Our Darkest Maze

by Sarah Bailey

  It wasn’t strictly the truth. It’d had more to do with me wanting to spend as much time with Logan as possible, even if I’d used the excuse of not wanting to be around my parents.

  “I see. Does this friend have a name?”

  I raised an eyebrow. He’d know it wasn’t Colleen since she lived near us, and I’d come back from hers on the bus numerous times. He didn’t mind that. Only when I had to make longer journeys.

  “Are you trying to ask me if I have a boyfriend?”

  He let out a frustrated sigh, dropping his hand.

  “Yes.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  Logan and I weren’t in a relationship.

  “Then you weren’t with a boy?”

  “I’m allowed to have male friends, Dad. Men and women are perfectly capable of having platonic relationships. Look at Duke and Kira.”

  I waved at my brother and his best friend on the sofa. Well, they probably weren’t the best example since Kira was in love with Duke, but it wasn’t the point. I wouldn’t out her feelings in front of half my family. It wouldn’t be fair on her. I respected Kira. She was good for Duke. I wouldn’t mess up their friendship. I might be a bitch at times, but this was different.

  Dad’s eyes narrowed. I wasn’t trying to give him attitude, but he was being ridiculous.

  “The only reason you’re not telling me who you were with is you think I won’t approve of them.”

  “Jesus, Dad, you’re being paranoid.”

  He wasn’t. Dad would not approve of me seeing Logan at all.

  “Can you blame me?”

  “I already told you I haven’t met anyone whilst I’ve been out. You don’t need to give me another lecture. I’m not doing anything you’d disapprove of.” Liar. “I’m trying to be better.”

  I was. I’d told Colleen no more nights out clubbing. We could do all of those things after we left school. Now I needed to be a good daughter and not fuck up. Even though I was royally fucking up with Logan… by fucking him.

  Dad eyed me for a moment longer before leaning down and kissing my forehead.

  “Okay, I believe you.”

  I tried not to breathe a sigh of relief. His questioning had begun to wear on me. I didn’t want to keep disappointing him, but his interference bugged me. It’s not as if I was trying to be rebellious. All I wanted was to make my own choices and be my own woman, exactly how he’d raised me. But my dad didn’t want to let go of my apron strings. The worst part was he knew he was doing it and yet he wouldn’t stop.

  He got up off the arm of the chair and walked out of the room, not stopping to say anything to my brothers. There was a long moment of silence before Duke grinned.

  “I thought Quinn was going to crucify you for sure.”

  “Haven’t done anything wrong. He has no reason to get pissy.”

  “Oh yeah? Staying out all night with boys isn’t doing anything wrong?”

  “Shut up. There were no boys.”

  Duke waved a hand at me.

  “Whatever, Rora. I know you were. It’s written all over your face.”

  “What’s it to you, anyway? Why would you care if I’ve been out with a man?”

  Duke’s smile grew sly.

  “A man, eh? So, you’ve scored an older guy. Well, well… way to go.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Raphi leant over and whacked Duke around the back of the head.

  “Leave her alone. Rora doesn’t have to tell us if she’s seeing someone.”

  “We could tell Quinn.”

  “Don’t you fucking dare, Duke,” I interjected, giving him a dirty look, “I swear to god I will hurt you.”

  My brother was the worst sometimes. He used anything he could against me. To be fair, I did the same to him. Well, except for what happened to him last year. I would never give him shit over that.

  “Fighting words, Rora. I won’t tell him a single thing if you just admit it.”

  I glared at him for a long moment before sighing.

  “Okay, fine. You win. I was with someone and no, I’m not telling you who it is. If any of you dare breathe a word of this to our parents, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”

  Mum might know about me and Logan, but I’d rather not have my brothers gossiping with her.

  “I’m not going to tell them,” Cole said, rolling his eyes and getting up to pick up the controller he threw.

  “Me either,” Raphi said, “Besides, we’re supposed to stick together. Rora’s one of us.”

