by K. A Knight
With his other hand, he dips his fingers into my pussy, his thumb rubbing at my clit, forcing me to take the pleasure and sting of pain, mixing them together until I’m gasping, writhing on the wood, fighting him and pushing back at the same time.
“Good girl, that’s it, take all my length,” he praises, slipping in deeper and deeper with each thrust until finally, he’s balls deep, his skin against mine, and then he stills, both of us panting and sweating again. “Baby, you feel so good, so fucking tight,” he growls, his fingers still in my pussy, the tightness almost too much, almost too full. Both of my holes are filled and stretched…and then he starts to move.
My fingers scramble against the wood, cutting grooves into it as I moan, pressing back into his thrusts. He keeps his fingers still, just stroking my clit with his thumb as he pulls his cock out and pushes back in, his thrusts picking up speed until he’s fucking my ass so fast and hard, I’m thrown against the wood with each punishing movement.
My ribs protest the harsh treatment, but I wouldn’t stop this for the world, no, I call his name, pushing my ass back to meet each thrust, loving the way he holds me tight, his fingers digging in painfully, his cock hard and thick, so fucking thick.
And that piercing, oh God, was he right. It nearly has me screaming as it caresses me inside with each stroke. Before I know it, I’m screaming with my release, clawing at the table like an animal as he drives into me again and again, before his thrusts stutter and he comes with a yell, filling me with his come before he collapses over my back, dropping a gentle kiss on my spine, his fingers still in my pussy and his cock still in my ass.
“I’m still hungry,” I pant.
He laughs but groans when it causes me to clench around him.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Maximus
When she eventually lets me move away, I kiss her pink ass before padding down the hall and cleaning up. When I get back, she’s still bent over the table, making me smirk. “Can’t move, baby?” I tease, and she tilts her head to look at me.
“Oh, I can, just thought you might want to see your handiwork,” she shoots back, and I pinch my eyes shut for a moment before tracing her body like she expected me to, seeing my palm marks on her cheeks, my finger marks on her hips, and my come dripping down her thighs. Then, as calm and collected as ever, she straightens, kisses me on the cheek on the way past, the way she did so many times before, and saunters down the hall, whistling as she goes.
That woman is going to be the death of me.
Shaking my head, I grab my jeans, putting them back on to fight off the cold, but I don’t bother buttoning them. I start to cook, I don’t want my girl going hungry. It’s not a gourmet meal, but it will do. As I cook, I find myself looking around her apartment. I haven’t been here since before she moved in. I’ve watched her from afar, even from the next rooftop with a sniper scope like a crazy person, but I haven’t stepped foot in here. It’s homey, cosy, and very Scarlett.
It sends a pang through my heart, knowing she has built a life here without me. And a business. I’m so fucking proud of her, of course, I always knew she was talented and going to go far…but where does this leave me?
Is there room for me in her life?
What do I have to offer her?
I force those thoughts away. This is what got between us last time—my head. I refuse to let my doubts, my own insecurities, manifest and ruin what we have. This is my issue, not hers. None of it matters. She wants me here and for as long as she does, I’ll stay, always by her side, always hers, and I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. Wants me to be.
I am hers.
She pads back into the kitchen in my shirt, looking way too fucking sexy in it. I remind myself to bring over more, since she pulls them off way better than I ever could.
“It’s almost ready, go sit down and I’ll bring it over,” I tell her, as I plate them up. She offers me a radiant smile before trotting over to the sofa with me following after her like always. When she goes to sit, she winces, and I smirk. “Sore, baby girl?”
“In the best way,” she answers, finally sitting crossed-legged.
I pass her the plate and sit next to her, our thighs brushing, unable to be without her touch after this month apart. We eat in silence, smiling at each other and touching, I can’t seem to stop. I feel so full, so right.
Happiness, my brain tells me.
When she’s finished eating, she places the plate on the coffee table and curls up next to me, digging her feet under my leg to keep her tiny toes warm. I make another reminder to buy her some socks, girls like them, right? Those fluffy ones?
