by Renea Mason
His words sparked an inferno. Rage bubbled from the inside out. “Fuck you. You’re not going anywhere.”
He pivoted to face me. “What did you say?” He enunciated every word.
“You heard me. I’m done taking your bullshit. Tired of your little tantrums every time you get surprised.”
“Tantrums? Did you accuse me of throwing tantrums?” He crossed his arms over his chest, his glare penetrating, but I refused to back down.
“That’s exactly what I did.”
“Look here, little girl…”
I took a step backward. I had him where I wanted him. If he wasn’t angry, he’d shut me out, something I couldn’t afford. But no matter how pleased I was that my strategy worked, angry Cyril was real fucking scary. It didn’t escape my notice he didn’t call me, Light. This was his first step in distancing himself from me.
He continued ranting while I plotted my next move. “First impressions are always right, aren’t they? You weren’t who you said you were after all, and what you stole from me was far more insidious than my blood, wasn’t it? You had to—”
My heart pounded faster in my chest escalating my courage. “To what, Cyril? What did I take from you? I’m curious. You know what? Let me tell you what I took. Let me make my grand confession. Here in this room, I’ll give you all the details of my nefarious deeds.” I took a step toward him. He didn’t waiver.
Before he could respond, I continued. “My most devious plan involved stealing your trust. I made you believe I’d never do anything to hurt you. That I’d always be on your side. Your partner. Your ally. Once I owned your trust, I shoved it into my little bag of goodies, I then stole your respect. I made you consider me in ways you had never considered others. Held you accountable and demanded your contemplation. Made you humble yourself in ways you never thought possible. I tossed your respect in my pocket, but that wasn’t enough for this greedy little impostor. After that, I came for your love. Something you didn’t even know you had but now know you can’t live without. Wasn’t that my greatest accomplishment? Making you feel things you didn’t even know you were capable of? So, you’re right, Cyril, I’m guilty. Guilty of making you think. Making you change. Making you feel. Making you love. But you’re wrong about one thing—I’m only a thief if you walk away. Because all those things will always be part of me, if you’re with me, they will always be yours.”
He arched an eyebrow. His lips pursed in a fine line.
“But the most ironic thing is I can’t steal any of those things. They were gifts, and I’ll be damned if you think you’re taking them back because you’re having a self-indulgent pity party. I thought we were over this.” I inched closer.
This time he took one barely indiscernible step backward, his eyes wide with…what? Amusement? Incredulity? Whatever it was, we were going to play my game. I was too far gone to entertain his nonsense.
I push on. “What? No comeback? No sarcastic reply? No condescending asshole comment? Not going to tell me how I’m wrong? How I couldn’t possibly understand because I’m human?”
More fucking silence as his brow furrowed. I didn’t think he could stay quiet for this long.
“I want you to consider one thing before I leave you to wallow in your melancholy pool of nonsense. Let’s say it was a setup. Somehow it was no coincidence we met, that our paths crossed. That I’m part of some nefarious scheme. I’d like to remind you that you’re no different. What you were when you were created and what you’ve become are two very different things. Just because you were designed for a specific purpose, your free will defines who you are now. How am I any different? Neither one of us is controlled by anyone. We’ve made our own choices. If I’m part of a plan to seek vengeance, isn’t it the ultimate revenge for me to have fallen in love with the enemy?”
I had already started my retreat plan when he reached out and grabbed my chin, squeezing, forcing me to meet his gaze. I could not read the intention behind his eyes.
He delved into my soul, the feeling so unnerving I wanted to look away but dared not because my strength was what he needed. I gazed back, hoping for his surrender.
His lips crushed against mine in a suffocating kiss. His hands moved to my biceps gripping me and pulling me closer, melding my body against his. Lips so full and commanding demanded my acquiescence. Sometimes the only way to win the war was to lose the battle. I surrendered, giving him all of me.
Large hands cupped my ass, lifting me. He spun and knocked various trinkets from the surface of his desk, scattering them across the floor.
