CHAPTER 98: CHAPTER 98 BURNING DESIRE

CONTENT WARNING: This Chapter contains explicit content. For mature readers (18+) only.

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Damon growled in the nook of my neck, his breath hot against my skin as his fangs grazed the curve where my shoulder met my throat. A strangled sound escaped me, half a whimper, and half a plea. I was trembling, not from fear, but from the overwhelming sensation building inside me. I could feel his restraint crumbling, and that knowledge only made my body burn more.

But just when I thought he would lose control, he froze, as if he had become a statue.

His breath hitched. Then, slowly, he pulled away.

"No," I whispered desperately, trying to keep him close. My legs tightened around his waist, my body refused to let go of the heat of his closeness.

A deep, guttural growl rumbled from his chest. His hands gripped my hips, he didn’t make any movements, he just held me there...wrestling with himself. And then, in one swift motion, he flipped me around and pinned me down against the cold marble of the tub.

The water splashed violently around us.

I gasped at the sudden chill. The shock of it clashed with the fire burning in my core. I writhed beneath him, my hips moving on instinct. I rubbed myself shamelessly against the hard bulge at his groin, and a moan slipped from my lips before I could stop it.

But just when I thought he would give in, his hands slipped away. He pulled back again.

I cried out at the loss, tears pricking at my eyes. "No... please... please don’t stop," I sobbed, my voice hoarse with desperation. "It’s torture... I’m burning. I can’t take it anymore."

The room blurred, my body shaking with a mix of cold and heat. The ache between my thighs was too much. ’I can’t believe I’m the one begging for a man’s touch.’

"I’m begging you. Please... take me. I’ll do anything."

Damon didn’t respond to me. His teeth clenched tightly. And his eyes darkened.

Then, without a word, he gripped my arms and submerged me under the icy water.

The cold stunned every nerve in my body. For a moment, it was like being snapped awake from a fever dream. My lungs screamed for air, my arms flailed, but he held me down, just long enough to make me panic.

Then he yanked me back up.

I coughed, choking as I gasped for breath. Water streamed down my face, clinging to my lashes and lips. My hair stuck to my skin, and I was shivering, soaked to the bone. But the heat inside me? It still hadn’t faded.

"Why?" I gasped, clutching my chest. "Why did you do that?"

He didn’t answer. I didn’t know what his expression was right now, as I was backing him. My legs had weakened from the sensation that was burning through them. I dropped into the water. My head resting on the edge of the tub.

Getting submerged in the water was a bad idea. It had helped clear my thoughts a little bit, even though the urge hadn’t gone away.

My body shivered, as I felt a burning stare on my back.

Damon’s brows furrowed, and slowly, almost carefully, he reached out and brushed my wet hair aside. He inhaled sharply.

"What...?" I whispered, still trying to catch my breath.

There was a strange tension in the air. His fingers hovered over my skin, then gently touched the spot just above my spine.

I stiffened at the contact. ’Oh no.’ The urge burning through disappeared as it was replaced by fear. ’He has seen it... Ember prepare for your death.’ I cried inwardly.

He rubbed the spot, once, then again, and then harder this time. But the mark didn’t vanish. It remained, stubborn and glowing faintly beneath the water droplets.

His jaw clenched. "What is this?" his voice lowered, sending shivers down my spine.

I turned slightly, looking confused. "What do you mean?"

He didn’t answer. He stared harder, his eyes narrowing, as if he was doubting himself that he had seen wrong.

Then, suddenly, he moved. He grabbed my shoulders and turned me around so we were face to face. His forehead creased with tension, his lips parted as if he were about to say something, then stopped.

His voice dropped. "Where did you get that mark?"

"I don’t know," I stammered, blinking Innocently. "What mark?"

His grip tightened, he pulled closer, so close that his face was only inches away from mine. "Don’t lie to me."

"I swear!" I cried, clutching at his arms. "I’ve never seen any mark. I didn’t even know it was there."

’If I say I never saw it... then I never did.’

His eyes searched mine like he was looking for a lie hidden deep in my soul.

Then something shifted in him.

The raw anger in his face melted into something else... something strange. A mixture of confusion, recognition and hope. But it flickered through his face that I almost missed it.

"Tell me the truth," he said again, but this time his voice cracked. There was no dominance in it now, just a quiet desperation.

"If I knew... I’d tell you," I said softly, tears welling in my eyes.

He released me slowly, his grip loosening as if his strength had left him.

His hand rose to cradle the side of my face. His thumb brushed over my cheek. Then, after a moment of silence, he lowered his forehead until it touched mine.

"The mark is exactly like the shape of the locket... the one that got stolen," he whispered.

My heart dropped. "Really, but why is it on me?"

He parted his lips to answer, but no sound came out.

As if he was holding back important information.

I could feel the tremble in his body, like he had just glimpsed a ghost from his past and wasn’t sure if it was real or not. His hand moved from my cheek to the back of my neck, his thumb brushing my skin.

"You don’t understand what this means," he murmured.

"Then tell me." I looked up at him. I really wanted to know why I had a mark that looked exactly like the locket he had shared with someone special to him.

But he didn’t utter a word.

He pulled me into his chest instead. His arms wrapped around me tightly, and protectively. The fire between my legs still burned, but my mind was spinning now, no longer with desire, but questions.

’What was that mark? Why did it scare him? And why did I feel like my entire life had just changed?’