"Embrace it," I encourage. "Stop fighting what you want."
Her moan echoes through the chamber, soft and broken and perfect. The sound resonates off the ceramic tiles, filling the space with her surrender. I can feel her pulse racing where my lips rest against her throat.
The chains keep her exactly where I need her, spread wide and helpless, while I take my time exploring. My hands roam her body, mapping every curve through the clinging silk.
“You feel that?” I press harder against her, letting her feel every inch of my length sliding between her thighs. “That’s what happens when you challenge me. When you think you can outsmart me.”
She whimpers, her hips moving instinctively. The water ripples around us with every movement, the colored lights beneath the surface casting shifting patterns across her skin.
“Please,” she breathes, though I’m not certain what she’s begging for—release or more.
“Please, what, angel?” I bite down gently on her earlobe, savoring the sharp intake of breath it draws from her. “Tell me what you want.”
Her answer comes as a broken moan that sends heat racing through my veins.
I release her hips and swim around to face her, the warm water parting like silk around my body. The chains hold her suspended perfectly, arms spread wide, legs parted, that red silk clinging to every curve.
My fingers sink into her dark hair, collecting a fistful at the base of her skull. Her eyes widen as I yank her head back, exposing the elegant line of her throat above the water’s surface.
“Look at me,” I command, my voice echoing off the chamber walls.
Her hazel eyes meet mine, pupils blown wide with a cocktail of fear and attraction—want she's fighting desperately to deny. The colored lights beneath the water dance across her face, blues and greens swirling in patterns that make her look ethereal and otherworldly.
Beautiful and completely at my mercy.
I crush my mouth to hers without warning, kissing her lips with brutal possession. It’s not gentle, nor tender—pure dominance made manifest. My tongue invades her mouth, tasting the salt of her tears.
She tries to turn away, to break the connection, but my grip on her hair keeps her exactly where I want her. The chains do the rest, holding her body open and available while I plunder her mouth like a conquering army.
When she moans against my lips—a sound of defeatand desire combined—satisfaction floods through me like molten metal. This brilliant, stubborn woman who thought she could expose my secrets is melting in my arms, surrendering to the very darkness she came here to destroy.
I pull back enough to see her face, and watch the way her chest rises and falls with rapid breaths that send small ripples across the water’s surface. The red wrap has shifted, revealing more of her body to my hungry gaze. I use my smart watch to unfasten the restrains around her ankles, before returning my eyes to hers.
“Now,” I murmur against her swollen lips, my hand sliding down to position myself at her entrance. “Now you learn what it really means to belong to a Blackwood.”
This is the moment I take what’s mine. The moment I fuck the woman who thought she could unravel my empire. Every move she’s made since walking into Purgatory has led to this—suspended in my pool, spread wide by my chains, about to be filled by my cock while her screams of ecstasy echo through the chamber I designed.
24
MIRA
The water laps against my skin. Still, nothing compares to the heat radiating from Xavier as he positions himself between my spread thighs. The chains around my wrists hold me suspended, helpless, every nerve ending alive with a sensation I’ve never experienced before.
My mind feels fractured, split between the woman who came here seeking truth and this woman who’s drowning in lust. The fear should be overwhelming—and it is—saturated in arousal so intense I can barely breathe. Every pulse of adrenaline through my veins seems to pool between my legs, making me ache in ways I didn’t know were possible.
I should hate him. This gorgeous, dangerous man has manipulated me. He has turned my investigation into this twisted game where I’m the prize. But as his hard length presses against me through the soaked fabric, logic abandons me completely.
“Please,” the word tears from my throat before I can stop it.
His gray eyes burn into mine, as if with a single glance, he could unravel every secret I’m trying to hide. “Please, what?”
The colored lights beneath the water cast shifting patterns across his face, making him look like some dark god. His grip on my hair sends sparks of pain and pleasure racing down my spine, until I arch against the chains without thinking.
I can no longer form coherent thoughts. There’s only this—the water supporting me and Xavier’s massive presence consuming every sense I have. The sensation of the wet silk, even as little as there is, flows against my skin with the water’s motion. It’s barely noticeable compared to the weight of his gaze.
“I can’t...” I gasp, my hips moving instinctively toward him. “I need...”
The words won’t come. My body knows what it craves, even if my mind rebels against it.
