by V. K. Ludwig
I let out a hearty laugh, left the room, and dumped the skillet in the sink. She followed closely behind me, the way she had parked her hands on her hips leaving no doubt she might yap any moment now.
“Wash up my ass,” I said, grabbing for a jacket and a beanie. “As it so happens, darling, I gotta take a dump. So how about you do that wash-up thing while I answer nature’s call.”
She shook her head. “Consult a doctor about your digestive system. Apparently, you’re full of shit.”
I punched my fists into the sleeves and pulled the zipper as high as I could. “Whatever. I should spank your ass for that comment.”
The moment I reached for the knob, Darya positioned herself in front of the door. “Where are you going?”
“Rose will need a six ounces bottle once she wakes up. Better make eight, just in case. The goats' milk is in the mini-fridge, and the vitamin drops are on the shelf with the mugs. Only three drops or she’ll get constipated. Think you can —”
“Of course I can,” she cut me off, her eyes furious. “But where are you going?”
“I told you I gotta take a dump.”
She pointed to the door behind me. “You have a perfectly fine toilet right there.”
“Yup.” I opened the door, the evening air smelling a lot like a blizzard. “But tonight I’d rather have the toilet seat freeze to my nuts than spending one more second underneath the same roof with you.”
She rammed her ass into the door which slammed back into the lock. “If it’s such a burden to you, how about you let me leave with Rose? Then I’ll be out of your way.”
With her arms outstretched, she blocked the way, her hundred-pounds-and-some-change body standing between here and a quiet place in the woods. There was only so much a man could take in one day, and we had crossed that line a week ago.
“Get out of my way,” my deep voice rumbled, “Or I swear I’ll wrap you up in that rug over there and personally carry you back into that deprivation room behind that fucking wall. And you better believe me.”
“Oh, I believe you,” she hissed, leaning her upper body slightly forward as if she got ready to jump at me with her claws. “Because you’re nothing but a brute. Who has no clue about the feelings of a woman. And who is too much of a jerk to sit down and actually reflect on why things happened the way they did.”
“Oh, so I’m a brute, huh?”
“The biggest one in this forest,” she screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice cracking.
Her fiery eyes sent a hot sensation deep into my core, driving out the coldness I had carried around for over a year. Yes. This was the Darya I remembered. And she was back. Right here in front of me, biting and licking her lower lip at the same time.
“And you’re a terrible cook!”
She stormed at me. “You take that back!”
I caught both her fists with my hands. She struggled against me for a few seconds, her heavy breath turning the air around us wet and sticky.
“I hate you,” the tone of her voice was strong, but still, her words came out as little more than a whisper.
What happened next caught me off guard. She dropped her fists by her sides with such force, the momentum pulled me against her warm body. We stumbled against the door with a wham.
“What the hell are you doing?” I asked and took a step back, fighting a lot more against my will than her body.
She switched between trying to wiggle her hands free and throwing punches against my crotch, so I lifted her arms up and pushed them against the door.
“Oh, so you want to hit me, huh?” I asked.
Her body trembled from exhaustion, but she still went with her knees after my balls, kicking them up with whatever energy she had left.
“Fuck you, Rowan,” she said from a red face, her voice drowning in huffs and puffs. “Stop using my daughter to make yourself feel better about your shortcomings. I want my daughter back.”
For a short moment, I softened the grip on her wrists. Bad idea. She smacked her palm right in my face, making it clear I had underestimated just how much energy she had left.
She rammed through my side, but I wouldn’t let her get away like that. I let my hand dart after her ponytail, wrapped her long strands around my fist twice, and pulled her back.
“Ouch!”
Her hands fell onto her scalp, and her backside squirmed against my front, bringing a whole new something into the equation. The last thing I needed was someone else opinion on this hot mess, especially not when it came from my cock, who began jerking inside my pants.
