Page 261 of The Ascended
"Please what?" he taunted, echoing my earlier challenge. "Tell me what you need."
"I need you inside me," I gasped, pride abandoned in the face of desperate desire. "I need you to fuck me. Hard."
One hand gripped my hip firmly while the other slid around to trace teasing patterns across my stomach, gradually moving lower. I trembled with anticipation, my knuckles white as I gripped the ladder rungs.
"I've thought about taking you like this," he murmured, his lips brushing against my shoulder.
I could feel him positioning himself behind me. The sensation sent waves of anticipation through my body. When he finally began to push his cock inside me, the size drew a gasp from my lips.
I arched my back, pressing against him, silently urging him to move faster, to take more. His response was a nip at the junction of my neck and shoulder.
"Patience," he warned, though his voice was strained. "I want to feel every inch of you."
When he was fully seated, he paused, his chest pressed against my back, his breath ragged against my ear. For a moment, we remained perfectly still, joined completely, the sensation almost overwhelming.
He pulled back before slamming forward, setting a rhythm that started achingly slow but gradually increased in intensity. Each thrust drove me against the ladder, the wooden rungs pressing into my palms.
"Fuck," he groaned, one hand sliding up to cup my breast, the other still gripping my hip with bruising force.
His pace quickened, each movement becoming more forceful. The sound of our bodies meeting filled the room, punctuated by my gasps and his occasional growls of pleasure.
"More," I begged, pushing back against him. "Harder."
Something seemed to snap within him at my demand. His hand left my breast to tangle in my hair, pulling my head back so he could speak directly into my ear.
"Harder, starling? As if I hadn’t already planned on marking you so thoroughly that every god in every realm would know you belong to me." He slowed, hesitating before slamming back into me. "Leaving my handprints on your thighs, making sure you carry the evidence of my claim on your body."
His words sent a shudder through me. He noticed, of course—those eyes missed nothing.
"You like that idea, don't you?" His voice turned mocking, cruel. "The thought of being marked, owned, used by me?"
"Yes," I gasped, the single word barely coherent as pleasure built within me. "Gods, yes."
“Remind me again who you belong to?” He released my hair to grip both my hips, using the leverage to drive into me with renewed intensity. The change in angle had me seeing stars, each thrust hitting a spot deep inside that sent shockwaves of pleasure through my body.
"You," I gasped, clinging to the ladder as pleasure built to analmost unbearable peak. "I'm yours, Xül. Only yours."
"And I'm yours," he growled. "Every part of me belongs to you, Thais. My body, my heart, my fucking soul—it's all yours."
His crude sincerity, coupled with the relentless rhythm of his body against mine, sent me crashing over the edge. I cried out his name as waves of ecstasy tore through me, barely aware of his own release following moments later, his grip tightening as he emptied himself inside me.
For long moments afterward, we remained locked together, his forehead pressed against my shoulder as we fought to catch our breath. My legs trembled uncontrollably, the ladder now the only thing keeping me upright. His arms wrapped around my waist, supporting me as my strength failed.
When he finally moved, it was to turn me in his embrace. His fingers traced my cheek. Gentle. So gentle now.
He studied my face for a moment before sweeping me into his arms without warning. I let out a startled laugh, instinctively wrapping my arms around his neck.
"What are you doing?" I asked as he started walking.
"Taking you to bed," he replied, kicking the door open with his foot. "Did you think we were finished?"
The path through the darkened corridor was familiar to him, even with the minimal light. His chambers emerged before us, moonlight streaming through the tall windows.
He set me down on the massive bed, but instead of joining me, he stood for a moment, just looking at me with an expression that made my heart race.
"What?" I asked, suddenly self-conscious under his intense gaze.
"I'm committing this to memory," he said quietly.
