Chapter 17 Willow
WILLOW
As Malice’s broad chest rises and falls against my back, I can’t move for a moment. My legs are like jelly from straining against the tight constraints of my pants, and my heart is still racing.
I know I should move, and quickly too, because there will be hell to pay if we get caught like this. But I just can’t.
It feels too good to be here like this with Malice, connected to him, as if the rest of the world doesn’t even exist. His cock is still inside me, slowly going soft, but hard enough that I feel impaled and filled, and I never want to move.
I wish we had time for him to fuck me again. For him to pin me against one of these lockers and take me from behind, fucking me until my legs really do give out.
Even though I just came, the thought of that is enough to make me bite my lip, and my clit pulses with renewed arousal.
I give in to the urge and reach down and start stroking it slowly, teasing my fingers around that sensitive area, whining softly as the pleasure spikes.
It doesn’t take long, since I’m already so sensitive from the orgasm before, and soon enough I’m moaning, squeezing around Malice’s cock as I come again.
He groans, the sound vibrating against my back as he nuzzles my neck.
“You greedy, filthy little thing,” he murmurs, his voice warm and low in my ear. “You just can’t get enough, can you?”
I shake my head, breathing hard. “I always want more of you,” I admit.
“I know,” he breathes. “And I love that. I love how much you want it. How well you take me. No one has ever ridden my cock as well as you.”
He presses a kiss to my neck, and we stay like that for another second before he sighs.
Slowly, he lifts me up and draws out of me.
I make a plaintive little noise, and I can feel my pussy tightening around him as if it’s trying to pull him back inside.
But we both know that we can’t stay like this, as much as we might want to.
Malice helps me get dressed properly once more, pulling up my pants and tugging my shirt back into place. Then he stands up himself, wincing as he moves. He tucks his cock away and drags the waistband of his athletic pants back into place.
The bruises and gashes from the fight stand out on his tattooed skin even more now, and he grimaces a little, limping as he moves.
“Are you okay?” I can’t help but ask.
“Yeah. I’ve had worse,” he reassures me.
Or at least, I know that’s what he’s trying to do, but his words don’t really make me feel better. Worry curls in my gut, making me frown.
“I know, but…” I bite my lip. “We probably shouldn’t have just done that. You just fought three guys, back to back. You’re hurt.”
Malice reaches for me, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into a hard kiss. It takes my breath away for a moment, leaving me blinking in a daze.
“It doesn’t matter,” he says as our lips part. “It doesn’t matter how many guys I fought. Doesn’t matter if I’m cut up or bruised, or how bad it hurts. I’ll always want to be inside you, Solnyshka. Nothing short of death itself could stop me from wanting to fuck you.”
I swallow hard and rest my forehead against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart. I breathe him in, the scent of sweat and blood tickling my nose, and his rich scent buried underneath it.
“I’m sorry she made you do this,” I murmur after a while.
Malice snorts. “Like I said, I’ve been through worse.”
I sigh, wrapping my arms around him, my fingers trailing over the broad muscles of his back through his tank top.
“You know, I have a dream that maybe someday you won’t have to say stuff like that.
That you’ll get an easy life, where you and your brothers can work on cars and not constantly be in danger of being hurt or killed.
And it won’t be a matter of having been through worse, because things will be so good. ”
He runs a hand over my hair, smoothing it down.
“I want that too,” he murmurs, his voice uncharacteristically soft.
“I’ve lived my whole damned life surrounded by violence.
Outside and inside my own mind, it’s always violence.
I never really let myself consider what it would be like to have peace.
But now that I’ve had a taste of it, I want more. ”
My brows furrow, and I pull back to look at him. “What do you mean? What taste?”
As far as I can tell, it’s just been him and his brothers fighting and scrapping against the world for so long.
“You.” His tone is quiet and simple, his stormy gray gaze holding mine. “Having you is the closest thing to peace I’ve ever felt.”
Sudden tears blur my vision, but before they can fall, Malice grips my chin between his thumb and forefinger and drops his head to kiss me deeply. I go up onto my tiptoes to meet him, sliding my fingers through the sweat-slicked dark hair at the back of his head.
When we finally break apart, my heart aches. I don’t want to walk away from him after all of that, don’t want to let this moment end, but I know we only have a little time.
“I need to go find Vic and Ransom,” Malice tells me. “Before they start thinking I fucking died back here or something.”
