Chapter 33
Thirty-Three
VAUGHN
I’m on cloud nine. I can’t say there’s been a time when I was happier. Sophie is resting her head on my chest and running her fingers up and down my abs.
“What are you thinking?” she asks.
“I’m thinking that I never want to get out of this bed.”
She laughs. “Why? Have I tired you already?”
“Tired? What are you talking about? I’ve barely started.”
She lifts her head and looks into my eyes. “True. What do you want to do next?”
I touch her face. It seems I can’t stop doing that. “It’s not what I want. It’s what you want. I’m patient, Soph. We don’t have to rush into anything.”
Her brows pinch together. “You fear I’ll have another panic attack.”
“It’s in the back of my mind, yeah.”
“Did you… did you see more of my memories?”
“I blocked them.”
Her pretty eyes widen. “You did? How? I didn’t know it was possible.”
I run my fingers through my hair. “I don’t know. When I drank from you, there was a rush of information flooding my brain. But I knew you didn’t want me to see certain memories, so I just stopped them.”
She sits up but keeps her hand on my chest. “I can’t believe you’d be able to do that in the heat of the moment. That’s the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever done for me.”
I shrug. “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.”
“You’re more than a nice guy, Vaughn. You’re a unicorn.”
I laugh. “A unicorn? I’ve never been called that before.”
“It’s something new I learned.” She smiles a little. “It means you’re special.”
“I know what it means, sweetheart.”
She blushes, which obviously makes me want to kiss her again, but I stay put, sensing she wants to tell me something.
“You deserve to know why I was triggered that evening in the forest.”
My stomach coils. I can only imagine the horrific memory that made her react like that. “You don’t need to tell me anything if you’re not ready.”
“I know, but I want to, because keeping it a secret just gives the painful memory more strength. I can’t change the past, but I don’t need to let it drag me down.”
I sit up. “All right. I’m all ears.”
She drops her gaze to the mattress and lets out a heavy exhale. “I was raped by Boone.”
Every muscle in my body turns to stone, and my blood becomes ice in my veins. The only thing alive in me is the rage that erupts from the pit of my stomach and spreads like violence through my body.
Sophie looks at me, and I don’t know what she sees in my face, but she lets out a gasp. “Vaughn?”
Tears that I didn’t even know were forming roll down my cheeks. I pull her to me, crushing her into a bear hug. “I’m so sorry, my love. So sorry.”
She relaxes in my arms, but she’s shaking. “Me too. I’d always known to keep a wide berth from him, but there was one evening that I wasn’t careful. I didn’t notice he had followed me until it was too late. I wasn’t strong enough to fight him off.”
“What happened to you wasn’t your fault. Boone was an evil monster. I’m sorry that Lucca didn’t kill him sooner.”
“He’s dead now, and I don’t want the last memory I have of him to follow me everywhere like a bloody shadow.”
I push her back so I can look into her eyes once more. “We’ll never speak of him again.”
She nods but seems unable to utter words.
“Thank you for telling me.” I kiss her softly, thinking that tenderness is what she needs right now.
But Sophie picks up the pace, tilting her head so she can deepen the kiss. Her fire ignites my own. I let her take control, knowing she needs this. Her hand roams freely over my arms, then down my abs until her fingers find the waistband of my underwear. I’m so hard, it hurts.
“Soph, you drive me crazy,” I whisper against her mouth.
“I want to make new memories with you, Vaughn. Help me forget.”
“Of course, beautiful. Anything you want.”
Her hand disappears inside my boxer shorts, making me hiss when she touches the tip of my cock. I’m already dying, but I’m at her mercy. If she wants to torture me like this, I’m game.
She wraps her fingers around my shaft and slides her hand up and down, drawing a groan from me. I need to touch her too, so I cup her breasts and play with them until her nipples turn as hard as little rocks.
“Yes,” she murmurs, arching her back.
I stretch her tank top, pulling it down so I can uncover her lovely breasts. I need a fucking taste. She moans when I swipe my tongue over her nipple, teasing the bud, and her hand moves faster. At this rate, I’m gonna jizz in my underwear again.
“Sophie… I’m about to explode here.”
She slides off me, making me fear I said the wrong thing, but then she removes her panties, and I almost do come prematurely. I’m tongue-tied and staring at her pussy like I’ve never seen a naked woman before.
“Is something wrong?” she asks.
Heat spreads across my face, and I look up quickly. “Nothing is wrong.”
She smiles knowingly. “Do you want to touch me?”
“Yes, please.”
She straddles me and rubs her wet pussy over my cock. “Go on, you can do it.”
I don’t need to be asked twice. I press my thumb over her clit, then rub it from side to side. Sophie braces her hand against the headboard and gasps.
Then she gyrates her hips, increasing the torture. My balls are so fucking tight, I don’t know how much longer I’ll last.
“Do you like that, beautiful?” I rasp.
“God, yes. But I want more.” She lifts her hips a little, then guides my cock to her entrance. She’s so slick that it wouldn’t take much effort to slide home.
But she’s the one who decides when, and thankfully, she’s done waiting. She lowers her hips until I’m all the way inside her, stretching her to the max. I grab a fistful of her hair and kiss her hard, focusing on not climaxing yet.
We don’t speak as she starts to move, slowly at first. But then we’re caught in a maelstrom, creating a loud and beautiful symphony as we move together, chasing the ultimate bliss.
I don’t know where I end and she begins.
I’m caught between wanting to prolong the chase for as long as I can and arriving at the destination.
My self-control can only last for so long before it snaps. I groan against her lips, shaking as the orgasm hits me like a tsunami wave. I’m undone, destroyed in the best way.