by Penelope Sky
Her legs wrapped around my waist, and she pulled on my hips, anxious to feel me, another second too long to wait. Her eyes were already watery with desire, her parted lips panting, and her hands dug deep into my hair as she pulled my face to hers, wanting my kiss to burn her mouth once again.
She moaned at my touch, like she hadn’t already kissed me, like it was the first time all over again.
My hand directed my dick inside her, and I paused the second I felt her wetness cover my throbbing head. It smeared all around me, coated me like a bottle of lube had been poured right on me. I kept going, kept sinking, moving into her wetness and tightness, breathing harder the more I felt her, every nerve in my body firing off and giving me unspeakable pleasure.
She moaned loudly when I was inside her, her lips hesitating against mine like she needed time to feel this, to treasure how good I felt deep inside her. Her fingers left my hair and dragged down my back, giving me her sharp nails like she knew I was man enough to handle it.
I hadn’t even started to thrust, and I already felt defeated.
She breathed against my mouth, labored and heavy, her hand holding on to the back of my neck. “Fuck…” She pressed her face into my cheek, her eyes closed, just breathing with me. Our bodies were connected, but nothing happened…and it was somehow the most passionate moment of our lives.
I started to move, holding myself on top of her so I could look into her beautiful face, see every reaction she gave, like I was the only man in the world she wanted. Our connection started almost instantaneously. When I’d thrown her out of that wagon and she talked back to me, I’d known she was different. And every moment after that…our connection grew. Now, we had this.
Whatever the fuck this was.
Her body squeezed my length right away, and the tears flowed from her eyes as she gave an animal-like moan. Her head rolled back, and she panted and groaned as if she were in pain, her nails clawing at my back as her hips automatically bucked against me. Just like the other times we were together, her climax was nearly immediate, like all she needed was me…and it sent her to the stars.
I thrust into her harder, moaning because it felt so good to get lost so deeply that I had no awareness of the outside world, of the weather or time. It was just us, two people free of the chains that bound us both, finding something good in each other.
Her hand moved to my ass, and she gripped it with her small fingers, pulling me deeper into her, wanting more of my length even though there was nowhere for it to go. Her head rolled back, and tears sprouted in her eyes, this time from pleasure and pain. “Yes…Magnus.”
Sixteen
Disfigurement
The instant we were done, I pulled on my boxers to hide myself from her.
She lay there for a moment, her eyes closed like she was too tired to move. She lay in the moonlight coming from the window, her beautiful figure highlighted, her strong legs long and sexy. Her tight stomach had a scar from the knife she took, but her skin was still beautiful because it showed everything she had survived.
She had more scars than I did.
I pulled back the sheets from the head of the bed and got underneath.
She was at the foot of the bed, and she turned over to look at me. “That better not be it.” She crawled up the bed, her ass in the air, her nice tits shaking as she came to me. She pulled back the sheets and lay beside me.
I’d come inside her three times. I couldn’t do it again—at least, not right now.
She immediately snuggled against me, her arm banding over my chest, her leg hugging mine. She closed her eyes like she intended to sleep there.
I got out of bed then scooped my arms underneath her.
“What are you doing?”
“Taking you to bed.”
“This is my bed.” She moved away from my hold and shifted back.
I let her go and straightened.
She stared at me, visibly confused by the sudden change in atmosphere.
I turned to walk out.
“What are you doing?”
“Sleeping in another bedroom.”
“What the hell, Magnus?” She came after me and grabbed my wrist so I would turn back to her.
I looked down at her hurt face. “I don’t like to sleep with people.”
“You sleep with me all the time.”
“Only because I don’t have another choice. But I really don’t like it.”
She released my wrist when she understood it wasn’t personal. Naked, she crossed her arms over her chest, making her tits even perkier, the nipples hardening because she wasn’t surrounded by my heat or the sheets. “You slept with me at my apartment.”
“That was…different.”
“Why?”
I stared.
“You said you would let it go.”
“I did—”
“Not all the way. You trusted me then, and I need you to trust me now.”
“You asked me to forgive you. Nothing about trust was ever mentioned.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You do trust me.”
“Not yet.”
“You wouldn’t have taken me out of there if you didn’t. I could have just screamed and made a scene. You’ve left me alone with your laptop, and I could have gotten online and told everyone about the camp and asked them to trace my location. You know I would never compromise you, so stop acting like you think I would. Your life is my life—and I would never risk it.”
I believed her when I shouldn’t.
“I bluntly told you I was going to the police when you released me. You didn’t care.”
“I didn’t think you were going to liberate the camp—”
“Then you underestimated me,” she snapped. “I never told you I wouldn’t do everything I could to destroy that camp. I didn’t give my word and take it away. I’m giving you my word now—and that means something.”
My body was still coated with sweat from the time we’d spent locked in the heat of passion. It was like a vacation, a moment away from reality. But now we were back to the real world.
