“You’ll must go at him harder than that.”
“He won’t even let me touch him.” I sighed. “How can I stop him when he won’t let me in?”
“I react when you touch him… It’s a part of his problem. I cannot help it. I am a part of him, but I recognize sanctuary in you. Even sin wants a reprieve.” Wrath’s boots thumped against the wooden floor as he neared. “I only have a voice because of Barron denying himself. He’s afraid he’s raging with every physical response he has with you, but it won’t happen until he…”
“Until what?” I leaned in desperately wanting Wrath to continue.
“Barron will now and forever guard your heart. He will treasure you, but I need your body. My rage, my flaming madness, needs that outlet. You will take my wrath inside your body every time it comes. Barron will no longer worry about harming others. I swear it.”
Inside my body?
“I want to help him,” I admitted, although I was trying to figure out what that meant exactly. I had a few dirty ideas…
“You will,” Wrath rumbled. “I won’t exist like this after he stops pushing you away. I’ll go back to the way I was. Just a sin in need of an outlet.” His essence dimmed.
“Does that make you unhappy?”
“No. Because you’ll be there when I want you.” Wrath’s cold hand rested on my shoulder. “I think this will be the last time we talk to one another. Any minute Barron will free himself. Don’t fear what happens when I need you. He might not know it, but you’re always safe with me.”
“I like it,” I whispered with a smile as I wiped the tear falling from my cheek.
“Like what?”
“I like that I’m safe with you.”
Another deep laugh. “Barron doesn’t even know he needs you. He thinks you’re messing with his curse. But that doesn’t erase the fact that he wants you.” He thumped his chest to prove his point. “It’s eating him from the inside out. There’s no way he can suppress himself any longer. That’s how I know this is the last time I’ll ever speak to you.”
“I’m going to miss these conversations about Barron.”
“He’ll open up to you. And I’ll still be with him. Barron simply wants you to himself. To protect, to cherish… You’ll see soon enough.” He turned his head toward the bed before facing me again. “Shall we break what’s left of his stubbornness?” I lifted a brow at him. “He thinks I’m trying to steal his life. Lie next to me this one last time. Let him see what he’s missing.”
______
Despite Wrath wanting to force Barron to accept his emotions, I slipped out of bed as soon as those cold, bony fingers warmed. Wrath had watched me fall asleep with his hand on my arm. Barron didn’t realize it, but he held me stronger than Wrath did like I was a lifeline.
I stood beside the bed and studied his appearance. He was handsome in a rugged, intimidating manner. One glare from that man and people avoided him. I could appreciate that.
Not me. I latched onto him almost immediately—like I couldn’t help myself. I grinned. Did he hate what I loved about us? I belonged with him. We belonged together. I found everything while dying. A home, a purpose, and a man that needed love just as much as I did. I would not ruin it.
Letting my gaze travel over him, I thought about the despair on Barron’s face right before he became his sin. He didn’t want me around him when he blacked out. He believed his sin was stealing me. He’d never believe me if I told him that his sin wanted to help him.
Telling myself I needed to stop staring at Barron, I wandered into his bathroom. I pushed open the carved wooden door and was impressed. It was a stunning room with a tile floor and wood highlighting everything. On the other side of the room was a walk-in shower encased in glass. What interested me lay beneath a window—an odd-shaped marble tub surrounded by dark wood. Quickly, I turned the water on and let the tub fill while I undressed.
My legs, armpits, and privates all needed to be shaved. I knew what I was doing and what I would have given Barron last night in the heat of things, but I was glad it didn’t happen. Thank God Wrath appeared. A girl needed to be better prepared. It was hard to worry about the prickly hair on your legs and hooch when being around Barron made sex ooze from my every pore. I snooped around the sink for a razor but found nothing. Grumbling with my hands on my naked hips, I glanced around the room like the answer would hit me. Then, it did.
I could materialize things like Barron. Holding one palm up, I squinted my eyes and thought razor! Pink, four blades. I squealed before I contained myself. It appeared! I also needed clothes, so I didn’t have to put the same ones on. I summoned up a cute yellow sundress.
