by Rina Kent
He rolls his hips against mine ever so leisurely at first. Then, he slams into me with a force that knocks the breath out of my lungs. Primal jolts of pleasure ripple through me. I encircle his backside with my legs, caging him. I need him as an anchor. Otherwise, I’m afraid I’ll fall over.
Julian’s mouth finds mine as he kisses me. It’s rough and fierce and so damn raw. I’m delirious. Tears form in my eyes. His hand surrounds my throat, thumb against my pulse. The gesture drives me to the edge of coming apart.
He finds his rhythm and pounds into me with rapid, untamed frenzy. Each thrust doesn’t only fill me with ecstasy, but it also drives me to the brink of myself.
A part of me I never thought existed unravels at the unhinged passion Julian has for me. We’re so locked together, I have no idea where he ends and I begin. My mind, heart and soul are so intertwined, I don’t know if the orgasm hits my body or my entire being.
I come apart and clench around him with a hoarse scream. Waves and waves pulse through and inside me like an endless waterfall. I keep falling and falling, but I have no fear of crashing. Because for some reason, I trust that Julian will hold me together. He will keep me safe.
He hugs me close as his back muscles turn rigid. He pounds into me with wild need. The blazing inferno in his eyes spirals out of control. The slaps of flesh against flesh and the mere sensation of him filling me drives me to that edge all over again.
When a low guttural growl rips from his throat and warmth fills my insides, I’m already at that addictive place.
This time, it’s too volatile that I black out for a second. Or a few. I have no idea. When I come to, Julian is hovering over me, holding his weight on his elbows to not crush me. His deft fingers stroke strands of my damp hair back as he stares with furrowed features. “Are you all right?”
No.
I’m absolutely not fine. It wasn’t supposed to go that way. Sex is supposed to be all physical and that’s it. So why the hell did all that feel like anything but physical? It was a dangerous unravelling. A dazzling madness.
All I had to do was get him out of my system? I just bloody engraved him in me.
I’m not ready for whatever that means.
I squirm free and sit up. This is so confusing. I have to run away and lock myself somewhere safe from Julian.
Strong hands jerk me back. I’m sitting on his lap, his chest glued to my back. “Where do you think you’re going?” his curt voice booms into my ear. He sounds angry and a bit offended.
God. If the roles were switched and he wanted to leave right after that mind-blowing sex, I would’ve been so hurt, too. I go slack against him.
“Have I hurt you?” he whispers. His words are genuinely concerned, and that digs a deeper shard into my chest.
“You’ve ruined me,” I confess, turning against him and burying my head in his hard chest. It’s pointless to run away anymore.
Perhaps I never wanted to.
“Good.” He kisses the top of my head long and deep and speaks against my skin, “Because you’ve ruined me, too, Firefly.”
18
Ghost
Elle mumbles something in her sleep and throws her leg over mine.
As if half-lying on top of me isn’t enough, her small hand tightens around my shoulder and she moans. My erection springs to life.
Fucking hell.
After watching Elle’s sleeping face all night — or what part of the night I let her sleep — I still don’t understand what the bloody hell is going on with me.
She doesn’t belongs in my world. We eat people like her alive. We’re all monsters unworthy of the life we liberally snatch from others.
The plan was simple: save Team Zero from Hades and Omega’s clutches. I didn’t care what happens to me in the process because my life means nothing. I died the day my mother abandoned me in the amusement park. Ghost was born. Ghost killed and maimed without batting an eye. Ghost was a druggie who only existed because he had companions to protect.
But ever since this firefly barged into my life and kept calling me with the name I made her think is mine, I’m starting to believe that maybe Julian can come to life again. It’s so fucking idiotic because I don’t even remember life as Julian.
I’m Ghost, and Ghost doesn’t do distractions. Ghost goes for his goal without looking sideways.
And then there’s this woman. This damn woman. I want her moans. I want her screams. I want her mine.