“You aren’t telling me something…”
I dropped my gaze slightly.
“Why won’t you sleep with me?”
I kept my eyes averted, reliving a horrible night that was so vivid in my memory, it felt like it had happened yesterday.
She studied me, her hand gently moving to mine, like she could read the emotion in my eyes.
“I just…don’t like being unconscious when other people are around.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m afraid someone is going to shoot me in the back of the head.” My eyes turned back to her.
She was motionless, her hand still holding mine, and she looked at me like she didn’t know what to say. “That’s very specific…”
“It is.”
“Well, we both know that’s not going to happen with me—”
“I still don’t like it—”
“We’re going to go back to the camp and have to sleep in that tiny bed together, so it’s unavoidable. You may as well get used to it, may as well embrace it, because if someone really came in to harm you, it would be two against one…not one against one.” She came closer to me, close enough for a kiss. “I’d die for you, and you know that.” Her arm moved around my neck, and she brought our foreheads together, making me give and receive affection that I never had before. “Now, let’s go to bed.” She kissed me before she pulled away, her hand giving mine a gentle squeeze.
I hesitated, standing my ground.
Then she gave me a subtle smile, a comforting stare, and another tug.
This time, I joined her.
When I woke up the next morning, she was gone.
I immediately stiffened in panic because I’d never set the alarm, and if she left hours ago and took the cash out of my wallet, it would take forever to find her. I sat upright in bed and felt my heart pound.
Then she stepped inside, carrying a mug of coffee. “O
h good, you’re awake.” She gave me that bright smile and affectionate gaze as she carried the coffee to the nightstand. Steam erupted from the surface, immediately filling my bedroom with the aromatic smells of freshly brewed coffee. “It’s not hot chocolate with marshmallows, but I have a feeling you wouldn’t like that anyway.” Her hair and makeup were already done, so she’d been up for a while. She was in one of my t-shirts, which she must have taken out of my dresser, the one with a loaded revolver inside.
And she did nothing.
I sat up in bed, feeling the panic slowly circulate out of my blood as I returned to calm.
She sat at the edge of the bed and studied me. “Everything okay?”
I glanced at the coffee then held her gaze, seeing the innocence in her eyes. She had absolutely no idea all the thoughts that had just swirled through my head because escape was truly the last thing she thought about. “Bad dream.”
Her eyes softened before she leaned in and pressed a palm to my chest and a kiss to my lips. “It’s because I wasn’t here to chase them away.” She rubbed her nose against mine before she kissed me again.
I closed my eyes and felt that same rush of emotion enter my throat whenever she kissed me. It wasn’t sexual, had never been sexual, even the first time I’d asked to be with her in her old cabin. It’d always been more than that, always raw and emotional, and that was why I wanted it again…and again.
She pulled away and left the bed. “I’ll let you get to work…or whatever it is you do in the mornings.”
Fender and I hadn’t spoken since that party.
Just when I thought things were good between us, they weren’t. I thought he’d forgiven me for my mistake, but in reality, he would never forgive me. He would always throw it in my face the instant I did something he didn’t like.
It was like a permanent scar.
But perhaps that was fair…because I didn’t regret it anymore.
I’d do it again.
I texted Fender. I’m heading out tonight. Is there anything you need me to do before I leave?
His response was immediate. Your job.
I sighed and set the phone on the table.
His message popped up again. Or is that too difficult for you?
I knew I should just let it go, but I couldn’t. Asshole, I’m just trying to protect you. But if you don’t give a damn, I’ll stop trying.
If you wanted to protect me, you wouldn’t have allowed some cunt to burn my fucking camp.
Different issue, Fender. Napoleon is bad news.
I’m in charge. Not you. So fuck off.
This time, I threw my phone at the wall.
Footsteps sounded a moment later as Raven came upstairs to investigate the noise. She stopped and looked at the phone on the floor against the wall and then at me on the couch. Instead of asking a million questions, she picked up the phone from the floor then sat beside me. She set the phone on my thigh.
I didn’t touch it. I sat with my face propped against my closed knuckles, staring at the TV without really paying attention to what I was watching. I clenched my jaw then chewed the inside of my cheek, so angry but with no outlet to express it. Sometimes I wanted to beat the shit out of my brother.
She tucked her feet under her ass and propped up her body to look at me.
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“I assumed.”
I didn’t look at her.
She scooted closer to me until we were side by side. When I didn’t resist her, she rubbed her hand across my chest then pressed a kiss to my neck.
I didn’t give a reaction, but I liked it.
Her hand moved underneath my shirt, and she came closer to me, rubbing the hard muscles of my core as her lips continued to kiss my neck, her small tongue gliding over the warm skin, making me breathe hard, making my dick stiffen in my jeans.
Her hand undid my jeans then dragged them down along with my boxers, so my cock came free.
