Chapter 21 Lina
— · —
Lina
It was as if he turned into someone else entirely.
The moment those words left my mouth, Knox’s eyes went dark, almost feral, pupils blown wide until there was barely any color left, and every trace of restraint vanished from his face.
His hands grabbed my thighs, fingers sinking into the soft flesh just above my knees, and yanked me forward until I was flushed against his chest. My breasts pressed flat against his hard muscles, the shirt falling from where I was grabbing it and making my nipples scrape over the coarse hair on his pecs, sending jolts straight to my core.
One of his hands tangled into my hair at the nape of my neck, gripping tight enough to sting my scalp, tilting my head back as he absolutely devoured my mouth.
This kiss was nothing like the ones before.
This was claiming, consuming. His tongue pushed past my lips, forcing them open wider, and stroked against mine with a desperation that made my toes curl in the air.
He sucked on my tongue, then thrust deep, mimicking what I wanted lower down, his stubble scraping my chin raw.
Saliva mixed between us, dripping from the corner of my mouth as he angled his head to go deeper.
“Fucking hell, Lina,” he growled as his hips rocked against me, grinding up in short, hard thrusts that made his cock slide through my folds. The head caught on my entrance each time, nudging but not entering, coating himself in my wetness that leaked steadily from me.
And god, I was wet. Soaking. I could feel my arousal dripping down, a warm trickle sliding over my inner lips to coat his length, making obscene wet smacks every time he moved against me.
I should have been embarrassed by how much I was leaking.
Instead, I just wanted more, wanted him to feel how ready I was, how my body craved him.
“Knox,” I whimpered against his mouth, the sound muffled as his lips bruised mine.
He swallowed the sound and kissed me harder, his free hand gripping my ass cheek, fingers spreading me open slightly as he pulled me impossibly closer.
His palm covered half my ass, kneading the flesh, thumb brushing the crease where it met my thigh.
I could feel his cock twitching against my pussy, the vein along the underside pulsing against my clit, and the head brushing that swollen nub with every roll of his hips.
The friction was maddening, hot glides that built pressure but never satisfied.
Not enough. I needed more. I needed him inside me, splitting me open, pounding until I couldn’t think.
Suddenly he was standing, lifting me while keeping our bodies pressed together, his arms flexing under my thighs.
My legs locked around his waist, ankles crossing at the small of his back, heels digging into his ass to hold on.
I clung to him, my arms wrapped around his shoulders, nails scratching down his back muscles, leaving red trails on his skin.
My mouth still fused to his, tongues tangling sloppy and urgent, teeth nipping at his lower lip until I tasted a faint copper tang.
He walked us through the living room, his bare feet padding over the rug, nearly tripping over the coffee table.
His shin bumped it with a thud that rattled the remotes, but he didn’t stop, just growled low in his throat and adjusted.
And then we were at the stairs. He took them two at a time, hips bucking up with each step to keep his cock rubbing against my folds, the motion making me gasp into his mouth.
Somehow managing not to drop me, his mouth never left mine, sucking on my bottom lip, then biting down just hard enough to make me yelp.
It was hot. Incredibly, ridiculously hot, the way he manhandled me like I was his to take anywhere, anytime.
We reached the top of the stairs and he turned toward the bedroom, kicking the door open with his heel, the wood banging against the wall.
He then kicked it closed behind us, the slam echoing through the room like a gunshot.
My back was against the door, the wood cool and smooth against my heated skin, a stark contrast to the fire building inside me.
The impact jarred a moan from my throat, my pussy clenching emptily at the roughness.
I linked my arms tighter around his shoulders, one hand yanking at his hair, twisting the strands until he hissed, the other clutching the hard muscle of his back, feeling it shift under my palm as he pressed forward.
He pinned me there with his body, chest to chest, hips grinding in slow circles now, his cock grinding against my center.
The head nudged my clit repeatedly, slick with our combined fluids, while the shaft dragged through my slit, parting my lips wide.
“You’re doing so good, baby,” he groaned against my neck, hot breath fanning my skin as his lips latched on, sucking a mark just below my ear. “So fucking good.”
I whimpered and rocked my hips up, chasing more friction, trying to angle so his cockhead would catch inside me, but he held me firm, teasing. My clit throbbed under the pressure, swollen and aching, every grind sending sparks up my spine.
