by C. Lymari
“You’re talking about the dipshit from the docks?” I laughed. “He hates me. He won’t let me through the door.”
“He will,” she assured me.
“How are you so sure?”
“Because you’re going to bet me.”
Before I could say no, Pam spoke up.
“Your whore is good for something.”
“Not happening.”
Ember shrugged it off. “He hates you, but he wants me more. You won’t even need to use money.”
My chest constricted with her words. All I could do was glare at her as she walked away.
“Who is Zeke?” Pam asked.
I told her, and before she could say it was a no-brainer, I left after Ember.
She was sitting on the bed, her eyes closed and her head tipped back, and she was talking to herself. Her lips kept moving furiously. If she was aware of my presence, she didn’t show it.
“What are you doing?” I asked as I walked in and closed the door.
“That’s none of your business,” she said.
I walked to the bed and sat on the edge, observing her. Ember had scratches on her arms, ranging from barely there to deep with a little blood oozing.
“Remember, princess, your life is in my hands.”
Ember leaned back on the bed, crossing her arms and softly caressing her skin. “You think that’s new to me? My life has always been in someone else’s hands. You’re just another one in the long list of men who think they own me.”
She had no idea that unlike the rest, I did own her. I didn’t reply right away; instead, I moved until her soft body was beneath me. She looked ridiculous in Pamela’s clothes—messy and unkempt. The thing about Ember was that it was more than her beauty that drew you in. It was the fire that coursed through her skin, her stubbornness, her unwillingness to yield. So, yeah, I got off making her bend to my will.
I grabbed her wrist and put her arms above her head. Her chest rose and fell, but she made no move to try to get out of my grip.
“We both know I own you in a way no one ever has,” I whispered as I stared into her eyes.
Ember raised her head, and her lips touched mine.
“Are you going to be the one to kill me, Falcon?” She said the words against my still lips, wielding my code name like a weapon.
There was something about her that called to me. It reached into the depths of my black soul, and it fed from it. I closed the distance, and I kissed her. Contained chaos—that was what she was. Her lips molded to mine as her hands tried to move from my hold.
“Focus your mind on something else,” I told her, knowing she was fighting the urge to keep scratching.
“It’s not that easy,” she said, trying to excuse her weakness.
“Shut up,” I said before I kneeled so I could flip her on her stomach.
I bunched her hair and wrapped it around my hand, keeping her arms pinned to the bed with my other hand. I pulled it lightly, just enough to get her attention.
“You need to focus on other things so that thirst you feel fades. It’s mind over matter.”
I didn’t need to tell her I knew all about the addictions that called to your soul. How you heard them like sirens in the wind. You needed to keep your mind occupied, or else it would drive you mad.
Drugs called to her like killing cried for me.
“Just small doses. You can do that for me,” she begged, frustrated.
“No,” I taunted in her ear.
She let out a soft growl. I bent down to put her earlobe in my mouth, playing with the delicate skin with my teeth. Ember moved her neck to the side, allowing me more access to her neck.
“I never got to see my pretty choker,” I murmured against her neck. I licked the skin before I sucked it. “Scratch your skin and you’ll regret it.”
I let go of her hands so I could bring them to her waist. I kissed the two small dimples in the back, something I never really noticed about a woman, but found sexy as fuck right now. I trailed kisses up the curve of her spine, bringing the shirt up as I went. Ember kept squirming beneath me with every stroke of my lips.
“Take your clothes off,” I told her as I did the same.
Ember didn’t turn around as she undressed. She took off her blouse first, and the pants followed.
“Lie back down, hands on your head,” I told her. My cock jumped for attention when she did as I asked. Seductively she kneeled, lifting her ass as her torso flattened. She looked gorgeous: beaten, but not broken.
My hands went to the curve of her ass, skimming her skin with a featherlight touch, up the sides to her curves past her abdomen while I positioned myself behind her. With one hand on the bed and the other on her breast, I pinched her pebbled nipple.
I leaned down and kissed her back. “Focus on this.”
That was all the warning I gave as I entered her in one hard thrust, making her put her hands on the bed for balance. She was soaked, her pussy wet and so. Fucking. Tight. It felt like my eyes rolled back in my head.
“Hands, Ember,” I growled as I was deep inside her.
Once she did as I asked, I held on to her bony hip, and I fucked her hard.
With every thrust, I drove myself into her soul, or maybe she stole a part of mine.
With every moan out of her mouth, she cemented the fact that she was mine.
The high I was getting from fucking her was stronger than the ecstasy of power I felt when ending a life. Ember wasn’t the only addict in this room. My heart wasn’t racing from adrenaline and bloodshed; it was racing from the vigorous thrusting in Ember’s slick pussy.
“Fuck,” she mewled.
I felt her cunt start to get tighter, squeezing my dick, but she wasn’t there yet. I curved one of my arms across her waist, causing her to shiver. I pulled back out, and my cock was fucking hard and wet with her arousal. I leaned down, moving her hair from her nape.
“Feel this…” I said softly as I kissed her temple, having no idea why I did that.
