by D. C. Stone
She pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it, unsnapped his belt and pulled out his twin SIG Sauers from the band before setting them aside. She tugged on his pants and removed his boots. He followed each of her silent directions and allowed her to soothe him, direct him when she gave him such a precious gift. Her comfort stole any words from his throat, and he relished it, gave thanks for just who Mackenzie Walters was.
****
Bari shifted, his head slightly pounding but for the most part much better than it had been yesterday after the psychic blast from Mike. Bari’s mind tugged from sleep with the sweetest stroke, a light flutter of lips rolling over the tendons of his neck, hands smoothing over his chest and arms, smothered by a body like a blanket, so soft and warm, so damn familiar. He almost didn’t want to wake, wanted to bask in the heat, forget reality existed. A sharp nip of teeth at his neck had him opening his eyes. Black hair, the color of the darkest part of midnight, fell over his face. Mackenzie’s body surrounded him, her scent fed deep in his lungs.
He went to reach for her, wanting to urge her lower on his body, when his hands caught and held. Bari frowned as he snapped his head up, took in his bound wrists. Immediately, a bombardment of emotions burned. Anger, confusion, fear, lust, all of it rolling around, surging through his veins. The emotions pulsed, followed quickly by past memories, threatening to drown him. He knew where he was, realized Mackenzie was here, but the vision tugged at the pleasure, threatening to shatter the moment. His past wouldn’t allow it. He had been a victim for too damn long, unable to do anything to help. His mother’s screams curdled in his ears, his father’s mocking laughter. Blood, death red clouded his vision.
Bari panicked, strained his arms, heard the bed creak and groan under the movement. The bonds didn’t break.
More screams haunted his room, filled his head. Her neck split open, crimson coating her terror-stricken features. The little boy’s arms bruised and bloodied, numb from the exertion to try to get free.
Turning his head, he met Mackenzie’s beautiful green gaze with a furious one of his own. “What the fuck, Mac? Untie me…”
Mackenzie froze above him. He watched the fight to keep an outward calm on her face. Sweat beaded on his brow, and he yanked on the bonds, the sound tossing him back and forth through his past.
“Mac! Christ almighty. Untie me.” Was that his voice sounding so small?
Mackenzie sat atop of him and ignored his words. His demon paced with the turbulence of emotions surging. Her lips brushed over sensitive skin as she took her time exploring him. Bari fought to remain in the present, fought like hell to keep from lashing out. He would not hurt her. He wasn’t him.
“You’re good enough to be loved, Bari.”
His back bowed off the bed as a rasp of her tongue touched his cock. She pulled him inside her moist mouth, and his body had other ideas from his mind. His length started to swell, blood pulsing south quick. Her mouth, the most delicious caress. He pushed his hips up to assist her when cold air followed, a sense of loss. His mind scrambled for purchase on something, fighting against the adamant fear, anger and desire pulsing through him. For moments it was as if only Mackenzie existed in his mind, the past pushed away.
The anger was quickly replaced by lust. The fear still lived though, and it suffocated him.
He couldn’t breathe.
He didn’t fear Mackenzie; he feared the memories, glimpses threatening to choke him. But his own body betrayed him and strained toward Mackenzie’s mouth. His beast lifted its head and growled a primitive warning. The growl crept up the back of his throat and rumbled throughout his entire body, before trickling out his lips.
“Angel,” he rasped his voice rough, deep. “Untie me. You can do whatever you like. But untie me.”
He strained to keep his demon leashed, felt the possessive claws racking at his insides painfully in an attempt to get to this vixen who seemed intent to possess him mind, body, and fucking soul. The demon recognized lust but also the fear Bari emitted, saw the images of death. Good God, it all choked him.
Mackenzie’s nails scraped down the sides of his thighs and when combined with the painful interlude gripping him from the inside, his body arched again, bowing underneath the onslaught of pleasure, the pain. He couldn’t hold it back even if he wanted. The growl and groan mixed, spilling from his lips before he had any chance to censor them.
