Desire; A feeling of wanting or longing for something. It's a word that lingers on the tip of the tongue, elusive yet undeniable in its presence.

All her life, Amelia had been told desire ought to be suppressed. Or better yet, rejected all together. Desire was an evil thing. A temptation a proper lady should reject.

But sitting here, in that rocking carriage, Amelia found herself wondering how evil could ever look so ethereal. Lucian sat across her, commanding yet gentle, his marble skin accentuated by the pale moonlight.

She watched as his eyes, dark pools of desire, locked onto her. Seemingly drawing her in with an irresistible magnetism.

In the eyes of society, a lady's desires are to be confined to the realm of duty and obligation, to be sacrificed at the altar of respectability and virtue. But having desires is human, is it not? Without sex there is no life, without desiring love, there is no love. The countess and Mr Gallagher acted on their desires. So did Wallace and lord Montgomery. They held on to what little freedom they had and explored all their desires within the shadows of their lives.

Perhaps that was a more accurate description of the word.

Desire; a fundamental truth that saints turn into sinners when shadows envelop them. 

And her shadowed desire was sitting right across from her in all his glory.

As soon as Lucian helped her out of the carriage, Amelia knew she didn't want to let go. Her hands were itching to grab his hand when they entered her aunt's house.

Her mind hardly gestured her aunt's words nor Lucian's highly censored tales as he recounted the night to the lady of the house. The tension was so thick with unfulfilled desires that Amelia nearly bursted out of her skin when she walked up the stairs.

"I can't be alone tonight." She finally blurted out when they were alone in the hallway between their rooms.

Lucian took a step towards her, and as she met his gaze, she felt a rush of adrenaline surge through her veins, electrifying every nerve ending in her body.

"I mean, I can be alone—but I—what I really mean is, I don't want to be alone, not tonight."

Each breath felt like a whisper against her skin, stirring something deep within her that she couldn't quite name.

"Please, Lucian."

He was so close that she felt the heat of his body radiate against her own, igniting a fire within her that threatened to consume her whole as he whispered in her ear. "My room or yours?"

In that moment, she knew that she was ready to surrender herself to the undeniable chemistry that simmered between them, to explore the depths of desire that awaited her with him by her side. And as she leaned in to capture his lips with her own, she felt a sense of liberation wash over her, knowing that she was finally embracing her true desires without reservation or restraint.

"Mine."

Her bedroom felt so foreign with Lucian in it as he revealed his true form, much like he had done the night she summoned him. His eyes shamelessly glided over her body in a way that made her blush.

"So—Lucian? I'm not sure what I should do or say?" Amelia said, wondering why she couldn't remember anything she had read about in what little obscenity novels she had read. Did they even mention this part? She couldn't recall. The biology books most certainly did not mention this.

Lucian approached her slowly, every sway of his hips fluid and sinuous. "Tell me what you imagined when you were touching yourself." he said, his voice dripping with seduction.

"It was so intense—I imagined." She faltered for a moment. "That it was you—you touching me."

Lucian's eyebrows raised, his eyes sparkling with a mixture of surprise and arousal. "Do you want me to touch you?"

Amelia nodded, not trusting her voice anymore as she felt his hips pressing into her. He leaned forward to nuzzle her neck and she could have sworn her legs turned to jelly. But Lucian caught her.

"That's it, angel." He growled in her ear while undoing her top button. "Give in to your desires," another button popped open. "Fall for me." the bodice of her dress was completely undone by this point.

He took a glance down and grunted. "Why in the nine circles of hell are you wearing all these layers?"

"It's only my corset and chemise."

"Oh really, then what is this birdcage I feel pressing against my dick?"

"That's my cage crinoline. Over that is a petticoat, the underskirt and the top skirt."

"Like I said," he growled. "Too many fucking layers. I swear, every century you humans invent more ways to wrap yourselves up."

With a flick of something akin to a claw, Amelia felt the ties holding all her skirts together snap simultaneously and drop to the floor. Now, standing in just her drawers, chemise and corset, Lucian made fast work of the last before tossing her onto the bed.

Amelia was already speechless by his enigmatic aura and smouldering eyes, but with a flick of his fingers, she became parched. All his clothes went up in smoke. The memory of their first night flooded her mind. At that time, seeing his bare chest alone had taken her breath away. But now, she didn't know where to look.

So, she started at the top.

He was like a statue carved from the purest marble, his skin as pale as moonlight, lending him an otherworldly air. Every line and contour of his physique seemed chiselled with divine precision, each muscle defined in exquisite detail. His chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm, the sight both mesmerising and intoxicating. Amelia felt a surge of desire coursing through her veins as she slowly let her gaze glide down. He was like a living work of art, a masterpiece waiting to be explored, and she longed to lose herself in the depths of his embrace.

Then, as her eyes roamed lower, she saw his manhood, fully erect, and gasped, "It's so large... Is that how it's supposed to be?" she asked with slight trepidation. It looked nothing like the phalluses she had seen in her biology books.