I wrapped her hair in one hand as I rose again and slammed into her at the same time as I pulled her hair. Ember screamed, her hands going to the bed and fisting the sheets. Her pussy started pulsating, her release taking me with her. She got off on the pain. It was like she was made just for me.
I collapsed on top of her, making sure I didn’t put all my weight on her. My heavy breathing mixed with her soft pants.
I reached for her arms and held them in mine. “No more scratching. I know you’re stronger than you look.”
Surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly masked it.
“So,” she started to say, her voice sounding hoarse from the screaming. “You’re just going to fuck me every time I have an itch?”
“I get to do whatever I want,” I taunted. Then I rose up and turned her over so she could look at me.
Slowly I spread her legs. My release was all over her pussy. I brought two fingers to her center and moved them up to her clit. The action made Ember roll her hips. I traced my fingers up her stomach to the middle of her chest, trailing up the curve of her neck until I touched her lips.
“And you’re going to let me,” I told her as I pushed my fingers into the cavern of her mouth.
Ember didn’t take her eyes off me as she sucked off our releases off my fingers.
“Because.” I slowly pushed my fingers in deeper. “You’re.” She started to gag. I removed them, putting my hands on either side of her head. “As fucked up as I am.”
When I kissed her, her arms wrapped around my head, and she pulled my hair. Her lips moved violently against mine as if she was trying to imprint herself into me.
Her hands were still in my hair when I pulled back.
“We’re going on Friday,” I said.
“You say it like you had more options,” she smirked.
I cupped her pussy. “If I find out this cunt gets wet for someone other than me, princess—”
“You’re what?” she said, licking her lips
. “Going to kill me?”
There was nothing nice about the smile I gave her, and she knew it by the way her smirk disappeared.
“Oh, baby, that would just be mercy,” I said as I leaned down to lick her lips and then bit her bottom one.
“I have to go out, but be good for Pam, and try not to kill each other,” I told her as I got dressed.
Ember just rolled her eyes. She got up, cum dripping down her thighs, and I’m not going to lie and say it wasn’t hot as fuck. It soothed the part of me that wanted to claim every inch of her. She went to my drawer, grabbed one of my shirts, and walked past me to the bathroom. She stopped before going inside, but ultimately walked in, slamming the door. The action had me grinning.
Focus your mind on something else.
I was sure the last thing Ren had in mind was to think of my father, but I couldn’t help it. It was pretty pathetic because I was sure he wasn’t even thinking of me. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder what Silas was doing to him now that I wasn’t near.
Was he losing his mind? Was it driving him mad? I hoped it did because that year with him had fucked me up, and I had no idea what I stood for. It was all fake bravado.
I didn’t go downstairs while Ren was gone. Pam was a nasty bitch, and the farther I was from her, the better. One thing I was good at was reading people. It came with the territory of growing up in the spotlight. You tended to get a feel for leeches, and she reeked of one.
After my shower, I took a small nap. My body was weak, but getting stronger each day. Ren was right; I couldn’t even take a good fucking without knocking out. Not that I’d called that a fucking. It was more like a freaking possession. I’d heard that bullshit of bodies becoming one. Something romantic, but Ren wanted to steal my soul, not have it given freely. My body was sore, and I bet if I looked at my hips, there would be small bruises shaped like Ren’s fingerprints.
Once I was properly rested, I snooped around. He said not to kill Pam, but he never said anything about not going through his stuff. That’s how I found a bag of weed and a bowl along with a lighter hidden under layers of clothes.
Jackpot.
When Ren walked in the door, I was in bed wearing one of his long-sleeves and boxers with the bowl to my mouth, and I was about to light it. He stopped at the door, his eyes trailing over my head down to my bare legs. His icy eyes glinted as he took off a pair of black leather gloves.
“You went through my shit,” he said.
“If you didn’t want me snooping, you should have let me go.”
“Never,” he said without missing a beat.
I looked away from him because his words didn’t sound like a threat, but more like a vow. Instead, I focused on the inhale and exhale, something other than him. Ren was a force to be reckoned with. Sometimes it felt like I could take him in small doses, but the real him—the one he hid—was intense, and I was sure if he gave me all of him at once, I would suffocate.
He was raw power. He exuded confidence, and he knew what he wanted and how to get it. The problem was that I was what he wanted. I had already been the object of a madman’s affection; I wasn’t too keen on round two. Except Silas was nothing like Ren. He acquired by brute force while Ren waited patiently, and when he struck, he made me bend.
Violence changed us. For some, it made them cower, fear shadows and loud noises. To others like me, it made us crave violent things. It made us get sucked into other dark things so they hid where you’d already been. I gave my body to Ren so his possessive touch could overshadow Silas’s.
I was about to exhale the smoke when Ren put his hands on either side of my head. He didn’t say a word as he slowly brought his head down to mine. I thought he was going to kiss me, but he stopped just before our lips touched. His lips parted, and his head inclined a bit. As I looked at him, I exhaled the smoke into his mouth. Ren took the hit, and when he exhaled, he did it in my face, gently covering me in a cloud of smoke.
“How much do you know about your family’s empire?” Ren asked.
