Jethro

MY LIFE WASN’T mine anymore.

It was hers.

Hers.

Hers.

I’d told her that, but I didn’t think she believed me. But now I was back. I was alive and ready and motherfucking angry. She was mine to protect and adore, and up till now, I’d failed her.

I should never have brought her here. I should’ve had a fucking backbone and ended this when Cut killed Emma. I should’ve found help for my condition the night I hurt Jasmine. I should’ve ended their evil the day my mother couldn’t cope.

So much history, so many lessons and decisions. At the time, I’d played the game—I’d waited and learned and prayed.

But I’d been stupid to think there was any other conclusion.

It’d taken Nila to slap me awake, electrocute my heart with her courage, and show me that I was a good person inside. That the thoughts I suffered—of torture and ruin—weren’t mine. That the horrors I’d committed in the name of family values didn’t make me the monster I’d been groomed to be.

I’m my own person.

And it was time to show Nila just what a transformation I’d undergone.

The moment she appeared on the ridge, I struggled to breathe.

Nila...

The moonlight cast her in silver as she padded down the small hill, her white legs flashing beneath the white hem of her nightgown. A long black coat swamped her body, while a hood covered her head, fluttering around her face. She didn’t run. She glided over the frost-glittering grass.

I wanted her to soar to me. To fly.

But something was wrong. She moved too slowly. Like a woman who’d lost her fire.

My heart shattered as she slowly closed the distance. She looked magical and mystical and far too precious to tame.

But I had tamed her. And she’d tamed me.

Come faster, Nila.

Hurry.

My hands curled as she didn’t increase her pace. I stayed where I was, lurking in shadows, waiting.

My body vibrated, wanting so fucking much to charge toward her. To tackle her on the soft grass and kiss her senseless beneath the stars. I couldn’t stand another second without her in my arms.

I took a step onto the cobblestone courtyard.

Don’t.

Common-sense forced me back into the shade. I couldn’t leave the safety of the stables—couldn’t risk anyone seeing me from the Hall.

Wait.

Every second was fucking torture.

She moved as straight and true as the kestrel I’d sent her.

Kes.

His name and memory was a stain upon my joy.

My brother had to survive because he deserved to see the new future. He and Jasmine were owed a happier life than the one we’d been dealt.

I wanted them by my side when I introduced Nila to Hawksridge and showed her that this place had not been kind to her, but once it was mine, it would be our private haven.

Come. Faster. Run.

My heart thundered with erratic syncopation.

Nila skidded down the small incline, the flash of glittery ballet flats catching moonshine.

Every step brought her closer. I sighed heavily. The throb from my rib faded; the twinge from my newly removed stitches disappeared. For the first time since waking up in the hospital, I felt truly healed. My body had mended, but without her, my soul would’ve been torn forever.

Trading grass for cobblestones, Nila’s shoes slapped quietly, closing the distance between us. Her breathing wheezed—as if she’d been sick but healing—and her hood hid her stunning long hair.

My skin sparked as she sprinted around the mounting block and sailed through the double doors of the stables.

Finally.

I grabbed her.

She screamed as my arms snaked around her, trapping her vibrating form, saying hello with echoing heartbeats. Spinning her in my hold, I planted both hands on her hips and walked her backward to the wall.

I never stopped moving.

Pushing, shoving, coming fucking apart at having her in my arms.

Her eyes met mine. Her fright disappeared, consuming me under an avalanche of love. “Oh, my God...it’s true...you’re here.”

I smiled, opening myself completely. I fed off her happiness, loving how deeply she cared for me. I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t deserve such unconditional acceptance. But something shadowed her. She felt...different...quieter. She didn’t have her usual spark or vibrant will.

My soul growled at the thought of her fading from me.

I’d bring her back.

I will.

Her back hit the brick wall, my hands soared from her hips to her cheeks, and nothing else fucking mattered. “Christ, I’ve missed you.” Ducking my head, I captured her mouth in a brutal kiss.

Live for me. Breathe for me. Come back to life for me.

My lips bruised with how hard I kissed her. I hadn’t meant to be so rough, but Nila exploded. The passion and ferocity missing inside her suddenly detonated into being.

I groaned as her hands disappeared into my hair, grabbing fistfuls, yanking me closer. She melted and fought; her tongue shooting into my mouth.

She whimpered as my kiss turned violent, driven by the need to affirm that this was real. That she was truly in my arms and still fighting, still surviving.

Our heads tilted, changing the kiss’s direction. Her fingers tugged harder on my hair. I kissed her deeper. 

“You’re here.” I poured words with kisses, not knowing if I spoke or yelled it from my soul. “Fuck...you’re truly here.”

Her tongue swirled with mine, her chest pressing hard as she sucked in rapid breaths. My side ached but nothing would stop me from kissing her until we passed out from pleasure.

She’d returned to me, but she was still quiet inside, still hesitant and unsure.

“I’m here.” She kissed faster. “You’re alive.” Her fingers dug firmer. “God, Jethro...you’re okay.” Her voice broke, and the world ceased to exist.

It was just taste and love and heat.

The dam of her emotions drowned me, and I cried out as she reincarnated in my arms. Fuck, I’d missed her. Fuck, I’d worried about her.

But she was alive.

She was still mine.

Her hands swept up my back, touching fiercely. She winced as I sucked in a breath when she skated over my healing rib.

She gasped. “I’m sorr—”

I yanked her head back with a fistful of her hood, forcing her to look at me. Her lips were swollen, glistening in the darkness. “You can’t break me, Nila.”

I kissed her again, unable to stand the overwhelming emotion in her eyes. She opened for me, welcoming me to take whatever I wanted. Within seconds, I was drunk. Entirely intoxicated on her taste—all my forward thinking, my plans to put into action—they could all wait.

Because this goddess couldn’t.

I couldn’t.

I couldn’t get enough of her. I would never get enough of her.

We stumbled sideways, my mind awash with need, my body and hands completely uncontrolled. My shoulder slammed into a stall as Nila lost her balance, falling against me. I spun her around, pressing her against the new obstruction, kissing her harder.

She moaned and we staggered again, clashing and fighting but always kissing.

Never stopping.

“I can’t believe you’re alive.” Her hands tangled deeper in my hair, keeping my face locked with hers. “Every night I prayed you weren’t gone.”

I ducked to capture her throat, kissing my way along her jawline, glowering at the glittering diamonds lacing her neck.

