Neil (The Uncompromising Series Book 2)

by Sybil Bartel

  I couldn’t hold on anymore.

  My thoughts ceased and light burst from everywhere. My core shook with a spasm of pleasure so intense it hurt. Moaning, mewing, I came and came but he didn’t stop. His hands gripped my waist, his hips angled, his thrusts went deeper and he hit that spot deep inside me. The orgasm that’d just wrecked me shuddered into a new wave of sensation that had no words. Fire and ice crawled inside my womb and mocked everything I’d ever felt before this.

  Viking wasn’t pounding me into another release, he was delivering me to hell. My fingers went numb, my toes curled, and every nerve in my used-up body surfaced in my throbbing pussy. I cried out for mercy, I cried out in surrender, I cried out for Viking to never stop.

  With one final, impossibly deep thrust, he dug his fingers into my hips and pressed his cock hard to my G-spot. Then he pumped his seed into me.

  I didn’t come. I detonated.

  I flew apart into a million pieces of submission and my destruction was complete.

  Viking conquered me.

  EVERY MILE I GOT MORE nervous. It’d been days since I’d seen Conner but it felt like a lifetime because I knew I’d never feel safe again. I didn’t give a shit that Viking said Jason was gone and Candle was handled. I’d seen two murders, been shot and gotten fucked by a man who skewed my entire view of reality.

  I rubbed my fingers over my temples.

  “Headache?”

  “No.” Not up for a strained conversation with the man who’d let me wake up alone this morning, I leaned my head against the window.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised when dawn broke and he was gone, but I was. Everything about last night had felt different, more. But he hadn’t left so much as a text. I’d padded into the living room thinking he’d just gotten up early, but he wasn’t even in the apartment.

  I’d made coffee, showered and taken my time doing my hair and makeup and he still didn’t show up until afternoon. No apology, no explanation, he just walked into his condo dressed in his impenetrable mask and asked if I was ready to go. I followed him to his truck, staying a foot behind and on his left because, apparently, his training of me was complete. When he told me we were meeting Talon at Viking’s house in Ocala instead of driving straight to Daytona Beach, I didn’t even ask why. I’d only nodded.

  He passed another car then glanced at me. “Everything is as it should be.”

  My nervous tension bled into irritation. “So you were supposed to kill two men in cold blood and I was supposed to get kidnapped and shot?”

  “It is a Danish proverb,” he said simply.

  It took a herculean effort to refrain from telling him where he could shove his damn proverb. “Sounds like a justification for bad choices.”

  “I did not put you in this situation.”

  All of a sudden this was no longer about my shit life and everything that’d happened. This became all about the cold, emotionless warrior sitting next to me and driving his truck like he couldn’t get rid of me fast enough. “No, you just stepped in when the opportunity arose and fucked me.” He’d fucked me real good—in the head, in his goddamn condo and every which way from Sunday—then he’d left. Just like Jason had left.

  “Language. And I did not step in. I am a substitute for no one.”

  “Oh, come on.” Now I was pissed. “Don’t pull that literal bullshit with me. You knew exactly what I meant. You’ve lived here long enough to know the fucking nuances of our language. And while you may not be a substitute for anyone, you sure as hell are like every other goddamn man after you fuck a girl.”

  His tone sharpened and he let loose with a biting remark. “Do not pretend you did not enjoy it.”

  Seriously? “You want a goddamn medal? Best fuck I ever had? What the hell is wrong with you? Do you know how to communicate with anyone?”

  His shoulders rose with a breath and he stared pointedly down the highway but he didn’t say shit.

  “Perfect. Keep that silence up. We’ll both be better off. Drop me to get my kid and you can move the fuck on with your life.” Furious, I wanted to kick something, like his stupid, perfectly clean truck.

  “I warned you to not get attached,” he said without mercy.

  “Don’t flatter yourself. I’m not attached to shit,” I lied. “And for the record, you said you don’t do attachments. You never said anything about getting attached. There’s a difference.”

  “This is why you are angry,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “You think you want something more.”

