by Sedona Venez
“Did you know him?” I whispered.
“No.” He shook his head. “He was beating my mother’s face to a bloody pulp. I didn’t give a shit who he was. I jumped onto his back while trying to claw his fucking eyes out of his head. All I cared about was saving my mother.”
I squeezed his fingers, imagining the horror of witnessing that shit. It’d had to be emotionally scarring.
He continued. “It’s been twenty-six years, and I can still hear the thud my mother’s body made when he slammed her to the floor before grabbing me off his back and throwing me clear across the kitchen. And I just fucking lay there, helpless and weak, before he shot her and then me.”
“Don’t you dare blame yourself for this shit. You were young, and there wasn’t anything you could do.”
It was painful, watching the emotions—sadness, guilt, pain, and then back to anger—flick through his eyes. Everything he was feeling resonated with me. It was exactly how I’d felt the minute I found out Dad had died because he was out driving around, looking for me when I broke curfew.
“Fuck that. It was my fault. She needed me, and I didn’t do shit to help her or save her. She’s dead because of me. Just like Maya and our baby.” He hunched his shoulders. His eyes sparked with rage as they locked on to mine.
“Because of you? Core, no. That’s not true. None of this shit is your fault.”
I was so enraged. I wanted to wrap my hands around the neck of the person who had killed Maya and the man who had murdered his mother and choke them both to fucking death. The emotional damage those people had caused him was a stain he would never be able to remove.
He released my hand. His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides. “I could have done something… anything… when that bastard placed the gun to her head. But I didn’t,” he gritted out.
“Stop!” I couldn’t stand to hear him tear himself up like that. “You’re fucking ripping yourself apart for something that’s not your damn fault. Blame the fucker who killed her. Be angry with him, not yourself.”
“That’s easier said than done. Especially when her killer is alive, and she’s dead.” His eyes blazed with ire. “He stole her from me. Took away the one person who meant anything to me. And I won’t rest until that asshole is taking a dirt nap.” He ran a hand over his head. “I was near death, and Ram saved my life. We made a pact that day that the man who had killed my mother would pay with his life.”
The rage balled up in my stomach at the senseless deaths of both his mother and Maya. And fury because the person who had run Dad off the road was never punished. Lives lost and the broken children—Core and me—left behind to deal with the emotional baggage.
“I’m so sorry.” I wrapped my arms around his waist, pressing my cheek against his chest.
Core mimicked my motion, tightly holding me, as if trying to anchor himself in the here and now. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. I’ve moved on. I’ve survived. I always do.”
Easing out of his arms, I stared up at him. I knew he hadn’t moved on. There were threads of pain and fury intertwined in his voice when he retold the story. Core’s hurt, guilt, and bitterness ran deeper than a river. There was no way in hell he’d find peace until he got retribution for his mother’s death. And frankly, I didn’t blame him. I understood the hole in the soul death left that could never be repaired. No matter how hard you tried to mend it, the loss from death lingered forever. But the truth of the matter was that revenge wouldn’t bring his mother back.
“Shit happens.” His nostrils flared. “The way I see it, you can’t go through life untouched by suffering. But the smart ones understand that the only way to survive is to find the meaning behind the suffering.” His eyes transformed; they were now cold, hard, and flinty.
The man behind the mask was starting to make more sense to me now. He’d lived a rough life and made it out alive when most of the kids he had grown up with probably didn’t.
“Core, I know how much losing someone you love can hurt.” I swallowed hard. I felt Core’s pain and knew it intimately. “When my dad died, I was lost for so long. He had been my lifeline. I fucking miss him every damn day.”
“Death is a cruel motherfucker,” he grunted.
“That it is,” I whispered, comforted in the knowledge that Core and I had a connection that ran deeper than sex.
We’d both lost someone we loved, and the loss had devastated and molded us into the people we were today… for better or worse.
But is this enough to force me to tear down the emotional walls that protect me, letting Core close to me, revealing my true self? And if I do… could he accept me… the broken woman inside?
“Core…”
“Yes.”
Without thinking, I blurted out, “I have a shitload of trust issues.”
“Sin, you—”
I was a tangled knot of anxiety, waging an endless battle between my head and my heart.
“Don’t.” I placed a finger over his lips to silence him. “If I don’t say this now, I won’t ever.” I swallowed hard. “Grace cheated on my dad when I was a kid, and to add insult to injury, she verbally treated him like shit. It wasn’t a happy household, to say the least, so I inherited a lot of relationship issues from that. It’s hard for me to trust anyone.”
Reaching up, I grabbed his head, yanking it down so that we were now face to face. “I’m not looking for you to define what’s happening between us. In fact, I’d rather you didn’t.” Because if he did, it would be like a spray of insect repellent, making me want to fly as far away as possible. “But what I am demanding is that you never lie to me… because if you do, this thing between us is over. I can’t be with a fucking liar. I need you always to keep it one hundred percent real with me. Are we clear, McKay?”
He narrowed his eyes. “Clear as water.” He grunted before swooping down, claiming my mouth while squeezing my ass with one hand, the other possessively wrapped around my waist.
