Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
EMERY
I had her pinned against the window. My hand encircled her neck possessively as I moved in her from behind, each thrust jolting her upward along the glass.
The snow had turned to icy rain, and the sun had vanished hours ago. In the dark, soft tapping echoed against the large red window. Droplets shimmered faintly in the light outside, their patterns reflected in the glass. Eve’s breath fogged the pane with every quick, panting exhale.
Her head tilted back, damp hair falling into her eyes. Her lips parted, breathless moans and delicate whimpers spilling from her mouth, so soft and sweet they sent a shiver down my spine.
It was the most beautiful fucking sound I’d ever heard.
“Fuck, baby, you’re going to make me come,” I growled in her ear.
I didn’t need to see, only feel. I loved how she fit around me, feeling so tight and hot as I took her without restraint. It was pure fucking bliss as my hips hit against her ass.
I squeezed her throat gently as my other slid from the glass and slipped down between her thighs. My fingers circled her slowly, making her shudder against me.
“Emery…Emery…”
“That’s it, you can take it, just like that.” I was on the verge of coming, but I wanted to prolong that, wanted to feel her until the sun came up. Feel nothing else, see nothing else, but her.
She was everything. The past was fading, what was done was done. Not even secrets could keep her from me now. That split second of red had gone, my sister a shadow in the dark. I knew she wouldn’t leave me for good, that was too much to hope for, but she didn’t have my focus now, my will, my ear to listen, my control. Just like in the forest by Eve’s family home, I knew I was pulling away for good, first from the demon and now from her.
All I needed now was Eve. The dream was alive again. She was mine. I was the devil who had taken this goddess and made her his.
“You like how I take you, baby?” I whispered, swirling my fingers around her as I slid deeper.
“Y-yes,” she breathed.
She felt so perfect. It hurt how perfect she felt.
I never thought I could love someone like I loved her. It was powerful, terrifying. I was scared of what I would do if anyone took her from me now, the monster I might become if someone ever hurt her. But I knew I had to be better than that. For her, I would be better.
It was us against everyone and everything else. We lost once but not again. I’d tear down those who hurt us. Then I’d save us from our demons. I’d do everything in my power to make Eve happy, to give us a life away from the darkness.
I quickened my pace, making the window shake. Eve cried out, clenching around my cock. She rolled her hips, and I was a goner.
“That’s it, that’s my good girl… Fuck .” I filled her until I dripped out of her.
Stars burst in the dark as I let out a low groan, burying my face in her hair. I pressed myself into her. My breath came in slow heaves and even now I wanted more.
More…more…more.
It was hard to let her go. But eventually I did. I slid out of her, pulling her from the window. I brushed the damp hair from her face as she turned toward me and rested her forehead against my chest.
We were quiet for a moment, listening to the rain. Her fingernails trailed down my back, making me shiver as I let out a deep sigh.
“I’ll be right back,” she whispered before kissing me. As she headed to the bathroom, I took a seat on the couch. I was still hard and knew I’d be ready to go again as soon as she returned. But today had been an emotional rollercoaster, and if she was tired, I’d be a damn gentleman about it.
I heard whispers in the dark and saw Nina’s shadow pass along the wall. I closed my eyes for a moment, remembering earlier.
We’d sat on the ground next to the graves. I let Eve cry as I held her, the snow coming down in droves. Even when she calmed, I held her. The shock was winding down in me. Unlike before, I knew without a doubt she never meant to hurt Nina. I had to accept that even if a part of me still hurt to know what happened.
She had just been a kid. And the devastation on her face told me enough. Her fear had been enough. I was astounded by how quickly I was able to let the anger go. For Eve, now I could.
We’d gone back inside as it grew darker. Everyone except Micheal and Cassidy were there. Only Andrea and Lena looked concerned. I let Eve go to her friend and tell her everything was okay.
“Is everything okay?” Andrea had asked me in private while Eve talked with her friend.
“Yeah, everything is better now.”
She didn’t pry and I told her we would talk later about Eve’s test.
I didn’t let myself think much about it. Because I wanted to give her time. When she was ready, I would be too.
Micheal showed up again by the time we were done talking. He gave me a look but I didn’t have anything to say to him. He asked where Cassidy was but no one had seen her.
He stayed to talk with Dom for a little while. I zoned out for most of the evening, staying by Eve as we ate what little we could. Micheal left not long after as did Andrea.
When everyone went to sleep, we snuck back to the apartment. I practically had my damn claws in her as soon as we opened the door.
I lifted my head, resting it on the back of the couch. A part of me was tempted to take her out of here and leave. Something in me felt uneasy about joining the others now against Severfalls and Kennedy. I wasn’t one to usually break a deal. I wanted his death, I wanted to see his suit soaked in blood, I wanted Severfalls to burn.
But I had gotten my revenge. In a crazy way, it had cost me. Deep down, I regretted even more that we hadn’t left sooner on the boat.
