35. Briar
35
brIAR
T here’s guilt in his eyes every time he looks at me.
I don’t like him feeling guilty about what happened. I just want him to be happy that we survived.
And we wouldn’t have survived if it wasn’t for him.
But he doesn’t see it that way.
In his mind, he’s to blame for everything.
My eyes are puffy and tired from crying. My throat is hoarse from all the screaming I trapped inside me.
There’s a lot I want to say, but I remain quiet as I watch him build a fire.
Before jumping off the helicopter, he grabbed an emergency backpack with essential items like food and other useful equipment.
“Do you need any help?”
He doesn’t even look at me. He simply shakes his head.
When the fire is warming my tired bones, he hands me a protein bar. We sit next to each other and stare at the fire as we eat. He passes me a juice box.
“So you’re not going to talk to me for the rest of the night?”
He sighs. “I’m just…”
“Sad?”
He stares into the depths of the fire.
“You could call it that.”
“You’re always telling me to speak my mind,” I say. “Why don’t you do the same?”
He shakes his head.
“What are you thinking, Dimitri?” I ask. “I want to know.”
“I’m ashamed of myself.”
“We’ve been through this already.”
“I should never have put you in harm’s way.”
“Well, I’m an adult too. You warned me about the storm. I wanted to take the journey anyway, same as you.”
“I should have known better,” he says.
I stare at his silhouette in the dark. The fire casts a glow over his face. The shadows on his face appear darker. His tattoos seem to come to life, slithering all over his skin.
“Dimitri, look at me,” I say, reaching for his hand.
He pulls away and takes a deep breath.
“I said, look at me .”
I tug on his hand until his gaze lifts from the fire.The sorrow I find in his eyes breaks my heart.
“I’m right here.” I swallow. “But you’re not. You’re still stuck in the midst of the wreckage, but that’s all over now. We survived the storm, Dimitri. We beat the odds. And now, we’re on dry land again, safe and warm.”
“Like I said, all I bring is bad fucking luck,” he says. “You know what this island is, don’t you?”
I suck in a breath. I’ve wondered about it since I woke up, but I didn’t want to ask him.
“The cursed island,” he says. “The locals call it the ‘ L’isola della morte.’ The island of death.”
“It’s just a superstition,” I say. “Nothing more.”
“It’s all I have to offer you,” he whispers. “Death and destruction. And you...you deserve so much more than this. You deserve so much more than I can ever give you.”
Fire ignites in my belly.
“So what’s the alternative, then?” I ask. “Do you want some other man to be the one to love me? Would it make you happy to see me end up with someone else?”
He shouts then, loud enough to scare the resting birds in the forest.
“Do not talk about other men,” he says.His chest heaves with barely contained anger.
“I don’t want to talk about them. I just want to be with you.” Standing, I walk toward him. I stop between his spread thighs.
His hands automatically find my hips.
His eyes are on mine.
The spark that exists between us feels like it’s strong enough to set the whole world ablaze.
“I want you inside me, Dimitri,” I say.
His fingers dig into my skin.
“Briar,” he warns.
“And I want you to be the only man I let inside me,” I say. “Not just my body, but everything. I want you to have all of me.”
“I’m not a good man, Briar.” His eyes turn glassy. “If you knew even half the things I did, you’d be disgusted.”
I press my hand against his cheek.
My heart feels like it’s breaking. I can’t stand the sight of the tears in his eyes. I can’t stand seeing him upset.
“I know your soul, Dimitri,” I say. “I know you would go above and beyond for the people you care about. I know that you always put your family first. And I know that you wouldn’t ever do anything to hurt me.”
There’s a war in his eyes.
He’s trying to pull away, but he can’t seem to let go of me.
To help him make the decision faster, I strip my clothes off while he still has his eyes on me. The only thing on my skin now is the moonlight and his gaze.
“When you were passed out, I learned a couple of things about myself,” I say, slipping my hand into his thick, dark hair. “And one of those things is that you mean so much more to me than I realized. I don’t fully understand it, but my heart holds so much love for you. I...I love you.”
He stands, tipping my chin back. Stars twinkle above him, but I’m only interested in the words about to leave his lips.
“You owned me from the very first night we met, princess,” he says. He lifts me and holds me flush against his body. My lips pop open when I feel his hard length against my naked sex. “You owned me then. You own me now. You own me forever.”
“Forever,” I say, wiggling my hips against his iron length. “I like the sound of that.”