My fingers brush strands of Elle’s long hair off her soft features. When she told me to make her mine, I’ve never felt such ecstasy. When I sank deep inside her for the first time in her life, it felt like it was my first time, too. And in a way it was. I don’t remember the other women’s faces. I was too drugged out of my mind back then.
One thing is for certain: I never took a woman bare. With Elle, I hated the mere fucking idea of a condom. When she initiated it, I already thought of her as mine.
I never wanted to keep anything as mine. While I consider Team Zero my family, they were never mine. We’re all too fucked up for that. But Elle? Maybe I didn’t want to admit it before, but since the first time I’ve seen her defiant, electric gaze in that alley, I wanted to keep her. She can fight all she want but she’s been mine since the second I laid eyes on her.
Now, I have to make tough decisions that might cause Mist to hate me forever. One thing is for sure: I will never let Elle out of my sight again.
A rustle sounds from the window. It’s quiet and barely noticeable. I throw the sheet to cover Elle’s nakedness as Shadow peeks from the window. He’s only wearing shorts.
“Some privacy,” I grumble. “No more barging in from the window. There’s a door.”
“Doors are boring.” He remains crouched on the window sill. His gaze flicks from Elle to me, expression observant. “Time for some boxing.”
“Not today.” Nothing would make me leave Elle’s side.
“Come on, mate.” He groans. “You got rid of your excessive energy, but I need to punch. Don’t make me ask that old hag Mist for a duel, we would kill each other. And that fucking Flame is always asleep, I don’t know how the bloody hell he keeps in shape.”
“Not my problem.” I give him a pointed look. “Go to your underground fighting rings.”
“Fell tits over arse, eh, mate?” he asks with a strange look in his eyes. At first, I thought it had to do with that robotic look trying to weave back in, but it’s a genuine sadness.
What’s happening to him these days?
“It’s arse over tits,” I correct him.
“What-the-bloody-hell-ever.” He turns to climb down but says over his shoulder. “As much as I hate to admit it, Mist could be right. Maybe it’s better off if we bring no one to our hell.”
And then he’s gone.
“Too late,” I murmur, staring at Elle. She’s already in too deep. There won’t be a way out.
Elle stirs, her eyes fluttering open slowly. When their bright blue falls over me and she smiles — tentatively, I want to eat her whole. She’s so fucking beautiful, strong, and innocent. All at once.
My phone vibrates on the nightstand. I catch a glimpse of Mist’s name and ignore it. Even if Hades himself calls, I won’t answer.
Apparently, Elle has brilliant vision since she catches the name, too. Her lips pout in that way that makes me want to kiss her to death.
“Aren’t you supposed to take that?” she asks. “It’s Mist.”
My fingers trail over her chest and wrap around her neck. Her pulse has become the only constant thing in my life. When it jumps under my thumb, it’s like a shot of ecstasy. “I’m only supposed to be here.”
She smiles sheepishly. I run my forefinger along her lower lip. She opens her mouth and sucks it inside – without breaking eye contact.
My erection becomes painful.
Her warm, wet tongue continues swirling around my finger until I nearly come like a teenager.
“Are you very sore?” I grunt.
&nbs
p; “No,” she blurts, letting go of my finger with a pop. Then, she winces. “I mean yes, but it’s fine.” She chews on the inside of her cheek. “Why?”
“Because I have to do this.”
I flip her on her stomach, and she squeals then laughs. The throaty, carefree sound strikes a place I never knew existed inside me. I grab a handful of her sublime arse and lift her on her elbows and knees with my other hand.
Elle looks over her shoulder. It confuses the hell out of me how those deep blue eyes seem to see through my soul when I thought I had no fucking soul in the first place.
My body covers hers from behind. Her softness caves into me. I grab a fistful of her hair and thrust into her in one go. She bucks against me and releases those deep-throated noises that mess with my chest more than with my body. Now that I tasted how euphoric it is to be inside her, I don’t think I would ever give this up.