“How’s my baby boy?” she asks, and for a minute I think she’s talking about me until it clicks and I laugh. Setting my plate next to hers, I grab her and drop her on my thighs, notching my chin on her head as I lean back. We both sit at the same time, with her burying her face into my shoulder as she curls up like a cat in my lap.
“He’s okay, really sad, he misses you like crazy. I keep finding him sneaking over to your place, and the other night I found him curled up asleep in your bed,” I tell her honestly, that sight killed me. I’ve never seen a dog so forlorn, his big, sad eyes as he buried himself in her quilt…but I don’t tell her that I stayed there with him, sleeping in her bed just to feel close to her.
“I miss him too, I miss our cuddles,” she says, and I hear the sadness and longing in her voice. My girl’s heart is too big.
“I’ll bring him to see you tomorrow, he’ll love that…if that’s okay?” I question, suddenly nervous, and she pulls away to peer up at me.
“As long as you promise to both stay over tomorrow night.” She grins.
“You couldn’t drag me away,” I whisper, dropping a kiss on her forehead.
We lapse into silence then, happy in each other’s company, just holding one another. Her hands leisurely explore my body with teasing strokes as I do the same to her. Relearning her, imprinting her on my brain, loving her until a yawn splits her lips.
“Come on, baby, time for you to get some rest.” Standing, I hoist her with me, flicking the lights off as I walk to her bedroom. I give a quick look around before placing her below the turned back covers and slipping in next to her, pulling her into my arms and covering us both with the blue floral bedspread.
“Get some sleep, baby girl,” I tell her, kissing her head as she tangles her legs with mine.
“Night, Max, love you,” she murmurs sleepily, sending my heart into overdrive.
“I love you so much, Scarlett Richards,” I whisper back, but I think she’s already asleep, her soft breaths blowing my hair.
I wait for a while, not wanting to move, just hold her, but I have some things to do, so I kiss her softly and slide from the bed, waiting to see if she wakes up. When she doesn’t, I head back to the living room, getting dressed in the dark. I wash the pots first, not wanting a mess in her apartment. I also wipe down the table, grinning when I feel scratches now imbedded in the wood from her.
Then I unlock the door and leave.
“I know, I know you’re still not talking to me,” I murmur, crouching down and peering under the bed, spotting two big, shining eyes. “But you need to come with me, you little monster.”
He barks at me and doesn’t move. Groaning, I look up at the bright white ceiling with the stain in the corner, Scarlett’s ceiling. I had gone home to realise he wasn’t there, then I packed a bag and came straight next door, knowing where he would be and I was right. He was curled up in her bed again, and when he spotted me, he growled and slipped under the bed, hiding. Gripping the edge of the bed, I let him quiet again, spotting a stray sock that must have been Scarlett’s. I don’t know where he found it, but he’s dragged it into the bed with him and was no doubt curled up around it.
Fuck, if that doesn’t break my goddamn heart.
“Buddy, come on out,” I cajole, softening my voice, and he just whines, the sound piercing my chest. “I’m not telling you off,
you can sleep here if you want…but I thought you might want to see Scarlett,” I tell him, and he perks up and the whining stops.
“Come on, buddy, wanna go see Scarlett?” I ask, patting my thighs.
It’s silent for a moment until he starts to wiggle out, slowly at first, watching me like I’m tricking him, until his nose nudges me and he goes to the door, his tail wagging as he waits, and I laugh.
“That’s what I thought. Come on, little monster, she misses you.” I open the door, flick off the light, and he bounds down the stairs, barking at the front door impatiently.
I lock up behind us and help him into the Jeep before heading back to Scarlett’s apartment. I manage to park right outside with it being the middle of the night, and I help Milo out and grab my bag before locking the Jeep. I lead him up the stairs, which he stops to sniff suspiciously before cocking his leg and marking his territory.
