Chapter 11 Rion #2
“Maybe,” I mumble, following her line of sight, but I can’t absorb a single thing.
Silence echoes around us, but it’s not awkward, it’s almost comforting until she looks back at me again.
“What brought you here? Where did it all begin for you?” she asks, and I gulp, scrubbing the back of my neck.
“Those two aren’t quite the same thing,” I explain, and her eyebrows pinch in confusion.
“What do you mean?” Hesitation zips down my spine, and she must sense it because she tries to backtrack. “It’s okay, we don’t have to talk about it.”
I shake my head. “I’m okay, it just feels like a different life now,” I explain, understanding dancing in her eyes as she gives me a moment to try and find my thoughts.
Clearing my throat, I try my best to condense the madness that haunts my memories.
“It all began with my father. He was ruthless. Not as crazed as Jude with a desire to take over the world, but he was reckless, feral, and disastrous. He loved to slaughter, but even more so, he loved to watch others slaughter for him.”
Her eyes widen as her pupils constrict, another layer of perception washing over her features.
“How old?” she asks, and I exhale slowly.
“Twelve.”
She sucks in breath, horror bleeding from her as she stares deep into my eyes, silently caressing my soul. “Want to talk about it?” she offers, and I shrug.
“There’s not much to talk about, really.
He was a sadist. If he’s still alive, then he’s still a cunt.
Being the son of an alpha who was hellbent on scorching the earth came with expectations I couldn’t withstand.
” I search her eyes, considering whether I should add the next bit, but my filter deserts me and my lips part. “That’s where Laurie comes in.”
“Professor Drayker,” she clarifies, and I nod.
“Yes, but we don’t need to—”
“Tell me,” she insists.
I take a moment, but fail to gather myself. When it becomes clear I never will, I go for it anyway, regardless of how chaotic it might be.
“My father was the alpha of Strachan Pack, and she was one of his pack, but by marriage, not by choice,” I explain, trying to remember what her husband looked like, but I don’t even recall his name.
“Her husband died during a raid on another pack, and she was heartbroken. Her pain turned to vengeance, but there’s no killing the Strachan Pack alpha so she did the only thing she could. She took his legacy; she took me.”
“That bitch,” she snarls, lurching forward with anger, but I quickly wrap my arm around her and pull her back against my chest.
“It’s hard to admit, but in many ways, she saved me from the treachery I was born to face.
It wasn’t going to get better, was it?” She gulps, indecision in her eyes.
“What followed from there is something else entirely, and I don’t care for putting names to it and giving it a title, but my hatred runs deep for her on that level.
On the other hand, the younger version of me will always be thankful.
I would do it all again because otherwise, I wouldn’t be here with you in my arms right now, and that’s the only thing that matters in my world. ”
Her chest rises and falls harshly with every breath, and I realize mine is heaving just as fast. Our truths hang in the air between us, but instead of pushing her away like fear tells me it will, she feels closer than ever.
“I love you, Rion,” she breathes, making my heart race wildly in my chest.
“I love you too, Elodie.”
We move as one, our lips fusing together, bonding us, intertwining our pain and trauma as it offers us as silent pillars of support for one another.
I can’t get enough of her.
I can’t kiss her hard enough, or hold her any tighter.
It’s all too much.
Pain melts to pleasure as she twists in my grasp, rising up to climb into my lap. With each of her thighs surrounding mine, I wrap my hands around her waist, pinning her in place.
I’m breathless.
She’s weightless.
We’re everything.
Our lips don’t dare to part as we explore, trailing our hands over one another without parting to watch. It’s only when she tugs at the hem of my t-shirt that her lips leave mine, but for a fleeting moment as she tosses the material aside before fusing our mouths together once again.
Following suit, I slip my fingertips under the hem of her t-shirt, ghosting my hands across her skin, feeling goosebumps rise along her ribcage until I tug the fabric over her head, letting it fall blindly.
My jaw falls slack as I stare at her lace-covered chest. Her breasts are needy and full, her nipples taut peaks desperate for attention.
“Rion, mouth,” she orders, and I tilt my face to hers a second before she reclaims me.
Holy fuck.
She’s all I can see, all I can breathe, and all I can feel.
Hands move, lips collide, and before I understand where we’re at, I feel the press of her bare pussy against my rigid cock.
I glance down, and Elodie follows, staring at our near connection. My breath comes in short, sharp puffs. There are no words to describe what I’m feeling as my gaze rakes up the length of her body, skimming over her stomach and across her bare chest until my eyes find hers.
She places a hand on each of my shoulders, pressing her fingertips into my skin as she gets comfortable. Stroking up her back, I bring her closer as she tips her hips and lines up my cock with her entrance.
My breath hitches.
So does hers.
Then she consumes every inch of me.
Emotion clogs in my throat, desire swirling through my veins as she claims me. Each rock of her hips connects us on a deeper level, until the soles of her feet are pressed onto the mattress on either side of me and she’s riding me, her pace as crazed as I feel.
Ecstasy lashes through my veins so strong it’s on the brink of pain, but it’s outmatched by the cries that part her lips as we shatter together.
Wave after wave hits me, each spasm heightened by the clenching of her pussy until we’re a crumpled heap of tangled limbs and bliss.
With each raspy breath, I can’t help but be thankful for her presence in the madness that surrounds us here in The Vale. I’ve never felt more grounded in my life. Like she’s given me a sense of purpose.
Her.
The sound of a cell phone vibrating from the nightstand beside me cuts right through my thoughts. Tipping my head to the side, my eyes widen in surprise when I see the message flashing on the screen.
Ocean: Found it.