As I shaved, I thought of Barron. I thought about him grimacing less and laughing more. I wondered if there was something happy beneath his grumpiness. Barron’s surliness already enchanted me. Even if he rarely smiled or only ever gave me his creeper smile, I would be no less into him. My feelings for him ran deep.
Soulmate—that was deep.
To think, every second that ticked by could be predestined.
My razor glided over the red lion mark and heat spread over me.
Sinking my legs in the water after I finished shaving, I decided what had to be done. I needed to go at it the same way Barron’s sin controlled him—with anger, fury, and chaos. If he started to shrink inside himself and his hide emotions, then I’d kick his ass. If he needed to fight to keep himself distracted from his own thoughts, so be it. Maybe that meant I could be immortal too, right? I could risk dying if things got out of hand. Well, I hoped it didn’t come to that.
“Talk to me.” Barron stood with his back against the door. He propped his foot and glowered at me with his arms crossed. How long had he been there? “You’re the only one that knows what’s happening to me and my curse. No one else can even get close to me when I rage.”
When I said nothing, he punched the wall. I flinched as his red essence spiked. “Do you know what’s like to be so fucking pissed all the damn time? Do you know what it feels to want something so bad, but can’t allow it? Do you understand that I can’t do what I want because of my curse? Wrath sucks me into a black pit of nothingness. I have to stay put until he decides I can come back.” He pushed himself off the wall and stalked toward me.
My stomach heated with both fear and undeniable lust.
“I guess I’m just fucked. How am I supposed to not get angry when my sin is crawling out to you? That he’s kidnapping and staying close to you? I never even gave myself the luxury to keep you since your death was my fault! Do you know how fucking miserable I felt sending you through that portal?” His dark eyes blazed as he looked at my ankle. “They brutally killed you for being connected to me. How could I possibly dare to keep you?”
“Barron,” I mumbled. I wasn’t afraid of his fury. Not one bit. As he crouched down beside the tub, I became very aroused.
“Tell me.” His eyes roamed over my bare legs. I slipped my upper half beneath the soapy water. “What do I do when I’m not me? Do I hurt you?”
“Barron.”
“Do I touch you?” He thumped his chest with his palm. “Am I a man or a skeleton around you?”
“Skeleton,” I answered immediately. “Wrath speaks to me.”
His eyes blackened. “Why? Why won’t my sin leave you alone? If I fucking can, so can—”
I grabbed his hand, entwining my wet fingers through his as I pulled them closer to me. “Why are you denying what you feel? Stop ignoring it. Please, for your sake. I’m here whether or not you acknowledge me. You’re my fate.”
His essence dimmed around him as he studied me. I rubbed the back of his hand against my cheek. His breathing slowed. The eyes that were locked in frustration clouded with an undeniable desire. “What are you doing?” he murmured.
“I fully accepted that I would die because of my heart. I wasn’t scared. Maybe the future seems bleak to you but not me. I only fear not having enough time to get to know you. Barron, you said
the world is ending. Keep pushing me away, and we’ll lose the opportunity. Since we’ve been gravitating toward each other from the beginning, it would be a tragic loss.” I smiled bashfully, lowering my gaze briefly. The intensity of his stare was too much when I wanted his hands all over me.
“I’ll hurt you,” he choked out.
I lifted my head and saw him hunched over. It was like his emotions were dragging him down.
“Why? Because you’re the sin of wrath? Wrath said he needs me. No matter how much you think you’ll lose control and hurt me, that’ll never happen.”
His essence burned bright again once more. He growled. “It needs you?”
“Your sin is you, Barron. When Wrath says he needs me, he means you do.”
“Gwendolyn,” he said.
I leaned forward and touched his face. Sliding my hand toward the back of his neck, I tried to pull the angry beast to me. When he never budged, I tried to rise from the tub, but Barron wouldn’t let me out. His eyes raked over my breasts, nipples pointed and chilled from leaving the warm water. I noticed the huge bulge in his jeans and grew bolder.
