Page 29 of Wicked Beasts
I swallow hard, trying to maintain my composure in the face of his brazen advance. His touch sends shivers rippling throughout my body. “I…I didn’t expect to see you here,” I stammer.
A sly smile plays across his lips as he circles me, his eyes devouring every inch of me. “Expectations are such tedious things, aren’t they? Life is much more exciting when we surrender to the unexpected.” He stops behind me, his breath a sultry whisper, evoking a delicious frisson of fear and excitement. “Doyou dream of me?”
I turn to face him, meeting his intense gaze with a defiant lift of my chin as I seek to maintain my composure. “Why do you care about my dreams?” I ask, my voice steady despite the rapid beating of my heart. “Do you enjoy tormenting me with your cryptic remarks and untimely visits?”
His eyes flicker with carnal amusement at my challenge. “Tormentingyou? On the contrary, I find your reactions quite…stimulating.” He draws nearer, his lips brushing softly againstmy temple. “Perhaps I simply can’t resist the temptation of your company, even in the dead of night.”
I inhale sharply, my skin tingling from his proximity.
“And what exactly do you want from me?”
He chuckles lowly in his throat. “Oh, Miss Rose, where do I even begin? You see, you made an impression, the way yourespondedto my touch the other night…” He trails off, letting his words hang in the charged air between us.
My eyes widen at his accusation, a mix of apprehension and curiosity etching itself onto my face. “Responded? I did no such… I can’t imagine I left any sort of impression onyou.”
“Why not? Because you think you seem so…wholesome?” He steps closer, backing me against the edge of the desk. “Well, I bet you aren’t.” My breath catches as he crowds me, his large frame enveloping my smaller one. His words send a surprising thrill through me as his lips graze the shell of my ear. “I think you have a darker side, hidden beneath this prim and proper exterior. A side that craves…me.”
“Oh? And what makes you think that?” I manage to ask, my voice barely audible over the pounding of my heart as I swallow hard. My mind races, dizzy with his implications.
He crosses his arms over his buff chest as he takes a step back and studies me. There’s a certain primal fascination in his gaze, as if he’s peeling back layers of my personality one by one.
“I can read people.” His voice remains velvety rich, stepping closer once more until he’s mere inches from me. “Besides, there’s something about you…something delicate but erotic. It’s intoxicating.” He brushes a stray lock of hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear before tracing the curve of my earlobe with his thumb. His touch is gentle yet possessive, claiming me as if I am his alone. “So tell me, little rose…are you breakable?”
I shiver at his intimate touch, my thoughts spiraling. A part of me longs to deny it, to assert I am not the sort to be seduced bysomeone like him. Yet, another part of me is irresistibly drawn to the danger and sensual thrill he embodies.
“I…I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I stammer, unable to tear my gaze away from his hypnotic stare. Dr. Shadow’s smirk curves like a dark crescent moon, his gaze piercing through my denial with ease.
“Liar,” he whispers, his fingers gliding along the curve of my throat. “Your body tells a different story. Your pulse races whenever I touch you, your breath hitching in anticipation. I excite you. I cansmellit.” He leans down towards me, his lips tantalizingly near mine, his voice a husky whisper that sends chills down my spine. “And do you know what excites me? The thought of corrupting you. Of breaking you, of making youmine.” He turns his head, and I gasp as his breath caresses my ear. “Do you want to be corrupted?” His words are a seductive tempest, both terrifying and exhilarating, igniting a flicker of desire that threatens to consume me, a desire I didn’t even know I had.
“N—no,” I mutter, my voice barely a breath, even as my body unwittingly leans closer. “I’m not… I couldn’t…” Yet, as Dr. Shadow’s fingers wander down my arm, I find myself yielding to his touch, craving more. A soft, amused chuckle rumbles from him, savoring the conflict within me as my body ignores my attempts at resistance.
“Oh, but you could.” He maintains that low rasp, his hand sliding up my thigh beneath the hem of my skirt. “And I intend to show you just how easily you can succumb.” He leans in and presses his lips against my neck, leaving a trail of sensual markings as he traps me against the bookcase.
I moan softly as his lips blaze a path of fire across my throat, his hand sliding higher up my leg, his fingers dancing along the edge of my panties. I want to sink into this warm, luxurious ocean of desire like never before. It’s not that my previousboyfriends couldn’t exactly do it for me—they could. Sometimes. But now, I feel a new hunger awakening in my body, and it craves satisfaction. My mind is awhirl with conflicting emotions—fear, arousal, shame, and a twisted sense of excitement.
“This…this isn’t right,” I whimper even as I arch into his touch, seeking more. “We can’t… I shouldn’t…” But my protests are feeble, my body moving of its own accord as I grab his muscular shoulders, my fingers running up into his dark hair as his lips continue to explore my neck. I’m torn between the rational part of me screaming for me to stop and the primal urge to give in to the dark, forbidden pleasure he offers.
“Why?” he rasps, his breath hot against my skin. “Worried what perfectTristanmight think of his naughty little assistant?”
His words hit a nerve, and my breath hitches as his teeth graze my neck, adding fuel to the burning desire coursing through me. WhatwouldTristan think? Even after his coldness, he maintains his own power over me—but Dr. Shadow has a dark allure of his own.
“Don’t worry,” he assures, as if to sense my hesitation. “We can keep this dirty little secret between us.” His fingers slip beneath my panties, and I gasp as he strokes my clit, my hips bucking hungrily against his touch. Rational thought flees as he works me skillfully, stroking and circling, building the tension within me to unbearable heights.
I hiss through clenched teeth, all thoughts of Tristan fleeing my mind as I lose myself in the sensations Dr. Shadow elicits. “Just… Oh, my God…Please…” I beg shamelessly, grinding against his hand. He pumps his fingers in and out of me, my desperate pleas mingled with moans probably music to his ears as he works his fingers harder and faster, driving me to the brink of ecstasy.
“Well, look at you,” he growls appreciatively, nipping at my earlobe. “So eager… I knew you had it in you.” He curls hisfingers inside me, as if beckoning. “Come for me, Miss Rose,” he demands, his voice rough with arousal.
My entire body seizes as his fingers finally cast me over the edge, waves of pleasure crashing over me in relentless succession. I moan his name, my nails digging into his shoulders. My hips jerk erratically as I convulse around his fingers, wave after wave of euphoria washing over me. In that moment, nothing exists except the blissful agony of my orgasm and the dark, commanding presence of Dr. Shadow.
He watches with rapt attention as I come undone, my body trembling with the force of my release. As the last tremors of my orgasm subside, he slowly withdraws his fingers, bringing them to his lips to taste me. My face flushes with embarrassment.
What have I done?
Twenty-Four
Icollapse against the bookcase, my breath coming in ragged pants as I try to regain my composure. My body still thrums with aftershocks of my pleasure, my thighs trembling.
“Wh-what now?” I pant, wiping the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand. “You won’t tell him…right? You…you said you’ll keep this a secret?”