No matter what happened and the freedom we earned, Nila would forever wear that collar. I hated it, but I would prefer to see her wear it every day for the next eighty years, than see it sitting back on its pedestal in the vault just waiting for its next victim.

I bit her neck, sucking her taste, inhaling every part of her.

I wanted those images out of my head. Forever.

She groaned as I captured her breast, squeezing the unrestrained flesh through her nightgown.

“Jethro—”

My cock fucking pounded with desire, my heart permanently located in the rock-hard flesh. I had to be inside her. Only then would this insane need to devour her cease.

Not yet.

Things had to be discussed.

It took all my strength, but I pushed away, dragging a hand over my face.

Nila stayed locked against the stall, her chest rising and falling; her coat opened, showing nipples pinched with lust. The damn hood kept me from seeing any further than her mouth and eyes. 

Her gaze met mine in the gloom, tears sparkling on her eyelashes. “Why—why did you stop?”

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from her lips. So plump and red and wet.

I’d done that. I’d practically eaten her alive.

The urge to do it again drove me fucking insane.

“We have to talk.” My voice was hay and dust, cracked and dry.

“Oh.” She looked down, her fingers pulling at her coat. The damn hood kept her face in shadow. She hurt as much as I did. Hurt with passion. Lacerated by lust.

Shit.

I squeezed my eyes, cutting off my vision but feeding more perception to my other senses. My skin begged to connect with hers. My heart growled to thump against hers. And my cock fucking punished me for not being inside her.

“Fuck it.”

I gave in.

Falling on her again, she gasped as I shoved her hard against the stall.

“Fuck talking.” I kissed her lips, her chin, her cheeks. “I need you, Nila. I need every inch of you.”

“Take me.” She cried out as my hand gathered her gown, bunching it over her hip. “Please—please don’t stop.”

“I’ve never wanted someone as much as I want you,” I groaned as she opened her legs. “Never loved anyone as much as I love you.”

She gasped as I grabbed the back of her knee, hooking it over my hip. Something ripped—her hem or coat—I didn’t care. Her heel dug into my arse as she ground against my cock.

I shuddered. My hand slapped against the stall to prevent my body from crushing her.

“Don’t stop.” Wrapping her arms around my neck, she dragged me back to her.

My side twinged and my forehead pricked with pain, but I didn’t care. My cock ruled me now and it wanted to be inside her that fucking instant.

Fumbling with one hand, I wrenched aside my belt and jerked down my jeans and boxer-briefs. The clothing had come courtesy of Flaw, along with a lift back to Hawksridge, sworn silence, and a note to deliver to Jasmine.

My cock leapt from my trousers, rippling with need and sticky with pre-cum. Fisting the base, I rocked against her, desperately trying to find her entrance.

Her fingers clawed my shoulders, tugging me closer but holding me away at the same time. “Wait—wait—”

“I can’t wait.”

“But you were shot...you probably shouldn’t—” Her hands dropped, stroking my naked hips, digging her nails into my flesh. “Are you okay to do this?”

I kissed her again. “I’m going to show you how okay I am by making love to you.” I thrust against her.

She shook her head. “Wait!” Her attention shot to my torso, seeking wounds. I had no intention of taking my t-shirt off and showing her the bandage hiding the stitched area or mentioning my broken rib.

Didn’t she get it? None of that fucking mattered as she was the best painkiller around.

I’d never felt so good having her in my arms, trumping death, defeating the impossible.

“You argue with me again, and I’ll make you come apart over and over until you believe me.”

“But—”

“Stop it.” Pressing a finger over her lips, I silenced her. “Quiet.” The tip of my cock found her tight heat. “If you stop me from taking you, I’ll die. I’ll literally have a heart attack.”

Her head fell backward as I teased, hovering so close but not taking her. Pushing up the tiniest bit, we trembled with pleasure. My head bowed, pressing against the stall behind her as I did my best to stay in control. My thighs bunched as every instinct bellowed to drive inside her. “I need you so much I can scarcely breathe.”

Her emotions ran crazy, battering me from all directions.

Lust.

Fear.

Questions.

Love.

“Quit thinking so hard; you’re distracting me.” Looking into her eyes, I traced her cheek, soothing her rioting thoughts. “All I want to feel from you, Nila, is desire. All the other stuff...we can talk about it later.” I kissed her softly. “Now, be quiet, stop thinking, and let me fuck you.”

She shivered and obeyed.

Her emotions switched to one thought: wanting me to take her.

It would be my pleasure to comply.

Bending my legs, I drove upward.

Her back arched as I slid inside her liquid heat. Higher and higher, stretching her.

“God, Jethro—yes!”

I gathered her close, holding her tightly as I climbed deeper. Only once she fully encased me did I thrust.

Our lips glued together, and we rode each other.

It wasn’t rhythmic or sensual.

It was purely animalistic and primal.

“I won’t last—I can’t last.”

“I don’t care.” Her pussy tightened as I drove faster. “Just prove to me you’re alive.”

“That I can do.”

It didn’t take long.

My body had no endurance and time spent apart meant everything about Nila bewitched me into exploding far too fast.

With each thrust, the pleasure turned catastrophic; my balls tightened.

“Oh, fuck...” Lightning shards shot up my cock, spurting inside her. “Hell, yes.”  Waves of release crippled me as I splashed inside the woman I wanted forever. I bit my lip as my legs seized, my cock impaling her over and over again.

The last spurt left me lightheaded, but it’d been the shortest, sharpest, and most rewarding orgasm I’d ever had.

“Goddammit, it’s good to see you.”

Having her in my arms, coming inside her, knowing we were together again, helped wipe away my worries and just be.

* * * * *

“Where’s Moth and Wings?”

Nila’s voice wrapped around my satisfaction, dragging me back to her. The chill of the stables faded thanks to the heat lamps I’d turned on above.

I rolled over to face her; my unbuckled belt and jeans clinked.

Somehow, after I’d orgasmed, we’d stumbled down the corridor of the stables and collapsed on top of one of the hay bales in a spare stall. Nila had lost her shoes, and her black jacket was rumpled and dusty from rubbing against the wall but she’d never looked more beautiful. She still hadn’t removed her hood though, and strange emotions trickled from her—hidden and quiet—scaring me more as minutes ticked past.

I was exceedingly aware of her every thought and also intimately mindful that Nila hadn’t come.

I mean to rectify that.

Her mind raced, sending flickers of ideas and questions in every direction. I let them wash over me, not wanting to focus on reality just yet.

This might be the only time we get to steal perfection like this before it’s over.

I meant to indulge as long as I could.

