"I'm yours, Val. I belong to your shadows. I come alive within your madness. I am not ashamed of you, of us. You don’t need to be either. I’m okay. I’m ready.”
Her words fed my madness, twisting inside my soul, my shadows clawing beneath my skin, aching to be set free.
Miranda turned her head as she braced herself for the first blow. When I struck, her body jumped within the restraints. Another strike and then another and another. Her back became a map of lines, marks I wished would stay so I could admire them on her skin. Some part of me still knew it was fucked up. I had always tried to keep the monster quiet, keep the beast within its cage but Miranda had broken me, setting them free not with hate but with love. The way she loved every twisted, broken piece of my heart, of my soul. Man and monster, no longer fighting each other, Miranda had stitched me back together. We would love her the way we knew how. One would give her the pain that brought her to life, and the other would be the one to hold her when everything was over.
*
I held my breath waiting for the next strike. Each one like bolts of lightning across my skin, the bench holding me in place as each bolt raced through my flesh like a white hot sting.
"You should hate me." His words followed by a strike.
“I don’t.” Another strike. My demons burned away within the flames.
“I do.” He said as the flames rose higher. The pain twisting into pleasure.
“I love you.” Time stopped. I heard the rush of the leather. I waited for contact. He delivered me with the final strike. I took my first breath as I came to life.
*
The flogger dropped from my hands. Miranda’s skin now a clockwork of red. I kneeled as I buried my tongue between her spread thighs. The moment I tasted her everything vanished. Her pussy dripped with need. I worshiped her pussy with my mouth, finding my redemption between her thighs. She cured my madness, her perfection worthy of every beat of my heart. Every breath of my soul. I would never deny her. I gave her what she wanted as I drove my tongue in deep, sending her over the edge. Her pleasure captured on my tongue. A taste I never wanted to be without.
*
I fell away, letting Val shatter me into a thousand new colors. The light was blinding. I had been in the dark so long I had forgotten the sun. I came down to the sound of locks being released. My hands and feet freed, but I stayed still. Strong arms lifted me up, careful of the new marks across my back. I found myself on Val’s lap. My eyes opened, seeking him. My lips found his as my hand slid under his waistband. Hot hard flesh greeted my hand as I wrapped my fingers around his cock. I moved my hand, loving the way the kiss turned feral.
“I need you inside me.” My teeth caught tender flesh of his neck as I grew frantic, desperate to fuck him. My pussy empty and aching. I tugged the zipper, making quick work of freeing his cock. I didn’t wait for permission as I took what I needed. His cock slid into my pussy with no resistance. His hands found my hips as he thrust, taking over what I had started. His lips collided with mine, and I offered him my new found breath. I wanted to drown him with color, to light every shadow, to wake up both man and monster.
*
I was so close, but I wanted to make this last. I slowed my thrusts, my fingers loosening their hold on Miranda’s hips. I put my mouth against her ear as my hands slipped into her hair.
“I love you. I’m yours.” I stopped moving, and she naturally took over.
Give and take. Love and lust. Hope and trust.
I felt her hands find my scars, tracing them as she rode me. Every shadow fell away, the only thing I could see was her as I fell apart. Her hands, her body, they claimed me without any fight. I let her take me over, coming so hard, I saw nothing but light. For a moment the darkness vanished, and I became hers entirely. I was finally home.
Chapter Sixty-One
I sat in the tub, admiring Val's work. My whole body deliciously sore, all the marks and handprints would take some time before they would fade. Closing my eyes, I sank deeper into the water.
“Are you going to stand there and watch me?” I didn’t have to see Val to know he was there. I turned my head catching a hint of a blush forming on his cheeks. I couldn’t believe it; I had managed to make the mighty Val blush.
“I was making sure you were still okay.”
“I’m fine. A little sore but in a good way. How about you?”
A range of emotions flittered across Val’s face, I longed to know what he was thinking. His mind still seemed out of reach, a few steps away from me. I wouldn't demand him to tell me of the past trailing him like an ever-present ghost. I loved him without knowing his secrets. Maybe it was dangerous, but I was sure they hurt him more than they would ever hurt me.
“I meant what I said. You don’t need to tell me anything you don’t want to. Just know I will fight for you. I will do battle with every monster, steal you from every nightmare and protect you from the things in the dark. One day, I hope you will see you don’t have to keep them to yourself. You aren’t alone anymore.”
