by Sarah Bailey
Chapter 8
Quinn’s words bolstered my resolve to stay the course with Rory. To bring him out of himself so he could be free with me. So I pushed the door to when Quinn left, careful not to close it. Rory eyed me for a moment before he walked away towards the bed and picked up our discarded t-shirts. He was about to pull his on.
“Don’t.” The word was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
His eyebrow quirked up. The one with the scar. I’d wanted to ask him about it but never had the courage. And now I’d seen the scar running down the side of his abdomen. It gave him an extra air of danger I’d always thought he’d carried. Shirtless Rory was fucking hot as hell. He was toned but not in an outlandish way. All of him was just plain sexy to me.
“I mean… you can, I thought maybe we could, uh, stay like this so you get used to it.”
It seemed like such a lame excuse when really I wanted to stare at him. It’d taken Rory so long to be comfortable enough with me to take his t-shirt off in the first place. Can anyone blame a girl for wanting to admire the guy she liked a little longer?
He bit his lip before folding both our t-shirts and placing them on the end of his bed. I walked over to the bookshelf nearest to me. I didn’t feel awkward being around him with just my bra on since he’d seen me naked before. My eyes scanned over his comics. They seemed to be in series order which made sense to me.
I felt him next to me a moment later. His breath dusted over my shoulder before he placed the gentlest of kisses to it. I shivered at his touch. As much as I hated Quinn interrupting our make out session on his bed, I also knew Rory wasn’t ready for more just yet. That was okay with me. We were taking steps in the right direction. The fact he even let me touch him in the first place was huge for him. I wanted him to know how brave and amazing I thought he was.
“I’m proud of you.”
His fingers trailed down my arm.
“Why?”
“I know it wasn’t easy for you to let me touch you.”
He gripped my waist and then I found myself tugged against him, my back to his front.
“You make me brave, little star.” His hands splayed out across my stomach. “I want this to work. I want to be able to be with you every way a person should be.”
Hearing him say that made my heart race. His admission he wanted this as much as me was everything I’d wanted to hear for so long.
“One day you will.”
He leant down as his fingers trailed higher. I let out a little pant when he cupped my breast, not expecting him to turn this into something a little more sexual.
“I’m running out of patience with myself,” he whispered. “I’m not ready, but I want you all the same. You make me want to forget everything else. I need to devour you.”
I shuddered as his thumb brushed over my nipple, then he gripped it between his thumb and forefinger, twisting it until I mewled in response. His other hand ran lower, meeting the fabric of the top of my jeans.
“I want to mark you all over… but I’m not sure the boys will approve of that.”
My lips curved upwards.
“What they going to do? Say you can’t be part of our five-person relationship any longer? That’s not their choice.”
His teeth grazed my shoulder.
“You won’t stop me?”
I leant back into him.
“No.”
“You and Quinn have a safe word… you need one with me too.”
It hadn’t even crossed my mind, but then again, when Rory spanked me with my hairbrush, he really went to town. It would be wise to invoke a word if he ever took it too far. Then it occurred to me. The perfect word.
“Devil.”
Rory stilled in his movements for the briefest of moments before I felt his chuckle against my back.
“Quinn won’t like that.”
“Quinn doesn’t get a say. Besides, it’ll be our little secret. We both know he’s not really a devil at all. It’s ironic.”
“I like it… Devil it is.”
He flipped open the top button of my jeans. I didn’t exactly freeze, but I did wonder what he was doing. He’d admitted he wasn’t ready for sex, but it was also clear he couldn’t help himself any longer. As his fingers dipped beneath my underwear, I let out a breath. They brushed over my curls before sliding lower. He groaned when he met my wetness. I bucked a little when his fingers slid over my clit, stroking and coaxing me with the gentlest of touches.
“You’re soaked, little star, and it’s all for me,” he murmured before he bit down on my shoulder.
I cried out at the pain his teeth inflicted on my skin. It only made him bite harder. Why did it feel so good when he did this? The way he marked me made me feel alive. I was his. All fucking his. And I was desperate for more.
“Ror, please.”
As if sensing my need, he shifted his hand lower and slid two fingers inside me. His teeth left my shoulder as he let out a choked breath. His hand around my breast tightened. I could hardly see straight anymore as he slid his fingers out before plunging them back in my pussy.
“When I fuck you, I won’t be gentle,” he ground out as his thrusts grew harder and more intense. “I’ll restrain you so you can’t move an inch. The only thing you’ll be able to do is beg for fucking mercy, but I won’t give it to you. No… I’m going to fuck you raw. I want you to tell me no even when your body is screaming yes. I’m going to call you degrading things and treat you like you’re nothing but my little fucktoy. I’ll use you until you can’t take any more. You’ll be a mess by the time I’m done with you.”
Each word he spoke only made me wetter. The thought of him doing all of that to me sent sparks running up my spine. I ground back against him, feeling his cock digging into my back.
“Please,” I moaned.
“You want it, little star? You want to be my fucktoy?”
“Yes, Ror… I want it all.”
There was never any doubt in my mind I wanted everything Rory had to give me. I craved his brutality and darkness.