“Your problem is that you want me so badly, you’re denying yourself hoping it will go away.” Before he could protest, I guided his hand to my breast. “I’m not going anywhere. Because of you, Barron. Heaven’s not where I’m supposed to be.”
It shocked me when his rough palm teased my nipple.
My body came to life. Yes, yes, yes.
“You do not belong to my wrath,” he said in a husky voice.
“I belong with you. Beside you.”
His free hand went to my hair and fisted it before he pulled me in. Fierce brown eyes captivated me, acknowledging what he would do before he did it. My eyes fluttered shut. His lips claimed mine, urgent and rough. Something sparked between us as we parted. Barron lifted his brow as if he was acknowledging it, and then his mouth was on mine again. My lips parted, and his tongue slid inside.
When Barron moved his hand, my already hard nipple tightened further. Snaking his arm around my back, he hauled me out of the tub. Water dripped onto the floor as he set me on my knees in front of him and knelt beside the tub. His breath was hot on my chin as he dragged his mouth down and nipped at my neck. I gasped when his hand went to my ass. His huge palm smacked it and the sound echoed in the bathroom. My muscles tensed for another strike, but then he caressed it. Rough, then soft.
Oh, please more.
His fingers slipped into my crack. The excitement ignited me further. I moaned as he teased the puckered entrance.
“You’re fucking little everywhere,” he rasped as his index finger rimmed my opening, but not pushing in.
I wiggled against him, reaching for his head and urging him to kiss me again. And he did more than kiss me. He dove in, flicking his tongue over my teeth and tongue. We bit and sucked at each other like we were screwing with our mouths.
I was shaking. No. It wasn’t until I wrapped my arms around him that I realized that it was Barron trembling. I peeked at him. Glossy gaze on my breasts, he pushed my chin up and lowered his head. A hot mouth covered one nipple and sucked. Jesus! His touch was firm as he cupped and molded each in his palm. Popping my nipple out of his mouth, he rubbed his thumb over my nipple then quickly nipped it with his teeth. Ahh. My clit throbbed, and I tried squeezing my legs together. He noticed and pushed my thighs apart. My arousal already coated my pussy. Grabbing his hands, I tried urging one to the sticky ache I needed him to take care of. He didn’t allow that. Instead, he brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed my wrist sweetly.
I needed him inside me.
But all around us, Barron’s red essence rapidly spread and closed in around me.
This still wasn’t enough? What did Wrath need from me?
Barron was holding back. Wrath wanted more. I wanted more too—of Barron.
I shoved him onto the floor and straddled him. When I reached for his zipper, he caught my wrist.
“Stop,” he panted with hazy eyes. “I want you so much. You have no fucking idea what I want to do to you. But, I’m about to rage. I can’t—”
“You can,” I promised, pulling down his zipper. My skin tingled when I slipped my hand in his pants and gripped his thick erection.
He groaned. Immediately after, his phone started going off. His essence lessened around him and the hands dissolved. His shoulders sagged as he started to get away from me.
“You need this,” I argued, trying to stop him from taking his phone out. “Wrath will be back if you prolong this.” I sat on my knees as he stood.
The second Barron focused on me, his essence swooped toward me.
“Are you saying that I need to fuck you?”
Could he be any more brutally honest? My cheeks heated.
“I plan on it, but not because my curse needs it. When your pussy is so raw you can’t walk, you’ll remember what I said about me breaking you.”
My pussy throbbed in anticipation.
His curse made him harsh and grumpy. Was it bad that his crude language turned me on even more? He wanted me, and he would have me. Not because of anything else. My inner thighs were slick with my desire as I stood and followed him out the bathroom.
He glanced over his shoulder, and his red essence went berserk. “Fucking hell. Stop enticing me, dimples, I don’t have time for this. We have some human trafficking to deal with.”
“We?” I asked. “You’re letting me come?”