Lucian chuckled, dark and seductive. "Yes, sweet angel. This is how a fully aroused dick is supposed to look. Don't be scared. I won't hurt you."

"Scared? No, I'm just surprised how...it must be so uncomfortable in pants... how strange to be a man... Is it burdensome?" Amelia asked, studying him curiously.

Lucian's grin widened as he placed one knee on the edge of the bed. "Of all the questions I've ever been asked, you are the first to ask if my dick is burdensome." Doe-like eyes, overflowing with curiosity, looked at him, confused. "A man isn't always aroused. Just like you aren't always wet. That would be most burdensome, wouldn't it?" He said with a wink.

Amelia giggled, then gasped when she felt his hand slowly hiking up her chemise as he leaned over her to suck that sensitive spot on her neck. "I have been feeling a heat between my legs almost constantly ever since you came into my life."

Lucian pulled back far enough for Amelia to see that his eyes were blown wide with lust. "I want to devour you."

Greedily, he kissed her lips again. She pushed her fingers into that raven hair, kissing him back every bit as hungry for more. His hands travelled down to her drawers, and he pulled them off in one fluid movement. Amelia couldn't get out of her chemise fast enough, desperate to feel his bare skin on hers.

The moment she was naked, it was as if time stood still. Lucian looked at her like she was the only human in the world, like he had never seen beauty before that night. But that couldn't be true, a dark voice deep inside her head whispered.

"By all the devils, no wonder you are wearing all those layers." Lucian whispered as he ran his tongue from her neck to her chest, where he kissed all her insecurities away. "The mortal men wouldn't be able to keep their hands off of you if they could see you now. They would worship you like a goddess." Before Amelia could utter a word, he captured her nipple in his mouth, causing her to whimper in pleasure.

His other hand ran up her bare thigh, coming ever higher, ever closer, until he dipped a finger inside, making Amelia see stars. Each time she thought she couldn't feel any better, he would find another spot with his mouth, hands, tongue and even his nails, that was so sensitive it would make her moan even louder than before.

"Yes, moan loader for me." Lucian said, with a deep and ragged voice.

"Are you mocking me?" Amelia mumbled, running her hands over his shoulder blades.

Lucian looked desperate, almost frantic with need, but he pulled himself up, his voice calm. "I'm not mocking you, angel." In a low growling whisper, he added, "I'm desiring you."

Amelia's breath hitched at this, and she closed her eyes. Dark, untamed waters of desire came crashing down, drowning her hesitancy and screaming in triumph at last.

If only she knew the words to express herself. She pushed her hips up to emphasise her eagerness. And thank God, Lucian understood.

He lowered himself and pushed the tip of his manhood in. Amelia gasped, making Lucian pull back, barely a fraction of an inch, but she would not have it. With trembling hands and buckling knees, she wrapped herself around the marble magnificence of a demon, pulling him in. Her mind was running through all the scenarios in which he could leave again. She wanted to express her desires, tell him all that she was feeling, but all that came out of her mouth was a quivering whine.

"Does it hurt?" Lucian asked as he tugged at her hips to angle them to him.

She shook her head. Hurt wasn't the right word to describe this feeling, full maybe, aching perhaps, but in the most delightful way. He kept pushing deeper until his hips met hers. By now, Amelia had turned her face into the pillow, her eyes squeezed shut, unable to form a single thought.

"Look at me," Lucian commanded in his husky voice. "This is what sex looks like." And with that, his hips withdrew, before snapping back in, forcing Amelia to open her eyes. His manhood was sinking into her, thrusting into her body in a rhythm that was almost too fast, yet did not feel fast enough.

The slapping of skin was almost as obscene as the moans and gasps that fell from her own lips. Aching had given way to pure pleasure, a need and a desire for more. Oh, so much more.

Lucian started to go faster, pushing her ass off the mattress so he could rub that bud of nerves, designed to make her go mad, with each roll of his infernal hips.

"Oh so good. Dear Lord."

"Don't swear to him," Lucian growled. The angle changed and Amelia saw white. "Swear to me. You are my amtum, angel."

She stammered, feeling that string inside tighten again.

"You're doing so good, Amelia. I'm going to fuck you in so many delicious ways." Lucian's rhythm was relentless, his thrust pounding so deep, and she didn't want it to stop. Ever. If this is what desire fulfilled felt like, she never wanted to be empty again.

She was barrelling towards that cliff of desire like her life depended on it. And the moment she reached the edge, her mind went blank. Amelia heard herself scream, felt Lucian thrust until her clenching walls made him come as well, but there was nothing in her brain but mind numbing pleasure.

After the world returned to her, Amelia spoke up, "Lucian?"

"Yes, angel?" He panted.

"There's a lot more to learn about sex, isn't there?" She asked.

Lucian chuckled devilishly. "Yes, there is." He responded. "And I will teach you everything you want to know, my amtum."