  Kira gave me a nod, signalling she wouldn’t say a word.

  “I wasn’t going to say anything, just wanted to see if she’d admit it,” Duke said with a shrug and turned back to their game.

  Why wasn’t I surprised by my stupid brother and his games? I should have known.

  “You really are the fucking worst, Duke,” I muttered, turning back to my homework.

  That’s when my phone buzzed. I looked down, sucking in a breath when I saw who it was.

  Logan: I want to see you.

  My heart pumped a little faster. He hadn’t contacted me until now after insisting we exchange numbers. I’d told him I couldn’t stay at his during the week or my parents would get suspicious. Didn’t mean I couldn’t go see him, but I’d have to come home afterwards.

  Aurora: When?

  Logan: As soon as possible.

  Aurora: You missing me or something?

  Logan: If by you, you mean your pussy, then yes.

  I choked on my breath, which made my brothers look over at me. I glared at them until they turned their attention back to the TV.

  Aurora: To be clear, you want me to come over and service your cock, do you?

  Logan: That’s the idea.

  Aurora: Be over at 8. Can only stay an hour. You’ll have to use the time wisely.

  Logan: Oh, don’t you worry, there’s a lot I can do to you in an hour.

  I shivered, trying not to imagine all the things we might get up to. Considering I’d been thinking about wanting to get naked with Logan again before my dad came in here, I was glad he’d got in touch.

  “Raphi…”

  “What?” my brother barked, still focusing on the TV.

  “If I go out for a couple of hours after dinner, will you cover for me?”

  He glanced at me.

  “Why don’t you just tell them you’re going to see Colleen?”

  “Because she doesn’t know about…”

  That got all of my brothers’ attention.

  “Wait, you haven’t told your bestie?” Duke asked.

  “No. Please, can you make something up?”

  “Jesus, fine. We’ll make sure they don’t know,” Raphi said, waving his hand at me and glaring at Duke to make him do what I said.

  I could count on my brothers when I needed to. Raphi was right, we stuck together as a family, even if it was against our parents sometimes. We all had to deal with them being overbearing. We had each other’s backs.

  “Thank you.”

  Raphi looked over at me with a smile.

  “You’re welcome, Rora.”

  I smiled back. He’d been through hell recently so he knew exactly what it was like to have our parents on his case all the time. He’d make sure Duke didn’t say a word because those two were as thick as thieves. Now, I could go see Logan without worrying about my dad finding out. And I couldn’t wait.

  Chapter Twenty Two

  It’d taken a supreme effort on my part not to text Aurora the Monday after she left my flat. And the day after. And the day after that. It wasn’t until I’d gone around my parents’ house on my day off work, I fucking broke. My willpower went down the drain and I told her the truth. I wanted to see her. I needed to.

  Well, technically I brushed it off as needing to fuck her again, but she didn’t need to know what I was going through. How I wanted to be grounded by something. By her. She would keep my mi
nd off the rapidly spiralling disaster my life had become.

  Somewhere along the way, Aurora Knox had become important to me. It began when I met her for the first time. A sixteen-year-old girl whose sharp tongue, beautiful dark hair and gold-flecked brown eyes had driven me to the point of insanity. I’d never met someone so brazen in my entire life. It rattled me, which caused me to put her in her place. Only Aurora didn’t back down from a fight. No, she came at me with her sharp claws and dug them in, latching onto me like a fucking parasite. I didn’t know what to do with myself other than to get rid of her. Whilst I was busy trying to fight my feelings, she was burying herself inside me like a landmine. And when it detonated, I was left with the distinct impression my life would never be the same.

  It’s only now I realised how futile it had all been to resist in the first place. I’d known it the last time I saw her when she was still young and I’d told her she would eventually become my little toy.

  I’d wanted her then.

  And I wanted her now.