I let go of her hair and let my hands glide down her body, holding her in a tight wrap which suffocated her punches. She let out a moan when I turned her around, and her beautiful green eyes immediately caught with mine.
Her skin glowed in a fine sheen of sweat, and the heat of her drained body crossed onto mine. The raw need to kiss her burned hotter than the reasons why I shouldn’t, and I couldn’t help but press my hips closer to hers.
This wasn’t a good idea. I eased my grip on her. Things were complicated enough already and sleeping with each other was the last thing we —
She had wiggled her arms free. My eyes squinted as if on reflex, expecting spit or a slap or a kick or anything. I expected it all, except for how she swung her arms around my neck.
Her kiss trembled my lips.
Shudders went up and down my spine unchecked, making me lower myself into her. She teased me with her tongue, pushing inside my mouth with a fiery kind of impatience.
I let my hand glide down her side and slip underneath her shirt, not even trying to hold back the moan when I cupped her breast. Kneading it between my fingers, I let one wiggle across her nipple until it met me hard and excited.
“Stop it,” she whispered, her words almost inaudible and lost to lips that wouldn’t part. She gave a defeated punch against my chest.
“No, you stop it.” I grabbed underneath her thighs, lifted her up against me and let my fingers stroke against the junction of her legs. Even through the fabric of her pants, I could tell she was hot and wet and ready for me.
I walked us toward the front door and squeezed her back against it, allowing me to open the buttons on my pants. My cock pointed straight out, and I placed him between her legs and rubbed myself along the fabric.
“Mmh,” she moaned and let her hand slide down.
She grabbed my cock and brought him up between us, letting her palm circle across his head while grinding her pussy against the hard shaft.
I let one of her legs slip and tugged her pants and panty down. A cracking sound came from the seam the moment I wrapped her legs around me again, but I didn’t care.
My cock throbbed against her wet hole. A place so familiar, it drove up my pulse and made my heart shudder away in my ears. Until it seemed to halt all pumping, letting the fog around my mind clear for a moment.
People called it the honeypot, but this wasn’t honey. No. I was dipping my cock in cold soup — everyone knew cold soup tasted like shit.
We shouldn’t do this.
We shouldn’t.
Her hand darted between us once more. She grabbed my cock and guided me inside her needy pussy. Fuuuck! I pumped inside of her, shaking my head with each thrust. This was wrong.
Darya
Rowan’s cock slid right inside my pussy, dripping wet after over a year without feeling my man inside me. His thrusts were quick, deep, and desperate as he fucked me against the door.
He gave a tug on my shirt and raised me higher, suckling on my breast, and caressing my hard nipple with the tip of his finger. Massive as he was, my walls cramped and convulsed, doing overtime to adjust and take him all in.
The next moment, he pushed us away from the door, turned and lowered me onto the rug in the center of the kitchen. I placed my soles onto the ground and lifted my pelvis, grinding myself against him. It didn’t last. His hips pounded me back down, his fingers digging deep inside my waist.
He th
rust inside me, inching my body off the rug with every stab he gave. Hard. Unrelenting. Punishing. His face wore a mask of primal desire, but also desperation and crippling pain.
I lifted my pelvis once more. “Slow down.”
“Stop fighting me,” he said and fucked me right back down, leaving no doubt he talked about more than just this. “Why are you so god damn difficult?”
“You’re difficult.”
“Oh, don’t you fucking dare.” He pulled out and flipped me onto my back as if I weight nothing, pushing my breasts into the wool and swinging his hand underneath my stomach. “You think this is funny, huh? Making me look like a fool in front of everyone. Not even I can fuck you as hard as you deserve.”
He pulled me up onto my knees but kept his hand pushing down between my shoulder blades, thrusting inside me with such force, my breath stalled for a fraction of a second.
“Is this what you want?”
“Yeah,” I moaned, not sure what exactly drove that shame into my skin. My answer, or that it was true.
