42. 42 – Zella
I wake up soaked in my own sweat, terror bleeding out of my pores as I gasp voicelessly and pull myself upright.
The nightmares linger on the edge of my consciousness, just out of reach as I look around, trying to catch my breath. Maverick and Ryder are both asleep on chairs at the end of my bed, but there’s no sign of Enzo.
Slipping out from under the covers, I quietly open the door and head down to my old room. I need to wash off the fear that still coats my skin.
I also need to acknowledge the thoughts lurking in the back of my head, but I’m not quite ready for that just yet. So I hit the shower, trying my best to not get my hair wet as I duck under and rinse off the sweat.
Slipping into a long yellow woolen dress sweater and a pair of thick tights, my feet pad down the steps as I make my way towards the dungeon. A dull, thudding sound reaches my ears, and my mouth dries as I reach the bottom stair.
Directly ahead of me, Enzo smashes his fists into a tall bag that hangs from the ceiling.
Music plays loudly, enough that he can’t hear me as I linger where I am to watch him.
Sweat trickles in rivulets down his back as his muscles flex, over and over again as he punches the bag like it’s his own personal nemesis.
Taking a seat on the stairs, I wait for him to finish, pulling my sweater down to cover my knees and rubbing them with shaking hands in the cool air. It takes a few minutes before he notices me, and he flicks the music off.
“Little prey.” Dropping down to his haunches in front of me, he studies my face. “What do you need?”
I try to take a full breath, but it hurts. My breathing turns to short, stuttering gasps, and I fold over, hitting my chest with my hand. “Can’t—,”
“Stop.” Enzo’s voice is steady, his hands on either side of my face warm in comparison to the ice sweeping over my body. “Stop this. Now.”
When I struggle to pull away, he holds me tightly. “Breathe,” he says, a little softer as I look up at him beseechingly. “Breathe for me, little prey. In, out. Slowly. Follow my lead.”
I struggle to copy him as he takes a deep breath, but he doesn’t stop, and the pain starts to settle into a dull ache as my lungs open back up. Each of us is watching the other, and Enzo’s eyes widen as the first tear spills down my face.
I grapple with the words, trying to explain. “I… I can’t. Need something else.”
Something to distract me. Something to take my mind away from the awful, sneaking possibility that’s crept into my head and is sitting there, waiting for me to acknowledge it.
“Please,” I breathe. I don’t even know what I’m asking for.
But he does.
Strong arms slide underneath me, lifting me from the cool step. “Wrap your legs around me, little prey.”
Wordlessly, I do as he asks. My arms are around his neck, and I bury my face in his skin as he carries me back up the stairs. I focus on breathing, on sucking down his warm scent.
Cool air hits my back, Ryder’s braiding skills enough to still have my hair in place even after I’ve slept. I lift my head enough to take in the garage. “Where are we going?”
My voice is a whisper, and Enzo’s hands tighten on me before he places me down on a small table. “Breathe. No talking.”
I concentrate on keeping my breathing even as he moves around the vehicles. He takes a black jacket from the wall, shrugging it on over his bare chest and walking over with another one. He threads my arms into it silently, tucking my hair into it and drawing the braid around my waist like padding.
His fingers brush my cheek after he finishes zipping it up, and he picks me up again. We head across the space, approaching a sleek metal machine I haven’t seen before. Enzo shifts me in his arms, lifting his leg and settling us across it like a seat.
“What’s this?” I ask. Curiosity bleeds into my voice, and he raises his eyebrow at me.
“Freedom, little prey,” he murmurs. I’m sitting astride him, my legs dangling free, and he leans down to press my foot against a bar. “Keep them here.”
My toes curl into the metal. “Do I need shoes?”
Enzo silently watches me for a moment before he shakes his head in response. I’m pressed so closely to him that I can see every one of his long eyelashes. He blinks. “What?”
“You have pretty eyes,” I murmur, and he makes a scoffing noise at the back of his throat, looking away from me. I jerk as his hands move down, sliding up my tights and beneath my dress. His thumb stretches the material, and my eyes fly to his as he reaches the apex between my thighs. “What—,”
A ripping sound tears through the air, and I gape at him. “Did you just rip my tights?”
