Page 27 of Devil's Embrace
Something shifted in his expression—a crack in the careful control, a flash of something raw and hungry.Without warning, he moved forward, backing me against the bookshelf a few feet away.My spine pressed against the hard edges of leather-bound volumes, and his body pressed against mine, solid and unyielding.The shelf rocked with the impact, several books tumbling to the floor with heavy thuds.
"You think you can manipulate me?"His hands bracketed my face now, holding me still as his face hovered inches from mine."You think because I've shown mercy to your daughter, I've somehow gone soft?"
"I think there's more humanity in you than you want to admit.And I think you want something from me that has nothing to do with the fact that we witnessed your kill."
His grip tightened, not painfully but possessively."Careful, Emory.You're making assumptions that could get you hurt."
"Am I?"I deliberately rolled my hips against his, feeling the hard evidence of his desire.A calculated move that backfired instantly as heat flooded my body in response."Seems like I'm making the right assumptions."
A muscle ticked in his jaw, his control visibly fraying."This won't change anything.This won't buy your freedom."
"I don't expect it to."The honesty in my words surprised even me."But it might change the terms of our captivity."
With a sound like a snarl, Luca closed the final distance between us, his mouth crashing down on mine with bruising intensity.There was nothing gentle in the kiss—it was a claiming, a battle for dominance.His tongue invaded my mouth without preamble, tasting of whiskey and barely leashed violence.
I should have been repulsed.Should have bitten him, fought him.Instead, I kissed him back with equal ferocity, my hands fisting in his shirt, pulling him closer rather than pushing him away.My body had decided regardless of what my mind wanted, and the heat that coursed through me was as unwelcome as it was undeniable.
More books crashed to the floor as he pressed me harder against the shelves, his hands leaving my face to grip my waist, my hips.I bit his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood, and he groaned against my mouth, the sound vibrating through my chest.
"Is this what you wanted?"he demanded, breaking the kiss to trail his mouth down my neck, teeth scraping against my pulse point."To see if you could make the monster feel?"
"No."I gasped as he bit down where my neck met my shoulder."I wanted to see if I still could."
He pulled back just enough to look at me, surprise flickering across his features before something darker, more primal took its place.With a swift movement that stole my breath, he lifted me, hands gripping the backs of my thighs as he carried me the few steps to his desk.
Papers scattered as he set me down, his hands already working at my clothes.I should have stopped him.Should have remembered why I'd come here—to gain leverage, to find a way out for Mina and me.Instead, my own hands were just as frantic, tearing at buttons, seeking skin beneath expensive fabric.
His shirt gave way under my desperate fingers, buttons popping and rolling across the desk.The sight of his chest, muscled and covered in intricate tattoos, stole what little rational thought I had left.My nails raked down his skin, leaving red trails that made him hiss in pleasure-pain.
"You'll regret this," he warned, even as he pushed my shirt up and over my head, tossing it carelessly aside.
"Probably," I agreed, my Southern drawl thickening with desire."But not right now."
With a single sweep of his arm, he cleared the rest of the desk, sending papers, pens, and his whiskey glass crashing to the floor.The sound of shattering crystal punctuated my gasp as he pushed me back, laying me flat across the polished surface.
His mouth reclaimed mine as his hands made quick work of my jeans, pulling them down and off with an efficiency that should have frightened me.I arched against him, helping rather than hindering, my own hands working at his belt, driven by a need I didn't want to acknowledge.
When he finally entered me, the sensation was overwhelming—painful and perfect all at once.I bit down on his shoulder to muffle my cry, tasting salt and skin as he set a punishing rhythm.There was nothing gentle or loving in our coupling—it was raw, primal, a claiming on both sides.
I matched him thrust for thrust, refusing to be passive even in this.My nails dug into his back, my legs wrapped around his waist, taking him deeper.The desk creaked beneath us, the sound barely registering through the haze of sensation.
"Look at me," he demanded, one hand gripping my chin, forcing my eyes to his."I want to see your face when you come apart."
The intensity in his gaze should have frightened me.Instead, it pushed me closer to the edge, the coil of tension in my belly winding tighter with each thrust.I could feel him stretching me, filling me again and again.I’d never felt anything like it.With every slam of his hips, he brushed against my clit.It was just enough to create a spark that had me biting my lip so I wouldn’t beg him for more.
When release finally came, it crashed over me like a tidal wave, his name torn from my throat in a sound that was part scream, part sob.I couldn’t have held it back if I’d tried.
He followed moments later, his rhythm faltering as he buried his face against my neck, his groan vibrating against my skin.I felt the heat of his cum, and felt a flash of panic as I realized we hadn’t used protection.What if he did this sort of thing all the time?What if I’d just caught something from him?
For a brief, suspended moment, we remained locked together, breathing hard.As the haze of pleasure receded, I became acutely conscious of the cold desk beneath my bare skin, the sting of bite marks on my shoulder, the weight of him still inside me.And beneath it all, the sickening realization that I'd crossed a line I could never uncross.
I'd come to manipulate him, to use his desire against him.Instead, I'd discovered my own weakness, my own forbidden hunger for the man who held us captive.The worst part wasn't that I'd given myself to a monster—it was that even now, with clarity returning, I wasn't sure I regretted it.
Even now, I couldn’t bring myself to ask if he was clean.I should have, but something told me he wouldn’t take my question well.I’d somewhat tamed the savage beast, and I wanted to bask in the moment a little longer.
Without a word, he pulled out, tucked himself back into his boxers, and zipped up his pants.I glanced down and my cheeks flushed when I saw the evidence of what we’d done leaking out onto his desk.Luca smirked as he lifted me off the desk, kissed me hard and deep, then smacked my ass.
“Get your clothes back on.”
