Redemption (A Dark Romance) (Fragile Ties Book 3)

by Jennifer Bene

  “Your cunt definitely wants me,” he purred, teasing her g-spot with devious taps that had her panting, mouth open as she leaned down, arching her back to give him easier access. “But what about your ass?”

  “Wait!” she shouted, lifting herself, but David shoved her back down as he moved his fingers to her ass, pressing one against the tight ring. Groaning, she clenched her teeth, tense until he finally pushed inside, the strange sensation of invasion making her breath catch. “Fuck, stop.”

  “Nah, we’re just getting started. Guess you’re lucky your pussy was so wet, huh?” David had a laugh in his voice as he started to work a second finger in, but that was a lot harder. Her ass burned as he pushed, the hand between her shoulder blades stroking her gently. “Relax, angel, or it’ll only hurt more.”

  “I know,” she growled, but that was a lot easier said than done. A keening whine slipped through her teeth as he got both of them past the ring of muscle, a slightly painful stretch that she knew was nothing compared to his dick. “Please, don’t.”

  “That’s it. You know what I want to hear.” Working his fingers in and out, she heard him spit, and then they moved a little easier, but it was taking her too long to adjust without lube to ease the way.

  “I’ll be good, I promise, just please get the lube,” she begged, and he chuckled as he slid his fingers free. The hand on her back moved into her hair, tightening into a fist to pull her head up. “Please.”

  “I gave you the chance to earn lube. You refused.” David ran the head of his cock through her folds, slowly pushing inside her pussy, and she couldn’t bite back the moan. For a moment she had hope that he’d changed his mind, but then he ripped it away. “This is the only lube you’re going to get today, angel. So, you better squeeze my cock, get me nice and wet.”

  “David, please don’t,” she whined, panting as he started to fuck her in long, deep strokes, and she did what he told her to. Squeezing him inside her, trying to focus on the pleasure and not the impending pain so that she could get even wetter. This feels good, this feels good, think about that. Just that.

  “I do love your cunt,” he groaned, slamming into her harder, and she moaned softly, biting down on her lip as that delirious combination of the stinging welts and the friction between her thighs pushed her higher and higher. “And I love the sounds you make... but I can’t break a promise.”

  “No!” she shouted when he pulled out, his cock pressing against her ass a second later. “Don’t, don’t—”

  “You can either relax, or not, but you’re going to take it.” David wrapped his hand over her hip, fingers digging in hard enough to bruise as he held her still, unable to do more than squirm and whimper as he craned her neck back. The pressure intensified, her tight ring burning as he forced her to open for him, moving steadily forward until the head of his cock finally popped inside and she cried out, tears burning her eyes. “Gotta admit, angel. It’s fucked up, but I like these sounds a lot more.”

  “Please,” she begged, her voice wobbling from the pain as he stretched her ass, pushing deeper while her back muscles twitched and spasmed, fighting the intrusion no matter how hard she tried to relax so it would be easier.

  “You can do better than that,” he growled, slamming his hips forward, and she screamed as the torment spiked, ripping the air from her lungs on a sob as he finally released her hair and she bent forward. “God, yes... scream for me.”

  “Stop, stop, stop.” Digging her nails into her palms, she tried to distract herself from the next wave of pain as he slid back and thrust forward again. Harder. It didn’t matter though, she still cried out through clenched teeth, groaning loud and long when he started to move. A steady rhythm that at least meant she could predict the next burning stretch as he gained inches on each drive. When he finally slammed deep, his hips meeting her ass, all she could do was whine.

  “Fuck. I’m gonna make you come with my cock in your ass,” he promised, but she shook her head.

  “No, you won’t,” she said, gritting her teeth so hard she could feel them creaking.

  “We’ll see,” David replied on a dark laugh, thrusting again and again. It hurt for a while, when all she could do was whimper and beg quietly, until finally… despite the tears still burning her eyes… it didn’t hurt as much anymore. There was still a dull ache, a lingering sting when he slammed deep inside her, but she mostly just felt owned.

