by C. R. Jane
I gritted my teeth to try and stop myself from saying anything in response. That's what he wanted, for me to engage. Keon lunged forward, and I caught the back of his suit coat.
"Don't," I whispered fiercely. "Let's just go."
Keon rolled his shoulders back and grabbed my hand, and we began to march past Julian. He hissed and grabbed my arm and jerked me towards him, wresting me from Keon's hand.
"You get more beautiful every day, sweetheart," he purred. "It's about time for you to be coming home, don't you think? Surely that pussy isn't too stretched out from how much use it's been getting. Maybe you've even learned some tricks from slumming it with that crime lord you're so fond of."
"What did you just say?" Keon roared. I could feel the eyes of the guests who hadn't left yet watching the scene in rapt fascination. The people of this city thrived on drama and pain, and there was plenty of it at the funeral today. I just didn't want us to become the main attraction. A funeral planned by a murderer was enough.
Julian smiled cruelly, the glimmer in his eyes telling me he was just itching for a fight. Keon's eyes began to glow and he began to shake. He was definitely about to "wolf" out so to speak. Or "demon" out. I wasn't quite sure what he was. But last time that had happened, I'd died, so I'd like to avoid that.
An image of Keon in a prison suit instead of a guard's uniform filled my head, and I knew that was what Julian was going for.
"Keon, it's alright. It's just words," I whispered. "I'm fine. I'm here. We need to go." I repeated the words soothingly until the glow in his gaze faded, and his shaking had stopped.
"Your time will come, asshole," Keon growled before he took my hand again, and we walked away.
I could feel Julian's disappointed stare hot on my back the whole trip away.
"I'll be coming for you, Selena. In just a few days…and no one will be able to stop me."
We kept walking even though I could feel the tension in Keon's body. It was killing him to just walk away without a fight. It was a good thing Alaric wasn't here. There'd be a lot of casualties. I wasn't sure that Alaric could match up against Julian either, but the fight would've been bloody.
"Enjoy your last few days," Julian uncharacteristically yelled at us since he wasn't getting the attention he wanted.
"Fuck you," I murmured under my breath, hoping it would carry in the wind. I started to walk faster, wanting to get Keon away before he decided to stay and fight. He was shaking again.
We made it over the hill, but I didn't start really breathing again until we'd made it past the wards, and we were back in the sunshine of the city once again.
Hatred clogged in my gut, muting the bright colors of the day. I felt worn out, demolished from the emotion of the day.
"I hate that fucker," Keon growled. "He's never going to get you back," he swore fiercely, grabbing my face in his hands, and leveling me with a kiss that had me reeling.
He looked beautiful with the sunlight falling across his features. I still wasn't used to the sight. The prison lights just didn't quite have the same effect.
"Someday I'm going to get my power back," I swore to him. "Someday."
Keon squeezed my hand. He'd heard me say that before.
I just wish we both believed it.
Chapter 2
Keon
I was the first to admit I had a dark heart. I didn’t have time for others, didn’t give a shit about most things…but then Selena had waltzed into the bar and stole more than my attention. She grabbed my heart and wrenched it out of my chest. This beautiful girl was everything to me. For her, I would burn down the whole world if it would make her smile.
And now…well, now my heart was shattering for her, and there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it. Her agony tore me up each time I looked into her red-teary eyes, at the way she tried to hold back the waterworks. I’d shown her the real me, told her about the demonic monster inside me, even that I had to keep feeding it souls, and she remained by my side. My whole body shuddered at the knowledge that she might be the first person who had ever accepted me as I was, and still wanted to get close. My mind raced with the recent events, with how much I needed to viciously murder, Julian, all while I tried to maneuver around Chicago traffic which was a bitch on the best of days.
My beast bellowed in my head that I ought to hunt down Julian tonight, to skin him alive. But I was also aware that there was much more at play here than just him. The problem was that killing him wouldn’t release my gorgeous girl from prison, and she didn’t want to run away, so for a change, I needed to use my head to sort this mess out.
Taking in deep breaths, I looked over to my beauty, who was curled in on herself in the passenger seat next to me in her black dress, the long sleeves loose, and the low round neck showing a hint of cleavage. She had the window open, and the cool air billowed through her hair.
Mine, my beast snarled in my chest. All mine.
And I couldn’t agree more.
“I have a surprise for you,” I told her, reaching over and placing a hand on her thigh, my fingers finding the warm spark of her skin. Nightmare Penitentiary procedure dictated that I had to have her locked up in the back seat, handcuffed to the door, but that wasn’t going to happen.
She twisted away from the window, and lifted her head toward me. Fresh tears balanced on the edges of her eyes, and she offered me a lopsided grin. “What is it?”
“We have a bit of extra time before we have to return to the penitentiary, so I want to take you somewhere.”
She stared at me, not responding right away, and I couldn’t tell if she might cry again. In all honesty, it was destroying me to see her cry. After I had killed her accidentally back in the prison, I had been on the verge of losing all control, of going so batshit crazy that I doubted I’d ever find myself again. Now, I clung to her like a desperate man finally finding his purpose in life. It sounded sappy, but I didn’t give a fuck when I only cared about what happened to her.