“They’re in the paddock behind the chase. If they’re not needed for regular riding, they’re turned out.”

She relaxed. “Oh, that’s good. I had a horrible thought that they might’ve hurt Wings—because you’re de—well...” She smiled. “...you were dead.”

Gathering her close, the sweet smell of clean hay threaded around us. “I still am dead according to my father. Kes, too.”

My forehead furrowed thinking of my brother. He has to wake up. Being away from the hospital went against my desire to watch over him, but I had to trust that Doctor Louille knew what he was doing. That eventually, once Cut was dead and things had been dealt with, Kes would wake up and I could rib him for sleeping through all the hard work.

Wake up, brother. Don’t leave me when we’re so close.

“How is he?”

I glanced at Nila. The simplistic beauty of her onyx eyes and sexy lips twitched my cock again. “He’s still alive.” My voice hung in the stagnant quiet. No horses were hobbled tonight—the dogs slept across the yard, and the witching hour gave us our own seclusion from reality, hiding us from nightmares.

Nila plucked at the plaid blanket that I’d placed over the hay bale. “Will he remain that way?”

My heart clenched. I hope so. “He will if he knows what’s good for him.”

She smiled but didn’t laugh, too full of melancholy to lighten the mood. There was no lightening the mood—not when a brother and friend was dying.

Changing the subject, I looped my fingers with hers. “Can I ask you something?”

She nodded slowly. “Of course.”

“Can you take off the hood? I want to see you. You’re in too much shadow.”

Instantly, her emotions scrambled. Fear drenched, followed by despair. Sitting up, she shook her head. “I’d prefer to keep it on. I’m cold.” To add value to her lie, she gathered her coat tightly and hugged herself.

I soared upright. “Bullshit. I know when you’re lying. Just like I knew you were lying in most of the texts you sent.”

Her shoulders hunched. Her hands went to either side of her hood, keeping it tight around her face.

Moving in front of her, I tugged on the black material. “Nila...take off the hood.”

“No.”

“Nila...” My voice dropped to a growl. “What are you hiding from me?”

Tears glassed her eyes.

My heart splintered. “Nila, please. I can’t stand it when you don’t tell me the truth.” My hands pulled again, fighting against her hold.

A single tear slipped down her face. “Please...don’t make me.”

My heart stopped beating.

“What happened to you? When I first saw you, you were almost dead inside. I feel you coming back to life, but something’s changed.” My voice turned heavy. “Please, Nila. Let me fix this. Whatever happened; let me try to help.”

More tears ran silently down her face. She looked away. “I—I was weak. I gave in. I didn’t think I had anything left inside me.” Her breath caught. “But then I saw you, and I remembered why I was fighting. You gave me purpose again. You reminded me that I’m still cared for and it’s my duty. Not to stay alive for myself, but for you. You’ve already helped, more than you know.”

“Fuck...Nila...” My chest seized as her sadness crested over me. “What can I do to make this right?”

She smiled weakly. “You’ve already done it. I’m piecing myself back together. I’m better now. I’ve remembered who I am.” Her fingers tightened. “Just...please, don’t ask me to take off the hood.”

I couldn’t stand it. My temper thickened. “Take it off. I have to know.”

She shook her head.

“Don’t make me tear it off you. You have to show me. We’re in this together, remember? That means sharing our pain and telling the truth.”

Her shoulders hunched. She hesitated for too long. Finally, her head bowed. “Please...please don’t find me ugly.”

“What?” My air exploded. “Why would you ever ask such a thing?”

Sucking in a shaky breath, she let go of the hood.

My condition soaked up her thoughts—despair, pain, confliction, anger. But most of all, paralyzing hopelessness. My soul pulverised as I slowly slipped off the shadowy material and saw what she’d tried to hide.

I couldn’t speak.

I couldn’t think.

All I could do was stare and fill with such fury, such motherfucking hate, that tears sprang to my eyes.

She couldn’t look at me, her shoulders hunched dejectedly. “I—I—” She gave up, hiding her face in her hands and letting go of her sadness.

Her stunning hair had been replaced with multiple different lengths and shapes. The bedraggled strands cascaded over her hands.

They would pay. They will fucking pay for this.

Trembling with rage, I gathered her to me, crushing her in my arms. “Those fucking bastards.”

She turned in my embrace, wrapping her arms around me, crying silently into my neck. I stroked her back, her neck, the scruffy locks of hair. It felt so different, so strange.

That was what was so wrong. Why she felt so peculiar.

Her courage had been stripped, just like her beautiful hair.

I have to fix this.

I had no idea how, but I couldn’t let her suffer.

Letting her go, I stalked to the end of the stable and grabbed a pair of scissors from the tack room. Stalking back, I sat behind her on the hay bale and without a word, brushed out the tatty strands with my fingers and kissed her neck.

With silence heavy between us, I snipped the mismatched ends.

I poured my love and commitment into her with every cut, sacrificing myself for every strand I snipped.

My heart raced as her hair fell to the hay, entwining gold with black. She shivered and hiccupped with teary breaths, but she didn’t stop me. If anything, her shoulders relaxed and she let me fix the agony my family had caused.

I took my time.

I stroked her like I would any broken filly, reminding her that I cared and adored and would never hurt her. The soft thickness of her hair slipped through my fingers, slicing into uniformity the more I tended.

Not only did I fix her hair, but I fixed her soul, too. I sensed her reforming, gluing her scattered pieces, slipping back into the Nila I knew and worshipped.

I fell in love with her even more at the strength it took to come back from the brink of losing herself.

And she did it for me.

Under my touch, she came alive.

Under my willpower, she breathed freely and with a smidgen of happiness.

It didn’t take long, working my way around her jaw, I combed the ebony strands. With a final snip, I sat back, drinking her in, reacquainting myself with this new woman who held my heart as surely as the one I’d left behind.

Cupping her face, I brushed aside the jaw-length hair and kissed her softly. “You’re somehow even more beautiful, Needle.”

She gasped.

The nickname I’d used in our texts slipped off my tongue effortlessly. The word symbolised everything I loved about her. Everything I’d grown to adore.

Her lips parted, welcoming me to kiss her deeper.

I groaned as I slinked my tongue into her mouth, licking her sadness and doing my best for her to see the truth.

I would never be free of her. Ever.

Silently, we lay on the hay, face-to-face, kissing gently. My fingers slipped into her hair, massaging her scalp, keeping her there in my arms instead of in her head with torment.