  Dominated. Filled. Completely controlled.

  “That’s it,” he groaned, bruising her hips as he tugged her back onto his cock over and over. Then he spat again, and she felt his thumb dragging the saliva down her crack to her ass, easing the next thrust as she swallowed a moan. “You feel so fucking good.”

  “Please,” she begged, but she had no clue what she was begging for anymore. Her head was swimming from the delirious rush that always followed the pain, and she couldn’t deny how much she liked him forcing her to take it — but there was only one reason her brain reacted that way.

  David didn’t just want to hurt her, to make her scream and cry for him... no, he wanted her to like it.

  When he pulled her further back on the arm of the chair, she had to brace her elbows on the cushion to give her ribs a break, and she was more than happy to do that when one of his hands slid over her hip, moving between her thighs to find her clit. “Oh, God...”

  “That’s right, angel. You’re going to come with my dick buried in your ass, because you don’t have a choice with me, do you? You just have to take it, because you’re mine.” David swirled his fingers in tight circles, and she found herself rocking in time with his thrusts, whining and moaning under her breath as he leaned down, his forehead resting against her spine as he groaned low. “Every inch of you is mine.”

  “David,” she whispered, the stretch of his next thrust sending an incredible ripple through her nerves that left her needy for the next as he focused mercilessly on her clit. Pulses of pure pleasure mixing with the memory of pain, blending with each clap of his skin against the welts and bruises on her ass, and the feeling of being completely full, completely possessed by him.

  “Come on, Lianna. You know you like this,” he growled, nipping at the skin on her back before kissing the spot as he picked up the pace, not holding back as he fucked her hard, the chair shifting on the carpet from the power of it. “You love it when I make you take it, when I make it hurt, when I hold you down and force you to take every inch of my cock. Don’t you?”

  “God!” she moaned, suddenly so close to that brilliant edge of bliss, and every word he spoke against her skin was only driving her closer. It was the sheer strength of him, the incredible way he took control of her body, her mind, her every breath — and fuck he knew her body too well. His fingers sped up, circling over her clit, and she couldn’t breathe as the tension inside her built until every stroke, every slam of his hips against her ass, had her crying out for more. It felt good, better than good, and she wanted to hover on that glorious edge of perfection for just a little longer, riding the pleasure for as long as she could, soaking it in. But it was impossible, her body couldn’t hold back the rising wave. Ecstasy crashed into her so fast that for a moment she was silent, every muscle tightening as glittering light turned her veins to molten gold. Too hot, too overwhelming as she drowned in bliss, the orgasm finally drawing a shout of release past her lips as all memories of pain and stress and the nightmare they were trapped in disappeared into the flickering lights behind her eyes.

  “Fuck, yes...” David growled against her spine, slamming deep inside her, and in the dreamy haze she felt his cock kick, filling her with jet after jet as he groaned, holding her hips tight as he pressed her harder into the arm of the chair. It was hard to breathe, but she didn’t have the energy to care. Everything was humming and wonderful, and the symphony of their rough breaths was the only thing she needed in the entire world. After a few minutes, she felt David press a kiss to her back, and then another and another as he kneaded her hips. “
I love you so fucking much.”

  Smiling, she turned her head to the side, chewing on her lip as he rolled his hips against her, waking the ache of the welts and her sore ass, but it didn’t hurt. Not really. Nothing really hurt at all, and this was what she’d wanted. This feeling. This perfect, blank bliss.

  “I love you too, baby,” she answered softly, and he finally braced a hand on the chair to lift himself from her, sliding out of her slowly.

  “Come on, angel. Time for a shower.” David helped her stand up, although her legs were still shaky, but he obviously noticed because he wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her. “You good?”

  “Dazed and confused,” she replied with a quiet laugh, and he chuckled.

  “Good.” Kissing the side of her head, he leaned her back on his chest so he could work at the belt around her wrists. As soon as her arms were free, he guided her toward the bathroom.

