Page 106 of Goldflame
“What are you thinking?” he asks, his thumb tracing circles against my palm.
“That I’ve never felt so… aligned. Like all the splintered pieces of myself finally make sense.”
His eyes darken with understanding. “I know exactly what you mean.”
We slip into the house through a side entrance to avoid any late-night encounters with Lorenzo or the staff. The hallway is dimly lit as we make our way toward my room.
The adrenaline from earlier hasn’t fully gone away. It pulses through my veins, making me hyper aware of Adrian’s closeness, of the blood drying on our skin andthe shared secret binding us more intimately than any vow ever could.
At my door, we both hesitate. I should be exhausted, but I feel more alive than I have in months—years, even. Adrian seems to vibrate with the same energy, his usual control replaced by something wild.
“We make a good team,” I say, leaning against the doorframe.
“We always did. I just never let myself show you.”
I feel his confession as an ache in my chest. All those years wasted pretending to be something we weren’t.
“No more holding back,” I tell him.
His eyes drop to my lips, then back up. “No more holding back.”
I reach up, trailing my fingers along the dried blood on his jaw. “I never knew it could feel like this. Working together. Being honest. Seeing the real you.”
“And do you like what you see?” There’s vulnerability in the question—a hint of the boy who grew up believing he needed to hide his true self to survive.
“I love what I see. I love all of it.”
Something shifts in his expression—hunger replacing hesitation. Before I can understand the change, his lips are on mine, urgent and demanding. Heat explodes between us, his hands tangling in my hair as he pushes me into the bedroom.
We crash into a dresser, then my back slams against a wall. I gasp into his mouth as the impact sends a jolt of pain laced with pleasure straight to my core. Adrian’s fingers are already on my skin, yanking my blouse down over my shoulders. Torn fabric hangs uselessly from mywaist as he pulls me to him again, and I savor the feel of blood and sweat slicking between us.
I let out a low, breathless laugh at the mess we’re making, at how desperate we are for each other despite—or because of—the grime and chaos. “Animal,” I tease against his lips as he lifts me, wrapping my legs around his waist.
He bites down on my lower lip, the sting making me arch into him. “You like it.” He shoves me back against the wall with a growl, grinding his cock hard against my center. “Don’t pretend you don’t.”
He’s right—god, is he right—and I can’t control the way my body responds to him. My fingers fumble with the buttons of his shirt but I can’t grasp them. I finally give up and tear the shirt open instead. The sound of buttons scattering across the floor is drowned out by his low groan as I rake my nails down his chest.
His skin is flushed beneath smears of red; his muscles tense and alive under my touch. He’s beautiful like this—disheveled and raw, every bit as wild as I feel—and I can’t get enough of it. Enough of him.
“Don’t hold back,” I remind him. He answers with a low rumble.
His hands then find their way under my skirt, pushing it up over my hips to expose my panties. He makes quick work of those, tearing the fabric as I fumble with his pants zipper. His cock springs free and finally there’s nothing between us but heat and urgency. He lowers his mouth to my neck, teeth grazing over my pulse in a way that makes me shiver and gasp his name.
“Please,” I say, not caring how desperate it sounds. Idon’t care about anything except this moment and him and the fire raging through me.
He answers by thrusting into me hard enough to drive all thought from my mind—a rough claiming that feels like freedom—and I cry out at the perfect violence of it. I cling to him, nails digging into his back as he fucks me with a force that leaves me breathless.
We’re brutal together—merciless in our need—as fierce in this as we were in killing.
He pins me hard against the wall with each thrust; our breaths come ragged and unrestrained between gasps and curses.
It doesn’t take long until he has me screaming, everything inside me exploding in a wave that consumes me completely.
But his little smirk tells me he’s far from done.
He pulls out of me and sets me down on my wobbly legs. His eyes glint with unspoken command as he steps back. For a moment, I can’t help but sway, my body still humming with the aftershocks of what we’ve just done.
“Take off the rest of your clothes,” he says.
