Regret (Shattered Secrets Book 1)

by Bella J.

  “Ace—”

  “I can give you what you need. Fuck you like you need to be fucked. We both need this. We both need to be free.”

  The sound of his zipper caused her to gasp, the anticipation flaring up like wildfire inside her belly. All she could think about was letting him have her.

  Still holding a breast in the palm of one hand, he reached up, wrapped his other hand around the back of her neck, and bent her so far over that her cheek was against the cold bathroom sink.

  “You think you need control, but what you need is to let go.” She felt the head of his cock softly glide across her naked ass, her hips moving, wanting him inside her. “Let me give you what you need.”

  His palm landed hard on the soft skin of ass, and she cried out. The sting shot all the way down her thighs, ricocheting up between her legs.

  “You like that, don’t you?” Another hard palm against her behind, and she let out another cry, her skin stinging with pain, burning with pleasure.

  “You pretend like you don’t want to give up control. But you do. You do, Scar. You want me to take it from you, don’t you?”

  The feel of his soft hand rubbing her burning skin was so good she could hardly speak. Until he slapped her ass again—harder. “Answer me.”

  “Fuck you,” she bit out, still not letting him win. Yes, she wanted him. Yes, she wanted him to fuck her. And yes, she wanted to let him take control of her, but she didn’t know how to let him. To not fight was something she didn’t know how to do.

  She felt him glide the head of his cock over her ass, the soft sensation mixing beautifully with the burn still lingering on her flesh. He kept his hand around her neck, holding her down. From the corner of her eye, she could catch a glimpse of him in the mirror and he was staring down, looking at her ass, his face painted with shadows of lust.

  She pushed her hips out toward him. “Are you planning on teasing me the whole night, or are you going to fuck me?”

  His hold around the back of her neck tightened. “I’m going to have fun fucking that dirty mouth of yours, that’s for sure. Not tonight, though, but soon.”

  The second he positioned himself at her entrance, Scarlet had to stop herself from pushing back. Every ounce of her being wanted to rear back, to take all of him, to be filled by him and to feel consumed.

  “I don’t have a rubber.” The way he said it, the low tone of his voice, told her that he didn’t give a shit about a condom. He would fuck her anyway. “Do you want me to stop?”

  “No. I’m on the pill.”

  “You sure?”

  “Fuck. Yes, I’m sure,” she yelled at him. “Just do it already!”

  And then he slammed into her hard and deep. Taking all of him with such force shot a good kind of ache all the way up her spine, and she cried out. The feel of him inside her, skin on skin, it was the first time since…since…fuck, she couldn’t allow herself to think about that. Not now.

  “Jesus.” Hunter reared back and slammed into her again—harder.

  “Oh God.” Scarlet’s cheek was still on the porcelain sink, her ass still way up high for him. When she tried to push herself up, he tightened his hold on her neck, forcing her to stay down. Somehow, she needed to fight, needed to keep control. Even though she didn’t want to, it was like her instinct demanded her to.

  Scarlet moved to the side, reached around her leg, and grabbed his thigh before sinking her nails into his skin. The roar that came from behind her as she dug her nails deeper into his flesh was something between pain and pleasure.

  “Fuck!” A loud crack echoed around them when his hand collided with the side of her thigh, and it was the hardest most painful of all the hits he had dished out on her so far. A loud cry escaped her mouth, yet she pushed back, forcing him deeper into her.

  “Oh shit.”

  Hunter stilled and let go of her neck. Both of them looked to the door and a guy stood there staring at them with big, round, freaky-looking eyes.

  Hunter was the first one to react. He grabbed a bottle of soap from the sink and flung it toward the guy’s head.

  “Get the fuck out!” But the man was out the room in record time and the bottle of soap landed with a loud thud against the door.

  Scarlet lifted herself up and tried to move away, but he grabbed her waist. “Don’t you fucking move. We’re finishing this.”

  Reaching over her shoulder she grabbed his hair, trying to keep him from bending her over again. Their eyes locked on each other in the mirror and then he continued to thrust in an out of her, her breasts bouncing up and down from the force.

  With one hand on her hip, his fingers pushing deep into her skin, he moved his other hand down until he touched her where she so desperately needed to be touched. Her knees quivered, her body shaking from the pleasure that stemmed between her legs.

  “Hunter. I’m close.” She breathed out, her mind nothing but shards of desire and broken pieces of need. The way his finger worked her, the way he kept on pounding into her from behind, pushed her to the edge within seconds.

  “Let go, Scar.”

  She wanted to, she really did. Yet there was something different, something that was clawing at her mind, her soul…her heart. Suddenly filled with the need to surrender, no longer wanting to fight, she loosened her grip in his hair and leaned forward. She placed her hands on the edge of the sink, and Hunter stilled behind her, both of them staring at each other in the mirror.

  Not wanting to fight anymore, feeling emotionally exhausted, she silently gave him control, urging him to take all of her, to use her as he wanted. By the way he stared back at her, he knew what she was doing. It was like there was this rare, deep moment between them—a connection that just seemed to click in place. It was different this time. Different than the night before.