His hands squeeze my ass as he brings his lips to mine.
“Do you mean it?” he asks. There’s a dark undertone in his voice, like there’s only one answer he wants to hear.
“I mean it,” I say, growing wet as his hold on me turns more possessive. “I’m yours. I’m yours forever.”
“Good girl,” he says.
Our lips brush against each other's. I’ve never been more hungry for anything in my entire life. My world starts and ends with this kiss.
He’s possessive with it, pushing his tongue into my mouth and claiming me like he owns me.
The longer we kiss, the more restless I become. My desire for him feels like a fire that will never fade. It makes me reckless. I grind up and down his length, making a mess all over him.
“You know exactly what you need now, don’t you?” he says. “I told myself this was the one line I wouldn’t cross, but I can only resist so much when you insist on giving me a lap dance with your panties off.”
I’m delirious for him now. I need him to touch me everywhere, take me everywhere.
He pulls his cock out and rests it against my slit.
“Your wet little fuck hole looks like it won’t be able to even fit my pinky finger,” he says, using his hold on my ass to drag me up and down his length. “Do you think you’re ready for a man’s cock, princess?”
He bounces me on top of his cock, rolling his hips against mine. The building friction between us feels like it’s my ultimate destiny.
Holding me with one arm, he unfolds a blanket and lays me on top of it.
His eyes rove down my body as he removes the rest of his clothes. His big cock bobs with the weight of his erection. The sheer size of him makes me feel hot everywhere.
When all of his clothes are off, he strokes himself as he watches me.
All of his muscles flex with the motion. He’s so mighty, like a Greek god come to life just to fuck me.
“What’s the matter, princess?” he asks. “Are you afraid that your little game of seduction went too far?”
I draw my knees up to my chest and then spread them. Before he can look at my flesh, I cover it with my hand.
“I’ll let you have me, but I have one request,” I say.
“Don’t ask me to wear a condom,” he says. “I’m fucking that pussy raw. I’m going to be balls-deep inside you when I come.”
His unfiltered words make my breath catch in my throat. All the veins on his cock are swollen. The tip is angry and purple and looks way too big to be inside me.
“It’s not that.” I shudder at the thought of finally feeling him inside me.
“Then what is it?”
“I want you to fuck me hard,” I say. “Be rough with me.”
He doesn’t need me to explain to him that it’s what I need right now. I need him to own me in every way. I need him to claim me so completely that I forget about everything else that happened earlier today.
His body language turns into that of a predator.
He’s the tiger, and I’m his prey. When he joins me on the blanket, he flips me around and bites my neck. My hand still covers my pussy, but he knocks it aside, replacing it with his own hand.
“Do you want to be my little slut for the night, baby girl?” he asks, giving me exactly what I asked for.
I take a deep breath as his crude words echo in my head.
“Do you want me to treat you like a whore?” He squeezes my throat before moving down to my breasts. He kneads them hard in his calloused palms.
I love being pinned down underneath him.
I love it when he takes control.
“Or would you prefer being my little girl tonight?” he asks, pinching my nipples. “I’m over a decade older than you. I have no business lusting after you, but I just can’t help myself anymore. I’ve finally come to take this sweet pussy and keep it all for myself.”
He pushes his cock against my opening, making me stretch around him.
“I should be gentle, but I’m more beast than man now.” He pushes into me slowly. The pressure is sweet yet agonizing. His cock stretches me out so much it feels like he’s ripping me in half. “And I have you trapped underneath me so you have no choice but to be a good girl and take it.”
He grabs my throat and tilts my head up, forcing me to look at him as he pushes his cock inside me.
“You’re too big,” I say, taking a quick lungful of air.
He pauses. Our eyes lock. So much passes between us in the span of a second. And then he pushes even deeper inside me, making my jaw go slack.
“Fuck, Briar,” he says. “You’re milking me already, and I’m only halfway in.”
“Is that a problem?” I ask, blinking up at him.
“No, baby girl,” he says. “It just means that I’ll have to shove the rest of it inside you. Hold on now.”
With a rough pump of his hips, he buries himself all the way inside me.
“You’re so tight that I almost feel guilty about doing this to you,” he says, pulling out slowly only to plunge back inside me.
“Do I make you feel good?” I clench and release the walls of my pussy.
He groans, dropping his head down to my shoulder. His teeth sink into my skin as he starts violating my body. That’s the only way to describe it. It’s a violation.