“Angel…”
Her hands molded over his skin, skimmed along his muscles, as if she was memorizing every bit of him. She trailed her hands down his sides and back up. Her hands moved beneath his arms, pushing down, holding him down as she rose above him. He squeezed his eyes shut, turned his head and panted as image after image of her death assailed him.
He opened his mouth to speak but before he got any words out, she took his betraying erection in her hand and started her discovery on him, taking her time.
“Fuck!” Bari arched in to her touch, her tight little fist stroking the thick length of his cock in a sure grip. His hips pumped, seeking her caress as pleasure pulsed through him. His arms strained against the bounds, the muscles of his chest bulging under the onslaught. His stomach tightened, his abs rippling with awareness as she lowered her mouth once more. A hiss escaped as her tight, moist mouth covered him. On their own, his hips rolled, seeking more. The head of his length hit the back of her throat. He wanted her to take more.
“Take it all, Angel.” His stomach swirled with dark emotions, lust, fear.
Mackenzie’s gaze snapped up. Her jaw dipped as she adjusted her mouth over him. He thrust his hips again as her head fell, and his entire cock disappeared into her sweet depths. He groaned as his groin met her lips. He didn’t think it could get any better, but then she went and swallowed around his blunt head. Black edges swam in his vision as pleasure encompassed his body.
“Ah hell, Angel. Like that. Take it. Don’t stop.” Dear God, keep the visions away, Dollface.
Her head bobbed, the sight deliciously erotic even as he forced himself to keep his eyes on her, the pleasure of her mouth almost too much. His demon growled in approval, rose to his skin, need from both flushing across his body. They both felt every damn thing, including the sweet, hot mouth of Mackenzie.
She delivered one, two more licks and pulled her head up, releasing him with a pop as she glanced up and met his eyes. He frowned as she dipped her head, placing one sweet kiss on his lower abs before scooting off the bed. She visibly shook, her hands wringing the cloth of his t-shirt draped over her body.
Anger and lust swirled together, a potent combination causing Bari’s control to snap. He moved to follow her, to pull her back down until her sweet heat was all he knew before he felt the tug of the bonds around his wrists. Shocked confusion hit as he realized he had forgotten about them and had only known Mackenzie for a few minutes. She had taken his control and possessed him until he didn’t realize what was happening. The confusion was soon replaced by a fury so hot it scalded him. It wasn’t just the man, but the beast inside that needed to take this female, that needed to mark her as his and bond their lives together. Memories threatened to resurface. His head strained toward her as his upper body leaned up.
“What the fuck, Angel? Is this my payback?”
“Of course not, Bari.” Mackenzie met his eyes.
“Dollface, don’t fight me. I need you.”
He was pissed and horny as hell, frustrated with a need he had never known. He wanted to possess her, but more than anything, he wanted Mackenzie with a passion that had nothing on anything the demon offered. It simply existed, but was anything but simple. His muscles rippled as he strained, a slight creak of the wood beneath threatening to splinter.
“Release. Me.” The voice that came out of his mouth wasn’t the man. “Now.”
“No.” And she turned her back on him.
Mackenzie’s snap of an answer caused something to snap inside of him. A wash of power so strong rose to the surface, sending sparks of it flying off
his skin. If a fly had been on the wall looking at him, it would have seen the colors, brilliant and sparking, surrounding him. His hands yanked and the bonds broke, wood splintering. Bari didn’t even pause to remove the bindings from his wrists and instead jumped off the bed before he realized he’d moved.
In a whirl of movement, he crossed the room and stalked Mackenzie, the demon held at his skin with precious, demanding control. As if they had both decided on an unspoken agreement, they took control at the same time, refusing anything but ultimate, complete possession. They both watched through the eyes of a needing man as she whirled on him. His breath heaved from his lungs, the sound harsh and diluted in the small room. He blinked once, and that was all, before he pounced.
His body flew through the air so fast it would have shocked him if he hadn’t been overcome with lust, so taken, surrounded by such a need. He pulled her back to the edge of the bed, her soft sigh a sweet surrender to his ears. Directing her to her stomach, he stood behind her, reached down and grasped her hips, pulling them up.