My need for revenge was waning. But I didn’t want to let the others down. They deserved their revenge too.
The soft creak of the bathroom door opening reached me, followed by the gentle patter of her footsteps. When I opened my eyes, she was standing before me. Every inch of her drew me in, like water to a parched man. Her sheepish little smile only fanned the flames, stirring me all over again.
“Come here,” I ordered in a low, husky voice.
She sank into my lap. I adjusted myself as she curled into me. I took a blanket folded on the arm of the couch and wrapped it around us.
Eve rested her head on my shoulder. “Are you tired?” she asked.
“No.”
“Me neither,” she said. Her fingers trailed over my chest and stomach making my muscles clench. Damn, even her lightest touch got me bad. “This is where I’d make you cuddle me while watching some cheesy movie, but I doubt Micheal gets anything but local channels up here.”
I grinned. “Cuddle and a movie? That would finally send us over to normal relationship territory.”
She laughed. “Finally. No chasing, hiding, locked in a room, or crazy plans to sail to Mexico. Just an old-fashioned date night. Just like I envisioned.”
“You have, huh?”
She chewed on her bottom lip. “Yeah.”
“Something tells me you weren’t envisioning that back at your family house.”
She laughed nervously. “No. More like…at St. Agnes. Not in the beginning, but when we were getting closer and I was starting to…catch feelings.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet.”
“It’s true.” She fixed me with an embarrassed little smile. “It’s weird but I had this fantasy. If things had been different, we might have met in college or even high school. You’d be some hot-shot athlete or artist on the surface, but you were still a bad boy deep down.”
I snorted. “I knew it. I knew you couldn’t resist that even a little.”
She laughed softly. “And you’d have all the girls tripping over themselves to get to you. I’d be one of them, just hoping to catch your eye. But I was just some wallflower with an obsession for books, convinced I didn’t stand a chance. Until we met at a party, and you couldn’t stop looking at me—while I could barely meet your gaze. We’d fall hard. We’d try to take it slow, but we couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”
Her hand slid lower down my stomach, making every muscle tense. “And you wanted me so bad, you couldn’t stand it.” Her voice dropped to a whisper as her hand reached my cock, encircling it firmly. Her thumb brushed over the head, and every ounce of my restraint crumbled. “And I couldn’t say no to you,” she continued, straddling me as her hand moved in slow strokes.
Chills ran through me, my cock hardening even more under her touch. “I even fantasized that you were my first,” she murmured, her voice dripping with heat. “And that first time, you were slow and sweet. But only the first time.”
I tilted my head back as my eyes locked with hers, feeling her hand work me. “Too bad the drugs didn’t give me the ability to alter reality. I wish that could have been true. Instead, it had to be the other way around. But I wouldn’t change that fact for anything.”
She immediately stiffened. “I…I was your first?”
I didn’t look away from her as I nodded.
“I thought…I mean, you were so... I didn’t think…”
I smirked. “I had a lot of time to read, remember? I learned a thing or two while I was holed up.”
“You never said anything…”
I shrugged. “Didn’t seem like any good time to bring it up. The fact it was you was enough for me. No other time would have been right. I was too lost in myself before you to even think I’d love someone and they’d love me in return. I was too fucked up to believe it could ever happen until you.”
Her lip trembled. “Emery.”
“But I wish I could have been your first too. How sweet that would have been.” An awful thought hit me, and my stomach twisted. “It wasn’t him, was it?” I couldn’t help asking. “That fucking fed who shot me?”
She frowned. “No. Not him.”
That was a relief at least. Cause then, I really would have to find him and kill him.
She shifted on top of me, and I could tell the gears were turning in her head.
“What are you thinking, sweetheart?” I said as I caressed her thighs.
She pressed herself against my cock, rubbing slowly. “We can still be each other's first in something.”
My brows rose. “Oh yeah, what’s that?”
She grounded more against me as she said, “I’ve never done it from behind.”
I looked at her confused since we had just got done doing it from behind.
Then I understood what she meant.
I gripped her thighs. “You sure?” I breathed.
“Yeah. I’m sure.” She paused in her grinding. “It might hurt but…I want it to be you.”
“I’ll be sweet and slow.”
She kneeled on the edge of the bed, waiting for me. The red light drifted across her body while her face remained in shadow. Even still, I could make out the shine of her eyes as she watched me.
I drew closer, reaching out and gripping her ankle while my other hand worked along my cock until it was slick from head to base.
I knew going slow wouldn’t be enough so while she prepared herself, I went searching, finding a small bottle of unused coconut oil in the bathroom. It was something at least.
When I’d covered myself in the oil, I took what remained and, positioning her on the edge of the bed, I gripped the side of her ass, then carefully moved my thumb along her, circling and then dipping it in.
Goosebumps trailed along her skin as a soft hiss escaped her lips. Her fingers tightened on the bed sheets, and she arched her back, lifting her ass higher, offering me an even better view.
