Intense (Beneath Blaze #3)

by Luna Mason

She’s heavier than I expected, and the warmth of her body seeps into my skin. I should be terrified. But instead, I’m captivated.

I’ve always loved snakes. Their silence. Their elegance. The way they move without apology. It’s why I inked one into my skin, coiled in black between my breasts. But loving them from afar and sitting handcuffed in the dark with one draped over me are very different things.

But the longer Nyx moves over her, the more I see her start to give in. Shoulders loosening. Breathing shifting. That subtle surrender when fight or flight finally lets go. She’s feeling what I feel with Nyx.

The calm. The stilling of a racing mind. The way danger can feel like safety when it’s in the right hands.

“Hey, Nyx. You’re kinda heavy around my neck there, girl.”

Nyx’s head tilts, and she rubs her face against Stephanie’s cheek, and fuck, my heart explodes. She doesn’t tighten. She doesn’t coil. She just rests there, peaceful and still. She’s made her judgment. And so have I.

I need a nyx now

She accepted me. And I accepted her.

“I always saw your darkness. That’s what drew me in. Now, it just makes sense. We’re not too dissimilar, Dr. Quinn.”

“There is only goodness in me when you’re inside of me, Finn.”

“Remember who’s around your throat, Stephanie. Remember what she can do. The risk. The pleasure.”

Finn’s fingers stroke over the edge of my panties, dragging the thin fabric against my skin until my breath hitches.

“I can feel your pulse from here,” he murmurs, his mouth hovering over mine. “It’s racing, temptress.” “Maybe I like the risk, or maybe it’s just you,”

“That’s the thing about fear,” he says softly. “It sharpens everything else. Every touch. Every sound. Every taste.”

“But, you haven’t earned her trust yet. So she is still a threat to you; she will be reading my reactions, going off my cues to keep you alive. ”

“Do you want me to stop?”

“No.”

“Good fuckin’ girl.”

And it’s kind of perfect. Walking that line between life and death. Pain and pleasure. Fear and desire.

And then I see it—Stephanie’s eyes flutter closed, her mouth

parting in a sound that isn’t fear. Her body isn’t tense for escape; it’s tense for release. She’s not fighting me. She’s not fighting Nyx. She’s giving herself over to both.

Nyx has judged her, and so have I. She’s mine. Not because she survived this. Not because she passed some fucking test. But because she’s sitting here, cuffed and collared by fate itself, and still choosing me.

And for the first time in my life, I’m not just trusted. I’m seen. I keep exploring her mouth, tasting the surrender in her kiss. Then I drop to my knees.

“You’re going to come on my tongue, love. You’re going to give the last pieces of yourself that you’ve been keeping from me. I want to see you break so I can piece you back together,”

“Finn, she’s getting tighter,” she breathes out.

“Just relax for me, baby. She won’t hurt you, I won’t hurt you,” I tell her.

“Come for me, temptress.”

And she does, bound and crowned in Nyx, and she doesn’t look away. Soaking my face, I drink her in.

And for the first time, I know it with absolute certainty. I’m in love with her. I don’t need scans and tests to know that.

“See? You aren’t a robot. I can feel it right here.” I look up at him. “My heart only beats for one person, love.”

does mine.” He leans down, his lips crashing over mine. I hook my arms around his neck, pulling him closer and closer until there’s no space left. I want him to consume me. Poison me.

“It’s not always a bad thing to put your trust in someone else, Finn,” I whisper against his lips. “Your blind trust nearly killed us both.”

“I trusted your heart would win over your head, that’s all. It’s in there, and it beats for me. This is real, Dr. Quinn. Whether you want to accept it or not. We found each other for a reason. Let me in. Please?”

“Grab one of the metal trays. They have a variety of instruments. You have my permission to do what you want. I’m on trial now. Extract what you can. This is your one and only opportunity, love.”

“Do you think anything you tell me at this point will change how I feel about you? It won’t.” I set the scalpel aside, my hands gripping the arms of the chair as I kiss him hard, taking his mouth like I’m claiming it.

“This is your trial, Dr. Quinn,” I whisper. “And I’m not stopping until you let me in.”

“They had a daughter, who was a year younger than me at school. They lived near us. We used to play out on the road on our bikes together. I started to notice her bruises, and I got inquisitive. So I started going around to their house for dinner. The more time went on, the more I noticed. The more I saw her fear. I felt her pain, and I wanted to take it away from her. So, I went around more and more. They were very kind to me at the start. I thought perhaps I was wrong.”

if I took her place, they wouldn’t hurt her.” “Oh, my god, Finn,”

“It wasn’t just violent. It was everything.” I pause and swallow. “Sexually too. They’d make me watch them, they’d try and involve me. They would beat me if I didn’t comply.”

“I’m here, baby. I always will be. You can do this.” I keep my voice calm.

“Do you still want me now?” I murmur against her skin. She nods against me. “Always. In fact, more than ever.”

“No panties?” he asks. “More for you to rip off me? I’ll end up with none if you carry on.”

“One chance to leave, temptress.” I squeeze his hand tighter. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”

“My wife will live with me. You want this, right?”

“That isn’t how this is going. You’re mine, love.” My heart flutters wildly.

“Does this feel like home?”

“Anywhere you are is now my home, Finn.”

“Already one step ahead of you,” he says with a wink. “Good. Because I’ll need outfits for London.”

“No.” His voice is firm. “No? You’re telling your wife no?” I snap my legs closed, but he growls and yanks them back apart with a sharp tut. “Temptress. I am not taking you into an active warzone to watch me torture a man.”

“I want to watch. I want to see how you work. I want to learn from you.” His hand clamps around my throat. “And it’ll really turn me on,” I whisper. “No. Stephanie. You do not want to see me lik...

“Did I stutter, love? Hit me. Show me you deserve to join me.”