Chapter 36 #2
I tilt my head and examine her features, shocked by her genuine confusion. My head pounds and scolds me. Have we talked about Taylor that little? Has his avoidance really reached a level so high that Victoria hasn’t even overheard a conversation about her?
“You really don’t know…”
“Don’t know what?” She shakes her head in disbelief.
I can’t tell her about Taylor. It’s not my place, and I’m not sure Zeke would even want her to know.
As fucked up as it is, he might need to hate Victoria.
That feeling could be the one thing he can grasp, the sole thing that keeps him grounded.
I step up to her and sigh, not really sure what I’m doing, but knowing what Zeke needs.
“I like you,” I blurt out. She just narrows her eyes and the confusion that was growing on her face just deepens.
“I…like you, too?”
“But I can’t like you when he’s around.” I shake my head, but keep my eyes trained on her.
“I consider you a friend now, despite everything that’s happened.
We’ll protect you and Elizabeth and get you to a place where you can live a safe life, but Zeke is family.
He’s one of my best friends, and he’s my wife’s brother.
If he’s around and says we hate you, then we hate you.
” Her mouth opens and shuts, like she’s speechless.
A part of me does feel bad, knowing just a glimpse of what she’s been through, but Zeke’s words of him needing someone to side with him resonate in my heart.
“I know it sucks, but that’s how we work around here.
He’ll come around one day, and maybe you two can be in the same room without him wanting to snap your neck, but until then, he needs someone on his side. ”
“What do I have to do to prove to you all that I’m not like him?
! I want him dead, too! You don’t know what I’ve seen—what I’ve watched him do!
” Rage takes over her face, and I hate myself a little more.
Angry tears pool on her bottom lids at the bottom of her eyes, and that just makes it worse.
Besides anger and fear, I haven’t seen much emotion from Victoria apart from her love for Elizabeth.
Seeing her this upset about whatever has happened really hits me.
“He may be my father, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to face justice for what he’s done! ”
“You want him dead?” I ask seriously, already coming up with a plan to end two problems at once. “And you’re willing to do anything to make that happen?”
“Yes!”
“Then work for me,” I offer, already regretting it. There are a thousand ways that this could go, and unfortunately, almost all of them end badly and involve Zeke. “Earn some money for a while, use our resources, and help us kill that mother fucker.”
By us, I mean Zeke, but I don’t feel like hashing that out tonight.
She slowly pulls her head back and scrunches her face, clearly shifting through her thoughts on the proposal.
If she thinks remotely the same way that I do, she knows this might be her only real ticket to freedom.
The government is looking for her, and Elizabeth has absolutely no documentation—no proof that she’s ever existed.
Surely, that will come with a lot of legal troubles, and that is going to cost some money.
So, unfortunately, this is both the smartest and worst thing for them both.
She straightens her posture, like she’s having to prepare herself for the answer alone.
“Okay.”
I nod once and turn back to the door, walking into our bedroom without another word. Zeke and Victoria now have a common goal, and I’m going to use that to help them both achieve it—no matter how much they might hate me for it when it’s said and done.
Ashia snaps her gaze at me as I enter the room a little more urgently than I meant to. Her golden-brown eyes meet mine, and the smile that was on her face falls a little.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” She steps over to me, wearing nothing but one of the laboring gowns I ordered for her.
I bought her a few different kinds, just to see what she would feel comfortable in.
This one opens easily at the chest and belly and has an open back for the epidural and monitors.
I was most excited about this one, because it looked the softest, and I was sure she’d like it.
She looks so fucking beautiful in it, completely exposed and full under the light fabric.
I almost forget about what just happened outside because I’m so lost in her image.
“Oh, you know. The children are fighting.” She giggles at my joke, warming my heart.
“Have they started to throw knives at each other yet?”
“No, thankfully. But I think once they’re able to stand in the same room together, we’ll have to watch out for that.
” She laughs again as I pull her into my chest, then we pivot so I can look at her in the mirror.
“You tried it on.” She nods lightly, only replying with a soft ‘mhm.’ I caress her stomach in gentle circles, inspecting the fabric against her delicate skin. “What do you think?”
“I really like this one.” She smiles and leans back against me as she grins in our reflection.
“It’s really soft, and I like how easy it is to move.
Is the hospital going to allow it? Aren’t they normally weird about outside stuff like this?
” I move my lips to the shell of her ear at a teasing pace.
“Do you really believe I’d ever let them tell you no?” I whisper. Her smile only grows, and when her hair grazes my cheek as she shakes her head, it sends a rattle through my spine.
“No,” she whispers back and meets my eyes in the glass. Her face melts into that soft, endearing grin, and her eyes sparkle in the dim light. “You made it home in time.”
“My girl told me she needed me. Of course I did.” I kiss her temple, then her cheek, down to her jaw, and then along her neck.
She tilts her head back to rest beneath my shoulder, then to the side to give me more access.
My hand slips beneath the robe to feel her tight skin on my fingertips.
“Do you still need my touch, little wolf?”
She nods again, leaning into me more and letting me support her weight.
“Please?”
“Begging already?” I nibble the skin on her neck and slide my other hand to her chest, dipping into the fabric there as well. “I haven’t even teased you yet, baby.” My fingers glide under her breast, and a moan slips from her lips the moment my thumb grazes her nipple. “These are sensitive, huh?”
“Yes…” She moves one hand to grip the base of my neck, while the other rests on top of mine as I continue to caress her skin.
Her fingers dance with mine as I take them lower, tracing the underside of her belly until I sink lower and graze her slit.