I thought she was going to get on top of me.
But then she moved her head down.
I pulled her away from me then got to my feet, pulling up my jeans and my boxers to hide my disfigurement. I didn’t want her to see it, but she would have to see it eventually. I didn’t want to relive that moment, and I didn’t want to hurt her either. I moved to the other couch and sat down.
She slowly sat up and stared at the side of my face since we were perpendicular to each other. She scooted to the edge of the couch and rested her hands on her knees. She was quiet, as if she didn’t know what to do in this moment.
I didn’t know what to do either. My arms rested on my knees, and I leaned forward, looking at the hardwood reflecting the sunlight coming through the window. “We’re going back to the camp tonight.”
She didn’t protest. “But that’s not what’s wrong.”
“I don’t want to talk about what’s wrong.”
A long stretch of silence passed. I sat on one couch, and she sat on the other. Then she left her couch and came to mine, taking a seat beside me, like she somehow knew something was coming. She pressed a kiss to my neck then rested her chin on my shoulder while her hand moved to my thigh. She always sprinkled me with affection, and I fucking loved it. It felt so good to have a woman’s touch like that, to have her devotion because I earned it.
“I have to tell you something.” I kept my voice steady because that was the only way to have this conversation. Just get it over with. Put it out there then move past it. “I wouldn’t share it with you…but you’re going to find out anyway.”
She pulled away slightly, but her hand remained on my thigh. “Okay…”
“I told you I was tortured after…” I kept my eyes on the floor, but I could see her movements in my peripheral vision.
Her breathing increased, and her fingers loosened against my jeans. Her energy changed, subtly panicky, like she wanted to run but there was nowhere to go.
I got to my feet, unfastened my jeans, and turned around. I could just tell her what happened, but she would see it at some point, and I’d rather just get it all over with now.
Now, she looked confused, like she had no idea what I was about to show her. She’d been with me last night, but it was too dark to notice anything, and we were both distracted by the moment.
Then I pushed my pants and boxers down.
My cock was soft, so it was easier to see the difference.
She spotted it instantly, her eyes watering like a dam had broken behind her gaze, and she covered her mouth to stifle the scream that wanted to burst from her lungs. Like it was too ghastly to confront, she dropped her chin and covered her face with both hands, her body suddenly heaving with the sobs that took her over. “No…” She broke down in front of me, overcome with so much pain that she couldn’t process it all. “Oh my god…”
I pulled up my pants then stared at her, watching her grieve for me. Her heartbreak would have been revenge to me months ago, but now I just felt sick. Her pain was worse than the pain I’d actually had to endure when it happened.
I moved to the seat beside her, then wrapped my arm around her, comforting her the way I did after Alix had her half naked and bent over on the bed. This woman didn’t shed a tear often, so when she did, it was real…it was horrific. I pulled her into me and rested my chin on the top of her head as I listened to her wail.
“I’m so sorry…”
I closed my eyes, hearing the ring of truth.
“I’m so…” She couldn’t finish because she was overcome with tears.
I could relive the memory and feel the flood of hatred overwhelm me, but I didn’t. I didn’t hold on to the past. I didn’t hold on to what she’d done to me. We’d taken cuts for each other, our bodies mosaics of scars because of everything we’d done to protect the other. That was when I realized there was no act more loyal than that, that we would literally do anything for each other…and that was beautiful. “I forgive you.”
Seventeen
Guard Do
g
She didn’t want to leave.
She took a long time to get ready, even though all she needed to do was put on her uniform. She didn’t need to do her hair and makeup. There was no preparation at all, but she still took forever.
When I walked into her bedroom to hurry her up, I stopped and watched her.
She sat in front of the window, seeing the lights of the Eiffel Tower in the darkness. She stared without blinking, as if she were saying goodbye to the structure that acted as a monument to her heart.
I gave her a few minutes.
She must have known I was there because she said, “I don’t want to go to the camp, but I don’t want to leave this place more, if that makes sense.”
It did. “We’ll be back in a month.”
“A month is a long time…”
“I know. I don’t want to go back either.”
She turned to look at me. “Then why do you?”
Even if I could, I’d never leave her there by herself. “Because I have to.” I stepped away from the doorway because this conversation couldn’t continue. “It’s time to leave. Come on.” I walked to the elevator and hit the button so the doors opened.
She joined me, her head slightly down, still depressed after I’d shown her my mutilation. Her eyes were puffy even though hours had passed, like she shed tears when she was in private because it continued to haunt her.
We got into the elevator and then the car and began the long journey back to the camp.
She was quiet for much of the drive, like she didn’t feel like talking as much as I didn’t feel like it. But hours later, she said, “What do you think will happen with the guards…since you took me away?”
“They’ll be mad. But they’re always mad at me.”
“Will they try to hurt you?”
With one hand on the wheel, I kept my eyes on the road. “Probably. But I don’t care.”