He takes me like he’s just been released from prison, and I’m the first pretty girl he’s laid eyes on.
The sound of our slapping flesh soothes all the agitation in my bones. It grounds me, resetting every cell in my body and bringing me peace.
“This is what happens when you flash this cocktease pussy every chance you get.” He slaps my ass as he takes me from behind. “You get fucked like a whore on your hands and knees.”
His fingers flex over my throat, squeezing lightly.
“And now, you’ll have to take my come like one too,” he says. “Spread your thighs and be grateful for it.”
His drives are hard and punishing. He fucks me like he’s mad at me. Like he’s had a long fucking day, and he can only find comfort between my thighs.
His breathing is rough and choppy. Our sweat-slicked bodies are warmed even more by the fire.
“I’ve been waiting for this for so long,” he says. “I used to come watch you sleep sometimes, fantasizing about pushing my hard cock inside your little girl hole. If I knew it was this wet and slippery for me this whole time, I would have made you bounce on top of it every night.”
My eyes lose focus. I see streaks of gold behind my eyelids. They curl and morph into mesmerizing patterns.
“I know you’re close, princess,” he says. “But you don’t get to come until you feel me spilling deep inside your hole.”
He starts fucking me slowly now, the force of his thrusts making my teeth rattle. He holds one of my breasts in his hand.
Something inside me fractures.
He’s as deep inside as he can go. He’s all around me. We’re both safe.
My breathing grows heavier as it hits me all at once. It’s like an emotional release. I cried a thousand tears for him, but I didn’t let myself truly feel the pain and the relief. But I do now.
Without me having to say a word, Dimitri notices the shift in me.
He pulls out of me and turns me around. And when we’re facing each other, he enters me again, making me gasp with the intrusion of his cock.
“I’m right here,” he whispers. “You’re safe, Briar.”
We keep our eyes on each other’s. And under his protective presence, all of my panic leaves me. I don’t have anything to be worried about anymore.
He’s right here.
He reaches between my thighs, rubbing my clit in circles as he pumps into me.
“Come for me now, princess,” he says, kissing my neck. “Let me hear you moan my name as you shatter for me.”
I dig my nails into his back and draw my knees higher. His powerful hips drive mercilessly into me as I splinter into a thousand shards of light.
I scream his name into the dark, knowing nobody else can hear it.
It’s just the two of us here.
“Fuck, you’re getting even tighter around me,” he says. “It’s a miracle I even lasted this long.”
With a hoarse cry of my name, he comes inside me. He fills me up to the brim. But there’s so much of it that it trickles down my thighs.
It’s pure ecstasy, watching the way this powerful man comes undone on top of me.
I think I’m addicted.
It feels like this is what I’ve been waiting my entire life for. This pure joy that we just created right here.
He presses a kiss on my forehead before kissing my lips.
“I could spend the rest of my life kissing you,” he says, groaning against my mouth before shifting us so I lie on top of him.
A heaviness settles in my limbs. I reach for that tender spot on his head again.
“Does it still hurt?” I ask, swallowing.
“I’ve been through much worse, princess,” he says. “I won’t fall so easily.”
I nod, knowing that he’s telling the truth. I sigh and rest my head against his broad chest, listening to the strong beating of his heart. He wraps his arms around me, holding me close.
“The radio,” I say. “We should try contacting your men again. The storm has passed, so we might have service.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He holds me tighter.
Everything from today has a dream-like quality to it. But all I really know is that I’m content just being in his arms.
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” I say. I try to fight it, but tears roll down my cheeks. When they land on his skin, his heart pounds harder.
“You’re upset,” he says.
“Relieved,” I correct. “I’m crying because I feel like the luckiest girl on earth right now.”
“You don’t need to lie to me, princess.” He strokes my hair and presses another kiss to my temple.
“No, I swear,” I say. “I’m not just saying it to make you feel better. It’s truly how I feel.”
“We were in a helicopter crash, barely survived, and when we finally found land, it was on a cursed island that even the locals avoid,” he says. “And you’re telling me that you feel lucky?”
I giggle against his chest and look up at him.
“It’s not about the events that transpired,” I say. “It’s about having you by my side the entire time. You’re the reason I feel so lucky.”
He strokes my hair. My eyes start getting heavy, so I close them, breathing in his familiar scent. Smoke and midnight. Safety, at last.
“I hope you feel the same way when you wake up,” he whispers quietly.