by Stasia Black
She didn’t turn any lights on, just went to the bed and lay down on her side, cheek to the pillow, staring at the wall.
There was a chair by her vanity and Marcus sat down, still not daring to speak. Just being here was enough. Just the fact that she wanted him here… Was this the beginning of the way back? Or was this only for tonight because she’d been so affected by seeing her friend hurt?
Everything in him wanted to close the space between them and claim his wife in a way she’d never forget and could never again deny.
She was fragile like a flower right now, though. If he squeezed too tight, her bruised petals would never flourish again.
So he remained still. Gods help him, he remained still.
His beautiful wife turned her head towards him. The pain in her gaze cut straight through his gut.
He opened his mouth to say her name, to try to say something comforting, but she beat him to it.
“Will…could you hold me?”
She didn’t have to ask twice. He was up off the chair and sliding onto the bed beside her in the blink of an eye.
And finally he did what he’d been longing to do all night. He wrapped his arms around her and slid his body into hers from behind, one leg tangling with hers.
It was a familiar position, one they usually settled into after sex, not before. Marcus knew tonight wasn’t about sex, though. It was about comfort and letting Cora know she wasn’t alone.
She never had to be alone again or to face anymore nightmares without him at her side. He’d fight all her battles, slay all her beasts. Things were bad now but they’d be good again. She’d see. He’d give her the most beautiful life anyone ever had.
He tucked her close to him and covered them with a blanket. He watched over her as she quickly fell into what he hoped was a dreamless sleep.
They stayed like that, her asleep in his arms and him memorizing the feel and smell and sight of her for over an hour. She only stirred when there was a knock at the door. A text pinged on his phone, letting him know that his Shade had left their food at the door.
Cora lifted her head but Marcus urged her to lay back on his chest.
“It’s just the food,” he said. “You hungry?”
“Not really.” She wormed so that she was lying beside him, facing him.
“Why haven’t you been able to sleep?” He lifted a gentle finger to caress the shadows underneath her eyes.
She didn’t pull away. “I get these dreams. Nightmares really.”
“Tell me.”
“Mostly about AJ.”
Marcus felt his entire body tighten but he forced himself to relax. He’d almost blown his lid when Sharo told him that Cora had seen him put AJ down like the dog that he was. Somehow she’d been there and he couldn’t imagine what it must have looked like to an innocent like her.
“That fucker doesn’t deserve to take up any space in your head.”
She hesitated. “I watched you kill him.”
“Sharo told me.”
“It scared me.” Marcus thought of the violence of those last, brutal moments. Of course she’d been scared. Scared of him. Shit.
“He would’ve hurt more people. It was my responsibility to make it stop.” He paused and took a breath. Justifying it wouldn’t help anything. He wasn’t sorry that he’d killed AJ, but he was sorry that she’d seen it. She’d been an innocent when she married him. All he’d done since was corrupt her.
“I understand why you ran.” He reached forward to sift his fingers through her light hair, but he couldn’t quite meet her eyes. “You married a killer. It’s a part of my life you were never meant to see. But if this is going to work, there can’t be anymore lies between us. This is who I am. It’s who I have to be.”
“That’s not what scared me.”
He lifted his gaze to hers and she was the one reaching out this time, laying her hand on his chest. Her brows were scrunched together, upset. “I watched you smash his head in, and I was…I was glad. AJ killed Iris like she was nothing. I wanted him to die. I wanted it to be brutal.” Cora’s tortured gaze met his. “I hated him. I watched you kill a man in cold blood and I was glad.”
She started to take her hand away, but Marcus captured it and held it to his chest. Could she feel his heart beating?
Their gazes caught again. “I was glad,” she repeated, gripping his shirt. “I wanted you to hurt him. All these months I’ve been telling myself that I had to get away from you because you were the darkness and I wanted to live in the light.”
“But the darkness…” Fat tears trembled at the edges of her eyes. “The darkness was inside me all along.”
Marcus dragged her close to him and kissed her forehead before tucking her head under his chin. “You wanted justice.”
They lay like that for a few moments. Her body shook and he held her tighter. His stomach tied in knots at seeing her suffering. She was in so much pain, he could feel it. And it was wrong, so wrong.
She was supposed to be kept separate from all of it. She was supposed to live up on a pedestal where only light shined. The darkness was never meant to touch her. But he had failed her, time and time again.
“I’m sorry I ran,” she finally murmured.
He moved his head back so he could look at her. “Don’t be sorry. You were frightened.”
“I didn’t leave because you killed him. I mean, I thought I did. It was what I told myself. I wanted to go back to a simpler time. A simpler life.”
She frowned and shook her head. “But I think that was an illusion. Life’s never been simple. The darkness has always been there. In the loneliness of my childhood. When my mom got mad and hit me. Even the whole reason we were hiding out on the farm—”
Her features scrunched with pain. “What my family did to your sister… You said to me once that the sins of the father would be visited upon the children.”
“Gods, no, Cora, I didn’t mean—” Fuck. He had meant it at the time but that was before he’d gotten to know her, to love her. “That was a long time ago—”
“No, you were right. That’s the legacy they left me.” She sat up in bed and swung her legs off the side, pulling away from him. “I can’t ignore it or pretend I’m not a part of it. The darkness is inside me.”