Circling her again, I pushed deeper, my breath catching at the sight of her. My heart pounded in my chest, anticipation flooding me with the certainty of how incredible she was going to feel.
She let out a low whimper as I stroked my thumb at her entrance.
“You’re doing good, baby.” I was so hard now it hurt. I had to keep myself steady, to not plunge right into her like an animal. “Sweet and slow, see?” I dipped in her again, watching her reaction. “How does it feel?”
Her chest heaved as she let out a slow breath. “It feels…better than I expected.”
I hummed, satisfied. I continued to stroke my thumb inside her, slow at first, then quicker as the oil made for smoother movement. She let out a soft moan.
I switched to two fingers, stretching her, and her reaction was more the same. I thought I might lose my fucking mind if I wasn’t inside of her right now.
“I need you, Evee. I’m going to lose it.” I took out my fingers and positioned myself between her legs, letting my cock slide along her, brushing against her entrance. “Just a little bit, baby, just a little.”
She braced herself as I pushed against her. I slid in just at the head. She threw her head back and gasped. I slid out, then back in, going a little further, and she whimpered, her body trembling.
“Oh, fuck…” I breathed as she tightened around me and it was my turn to shudder, my heart in my damn throat. “That’s it, you can do it, baby. You’re doing so well.” I slid in further, unable to help myself, moving in short thrusts.
Her soft whimpers grew louder, but she still spread her legs wider, inviting me to take her even deeper. “Oh, God, Evee,” I murmured, my voice thick with need. “What are you doing to me?” My cock was halfway inside her now, and I didn’t know if I could stop.
“Emery,” she cried out.
I grit my teeth. “It’s okay, sweetheart, I’m here.” I forced myself to hold back, but stopping completely felt impossible. Pulling my hips back, I kept thrusting, each movement sending a jolt of pleasure through me. She felt even more incredible than I’d imagined, and I knew I wasn’t going to last.
“I’m right here.” My breath quickened, heart pounding so hard I thought I might have a heart attack. “You’re going to make me come so hard right in your sweet ass. You feel fucking amazing, Evee.”
I dared to move a little faster, and it was enough to send me over. I shot in her so hard it was damn near painful. I tried to bite back the groan that tore up my throat but it slipped out as I was forced to catch my breath. I leaned into her, gasping as I filled her, my body shaking. I heard her little cries muffled against the bedsheets that she had crumpled underneath her.
When my cock stopped pulsing, I carefully slid out of her. I took several deep breaths as my heart finally started to slow. I reached for her, pulling her up with me then turning to sit on the edge of the bed with her on my lap.
“Talk to me, Evee, how bad does it hurt?”
She was quiet for a moment before she whispered, “I might need a wheelchair like Lena.”
We were silent for a mere second before we both burst out laughing.
She brushed her fingers against my jaw. “Not so bad. Definitely going to be sore. Still…I didn’t expect to like that as much as I did.”
I held her closer. For once, it felt quiet even in my head. There was a calmness between us. The anxiety was gone from her expression. Even if it was only for a little while, it was just us in the dark.
Eventually, we moved off the bed and into the bathroom, attempting to shower together in the tiny-ass tub. I cleaned her hair and then dried it after. I rubbed some of the oil on her skin, massaging where she still felt tense.
We found our way back to the couch and I wrapped her in the blanket. I started another fire before I sat beside her. I combed out her hair then continued to massage her thighs, her legs, then her feet. This is how it should have been in the beginning. Not me picking glass out of her feet that night in her old family house. This is how I should have taken care of her, and I saw even more how I had failed then, but I wouldn’t repeat it.
I knew she could handle herself but I wanted this. She was mine to take care of.
We didn’t speak for some time, watching the fire. Then I noticed the anxiety start to creep its way back in her features.
“I think we should talk about the test,” she said in a soft, tense voice.
I drew her hand into mine, entwining our fingers. “You know my answer. Whatever you decide…”
She took a deep breath, shutting her eyes. “I’m…not sure I’m ready for all that it takes to have a kid. And with what Severfalls did to me…I know I wasn’t there long, but I don’t know how much of what they did affected my body. It might have been too early to affect anything. But it might not. Truth is, I’m terrified at what they might have started.”
I squeezed her hand gently. “You know I understand more than anyone.”
Her eyes fluttered open as she looked back at me. “But it’s ours too.”
“I know. You still have time, Evee. And no matter what, I will be right by you.”
She leaned in, leaning her head on my shoulder. “I know.”
“Andrea can help too,” I assured, wrapping her. “It hasn’t been long.”
“You’re sure you wouldn’t be angry if I—”
“I’m sure.”
She stared into the fire, her voice low. “So much has happened. I kept putting it off—thinking about everything—because I was afraid I’d snap. I thought I’d lost you, and I couldn’t bear it. Sometimes I’m still scared that this isn’t real, that it’s all in my head... that I really did lose you. And myself.”
“In time, you’ll see you didn’t,” I said softly. “And even if you do, I’ll be there to bring you back.”