“Say it.”
“I want to be your fucktoy.”
My voice was all breathy, laced with need. I didn’t care how eager I sounded as if nothing would please me more than to have Rory degrade me. Sucked into the vortex of desire pulsing between us, whipping up waves of heat which licked our skin, scorching it, all I wanted was him.
He bit my shoulder again. This time I shuddered and moaned. The heel of his palm ground against my clit as he pressed another finger inside me. There was nothing gentle about the way he touched me. The way his teeth dug into my shoulder, his fingers twisting my nipple and the pounding he gave my pussy.
My body dangled over the precipice, waiting to be set free. I needed the free fall into bliss but only if he gave it to me. If he commanded it.
“Ror,” I whimpered.
“You want to come, little star?”
“Please.”
His hot breath met my neck as he moved my hair aside. His tongue trailed along the delicate skin above my pulse point.
“Show me you want it.”
My fingers curled into the belt loops of his jeans behind me. I gripped them tightly and ground back against him again. He groaned into my neck as he sucked on the skin.
“I want to come. Please let me. I can’t unless you say yes. You have to tell me to.”
Every part of me was desperate for a release, but I held back. Wanting to please him was like breathing air. It came naturally. I felt him smile against my neck. This is exactly what he wanted. He got off on my need for his commands. The need to obey only him in this moment.
The heel of his palm was so intense against my clit, I thought I might combust on the spot. The thrust of his fingers so brutal, like he cared not for any pain he caused me since it was laced with pleasure too.
“Dirty girl, begging to come.”
“Please.”
“So de
sperate. So needy. Just like the dirty little bitch you are.”
I shuddered at his harsh words. They made me feel like being a bad girl for him so he’d punish me again. So he’d call me names and tell me what a naughty girl I was. So he’d fuck me so hard, I couldn’t walk. I wanted to feel his darkness surrounding me. I wanted to drown in Rory.
“Ror,” I cried out as he sucked hard on my neck. He’d leave me with a fucking hickey, but I didn’t care about it or what the boys might say. I didn’t care about anything else at all except me, him and this feeling. This need.
“Mine,” he growled. “Fucking mine.”
“Yours.”
He kissed the mark I knew he’d made.
“Come for me, little star.”
I shattered on command. The release rushed through me, jellifying my limbs as the waves crashed and sucked me under. I opened my mouth on a scream but no sound came out, locked in a haze of pleasure, rendering me completely at Rory’s mercy. The little mercy he had for me.
The only reason I was still standing when I’d stopped shaking was because Rory held me up. He’d pulled his fingers from my pussy and both of his arms were wrapped around my waist, his face still buried in my neck. I pressed myself harder against him, my chest heaving. I wanted to bury myself inside Rory and never leave. My beautiful broken man with more demons than I could imagine. I wanted to set him free.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “My northern star… guiding me home.”
“Is that why you call me little star?” I croaked out.
“You’re my little northern star.”
I almost choked up knowing the truth behind his pet name for me. The pattern of stars across his bedroom ceiling made so much sense. He liked the dark, but he needed the stars so he didn’t feel so alone in the void.
“If you let me go, I’m afraid I might fall over.”
He raised his head from my neck. I felt the rumble of his chest as he laughed. Then he brought his fingers up, still slick from my arousal. I looked up just in time to see him stick them in his mouth. His eyes met mine as he cleaned me from his hand, simmering with heat and satisfaction. I swallowed, unable to form words.
When he was done, he pulled me over to his sofa and sat me down. My jelly limbs were thankful to be sitting and not having to hold me up any longer. He wandered back over to his shelves and picked out a couple of things from it. One looked like a comic and the other a graphic novel. He took a seat next to me and handed the graphic novel to me.
“You might like this.”
I looked it over and smiled. I’d taken to reading all his female superhero comics. Today he’d given me a Birds of Prey graphic novel. Cautiously, I shifted closer to him. When he didn’t look scared or uncomfortable, I put my head in his lap and stared up at him. His hazel eyes were dark, still lingering with arousal from earlier. I could feel him pressed up against the back of my head, but I didn’t comment on it. If he wasn’t ready to let me pleasure him in return, I wasn’t going to push the subject even if I wondered what he’d feel like against my tongue. If he’d fuck my mouth just as brutally as he’d fucked my pussy with his fingers.
“Is this you helping me still?”
I smiled. The more I touched him or was around him, the easier things between us became.
“No… I just want to be close to you.”
So he’d know what I was doing, I moved slowly before pressing my lips to his abdomen, right where his scar lay. His eyes went wide but he didn’t object. I settled back down and opened the novel, starting to read. After a few minutes, I saw him open his own comic and was safe in the knowledge he wasn’t going to push me off him.
I don’t know how long we were reading for, but at some point, I drifted off with the novel laid out on my chest. I was semi-awake when he picked me up off the sofa and took me over to his bed, settling me down after he’d pulled back the covers. Carefully, he tugged my jeans off me which I hadn’t bothered re-buttoning. Then he draped the covers over me and leant down, pressing a kiss to my temple.
