by Carly Fall
was part of the culture.
Blake telling her what to do hadn’t gone over well.
When she had walked into the room and saw Cohen, to say she was shocked would have
been an understatement. She hadn’t known what to expect from him, and she had been pleasantly
surprised.
Whatever had happened had changed him, and he came to her without anger. She also
noticed that the scruff on his face was gone, and his clothes were clean. He had gone through
some type of transition.
However, whatever he had been through had left him raw. She felt like if she said too
much—or not enough for that matter—he would somehow fold up upon himself.
She had been ready for bed and decided that instead of going into whatever had changed
him, it would be best for them to sleep.
“Are you awake?” he asked groggily.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Cohen took her in his arms and maneuvered her so that her face rested against his chest.
Hesitantly, she put her arm around his waist and gently rubbed her cheek against the soft fabric
of his T-shirt, inhaling his smell of clean soap and a fresh breeze. If she never had to move again,
she would be happy.
“I don’t want to move all day,” Cohen said quietly.
Annis smiled. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“If you want to talk about your nightmare, I’m here to listen,” he said.
Annis heard the deep rumble in his chest. It was like every word sent a shockwave
through her, each landing in her core. Her temperature spiked. “Thank you, but no.” Her
nightmare was the last thing she wanted to talk about now.
“Okay.”
Cohen moved again, and Annis groaned as he disentangled himself from her. She could
feel him hovering above her, and felt his breath on her face when he spoke. Gently, he caressed
the side of her face and brushed back her hair.
“Mia released me,” he whispered.
She brought her hand up to his face, touched his jaw, and gently grazed his eyelid with
her finger. The pad of her thumb traced his lips as hope flared within her. “How do you feel
about that?”
He was quiet a moment, and she wished she could see him. “I feel relief, and I feel loss.
This is going to sound weird, but I feel like I’ve been scrubbed clean on the inside.”
Scrubbed clean on the inside. How interesting. What would it feel like to have her
feelings of loneliness erased? To have her need to belong met? To not have her past haunt her?
To be clean on the inside?
“Annis, you are the most beautiful female I’ve ever laid eyes on. And you know I admire
you greatly. You are so strong and you have an amazing heart. I-I don’t know where things
would go between us, but I want to find out.”
Annis smiled, and her heart soared. It was the first step, and that was all she could ask
for.
Cohen gently touched her face.
“I wish I could see you,” she whispered.
“You will. I have a feeling you’ll be seeing so much of me, you’ll be sick of me.”
Annis laughed. “I don’t know about that.”
Cohen chuckled. “If you do get sick of me, make sure you tell me.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” she said. It was a tender moment, but Annis felt the shift, and her
body heated.
“I want to kiss you,” Cohen whispered. “Is that okay?”
Annis nodded.
His lips touched hers, firm, yet soft. She laced her arms around his neck and threaded her
fingers through his hair as his weight settled on top of her.
It was interesting being with a male and having no sight. The rest of her senses were
heightened, and a ripple of excitement coursed through her at not knowing where he was going
to touch her next.
Cohen’s large body made her feel soft, feminine, and small. She didn’t feel like a
Warrior, or the lonely, scared child of her past. She felt beautiful and womanly, wanted and
treasured.
Annis ran her fingers down his large, muscle-grooved back and found the hem of his T-
shirt. Hesitantly, she let her hands slide up under it, and Cohen let out a moan. “My God,” he
whispered. “The way you touch me sets my whole being on fire. Your touch does something to
me I’ve never experienced before.”
With his words, her confidence soared, and she kissed him a little bit harder. His lips
moved to her neck, and she turned her head to the side to give him better access. He slowly
kissed the column of her throat and moved down to her collarbone. He licked the ridge all the
way up to the middle of her throat. She trembled as he pulled down her tank top and his mouth
found her nipple and teased it with his tongue until it was a hardened nub.
She shivered as his mouth left her breast and he rolled off her. Had she done something
wrong?
“I want you, Annis,” he whispered in her ear. “I want to show you how a male can make
you feel. I want to use my hands, my mouth, and this.” He opened her palm and pressed it
against his sweats. She felt the long, thick length, and desire, as well as just a hint of fear, flushed
through her body. “But I don’t want to go too fast for you. I know . . . what has been done to
you, and I want to make it right for you.”
Annis realized that if she wanted to be with Cohen, she would need to open up to him. He
already knew about the rapes, he just didn’t know the circumstances. She also appreciated that he
cared enough to think about it, and realized that the sexual act might be difficult for her.
“It was the doctor,” she whispered, nerves coiling in her gut. She had never spoken of
what happened, and she felt tears welling in her eyes. “He . . . he did it many times. He strapped
me down, the coward that he was and . . .”
She couldn’t finish, and hoped that what she had said was enough.