My hands drifted lower, undoing the button on my pants. I released Cyril’s mouth long enough to divest the rest of my clothes before shimmying my behind back onto the wooden surface. I planted a foot on each side of the desk and spread my legs, in full invitation.
He stood arrow-straight, drinking me in.
“Cyril…look at me.”
His gaze moved from the juncture between my legs to my eyes.
“No matter who created me, I belong to you.”
He said nothing while yanking his shirt over his head, but returned his sights to my sex.
“Go ahead, Cyril. Take what’s yours. If I’m a weapon, use me to destroy them.”
His hands drifted to his belt buckle and paused. He seemed to consider his actions carefully. With painstaking slowness, he undid the latch on his belt, threaded the button through the hole, and lowered the zipper one tooth at a time.
His distant stare unnerved me. His silence frightened me.
Standing tall, cock erect, rid of all his clothing, he took two long strides positioning himself between my wide-stretched legs just out of reach. He concentrated on my face as though he might be trying to read my mind. If he had doubts, all he needed do was accept my invitation, and he would know the truth behind my words.
I expected his penetration, his onslaught, but when he fell to his knees, resting his head on my inner thigh, I wasn’t sure how to react. His hair tickled the soft skin. He closed his eyes, inhaled, and then gazed up at me. What I saw was even more surprising—reverence.
He slowly licked his lower lip in thought, then opened his mouth to speak. “After Aristia’s destruction, I swore I’d never kneel before anyone again.” He paused and then ran his nose along my pale flesh. “Until this moment, I kept that oath. But this time it’s my choice. You’re not demanding it of me. It’s, instead, my privilege. My honor. You’re right; it doesn’t matter how or why you’re here, only that you are. I won’t walk away. I can’t. We are one, and always will be.” He pressed his full lips against the skin of my inner thigh. His breath blew hot, warming me. “I’ve spent so much time alone, sometimes it’s hard to remember there’s more to consider now. That you can no more betray me than I can betray myself. Neither one of us ended up as intended, and together, we’ll be something they never expected.” Soft nibbles inched closer to my sex.
My breath hitched as I anticipated his touch and savored his words. I had won. Tamed the beast. Conquered my king. But even with the taste of victory on my tongue, the desire to surrender overwhelmed me.
“Cyril?”
His lips puckered the silky skin, working, teasing my flesh. “Yes, Light…” He hovered an inch away from my sex.
I shivered, unable to form the words. I gripped the desk tighter and awaited his deliverance.
His declaration, “I don’t deserve you,” caressed my core just before his tongue blazed a trail from slit to clit. He moaned. “There’s something about your scent now. It’s sweeter. Addictive even. I want to bite you, but I can’t afford the repercussions, but here…” his tongue traced the edge of my opening, “you taste just as sweet. I’m dying to devour your orgasm.”
I rested my head on my shoulder and closed my eyes. My breathing halted with each caress of his tongue. He was a master at his art. His mouth made love to me with precision and elegance. My fingers encircled the ornamental edge of the desk, balancing myself as my legs stiffened and pressed in
to the surface, forcing my sex snug against his face. I didn’t want to come this way, not with him on his knees. I wanted to stare into his eyes, knowing I was the only one who could.
I fisted my hand in his hair, pulling him away from my skin. “Cyril…Please…”
His sapphire-blue eyes gazed up at me in question and concern. “Yes, Light?”
In contrast to the bravado I used to conquer his fears, I needed him to save me from my own. “I need to feel you.” Before he could snap off one of his sarcastic comebacks, I clarified, “I want you to hold me.”
He rose, steadying himself on his toes. “Oh, Linden.” He enveloped me in his arms while trailing kisses on my forehead, along my hairline.
I reached between us and grasped his cock in one hand, guiding him where I needed him. I didn’t want to fuck him. That wasn’t what this was about. It was about connection. I wanted to feel him everywhere. For my devotion to melt away his doubt. But above all, I wanted him to see all the things I feel for him in my mind. The things words could never convey. Impossible hopes. Insurmountable dreams. All fueled my desire for him.