  What the fuck? “First of all.” My finger popped up like a weapon. “You don’t get to tell me what I think. Ever. And second?” Another finger popped up. “More? Really? Don’t fucking flatter yourself. You’re no goddamn prize.” Every word was a fucking lie and he deserved it.

  “Swear again,” he said calmly.

  “What?”

  His nostrils flared but his voice remained composed. “Again.”

  “You want me to swear?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “How about this? Go fuck yourself you cocksucking, motherfucking, prick bast—”

  His arm moved and he grasped my chin, hard. “One more time and I will pull over and fuck you.”

  Moisture surged between my legs. Anger mixed with alarming desire and my temper ratcheted to a whole new level of pissed I didn’t know I was capable of. I yanked on his goddamn wrist. “Who the fuck do you think you are?” I yelled.

  He took his foot off the gas.

  I glanced ahead and behind us in a panic. No other headlights. “What are you doing?”

  He braked and pulled off the highway.

  “Answer me.” Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

  He threw the gear in park, cut the engine and opened his door. The cab filled with the sound of cicadas and I glanced around in a panic. Before I could think what to do, my door opened and he undid my seat belt.

  “Get out.” His features were more austere than in the warehouse.

  I trembled. “No.”

  “Not a request.”

  Viking was alpha, all alpha. He commanded everything but he’d never forced me to do anything. Anxiety licked at my conscience but I swung my legs out of the truck because showing fear was worse than defeat.

  My feet hit the ground and I looked up at him with every ounce of defiance I had. “Now what?”

  His shoulders dropped, he leaned toward me and his body language went from tensed restraint to liquid seduction in half a second. “Look up,” he gently commanded.

  Was this a trick? Was he only pretending to not be mad? Reluctant to take my eyes off him, I glanced at the dark sky. “What about it?”

  “What do you see?”

  I swallowed past the tightness in my throat. “Night.”

  “The moon and stars,” his low, quiet voice corrected.

  I didn’t like this. Him gentle, making me look at the stars, this wasn’t the man who’d escaped a noose and killed to save my life. “So?”

  Huge, warm fingers wrapped around the back of my neck. “The same moon that was there last night.” He moved closer. “The same stars that will be there tomorrow night.”

  His body heat curled around me like everything I’d ever wanted and I pushed back. “Is this some kind of proverb?”

  “Same as the night sky, I was there yesterday and I will be there tomorrow.”

  My throat closed up, my chest tightened and I fought tears. It was the single most beautiful thing anyone had ever said to me. And it was a complete lie. He didn’t want to be there for me. He just wanted to fuck me. “No attachments.” I threw his words back at him.

  His hand landed on my hip and he turned me to face the truck as if I hadn’t spoken. “This is not the last time you are going to see me.” His lips brushed my ear as his fingers skimmed down my bare leg then traveled up the inside of my thigh. “And this is not the last time I am going to fuck you.”

  My entire body shuddered and my need for him was matched only by my need for my son. I hated
the weakness more than I hated the mess my life had become, but I felt powerless to stop it. My back arched, my pussy ached and I bent my knees to get his hand higher up my leg.

  He lifted my sundress up my back and pushed it over my shoulders. “Hands on the truck.”

  Filmy material cascaded down my chest and my nipples hardened to peaks. Cold air hit my ass and I gripped the side of the truck bed.

  He pushed his fingers into the flesh of my hips and kept the pressure just short of pain as he dragged my underwear down to my knees. “Spread your legs.”

  Lacy material cut into my knees. “Fuck me,” I demanded.

  His palm landed on my ass and his fingers dug into my pussy. It wasn’t a caress and it wasn’t meant to turn me on. It was raw and real and his hard squeeze was the closest to a claim of ownership I’d ever get out of him.

  His hand full of my ass cheek, his fingers soaked from my desire, he leaned forward and the buttons on his shirt dragged up my back. “Are you on the pill?”

  “No,” I panted.

  He squeezed my ass harder. “I am going to come inside you.”

