Page 23 of Breaking Briar

Bending low, he shakes his head, tsking at me as if I am a child. “Oh no, my dear innocent. You have yet to see just how monstrous I can be.”

He slides his hands lower to grab my wrists before yanking my arms high above my head. Pinpricks of sensation skitter over my skin. It should hurt. Internally, I know this. Yet, because of the damned blessing, all I feel is pleasure.

It shoots down my body to where Philip and I are joined, making me throb and clench. With each pulse, my body tightens around his, amping up the sensations until I’m nearly delirious. I shake my head and thrash about, wishing to be free from the overwhelming stimulation. But all that does is increase things even more.

Something wet slides down my arms, bringing my attention up to where he holds my wrists aloft. Instead of human nails, talons dig into my skin, bringing blood up to the surface. Even seeing it, I can’t get my brain to register the pain I must be feeling.

Instead of crying out in anguish, the sound is soft and wanton, as if I enjoy him treating me this way. But I don’t. I can’t. I… I… All thoughts flee as he digs in a touch more, smirking at my reactions.

“You like this, my little Briar. Admit it.”

“Never,” I manage to spit out between gasps. “I could never enjoy the actions of an abomination like you.”

Philip rears back as if my words sting him. But that’s impossible. A dragon cannot feel. They can only destroy and conquer. Much like he’s conquering me right now.

“I’ve heard that word far too much today for my liking,” he murmurs, hurt lacing his voice.

It twists my heart. Part of me wishes to reach out and stroke his face, smoothing the agony away. But I can’t. Even if I wanted to, his monstrous hand holds me so tightly I cannot even think of escaping. The only way I can touch him is to rip the flesh away from my bones.

Even though I won’t feel the pain, I cannot allow myself to cause any injury to my body. He seems more than capable of doing that all on his own. Again, I look up to watch in morbid fascination as his nails continue to grow, impaling me in a far different way.

Each gasp is like fire racing through my lungs. I can’t get enough to fill me up completely. Try as I might, each breath only gives me enough to not pass out, but nothing more. My heart pounds as I continue to stare at the vermillion dripping down my arms.

My vision wavers a touch as my mind threatens to take me under. But I can’t. I won’t. I refuse. I’ve been asleep for who knows how long. I can’t let myself escape that way. I must meet this terror head-on.

The glint in his eyes fades as more blood slithers down my skin. It’s almost as if he’s becoming more human. But that’s absurd. If anything, seeing me like this should turn him more into the demon he is, not the opposite.

Soon, the hazel I remember returns, but the talons remain. “My beautiful Briar,” he rasps out. “You will never be free of me. Abomination or not, you are mine.”

My heart flutters at his statement. The sensation is far closer to being flattered than I would like. Yet, there’s a warmth to his words, a promised retribution to anyone who would dare part us.

The possessiveness wraps around me, cocooning me for a moment until I almost forget who and what he is. He’s no longer the prince who chased me about the castle. He’s no longer the boy who endured my tea parties when he’d rather be out fighting or getting into scrapes.

He is a man. A man who craves me as his woman.

Philip leans down and runs his nose along my neck, smelling me as he rocks his hips back and forth. The exquisite agony of his touch thrums through me until all I can do is drown in the pleasure he brings me. As wrong as this is, there’s something oh so right about the way his body fits over mine.

It’s as if I was made for him. But that’s silly. It's just the daydreams of a young woman who indulged in too many fairytales and fantasies. But still… Turning my head away, I bare my neck, wishing to know what happens next.

Philip chuckles against my skin as he moves again. Each breath brings us closer than I’d like. With each inhale, my chest brushes against his solid abs. My nipples pebble under the friction, drawing another soft moan from my lips.

So close, and yet I’m still too far away. There’s a barrier between us, something that won’t be fixed with mere carnal actions. My heart can’t belong to him. I can’t let myself give in.

But when he touches me, I can’t find it in me to keep up the resolve. I crumble under his expert touch as he skims over my breasts with his free hand. Dragging a single talon across my skin, he opens me up, exposing my blood to his hungry lips.

He laps at me, his tongue looking far more reptilian than human. The area where we’re joined spasms as he drags the thin tip across me. I want to despise what he’s doing, but it seems as if my body has other plans.

With a soft cry, I turn away as he grips my breast, not wanting to see the damage he’ll inflict. Instead of pleasurable pain, however, pure sensation washes over me. It’s different from the others. By now, I’m starting to tell the difference.

When he hurts me, there’s an urgency to the pleasure, as if it rushes in to overwhelm my mind before I have a chance to register the pain. However, when he gives me pure pleasure, no pain mixed in, it washes over me like the gentle lapping of waves against a sandy beach.

Both bring me to heights of ecstasy, but the pain seems to feel far more intense. It’s a high I have to keep from chasing. Who knows where it will end? As if sensing my rising need, his talons bite into my skin, bringing that rush of endorphins that leave me high and giddy.

“You may lie to yourself, but your body will never lie to me. You crave the violence in my fingers. You desire the demon between your thighs. Like it or not, princess, but your body needs my abomination. No other man will make you feel the things I do. Now that you’ve had a taste of my dragon, you’ll never want a simple man ever again.”

Despite the protest hovering on my lips, I know he’s right. God help me, I continue to want more and more, never finding the end. Will it only happen with my death? Is this dragon to be the end of me so soon?

“Speak to me, Briar,” he whispers against my skin. “I ache to know your thoughts.”