She pulled away for a fraction of a second and tipped her head back, squeezing a droplet of whatever liquid was in the stopper vial. She swallowed and added another, pressing her mouth to mine instantly, kissing me with the sugary, flowery drug.

She passed it to me.

It burned my tongue.

I pushed her away, cursing her. “What the hell did you just do? I agreed to the game, not the drug.”

“Trust me.” She shrugged out of her shirt and wriggled off me to remove her jeans and underwear. “I’m trying to give you a night of freedom.”

My heart pounded harder as she straddled me again, naked and ready in my arms.

My lust ignited with a thousand fires. She was so fucking beautiful, so perfect, so mine.

She’d pushed me into something I didn’t want but her intentions were pure and protective.

“You’ll pay for that.” Tugging her hair back, I kept her prone while I kissed her. “I’m already free when I’m with you. I don’t need anything else.” My other hand explored places of her that I knew by heart yet felt like the first time as I slid a finger inside her and felt her delicious heat.

She moaned and welcomed me to take more. “God, punish me all you want.”

“I have every intention of it.”

My control seemed to fade with every heartbeat.

Every second that ticked past, I fell a little more into her.

My cock grew harder.

My awareness narrowed until it revolved entirely around her.

The outside world was gone.

There were no more webs that I cast to listen to members of this household. No worry over my children. No history of what’d happened in this hall.

Just Nila.

And fuck, I wanted her.

So.

Fucking.

Much.

She gasped as I flipped her onto her back and laid between her spread legs. I scrambled to shove my pyjama bottoms down, desperation making me clumsy.

Nila moaned as I finally freed myself. My cock throbbing to fill her.

Unlike our previous connections, this time I wasn’t swayed by her desire for me. I couldn’t tap into what she was feeling because my own emotions were amplified.

Drenched and dark, my lust grew thick and loud in my skull.

What a novelty to only feel myself and not someone else.

What a fucking gift to be free from the constant noise.

I groaned and kissed her, pouring lust down her throat.

Her one hand scratched my back, locking on my ass and pulling me up and into her. We both grunted as we connected, thrust, joined.

I’d never ever get sick of being inside my wife.

Her back bowed as I shoved upward, filling her, taking her. My heart hammered, and I couldn’t get enough. I wanted to come now, but I also wanted to delay. I wanted this feeling of absolute obsession to last as long as it could.

Then again, I felt like I could come again and again. That I could come all night because that was how much I fucking lusted after this woman.

I was only vaguely aware of her other hand shooting across the bed and fisting her phone. Barely coherent under the wash of hot need as she breathed into my ear, “You’re free to just be you tonight, Kite. No distractions. Just us.”

She kissed me hard.

She pressed the button on her phone.

The world went white.

Hawksridge Hall disappeared.

Static hissing wiped away any memory of being an Empath.

And when colour and solidity returned, I blinked in an entirely new dimension.

Nila was beneath me.

My cock was firmly inside her.

She was just as beautiful as always.

Yet we were on a rooftop on a pile of Persian blankets, the sand-coloured dwellings and elaborate stained glass lights of Marrakesh strewn beneath us.

And for the first time in my godforsaken life, I didn’t feel another person. I didn’t sense their thoughts or pick up on opinions I didn’t want.

It was quiet inside.

Blissfully, incredibly quiet.

Absolute gratefulness filled me. Nila’s own desire for me trickled through the quietness. Her thoughts as familiar as my own, our lust mirroring pieces of each other. Our bodies were linked, but our minds were threaded on a level we’d never found before.

We were alone.

Just us.

And I was free to take her in every way possible.

Sucking in a breath, I pressed a kiss on Nila’s lips. “I could get used to this.” I kissed her harder, giving in to the serenity and pleasure she’d given me.

“Oh, God. Me too.” She arched her back, making me fill her deeper. “Let’s do this every night.”

I chuckled.

I rocked up.

I fell all over again.

We both smiled, knowing this would be an evening we’d never forget.

A night where the world fell apart, freedom was found in a virtual reality dimension, and a drug cooked by a friend gave me the greatest gift imaginable.

He gave me silence.

He gave me peace.

He gave me the chance to love my wife exactly as she deserved.

Thoroughly and wholeheartedly.

Forever.

* * * *