*
Miranda stood up, and I could see every mark I had made. She moved towards me with no secrets, brushing a kiss against my neck, her lips tasting the pulse beneath my skin.
“You are thinking too hard. Stop worrying. This is enough for me. You are enough.” She went to move away, but I caught her.
"No one has ever looked at me the way you do. The way you see something in me, I could never find. I will probably fuck this up. I will demand every single piece of you and then want more. I will never get enough of you. I will never stop, not even with my last breath. I will chase you to the stars, beyond this life and into the next.”
*
This was love, living, breathing current giving birth to something brand new. I watched Val’s face as he was struck by it too.
“I took your last breath the day I gave you mine. The life we knew before is over. The only thing left for us is the stars.” I lifted myself up to capture his mouth. I felt the universe upon my lips. We had started from nothing. A desperate girl. A ruthless king. I didn’t know where we were headed, all I knew was everything had changed. We had altered our course, created something beautiful from the broken and twisted wreckage of our past. We would rule, our throne somewhere lost among the stars.
Epilogue
The club loomed in front of us. We had been away a month, Val and I making up for lost time. My sisters moved in and promptly informed us after the first night they wanted rooms on the opposite side of the house. I had never seen Val more uncomfortable.
We parked, and Val pulled me close. The slightest touch already had me growing wet. His mouth found a new mark he had left that morning, his tongue rolling across it, sending delicious chills over my body. I wanted his mouth to find every mark. I was ready to strip and climb in his lap. His teeth nipped the tender flesh, and I whimpered. I still didn't know how he could own me so completely. Every inch of me was coming alive with the briefest touch. He released me, his body moving away from me as he stepped out of the car.
He opened the door for me, but I refused to get out. Everything in me was lit up, a combination of lust and need coursing through my body like wildfire.
“You know you are cute when you are mad at me.” He smirked as he held out his hand, trying to get me to move.
“Do you enjoy torturing me?” I huffed.
His eyebrows raised, such a foolish question, my mind recalling the snap of his belt against my thighs. The way he fucked me senseless, the burn from my thighs spiking as his hips met tender flesh. The memory was adding fuel as I remembered how much I had enjoyed it. The way I came screaming his name.
I reached down and pushed my dress up past my hips. His eyes became captivated as my hand slipped between my thighs, tracing the red lines across my skin. The tables had turned the same burn igniting inside of him, the outline of his hard cock straining inside his polished dress pants. I stepped out, walking past him letting my dress fall. I looked over my sho
ulder and winked.
"You are kind of cute when you want me," I said as I took another step.
“Fuck this.” His hands pulled me to him, turning me around he pushed me against the wall. I heard the sound of his zipper. The cold brink met delicate skin as he lifted my dress and entered me. His cock slamming home as he fucked me hard. My hands found the wall as I tried to find something to hold on to. He became savage with his thrusts, his cock owning my pussy with no mercy. I wanted more, and he obliged as he his fingers twisted into my hair, his teeth finding my neck and sinking in. He took me completely, my body complying with every demand.
Having Val inside me was too much and never enough, a tightrope where my feet never quite caught their grip but always knowing a safety net rested beneath me. He would always catch me when I fell.
I came so hard my nails clawed at the brick. I felt him follow, his cock filling me with a stamp of ownership. My pussy clenching around it as he branded me from the inside out.
I felt a kiss against my neck. He always brought me down with something sweet. “That wasn’t cute.”
I laughed, as he withdrew from me. He took care of me first, pulling the dress back down over my hips. Tucking himself back into his pants, I noticed they weren’t so polished anymore. I couldn’t resist the smile.
“I could have chosen a better word, but I might not have gotten what I wanted.” I held out my hand and felt his fingers lace with mine.
“I’ve created a monster.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“How did I get so lucky?”
"It was never luck, Val. It was fate. I was always meant to be yours."
Miranda’s hand held on tight. I could live forever and never get used to the way she loved me. Miranda was always meant to be my queen; I had forever to shows her the perks of wearing the crown. Miranda only had seen some of them. I planned to show her the rest.