“You’ll be coming later, but yes you’re going with me,” he barked as he materialized some clothes on me. I knew it had to be him because I sure didn’t. “No one’s available to stay at the castle with you, and no way am I leaving you alone.”
Chapter 25
Gwendolyn
“I can’t breathe,” I muttered as I sucked in hot air. “This is ridiculous.”
“I like you there,” he said, the vibration of his voice rolling over my body pressed against his. I was safely tucked beneath his cloak riding on his back. It’s where I’d been the last thirty minutes. I had no idea where we were since I’d been in darkness and slowly smothering the whole time. My legs and arms ached as I held myself against him.
My limbs rejoiced when he finally said it was okay to leave my hiding spot. I pushed off him, slipping from beneath his cloak. I gulped in air. “I can breathe again,” I said dramatically.
“Your cheeks really do look good when red,” Barron muttered as he smoothed out his cloak.
“It was stuffy in there,” I told him ignoring his comment.
“But you were safe. They’d have to get through me from the front and get through the cloak from your back—both impossible.” He held the fabric between his fingers. “This material is impenetrable.”
“So?” I asked.
We were on a roof peering down at the people going in and out of the shops. But wait! Those weren’t humans. People weren’t red, purple, and green. Some had tentacles. Others resembled ogres. I even saw wings and people that had no face. Little gremlin-type creatures flew around the stores. One business had a sign that read semen shop.
“Oh, my God,” I gasped. “What is this place?”
“Welcome to the City of the Dead.” Barron sneered and spread his arms wide.
“Is this where the traffickers will be?” I whispered as I took a step closer to the edge. Barron caught my movement and flashed that creepy, teasing smile.
“Scared?”
I ignored that question. “What do these creatures want with humans?”
He shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
“Please, tell me what happens during the human festival.”
“It’s exactly as it sounds. Humans are kidnapped and bought. They’re brought here where they’ll be used for entertainment until the big night. Then they’ll be tortured, raped, or killed. It all depends on what the demon wants. There’s not been one in several hundreds of years thanks to my mom but given everything… Bottom line? Demons don’t f
ucking care anymore. Our presence keeps them in line, and some of them hate being on a leash. They’re rejoicing hoping the world ends, and we fade away.” The corded muscles in his neck tightened as his veins jumped. “The human festival is their giant ‘fuck you’ to us.”
My stomach churned as I glanced at all the different, disgusting creatures. What made it worse was the internal glimpse I received—some of them were uglier on the inside. A slight tremble plagued my body as I realized what some of these creatures were capable of.
“That’s horrible,” I finally said. “How can I help?” I turned to Barron.
“You can start by staying safe.” He caressed my cheek. “You’re trembling. This place terrifies you, as it should. Anything happened here until Reapers came along and stopped most of the anarchy. Honestly, demons can’t wait to be rid of us.”
“I’m a Reaper now too. This is my life whether or not you want it to be. I can’t pretend I didn’t hear what you said or sit back and do nothing.”
“No one expects you do anything.” He grabbed my shoulders firmly. “They tossed you into this world because of me. You’re mine to keep safe.”
I quirked a brow. “I thought I wasn’t yours?”
“You. Do. Not. Belong. To. Wrath.” Malice punctuated every word.
“Barron, you are Wrath,” I tried to tell him.
He scoffed. “Yeah. I thought that too. Then, it developed a mind of its own.”
I sighed. It was all very frustrating. Barron was Wrath. No matter how much he claimed he wasn’t. Sadly, Barron was also too hotheaded for me to explain it. He’d go back to normal once—once what? When he stopped denying himself? I wanted to give Barron all the pleasures he thought he had to stay away from.
Stubborn, impossible, crazy good-looking—
“They’re coming,” Barron’s hushed whisper chilled my bones. He turned away from me. “Climb up.” He meant that literally. Barron was not little. I had to climb him. But the thought of going under his cloak again had me wrinkling my nose.
Conjuring Wrath (Seven Deadly Book 3) Page 18
