Page 76 of The Madness Within

She leaned back slightly, her voice a whisper. “Maybe I’m starting to.”

I pushed the shirt off her shoulders, my hands roaming her body like I was learning her all over again. She moaned when my mouth found the curve of her breast, when my fingers slid between her legs and found her already soaked for me.

“You want me?” I asked, voice low, dark with reverence.

She nodded, biting her lip. “I wantus. Even if I shouldn't.”

That was all it took. I lifted her slightly, unbuckling my pants and guiding myself into her in one slow, deep thrust.

She gasped, arms tightening around my neck, her forehead pressed to mine as I moved inside her.

The rhythm was unhurried, sensual, every motion a promise that I wasn’t just taking, I was giving. Letting her feel every ounce of control shethoughtshe was losing.

“Dorian,” she whispered, “I think… something’s happening to me.”

“It’s supposed to,” I murmured, brushing my lips over hers. “You’re unlocking what’s been buried. You’re not breaking, Ember. You’re becoming.”

Her magic pulsed under her skin, wild and raw, a silver glow faintly humming at her collarbone. I trailed my fingers overit, slowly, reverently. She wasn’t just beautiful right now. She’s transcendent.

And she’s mine.

She arched up, mouth parting as I sank into her one last time. Her hands gripped my back, pulling me closer, whispering something against my lips I couldn’t even hear. But I felt it.

We moved together, not frantic this time, but slow. Deep. Intentional.

Like we were trying to memorize each other with every thrust.

I kissed her neck, her chest, her mouth. I murmured her name like a vow and she breathed mine like a confession.

And when she came, it was soft. Shattering. Her body arched, magic flaring. I followed with a groan, holding her close as I spilled into her, lost in everything we had become.

Afterward, I didn’t leave her.

I stayed tangled in her, my hand cradling her bare waist as she curled into me, cheek pressed to my chest. Her heartbeat slowed in sync with mine.

She should’ve pulled away by now.

But she didn’t.

And that alone told me she’s slipping. Not into fear. But intous.

“I shouldn’t want this,” she whispered, eyes closed.

“But you do,” I murmured against her hair.

She didn’t deny it.

She just exhaled softly and drifted off to sleep in my arms.

And for once… I let her go first.

Ember

The moment sleep took me, the world around me changed.

I was no longer in Dorian’s arms. No longer warm, or safe.

I was standing in a place that felt both infinite and enclosed, like a void filled with whispers I couldn’t quite hear.

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