Page 29 of For the Ghastly and Beautiful

“Which one is that?” he asks, his voice a low rumble that crashes into my senses, teasing me with the hidden edge beneath.

I wave my hand over their original maps. “This. It’s set up like each type of attack is an individual issue, but really, they’re connected.”

“We understand that.” He shakes his head. “Or maybe we don’t. It would be best to explain the connection to each of us, so we’re in agreement.”

“What?” I squint at him. “Are we talking about the same thing?”

“Hmm?”

“Talodus?”

He harshly scrubs his hand over his head. “Yes?”

“Whatever you’re thinking about… Can it wait for a minute? I need your undivided attention.”

“You have it.”

“Spiran told me she would cut this shit out.” I sigh, tapping my fingers on the new map I’m making. “Beasts are the blue dots. Shades are the red ones. Tell me what you see.”

“You.”

I prop my hip against the table as I cross my arms and glare at him. “Be serious.”

“It’s not Spiran.” His grin is salacious as he steps closer. “You’ve been bent over this table for hours, Ada.”

Goosebumps ripple across my skin at the deep growl in his voice. Excitement courses through my veins as his gaze physically caresses my body. The pale blue depths of his irises climb to my face, swirling with power as he touches my cheek.

As he leans in, time stills.

But once he takes my mouth, urgency roars through me, evaporating every drop of resistance I might have fought with.

One moment, he’s the strength that keeps me grounded. The next? He’s the sinkhole devouring my entire being.

His rough hand moves from my cheek to my hair, tugging until I’m angled to his liking. There is no battle for dominance with Talodus. He leads and I follow, lust pouring between us too quickly to contain.

I’m feverish and wanton, suffocating with need even as I melt into him.

He leans farther, scooping me up with one hand while shoving the papers aside with the other. His bruising grip on my ass causes me to moan against his lips. He tightens his hold, his fingers denting into my skin as he tests my limits.

Talodus sets me on the edge of the table, and I yank at the end of my skirt so I can wrap my legs around his waist. As the material slides upward, his hands follow to the tops of my thighs.

“Tell me to stop, Ada,” he whispers against my lips.

“No.”

His fingers inch toward my apex as his lips ravage mine. He teases my panty line with the barest of touches before I press closer, giving permission without breaking the kiss.

The pad of his thumbs brush over the thin fabric of my panties. Arousal floods my system, my heart racing with the promise of release. My head tips back, tearing my mouth from his as he dips between my slit.

He groans as he meets my slick core, easing a thumb inside me before swirling it around my clit.

My nails claw at the stone table as I hold myself upright. The ends of my hair tickle my wrists, and my shoulders ‌burn from the position I’ve put my arms in.

But I don’t want to move, to disrupt the cascade of pleasure before it reaches the pentacle.

Talodus works me over as if he is the master of this ocean, and I am but a fragile ship waiting to be crushed beneath his waves. The leftover wreckage won’t ever be the same, though maybe it can be used to build something stronger than before.

He sinks a single finger into me. I breathlessly moan his name as he adds another. My walls flutter as he discovers that deliciously sensitive, hidden spot inside me. Then he adds a third digit, and I gasp at the foreign stretch.