I laugh, but there’s no real humor in it. He could easily have been killed tonight if things had gone differently in the ring.
“I’ll come with you,” I murmur, and I fall into step with him as we leave the locker room.
Another fight is going on, but I consciously avoid looking toward the ring. I’ve seen enough violence tonight to last me for a long while.
Vic and Ransom have moved away from where they were sitting to watch Malice’s fights.
They’re standing at the edge of the crowd, talking with their heads together, both of them looking a bit anxious.
Vic spots us first, scanning the space as we head toward them.
Something flares in his blue eyes when he sees me, and he nudges Ransom, who looks up as well.
“There you are,” Ransom says as we near them. “We were about to head down there and make sure you hadn’t collapsed in a heap somewhere.”
Malice rolls his eyes. “I’m insulted you think a fight like that would’ve been enough to take me out.”
“You fought well,” Vic says. “They didn’t think you would.”
“That’s why they got laid out, and I didn’t,” Malice retorts.
Even with all the joking, I can tell they’re all pissed that Malice had to fight at all. And they have every right to be.
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I know before I pull it out that it’s going to be Olivia. And I’m right. It’s a text from her, telling me to meet her at the car.
Of course she decided not to go back to the locker room to fetch me. She probably can’t take the chance that someone from the crowd will see her and spread the rumor that Olivia Stanton of all people watches low-brow fights like this.
“I have to go,” I tell the brothers, already sad to be leaving them behind. “Malice, you did a great job. I’m glad you’re okay.”
He smirks and gives my hand a squeeze.
Ransom pulls me into a hug, holding on tight. “You’re taking care of yourself, right?” he asks. “Staying out of trouble?”
I laugh and nod. “Yeah. As much as I can. You do the same, okay?”
“Oh, only the best trouble for us,” he replies, giving me a crooked grin.
When he steps back, Vic steps in. He hesitates and then reaches out, placing a hand on my shoulder. I can feel the way his fingers tremble a bit, but I’m just pleased he’s touching me at all.
“We’re here if you need us,” he murmurs. “Always.”
“I know,” I tell him. “You’re always there for me.”
I swallow hard, and it’s a struggle to make myself step away from them and head back outside to the car.
Olivia meets me there, sliding into the back seat all brisk and businesslike, and without comment, the driver begins to navigate us away from the fighting ring.
There’s an attitude of smug satisfaction that seems to surround my grandmother like an aura, and I clench my jaw, anger rising in me.
“Did you get everything you wanted out of tonight?” I ask her, bitterness coating the back of my throat.
“Yes,” she says, folding her hands in her lap.
“Troy had to cave on some of his terms, and his overconfidence was his undoing. It took him down a peg, and that’s good.
It went well.” She leans back in the seat with a little sigh.
“I knew it was the right call not to kill the Voronin brothers after they defied ‘X’ by refusing to deliver you as a virgin. I considered it, but in the end, I decided not to. And it was a good thing, because they’ve proven themselves to be very useful. ”
I don’t have anything to say to that. I just clench my jaw, staring straight ahead as I grapple with my emotions.
Even though I was angry with them for that video they made of me, I know now exactly what they were trying to save me from, and I can’t help but feel grateful for it.
Even if in the end, Olivia twisted things around to get what she wanted anyway.
Despite my silence, my grandmother isn’t content to let the subject drop, though. She looks over at me as we turn a corner, her head tilted to one side.
“You love them, don’t you?” she asks, staring at me like she’s trying to read my mind. “Because it’s clear they love you.”
My heart lurches in my chest, slamming hard against my ribs.
Do I love them? Do they really love me?
I know whatever exists between us is big, but I haven’t given a name to it yet. It’s scary to do, and scary to think about.
My mind races, my fingernails dragging over the fabric of my pants as I look down, trying to hide my face from her a little. I can’t help but wonder if Olivia is bringing this up now because she wants more leverage against us.
Because the truth is, even if the brothers and I do love each other, it’s dangerous to admit that right now, when we have someone who’s trying to use our feelings against us.
Silence fills the car for several blocks, but rather than forcing an answer from me, Olivia changes the subject, breaking into my thoughts as she speaks again.
“Now that things are settled with Troy, the engagement party will be announced tomorrow,” she says. “You’ll need to be ready.”
A new wave of fear washes over me, and I close my eyes to steady myself.
I’m running out of time.