Time passed, and still, we kissed and existed. Silent and safe, falling in love all over again. We gave each other a sense of normalcy we’d never had before—pretending this was our world where nothing could ever touch us.

Finally, I pulled back, stroking her cheek with my knuckles. “I take it Bones delivered my message.”

“Bones?”

“The kestrel.”

Nila’s face lit up for the first time since I’d seen her. The pain of her shorn hair faded a little. “Yes. I had no idea birds of prey could be trained to do that.”

I flopped onto my back, hiding the wince of agony. Fucking Nila standing up hadn’t exactly been recommended for a healing patient. “They can do all manner of things.” My lips twitched, remembering what we’d done to Jasmine when we were younger. I over animated to keep Nila entertained, doing my best to forget about her hair and enjoy our peace together. “For example, Kes once trained a hawk to fly into Jasmine’s room and deliver dead voles every evening just to piss her off. She’d screech and chase the bird all the way back to the mews.”

“Mews?”

“Aviary.” I waved my hand in the direction of the kennels. “Last count, I think we had six raptors on the estate. They live in the converted loft of the kennels. The bird I sent you will have returned home after delivering its message.”

Nila played with a piece of hay, still quieter than normal. “First, I find out there are pigs hiding here and now birds. The longer I live at Hawksridge the more I realise how little I know.”

And do you want to know more?

As much as I hated my father’s hierarchy, I loved this estate. The Hall had no hold on me—it could be rubble for all I cared, but I loved the land. The acres of freedom and sanctuary and wildlife.

Eventually, when evil was eradicated, I hoped Nila would adopt this place as hers and make it as pure as she was.

Those are thoughts for after this is all over.

I frowned as I concentrated on the other part of her sentence. “Pigs?”

Her face tightened. “Forget it.”

I went to argue, but she arched her chin, dragging my eyes down her throat to the small stain on her nightgown. A few crimson droplets soaked through the white cotton. “What the hell is that?” I shot upright. My own pain couldn’t stop myself from feeling hers. I let my condition strengthen, searching for her secrets, trying to learn how she’d become injured.

I know how.

My fists clenched.

Nila immediately placed a hand over the cut on her breastbone. “It’s nothing.”

“Like fuck, it’s nothing.” Knocking her hand away, I glowered. “Who did that to you?” Cold rage settled over my soul. Her tension and secrets waked around me. “Who did it, Nila? Answer me.”

Her face contorted; she looked away. “Like I said, it doesn’t matter. You saw my hair...this was nothing compared to that.”

Catching her chin, I brought her eyes to mine. “It fucking matters to me. I need to know.” All I wanted to do was storm into Hawksridge and repeatedly stab my father in the motherfucking heart. I wanted him to feel the pain of dying. I wanted him to suffer forever. “Cut?”

She squeezed her eyes. More emotion washed from her—fear, sickness, weakness, guilt. What the fuck did she have to be guilty about?

Glancing at the two deep cuts marring her perfection, I knew Jasmine was right. The marks could’ve only been caused by one apparatus.

“That fucking cocksucker. He used the Heretic’s Fork.”

She flinched. “How did you—”

“What else have they done to you, Nila? Your hair, your skin.” I rubbed my face, unable to shed the self-loathing for leaving her in the hands of my father and brother. “You should’ve texted me, told me what they were doing.”

She sat up. “How did you guess about the Heretic’s Fork?”

I scowled. “At least one person tells me the truth rather than trying to hide it to make me feel better.”

She looked away, anger lighting her eyes. “Jasmine.”

“Yes, Jasmine.” Grabbing her wrist, I forced her to look at me. “The sister who I tasked to keep you safe. The woman you were supposed to trust and tell if you needed help or protection.” I wanted to shake her. “Yet you didn’t. You endured and lied to me that everything was fine—”

She snatched her hand out of my grip. “What was I supposed to do, Kite? I thought you were dead. I became someone I didn’t recognise. And then I heard you were alive and I made a promise to stay that way so we could end this together.”

Her eyes lowered, cutting me off. “Besides, I’ve lived through worse. I just had a weak moment before coming here tonight, that’s all.”

“That isn’t all and you know it.” I swallowed hard as her emotions shouted the obvious while her mouth refused to speak. “You’re on the edge, Nila. I sense it.” Grabbing her shoulders, I shook her. “Goddammit, you’re stronger than they are. Don’t let them win. Promise me.”

She’d lived through worse at my hands.

The ducking stool. The whipping.

But I’d hurt her the most by not being there for her.

“God, Nila.” I brought my knees up, caging myself in. This position had been preferred when I was a kid. Knees up, arms braced, head down—a little fortress from the overwhelming intensity I couldn’t switch off. “I’ll never forgive myself for what I’ve done.”

My eyes pricked with fury at who I’d let myself become. For being so fucking weak.

Nila darted to her knees, snuggling against me. “Stop. You don’t need forgiveness. We’ve moved past that.”

“I’ll never move past that. Not as long as I live.” Looking into her black gaze, I vowed, “I’ll never stop making it up to you.”

She smiled sadly. “There’s nothing to make up.” Cupping my cheek, she ran her thumb over my bottom lip. “After what you just did for me—cutting my hair, giving me back what I’d lost—we’re even. You came back from the dead for me, Kite. You’ve proven yourself far more than words ever could.”

Lashing out, I wrapped an arm around her, hugging her fierce. “I can never again feel your pain. It fucking crippled me before, but it would murder me now.”

She shook her head. “The only pain I’ll ever feel from you, Jethro, is if you die again.” She snorted quietly, doing her best to lighten the mood. “So, promise you won’t do that and the rest will be fine.”

“The only pain I ever want to endure is pain endured protecting and deserving you.”

She stiffened. “What does that mean?”

It means I have a plan to end this but war has casualties on both sides.

“Nothing.” Brushing away her short hair, I nuzzled into her neck. “I don’t want to talk about this anymore.”

Silence fell between us. She wanted to ask more questions, the barbs of curiosity stuck into my skin like thorns, but she swallowed them back.

“You haven’t asked me how I escaped to come see you.” Wriggling out of my embrace, she lay on her back, patting the blanket beside her. “They keep my door locked now, so I couldn’t run through the Hall.”

Reclining again, I inconspicuously held my healing side, granting some pressure from the building discomfort. “How did you get out then?”

Her teeth flashed in the darkness. “I scaled the downpipe outside my bathroom and used the grass lattice on the turret to shimmy to the ground.”