She’s a lot stronger than Omega’s effects.
Still pounding into her, I yank her hair so her gaze meets mine. “What the fuck are you doing to me, Elle?”
She pants, eyes filled with raw lust and confusion. “I’ll answer you if you answer me.”
I slam into her deeper and harder. My rhythm turns into an uncontrollable frenzy. I can’t fucking help it. She’s the only woman I wanted with such untamed passion.
Elle doesn’t take long to comes undone, screaming my name and strangling my length. I follow soon after. The orgasm hits me with a force I never experienced before.
When I pull out, our juices trail down her thighs. A sick satisfaction takes hold of me.
I bring her close to me. When she wraps her arms and legs around me and releases lazy satisfied murmurs, only one thought remains.
Mine.
After the shower that took hours, Elle walks funny into the room.
As I button my shirt, she fumbles into her clothes. A towel is wrapped around her body and another around her hair. It would be so easy to yank those off and devour her again. There are a million things I still want to do to that body.
But she’s sore. Besides, Mist has been calling non-stop. I can’t delay talking to her any longer.
Elle catches me staring, and her cheeks turn crimson.
God, she’s so adorable. I want it all: her innocence. Her strength. Her fucking addictive light.
She breaks eye contact and lays a dress on the bed. “I’m going to walk strange during work.”
“What work?” In a second, I’m towering over her.
She gives me a wary look. “I work as a waitress, remember?”
“Of course not.” My hand glides down her arm, and goosebumps cover her skin. “You think you can continue working after last night?”
A slight panic resides in her eyes before she masks it. What the hell is that supposed to mean?
“I have to work, Julian.”
“No.”
She won’t serve drinks for those low-class pigs.
“Julian...” She takes my hand in hers, voice softening. “I would go crazy if I stay here alone. I will start hitting my head on the walls.”
My lips twitch imagining that. “Still no working, Firefly. You box, right? We can go at it once I take care of a few things.”
“You mean after you go to Mist.” She pouts again and crosses her arms.
This time, I smile. No idea why I love it when she’s jealous, but I do.
She nudges my chest. “What’s so funny?”
I pull her into me and kiss the top of her head. “Do as I ask for once and stay here.”
She peeks up at me. “If I can’t work, can I at least stay with Scar until her shift starts?” When I say nothing, she continues, “Please?”
I groan. “Fine. Only stay around Scar or Kyle or Shadow. All right?”
“Okay.” She smiles wide, and I can’t resist kissing the living hell out of that smile until her lips are swollen and my trousers tighten.
Once I pull back, she stares at me with that confused expression. As if, like me, she has no fucking clue what’s going on.
I leave the room before I give into the temptation to take her against the wall.
As soon as I’m in front of the safe house, my phone vibrates. I expect it to be Mist, but when I make out the caller’s ID, my shoulders turn rigid.
Hades.
“Ghost speaking,” I answer in my most curt tone.
“How is the factory?” he asks in that nonchalant, posh voice.
“Good.”
“I heard a bothersome rumour about meetings with President Joe?”
Those fucking spies. I keep my no-nonsense voice. “I thought we agreed that I can use whatever method I deem appropriate as long as the results are to your liking.”
“Of course. Of course.” There’s a small silence before he says, “It’s only that the rumour mentioned you would be giving shares to President Joe.”
My mind races. Hades’ spies are from the guards, but they remain outside. They would know about the meeting, but they would have no fucking clue about what happened in the meeting. Since I make sure to scan the office for listening devices, it can’t be due to eavesdropping on our conversation.
The traitor is someone from the inside. My back turns rigid. No. Not my Team Zero mates. They would never betray me.
I bottle that idea and answer Hades, “Of course not.”
“Good. Just so you know, Hawk is being tortured — aside from Omega deprivation. He’s currently hanging between the edge of insanity and death. I sent the video to Mist if you’re interested in seeing it.”