Out of all the things I expected him to ask, this was not one of them. He extended his palm so I could give him the bowl. I did as he asked while I sat back, putting my knees to my chest. Remington’s empire was something I didn’t talk about often.
“I already told you my great-great—”
“I know about that and the struggles. What I want to know is why when I search your name, no mention of the scandal surrounding the Ember shows unless you look it up under the deep web. Someone wanted those files buried.”
Like all empires, Remington Diamonds was also built on bloodshed.
“Those stories never made it out of South Africa.” I gave him a look. “The locals still whisper amongst themselves, our history passed down like some legend. Our real last name is Redelinghuys, which is public knowledge. What is not public knowledge, or people don’t like to talk about it, is the fact that when the company was founded, we had a business partner.”
Ren sat on the bed. He then reached for me, turning me to face him, and made me straddle him. There was something about the way he commanded my body I found hard to resist.
“What happened to that partner?”
“He tried to claim the Ember as his own.”
Ren’s hand came to my face, grabbing a tendril of hair and twirling it in his fingers.
“What really happened?”
“My great-grandfather owned most of the machinery, the workers. He was funding everything when his business partner tried to claim ownership to a jewel he got from one of our mines.”
“He killed him?”
“No, he stripped everything from him. He took back his company and made it into what it is today…his old business partner, he attempted to kill my great-grandfather.”
“So, your great-grandfather killed him.”
I shook my head. “Arrested. He later committed suicide.”
Ren just looked at me.
“How does it feel to know your castles are built on pillars of lies and glass stained with blood?”
“It’s all I’ve ever known,” I said.
His eyes gave nothing away this time. His face was a stony mask. Sometimes he seemed so docile I forgot what lurked beneath.
“Is it easy?”
“What’s easy?”
“Taking a life,” I whispered.
“Are you asking if it’s easy to kill or easy to live with that kill?”
When I didn’t answer, he kept going.
“Killing is easy. It’s everything that happens after that can fuck you up. Now it just feels like another score to my hit list.” Ren put his thumb and finger to my chin. “I’m not a good guy, princess. I don’t feel deeply. Emotions can be controlled, and everything is just a means to an end.”
My belly dipped in disappointment. “Is that what I am? A means to an end?”
“You are a disaster I never saw coming,” he said as he pushed me off him.
He turned off the light to the room when he walked out.
The days leading up to Friday came in a blur. Ren didn’t stay with me in those days. I hadn’t seen him at all since the day in my room. My door was locked, and food and water were brought to me by Pamela, who was no closer to liking me. If it weren’t for her bringing me a bag with clothes, I wouldn’t have known what day it was.
The dress was a coral color with spaghetti straps. It was skimpy and barely covered my ass. The material was cheap, and the heels looked like they belonged to a street hooker.
Fucking bitch.
I knew she did it on purpose, but my new mantra was getting me through the days. I didn’t break for anyone. So I threw on the clothes and did my makeup. The girl staring back in the mirror was one I knew well. She was a liar, a pretender. She hid her sins in diamonds and covered her secrets with lies.
I was still looking at my reflection when Ren appeared. He stood at the entrance to the bathroom. His appearance took me back to our night in the maze. He wore all black like a boogeyman rea
dy to come out and play. Our eyes met over the mirror. His jaw clenched as his eyes trailed over my body.
“You look like a whore.”
“Guess your little bitch was trying to prove a point,” I said.
“Let’s go.” He turned around without another word.
I followed him down the stairs, where I caught a glimpse of Pam. She wore a gorgeous red dress that was classy and nothing like the outfit she had thrown on me. She wanted to prove a point, but I was not going to let her succeed.
Once we were at the door, Ren stood behind me, his lips by my ear. “Don’t do anything stupid like trying to run.”
The thought did cross my mind, but every time I thought of running, I got filled with dread. My only consolation was that as long as I was with Ren, Silas couldn’t find me. We often fed ourselves excuses trying to hide the truths we were still too scared to admit, and I feared that was the path I was heading toward.
I sat in the back with Pam coming in next to me. Ren was at the wheel. Like I was dumb enough to jump out of a moving vehicle.
Zeke liked to have his parties on the docks. Drive by the harbor at night while everyone had a good time. Make sure his guests didn’t go anywhere while he had his fun. We made it to the dock in no time. My door opened, and Ren was there holding his hand out for me.
It almost felt like old times.
A lifetime ago.
The sun was already setting, casting a glow over the water. I stopped for a second to take in the beauty of it all. Funny how you forgot about the little things, and when they smacked you in the face, they made you feel like everything you cared about before was stupid.
“Keep walking, bitch,” Pam scoffed.
People were trying to get inside. We formed a line, Pam at my front and Ren at my back. I’d never been one for many friends, but for the last year, I wasn’t seen at all. Not unless you counted my social media.
It was a gamble being here today, but most of these people didn’t run in Silas’s circles, so by the time he heard of my appearance here, it would be a long time from now.
I also couldn’t forget the other reason I didn’t care. He was over six feet and standing behind me. Ren scared me, he enraged me, but he also made me feel protected. It was weird and probably Stockholm syndrome, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. I’d lied to the world, my family—hell, even myself. But this one thing I couldn’t lie about.