I groaned. “Shit, Nila.” Hawksridge had evolved over the centuries—indoor plumbing being a new addition with unsightly pipes ruining the prettiness of the façade. My ancestors had done their best to hide them with lattice grass, growing the patchwork up the building. It would’ve been an easy climb, but not for someone with the inconvenience of vertigo. “That was stupid.”

If I had known she’d had to sneak and risk breaking her neck, I wouldn’t have summoned her.

Who are you kidding?

I would’ve gone after her if she hadn’t gotten my note. Being on the estate—being so close but so far—I couldn’t stand it. “You could’ve fallen.” I traced her pretty neck beneath the wreath of diamonds. “You could’ve hurt yourself for nothing.”

“Nothing? You’re hardly nothing.” She shivered under my touch. “I would’ve flown here with broken bones just to be with you.”

The air switched from stagnant to electric.

“You make me a better person.” Gathering her close, we lay nose to nose. “I mean to deserve you more every fucking day.”

Her lips parted, her gaze latching onto my mouth. Her thoughts turned from conversation to sex, dragging me deeper into her spell.

I’d lived through years of horror.

I’d gone through so many stages of denial.

And I’d done my best to remember who I was beneath the influx of commands from Cut. But in one look, Nila shredded me into pieces and shone light upon the man I’d forgotten existed. A man who’d found happiness in animals rather than humans. A man who’d tried so hard to please but only became broken. And a boy who’d met a girl in his past, who’d been raised to hate her, told he would torture and kill her, only to find the courage to love her instead.

“I want you.” I bent to kiss her. “I want you forever.” Our lips touched; shockwaves danced down my spine. My cock thickened and Nila once again took me hostage.

Her breathing caught, rattling in her lungs.

I pulled back. She’d been sick with no one to help her. How many other fucking secrets had she kept from me? “You were ill?”

She flushed. “It’s nothing. Just a cold. I’m fine.”

It wasn’t just a cold and it wasn’t fine. I’d let her down again. But as much as I hated her lying to me, I loved her all the more for being so selfless.

I don’t deserve this woman.

Nila’s lips whispered over mine again. “Besides, none of that matters now. You’re back. We can run.”

I froze.

Run?

There was no more running.

She pulled away, her face slowly sinking into despair. “Wait...you are here for me, aren’t you?” Her voice babbled. “We’re leaving this place. We’re running tonight. We’ll get you better so we can end this when you’re strong enough. You have to take me away, Jethro. I can’t go back. I can’t.”

My heart fisted. I wanted to carve out my soul to make her understand. “I’m here for you, Nila. A thousand times here for you.”

She shuffled backward, but I trapped her wrist.

Tears shone in her eyes. “But you’re not going to save me tonight?”

I’m going to save more than you. Don’t you see?

So many lives rested on my shoulders—just like I’d carried all my life.

“We can’t run. I refuse to run again.”

She wiped away a tear, refusing to look at me.

I groaned, tracing the translucent skin of her wrist. “Running isn’t an option anymore. If I run and lick my wounds, he wins again. We have the element of surprise now. They think I’m dead. It gives me the perfect opportunity to end this. To be free. But it has to be now.”

“But you’re not well enough.”

Grabbing her hand, I placed it directly on my side. Gritting my teeth against the flare of pain, I growled, “I proved to you I’m alive by fucking you. I’m here to save you; you have my ultimate word. But there are others I need to save, too.”

She deflated, knowing I spoke the truth but not ready to accept it. Her emotions turned selfish, wanting to keep me for herself. She already agreed we couldn’t run—her thoughts blared it—but it didn’t stop her from indulging in one make-believe moment.

“But if we ran, we’d be free.” She looked up, speaking words she didn’t mean. “You have money. I have money. We could disappear.” Her conviction and selfishness faded the second she finished.

She sighed, her heartbeat slowing with resolution.

I tucked short strands behind her ear, my soul cursing the death of her gorgeous hair all over again. “You already know what I’m going to say and you agree with me, but I’ll say it anyway. Running isn’t an option. Vaughn is still here. Tex. Your family’s company. You’re saying you’d leave it all behind when just a few more days it could be over for good? Why should we be the ones to run when it’s our lives that we’re fighting for? Our future is here. Our families are here. I’m not going anywhere and neither are you.”

She pursed her lips. “They let Vaughn go. He’ll be back with my father and hopefully be smart enough to hide. We could run.” Her emotions overwhelmed with suffering. “I need to leave, Jethro. I can’t go back. I can’t. I’ll break. I’m so close to breaking. I’m not strong enough. I can’t—”

I grabbed her, holding her shaking form. “Calm down. I’m not asking you to go back for long.” As much as it killed me, I added, “And do you truly believe they set Vaughn free? They haven’t done anything decent yet; why would they start now?”

She froze.

“The only thing we can do to ensure your family’s safety is to fight. You’re the bravest person I know, Nila. You’ve proven I’m strong enough to do what needs to be done. And I will do what needs to be done. But in order to do that I need you by my side. I need you with me which means we aren’t running. We’re staying here and fighting.”

She shook her head, even though her emotions agreed with me wholeheartedly.

I kissed her head. “You’re so incredible, Needle. So beautiful and strong. I’ll end this, okay? You just have to believe in me a little longer.”

She cried quietly, snuggling into my embrace. She couldn’t verbalize it, but she gave me permission. And I fucking loved her for it. For being strong enough to agree. For being with me even when I asked so much.

I dropped my voice to a whisper. “Nila...I love you. I’m never going to hurt you again. Unequivocally, deeply, totally—you have my heart and soul. I will make this right, I promise.” Taking her hand, I kissed her knuckles. “You trust me still, don’t you?”

A flicker of a seductive smile crossed her lips even as tears spilled from her eyes.

Memories of asking her if she trusted me when I’d shared my secrets came back. At the start she’d said yes, even as her heart screamed no. But, by the time I’d shown her intensity with my crop and made love to her, she’d trusted me completely.

Her skin was the palest cream in the dark. My lips ached to kiss her again. My cock throbbed to be inside her.

Her eyes tore past my humanness and into the part of me that was eternal. “I trust you.”

I couldn’t stop myself.

I pushed her onto her back and climbed on top of her. Her short hair fanned out like a black halo, tangling with hay. She didn’t stop me as I pressed my weight over her. Her legs opened, her hands gathered the material of the nightgown, and she welcomed me to wedge between her delectable thighs.

I groaned as her body melted. My cock punched against my boxer-briefs wanting to fill her all over again.