He didn’t hesitate. I braced my hands on his shoulders savoring the feel of his cock stretching me, filling me, completing us. “Look at me, Cyril.” I wanted to study his expression.
The same adoration I’d seen while he was on his knees stared back. He rocked his cock in and out of my body, his gaze never leaving mine. Our state, almost hypnotic, with the even rhythm of his thrusts. The energy surrounding us crackled in the air.
His hands moved to my hips and adjusted my pelvis, giving him deeper access to my depths. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders pulling me tighter against his chest, smothering me with his body. I heard him mumble into my hair, “I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Ever doubting you. You’re the only thing that’s ever frightened me. I’m so afraid to lose you, to disappoint you.”
I combed my hand through his hair. “You haven’t. You’re exactly who I need you to be.”
He reached around me and picked up a letter opener topped with a red eight-sided jewel. He sliced the sharpened tip into the skin where his neck and shoulder met. “Drink, Linden, renew our bond. Take the rest of me inside you. Complete us.”
I watched the red bead over the muscles of his chest. With the flat of my tongue, I collected every drop until my lips closed over the wound. I sucked and licked, taking all he would give me, my pleasure growing with each swallow. His cock kept time with my sucks.
He normally pushed me away if he thought I had too much, but this time he held my head against him, urging me to take more.
I murmured, “Oh, God, Cyril,” against his skin. I came, my body clutching his cock, still lapping at his offering.
I felt the tension in his body, he was holding back for me. I gripped his ass, pulling him closer.
“But Linden…”
“Go ahead. I need to know you were there inside me. I want to feel you drip out of me while I’m begging you to fuck me again later.”
That’s all it took. He flooded me, giving me all of him, the warmth inside most satisfying. I needed him to know I wanted all of him.
He rested his forehead against mine. “I don’t deserve you.”
“No, Cyril dear, we deserve each other.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Hunger
The refrigerator light blinded me. Squinting, I waited for my eyes to adjust. I was on a mission. Eggs. I needed eggs. Where the fuck did they keep the eggs? I slid open a drawer with no luck. I rose on my tiptoes to examine the contents of the top shelf. Jackpot. Extending an arm, I grasped the white carton, when a voice rang through the kitchen, accusing and commanding.
“What are you doing down here at this hour?” Sinclair’s thick Eastern European accent was undeniable.
Even though he had the same bond with me as Overton, Sinclair’s methods of seduction left a lot to be desired. A BDSM enthusiast when not fighting by Cyril’s side, Sinclair was pissed when the bond made it impossible for him to carry out his recreational activities with other women. He blamed me and insisted that since I was the only one who could arouse him, I owed him. We had differing opinions on the matter, but I couldn’t deny the guilt I felt. It was another reason I attempted to break the bond. It not only impacted Overton, it affected them all. Not everyone was thrilled. Guilt or no guilt, Sinclair was often an outright dick and our encounters messy.
“Fuck,” left my lips as I stumbled from his remark. My head impacted the side of the door, heart racing as the container of fragile white-shelled delights wobbled in my hand. “No. No. No.”
Sinclair reached around me, steadying my arm, saving the bounty.
Relief preceded a wave of heat. His warmth surrounded me. Images of our last encounter flooded my mind. Pinned against the wall. His harsh words. Overton’s interference. I tried to quiet the anxiety building from within. The feel of his hard cock against my back didn’t help. I answered, hoping he’d back away. “I’m hungry.”
His breath blew hot against my ear, sending an unfortunate shiver through me. “Perhaps you and I got off on the wrong foot.”
“Well, I’m going to step on your foot in a minute if you don’t let me cook those eggs.” I let out an annoyed sigh. “If you want to make up for the last time, find me the hot sauce Dominic uses all the time, and I’ll think about forgiving you?”