“Cora,” Marcus started, moving to sit beside her, but she cut him off, eyes distant.
“I wanted vengeance for what AJ had done to my friends. I wanted it bloody and I wanted it brutal. With every blow you landed I wanted the next one to be twice as hard. I was disgusted with myself but I still couldn’t look away.”
She was killing him, didn’t she know that? All Marcus had wanted to do was protect her and yet here she was, the strongest, most resilient woman he’d ever met…and she was so close to breaking. Because of him. Because of his world.
Finally, finally, she looked at him, eyes wide and lost. “What does that make me? I was glad you got rid of him. He got what he deserved, but the more I thought about it, the more scared I got. Because, I mean, where is the line? How far is too far?”
“I draw the line,” Marcus said firmly, reaching down and grabbing her hand. If she felt lost, he’d be her anchor. He’d fix this, he swore he would.
“That’s an awfully big responsibility, Marcus.”
“Yes. I take it seriously. And you’re wrong. You aren’t the darkness. Baby, I’ve looked into the face of the dark and depraved.” He cupped both of her cheeks gently. “You are the light.”
She started to shake her head but he held her still. “Okay, so you’ve seen some things. You were glad when a bad man died. You had a shit upbringing and fell into the clutches of a bastard with bad intentions.”
Her eyebrows furrowed but he continued. “But you changed that man. A man most said was bound for hell, and good riddance. You loved me. And if you gotta have a little bit of darkness in you to love a man like me, then damn it, I’m glad you do. But goddess, otherwise, you shine so bright, you blind me most times.”
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Twin tears fell down her cheeks at the same time she leaned in and kissed him. Kissed him so sweet he thought he might die. The lightest press of her mouth, but she let her tongue stroke his lips lightly, asking, inviting.
His cock almost tore a hole through his suit pants, he went so hard so quick. But still he didn’t press. He let her take the lead. He didn’t dare scare her off, not now that it looked like she might finally be coming back to him. For real. Not for some frantic romp in a bathroom after getting kidnapped or a lusty madness in the middle of the night where any cock would do.
No, he’d take things slow, careful, making sure she was with him every step of the way. So he stayed perfectly still.
Cora’s eyes were closed and after a moment, she let her hands drop and moved back. Her brow furrowed and she looked at him uncertainly. Like she was afraid he didn’t want her anymore.
Okay, fuck careful.
He stepped forward, his broad shoulders and body dominating the space between them as his arms closed around her.
And he kissed her back. He kissed her with everything he’d been withholding. He kissed her with his fury and with his longing and with his love because fuck, he loved her so fucking much.
He dragged her leg over his, positioning her on his lap and she kissed him back hungrily. Not with the sloppy insanity of that one strange night, but with the hunger of a woman who knew what she wanted. And what she wanted was him. Her arms wrapped around him and her fingers drove into his hair.
She shifted in his lap, gyrating her hips against his steel rod of a cock in a way that drove him absolutely fucking nuts.
Enough. He grabbed her tiny waist and flipped her so that she was beneath him on the bed. The next second, he hovered over her, grinding his body along the whole length of hers. Fuck. Yes. This was what he’d been dreaming about, ever since he’d let her out of his sight.
She was finally, finally, back where she belonged.
Apparently she felt the same way, because her small hands were at his waist, tugging impatiently at his belt buckle and button.
“That’s right, baby,” he growled. “You want this?” He ground hard against her sweetness, imagining the liquid honey pooling inside her panties. He needed to taste her, but no, he needed inside her more.
He needed to reclaim what was his. This time wouldn’t be sex. He was done with fucking his wife in a one-off here and there.
He’d given her space and they’d finally cleared the air between them. Now it was time for them to be man and wife again. It was time to make love to his wife.
He pulled her arms up, yanking her thin camisole off over her head. Damn, he’d forgotten how perfect her breasts were. He thought he’d memorized everything about her, but seeing her now, he knew his memory had done her no justice.
She trembled beneath him, her back arching underneath his gaze. Her nipples hardened to sharp little points.
He reached down and tweaked one. Her sharp gasp, followed by a breathy moan was almost his undoing. But no. This was important.
“What do you want, goddess?”
“I want you.”
Fuck but that felt good to hear. He awarded her with a smile. “Tell me what you want first.” He reared up over her, teasing his lips near to her mouth but not quite touching.
She arched her back, obviously needy with frustration. “Your mouth on me.”
He dropped his lips to her skin, down her throat and ever so softly to her breasts, the barest whisper of a breath.
“Marcus,” she moaned. “Take over. Tell me what to do.”
“Say my name,” he whispered. “Say my name again.” He felt vulnerable the second it came out of his mouth but he couldn’t help it. His name on her lips was everything. Her acknowledging who she belonged to while she was completely clear-headed.
“Marcus. Marcus. Marcus.”
He dragged her nipple into his mouth, biting and suckling with all his might.
She screamed and bucked beneath him, her legs wrapping around his waist. Oh, his goddess liked that, did she?