As much as I needed to be inside her, I didn’t want to rush it. My fingers threaded through her hair, keeping her pinned. Nila wriggled, softening beneath me.

Biting her bottom lip, her fingers moved to my waistband. “If you’re strong enough to fight now, even after being shot, then prove it again.” Her fingers dipped into my briefs, wrapping around my cock. “Prove that I can trust you.”

My erection leapt in her hand. Her diamond collar sparkled as I kissed the swell of her breast. “You drive me insane.”

“Good.” Her breathing quickened. “I want you insane. Mad about me. Completely consumed by me.”

I thrust into her palm. “I already am.”

A shadow crossed her face, bringing with it a flicker of thought I didn’t catch. Propping myself up on my elbows, I stared at her. What had she been thinking? Did she not trust me? Did she not believe me when I said I’d never let anything happen to her again?

“What is it?” I asked, my heart thumping out of control. “Tell me what you’re not saying.”

She sucked in a breath, looking at the ceiling. “Nothing. Everything’s perfect.” Her fingers tightened around my cock. “I want you, Kite.”

Her voice echoed with love, but I didn’t let her derail me. Not this time.

“Tell me. Do you hate me? Do you secretly loathe me for what I’ve done?”

I won’t be able to live if you do.

“How can I make it up to you?” My voice turned ragged. “How can I prove I mean what I say? That I’m so fucking sorry. That nothing else will ever—”

She hushed me, pressing a finger over my mouth. “There’s nothing else you can do. I believe you.”

Her voice said one thing, her thoughts another.

I hated when people lied. It tangled me into fucking knots trying to figure out their true meaning. That’d been the problem from childhood. Cut would order me to do one thing, but his cold-hearted cruelty guided me to do another. Kestrel learned from a very young age never to lie to me.  I needed utmost honesty to survive living in a household with so many conflicting ideals and hierarchies.

“You can’t lie to me, Nila.” My blood thickened with impending doom. What wasn’t she saying? Would it destroy me if she did? I pressed my forehead against hers. “You can’t keep things from me. I know there’s something you’re not saying and until you clear the air that emotion will overcast everything until it drives me mad.”

Her face tightened. “Your condition can be a real pain, you know that?”

I laughed wryly. “You’ve only just noticed?” The derisive humour didn’t shred the tension between us. “Spit it out. Now.”

A single tear escaped.

Fuck.

“Nila...don’t.” Ever so gently, I licked the salty drop, taking her sadness and vowing to turn it into endless happiness. She deserved so much happiness. Eternal happiness.

And I would be the one to give it to her.

My chest cracked open. “I’m so sorry, Nila.” Burying my face in her hair, I clutched her hard. “So sorry for everything—for what I am, for what I demand of you, for the things I can’t fix.”

Her arms wrapped around me. “You don’t need fixing, Jethro. You’re bombarded every day with stimuli. You’re so strong to have endured a childhood living here. You put mechanisms in place to protect yourself. Only...”

“Only?” I traced her cheek with a fingertip. “Go on...”

She tensed, hesitation and reluctance seeping from her. Sucking in a deep breath, she rushed, “I know I love you. I’ve never known anything so clear, but I can’t help wondering if you love me.”

I reared back. “What?”

She couldn’t have hurt me more if she’d tried.

“How can you even think something like that? What have I just been saying? You think I’ve been lying to you?” I rolled off her, trembling with rage. “What does that fucking mean?”

She sat up, twisting her fingers together. “I just mean...you feel what others feel. Could you be reflecting what I feel for you? How do you know what’s real and what’s not? It makes me wonder if I forced you to love me. That any woman who cared for you after a lifetime of living with Cut and Bonnie would’ve made you fall—not fall, but mirror her affection.” Her eyes glossed with unfallen tears. “How can I trust that you know what you feel isn’t just me putting those thoughts into your head?”

I shoved off the hay bale, unable to keep still. “I can’t fucking believe this.”

How could she be so clueless? So heartless to say I was so lost to not know my own wants and dreams. How could she even ask that after I cut her hair and almost fucking cried at her pain? “I’m a human being, Nila. I have the same thoughts and feelings as the rest of the population.”

She hung her head, dark hair curtaining her face. “You do, but you also have so much more. Your condition, Jethro...I mean, I had one goal when you took me to Hawksridge: to make you love me so I could use you to free me.” She swallowed, her eyes tight with confession. “What if I succeeded?”

Of course, you succeeded.

But I’d fallen for her of my own free will.

I should be appalled, but really—I’d known all along. I’d felt her conspiring, pushing me to let her in. Thing was...she didn’t need to make me love her. I’d already fallen—long before she started her games. Even before she forced me to kiss her, I’d given her my heart without knowing it.

“You have no idea what you’re saying.”

“Don’t I? Ever since you told me what you were, I’ve wondered. When you died, it killed me to think I’d never know the truth. Never know if you felt the depth that I feel for you—or the pain I felt when you were taken from me.”

Dragging both hands through my hair, my side burned with pain. Her words whipped me like a thousand bullets. As an empath I was subjected to hundreds of emotional pulls and tugs every day. I was whittled down within an inch of sanity every second.

But that didn’t mean I copied the strongest thoughts. It didn’t mean I was weak and couldn’t think for myself. If anything, my condition made me stronger. Not only did I cross-examine every opinion and sentiment but I also learned how to barricade my own conclusions from being tainted by others.

My true thoughts were in a fortress, untouched and pure and I knew exactly what I felt toward her—regardless that she’d lied to me.

She doesn’t trust me.

I stopped pacing, turning to face her. “Is that what you’ve thought all along? That I’m not truly in love with you?”

Goosebumps covered her skin; she looked away. “Honestly, I didn’t want to think. I wanted to believe in the fantasy, rather than pick our relationship apart. This past month has been hell; I won’t deny that. Those first few days when I thought you were dead, I really wanted to be, too. But having you back ...it all seems too good to be true. How can I trust that you’re here for me? That you’ll save me? End this?”

Her eyes narrowed on mine. “Do you want to do that for me or for yourself? Because if it’s for me, then how can you pick your family over a girl who made you love her? How can you even consider killing your father—no matter how horrid he’s been to you—when you can’t be sure I didn’t manipulate you the same way Cut did all those years.”

I backed away.

She successfully sliced my soul into ribbons, making me doubt that her emotions for me were genuine. Had they all been an act to get me on her side?

You don’t believe that.

She confused me—tore apart the only thing that’d been true in my life, and made me doubt.

Damn her. Damn all of this.