She gasps softly at the small contact and pushes into my hand.
Her fingers ghost along my limb until she reaches around to claw at my jeans, trying like hell to pull them down.
“Patience, baby girl. I want to see you. I want you to see you.” I unsnap her gown and pull it apart, letting it fall off her and to the floor before I hold her chin in my grasp.
My thumb swipes along her jaw as I force her to stare at herself in the mirror.
“Do you see how God damn beautiful you are? How fucking perfect?”
She trails her own image in the glass, and her skin heats against mine.
For the first time, maybe ever, she sees herself how I see her.
She’s recognizing her own divinity, and she’s fucking loving it.
I tease her slit, barely grazing the tips of my fingers across it as I drag my hand down her throat, all the way to her nipple.
It pebbles beneath my touch and she shivers, digging her nails into the back of my neck.
The same feeling crawls down my spine as wetness beads beneath the pads of my fingers, and I realize she’s leaking milk.
“You were made for me, Ashia—made to hold my heart, to take my cock, to carry my babies, and this is proof…” I swipe my thumb across her nipple again, collecting the small drops and rubbing them on her skin.
She whimpers as I move my hand from her cunt, and I smile against her neck.
Her nipple rolls between my fingers as I fight to free my throbbing cock.
“Tell me, baby. Do you like being pregnant and full of me?”
“Yes, Damien…” she whines. My dick springs free from my jeans, bouncing against her perfect ass, and she moves desperately. I pulse as she grinds against me, rubbing her ass along my length and trying to beg without words.
“Where do you want me, little wolf? Do you want my dick up that sweet ass or in your perfect pussy?”
“Both… I need you everywhere.”
“That’s my greedy girl.” I try to fight through the fog in my brain and move in a way that won’t hurt her later on.
Her condition is becoming more delicate by the day, so while I would love to slam into her cunt, I use every last bit of self-preservation and refrain from ramming inside her.
I lift her leg onto the nearby chair and wrap my arm around to cradle her stomach, keeping her stable against me as my tip teases her pussy.
“I’m going to try and go easy on you, baby, but I don’t know if I can…
” I push in slowly, already groaning at the wave of pleasure that rolls through me.
“Watch the mirror while I fuck you. Look at how fucking beautiful you are when you take my cock.”
I pull away and push back in, then again, and again, struggling to start off slowly as she swallows me.
She fucking chokes me, clenching around me every time I hit the sweet spot inside her.
I’m trying not to thrust too deep, but holy mother of God, she’s sucking me in, coercing me to move harder.
I meet her eyes in our reflection and soak up every inch of her image.
Her glazed-over eyes, bouncing tits, bulging belly, and her perfect cunt.
“Damien? I’m not going to last long…” she moans and digs into my neck a little more. I smile against her skin and drag my teeth along her neck. The moment I slid inside her, I knew she was riled up. Her pussy flutters and works my cock, sucking me even deeper into her grasp.
“You say that, but I haven’t even touched your ass yet.
What would happen if I did?” I drag my hand over her skin, teasing the little bumps that rise and ripple until I round her plump butt cheek.
She clenches the moment I graze the slit near her back hole, and I groan when her cunt strangles me.
“Fuck, Ashia. You’re so sensitive…just ready to explode, aren’t you? ”
“Yes, I need to come. Please, please, please…” She plants a hand on the wall next to the mirror, leaning forward and arching her back just enough to open herself up. I slide my hand down to where we connect and let her juices drip on my hand before I coat her ass in it.
“So, this isn’t too much?” I taunt and slip my finger in as I thrust back inside her.
She moans loudly, matching the heady growl that shivers between my teeth.
The vibrations of her pleasurable groan rattle down her spine, tingling against my chest as I continue to press against her.
My spine matches the sensation, sending a warning through me and straight to my balls the moment she clenches again.
I work both holes, harder, faster, praying to God that my grip on her leg and her hand on the wall is enough to keep her upright. Our breathing turns heavy, and the moment her standing leg starts to shake, her pussy pulses again.
“Dam—” My name on her lips turns into a scream and she clamps down on me like a vice, pulsing around me in deep waves and suffocating my fingers.
I keep going, completely losing myself in the feeling of her heat as pressure builds at the base of my spine.
My cock stiffens, and when her walls flutter around me another time, I explode, throbbing inside her in heavy pulses.
“Oh, my God. Thank you…” She repeats those last two words like a mantra.
I chuckle breathlessly and pull out, admiring the way our mixed essence drips down her leg.
A part of me wants to remind her—for probably the thousandth time—that she never has to thank me for coming inside her sweet pussy, but I know it'll fall on deaf ears. “What time is it?”
I glance over at the clock.
“It’s seven past midnight.” I gently place her bent leg back to a standing position and turn her head to catch her lips in a deep kiss.
She moves with me so easily—so smooth, like water.
Her skin is just as silky as I run the tips of fingers along her jaw.
“Happy New Year, Mrs. Hartley,” I speak closely enough to graze her lips.
“Happy New Year,” she replies just as sweetly, smiling against my mouth. I lead her to the bathroom, knowing she’ll enjoy a good, hot shower before bed.
We may not be able to celebrate the holiday with champagne or crowded town squares, but we’ve never needed any of that.
Any night or occasion is perfection as long as I'm in her presence. We’ll have so much to experience in the new year—becoming parents, raising a baby, and navigating through our crazy lives is just the beginning.
I get to look forward to this for the rest of eternity, and nothing has ever felt better.