He rammed his legs between mine and spread them wide, each pump of his cock both punishment and reward at the same time. A few seconds later, his body tensed and his cock throbbed against my walls, emptying himself deep inside of me.
He plopped his exhausted body on top of me, squeezing me near dizzy, but quickly rolled to the side and got up. Cum dribbled off his cock and onto the dark-stained wooden floors. He walked away and leaned with both hands against the wall, his shoulders slumped and his head hanging.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fucking god damn shit,” he shouted and banged his forehead against one of the wooden logs. “Why did you…”
He pushed himself off the wall and paced around me, slamming his palms repeatedly against his cheeks.
“Rowan’ it’s ok.” I quickly got up, the torn fabric of my pants hanging between my soaked legs.
I reached my hand out for him.
“No,” he shouted and pulled his arm up in a protective manner. “We shouldn’t have done this. Things are fucked up enough as it is, and this was the last thing we needed. We’re through. Did you hear me? You and I are through.”
My heart free-fell into the darkest spot of my being. “I’m sorry if —”
“This won’t change anything, you know. And just so you know, I want a divorce.” He walked off and disappeared into the bathroom. Before he closed the door behind him, he turned around once more and shook his head. “At least we won’t have to worry about me knocking you up. Hows’ that for convenience, huh?”
The door slammed, and the lock clicked, leaving me behind covered in his sweat and anger, my lips trembling as the coldness of the room sobered me up.
Chapter 13
Rowan
Did I anger-fuck my wife? Pictures of last night pushed into my mind, showing myself thrusting inside of her like a knife in the hands of a lunatic. My chest cavity felt like an empty cave, all bottled-up emotions gone, the only thing left behind a lonely echo. This shouldn’t have happened.
“Watch your left leg!” a voice shouted from beyond my dark thoughts. This is gonna hurt. Max’s boot kicked into the crook of my knee, burning like a motherfucker, making me fall ass first into the snow.
“Yes!” Max threw his fists into the air. “Third time I’m sending you down today.”
“You go, baby,” Autumn cheered but remained in the pink camp chair she had brought for herself.
We had been sparring all morning on a quiet clearing, but my mind was too distracted to even ward off Max’s pussy-punches.
River walked over to me, stretched his arm out, and helped me up. “What’s going on, chieftain? You seem… distracted today. Got any trouble?”
“You mean other than you guys letting Darya leave and pay me an unexpected visit?”
“There wasn’t much I could do once she stormed out,” he said. “Whatever’s going between you guys, she’s your wife. Who am I to tell the chieftain’s wife what to do?”
“Nothing’s going on between us,” I blurted, brushing the powdery snow off my black Thermo pants.
River lowered his head and squinted at me as if his eyes tracked every wrinkle on my face for hints of a lie. “If you want to send her back to live with us —”
“Not necessary,” I cut him off, stretching and bending my throbbing knee. “I had a talk with her and, um, she will stay. For now. It’s only temporary.”
“Of course.”
“Better for Rose,” I said, the big, fat lie clogging my throat. Nothing about the dysfunctional shit that happened between us could be useful for a child.
“You’re the bigger person,” River said. “Good for you.”
“Uh-huh. Good for me.”
Max walked over to us, a huge grin on his face and his clenched fists boxing the air between us. “Got any guts left for another round? I’d love to put my brother-in-law on his ass once more, now that he forgot how to keep his guard up.”
“Mh,” I grunted. “Just caught me on a bad day is all. Didn’t get a lot of sleep lately.”
Max dropped his fists by his sides. “Argued all night?”
“No,” I said in a half-lie.
The truth was, we both went to bed without speaking another word that night. Me curled up in confusion and shame. Her, sobbing into the pillow, pushing her mouth deep into the feathers so I wouldn’t notice. But I did, and each of her sobs scratched my soul like shards of a mirror. A mirror that made me see my true reflection. I poured myself into her one minute, only to throw the d-word at her the very next.