  I didn’t care what he did as long as he stuck his giant cock in my aching cunt and fucked the hell out of me. “Do it.” I pushed words past my gritted teeth that could’ve been consent or a dare. I didn’t care how he took it as long as he took me.

  The sound of a zipper being yanked down pierced the cicadas’ incessant chirps and I bit my lip. My legs trembling, my pussy quivering, I shamelessly raised my ass and flat-out begged. “Now.”

  The tip of his dick ran up my seam and the hand holding my ass spread my cheek open. My fingers curled around cold metal and Viking shoved his cock inside me.

  Splitting, falling, soaring, sinking, I opened my mouth to cry out in pleasure and pain but no sound materialized.

  He sank to the hilt and a firm hand landed on my shoulder. “Take a breath,” he demanded.

  My tight pussy constricted in pulses. Pushing him out, pulling him deeper, I didn’t know what my body was doing and I didn’t care. Viking’s cock inside of me was the best fucking feeling in the world and I knew then and there that I would never be able to fuck another man because no one would ever compare.

  “Breathe,” Viking barked.

  No air in my lungs, I didn’t want to. Desire dripped out of my body, my nipples scraped against the cold truck and I wanted to lose my goddamn mind. I held my breath and pushed down on his cock.

  He gripped a handful of my hair and yanked. “You pass out, I stop.”

  Traitorous air filled my lungs and chased away the pinpricks of awareness that’d feathered out across my skin.

  “Another,” he demanded.

  I sucked in a breath and he pulled out then slammed back home.

  “Awwhhhh.” I curled into the thrust. “Harder,” I gasped.

  His dick hitting my G-spot, his fingers gripping my hair, he started pounding into me.

  Four letters wasn’t enough. Viking didn’t fuck me. He wrecked me. He brought me down to flesh and bone then raised me up on sensation. Except he wasn’t delivering me, he was ruining me. I was suspended over his abyss, staring down an orgasm that wouldn’t chase away my demons but I was frantic for it anyway.

  Gripping the only hold on reality I had left, I squeezed the cold metal as it dug into my palms and let go.

  Red-hot, an explosion of sensation shot through my body so quick and fierce that every limb stiffened. Slamming into me, pinning my chest against the truck, his hips ground into me and jerked.

  Viking filled me with his release.

  Sweat dripped down my spine, hair clung to my face and everything shook. I came and came and came.

  After the last remnants of my orgasm squeezed around his giant cock, he slid out and left a void nothing could fill.

  Spent, I fell against the truck.

  He pulled my underwear back over my ass and a mess of after-sex and confusion hit me. Was that his version of a dismissal? After everything he’d said? Was he being polite? Alpha? What?

  Before I could ask, he zipped himself up and with the same cold, detached voice he’d used in the warehouse after snapping that LC’s neck, he spoke. “Let’s get your son.”

  Bracing myself, my hands ladder-crawled the walk of shame along the side of the truck until I found the door handle. I hoisted my spent body into the seat and it hit me…

  No matter what sweet words he fed me, every fiber of Viking’s being, every muscle in his body—it was meant for fucking or killing.

  THE ENGINE ROARED AS VIKING pulled back on the highway. The scent of sex mingled with Viking and filled the cab but nothing in his demeanor gave away the fact that we’d just fucked on the side of the road. He didn’t adjust himself, he didn’t smile, he didn’t reach for me, he drove. And stared straight ahead.

  The phone rang through the speaker and Viking hit a button on the steering wheel. “Ja.”

  “Half hour out, y’all close?” A Southern-accented male voice spoke.

  Viking answered in Danish.

  “Copy that. Hey, darlin’, can’t wait to see ya. And someone’s excited to see his mama. Aren’t ya, C-man?”

  “Mama!” Conner yelled excitedly.

  My son’s voice filled my heart. Tears welled and I choked up. “Sweet boy,” I managed.

  “Mama, Mama, Mama!”

  The man chuckled. “All right, catch ya in a few. Say good-bye, C-man.”

  “Bye-bye!”