  He moved, and this time, he slowly eased into her while he wound her hair up around his fist, tighter and tighter until her scalp stung as he pulled her head back. His eyes never left hers. They watched each other, but it was so much more than that. There was something being said in their silence, as if he was acknowledging the fact that she had surrendered. And the weirdest part of it was that, to her, it felt like he was accepting it, wanted it, needed it. It seemed that his need to control her was much stronger than her need to control him. He needed it more than she did.

  Why?

  When he started to pick up the pace, she gripped the sink tighter, her knuckles turning white. Harder and harder he started to move in and out of her, the pressure building inside her core with a kind of force threatening to break her in half.

  And then she was no longer there. Scarlet was no longer in the restroom being fucked by a guy who somehow became more than just her bodyguard. More than just the guy who annoyed the crap out of her.

  It was like her mind was transported back to a time when she was weak, unable to fight, unable to control what happened to her. Yet she felt the pleasure Hunter was thrusting into her, her legs starting to feel weak. It was crazy, unnerving, and she had no idea what was happening.

  His grip in her hair tightened some more, her neck straining back.

  “I need you to come for me, Scarlet.”

  God, she was so close. The way his finger still moved between her legs, the way he kept on pushing deeper and deeper, harder and harder, had her entire body trembling. But there was something holding her back. Something that kept her from letting go. An image, a nightmare of the one person who stole everything from her. A man who had destroyed all the good inside her.

  “You are mine, Little Red. No matter what you do, who you’re with, I’m the one who took your innocence from you. That part of you will always belong to me.”

  Scarlet pinched closed her eyes, desperate to get rid of that voice, that image. But he was there. Right there with her like he always had been, and probably always would be. No matter what she did, where she went, he followed her. In her mind, her thoughts, her nightmares—his face was always there.

  “Yo
u think you can escape me by fucking every man you see, Little Red? I will never let you go.”

  With clenching fists, she tightened her grip on the side of the sink as tears stung her eyes. It felt like her fingers were about to break, all the while Hunter kept on pounding into her. How was it possible that between all the voices and the images of her tormenter, she still felt the pleasure Hunter was giving her?

  It was when Hunter started to move wildly that she knew he was just as close as she was. The way he let go of her hair, his fingers clawing at her hips while he continued his onslaught from behind, she knew it would bruise. But she loved it, the thought of him marking her body.

  This was it.

  This was the night she finally lost her control to a man, something she had promised herself she would never do again.

  Just as she was about to let go, a memory flashed before her eyes. She was bent over just like this. Her control no longer hers—just like now, and she felt the darkness slowly consume her, taking away the pleasure she needed.

  She was about to lose herself in the soul destroying memory when Hunter’s hand was no longer between her legs, and she felt the burning sting of another hard smack against her ass, bringing her back to the here and now. Back to the reality that it was Hunter inside of her. It was him touching her, no one else. It was just him and her—them. It was Hunter she was giving her control to. And then she realized…she was totally okay with that.

  With another tug of her hair, he lifted her up and placed his hand around her throat, squeezing tight while his other hand slipped between her legs. Her skin was on fire, her body screaming and aching, the pressure climbing until finally she cried out, her voice echoing between the four walls as she shattered into a million pieces around him.

  Hunter flexed one final time and both of them cried out in unison, their pleasure ripping through them, tearing their fucking souls apart.

  It was amazing. It was powerful…and it was liberating.

  Maybe too much.

  As her release peaked, tears started to roll down her cheek. Every emotion known to mankind completely took possession of her. It wracked through her body and she couldn’t control it. Scarlet was unable to suppress her anger, her sorrow, her pain, and her torment. With one soul shattering moment, all her walls came crumbling down, spilling around into nothing but dust, leaving her completely unprotected.

  Hunter stilled behind her and loosened his grip around her neck. With his finger he gently wiped the tears that trickled down her cheek.

  Their gazes met in the mirror, and by the way he looked at her, she knew that he knew.

  “Scar,” he whispered into her ear with so much heartache in his voice that it spoke directly to her soul, causing more tears to spill from her weak body.

  She just showed him her pain. And now he knew her secret.

  Chapter 25

  When Hunter saw that tear slip down her cheek, he knew. He goddamn knew. There were a few seconds when he felt like she was no longer there with him, but somewhere else. Hence the reason his palm hit her thigh that one last time. He had to bring her back to him, to what they were doing. Being the selfish bastard he was, he wanted her all to himself. There was no way he would share her with anyone, even if it was just a memory—or a nightmare.

  Her body trembled against him and he spun her around, cupping her cheeks in his hands, forcing her to look up at him.

  “I swear on my fucking life that I will never let him hurt you again. I swear it, Scarlet.” The second his words left his mouth, she started to sob. Heartbreaking tears streamed down her face, her entire body shuddering from her pain. There was nothing else he could do but wrap his arms around her and just hold her. Her sobs wracked through her body, and all he could do was stand there and hold her as tight as possible.

  When did this happen? When did he become the guy who hugged and comforted women? He didn’t do shit like this. But there he was, in the middle of the bathroom, his pants still around his knees and hugging a woman who was crying her heart out against his shoulder.

