Chapter Ten
Caught in a Storm
M alichai
She acts like I’m not even here. It’s been three of the longest, most tense hours of my life. Being in war is less stressful than trying to figure out this woman. I want nothing more than to go to her and wrap her in my arms, but I’m not exactly sure she would reciprocate. My dragon has fallen silent, irritated by the fact that she is ignoring us but content to be around her for the foreseeable future.
The cold is also making my leg act up. It hurts like a motherfucker, and I should be sitting. But I grit my teeth and push through the pain, never looking away from her for a second.
She is pissed off that my father told me what he did, even if I don’t know the full story. She is pissed that I confronted her about it. I want to apologize for leaving her alone with a monster all those years ago. I want to beg her forgiveness, but I have no idea where to start. I want to take this time we have alone together and tell her the truth, tell her I want to be with her, and I don’t care what anyone says or thinks.
I know how I feel. I know what my beast craves. What scares me, and I don’t scare easily, is the fact that she may not feel the same. She may see me as an extension of the monster that hurt her, and the thought is slowly tearing me apart.
I watch her from my spot at the kitchen table. She is curled up on the couch, a thick fluffy blanket covering her knees as she works on her laptop. She frowns, and I know the time has come. Her battery is running low. She won’t be able to ignore me forever.
Laying the device on the coffee table beside her, she rises and stomps into the kitchen, not once looking in my direction. The yoga pants she is wearing draw my gaze to her perfect ass and thick thighs, driving me crazy with need.
My dragon perks up, pushing me to go to her, to mount and claim her, but he needs to back the fuck off. This situation calls for some finesse, not his brand of bullheadedness.
“Are you hungry?” she asks, opening one cupboard after another.
It takes me a moment to reply. “Sure. But I would really like to talk to you.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she says, not looking at me. “What happened, happened. I’ve moved on and I don’t want to relive it. Why can’t you just leave it alone?”
“Because he hurt you!” My anger at the situation makes me snap at her. My dragon huffs in irritation that she won’t allow us to help her heal.
“That was a long time ago,” she says, turning to face me with tears streaming down her face. “I don’t ... I can’t relive it.”
Moving to her, I cup her face in my hands. Using the pad of my thumb, I swipe away her tears.
“He’ll never hurt you or anyone else again,” I say with finality.
“You can’t say that. You don’t know that.” She shakes her head, stepping away from me once more.
“I can. He will never touch you again.” My voice is emotionless. “I am head of the Black family now and my father is gone forever.”
“What?” she exclaims, terror coating her features. “Is he dead? Is there a problem with the family? Are other families coming here? Do I need to be worried?”
“No,” I say, leaning my hip against the counter. “I don’t know if he is dead, but he is no longer in charge. After he told me what he did, I snapped. I’m the head of the Black family now and his men will follow me.”
“Why would you do that? You hate the family business.”
“Because he hurt you.”
It’s as simple as that. I’m trained as a killer, courtesy of the realm. Not to mention the training I was put through in my formative years by my father himself. He hurt someone I love, and I took what he loved most. There were no second thoughts on my behalf. Silence descends on us, each working through everything we just said.
“How long do you think the storm will last?” she asks, changing the subject while removing a pot and some canned soup.
“No way to tell. Could be a couple of hours, could be days,” I reply cautiously. “Enough time for us to talk.” I know she doesn’t want to but I need to know the truth so I can help her heal.
Her gaze clashes with mine, a hint of fear in the depths before she turns her back on me to continue with the food.
“As soon as it calms a bit, I’ll go out to my truck and get the extra supplies I brought and take a look at the generator.” I try to assuage some of her fears. “It will be okay.”
She spins to glare at me. “How the hell will any of this be okay?” she sneers. “I’m trapped in a cabin, in a snowstorm, with the last person on earth I want to spend time with! You keep pushing for things I can’t give you. You shouldn’t have come here.”
She slams a bowl of lukewarm soup in front of me before walking away, leaving her own food. I hear the door to the bedroom slam shut.
How the hell did that go so badly?
****
I waited over an hour for her to come out of the room, but she didn’t. I won’t force her to be around me even if my dragon demands we go to her. Her words from earlier make it clear how she feels about me.
My beast sulks, wanting her near us again. He doesn’t understand that she doesn’t want us. It hurts to know she doesn’t feel the same way I do, but it doesn’t do anything to diminish my feelings. I will always love Lyrik. And that means I will always do what is best for her. Even if that means letting her go. Even when it hurts worse than any other pain I’ve felt in my entire life.
Grabbing my bag from beside the door, I head to the bathroom for a shower. I need to clear my head, and I hope there is still some warm water left with the power outage. The heat will help my throbbing leg.
I listen for sounds of movement from the bedroom but hear nothing. I light a candle I found in the kitchen to illuminate the small bathroom. Inside I find nothing but a shower, basin, and toilet but Lyrik has tried to make it pretty. Dark red bath mats are on the floor and some plants sit on a shelf.
Opening the water, I allow it to run for a moment while I strip down before hopping under the lukewarm water. I wash my hair and body before reverting to my regular habits.
Taking my hard cock in hand, I stroke from root to tip with thoughts of the woman in the room across the hall. The soft grey jersey she is wearing today left an expanse of creamy shoulder exposed to my gaze and her black tights hugged the full shape of her ass and thick thighs perfectly. I’ve been at half-mast since I walked through the door hours ago.
Stroking myself, I up the tempo until I can feel the tingle in my balls. My orgasm rushes down on me, thoughts of Lyrik slamming into my mind.
“Lyrik,” I moan as my cum splatters against the white tile wall.
My breathing is harsh in the small bathroom, my heart beating violently against my rib cage as I try to regain some semblance of composure before shutting off the water.
My attention is so consumed with thoughts of the woman I love but will never have, that I almost miss the click of the bathroom door shutting. I know I closed that door firmly. Did my little stepsister just watch me masturbate in the shower?