She swiped the back of her hand under an eye, catching a loose tear. “Oh yeah, where’s that?”
“That’s a surprise.”
She glanced out the front window at the road we were crawling along. “I used to hate traffic,” she murmured. “But I miss it, just like I miss the simple things. The birds in the trees, families laughing, or cute dogs on leashes on the sidewalk with their owners. I miss the basic stuff I barely noticed before.”
Heartache shook her words, and I squeezed her thigh slightly to let her know I was there for her. Without a word, she leaned against my side, and I looped an arm around her waist. I thought about how I’d like to scoop her up and press her inside me, to keep her protected from the rest of the world.
She closed her eyes, and I held her tightly as I wove my way through the city. The radio played a soft tune in the background, something I didn't recognize, but offered a calming effect from the honking outside.
It was only once we left behind the city and I turned down a side street that Selena opened her eyes. She straightened, asking, “Where are we?”
I eased off the gas pedal as we cruised down a street with only four houses, each boasting plenty of land and privacy on either side between each of their neighbors’. I came to a stop in front of a single-family home with a dark limestone facade. Two-story with a pointy roof, black-framed arched windows, complete with a metal fence out the front for the perfect, normal home.
“Whose house is this?” she asked, looking at me and back to the property.
“It’s my place.”
Her mouth dropped, then she unbuckled her seatbelt and climbed out of the car for an even better look. “It’s spectacular and not quite what I imagined for you.”
I got out and joined her, laughing as it was exactly why I selected this home. To remain inconspicuous. “It’s private enough, comes with a lot of empty land that backs up to a forest, and even a graveyard.”
Her expression that time had me laughing louder.
“Ah, ok
ay, well that kind of makes more sense then.”
“The cemetery was purely coincidental,” I explained.
“It’s huge, and you live here alone?”
“For now, yes.” I didn’t mention that the house comes with a massive, locked basement for when my beast needs to emerge and I can't control him.
She tilted her head to the side, and stared at me with admiration like somehow her impression of me had changed by just knowing I owned a house. While my heart pounded in my chest at how hard it was for me to take her back to prison.
“Want to see the inside?”
“Yes!” Her response came fast, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
In seconds, we passed through the front door, and she rushed ahead of me into the main living room, her shoes tapping on the wooden floorboards as she moved. She paused and spun on the spot, taking it all in. For a few moments, I let myself imagine what it might be like living with her in this house, and with it came an unbearable need so heavy it was close to breaking me. I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I felt this close to anyone.
“I don’t have much furniture,” I told her as she ran her hand across the back of the black, leather sofa facing the flat-screen TV on the wall. There was also a fireplace, but that was it in this room. I was a minimalist mostly because I spent more time at the penitentiary in my room there than I did at home.
I gave her the grand tour of my house, including the basement which she didn’t question, then we both headed out into the backyard on the patio. The land stretched out to a dense line of trees in the distance, and Selena continued to walk towards the overgrown lawn. I often come and sit out here in the middle of the night, losing myself to the wilderness in my mind.
“It’s so calm here,” Selena murmured, strolling forward while kicking off her shoes and leaving them behind.
The wind tossed her dark hair over her shoulders, the sunlight beaming against the blue tips. There was so much innocence in just the way she moved through the grass. I tried hard to ignore the tightening in my chest at how quickly I’d fallen for her.
Her dress hugged her body, following her hourglass waist and the curve of her gorgeous ass, while my gaze lingered on her long, toned legs. She stopped and looked up, closing her eyes, letting the sun heat her face.
She was spectacular.
It was true what they said about the higher you build walls around your heart, the harder you fall when someone tore them down.
I needed to stop overthinking everything, so I made my way to Selena while leaving my shoes behind me, the soil cold beneath my feet.
Selena lowered her head, and turned to face me. As if on cue, her nipples tightened and pushed against the material of her dress in my presence.
“You are incredible,” I said and captured her in my arms, lifting her off her feet.
“Thank you for everything,” she whispered while her hands slid around my neck, tender fingers threading through my hair.
We stayed like that for a long time, looking into each other’s eyes, and while I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, she didn’t want me to let her go either.
“Why are you so nice to me, when…” Her words die off, but she didn’t shy away. There was something brazen about her today, something raw and primal.
“When I’m a monster on the inside?” I finished her sentence.
She shrugged but didn’t try to backtrack on her words. I’ve tried to avoid the thoughts and doubts that she might change her mind about being with someone like me.
“You see me for who I am and haven’t run away. I had thought about how to tell you about the real me for a long time, afraid you would no longer love me if you saw who I truly was.”
“That’s where you were very wrong.” But before I could respond, she leaned toward me, gripping the sides of my head, and was kissing me. Her legs curling around my waist, her body wrapped around me so beautifully.
I growled my desire and need under my breath, my hands cupping her ass as I kissed her back with the ferociousness she delivered. If this was what she needed to forget the shitty funeral, if she needed me to be the guy she used to let go of everything, then I’d let her have me as she craved.
“My whole life I’ve been surrounded by monsters,” she whispered against my mouth. “They took everything from me. So no, you’re not a monster, Keon. You are the demon I fell for, the demon who will slay every last monster in my life.”