Deliberately, I dropped my guard and let my condition reach for her, tasting her cocktail of lust and panic.

I did my utmost to find a thread of lies. To see if her affection for me was bullshit. But unlike my father and his rare moments of comradery and respect, there was no sulking undertones or passive-aggressive control.

She was honest and true. She loved me. She might not have set out to love me, but it happened anyway.

Sighing, I dropped to my knees in front of her. “You have it backward, Nila.”

She shook her head. “I don’t see—”

“You don’t see because you don’t fully understand.” I looked at the yellow stalks of hay, wishing we were somewhere safe and bright. This conversation had brought shadows between us that had no right to be there. “Yes, I’m more influenced by others’ emotions but I’m still my own person. I still have the right of choice and reflection. I’ve been around women. I’ve been around friends and enemies. I’ve lived a normal life like any man and could’ve found happiness if I chose it.”

She flinched. Her fingers fiddled with her nightgown.

Stopping her fidgeting fingers with mine, I smiled. “But, Nila, I’m still governed by my heart. Did I let you influence me? No. I let you in because I saw how strong and brave you were. I let you in because I remembered the girl I met and the way I used to feel around her. I let you in because I saw someone lost and just as controlled as I was when I first messaged you.”

She gasped, trembling in my hold.

I wasn’t done.

“I was envious that a girl destined to die for the sins of her ancestors was more courageous than I could ever be. I fell in love with your tenacity. Your fearlessness. Your flaws. I fell for you because you taught me to trust myself—to trust that I had the power to be better.” Rising off my knees, I cupped her face, my voice throbbing with truth. “You made me a better person by showing me rather than forcing me. I fell in love with you because you’re the one for me. Not because you were a woman in my home and in my bed.”

I sat beside her. “How low must you think of me, to think I could ever stoop to such a level?”

My heart stopped beating. Would we ever find happiness, or would we always second-guess and be clouded with conditions and pasts?

She thinks I’m powerless.

That I didn’t fight as hard for her as she did for me.

And she’s right.

I’d locked away my true wants in favour of obeying my father. I let him control my life when I should’ve taken responsibility for my actions. But I knew that now. I was strong enough now.

Because of her.

Gently, I pushed her onto her back, climbing on top of her again, slipping between her thighs. “Do you believe me now?” I kissed her once. “Do you believe that my thoughts are my own? That my heart knows it’s yours through my decision—not your manipulation?” I kissed her again. “I’ll make this right between us. You’ll see. I’ll prove to you that what I feel for you isn’t a by-product of my condition or something I couldn’t control. I’ll show you that I willingly gave you my soul before you even knew me.”

Her eyes hooded. “Thank you.”

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For showing me how stupid I’ve been.”

I chuckled, growing hard for her again, wanting her so much. “Just trust me.”

She moaned, her mouth seeking mine. “I do trust you. I will trust you.”

The instant our lips connected, we lost ourselves.

We fell into each other, desperate to reaffirm our spoken truth with bodily affection. There were too many misconstrued conclusions between us. I needed to show her I meant every word. And then reality would have to intrude. I’d have to tell her my plans and prepare her for what would happen next.

“Can I?” I slinked my hand up her nightgown, pushing aside cotton.

Her thighs quivered beneath my touch. She sucked in a gasp as my fingertips brushed her core. “Yes...”

Her permission sent my cock jerking with need. I gritted my teeth as I dragged my finger through her folds. “Now we’ve cleared the air, I want to know something very important.”

She arched as my tattooed NTW fingertip drifted up to press against her clit. “Oh? And what’s that?”

I nipped her bottom lip. “Did you miss me?” I slipped one finger slowly inside her.

She opened her mouth, sweeping her tongue into mine. “So much.”

“How much?”

Her fingers slinked into my hair, holding me tight. She kissed me with every ferocious strength she possessed. My breathing accelerated until my side burned.

Letting me go, she grinned coyly. “That much.”

I never took my eyes off her as I thrust my finger, stretching her inner muscles, claiming her. “Good answer.”

She twitched as I pushed a second finger inside. “I can’t wait to fill you. To prove that what I feel is real.” She was so tight, her body fighting my invasion.

My thumb stroked her clit. She shivered in pleasure, her hands catching my t-shirt. “More...”

My mouth watered to taste her. To drink and worship her. We didn’t have time. I should get her back to safety and wait until this was over, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“I’ll give you more.” Sliding down her body, I shoved her nightgown up over her waist, revealing her glistening pussy.

Her eyes popped wide as I imprisoned her thighs in my hands and bowed my head over her dark curls.

“Kite...”

My heart leapt. I grinned. “Have I ever told you how much I love it when you call me that?” 

Before she could reply, I sucked her clit into my mouth.

“Oh, God!” Her legs spasmed, latching around my ears.

I rimmed her entrance, driving both of us mad. She writhed on the blanket, trying to get free from my questing tongue.

I didn’t let her go.

“Kite, oh...I need you.”

I smiled. “That can be arranged.” I sank my tongue desperately inside her.

“Oh, shit!”

I growled, “You didn’t specify which part of me you needed, so I’ll take liberties if you don’t mind.” I plunged my tongue again, licking her, drinking her—just like I wanted.

My cock throbbed, twitching inside my briefs.

“I want you—all of you!”

I chuckled, dragging my tongue upward, swirling around her clit before thrusting back inside her. “You already have all of me.”

She grasped the hay, her legs locking tight as I licked her harder.

Her taste drugged me. I had to have more. My pace increased, swirling, fucking, showing her I was alive and here and I would never hurt her again.

My teeth ached to bite.

My hips rocked needing to drive inside her, but I wouldn’t stop pleasuring her—not yet. Not until she came undone and accepted my gift. The gift of everything that I was.

Her fingernails jerked into my hair. “Enough. I need your cock.”

I shook my head, sucking harder. “Not yet.” Teasing her entrance again, I breathed, “Every night apart was fucking torture. Every time I closed my eyes, I dreamt of you.” My finger replaced my tongue while I flicked her clit, driving her skyward. “Do you want to know what fantasies I had while I healed?”

She moaned.

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Thrusting two digits into her pussy, I purred, “I didn’t picture you as you might think. Yes, I grew hard for you, picturing you bound to my bed and accepting everything I gave you. Yes, I tortured myself with images of your hard nipples and flushed skin.”

She moaned as I rocked faster.

“But it wasn’t those images that undid me.” I kissed her inner thigh. “Want to know what did?”

She looked down, locking eyes with me.

She nodded.