I liked these tights.
His hand pushes through the hole he’s created, his fingers tracing my underwear as I shift on his lap. His other hand squeezes my leg as he ignores my words. “Stay still.”
An impossible task as his fingers trace me, over and over again until I feel dampness pooling, soaking the thin silk. Enzo tsks, pulling his hand free and rubbing his damp finger across my lips. “Your little cunt is soaking, prey.”
I dart out my tongue, licking his finger, and he takes it further, pushing two of his fingers into my mouth. “Suck.”
I do as I’m told, and his other hand slides back to my underwear, tugging and pulling until the material snaps against my skin. His fingers slide from my mouth with a wet pop, and my protest catches on a strangled groan in my throat as he pushes them inside me.
He pins me until I feel thick bars pressing into my back, the top of my body curving as he slides his fingers in and out of me, the noise almost obscene in the small space.
“Do you think,” Enzo murmurs, almost conversationally, “that I would let anyone take you from me, prey?”
My eyes feel lazy as I blink slowly, taking a minute to register his words. “N-no.”
“Good.” He moves his hands faster, and I whimper at the curling, burning sensation that winds its way through my body as he plays me like an instrument. “Do you think that we would let anything happen to you?”
When I don’t respond, he pushes his fingers further inside me, his palm grinding against my sensitive skin as my body bucks in his grip. “Answer me.”
“No!” My cry echoes around the room as he moves faster, the familiar wave building in my core.
When he abruptly stops, pulling his hand free just as I’m on the crest, I groan. His wet fingers move to my throat, cupping the skin as he leisurely rubs my own scent into me, marking me.
“Believe in us,” he whispers against my lips. “Whatever hardships lie ahead, little prey. We will face them together. You’re not alone in this.”
His words are fierce, and a lump appears in my throat as I nod.
I don’t feel alone, not with Enzo wrapped around me, his hands on my skin and his promises in my ear.
“Take me somewhere,” I say. “Anywhere.”
He smirks, and it’s almost devilish. “What did you think we were doing on this bike?”
I hear a zip crackle in the quiet, and Enzo pulls me forward.
The head of his cock rubs against me, warm and demanding, and he catches my cry with his lips as he pushes inside me, stretching me until I’m completely seated on him.
The slight burn is a welcome one, and he taps my legs. “Keep your feet where I showed you.”
My feet tap around, until I feel the edges with my toes. “Is this safe?” I ask him breathlessly. I have a feeling that Maverick will not be happy.
“If you wanted safe,” he drawls in my ear, “you would have run from us at the first opportunity, little prey. You don’t want safe . You want lightning in your blood and electricity in your veins.”
His hands reach around me. “Hold on to me. Don’t let go.”
The machine rumbles to life underneath me, sending vibrations rolling through my body as I press my knees against Enzo and tighten my hold on his neck. He turns his head, pressing his lips to my ear.
“The only thing I want you thinking about,” he growls, “is the feel of me inside you. This body is ours, little prey. Remember who you belong to.”
Any response I might have given is lost in the rush of wind as the bike darts forward. My hands tighten around Enzo as I gasp, but he doesn’t flinch, his chest strong and steady beneath me as I squeeze my eyes shut, my head tucked into the crook between his head and shoulders.
The bike gathers speed, and I crack my eyes open as the house starts to get smaller and smaller behind us. We’re flying down the main road, and I take in the trees on either side, blurs of orange and green and brown that bleed into each other in the early morning light.
Air rushes past me, wind pressing against my back, pushing me further into Enzo as we move faster than I ever thought was possible.
My eyes open wider and wider, the exhilaration of pure freedom bleeding through me as I laugh in delight, my head tipping back.
This… this is everything.
I keep my eyes firmly open, not wanting to miss a thing as we drive down a smooth road. Enzo slows the bike to a stop, and I twist around to take in the sight of the tall gates sliding open.
“You ready?” he asks, and I grin. The fear curdling inside my mind is pushed away, shoved into a dark corner, still there but not overpowering.