There was tension in her eyes this morning, something that worried him, but he hoped to get whatever was going on in that pretty little head of hers gone. As much as she had struggled, as much as she created turmoil in her own head with what they were going through, she couldn’t deny her arousal. She was fresh and wet, swollen, dripping.
Tracing a hand down between the cleft of her ass cheeks, he circled her core before plunging his finger inside. Her sheath gripped his finger, tried to hold him inside. Bari let out a small oath as his body hardened, demanded one thing only Mackenzie gave.
“I’ve got something for you, Angel…”
Her hips searched, pushing back on his hand as she took her own pleasure. She slid back and forth, sliding along his digit, and he waited, allowed her this moment and basked in the beauty of Mackenzie lost in passion.
“Every kiss, Angel. It’s mine.” He stilled her hips with one hand as his fingers slowed. She was hot, soft like buttery velvet.
“Every intimate touch. It’s mine.” He withdrew his fingers and ran them lower, circling her nub with slick fingers, denying her his touch where she most likely needed it.
“Every sigh, every passion-filled whisper. It’s mine.” His fingers moved then, slowly running over the nub, drinking up every inch of her body’s shudders.
“Your body. Your heart. You. You’re mine.” Bari removed his fingers and spread her arousal along the cleft of her ass before palming the sweet globe. His hands went to her waist, lifting as if she weighed nothing as he stepped forward. Her legs barely touched his hips before he sunk his long, thick, rigid cock deep inside of her. Distantly he heard her cry out. Deep inside, a moment’s fleeting panic took hold. Was he being too rough, not giving her enough time?
But she swallowed the length of him and all else was lost to the need gripping him. He sheathed himself to the hilt, demanding she take it all as he backed her to the wall. They slammed against it with such a force he heard the air leave her lungs in a rush. He gave her no time to take another breath before he was pulling out and slamming deep inside again, demanding she take everything he gave.
Being inside of Mackenzie was his heaven and hell. This sweet woman, this teasing minx had been his undoing. She stripped him bare of every defense he had and until he started to … feel. He didn’t want to think about it, and his movements faltered before he pushed it all from his mind, focused on the sweet pleasure Mackenzie gave.
His eyes flashed, he saw the reflection in her green depths, rolling from deep blue, to black, the color of a starless night, and then red before returning. The power that had been licking at his skin spread, encompassing them both. They were marking her as theirs, showering her with their scent, as well as the mark of their power. Like lightning, stretching and filling even as he pumped his hips into her, driving his hips so deep he felt as though he would be swallowed whole.
He lifted her, withdrawing from her body, and with a quick flick of his arm, turned her around. One hand surged up the length of her spine, pushing her down as he bent her over a desk. Leaning over her backside, he fit his hips against her rear, his thick cock sliding between her ass cheeks. His head dipped, and Bari bit the nape of her neck. Mackenzie cried out, pushed back against his hips. He was so lost to lust, it churning low like a coiled snake he couldn’t stop.
He reached down and palmed her, a gush of slick fluid coating his hand. A clock ticked louder in his skull as he spread her arousal up, drawing his hand between the cleft of her cheeks. His voice was strained, his entire body shaking as he released her neck and spoke next to her ear.
“Mackenzie, tell me to stop. Please.”
He reached down and gripped his thick cock in his hand. The other held her hip in place as he aligned the blunt tip of his length against the puckered hole. The demon chanted, words so foreign, yet known, clamoring with the ticking. A beautiful sound, those words, surrounded by something that terrified him. He didn’t want to hurt her. Dear God, why did he feel this need?
Mackenzie turned her head, spoke through pants. “I love you, Bari.” His heart slammed against his chest as those sweet words pierced a link inside, ties pulling together. “I won’t ever tell you to stop.”
Without warning, even feeling her tense as she waited, he surged forward, breaking past the initial resistance before sheathing himself completely inside of her. White spots danced in his vision as his balls hit the underside of her thighs, slapped against her mound.
“So—fucking—tight.”
