Dorian’s finger hooked into the waistband of her underwear and pulled, the fabric sliding down her thighs, over her knees, off her ankles. He tossed the scrap of grey cotton aside without looking, his storm-grey eyes locked on hers, a physical weight pinning her to the silk.
His hand slid between her thighs. His palm was hot, rough. He found her soaked, slick heat already gathering, and a raw, possessive sound tore from his throat—a low, shattered groan that had nothing to do with protocol.
“Mine.”
The word wasn’t a command. It was a breath, an awed confession against her skin as he lowered his head, his lips brushing the inside of her knee. His thumb circled her, once, a slow, deliberate press that made her hips jerk off the bed.
She gasped, the sound thin and broken in the quiet room. Her hands fisted in the sheets. The chemical haze that had muted her for years was gone, burned away, leaving every nerve exposed, screaming. She was all raw want, a live wire sparking where he touched.
He moved over her, settling his weight between her legs. The thick head of his cock pressed against her, not entering, just resting there where she ached most—a blunt, impossible promise. He braced himself on his forearms, caging her face, his breath mingling with hers.
His eyes held hers. The weary intelligence was gone, replaced by a storm of something darker, final. A devastating surrender.
“I’m going to ruin you now.”
His voice was gravel, a vow. Sera arched up, a silent offering, her throat bared to him. Her pale skin flushed, a traitorous bloom of heat across her chest. The severe braid had come partly undone, dark strands sticking to her damp temple.
He didn’t kiss her. He watched her face as he pushed inside, one slow, inexorable inch. The stretch was a bright, shocking fullness. Her mouth fell open on a soundless cry, her grey eyes wide, fixed on his.
He stopped, buried to the hilt, his body trembling with the effort of holding still. A bead of sweat traced the severe line of his jaw, fell onto her collarbone. “Look at me,” he murmured, the command soft, frayed at the edges. “Don’t look away.”
She couldn’t have if she tried. The bond was a golden thread pulled taut, vibrating with the feel of him inside her, the scent of ozone and his skin, the ragged sound of his breathing. It was everywhere, in everything. It was him.
He began to move.
Slow. Deep. A withdrawal that left her hollow, a return that filled her completely. His rhythm was deliberate, a measured claim, each stroke pressing him deeper, closer to something she couldn't name. The silk beneath her was cool and slick, the heat of him a furnace above, and she was caught between—sensation and sensation, no room for thought.
Her hands unclenched from the sheets, found his shoulders. The muscle there was corded, trembling with the effort of restraint. She dug her fingers in, not to stop him, not to guide him, just to hold on. To something solid while the world dissolved around her.
His forehead dropped to hers. His breath came ragged, hot against her lips. "Sera." Her name, not a word, a prayer broken from his chest. He said it again, softer, like he couldn't stop himself. Like he needed to taste it.
She answered without words. Her legs lifted, wrapped around his waist, drawing him deeper. The angle shifted, and a sound escaped her—not a gasp, not a cry, something in between, raw and involuntary. Her nails raked down his back, leaving red lines on his olive skin.
He groaned, a low, shattered sound, and his rhythm faltered. His hips pressed harder, deeper, a moment of abandon before he caught himself. His jaw tightened. The vein in his temple pulsed. He was fighting something—the urge to take, to claim, to consume her whole.
"Don't," she whispered. Her voice was thin, broken, but clear. "Don't hold back."
His eyes met hers. Storm-grey, dark with something ancient and desperate. The bond between them hummed, a golden thread pulled taut, vibrating with every heartbeat, every breath, every inch of him inside her. He searched her face, looking for doubt, for fear, for the lie.
She found nothing but truth to give him.
His control shattered.