Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
" I am not coming with you," I screamed, pushing against his chest. Once he put me down in the cabin, I opened the freezer, grateful there was some vodka inside. I popped off the cap and chugged from the bottle.
Yes, it was midafternoon and I was chugging hard alcohol, but I needed to numb the pain. My world and everything I had worked for was getting further out of reach.
"I want to finish school," I whined. I glanced where the door was, noticing the cold air still filtering the otherwise warm cabin. Walsh was standing there with it open, watching me as I continued to pound the booze, waiting for the numbness to hit.
"You will, Muse. I swear it." His face was softer than earlier. For a moment, I thought that maybe he felt bad for what he’d done.
"I’m staying here. You can go back to Dansport. I am going to finish school and then?—"
"No. You’re coming with me, and we leave in an hour."
"No. I am staying here." I pouted, throwing my arms across my chest in a protective stance.
"Your bags are packed. The car is waiting for us. We are leaving." I looked down at the bottle, then back up at him. I wanted to melt into the earth and somehow disappear. This was my worst nightmare.
What made it worse was that I had no one to talk to about this. I had no friends. I had no family left. I was alone in this world, and the one person who claimed I could rely on him was never mine to rely on.
"Whether you are drunk and passed out or somewhat sober"—he gestured to the bottle I was white-knuckling—"I don't care. Get in the car, Madison."
"Can I have an hour?" I whispered. My tone was desperate, and for a moment, his mask slid off. In front of me was the Walsh Solis I wanted to know–—the gentle side of him, the sweet side, not the darkness that surrounded his everyday being.
"Please." All he did was nod, so I headed toward the small bathroom in the corner of the cabin.
I closed the door and locked it behind me, knowing all too well that if he wanted to get inside the bathroom all he had to do was kick it down. Checking my surroundings, I found a few towels on a rack in front of me. The bathroom was no bigger than the length of my body, so everything was cramped, but the shower was plenty big to get my mind off what was happening and maybe sober up slightly.
As the booze filtered through my veins, I turned the shower to hot, letting the steam fill the small space before dropping to the floor, my back pressed against the wooden door behind me.
I felt the weight of his body as it fell to the floor on the other side of the door and pressed my hand lightly to the door.
"Why me?" I asked softly.
"Because it has always been you."
The answer sounded so simple, but was so complicated. Truthfully, I didn't even think complicated was the right word to describe the complexities of emotions that filled my soul.
"I promise…" He paused, and I could have sworn I heard a hitch in his throat. "I promise I’ll keep you safe. I promise to take care of you, if you'll let me."
That was the question. If I’d let him. I wasn't sure where the lines had gotten crossed—where we went from enemies to lovers back to enemies again. I didn't know why he decided I was the reason and this was the time he would break the plan he’d had in place for years.
"Do I have to sleep with you?" I asked, smiling.
"Muse," he whispered. "You’ll be begging me for it. I know you remember the way my cock felt inside of your wet mouth. The way you threw your head back as you moaned, taking me all in…"
No. I couldn’t let this happen. It would complicate everything.
My aching core was telling a different story than my brain or heart.
Stop . I couldn’t go there with him. He took advantage of me when I was drunk and married me, for God's sake. I stood as the steam overtook the small room.
"No. Not interested," I said, shedding my clothes and jumping into the shower. I turned the knob to cold and closed my eyes, cursing above.
Four years ago, I would have relished in the satisfaction of this moment—Walsh Solis at my door pleading for my affection. It could have been a victorious moment for me, a testament to my triumph. However, Walsh had a way of turning victories into defeats. Our relationship was a game, and I longed for it to stop. All I desired was to be cherished for my true self, without the need for pretenses.
I washed up, sobering a little before I tucked the towel around my chest and stalked from the bathroom. I had thought about putting the dirty shirt on, but it was covered in bacon smell and mud.
As I walked into the main part of the cabin, my eyes glanced over at the naked form changing in the corner. My eyes roamed his back, first memorizing the intricate swirls on his shoulders, then lowering to where the arch of his ass was.
God, it felt illegal to watch this man's body as he changed in front of me. I felt like I’d somehow interrupted something?—
"Are you going to keep staring?" His low, raspy tone echoed in the small cabin, which was getting tinier by the second.
"Oh, uh?—"
He laughed deeply. "Please, be my guest. You are my wife, after all."
He slowly turned, and his thick cock was hard and veiny.
I croaked something unintelligible out, and his hooded eyes met mine.
"I hate you," I muttered.
"I know." He took a small step in my direction. "Drop the towel."
Why was this electric surge pulsating between us? Why did I want to fold under his command? Goddamnit, why was my cunt soaking wet and desperate to imagine how he’d stretch it?
"Do it, Muse," he murmured, taking another languid step closer.
"I despise you." I let go of the towel, watching as it puddled to the floor before I dragged my gaze back up.
When I did, it was as if I’d locked eyes with a hungry predator and had become his desperate prey.
He took another step closer, and I’d never felt so vulnerable and raw in front of a person. It’s like I’d shaved every single layer and for the first time in my entire life, I was…Madison Ryan.
My eyes watered as I realized how much this man had a pull on me. I had spent an entire year trying to get back at him, which sounded insane then, but it all made sense now. Because how Walsh Solis made me feel so…real was the reason I’d do it all over again if I had to.