The second half of the night, we argued wordless about who would get to change Rose’s diaper and who would be the one feeding her back to sleep. Entirely silent, but it still had something hostile to it. Something toxic.
“How about you River?” Max asked and threw a gentle punch against his shoulder. “Up for some one-on-one combat? Feeling lucky today.”
“Uh-uh.” He leaned into Max and continued in a whisper, but still loud enough for me to hear. “I think I might actually go home and put a baby in my wife. Guess I’m feeling lucky today, too!”
Max gave him a quick wink. “You got every reason to. Told you it would be a quick fix.”
They bumped their shoulders together, and River left, his steps adding a skip to it now and then.
“What was that all about?” I asked.
Max opened and closed his mouth. His face twitched. He just shook his head, saying, “It’s not really my place to tell.”
“Hm.” I pointed at my leg. “You’re getting pretty good at this. Told you River and I would bring you up to speed.”
He gazed over at Autumn for a moment who searched the snow for the bottle-cap she had just dropped. Then his grin turn upside down and his shoulders drooped. “I still haven’t got word from William.”
“Your dad?”
He sucked in his upper lip and nodded. “It’s not like him. He always wiggled himself out of trouble, but it’s been weeks since anyone saw him or heard from him. Ruth was the last one who got a message from him, and now this entire thing is on her.”
His gaze shifted to something in the distance and a deep exhale left his mouth, the steam of it carried away by the cold breeze.
“Our dad went into the mountains once. Back when the Clans were at war and tried to negotiate a treaty,” I said. “Told me that I was the man of the house now, and to protect my mom. He also told me to just keep on going in case he never returned.” I took a deep breath, remembering the way mom wailed the night he left. “I was seven.”
“So, you think he would want me to fill in his shoes and keep his resistance going?”
“How the fuck would I know?” I asked. “I never met your dad.”
“Right.” He observed how Autumn folded the camp chair and attached it to the back of his pack, which hung on a bare branch. “Apparently the council talks about nothing else but how you invaded the Districts and abducted women. Declared you an enemy of the people.”
&nbs
p; I let out a hearty chuckle, making me near forget the ordeal of that one damn night when I could’t control myself. “I feel flattered. Rowan the invader, enemy of the people. Definitely has a fancy ring to it.”
Our chat died down for quite some time, making the silent waiting unbearable. He had it on his tongue. The question everyone’s been asking me ever since Yule. What is Rowan the invader going to do about the council’s experiments?
A challenge clung to the tone of his voice, and he said, “The nonconformists call you something else entirely. Wanna hear it?”
Well knowing I didn’t, he told me, anyway. “Rowan the redeemer.”
“Huh.” In my mind, I said those two words repeatedly. Rowan the redeemer. Rowan. Redeemer. “I like the two r’s in it. Rolls right off my tongue.”
“I mean it.” He narrowed his lips, that patchy beard of his doing little to hide the turmoil on his usually calm face. “They say it will only be a matter of time until you come and liberate them.”
“Liberate them,” I scoffed. “Those people don’t understand what life is like outside of those walls. Especially now, with the trade agreements dissolved. They don’t want liberation, and I’m not Rowan, the rescuer.”
“Redeemer.”
“Same shit.”
I grabbed my backpack from the roof of the old, collapsed shed and flung it onto my back. “Look. I get you’re concerned about your dad. And I understand you think the people in the Districts should know about the council’s experiments. But I’m only half the man you think I am.”
He opened his arms wide in a what-the-fuck motion, trying to sell me something I knew was bullshit. “Who brought safety to the clanswomen? Who established trade agreements? Who got us a helicopter? Who got Darya out? That was all you.”
“Yeah, that was all me alright.” I gave Autumn a quick wave, turned on my heels, and walked. “But the women are only safe while I can scare the shit out of everyone. We blew the trade agreements. The helicopter came from chieftain Xavier.” I stopped and turned to look at him. “And Darya is trying to take Rose away from me. Tell me again, what exactly makes me so great?”