  Well, fuck.

  Even though her crying started to slowly subside, it didn’t seem like he was doing enough. He wanted to go out there and track this son of bitch down, make him pay for what he had done to her. Hunter wanted her to have her revenge, but he wanted to be the one to serve it for her—to give her this motherfucker’s head on a silver platter.

  He wrapped his hands over her shoulders and pushed her away just a little. “I will make him pay, Scar. I will make him pay for what he did to you.”

  She shook her head, her tears still moving freely down her beautiful face. “No. All I want is for him to leave me alone. I just want my life back, Hunter. That’s all I want.”

  “And you will get it back. Even if it’s the last fucking thing I do, I will make sure you get your life back.”

  She wiped away the lingering tears on her face. “Why? Why would you want to do that for me?”

  “I don’t know. I can’t answer that right now. But all I know is that when that big-ass motherfucker had his hands all over you tonight, I couldn’t take it. I wanted to slit the man’s throat.”

  She snorted and tried to look down to the floor, but he tightened his hold on her. “I’m serious, Scar.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “What about your rules, Ace?”

  “What rules?” He smiled.

  She cocked a brow. “Seriously?”

  “Scarlet Woods, you have managed to get me to break all my rules in a matter of days. Rules that countless others have tried to get me to break, but never could.”

  “I thought you said you had one rule?”

  For a brief moment he kept her gaze, no longer feeling the hesitation he used to feel whenever he looked into her eyes. It was the weirdest thing.

  “Blue eyes,” he whispered.

  “What?”

  “Blue eyes. That’s my second rule. Never a woman with blue eyes.” He stroked his thumb over her eyebrows, his eyes never leaving hers.

  There was no need to say anything else. The look in her eyes told him that she understood. Just like he understood her, she now understood him. Both of them had been hurt in the past. Both had something taken away from them. Yet here they were, two broken people who had somehow managed to break down the walls they had built.

  His gaze dropped to her dress, which was still wrapped around her waist, and he reached down, pulling the top over her breasts, letting his fingers softly trace down the perfect, rounded swells.

  “I have no idea what you did to me.” He grabbed a towel from the rail and softly rubbed it between her legs, gently cleaning the remnants of his release. After tossing the towel to the floor, he moved his hands to her waist and tugged the skirt of her dress down over her hips. “All I know is that from here on out, you’re mine. And I will tear apart any man who tries to take you from me.”

  And that was the goddamn truth. Whether he was capable of ever loving again, he didn’t know. But at that moment, he was closer to loving a woman than he had been in a long, long time. And he’d be damned if he would lose that.

  “Come on. Let’s get you out of here.” He wrapped his arm around her shoulder protectively and led her out of the restroom.

  They made their way through the bar, and the guy who had walked in on them getting an eyeful of Hunter buried balls deep inside Scarlet stood by the jukebox. Hunter gave him the one finger salute, smiled smugly, and walked out.

  On their way to Adam’s beach house, Hunter tried to make sense of everything he was feeling. Even though it was new, it was also familiar. The way his soul reached out to hers, the way he suddenly had this odd sense of possessiveness over her, and how protective he had been over her—it all pointed to one thing. But he wasn’t ready to go there yet. He wasn’t sure he would ever be ready. Everything had happened so fast, he needed to make sure he could trust whatever the fuck was happening between him and Scarlet. But only time
would tell, time he was hoping they had.

  “Where do you go?” Scarlet’s voice jerked him back to reality, and he glanced her way.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Last night was the second time you left in the middle of the night.” She looked at him. “And both times you came back battered and bruised. Where do you go?”

  Taken aback by her question, Hunter turned his focus back to the road ahead. That was a part of his life he kept hidden from everyone, not wanting to share how deep his scars went. But now, with her, he wanted to open up. He wanted to tell her. The problem was, how did he answer that question without sounding like a complete psycho?

  There was only one way he could. “I’ll show you.”

  Twenty minutes later, Hunter stopped in front of a house twice the size of Adam’s beach house. The parking area was filled with Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Hummers, every expensive car imaginable.

  “You came to a party?” Scarlet asked, confused, while staring at the crowd of girls standing outside in their miniskirts, holding their glasses of champagne.

  “I guess you can call it that. But it’s not your normal kind of party. Come on.” He got out of the car and walked around to her side. On their way up the stairs, he took her hand. “You need to stay with me the entire time we’re here, okay?”

  “Why? What kind of party is this?”

  They stopped at the top of the stairs and he stared at her. “It’s the kind of party where money talks, and assholes walk. Inside that house,” he pointed toward the door, “there is no such thing as rules. So you stay at my side and you act like you belong to me.”

  “Surely you know by now that I belong to no one, Ace.” She shot him a cocky grin.

  He stepped right up to her, glancing down. “You and I both know that is no longer the truth.”

  Her tongue flicked out, licking her lips. “And why not?”

  He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, tasting the subtle sweetness of cherry. He didn’t kiss her. He didn’t glide his tongue in her mouth. He just touched her lips with his, and he heard her inhale sharply.