Cohen let out a long, low, ominous growl. “I wish Jovan hadn’t killed him, because I
would like to make his death long and slow for what he did to you.”
“As would I, Cohen. But I also know that I can’t dwell on it. I have to move forward.”
He cupped the side of her face. “My incredibly brave, sexy, Warrior,” he said and kissed
the tip of her nose. “I want to continue this, Annis, but I want you to be able to see me when we
do.”
“Cohen—”
“Annis, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Trust me. But I want you to be able to see
me. I want you to know it’s me making love to you. It’s important to me, so please, let’s wait a
few more hours.”
Annis smiled. She might burn up from anticipation, and she told him this.
He laughed and kissed her with a passion that ignited her very soul.
“You and me both,” Cohen whispered.
Chapter 51
Cohen sat across from Annis at the dinner table. For fuck’s sakes it was taking forever
and a day for the sun to go down. He looked around again and noticed that everyone’s eyes were
still black. He watched as Annis handled the knife and fork with her delicate hands, cutting her
meat while chatting with Liberty, who sat to her left. It was like she didn’t have a handicap at all.
The front of his jeans got snug when he thought of their little tryst this morning. Sex was
different with someone you cared about who returned the feeli
ng. The physical sensations were
more intense, and it was an emotional experience as well as a corporeal one. It was like something he would have experienced with Mia.
Mia. She was a part of his past now, and he could honor her memory by living the best
way he could—with honor and integrity.
He looked over at Annis again. Damn, she looked good. Her dark hair swirled around her
shoulders, and her white teeth stood out against her chocolate skin. He loved the sound of her
deep, sexy laugh, and her white T-shirt hugged her breasts tightly.
When was that damn fireball outside going to head over the hill?
Sighing, he reached to the middle of the table and speared another filet mignon.
The chatter and laughter around the table was the same as always, maybe just a little
subdued since Talin died, but it was a nice background to his thoughts.
After just about killing himself by disengaging from Annis, he had gone to his own
quarters and headed for the shower. It took him seconds to come as he ran his hand over his
cock, his need for release—and Annis—so great.
He then surveyed his room. He had been scrubbed clean on the inside. This shit in here
needed to get scoured down as well.
As he changed the sheets, he thought about what Annis had said about the doctor.
Tonight he would go slow with her, make sure that the experience was a good one. The thought
of that doctor rutting on her made him see blood red, and again he wished that fucker was alive
just so Cohen could make him die a slow, painful, horrible death.
But he couldn’t think about that. There was nothing that could be done, and he needed to
stay focused in the present.
He’d gathered up all his laundry, scrubbed the bathroom down, and collected the glasses
and empty bottles. After two hours, his quarters were clean, he had laundry going, and he felt
better about everything.
He had played a little Xbox with Rayner, and messed around with Killian in the kitchen
while Hudson cooked. Cohen had laughed when Killian announced, “Co-Co back!” and clapped
his hands. Observant little guy. Yeah, he was definitely on his way back.
“I think you may be right, Killian,” Hudson had said, turning to Cohen and putting his
hand on his shoulder. “I’m not sure what happened, and it doesn’t matter. It’s good to see you
back among the living, my friend.”
Cohen had nodded. “Thanks man. It’s good to be here.”
He was feeling so good he had even helped serve dinner.
Cohen hadn’t seen Annis all day until she arrived for dinner with Blake.
That hadn’t sat well, but it was something that he was going to have to get used to. It was
obvious that Blake cared deeply for Annis, and Cohen appreciated that. It seemed like Annis and
Blake were more brother and sister than anything else, and he supposed could live with that.
Probably.
As for Nico being Annis’s former lover, that didn’t gel with him too well, but he’d have
to deal with that too. Nico had assured him that there was nothing going on between him and
Annis, and Cohen had to believe the male or he would make himself certifiable. He certainly
didn’t need a nudge in that direction.
He looked back over at Annis as she stared straight ahead. Golden pinpoints shone in her
eyes. They slowly got bigger until her eyes glowed fully. She met his gaze and gave him a small
smile.
Oh, hell yeah.
“Thanks for dinner, Hudson, I gotta run though,” Cohen said, standing up so fast his chair
almost tipped over.
“What do you have going on?” Hudson asked.
“Just some stuff I need to take care of.” And he needed to take care of it now. He
couldn’t wait any longer. All day he had thought of very little besides the taste of Annis’s mouth,
the softness of her lips and skin and how good she felt pressed up against his body.
It was time to get down to business.
He dumped his plates in the sink, making a silent promise that he would do the dishes for
everyone tomorrow night. Debating the stairs or the elevator, he decided to wait for the elevator.
Cohen didn’t hear Annis come up beside him. He smiled at her when she touched his
arm, and she grinned.
“What was your excuse?” he asked quietly.