Like nothing just happened, he trots to the door and waits. “Huh, don’t think I can get away with that, can I?” I laugh and he scratches at the door. “Alright, alright, goddamn impatient mutt.”
He tries to get up the steps, but he’s tired, so his three legs hinder him. I pick him up, shaking my head when he licks my face as I head upstairs and unlock Scarlett’s apartment with my key, before turning off the alarm and engaging it again once I lock the door.
I place Milo on his feet and he freezes, sniffing before he yips, running around the room, smelling everything before he heads down the corridor. I follow after him, watching as he nudges open the bedroom door, and sees Scarlett sitting up in bed, clutching the sheet to her chest, her eyes wide and searching.
He barks, taking a running leap at the bed, and lands on her. A startled laugh escapes her as he licks her, alternating between that and making a noise I’ve never heard before, like a happy whine. His tail is going a mile a minute as he scrambles all over her, not letting her stop petting him.
Over his head, she looks at me with a bright smile. “This, this is home,” she tells me in the dark, and I couldn’t agree more.
Eventually, Milo settles down, refusing to sleep at the bottom of the bed. No, instead he stretches out between us on his back, his paws in the air as he starts snoring. Grinning down at him, I look up at Scarlett to see her doing the same.
“I didn’t mean to scare you,” I whisper, and she shakes her head, stroking his belly.
“It’s okay, I just woke up and heard a noise, didn’t realise it was you,” she offers, but I know I should have thought about that. “I have nightmares now,” she admits, not looking at me.
I frown, hating that those assholes have done this to her. I know she’s seeing a shrink, I almost broke in to read the notes, but she deserves some privacy, so I didn’t know she had nightmares, and now that I do, I want to dig those bastards up and kill them all over again.
Slowly this time.
“I do too,” I confess instead, admitting my truth. “Dark ones, sometimes I don’t know where I am, I think I’m back in the war, my demons take hold.”
She looks up then, searching what she can see of my face in the dark. “Well, aren’t we a pair of broken souls?” she teases.
Reaching over, I still her hand on Milo’s belly, twining our fingers over his fur. “Yes, but two broken souls make a whole one, together we’ll heal. It might be rough and ugly, but I know each day will get better. Each night with you in my arms is all I need to keep healing, to keep living and fighting those demons. Let me fight yours with you, here, in your—our bed, no one will ever touch you. Not even those nightmares, not again, not while I’m here, and baby? That will be forever.”
“Promise?” she asks.
“I promise,” I whisper back.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Scarlett
With Max’s promise in my ears, his hand on mine and Milo between us, I fall into a dreamless slumber for the first time in a month, and when I wake up, their faces are the first thing I see.
My family.
Max looks so stern, angry even in his sleep, but when I trace my fingers over his cheeks, it seems to lessen, his lips parting slightly. I love the effect I have on him, it’s drugging.
Early morning sun shines through the windows, and I scoot as close as Milo will allow, searching for Max’s head. I must nudge my puppy, because he wakes up, takes one look at me touching Max, and huffs. He kisses my face with his tongue before slipping ungracefully from the bed and heading down the hall. I hear him jump on something, no doubt the sofa, and his snoring starts up once again, like a chainsaw in the apartment.
Filling the gap he left, I press my body to Max’s, still stroking his face, and his eyes blink open as a slow, sleepy smile curls his lips while his eyes go from asleep to wide awake in a second. He wraps his arms around me and drags me closer, letting me feel his already hard cock pressed against my stomach, trapped between our bodies and making me grin.
“Ignore him, bloody thing is like a goddamn tent pole whenever you’re around,” he teases, and his eyes smoulder as he takes me in. “Good morning, beautiful.” He kisses me softly and I close my eyes, losing myself in him before he pulls back and I flutter my eyelids open.
“You call that a kiss?” I taunt, before grabbing his head and yanking him to me, kissing him hard before I pull back. “That’s a kiss.”