“I love you so fucking much,” he continued, his teeth grazing my collarbone, nipping the skin before soothing with his tongue. “You’re a goddess, Lina. You’re driving me insane.”
Every word sent sparks through my chest, mixing with the heat pooling low in my belly.
Yes, yes, yes, my body seemed to say. This is what we were missing.
This is what we needed. What kept us linked to this world, what stopped us from disappearing into the void.
This connection to this person right here.
He had saved me. I didn’t remember how, didn’t remember the details, but I knew it in my bones. This man had pulled me back from the darkness. Had waited for me. Had loved me even when I couldn’t love him back.
And now I could feel him. Not just his body against mine, but his pleasure echoing in my chest, a warmth that spread through my veins. His love wrapped around me, his devotion, his desperate need. It was overwhelming. Beautiful and terrifying.
I broke the kiss, gasping for air. “Knox.”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I feel you.” I pressed my hand to my chest, right over my heart. “Inside. I can feel what you’re feeling.”
His eyes softened, even as his hips continued their relentless grinding. “Yes, baby. It’s the mate bond.”
He ducked his head and pressed his lips to my neck, kissing along the column of my throat. Then he found a spot, right where my neck met my shoulder, and my entire body jolted.
“Oh my god,” I cried out. “That’s... that spot, gods...”
Knox chuckled against my skin, the vibration sending shivers down my spine. “This is where I first bit you. When I claimed you as mine.”
And then he bit me.
His teeth sank into that tender spot, not hard enough to break skin but hard enough to send a shockwave of pleasure through my entire body. I screamed, my back arching off the door, my pussy clenching around nothing as an orgasm slammed into me out of nowhere.
I came so hard I saw stars. My body shook and trembled, my pussy dripping down onto his skin, my moans filling the room. He held me through it, his mouth still on my neck, his arms keeping me pinned against the door while pleasure crashed through me in endless waves.
And then the memories came.
Fragments. Pieces. A young girl running through a bookstore, her parents laughing behind her.
A woman with gray hair and kind eyes, teaching her to bake.
Two small faces, wrinkled and pink, placed in her arms for the first time.
A beast with red eyes, crashing through a shop window.
Another beast, larger, darker, standing between her and danger.
Knox. His name was Knox.
A car ride, accusing a man with green eyes of kidnapping. Small voices telling her not to leave. Noah’s house. A wedding dress. A kiss at an altar.
The twins blowing out candles on a cake. Knox reading them a bedtime story, doing ridiculous voices that made them giggle. Laughter. So much laughter and happiness.
The memories flooded back, not all of them, not even most of them, but enough. Enough to know who she was. Who he was. What they had built together.
Tears streamed down my face as the orgasm faded, leaving me shaking and overwhelmed in Knox’s arms.
“Knox,” I whispered. “Knox, I remember.”
He pulled back, his eyes searching my face. “What?”
“Not everything. There are still gaps. But I remember...” I touched his face, tracing the line of his jaw, the curve of his cheekbones. “I remember you. I remember us.”
His breath caught. “Lina...”
“I’ve missed you,” I said, and the words came from somewhere deep inside me, from that place that had known him even when my mind didn’t. “I’ve missed you so fucking much.”
Tears welled in his eyes. This massive, powerful man, crying because I remembered him.
“Baby,” he breathed.
“Knox.” I grabbed his face, forcing him to look at me, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “Fuck me. Now. Please. I need to feel you inside me.”
He didn’t need to be told twice.
His arms tightened around my waist, lifting me off the door with a grunt, my legs still wrapped around him as he carried me the few steps to the bed.
He laid me down gently on the mattress, the sheets cool against my back, following me down until his body covered mine, his weight pressing me into the soft fabric.
I spread my legs wider, wrapping them around his waist, heels hooking over his ass and pulling him closer.
His cock nudged against my entrance, the thick head parting my slick folds, hot and insistent, smearing my wetness along the underside.
“Are you completely, one hundred percent sure?” he asked, his voice strained with the effort of holding back, forehead pressed to mine. “I don’t want to hurt you, love.”
“Oh my god, YES,” I groaned, arching up to meet him, my pussy aching emptily.