  The man laughed again. “Later.” He hung up.

  “Almost there.” Viking exited the highway.

  I didn’t answer. Guilt reared up and hit me in the chest. Another minute on the side of the road fucking and we would’ve missed the call. This was why I didn’t take time for myself. I’d spent the last two years trying to make up for the fact that I’d brought my son into this world without a father who loved him enough to be there for him. And now I was doing the exact same thing as Jason.

  Conner didn’t need a parent who put themselves first. He needed a mother who was present. But I wasn’t present. I was drowning. Memory loss and come from a stranger between my legs, I didn’t even know who I was anymore.

  As if he could read my mind, Viking quietly spoke. “If your life does not include yourself, it is not worth living.”

  “Another quote?”

  “Paraphrasing.” He turned down a single-lane road with an oak tree canopy.

  I wanted to hate him for his practicality but Viking was everything I wasn’t. He didn’t let his emotions rule anything. He analyzed and intellectualized and made decisions based on experience and fact. What did I do? Beg him to fuck me so I could smell like sex when I hugged my son for the first time in a week?

  I stared out the window at miles of a white two-board fence that hugged pastures prettier than anything I’d ever seen in Miami.

  The truck slowed at a break in the fence and Viking turned down a dirt lane. Two mile-long curves in the road later, he pulled up to a house that was more country estate than humble home.

  Rolling hills spread out in every direction from the two stories of wraparound porches as the full moon illuminated everything like a painting.

  “Wait.” He walked around the front of the truck and opened my door. His hand landed on my thigh and instant heat spread to my core. “We need to talk.”

  “Neil?” a woman’s voice called.

  I looked over Viking’s massive shoulder.

  Regal in her grace, she came down the front steps like she belonged here. Long, straight black hair blowing in the evening breeze, olive skin, emerald eyes, the beautiful woman put her hand on Viking’s back and smiled happily. “Hello.”

  Viking’s features shut down. He stepped back from me and ground out four words. “Ariella, this is Jannat.”

  The raven-haired beauty smiled wider and her eyes lit up. She tucked one hand under Viking’s arm and the other extended toward me in greeting. “Lovely to meet you, Ariella. Please excuse my husband. He is ver
y formal. Welcome.”

  All the air left my lungs and my world bottomed out. “Your husband?”

  “Yes.” Her smile didn’t falter.

  “Jannat,” Viking growled.

  My heart shattered, my stomach recoiled and I swallowed down bile.

  Jannat laughed, musical and cheerful, and grasped Viking’s arm with both hands. “I’m sorry, I know he can be intimidating, but I promise, he is kindhearted. Come, let’s go inside and we will wait for your son to arrive.”

  I was going to be sick.

  He’d fucked me.

  He’d fucked me on the side of the road leading up to his house where his wife was waiting for us.

  Oh my God. “I… um…” I put my hand over my mouth to stop myself from vomiting and Viking moved.

  Casting off his wife like she meant nothing, he took my purse from my shoulder and lifted me out of the truck. He barked orders at his wife in some language I’d never understand but it didn’t matter. She was already rushing back inside the house and I was bent in half, heaving all over their perfect fucking grass.

  Stunned, betrayed, irate, and about a thousand other emotions I didn’t want to feel, I fucking broke. “You came inside me,” I whisper-hissed, tears running down my cheeks.

  He pulled my hair back. “I have no regrets.”

  Oh my fucking God. “How could you? You’re married.”

  “It is not what you think,” he stated calmly.

  “Not what I think? You lied to me!”

  “Keep your voice down. You will alarm the children.”

  Jesus fuck. “You have children with her?”

  He swept a thumb over my cheek like he gave a shit about me but then he cut me down with his own special brand of coldness. “Stop crying. Your son will be here soon.”

  I hated him. I hated him so much it was hard to breathe. He’d betrayed me. Everything he’d done for me, everything we’d been through, it was all a lie. He’d said no attachments. What the hell had I thought that meant? Oh my God, I’d been so stupid. And I had no one to blame but myself. “Let go of me!”