Bari’s teeth embedded into her nape again, and she tightened as he pulled out. Letting the head of his cock slip out of the barrier, he surged forward again, his hips coming up flushed against her rounded backside. His cock lengthened, thickened though he hadn’t thought it possible. His mouth released her nape and moved to her shoulder as he lifted her then pushed them to a wall. He kicked her legs apart and drove into her. He was lost in her, heard her mindless mews that matched his groans. His demon growled, claiming its mark, chanting those beautiful words. The words grew, voices joining in, welcoming something.
His balls drew up, his cock engorged, and setting his mouth on her neck, he sucked hard, marking her as his, branding her with his possession. One hand held her hips in place as he drove into her with a relentless force. His other hand ran up her body, wrapped around the front of her throat, tilting her head back as he sucked obstinately at her neck. Somewhere in the back of his mind he understood this was a mark of possession, would forever brand her to him, but he couldn’t stop. He had to finish this, to do … something.
Her body grew tighter, and his beast rose up and claimed her at the same time his release hit. A shot of delicious pressure shot up his spine, and his mouth clamped down, biting down, breaking the sweet skin of her neck. Iron, rich and powerful, filled his mouth before his seed released deep inside her bowels. Mackenzie cried out as an orgasm clenched her, the tightness of her wrapped around his cock milking him ruthlessly. He gave it all to her, felt the pleasure wash over him in wave after wave and soon realized it was not one orgasm that hit him but endless cycles of them. Something coiled and tied inside his soul until all he felt was pleasure and bliss, Mackenzie and himself wrapped in each other, enhancing their orgasms.
Euphoria surged through his veins. He couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. All the energy inside of him deflated, and he leaned back against the wall, his body sated and more than aware of what just happened. His beast drew down, leaving the man behind on a veil of responsibility to care for this female. He didn’t know what to say. There were a thousand excuses on his lips, but his lips clamped shut. His hand ran over Mackenzie’s back, down across her hip, back up again, the touch possessive. He didn’t know what to say, could barely breathe as he braced for her anger. Pushing Mackenzie’s long curls to the side, he leaned forward and set his lips over his brand, kissed it and waited.
“I love you.”
He froze at her words. Passion and lust combined in
the moment often had a way of pushing things out. He turned his head and rested it between her shoulders as he closed his eyes.
“Angel…”
Mackenzie shifted and he stood, releasing her and withdrawing as she turned around. She blinked, watching him with wide and curious eyes. He took her in his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to her lips.
“Mackenzie, don’t love me.”
He spoke the words against her lips, brushing them over and over again. His mother had loved his father, adored him and in the end, that love cost her her life. Bari kept himself far from the emotion, refusing to give in for the fear gripped him so tight he thought he’d suffocate.
He cared for Mackenzie more than he understood, but he wouldn’t let her put her life at risk as his mother had. Bari pushed Mackenzie to the bed and laid his body on top of hers. He studied her flushed face and felt his chest split wide open. He wasn’t good enough for her. Didn’t think he’d ever be.
“Don’t, Mackenzie. Please don’t do this.” Brushing his lips down her jaw, he pressed his face to her neck and urged her to take the words back. Panic for her to take the words back grew quick through his veins.
“You can’t tell me what I feel, Bari. You can’t. I love you. I always have. Even before I knew. I loved you then, too. Why can’t you see that?” Tears hung heavy in her voice, and Bari swallowed thickly with emotion.
“Damn it, Mackenzie. Don’t.”
Bari lifted his head, saw anger reflected in her eyes.
“Why?” The crisp word sounded cold.
Bari took a step back and smacked a hand to his chest, trying to break up the brick settling there. “Because I’m not that guy, Angel. I’m not good enough for you. I’m not quite human, Mac. Do you understand what he did? Can you imagine doing that to someone you love? Someone who loves you? He. Is. In. Me.” He punctuated each word with a thump on his chest. “Don’t do this, Mac. Don’t become a statistic. I care for you, Mackenzie. I do. But I’m not capable of giving you that piece of me. It scares me to fucking death to think I could hurt you.”