  Yet having her would be temporary. I knew the moment her family and mine found out, it would be the end. I might have got all cocky the last time I met her biological father and her other dads, but I was a damn sight wiser now about not pissing off dangerous men. Not ones who had ties to the criminal underworld even if they’d tried to sever them a long time ago. That much I had found out after caving and asking my uncle to look into them. Brent had done it when I told him why I was so interested. He was the only one in my family to know about my fucked up fascination with Aurora Knox.

  Dad had dropped his suspicions after Ant and Maia’s wedding when nothing else happened. Uncle Brent promised to keep his mouth shut since I told him I wouldn’t go near Aurora. He warned me not to go back on my word. Having an association with a family who were, for all intents and purposes, linked to the Russian mafia and the rest of the criminal underworld would not be a good look for me. Apparently, it was common knowledge Aurora’s grandfather, Viktor Bykov had mafia links. I’d had no clue before Brent told me. I didn’t get wrapped up in gossip and who was in business with whom.

  This was another in a long line of things I hated about being a Benson. The expectation I’d keep our reputation intact. No more scandals like they’d had when they’d been younger. Earlier, Dad told me to stop getting papped with women amongst other things since it spread like wildfire. I’d promised to be good on that score. I had no interest in any women apart from the one explicitly forbidden to me. It was the other stuff he said which had me all kinds of fucked up.

  I couldn’t think about it as Aurora would be here any minute. My palms had got all twitchy over the thought of touching her sinful body.

  I’m going to hell for this. I know I am, but I don’t care. I fucking don’t care about anything but her.

  I was done lying to myself about my feelings towards her. I’d admitted to her I didn’t want to take over the family business She was the only person on this earth who knew that about me. It proved one harsh and unforgiving truth. I’d met someone I wasn’t sure I could live without when everything came crashing down. There was no doubt in my mind it would happen sooner rather than later.

  The intercom buzzer went. I practically ran over to it, pressing down to let her up without even answering. It could be someone else, but I was sure in my bones it was Aurora. By the time she rang the doorbell, I was rubbing my sweaty palms on my jogging bottoms. I tugged the door open and there she was, smiling at me.

  Fuck, you’re stunning.

  “Hello, Log—”

  She didn’t have time to finish her sentence. I stepped out, grabbing her by the face and crashing my mouth against hers. She let out a squeak of surprise, her hands coming up to grip my forearms. I backed us into my flat, allowing the door to slam shut. She told me I only had an hour. I wanted to spend all of it wrapped up in her body then I could chase away the lingering sense of dread which had fallen on me when I’d left my parents’ house earlier.

  I shoved Aurora up against the wall, utterly consumed by her lips on mine. This girl had me all kinds of insane, but I wanted it. I fucking craved the high she gave me. I let out a frustrated grunt when she ripped her mouth away from mine.

  “What the fuck?”

  “Shut up and let me kiss you.”

  Her hands dropped from my forearms and pressed against my chest, putting space between us.

  “No. You can’t maul me like a fucking bear without even so much as a hello. That’s not the deal.”

  “Hello.”

  She gave me a look. Then her eyes narrowed and she examined me more closely. I wasn’t sure what she was seeing in my expression, but it made me nervous.

  “What’s wrong with you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You look troubled.”

  I glanced away, attempting to school my features but it was too late.

  “You said we have an hour. I don’t want to spend it talking about what’s wrong with me.”

  I let out a breath when she cupped my cheek, turning my gaze back to her. There was a softness in her expression which had my heart lurching.

  “Logan…”

  “No. Don’t. Just don’t.” I shook my head. “I want your anger and passion, Aurora. I need it… please.”

  Admitting it to her cost me a great deal of fucking pride. The fact I’d even said please spoke volumes. I wasn’t in a state to talk about what happened earlier. I wanted to forget. The way her eyes flashed told me she got it. She understood.

  Her hand slipped from my face into my hair. She gripped it tight in her fist, pulling me closer.

  “Call me Rora if you’re going to fuck me… and I want you to fuck me like you mean it, Logan. Don’t hold back.”