I smiled, once again bowing to my task of worshipping this woman. “It was a dream that gave me hope. A dream where we do ordinary things. Talk about ordinary life. Become friends as well as lovers. I want to know you inside out, Nila. I want to know everything about you.”

Her legs trembled around my shoulders. Her onyx gaze matched the darkness of the stables. “I want that, too.”

She whimpered as I bit her. With a wicked wet lick, I forced her leg over my shoulder, giving me greater access and depth.

Her skin scorched, blazing with lust. Part of me wanted to drive her to a climax. I wanted her to come on my tongue and lap up every drop. But the other part wanted her snuggled in my arms, her legs wrapped around mine, our two bodies giving, taking, driving, craving.

“I want you forever.”

“Forever.” Her hips arched involuntarily, seeking more.

I splayed my hand on her lower belly, holding her down as she bucked into my mouth.

“Jethro...please.”

“What do you want?”

“You. I want you. All of you. Every part of you. Just you.”

My mouth went dry. I couldn’t deny her.

Her eyes were wild as I withdrew my fingers and prowled up her body. Without looking away, I licked her dampness from my digits and bent to kiss her mouth.

“Taste yourself on me. Know that I fully belong to you.”

She moaned, seducing me with her trust. “I want you inside me. I want to feel you deep, driving me insane.”

She was my ultimate fantasy come true. Dark hair, lithe body, vicious strength, and undeniable power. I’d licked her but instead of feeling like I’d given her a part of me, I felt as if she’d given me more. So, so much more.

Grabbing her wrists, I pinned them above her head. Hay crackled beneath the blanket, stabbing my knees, itching unprotected skin. But it was the best goddamn bed in the world because it was just us. No cameras. No locks. No fear.

“God, I want you.” My voice was rough, obsessed with her.

Her lips were red and swollen, matching the colour of her nipples through the white cotton. I’d never seen her look so sexy.  “I want you whimpering—I need those incredible sounds you make when I slide inside you.”

Her lips parted. “I’ll do whatever you want if you stop talking and fuck me.”

I laughed. “Your wish is my command.”

Settling over her, I shoved my jeans and boxer-briefs to my knees and wedged my elbows on either side of her head. I should’ve supported more of my weight, but I needed to feel her beneath me. For her to know that she was blanketed by my body and soul—that I’d protect her forever. That she was mine.

“Let me inside you,” I whispered, nudging her pussy with the broad crown of my cock.

She bucked in my arms as I pushed upward, sliding through her slick arousal, taking her as surely as she’d taken me. My arms wobbled as she grabbed my arse, dragging me forward.

I couldn’t stand it. It was too good. Too intense. Too fucking much.

I groaned, burying my face in her throat. Without warning, I surged upward, impaling my thick length completely inside her.

Her wetness offered no hindrance, accepting every inch.

“Christ, Nila.” I grinded my hips against her as she whimpered.

“More. More!” The desperation in her voice took me hostage. I’d done that. I’d broken her by being shot and making her doubt my affection.

I was hers for eternity. I’d spend the rest of my life making her believe it.

Her hot wetness fisting around me drove me out of my fucking mind. I thrust harder.

We quickly turned from making love to fucking—straining to steal more from each other, driven by the need to hurt but also please.

Her lips landed on my chin.

Instantly, I brought my mouth to hers, slinking together, mimicking the action of our hips. Breaking apart, I groaned, “When I saw you coming to the stables...I fell even more in love with you.” I thrust faster. “When you let me take what I wanted while licking you, I gave the last shred of my heart to you.”

She threw her head back, sweat glittering in the hollow of her throat.

I licked it, avoiding the iciness of the diamonds around her neck. “So beautiful. So perfect.” My stomach clenched. I tightened my fingers around her wrists, loving the rapid thump of her pulse. “I’m never letting you go.”

Her eyes clouded with lust. “I don’t know who I am anymore without you.” She arched up, kissing me, moaning with my thrusts. “I believe in you.”

I wanted to shower her with kisses. “I’ll never get used to you wanting me.”

“Wanting you?” Her eyes flared. “Jethro, I am you. I’m not a whole person anymore without you.”

I winced as her words squeezed my heart. “Fuck, Nila.” Hugging her closer, I plunged harder.

She moaned, inner muscles rippling.

“Shit, that feels so good.” She closed her eyes, pressing her breasts against me; reminding me we were still clothed, still barricaded from being completely free. “You’re so deep.”

“I can go deeper.” She groaned as I fucked her faster. My side hurt with every thrust, but an orgasm spiralled into existence. My balls sparked and the delicious gathering pressure at the base of my spine gritted my jaw. “I want to come so fucking bad.”

“Then come.”

“I want to come all over you, inside your pussy, your mouth. I want you every way imaginable. I want everything from you.”

“I want that, too.”

“I need you on your back, your knees, your stomach, against the wall, everywhere. I could fuck you for the rest of my life and still not get enough of you.”

I kissed her, sucking her tongue, turning every whisper and touch supercharged with erotic passion.

“God, I’m close.” She returned my kiss, wet and passionate—her lips dancing, stealing my soul all over again. Her thighs squeezed my hips, imprisoning me as I drove into her again and again. “I’m coming...God, I’m coming.”

I pumped harder, giving into bliss and stars. “Come. Fuck, I want you to come.”

“Come with me.”

“It would be my fucking pleasure.”

Nothing else mattered. Nothing but bliss and togetherness.

We gave in.

Our motions turned rabid, seeking one goal, devouring each other in a fit of sin.

“Fuck me. Oh, Kite. Love me. Fuck me. Ride me.”

I couldn’t hold on anymore. Digging my knees into the hay, I gave her what she wanted. I lived in her begs and drove faster until red pain flashed through my system.

I plunged into her, our groans and moans drowning out the sounds of our fucking.

Her core tightened.

I rocked harder, rubbing myself against her clit. My balls smacked against the curve of her arse and the hay prickled like tiny needles. Our bodies battled each other—a perfect avenue of violent emotions.

I thrust again and again and again. “Fuck, I’m going to come.”

Her back locked, her core clenched, giving me nowhere else to go.

Her legs locked tight around my waist. I cried out as her knee caught my injury.

“Yes!” She came hard and furious, fisting around me, dragging painful pleasure from every inch. 

My orgasm unravelled without warning, exploding like a thunderstorm through every muscle. Lightning and rain drops, I spurted my very fucking soul into her.

One thing was for sure, I didn’t just come. I came undone.

And only Nila had the power to stitch me back together.