“Mine was much better than yours, Cohen. I simply said I didn’t feel well.”
He chuckled, and the door to the elevator opened. They stepped in together, and when the
door shut, they turned to each other.
Cohen pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently. Slow was the idea for the night.
Slow and steady would get the job done. That was a tough one though, because he wanted to
slam her up against the elevator wall, rip off her jeans, and bury his cock deep in her hot center.
But no. Slow. Steady. Gentlemanly. Yep, that would be him.
The doors opened, and Cohen kissed Annis for just another couple of seconds, then
turned to leave the elevator. He realized that they hadn’t pushed a button. Nico, Jovan, Rayner,
and Hudson were in the kitchen. Three out of four of them were staring at him as if he’d grown a
dick out of his forehead. Nico simply smiled and winked at them.
“Wow,” Hudson said. “Wait till I tell Bev about this one.”
“No kidding,” Jovan said. “If Liberty knew about this and didn’t tell me, I’m going to be
pissed.”
Apparently, Rayner was speechless.
“Excuse us,” Cohen said, hitting the number for Annis’s floor. He then turned back to
Annis and continued their kiss while the doors closed. Let them all talk. His shot at happiness
was right here in his arms.
When the doors opened again, they stepped out, arm in arm. “I guess the cat’s out of the
bag,” he said.
“Yes, I do believe it is.”
He turned to her and cupped her face with his hands. “Are you okay with that?”
She shrugged and smiled. “Even if I wasn’t, I would simply have to be, Cohen. There is
nothing that can be done about it now.”
Cohen laughed. “You’re like a duck.”
Annis tilted her head, confused. “How is that? Do I waddle? Because I certainly don’t
have feathers.”
They stepped into her quarters, and Cohen locked the door. He took her into his arms and
kissed her deeply. “No, you don’t waddle. You glide. You float, but you certainly don’t waddle.”
She pulled up his T-shirt until she found his skin. Her slender fingers left trails of fire that
burned and made it hard for him to think straight. “Then how am I like a duck?”
Right. They were talking about ducks. He pulled her T-shirt up over her head and wanted
to cry at the beauty of the stark-white lacey bra against her chocolate skin. “Stuff just rolls off
you. You don’t let much get to you,” he said gruffly.
“You get to me, Cohen,” she said, running her hands over his chest. “Should I not let you
affect me?”
All the blood had left his brain and settled in his groin, and he found words hard to come
by. “No. I mean, yes. I mean . . . Jesus, Annis, you’ve got my brain so scrambled right now I
don’t know what I mean.”
Cohen kissed her again, her mouth hot and wet. He brought them over to the bed and
fumbled with the button to her jeans. A moment later, he had them both undressed.
His sex jutted between them, and she looked down. Hesitantly, her hand encircled him,
and his body jolted at her touch.
She looked up at him with a sly grin on her face. He had to close his eyes as she stroked
him.
After a moment, he opened his eyes, feeling tortured. “I’m not going to last long with you
doing that, Annis, and that’s fine. But I’m just letting you know.”
She turned and got on all fours as she crawled across the bed, the muscles in her thighs
and back rippling beneath her skin. He couldn’t move as he watched her. She turned around and
looked over her shoulder. “Am I going to bed alone, Cohen?”
Hell no. The only thing that could keep him from that bed right now was . . . not a damn
thing. He’d crawl through shards of glass set on fire to get to her.
He hurriedly got in bed next to her, remembering his mantra for the night: slow and
steady.
“I loved what you did to my breast with your mouth this morning, Cohen,” she said.
Jesus, she actually sounded like she was purring.
“Then let me do it again,” he said hoarsely, his tongue swirling her nipple while his other
hand massaged her other nipple into a hard tip.
He moved down to her ribs, slowly kissing her, but keeping his eyes on her face, looking
for any signs of discomfort. He let his hands wander down to her thighs, and he gently traced
inside of one, then the other. Annis moaned and split her legs. If that wasn’t an invitation, he
didn’t know what was.
His fingers moved slowly upward until he found her tender flesh beneath soft curls.
Annis shut her eyes, and she was the sexiest thing he had ever laid eyes on. Her hair framed her
beautiful face, her darkness a gorgeous contrast to the cream-colored, silky sheets. Her luscious
mouth was slightly parted, and her breathing was heavy. Sliding his fingers into her folds, he
found her slick and wet. Inhaling deeply, he caught the sweet scent of her arousal as it flooded
his brain, sending his body into overdrive.
Slow and steady. Slow and steady.
As he teased her swollen nub, her breathing became more labored. He felt the first quakes
of her oncoming orgasm as he slid his finger deep within her.
Her eyes flew open. “Cohen,” she whispered.
He waited for her to say something else, but she didn’t. He removed his hand and traced