  “Wait, what about the drive?” she asked, turning to look at him.

  “I’ll look at it after we take a shower and a nap. The files aren’t going to disappear, angel. I promise.” With a nudge, he pushed her into the bathroom, leaving her against the vanity while he turned on the water.

  And this was the other side of David. The light to his darkness, the care and concern to balance out his need for pain and suffering. Her very own Jekyll and Hyde — but she loved both sides of him. He was right that she loved when he made it hurt, when he forced her to take whatever he wanted to dish out, but it wasn’t just that.

  It was that she trusted him to always come back to her after he indulged his dark side.

  To love her, even though the world had tried its best to ruin them both.

  Together, they could survive anything. Even the murder of Jean-Luc and whatever the Faure family might throw at them. They’d overcome too much already to let this destroy them.

  Twenty-One

  David

  David had set his alarm for an hour, just long enough to lie in bed with Lianna and make sure she was resting, but he’d ended up closing his eyes as well, and when the soft trill went off, he forgot for a moment what he was supposed to be doing.

  Files. Search the drive.

  Looking down at the mound of golden waves on his shoulder, he wished he could see Lianna’s face to know how deep in sleep she was. Unfortunately, he had to move either way, because — while they’d both needed to burn off some steam when they got home — time was still ticking with the Faure family. They needed the evidence now, not whenever he decided to get out of bed, which would be never if he actually had the option to stay with her.

  She was in danger, more than he even thought she understood, and ultimately that was the motivation he needed to carefully shift out from under her. Lianna groaned in her sleep, rolling onto her stomach where he’d just been, and he just watched her for a moment. Beautiful was an understatement, and the things she let him do to her... the things she wanted him to do to her... it seemed impossible. Harry had made him start thinking about the future, but even if he’d imagined the perfect future years ago, there’s no way in hell he would have thought up someone as perfect as Lianna was for him.

  And he’d do whatever it took to keep her safe.

  Once he’d moved over to the dresser, he eased a drawer open to grab a pair of sweatpants, slipping them on in silence. Having shut the drawer just as carefully, he made it all the way to the doorway before Lianna’s voice made him pause. It was her ‘not wanting to wake up’ grumble, but she turned over a second later to look at him. “What’re you doing?”

  “Just getting started on the drive. Go back to sleep, okay?” He turned into the hallway, and she called after him.

  “Wait, I’m getting up too. I can help.”

  Sighing, David leaned back into the doorway. “No, you can’t, angel. Digging through the files is going to be a one-man thing. Why don’t you rest?” Grinning, he looked her over as she tossed the covers off. “I’m sure your ass is sore.”

  “Ha. Ha.” Lianna rolled her eyes and got out of bed, giving him a solid view of her backside. The welts weren’t raised anymore, but he could still see several of the marks from the belt, and bruises were already rising to the surface. “I’m not just sleeping in here while you do something this important.”

  “Fine.” Shrugging, he gave up on arguing the point. “Why don’t you pick something for us to eat and order in. I’m going to get set up.” Heading into the living room, he grabbed his laptop and the drive from her purse and took them over to the couch.

  It didn’t take long to gather everything he needed, and the laptop was loading the drive when Lianna stepped out of the hall wearing one of his T-shirts and her pajama pants. Grabbing her phone, she dropped into the chair he’d fucked her over just an hour before, and he caught the way she bit her lip and adjusted how she was sitting.

  “Told you I’d make you regret pushing my buttons,” he said, opening the drive on his computer to start digging through it.

  “Who says I regret it?” Lianna retorted, grinning at him before she looked at her phone again. “What do you want to eat anyway?”

  “Food.” Skimming through the list of folders, an overwhelming weight settled on his shoulders. There was no file structure, or if there was... it definitely didn’t make sense to him. The folders just had numbers, sometimes with letters that could have been abbreviations, but he didn’t know of what. He was going to have to start at the top and just work his way down.