Without warning, I flip him so he’s on his back and hover over him, my pussy rubbing against his hard length. His hands go to my hips, holding me there while he grins up at me, his eyes shining. “Is that right? I think I need to be shown again.”
“Well, if you’re sure,” I tease, leaning down and kissing him, and this time he kisses me back, hard, his tongue tangling with mine, his fingers digging into my hips as I start to rock against his hard cock, gasping every time the head of his cock bumps my clit.
Shit, I could wake up like this every day.
He groans into my mouth and pulls back, sucking on my lower lip as I blink open my eyes and gaze down at him. When he lets it go, we stare into each other’s eyes, and I get lost in the inky orbs. “Want to make it a really good morning?” I whisper flirtatiously.
“Why, Ms. Richards, are you propositioning me?” he murmurs, his hand coming up and pushing away the long strands of my hair to cup my face.
“If I was, Mr. Hunt?”
“I’d say yes,” he shoots back, his eyes dropping to my lips. “Fuck yes.”
“That’s what I was hoping you would say,” I whisper, licking at his lips as I reach between us and grasp his cock, lining him up with my entrance. Sitting up, I throw the cover back before slowly sinking onto his cock, my pussy already wet, it always is when I’m with him. I take it slow, getting halfway down his length before using my knees on either side of his thighs to raise myself and drop down on him again, managing to work him in all the way.
He watches me the entire time, his eyes on mine as I take him into my body, and only when I still does he smile. “I love you, now ride me, my dirty girl.” He grabs the bottom of my shirt, his shirt, and we both get it over my head, leaving me naked for his perusal. He takes his time as I start to lift and drop myself, rocking on his cock, riding him slowly at first, but the fire his eyes leave in their wake and his wandering hands has me gripping his thighs behind me and riding him faster.
His hands come up and cup my heavy breasts, tweaking my nipples, the pleasure seeming to arch from the sensitive nubs right down to my clit, like a string he’s plucking. Groaning, I drop my head back, close my eyes, and lose myself in the feel of him.
His hard length in my pussy, his piercing dragging on my g-spot, his hands playing with my breasts, rolling the nubs, and soon I’m gasping, needing to come so badly. His hand skates down my body and flicks my clit, shooting my eyes open as I look down at him.
He grins up at me, lifting his hips to meet my thrusts, gripping my thighs to help me get better leverage to fuck him. “Max,” I whisper, spanning my hands on his chest. Neither of us are in a hurry, our eyes locked as
we love each other.
Because this is what it is. Last night was retained passion, it was fucking, but this…this is love. I can feel it in each stroke, each soft touch, each sweep of his dark eyes. We’re showing each other how much we love one another, affirming our connection until I don’t know where I finish and he starts.
“Scarlett,” he whispers, thrusting up inside of me, his voice a plea. An entreaty for mercy. “You wreck me.”
Groaning, I close my eyes for a moment only to open them again, wanting to watch him, wanting to let him see how he affects me as he reaches between us and circles my clit with maddeningly soft circles, driving me higher and higher. I feel it starting in my toes, dragging every inch of pleasure from me, and before I know it, I’m coming so hard I see stars, my vision blotting as a scream leaves my throat.
He yells beneath me, his cock swelling before he explodes, his come lashing inside me as I come back down to earth, blinking the dots from my vision, my arms and legs like jelly, shaking from the aftershocks. I drop to his chest with him still inside me, and I grin up at him, lazy from pleasure.
“I love you, Maximus Hunt,” I tell him, and I will keep reciting it again and again, knowing he needs to hear it even if he won’t tell me. He smiles then, like the sun breaking through the clouds.
“I love you too, Scarlett Richards, more than anything in this world.”
We kiss softly, a promise, a vow to each other, as Milo’s snoring cuts off, making us laugh and pull away from one another.
“Oi, bitch! Open the door, I brought breakfast!” comes a shout from the front door, and I look up at Max, giggling slightly, especially when Milo starts barking at her.
“Erm, Scarlett, did you get a dog?” comes the worried yell.