"You're a goddess," he murmured, his chest pressed against mine with a certain intimacy. A soft chuckle escaped me while his hands hovered over my hips, not making contact but seemingly mapping out the curves and contours of my body.
"I don't think the heavens would approve of me, so maybe not necessarily a goddess. I think I probably belong in hell for everything that I've done," I croaked out. The very tips of his fingers finally made contact with my arms, delicately drawing their way up toward my face. His touch was such a paradox to him as a person: gentle, soft, and almost smooth, whereas he was cold and stoic.
"I'll find you in the flames, Muse," he declared. As his hands approached my lips, he withdrew. His eyes momentarily closed, and the next sensation was the pulsating warmth of his arousal against my stomach.
"Kneel," he commanded, reverting to his icy demeanor. The mask was firmly in place, and escape seemed an impossible feat.
My pause lingered too long before I heard his command again. "Get on your fucking knees."
I swallowed. "I hate you," I spat out.
Liar. This was our game. I was wet with need, and he was desperate for the chase.
He gripped my cheeks, staring at me. "You can hate me all you want, wife. But your body is telling me otherwise."
While his right hand remained on my cheek, his free hand parted my thighs, dragging a finger over my cunt. I was soaked and hungry for him.
"You are so wet, Muse. You are so fucking wet for me. Does all of this hate turn you on?"
I nodded.
"Good," he growled. "Get. On. Your. Knees."
When he let go, I stumbled forward, dropping to the cold wooden floor.
Forced to look at him towering over me, I could see every ripple in his stomach. Every tattoo was visible, and I desperately tried to memorize them. He was my king, and as he glared at me, time froze.
I was at his mercy—at his very beck and call. I was his.
I would always be his.
When he spoke, his voice was low, desperate, and needy. "What do you see, Madison?"
My eyelashes fluttered, and his cock came into clear view.
But that wasn’t his question. He wanted to know what I saw beneath the surface.
"I see you. I see your tattoos. I see your eyes. I see your heart."
The last word hung in the air. It was a confession I didn’t mean to say aloud, but I was caught up in the moment.
A slow twist on the corners of his lips was the only tell that he was satisfied with my answer before he rolled his head back and emitted a growl so deep and terrifying it sounded almost animalistic—a predator readying for his prey.
I opened my mouth as if my body knew exactly what he needed—what I needed. His hands grazed over his shaft, pumping it a few times to let the precum bead at the top. His mushroom head was desperate for the warmth of my mouth, and I was more than eager to please him. All I’d wanted to do over these last few years was taste him, touch him, and fuck him.
"Good girl," he moaned as the head of his dick touched my swollen lips. "Open wide."
I released all the tension in my jaw as he slid in. He stretched every muscle. I’d forgotten how girthy he was.
As the tip of his cock touched the back of my throat, a low groan reverberated throughout the room. His hands wrapped around my ponytail, and he shoved me onto him. I flicked my tongue around him as he thrust in, letting my mouth pump him dry.
"This is why I married you," he murmured through his assault on the back of my throat. "This is why you are my wife."
I couldn’t respond or ask questions. My brain couldn't function properly as he took me faster and faster. My head bobbed up and down on his cock as he fisted my hair and helped my mouth suck him fully.
Shlop. Shlop.
The sounds of my spit sliding on his shaft was so loud it was such a turn-on, making the carnal desire ignite deeper inside of me.
"I knew you’d be able to keep up with me, Muse. I knew you’d be able to pleasure me in ways that no one has ever dared."
He pulsed inside my wet mouth, and I knew he was close. There was an irony here with the fact that my lips had tasted his cock twice, but his had never dared to touch me. His groans grew louder as he got closer to his orgasm. His hand pushed me to work faster. We were both delirious with need.
"Beautiful," he murmured. I opened my eyes wide and looked up at him towering over me. His eyes rolled back, and his face tilted toward the ceiling as he was literally falling apart in my mouth.
God, I loved watching him unfurl, knowing I was the only one able to do this for him. I reveled in the fact that it was me who he lost all control over. It was me who somehow folded all of his grand plans. It was me he bowed down to.
My tongue flicked his head, and with one more thrust, he exploded into my mouth. A warmth caressed the back of my throat as I closed my eyes, swallowing his seed down.
Yes, sir . He was mine, and I knew it, but I wasn’t willing to give him that satisfaction yet.
After he was empty and satiated, I pushed up from the floor, wiping the juices off my mouth.
"Got it out of your system?" I said coyly, and walked to the side of the room, grabbed my discarded clothes from yesterday, and slipped them on.
As I peeked over my shoulder, I saw a look on Walsh’s face I’d never seen before—fear. His eyes were wide and unblinking, his mouth slightly open as if he had just witnessed something unimaginable. His usually composed features were twisted in shock, as if a single, terrifying thought had struck him with incredible disbelief.
"Not even close, Muse," he whispered so low that if it wasn't eerily quiet in this cabin, I wouldn’t have heard it. "We are going to Dansport."
I decided I would not argue with him. I’d find a way to get in his car and come back up here once he was finished with this kidnapping charade of his.
"Fine," I huffed.
"Good." He zipped up his jeans. "A little cock in your mouth and suddenly you’ve become so submissive? I’ll have to remember that for next time." I threw my towel in his direction.
He laughed. A true laugh, something I wanted to hear every single day. It felt like walking through a valley of flowers in the springtime or on the days when the sun melted into your skin.
A little part of my heart melted.