The line goes dead.
I jam my fist at a tree trunk. The fucking bastard. He knows exactly who to send the video to.
Does that mean Mist is betraying me? True, she would do anything for Hawk, and she was royally pissed off last night, but she wouldn’t go as far as betraying me, would she?
I’m mulling it over when Shadow comes running, a scowl on his face.
My shoulders strain. I know, I just know, that there are bad news. “What is it?”
“Kyle’s been shot.”
19
Elle
The air ripples with gloomy energy in Le Salon. One wrong move and bullets will fly.
My movements are careful as I sidestep a few tense guards. Even the girls who usually hang out with them before the opening hours are nowhere to be seen.
This level of alertness is similar to last night. Only now, it’s more suffocating.
My chest tightens, and I clasp my hands together. Have President Joe and Johnny returned? Will I be handed over now?
No.
Julian won’t allow it. No idea why I have this much faith in him. It’s wrong to trust a bloody mobster. But after the night and morning we spent together – all that passion and affection and intimacy – I can’t ignore the electricity between us anymore. When he said I’m his, I believed it. My body hums and is still sore from the feeling of him inside me.
I come to a screeching halt near the middle of the stairs and clutch the barrister for balance.
I trust him.
For the first time in my life, I’m trusting another human being with my fate.
It scares the living shit out of me.
I quicken my pace up the stairs. My goal is to find Zoe, and I need that footage. I might trust Julian, but I don’t trust Mist or that shady Ghost who disappeared without a trace.
Julian might care, but those around him sure as hell don’t. Evidence? Mist sent me to my potential killer and didn’t even apologise for it. She and Ghost might try to get rid of me for their mob interests. So I have to do as I promised Liam; find the footage and leave.
A black hole eats my heart at the thought of leaving Julian, or him thinking I betrayed him. I might be in his good graces now, but I realise more than anyone how scary he can be.
The memory of Julian’s robotic look shoots a shudder through my body. I don’t want to meet that ruthless side of him.
Once I find Zoe, I will tell
him everything.
I hope he will forgive me.
For a stupid reason, I don’t want him mad at me.
I stop near the doorframe of the control room and peek through the ajar opening.
Kyle is nowhere to be found. Instead, there are a dozen guards sitting in front of the desktops and checking all the footage as if searching for something. The smell of smoke and beer wafts through the air.
No way will I get my hand on any footage with all of them inside.
Two guards, Vladimir and Nick, are supervising. They’re the closest to Kyle. I heard Vladimir talk with Kyle about going with him to New York. To the Russian mafia there.
Shudders.
“Fucken hell,” Nick mutters. “There’s nothin’ in here. Why we’re lookin’, anyway? Kyle’s been shot outside our turf. We need a war if ye ask me.”
My heart almost stops beating. Kyle’s been shot? He’s alive... right?
I glue myself to the doorframe.
Vladimir lights a smoke and rakes tense fingers through his white-blond hair. When he speaks, it’s in a thick Russian accent, “Shut up. Ghost ordered us to look, so we look. That’s it.”
“Ghost needs to teach that cunt President Joe a lesson is all I’m sayin’”. Nick continues. “’twas a shot to the back. Ye think it could be the traitor?”
A puff of smoke comes from Vladimir’s lips and fills my nostrils with nicotine. “Mind your own business and do your job.”
Footsteps sound from behind me. I pretend to go on my way without looking back. If they catch me eavesdropping, I’m finished. The newcomer guard catches in my peripheral vision. He’s the one who allowed me on the meeting floor last night. Only today, I can feel him narrowing his eyes on my back. He goes into the control room and the door shuts behind him.
Theories and pieces of information fill my mind as I walk down the hall. Most of all, my heart is tightening about the possibility of Kyle’s wound being fatal.
I didn’t even realise that I liked the bloke so much, but I do. Kyle and Scar are the only warm people around here – aside from Julian.