned Lea’s arms above her head with long trails of darkness, holding her in place as he pulled her leg over his shoulder. He wasted no time. There was no teasing, no gentle touches. He simply devoured her, his tongue circling in an unrelenting rhythm as he pressed two fingers inside her. She fought against his restraints, but he held them firm.

"More," she begged. And he listened, the shadows squeezing her breasts, caressing between her thighs as his tongue and fingers continued their assault. Her body went rigid, her back arching as she began to cry out, and as quickly as he had started, Gray pulled back, her orgasm dying off abruptly.

It nearly killed him to do it, to step away and remove his touch in every way but the shadows still pinning her in place. But this release… It wasn’t the one she needed. He just had to get her to a place where she could no longer hold back. Lea’s eyes darkened with anger as she opened her mouth, panting, gasping for air. She started to speak, but Gray cut her off.

"Let go," he said again. An order. A command. His voice was nothing but a growl, far darker and more controlling than he’d ever spoken to her. But shehadto listen,hadto release some of her magic or she was going to explode. For all Gray knew, it would kill her if she didn’t. Kill other people. He slowly stepped forward, rising to stand as he slid his hands up her body. She arched into his touch, his hands gliding up until they once again found her nipples. He rolled them between his thumb and finger, pinching, squeezing as his shadows began teasing between her legs again. Gradually building her back up into a haze of pleasure.

He lifted her, moving her to a boulder-like rock nearby and laying her backward as if on a table, her legs hanging down. Once again, he pinned her down, teasing, and brushing and pinching until she was begging for more.

"I need…"

"I know what you need," Gray said, unbuttoning his pants and pulling his cock free. He was so hard it was painful, but this wasn’t for him. It was for Lea. Always for Lea. "Let go," Gray ordered, lining himself up with her entrance and agonizingly slowly, pressing inside, just a fraction. It was torture. Blinding torment. Not only for Lea, but for Gray. Hisshadows begged him to slam inside, his muscles bunching with the need, but still, he held back.

"I can't," she gasped. "Please, Gray." She tried to wiggle against him, but he kept her pinned down, not allowing her to move even an inch to get some relief from the ache building inside her.

"Youhaveto let go," he said again, pushing in, just another inch. Lea cried out as her back arched, her need growing more desperate.

"Fuck you!" she snarled, her shadows trailing from her flushed body and grabbing his ass, trying to push him further inside. Gray resisted, barely able to overcome the strength with which she pulled. Fire spread from her limbs, across the stone and toward the walls surrounding them, washing them in a flickering, black and orange light. He pushed in deeper, torturously slow, and Lea cried out in a guttural moan of need.

"Please," she begged, pulling on him with her shadows again.

"Let go," Gray whispered this time, his voice nothing but gravel and desperation. Lea wasn’t the only one begging. He needed this just as much as her, but first, she had to let her guard down.

Her words became nonsensical as her need took over. "I can't, I don’t—"

Gray pushed inside her with one hard thrust, hitting the end of her so hard Lea screamed. And that was all it took. Like the crack of thunder, the room exploded in shadows and fire, a deadly mixture of magic—light and dark, crackling together in a lethal display of power.

Gray began to pump, hard and fast, driving Lea further away from the scraps of control she still held.

"Yes!" Lea cried out as she broke free from his shadowy restraints. "Oh gods, Gray! More!" she begged. And Gray was happy to oblige. He tilted her hips, reaching for that spot inside her that drove her mad. There was nothing gentle about the way he fucked her, nothing soft or slow or tender. His touches were bruising, full of nothing but pure desire.Lea dug her fingernails into his back and down his arms, and Gray was certain she was drawing blood. It didn't matter, he would bear those marks like badges of honor. Would refuse to heal them. Hewantedto see the evidence of their lust. Of their bodies’ pure, uncontrollable demand to get closer. Deeper.

Fire flew from Lea's hands as she threw them to the side, grasping at the rocks, trying to find some purchase. Her shadows threaded around his body, grabbing the back of his head and forcing his mouth to her breast. His tongue circled her nipple, biting, sucking as he continued his steady rhythm in and out. In and out.

Lea’s moans built, her body once again going taut , but this time, Gray didn't stop. He fucked her through each wave of her orgasm until she was moaning his name again and again, a puddle in his hands. And once every ounce of pleasure had been wrung from her flaming body, he flipped her over, her breasts pressed against the rough stone as he thrust inside her once more.

He roared as the position allowed him deeper inside her, pleasure unlike anything he’d ever felt before ripping through his body. The fire grew hotter, impossibly so, sweat dripping down his back and from his brow.

"Yes," he growled. "You're so fucking beautiful. So wet for me. I love you. Come for me again. Let me feel you come around my cock. Gods, Lea." Words tumbled from his mouth, praise and adoration and affection mixed with all the dirty thoughts racing through his mind. Gray continued touching and kissing and thrusting until she was so full of him—his cock, his words, his love, his need—that there was no room for that dark, terrifying power inside her anymore.

The cave began to tremble as Lea's fire and shadows grew, and Gray built a shield of shadows above them, as thick as he could make them. Because he was not going to stop. Not until her magic was drained andher body stopped quivering. Lea’s breast scraped against the rough stone as she cried out, a gurgle of nonsensical words and begging.

"Yes! More… Uhhgg. Fuck! Harder!" He pulled her backward, his hand wrapping around the space between her shoulder and neck for more leverage as he pounded into her with everything he had. So deep, he felt every inch of her warmth. Pebbles rained from overhead against his shield, the cave trembling as Lea's fire exploded out with a crash, blindingly hot as she screamed, pushing back against him, a violent orgasm ripping through her. Stalactites severed from the ceiling, but Gray’s shield held, the cave shaking, rocks crashing, but he didn't care. She needed this release, and pride swelled in his chest knowing he was the one to give it to her.

Only once Lea's body went slack did Gray allow himself to still inside her, a growl ripping from his throat as he found his own release. Her name pouring from his lips like the sweetest song. The rumbling beneath their feet faded away, the creaking and groaning of rocks shifting coming to a stop as Lea's fire and shadows diminished.

But not completely. The fire still crackled in her eyes and her darkness swirled above her skin, but finally, Lea didn't seem like she was about to shatter under the pressure of her magic. Finally, she seemed whole again.

He pulled himself out, lifting her gently and carrying her limp, relaxed body to the waterfall. The cool water washed over their skin, beating against his back, and he held her tight as it washed away the tiny bits of rock and dirt stuck to their sweaty skin. Lea lifted her chin, her eyes meeting Gray’s, and she smiled. A small, but real, breathtakingly, beautiful smile.

Gray's heart swelled as she lifted a hand to his cheek. "Thank you," she said, exhaling deeply now that the crushing weight of her primary magic had eased. She laid her head back against his chest, and he rocked her beneaththe water until her breaths grew even and deep, her body spent and her mind finally at rest.

She didn't wake as he dressed her, as he climbed on top of Obsidian with her sleeping body still in his arms. She didn’t wake as Obsidian carried them back toward Auropera, and Gray was grateful. He didn't know how long her relief would last, how quickly that dark magic would build up inside her again, but for now, she was at peace. And Gray would do his best to make sure she stayed that way as long as possible.

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