  “I think I’m going to order from that place with the soup I like,” she mumbled, and he looked up at her, smiling as she stared at the screen in her hand with her brow furrowed like the decision was hard for her to make.

  “Sounds good, angel. I’m getting started on the drive, so just order me whatever sounds good. And some coffee,” he added, looking at the massive number of files inside the first folder. “A lot of coffee.”

  “Is it bad?” she asked.

  He couldn’t lie to her. “It’s a mess, but if there’s anything in here, I’ll find it.” With the computer on his lap, he rested the drive beside him and leaned back on the couch to get comfortable.

  About ten minutes had passed when Lianna stood up and started pacing, tapping her phone on her palm, and he glanced up at her, tempted to ask her to sit down so he wasn’t distracted... but the pacing seemed to help her, so he stayed quiet. Then she wandered over to the window, looking out over the city, and he was about to get back to work when he saw her put her phone against her ear.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m calling Rémi,” she answered, and he sat up straight, but she held out a hand before he could argue. “Don’t try to talk me out of it.”

  “Well, I really don’t think this is a good idea, angel.”

  “Would you rather us find out when we land in Nice that they’ve put out some kind of hit on us?” she snapped, and he clenched his jaw tight. He’d been sure that their game earlier would have kept her chilled out for a little while longer, but it seemed he wasn’t the only one focusing on the ticking clock.

  “Fine. Just be careful,” he said, pointing at the coffee table. “And put it on speakerphone.”

  “I won’t do anything stupid,” she muttered, flipping the phone to speaker as she returned to the chair, holding it in front of her. Rémi didn’t answer the first time, and he silently hoped she’d let it go, but Lianna just called him right back.

  This time the phone only rang twice before they heard, “Hello?”

  “Hello Rémi, it’s Lianna.”

  “What is it?” he asked, already sounding defensive and wary of the call.

  Taking a deep breath, Lianna looked up at him before she spoke. “I— I just want you to know that we’re looking for proof, and I promise you we’re going to find it. We just need a little time.”

  “Proof of what, Lianna?”

  “That we didn’t have anything to do with this,” she explained, and he had to admit she sounded steady, confident. “An
d... maybe something that could prove who was involved. I don’t know, but all I can do is tell you again that we had nothing to do with your dad’s death.”

  “I want to believe you…” Rémi began, a sigh whispering over the line. “But I can’t. Uncle Marc said that my father was worried you’d retaliate and—”

  “Fuck Marc,” she snapped, and David groaned as she continued. “I’m talking to you right now. I know I left on bad terms with Jean-Luc, and while I’m still upset over what he did... I’ll have to live with what happened between us for the rest of my life. I know that, deep down, he just wanted to help me, and he did help me in other ways. It may have been manipulative, but I’m choosing to believe he meant it when he said he cared about me, and I hate that the last words I spoke to him were in anger.”

  Rémi was silent for so long that David was worried he’d hung up after her rant, but when he eventually spoke, he sounded a lot calmer. “He meant it, Lianna. My dad cared about you a lot. In the days after you left... he kept bringing it up. Talking about how he should have handled things differently.”

  “Why would he have said something like that to you if he thought I’d do something to him?” she pressed.

  “I don’t know… but I can’t just take your word on this, Lianna. I need actual proof, and I have my own people looking into it. I haven’t made any decisions yet.”

  “Good, maybe they’ll find something too.” Lianna nodded and met David’s gaze, and he could see the hope in her eyes that everything would work out. “I just wanted you to know that David and I are looking into some files we have here. Michael… I mean Joseph Blanc, helped me get them.”

  “You spoke to Joseph?” he asked, sounding surprised.

  “Yes. I went to Rikers to see him, because I am going to prove that we didn’t do this to Jean-Luc,” Lianna said, her voice strong, confident. “I know you lost your father, and I can’t imagine how horrible all of you are feeling… but I lost him too. I lost any chance of knowing him for real, of figuring out if we could ever move past what happened. And although he was a little overprotective... I have to believe that he did what he did because he thought it was right.”