“Ror, don’t go,” I mumbled, voice groggy with sleep.
He froze, probably having not known I was awake when he put me in his bed. I shouldn’t have asked him to stay, but I was so tired and my walls were down. The vulnerability I felt regarding our relationship showed through. My body called for his. My heart yearned for everything Rory. As much as I respected the way he was, I couldn’t help wishing I had more. He’d told me he couldn’t give me the affection the others did, but I wasn’t sure I believed that. Whilst he handled me with brutality at times, he was also soft and reverent. I needed more of that side of Rory in the moments I wasn’t electrified by the lust permeating the air.
I let out a breath when he moved away, burrowing myself further into his covers. Smelling his scent all around me. It clung to his sheets. It was earthy and fresh. I loved everything about it. It didn’t replace the man himself, but it would have to do.
I was just drifting back off when I felt the bed dip beside me. Then Rory’s hand wrapped around mine. I didn’t crack an eye open to check what exactly he was doing. All I cared about was him being right there.
“Rest, little star,” he whispered his voice above me somewhere.
I let the weight of my exhaustion suck me under, wrapped up in Rory’s covers with his hand pressed over mine. We’d moved a step forward in our relationship. And that allowed me to be content for the first time in a very long time.
Chapter 9
I stood in the doorway of the café staring at the woman who’d fed me lies my entire life. The past couple of days had been quiet in the house. Quinn had been ensconced in his office with either Xav or Eric. Whilst Rory and I had spent some more time together, it’d only been reading together in his conservatory and little else. When I’d woken up in his bed the day things had changed between us, he’d been watching me, his hazel eyes soft and told me I’d slept most of the day away so it was dinner time. I’d stayed with Quinn that night, the next with Xav and last night with Eric. It was almost as if we were starting to fall into a routine of who got to spend time with me. Though I expected things wouldn’t remain so easy for long. They never seemed to between the five of us no matter how we felt about each other.
Quinn had wanted to bring me here himself, but I’d told him it wouldn’t be a good idea. It was already enough I had to see her in the first place. This was just something I had to do by myself. Instead, he’d taken me to Viktor’s house and one of his men had driven me here since the man himself wasn’t at home. His name was André and he was fucking huge. On the way over here, he hadn’t really said very much, but that didn’t bother me. When I’d spoken to Viktor yesterday, he’d told me André would protect me as if I was one of his own. I had my own suspicions that he was mafia, but I kept those thoughts to myself. At least I wasn’t near Viktor’s older brother, Gregor. He scared me, especially knowing he’d held a gun to Eric’s head. When I saw him again, which was likely since he was my uncle, I’d have a few choice words about his behaviour towards one of my men.
“Would you like me to sit with you?”
I almost jumped at the sound of André’s voice next to me.
“You seem hesitant.”
I turned my face up to him.
“No, it’s okay. I need to do this alone. Maybe just order me a tea… please.”
The things I had to ask my mother were delicate. I wasn’t sure what Viktor had told her about this meeting, but I was sure as hell ready to get some answers.
André gave me a nod and I set off towards Isabella, swallowing hard as my palms began to sweat. So much for being brave and standing up for myself. Seeing her made me nervous as hell.
When she saw me, she stood up and put her arms out. I flinched, putting my hand up. There was no way in hell I would be hugging her right now. Not after the lies and secrets. Her face fell but she put her arms down.
“Ashleigh.”
“M
other.”
I sat down across from the seat she’d vacated. After a moment, she sat down again and placed her hands on the table.
“I wasn’t sure you’d come.”
“I stick to my word. You, of all people, should know this.”
She looked away, clearly unnerved by what I’d said. Did she think I’d make this easy on her? Never.
“When Viktor told me he’d been in contact with you, I wasn’t sure what to think. He wouldn’t tell me where you were. I’ve been so worried about you.”
I almost scoffed but kept my expression neutral. I placed my handbag in my lap and took out a single sheet of paper André had given me earlier. Pushing it across the table towards my mother, I waited for her to look down at it.
“I know who he really is.”
Might as well put it all out there. Her eyes scanned the page and the blood drained from her face. It was the results of the paternity test.
“When… when did you… how?”
“When you asked Viktor to come to see me at the Syndicate, he worked it out. So we did the test to make sure. That’s how. What I don’t understand is why you would make me think I was Frank’s daughter my whole life?”
She sat back and fiddled with her coffee mug in front of her. Today her blonde hair was slicked back in a high ponytail and she was wearing all black. Her Gucci handbag hung off the back of her chair. Her red nails clacked as she tapped the mug, the sound irritating me.
“It’s hard to explain.”
I cocked my head to the side. Everything in our lives had been complicated from start to finish. It didn’t surprise me this was as well.
“I came here for answers and I expect you to give them to me. It’s the least you can do after all the lies. I know the truth about how you made it possible for Quinn to abduct me. So let’s not beat around the bush here.”
I’d decided it was time to stand up for myself when it came to my parents. Well, at least when it came to Isabella and Frank. Viktor was a different matter. We were forging a relationship which I hoped would be on an equal footing.