“Yes,” I call. My throat tightens with excitement as the engine makes a roaring noise, and then we’re soaring past the gates, pulling onto a main road dotted with other vehicles. I lose myself in the sensation of flying, the way we weave in and out of the moving cars.
The world moves around us, impossibly big but right there , close enough for me to reach out my hand and entangle myself.
Enzo was right. This is what freedom tastes like.
***
When we finally stop, my heart is full, my body on edge with the motion of the bike combined with the feel of Enzo inside me. I soften against him, my hands stroking the tuft of hair at the nape of his neck as he turns off the engine. “Welcome to Queensbridge Park, little prey.”
“That was… everything.” My eyes are wide as I lean back to stare at him, then around us. “Can we do that every day?”
His hands drop to my hips, his voice low. “We can do it for the rest of our lives. If you want to.”
My breath hitches. The rest of our lives.
My thoughts snap off as Enzo twists his hips, the motion making him rotate inside me and bringing me right back to the here and now.
“Oh,” I gasp. He pushes me back into the bars, his fingers rubbing over my slit as my back arches. The fire builds again, slow molten lava in my abdomen growing as he holds me in place and thrusts his hips against mine.
He keeps his movements slow and rhythmic, and I lose myself in the feeling of him pushing inside me, over and over again.
His hand finds my throat, the loose collar a comfort as he strokes the skin in time with his thrusts. “Tell me what you feel, little prey.”
My eyes feel lazy and languid as I blink at him. “I feel… you inside me.”
He half smiles. “As you should.” He encompasses his words with a push that brings a moan to my lips, and he kisses it away. “What else?”
My head lolls to the side, and my lips part.
A river rushes next to us, turbulent liquid glass that glitters with the bright light of the morning sunshine.
Above us is a huge gray metal structure, twisting in columns up into the air and reaching across the river, bringing the faint sound of cars to my ears.
On the other side of the riverbank, the city stretches out, thousands of people going about their lives with certainty.
They know what their life looks like. They have a routine, a family, a plan .
Enzo twists my chin back to face him, slowing his movements. “Tell me.”
“I feel like I’m on the edge of something.” The words are almost soundless, a confession pulled straight from my chest. “Like everything is going to be different now. A whole life stretches out in front of me and I don’t know what it’s going to look like.”
He shifts. “None of us know what our lives will look like, little prey,” he says, almost gently. “All we can do is adapt to the changes that come. And they come for everyone.”
I nod, slowly. “I don’t want to lose this,” I tell him pleadingly. “Whatever happens, Enzo.”
“I won’t let that happen,” he whispers back to me. “I promise, prey. I told you that you’re ours, and I meant it. For all our days, from now until hell takes us.”
He moves inside me, and it’s so gentle it brings tears to my eyes.
“It would take Lucifer himself to tear me away from you.”
My release is a slow, smoldering pleasure that tips me over the edge of a waterfall, sweeping me out to sea. My hands grip Enzo, holding his shoulders tightly.
“You won’t leave me.”
A belief.
“Never, prey. Never.”
A vow.
When the small aftershocks have drained from my body, Enzo lifts my lethargic body off the bike, ignoring my protests, and carries me over to a bench overlooking the river. Tugging my sweater down to cover me, he settles down with me in his lap.
His hands run over my arms, the tops of my legs, slow and reassuring as I stare out over the water. The slight tang of the river fills my nose, and I wrinkle it.
When I mention it to Enzo, he snorts. “Nothing in this world does as much damage as humanity, prey. Every one of us is toxic to the ground we walk on.”
I poke his arm. “There’s good out there too, you know.”
“I know,” he says. He’s not looking at me. “I’m holding it.”
Oh. A warmth infuses my chest, and I lean back against him. “Enzo?”
“Mmm?”
“The man from the gallery. Emerson. I think… I don’t think his daughter died in a fire.”
“No,” he says, and his voice is gentle. “Are you ready to go back?”
The unspoken words hang in the air.
But I need to face this. If I’m right, then everything will change.
And not even Enzo can stop it.