  I shuddered when she sucked my bottom lip in her mouth. My hands went to her coat, shoving it off her shoulders. She was wearing a skirt which meant easy access. I groaned in her mouth when she kissed me, skimming my hands down her sides. Her nails dug into my hair. The biting pain only turned me on further.

  I dug my hands under her skirt, pulling off her knickers and shoving them down her legs. She kicked off her ballet flats and stepped out of them. My fingers were between her legs, stroking along her slit. She moaned, pushing her hips against me to encourage my exploration. Fuck, she was already wet. I wanted inside her now.

  I dug my free hand in my pocket, thankful I’d had the foresight to stick a condom in there. Then I was tugging my clothes down my hips, allowing my cock to spring free. Aurora panted whilst I ripped the foil and rolled the condom on. I picked her up by her thighs, bracing her against the wall as I fit myself between her legs. She reached between us, grabbing hold of my cock and pressing it to her. We both let out a groan when I slid inside her pussy.

  I didn’t allow her any time to adjust, pulling out a little way before thrusting back in.

  “Fuck,” she cried out, holding onto my shoulders as her head fell back against the wall.

  “Not. Going. To. Be. Gentle.” Each one of my words was punctuated by a thrust. “Take. It. Little. Masochist.”

  I don’t know why the hell I kept calling her that. It felt apt. She wanted the mix of pleasure and pain which came with the lust and hate we shared. I fucked Aurora like I hated her. It wasn’t her I hated though, but the situation we were in. The fact I couldn’t make her mine.

  “Rora,” she panted, “I told you to call me Rora.”

  “I will call you what I fucking well want. You’re my toy. That’s the fucking deal.”

  She held onto me tighter, moaning my name as I continued to take her with brutality I’d never used with anyone else. I slammed into her over and over, my hands banded around her thighs to keep her up against the wall. She wrapped her legs around me to gain more purchase. My muscles screamed in protest but I was lost to the pleasure of being inside her.

  She buried her face in my shoulder, biting down on my t-shirt, but she didn’t tell me to sto
p. Aurora moaned into my clothes, her nails digging into my skin through them where she was clasping me. This was wrong on so many fucking levels, but she’d told me not to hold back. She wanted me to show her exactly what it meant to be mine in the bedroom. My toy.

  I pressed my lips to her hair, proving I was capable of tenderness even when I’d set a punishing and brutal pace. She would feel it later. If she got mad at me about it, so be it. I’d kiss her better.

  “You’re beautiful,” I whispered.

  I felt her body trembling at my words and the way I was fucking her.

  “Logan,” she choked out, letting go of my t-shirt, “Please.”

  My girl was on the edge of it being too much for her to handle.

  “Put your hand between us and touch your clit.”

  Her fingers loosened from my clothes. She did as I said, pushing her arm between us and touching herself. She moaned into my neck, pressing her lips to it.

  “That’s it,” I murmured into her hair, “I want you to feel good.”

  She panted against me whilst I continued to pump into her without letting up in pace. I wanted to chase down my orgasm, but something inside me needed to feel her first. She had to come.

  “Oh fuck, don’t stop… oh, oh, oh, Logan!”

  My name on her lips had me groaning along with the way her pussy clamped down hard on my cock. I shuddered, unable to hold back from the onslaught of her climax.

  “Jesus, Rora.”

  That was it. I was done. The flood gates opened. I closed my eyes and let the waves of pleasure wash over me. The euphoria clearing my mind for the briefest of moments and allowing me to feel nothing but her.

  The two of us panted, but I nuzzled her face. She turned hers into mine and our lips met in a searing kiss. When we drew apart, her eyes were dark and her face flushed. I pulled her away from the wall, carrying her into my bedroom. I placed her down on my bed before disposing of the condom. When I got on the bed, I gathered her up in my arms and pressed my lips to her hair. We lay there in a contented silence, our mutual desire sated.

  “Logan,” she whispered after a few minutes had gone by.