The End
Bound and Bared Series-
Book One-Unbound-Val and Miranda’s story
Book Two- Unraveled-Thorn and Case’s story
Book Three-Unrequited- Law and Selena’s story
Up next Unraveled- Get ready to come undone
Case
Connor Price stole my life. I became a playmate for his sick and twisted games. Then he came, taking me into his arms and saving me from the dark. I survived. My body healed, but my mind was collateral damage in the war for my soul. I simply exist, but when he looks at me, I know what wants. He thinks he can save me, put my broken mind back together. I'm on the run, my ghosts and nightmares chasing me back into the dark. I know he is coming, but saving me just might be the death of him.
Thorn
I had nothing left to lose. I didn't care if I got my next breath, I would only waste it. There was nothing I wouldn't do. I spent my days just waiting for the next job. The next time I could pull the trigger taking out the men who created nightmares one bullet at a time. In the midst of gunfire, in the darkest place, I found her. She thinks I can't save her. She could be right. I'm a killer. My hands drenched in red. Still, I want to touch her. She gave me a reason to fight. Something to lose. Something worth dying for
Acknowledgements
This book wouldn't have been written without the support and love from some amazing people. The first person is my Grandma Jo. I grew up believing I could do anything because she had faith in me. She would have been the first one who would have bought my book and gushed about it to the fellow neighbors. I miss her every day, and this book is for her.
The next is my wonderful husband. He was the one who patiently listened to me as I read him the first chapters. He encouraged me to keep going during the days I wanted to throw up my hands and say I'm done. He was they very the first person who believed in this story. Thank you Prince Charming, I wouldn't be here without you.
Next on my list is my amazing friends. Sarah who stuck with me even when I had no idea where this story was going and offered ways to make it better. Andrea who had faith in my ability to do this even when I lost a little of my own at times. Jamie who read chapter after chapter and made me feel like a real author with all of the wonderful messages. She kept me going when on the days I almost gave up. Kelsey who put up with me five days a week at my day job talking about it nonstop even though I know some of it was outside her comfort zone. Nicole who came in my life near the end of my journey but who became my enthusiastic cheerleader whose joy kept me smiling when things got overwhelming. Elise who sat with me on breaks and listened to every doubt and fear, who was always ready to strike them down with her faith in me. To everyone else that had faith in me, who gave me the courage to keep going and who stuck by me during this insane ride-thank you. I couldn't have done it without you.
To my follower writer, editor and most importantly my friend- Skye Callahan-You talked me down from every ledge saving this story more times than I can count. I was a fainting goat on your doorstep, and you gave me the courage to get up and keep going. During this whole journey, I wondered when I would feel like this book was good enough. I was launching myself into the world where the authors I love are superheroes, where their books had given me the gift of falling in love with characters and words that moved me, destroyed me and saved me. Then you read Unbound, and I got my moment. The moment of someone falling in love with my words, my characters and the story I had to tell. You blew up my messenger at 2 am, and I will never forget that feeling. I laid there and thought so this is what it feels like to have someone fall in love with your book. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you-for being my amazing editor, a woman who inspires me and for being my friend. This journey would not have been the same without you.
The last person I want to thank is the amazing, brilliant author Pepper Winters. In life, there are those rare people that come unexpectedly into your life. That alter your course in ways you would never have guessed. You are one of those people. Your books are beyond incredible, but your kindness and support helped make this dream come true. I feel blessed every day that I met you and that I have your support while chasing this dream. This book would not have been written without you. You inspired me, offered me your friendship, knowledge, and support, and you are one of my unicorns.
Music is always in the background when I write. Here are a few of the songs that spoke to me while writing Unbound.
Unbound Playlist
Car Crash-Anna Nalick
Pretty in Pain-Diane Birch
Unfkd- Diane Birch
Bring me to Life-Evanescence
Fire meet Gasoline-Sia
Crucify-Tori Amos
Waiting Game-Banks
Hear Me-Kelly Clarkson
Heal my Wounds-Poets of the Fall
Shelter (feat. Roxanne Emery)-Dash Berlin
Undefeated-Daughtry
Sooner or Later-Breaking Benjamin
Flaws-Bastille
Say you Will-Evanescence
Seven Devils-Florence and the Machine
Hemorrhage (in my hands)-Fuel
Waking up the Devil-Hinder
Right Here-Staind
Unbound (Bound and Bared Book 1) Page 20