He chuckled low and deep. “It would be so much fun breaking you.” Before I could allow the sarcastic quip to fall from my tongue, he surprised me by wrapping his arms around me, one hand caressing my stomach. “But that will have to wait. I hear there’s much we have to celebrate.”
I wasn’t even sure what to say. His tone was genuine, happy even. “Uh…”
“Here let me make those for you.” He took the carton from my hand.
“What?” I was certain bewilderment had etched my features.
Setting the eggs on the counter, he faced me and turned his palms face up. “What?”
“I thought you hated me.”
He placed a hand on my cheek. “No. I’ve never hated you. I’m not thrilled the bond denies me my usual satisfaction. Or that Overton gets to fuck you, and I don’t, but it’s only a matter of time. Now you have more important things to consider. Like our child.”
I choked on my on saliva as many responses caught in my throat. “Uh…no, and what do you mean our child?”
“Linden, pet, we’re a family. You belong to us. We belong to you. The child will be ours too. I know I can be harsh, but a child is what we need. There are so many things I can’t wait to teach the child. Will you know the sex?”
I shook my head. It had to be some weird dream. My Cyril fucked me into a coma. An after-sex hallucination? That explained it.
He opened the cupboard behind him and retrieved the hot sauce, setting it on the counter.
“You want me to believe you’re excited about me being pregnant, and you’re now somehow OK with me? Just the other night you dreamed…”
Being able to see their dreams made everything more difficult. Since Cyril didn’t sleep, I never got the privilege of seeing into his mind, but his family members provided a new pornographic escape each night. The star of the show? Me.
I blushed thinking about Sinclair’s most recent feature. “You bent me over and tied me to the table, my legs spread. You then asked Cyril to fuck me and come inside me, so I was so fucking horny I couldn’t stand it. Remember how you commanded me not to come and spanked me each time I disobeyed?”
“Mmm… yes, but you stopped complaining when I shoved my cock into your hot, wet cunt. Your pussy was so pink, swollen, and raw from you grinding yourself against the rope I strung between your legs. So fucking beautiful. Mmm… God.” He adjusted his cock through his black cotton pajama pants and groaned. “Someday, I’ll get to show you how much you mean by relieving all this guilt you carry with you. For now, it’s my job to take care of you.”
“Wh
at?”
“You’re saying that a lot tonight.” He pulled a skillet from the bottom cabinet.
“What I mean to you? Take care of me?”
A glob of butter sizzled in the pan. With one hand, he cracked the egg on the skillet’s edge. “Scrambled or over easy?”
“Over hard, but…”
“No buts. I can’t have you until you choose me, but that doesn’t mean we’re not family. It doesn’t mean I get to treat you as any less of a partner.” He cracked another egg, plopping it into the pan. “I was frustrated and confused before. I felt tricked, but I understand things better now. I see opportunity in all of this. If I want your submission, and believe me, I do, it means I need to earn it.” He slid the spatula under the eggs and flipped them over while leaning toward me, all but nuzzling my neck. “When I do win you over, you’ll be kicking yourself for holding out so long.”
I laughed. “Sinclair, as enticing as that sounds, my bed is a little full at the moment.”
“For now. But Cyril travels. Overton gets caught up in his work. Rhys has his hobbies. But for me? Your body will be my hobby. Your pleasure, my reward.”
I lowered my gaze to the floor, trying to hide the blush in my cheeks. It didn’t matter because Cyril appeared. He gripped my waist, flipped me around in his arms, and slung me over his shoulder.
“What the hell are you doing?” I squealed.
“Sinclair, get the others. Bring Celestine’s body. We’re heading to MacAllister.” He turned just in time to address Overton as he darted through the doorway. “Stanton, seal the chambers and my office. Grab Linden’s things. We have to leave, now.”
Sinclair’s eyes were wide as he tossed the eggs onto the plate. I had never heard so much anxiety in Cyril’s voice. Sinclair handed me the plate while I wriggled against Cyril’s back.
