Johannes Von Herdern is a man of reason, a scholar devoted to history, language, and the quiet, ordered life he has built for himself. His marriage to Elisabeth is proper, his position at the academy secure. But when Kaspar Széchenyi arrives-enigmatic, knowing, with a gaze that seems to see through flesh and into something deeper-everything begins to unravel.
It starts with a look. A touch. A dream that lingers too long upon waking. Then, desire and horror begins to intertwine, pleasure is born as a weapon, and submission is not just of the flesh, but of the soul. Johannes tells himself he should resist. That he is a victim, a man ensnared. But deep down, in the space he dares not name, he knows the truth: he wants this.
What Kaspar takes from him is more than innocence. More than control. Johannes learns the nature of true hunger-his own, and the thing that lurks beneath Kaspar's skin.
Desire turns to obsession. Obsession turns to ruin. And as the bruises fade, as the wounds knit closed, Johannes realizes: Kaspar is no ordinary man.
And now, neither is he.
A deeply erotic, psychological descent into darkness, 𝐃𝐞𝐫 𝐍𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐭𝐟ü𝐫𝐬𝐭 is a tale of power, pleasure, and the terrifying price of surrender.