I almost came undone when he sucked my tongue into his mouth, twining his around it. He plundered, possessed, nipped, storming through my defenses, demanding my surrender. And I did. I couldn’t do anything else.
His tongue slid over mine, around, seeking every inch of me. A fist in my hair angled my head back, granting him deeper access. He growled, a sound that rumbled down in his chest as he effortlessly hoisted me up, kneading my ass with two hands. Instinctively, I wrapped my legs around his waist, completely gone… lost in the sensation of Core.
CORE STRODE THROUGH THE HOUSE and up to his bedroom. With his hand on my back, he lowered me onto the bed and gently pushed me back while his legs forced my knees apart. He yanked off my boots, jeans, and panties, tossing them aside. One hand grabbed a firm hold of my wrists, and the other slid into my pussy, two fingers pushing inside and stretching me open. I moaned as I clenched around those fingers.
He growled again. “So fucking beautiful,” he murmured with approval, pressing his mouth against my stomach, nibbling and kissing until all I wanted to do was burst into flames.
My nerve endings stirred and tingled. His touch and our physical connection felt intense, like a slow, smoldering fire. It was so much different. So much more because of the way we had both just opened up, baring our souls to each other during our conversation. It was as if we both wanted to slow down, savor the moment, linger in the essence of the momentous corner we’d turned together in our relationship.
Rising on his elbows, he hungrily looked at me before pushing my legs out a little. Now I was even more exposed and vulnerable before his gaze, just as I’d opened myself up to him, telling him about my dad and my relationship issues. He pushed my knees to my stomach before pressing them outward, tipping my pussy up in the air. As he slid his fingers between the wet folds of my heat, I arched up, wiggling closer when he slipped his fingers inside. His thumb circled and played with my clit.
I was dying for more even though I was on the cusp of my first orgasm. As I stared at him, my mind wen
t numb. I needed more, but I was helpless. He stroked my pussy. I shivered, on the verge of exploding.
“Give it to me, Sinful,” he demanded huskily.
I knew exactly what it was from our numerous hot-and-heavy fuck sessions.
Core dominated.
I submitted.
It was Core’s sensual power play, forcing me to leave all my inhibitions at the door. In exchange, he’d push my sexual boundaries.
There were no flowery bullshit words.
No complicated promises of forever.
And no judgment for the freaky things we both desired. It was beautifully uncomplicated and liberating. Finally, I’d found a highly skilled lover with whom I didn’t have to orchestrate every touch and stroke. Shit, the man fucked like a tireless machine.
And the way his eyes bored into me while fucking… It was as if I were his goddess and he were worshipping me at my altar. It was humbling, sensual, exciting, and intense.
He ensured that my sexual pleasure came before his. It didn’t hurt that the man was very skilled at fucking.
In the bedroom, bathroom, and anywhere else he chose to take me, I was his be-all and end-all.
“Please,” I whispered. “Lick me,” I finished because I knew he had no intention of pushing me over the edge until I offered what he needed to hear.
“With pleasure.”
His huge hands curled around my thighs, spreading my legs wider. His tongue thrust into my heat. That one abrasive lick sent my mind and body spiraling over the edge, and I screamed his name like a prayer.
He pulled his head back, watching as his fingers continued to stretch my greedy slit. “Scream louder, darling.”
I was writhing and panting as my hips bucked wildly. His fingers thrust harder. I moaned louder when his thumb found my clit again and mercilessly played with it. I screamed and came again, feeling light-headed from the passion.
He nipped my inner thigh. “I love the taste of your cunt.”
His lustful words made my toes curl. I wanted Core more than my next breath.
He eased back, standing before me for a moment, and then he stripped naked.
I shivered deliciously. He was gorgeous, fit, and muscular with a thick cock jutting out in front of him.
“Fuck me,” I demanded.
His face darkened. “Who’s in charge, Sin?”
“Me,” I answered.
My willful streak pushed to the forefront. Core had taken me several times that morning, and each and every time, I’d submitted to his demands… willingly. But the sadistic streak in me wanted to push the envelope. I wanted to know how far Core could take our sensual play.
“Tsk, tsk,” he shot back before opening a condom packet and sheathing himself. “You know better, darling.” He moved in front of me, stroking his length.
I inhaled sharply, loving the sensual way he touched his staff.
“I’m in charge,” he insisted softly, his voice still full of authority.
Truth be told… behind closed doors, in his bed, I wanted him to be in charge. Core knew what I wanted without me even having to ask, which was scary and exciting.
Our gazes locked when he stated, “I’m going to stick my dick up your ass.”
I swallowed hard. I’d never had anal sex in my entire life.
His laugh made me shiver. “Everything in you is probably saying no, that you wouldn’t like it. But the spark of excitement in your eyes… it says differently.”
Core was right. My body was on fire, the need unlike anything I’d ever felt.
“On your fucking knees,” he demanded.
My eyes widened. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach.
Oh shit. This is really happening… ass action.
I froze with indecision.
Do I trust him enough to be that vulnerable to him?
When it came to sex, Core had not hurt me and had given me things I hadn’t known I wanted—freedom to unleash my freaky dark desire with no judgment about my sensual wants and needs—until him.