Her words are my addiction, and for her, I would kill anyone she asks. “My mother once told me that when you fall in love, you do so with the little things about someone. Like how I adore the way you laugh, the way you smell like candy, how your eyes glow and mouth forms into a smile each time you see me.”
“Well, if we are confessing, I was terrified at first to want you. You are an intimidating person. And yet, here I am, wrapped in your arms, wanting you regardless.”
I fucking loved her. My hands slid under her thighs, finding bare skin. My mouth parted to respond, to say something, but no words came out. I wasn’t normally lost in emotions, but at that moment, I was too far gone.
“I’m sorry your life is screwed up. But I will never leave your side.” A sense of weightlessness flared over me, and I kissed her. Gently, I fell to my knees and laid her onto her back on the grass, concealing us from the neighbors in the far distance. Then I followed, laying my body over hers.
“I need you, Keon. Here. Now.”
“I know, and you have all of me.” My mouth watered at the thought of claiming her, and I slid a hand up the side of her thigh. I curled two fingers under the elastic of her underwear, and ripped them off her easily.
She gasped and giggled while tugging my shirt up and out of my pants. I pushed back onto my heels to undo my belt, and her sweet scent filled my lungs. With it came all the dirty things I wanted to do with and to her, if I could steal her away from the world.
A quick glance around confirmed we were still alone, and none of the neighbors were about. I grinned as I pushed down my pants. She was quick to lean in and take my heavy cock in her tiny hand.
I hissed at the softness of her fingers curling around me, the firmness of her grip. The desperation to feel her touch had my cock twitching in her palm. I pushed her skirt up, needing to see her wet pussy, and when I ran a finger along the seam, she moaned. I licked my lips at the way her body responded, at the sight of her on the lawn, her hips rising and falling for me.
I pushed myself between her thighs and laid back on top of her, my hands holding the sides of her head, and I kissed her with a passion I never wanted her to forget.
“Please, Keon,” she whispered, pivoting her pelvis to reach my erection. She kissed me with fire, and any control I thought I held dissolved beneath my hunger for her.
Pressing a palm to the ground beside her shoulder, I took her wrist and placed it over her head, then I did the same with the other. She was so small that I easily clasped both her wrists in one hand, holding them in place. She stared up at me, her expression one of vulnerability and desire, one where she'd given herself over to me. She was my drug, and I could never give her up. I had her exactly where I'd wanted her.
I sucked in harsh, rapid breaths, barely holding onto any control because of how insanely I wanted her. Not much scared me, but the effect she had on me did.
"I've missed you," she whispered, sincerity flashing in her eyes. "When I'm not with you, I can’t stop thinking of the way you fuck me."
I shuddered in response, and I pressed my cock into her drenched pussy, unable to hold back.
She moaned, and the way her chest arched upward in response destroyed me. A sharp ache settles beneath my heart, one that told me I was too far gone for Selena, to the point that our relationship could only end in two ways. She was mine for eternity, or one of us died.
"I adore your body." I groan under my breath. I push deeper into her tight core and I kiss her, my mouth sliding down to her neck, nibbling on her flesh. "My sweet, gorge
ous girl." Grazing my teeth over her neck, I drove myself completely into her. She cries out, and I bit down into her neck. Not hard enough to break the skin, but enough to leave my mark, to proclaim my dominance, to appease my beast.
She wriggled beneath me, but never pushed me away. Instead, she demanded more. I moved my hips, working her faster, igniting the fire between us. She stuck out her chest, her breasts against me, her nipples hard.
I let go of her wrists and roughly pulled at the neckline of her dress, tugging her bra down and finding myself the perfect cherry teasing me. I closed my mouth around her nipple, sucking hard while fucking her. Being buried deep inside her was a mixed sensation of heaven and hell... one I lost myself in, but also couldn't get enough of. She had played on my mind constantly, her naked body imprinted in my memory. But the moments I claimed her were everything to me.
Delicious moans sang in my ears as I dragged my erection against her walls, and she was suddenly screaming. My beauty quivered against me, bursting with an orgasm. This was what I’d been craving. The arousal deep inside me intensified, rising to the surface as I thrust into her harder. I dropped a hand to her waist and swooped my arm under her back, and I pulled her in harder against my body.
I growled, my climax hitting as hard as hers. I hissed, tensed, and roared. Our bodies intertwined and locked together. We were one.
Selena remained caged beneath me, while my beast snarled in my chest, already demanding more even as I pumped my seed into her.
When we finally quietened down, she flopped her head back on the ground, smiling wickedly. We were both covered in sweat, her neck bright red from my bite, and the air perfumed with her addictive scent. We laid together, with me still buried in her, I wasn't ready to leave her yet.
"You are everything," she whispered to me. "And I need more. Stop holding out on me."
I kissed her chin and her lips, then skimmed a thumb across her cheek. The agony in her eyes burned me like scorching fire licking at my insides. "You belong to me, and if I had my way, I'd keep you in my bed every single night." My heart thundered in my chest, feeling like it might burst free when I thought about taking her back to prison.