He moved to the other nipple even as he reached his hand down between them. He slipped his fingers into her drenched panties. Always so eager for him, so ready.
His fingers were quickly slippery with her juices. His cock grew even harder, though he wouldn’t have thought that was possible.
She writhed beneath him. “Please, I’ll do anything.”
“Anything? Then let go baby.” He used his fingers, strumming her like an instrument until she broke perfectly under him. “Because all I ever wanted was you. Just as you are.”
She was breathing hard when he shoved his pants down enough to glide into her.
Fuck but she was tight. So hot and so fucking tight. Made for him.
“Yes,” she breathed in obvious satisfaction. “Marcus, yes.”
He moved and all the world was perfect, there was never any wrong in it, as long as he was pounding into her. Imprinting himself on her.
“Who do you belong to?”
Cora threw her head back. “You,” she cried. “You, Marcus.”
“You better fucking believe it,” he growled and grabbed the back of her neck, lifting her so that when his kiss landed, she felt it throughout her entire body as he continued his rhythmic attack on her senses. He grabbed her ass and shifted her position so he slid in deeper than ever.
She moaned into his mouth and clawed his scalp as her pleasure rose.
That’s it. That’s it, goddess. Give it all to me.
And she did. She didn’t hold back a single damn thing. She screamed his name as she came and thrust her hips against his, shamelessly seeking her own pleasure in a way that drove him absolutely crazy.
His own climax was lit by her going wild beneath him. He shoved into the hilt and as his seed shot out of him to coat her innermost depths, there was only one thing on his mind.
He crushed his wife close to him and whispered in her ear, over and over, “I love you.”
She threw her arms around him and squeezed so hard he could barely breathe but he didn’t care.
Because the next words that came out of her mouth were, “I love you too.”
Four sweeter words had never been invented in the English language.
Marcus pulled back, needing to look her in the eye. She was smiling but it was tentative, like she didn’t trust this happiness.
“You done running, baby? Because if you come back to me, I don’t know if I’ll ever let you go.” It had about killed him the first time and he wasn’t sure if he’d be strong enough to ever do it again.
But her eyes were clear of doubt when she said, “I want to be with you. I want you back.”
Marcus couldn’t remember feeling such stunning happiness ever before. He grinned. “I know.”
She laughed and shook her head. “Cocky.”
“Very cocky.” He jerked his hips.
Her eyes widened at the reminder that he was still inside her.
She arched an eyebrow. “Ready for round two already?”
“Shoot me if my answer to that question is ever no.” He dropped back down to kiss his wife. Once wasn’t really enough to truly remind her of his claim. It might take all night.
Twenty-Seven
Armand lay in his canopy bed, messing on his phone. When he looked up, Olympia was standing in his bedroom doorway, wearing another one of her long silky robes and looking like an ancient priestess.
“You’re up late,” he said. When she came and sat on the side of his bed, he set his phone aside. “Worried about your ex?” She and Zeke had been married for years, no matter how acrimonious the divorce.
“I didn’t realize how much I still miss the bastard,” Olympia admitted.
“Aww, come here, Armand will make it better.” He opened his arms and she leaned into them. “I know something that will help you sleep,” he whispered into the dark shell of her ear.
She pressed into him, fire in her tawny eyes.
&nb
sp; Impishly, he plucked a bag of white pills out from under his pillow. “Sleepy time?” He shook them.
“Those aren’t sleeping pills, mon petit.” She laughed at his confused look.
“I thought… I was wondering why you had sleeping pills at our little party.” He studied the bag. “What are they?”
She dipped her head closer to his lips. “Ambrosia. Food of the gods.”
Armand blinked at her, still not sure what she meant, when she took the bag from him and tossed it on the bedside table. “But we don’t need those tonight.”
Putting a hand to his chest, she pushed him down to the pillows.
“Take off your pants, mon petit. Mistress is hungry.”
Twenty-Eight
For once Cora woke up before Marcus. She lay there a long while studying his face, her eyes tracing the strong jawline and the sexy hollows of his cheeks. He was masculinity personified. And how she loved him.
Being with him here, now, his big body so warm next to hers… She never wanted this moment to end.
But it would, wouldn’t it? She bit her lip. Why hadn’t she told him everything last night when they were finally opening up to one another?
It had been on the tip of her tongue numerous times. But after everything with Anna… And then his arms were around her and it felt so good, so right, she wanted a little more, for it to last a little longer…
She wanted it still. She wanted to bury herself in her husband and hide away from the world for a little while more. Was that so wrong? To steal a little happiness while they could?
Marcus frowned and stirred in his sleep.
She wanted to soothe him and promise she’d make it all better. But that was a promise she couldn’t keep, so she did the next best thing.
Ever so gently, she tugged the bedsheet down. Her eyes immediately widened. Because while Marcus might still be asleep, his cock certainly was not. The tent in his boxers was so tall, she was surprised the fabric was still containing him at all.
She was happy to remedy the situation.
She reached in through the slit in his boxers and tugged his shaft out. He stirred slightly but still didn’t wake. She grinned as she bent over and took the tip of him in her mouth.