“Now,” he barked.
I rolled over, getting on my hands and knees. My shoulders were pressed against the soft sheets. My ass high in the air, I glanced over my shoulder at him.
“Damn. Beautiful,” he whispered. “Spread your knees wider.” He used his muscular thighs to spread my legs even more.
My breath caught in my throat when he reached for the lube, squirting it onto his fingers.
The realization sank in. I was excited. The need to have him take me surpassed any desire I’d ever felt. My throbbing folds felt like he’d already fucked me. The silky feel of the bedding against my nipples sent ripples of need to my center.
“Fuck me,” I hissed.
He was on top of me in seconds, his body pressing against me.
“Beg me,” he whispered into my ear, “and make it good, Sin.”
A soft moan escaped my lips. “Fuck me, please. Put your cock inside me. Make me yours.”
“I’ve already done that, Sin.”
I shivered as the truth of his words registered.
He taunted. “Say, Pretty please, Core, fuck me.” He ran a hand over my ass cheek and then to the crease. His lips trailed down my back, sending a combination of heat and shivers through me.
I became consumed by the helplessness of my position as a lube-coated finger slid into my ass with no warning. My cheeks squeezed against his invasion. Automatically, I tried to move away. He applied a little more pressure at my puckered opening. The cold and unrelenting push into my anus held me captive while he pushed his lubed finger deeper and then slowly thrust in and out.
My forbidden hole relaxed around his finger and opened up. The most amazing pleasure shot through me. Arching my back, I lifted my bottom, opening myself fully to him. He added a second finger. Again, he was very slow and cautious before he thrust in and out with his two fingers. Then he tried three fingers.
I repeated, “Pretty please, Core, fuck me.”
“My pleasure,” he drawled, withdrawing his fingers. “Once I’ve fucked your ass, you’ll know just who you belong to.” With strong hands on my thighs, he lifted my ass high, using his muscular thighs to keep my legs spread wide.
My hips rocked, needing him to fill me, but I was not at all certain that I wanted him fucking my ass.
Will it hurt? Will I even like it?
“Core. Um… I don’t know if—”
The tip of his cock touched my opening. I tugged at the covers in an attempt to move away from him while at the same time raising my butt higher.
Shit. There was something about the sting of the head of his cock pushing against my puckered hole that was simply alluring.
“Core,” I whispered.
With long strokes up and down my back, he kept me bent over, my ass in the air.
“Your ass looks so beautiful in this position.” He nudged his cock a little more firmly against my bottom hole.
I groaned, burying my face in the bedding as the head of his cock pressed insistently into me. “Core… Oh! It burns.” I struggled to adjust to his thick heat opening me wide.
The unrelenting pressure as he forged his way deep inside me persisted, making it impossible for me to catch my breath. The raw dominance of it staggered me. Core’s hands squeezed my hips, his deep growl filling the room as his cock pressed another inch deeper.
“You’re fucking tight. Just a little more, darling,” he whispered.
I gulped in air, fisting my hands in the sheets. “It’s so fucking deep. Core…”
His balls were against my ass as he slid the rest of the way into me.
I couldn’t breathe.
I couldn’t think.
I felt so taken… so consumed.
He was possessing me as no man ever had, the sharp primitiveness of the act freezing me into immobility.
This act, more than any I’d ever experienced, filled me with a sense of vulnerability I’d never before imagined. I was aware of each shift of his staff, ea
ch breath he took. He stretched me wide, moving inside me as he bent over my back, pressing his lips to my neck.
“You belong to me,” he hissed. “Say it.”
I felt fragile.
He completely owned and controlled me with every move of his cock, each movement drawing a trembling gasp from me.
“I can’t,” I breathed out.
When his hand came around my waist, settling on my mound with a rough finger pressing against my clit, the sensation was so intense I drew a sharp, shaky breath. He began to stroke, slowly moving in and out of me, the friction over my inner walls robbing me of reason.
“Sin, let go. Give me everything.”
Tilting my bottom upward, I cried out as the thick head of his cock pressed impossibly deeper.
“You’re mine to take. Mine to fuck deep. Mine to enjoy. Mine to protect. Mine to care for. Mine to make happy.”
Nothing in my life had ever felt so intimate. So all-consuming. The connection between us made tears prickle behind my eyelids.
My nipples craved his attention. My clit burned for his touch. My arousal was so intense that I couldn’t think of anything else except coming. I teetered on the edge, the erotic pleasure too good to be real… but I resisted in giving him what he wanted—all of me, both emotionally and physically.
I countered. “You have no right to ask for this.”
“I have every right.” Wrapping his arm around me again, he leaned over my back, his fingers parting my folds. “You are mine… and every time you look at me, you’re going to remember this. You’re going to remember how I can make you feel… because you belong to me and I to you.”
He belongs… to me?
I stiffened as his fingers started stroking my clit, inadvertently clamping down on his cock and making my anus burn.
The flash of fire hit me so hard and fast that I froze, unable to move at all as I came so hard that I saw stars. I couldn’t draw a breath deep enough to cry out. The cock inside me felt even larger as I tautened on it, stretching me so intimately and making me feel even more defenseless and exposed.
