CHAPTER SEVEN: Ruin Me

Her silence was louder than anything she could have said.

He lifted her with ease, her legs wrapping around his waist, his mouth back on hers, more desperate than before. She gasped as his hands roamed, not gentle, not polite. He was claiming. Possessing. Marking.

And she let him.

She needed it.

The wall was cold at her back, but his body was fire. His mouth moved to her neck, to her collarbone, pulling soft sounds from her lips she had never made before. She felt like she was unraveling, inch by inch, and the only hands holding her together were his.

He paused.

His breath was heavy.

His mouth near her ear.

“I can smell it on you,” he growled. “You dreamed of me.”

Her eyes widened.

“You don’t know what I am, Eden,” he said, voice shaking. “You don’t understand what happens if I lose control.”

She looked straight at him.

“Then lose it.”

Kael carried her across the room like he’d done it a hundred times in his head. His grip was firm on her thighs, but his mouth was soft on hers. Controlled, but only barely.

He set her down on the edge of the couch, but he didn’t pull away.

Instead, he stood between her legs, staring down at her like a man wrecked.

“You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”

“Then show me.”

That was all it took.

Kael dropped to his knees.

Her breath caught as his hands slid up her thighs, pushing his shirt higher on her body until it bunched around her hips. The way he looked at her made her feel bare, even though she was still clothed.

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured again, though his hands were already moving.

“I won’t.”

One hand slid beneath her panties.

She gasped.

He groaned.

“You’re soaked.”

Her cheeks burned, but she didn’t shy away.

He touched her like he’d imagined it over and over again. His fingers explored slowly at first, learning her. Then deeper. He circled her clit until her thighs trembled around him. He pressed kisses to the inside of her knee, watching her fall apart under his touch.

“Eden,” he said her name like it hurt.

“You feel everything,” she whimpered, breath shaking. “I can’t think when you-“

“Good,” he growled. “Then don’t.”

His fingers dipped inside her, just two. His thumb stayed at her clit, never stopping. Her hands shot out, gripping his shoulders, her nails digging in.

She moaned his name.

Loud.

Unashamed.

He kissed her thighs as she shook.

“You’re so tight,” he whispered. “I can barely move inside you.”

“Kael…”

“Not yet,” he said, voice wrecked. “If I take you now, I won’t stop. Not until I’ve marked you from the inside out.”

Her body jerked.

He moved his fingers faster.

Her head fell back, mouth open.

It didn’t take long.

The orgasm slammed into her so fast she cried out. Her body arched, her hips lifted, her breath shattered into pieces.

He kept going until she was too sensitive, until she whimpered and clutched at his wrist.

Only then did he stop.

He pulled his hand away, slow and slick. He looked at his fingers like they were the best sin he’d ever touched.

And then he licked them clean.

“You taste like you were made for me.”

Eden could barely breathe.

But she wasn’t done.

Not yet.

She sat up and reached for his belt.

Kael went still.

“Eden,” he warned, voice strained. “You don’t have to.”

“I want to.”

He watched her, muscles tense, jaw locked, chest rising like he couldn’t take full breaths. She undid the buckle. Unzipped him. Slipped her hand inside.

His head fell back.

“Jesus.”

He was hard. Thick. Hot.

She wrapped her fingers around him and he groaned so deep it shook her to her bones.

“You shouldn’t be this big,” she whispered.

He looked down at her, his eyes darker than she had ever seen.

“And you shouldn’t be touching me like that.”

“But I am.”

She stroked him, slow and curious. His hips twitched. His eyes fluttered closed.

“Faster,” he rasped.

She obeyed.

He braced one hand on the couch above her head, the other sliding into her hair as she worked him in her grip. The control he always wore was gone. In its place was a man unraveling, skin flushed, lips parted.

“You’re going to make me-“

“Then let me.”

He bit down on his lip, trying to hold back, but she didn’t stop. Didn’t slow. She stroked him harder until his whole body tensed.

He came with her name on his lips, his hand fisting her hair as he spilled against her palm.

It was raw. Messy. Addictive.

Neither of them moved for a long moment after that.

Only the sound of their breath filled the room.

Finally, Kael pulled her into his lap, burying his face in her neck.

“You ruin me,” he whispered.

“Then we’re even,” she murmured back. “Because I’m already ruined.”

Kael pulled back just enough to look at her.

His hand slid up her thigh again, slow and knowing, stopping at the edge of where his shirt barely covered her. His voice was low and rough.

“You used your hands,” he said, brushing his thumb over her swollen lips. “Next time… you’ll use your mouth.”

Eden’s breath caught.

His smile wasn’t sweet. It was dark. Possessive. Dangerous.

“And when I take you next…” he leaned in close, his lips brushing her ear, “you’ll be on your knees. Eyes wide. Tongue out. Ready for me.”

Heat flushed down her body.

Kael kissed her jaw, slow and savoring.

“You have no idea the things I want to do to you.”

She didn’t speak. Couldn’t.

But her legs clenched around him, and that was answer enough.