Chapter 6
HARLOW
With only a few long strides, I’m down the hall. The second I hit the boundary line to my small living room, I leap, catching him off guard.
Ahhh…but Cipher moves faster.
“What the…”
His phone tumbles to the carpet with a thud and I release a war cry that would make the gods of all creations beam with pride.
Cipher isn’t as impressed. The fucker–my new nickname for him apparently–catches me mid-air, his arms like steel bands around me.
“Someone has been naughty.”
“Put me down, you fucker!” I snap my teeth at his nose, ear and anything else I can reach.
He just chuckles and carries me back to the bed with a wicked, rough laugh.
The mattress groans beneath our weight, sheets twisted and already damp from the mess we made earlier.
The air between us is electric, thick with the smell of sweat, sex, and scorched wood from the fire.
It’s a cocktail of everything dangerous I crave and everything I should resist.
He falls over me, arms braced on either side of my head, his eyes go molten and wild. His cock slips between my thighs, thick and hot. He drags the thick, veined length through my juices, wetting us both.
He growls with appreciation before he purrs, “Already wet for me, baby.”
“Fuck you!”
All I’d have to do is roll my hips to take him in again. I don’t. Not yet.
I twist, trying to scuttle away, but Cipher isn’t having it. He grabs my ankles, drags me down until my spine arches and he takes what he preserves as an offering and devours my breasts. He works one tip and then the other, torturing me beyond pleasure.
He breaks away and I’m suddenly pinned under his stare.
My pulse skitters, heat washing through my body as he flips me to my belly, then pulls me up so I’m on my knees, back arched, face pressed to the pillow.
His callused hands glide over the ink of my phoenix and he pauses briefly to trace the lines of the bird.
One of its wings curls over my right shoulder while the other graces the tops of my left ass cheek.
He lingers there a moment longer before his touch finds my hips. His burning touch sinks into the tender flesh of my ass. Come morning I’ll have more bruising but I can’t seem to care right now. His touch turns possessive and hungry as he holds me right where he wants me.
I try to scurry up the bed again, to where I don’t know.
“Trying to run, hellcat?” His voice is a gravel-drag across my nerves, low and dangerous.
I huff, breathless. “I’m nobody’s captive.”
He laughs, the sound hot against the shell of my ear when he falls over me and presses the length of his cock between my ass cheeks. “You’re right. You’re mine. And only mine. That’s not the same thing.”
His chest is hot and solid against my back. The rough stubble of his jaw grazes my shoulder, making me shudder. I push back against him, grinding my ass into his cock, loving the feral, animal sound he makes in his throat.
“Reach back and put your hands on your ass,” he growls, voice ragged with command. “Show me everything. Don’t hide from me.”
It’s instinct, the way I obey. I reach back, hands spreading my cheeks, exposing every vulnerable, throbbing inch to his gaze. I can’t see his face, but I feel his obsession, the sharp bite of his stare burning along my skin.
“Fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, more to himself than to me.
I turn my head, catching the dark hunger on his face. His eyes are dark green, wild, and so locked on me I feel devoured. There’s no shame here. Just want. Pure and in its raw form.
He kneels behind me, hands spanning the curve of my ass, and then he lowers his mouth to my pussy. His tongue is hot, relentless, flicking over my clit and then diving deep, fucking me with his mouth. My knees shake, the room spinning as pleasure coils tighter and tighter inside me.
He eats me like he’s starving, like he hasn’t tasted me in years and is determined to memorize my essence. My cries echo off the cabin walls, breathless and desperate. Just when I’m about to fall apart, when the tension is about to snap, he stops.
“Damn you, Cipher!” I gasp, grinding down, desperate for friction. Don’t do this to me again.”
He spanks my ass, sharp and stinging, and my whole body jolts. He teases a slick finger around my other entrance, pressing in as his tongue circles my clit again. Pleasure spikes and my legs threaten to give out.
“Yes, damn me,” he murmurs, lost in his own lust. “You were made for this, Harlow. For me.”
He pulls away, just enough to make me whimper in frustration. Then, without warning, he pushes inside me—one hard, perfect thrust that has me crying out, my climax ripping through me with the force of a blizzard. Hot liquid pulses out of me, and he groans, driving deeper.
“That’s it,” he growls. “Grip my cock. Squeeze me. Give me all that sweet juice, baby. All mine. Every last drop.”
He lifts me, pressing my back to his chest, holding me open for his relentless thrusts. His arm locks around my waist, the other hand roaming over my breasts, tugging at my nipples, pinching, rolling them until my breath comes in frantic, broken gasps.
And then, with a wicked gleam, he slides his palm down, fingers slipping between my thighs. He smacks my pussy, sharp and sudden, and pleasure explodes. Warmth gushes down my legs and over his cock, slicking every thrust.
“Oh my god, Cipher—do it again.”
Smack.
A scream tears from my lips, pure and raw. I twist, reaching behind me, grabbing the back of his neck, pulling his mouth to mine. Our tongues clash, messy and wild, and he never stops moving inside me. He’s everywhere, overwhelming, and I want to drown in him.
I bite his bottom lip, hard enough to taste copper, and he growls, biting me back, owning every part of me—mind, body, and soul.
The bed rocks, metal slamming against the wall. The world narrows to the place where we’re joined, to the filthy, beautiful way he ruins me and puts me back together, all in the same heartbeat.
He whispers against my ear, “Tell me you’re mine, Harlow. Say it. I need to hear it. Tell me we still have a chance.”
I want to deny him. I want to keep that last piece of myself, but it’s a lie. Every muscle in my body tightens, straining toward him, needing him.
“Yours,” I breathe, tears burning in my eyes. “I always was.”
He shudders, thrusting deeper, losing himself inside me. His arms lock me tight, and for one wild moment, I let myself believe we could have it all again.
Cipher
She doesn’t see it coming. She doesn’t recognize the way her body breaks for me, the way she tries so hard to fight but melts under my touch.
But I do. She’s still in love with me.
Harlow Montgomery is the only woman who’s ever made me feel like a king and a sinner in the same breath. Every sound she makes, every shiver, every curse, is a prayer I’d do anything to answer.
When she says she’s mine, something inside me cracks wide open.
My arms band around her, holding her tight against my chest. Her skin is flushed, slick with sweat, and her hair is a wild tangle that I brush aside to kiss her neck.
I taste salt from the faint trace of her tears.
I know I should be gentle, should say the things I never did before I walked away, but I can’t.
Not when she feels this good. Not when she’s shaking for me, trusting me, begging without words for more.
I turn her in my arms, lay her back on the bed, and watch her eyes go dark and dangerous. She’s still a fighter, still ready to claw me apart if I hurt her again. I welcome it. I want every piece of her anger and fury so I can take it away and replace it with calm love.
I trail my hand down her stomach, fingers lingering at the hollow just above her mound. She shudders, lips parted, eyes searching my face for a sign of weakness, a crack in the armor. I give her nothing but honesty.
“I left you because I was a coward, Harlow. I thought I was protecting you, but really, I was just protecting myself from what loving you would cost. I can’t do it anymore. I can’t let you go. I thought I had to pick between you and my brotherhood. I was wrong to put you second. Please forgive me.”
She blinks, surprise and anger and hope all fighting for space on her face. Before she can speak, I thrust back inside her, burying myself to the hilt, holding her gaze the whole time. Her legs lock around my waist, heels digging in, pulling me deeper.
This time, I make love to her like it’s the last night on earth. No games, no rough edges. I set a slow, grinding rhythm that lets her feel every inch, every pulse, every ragged breath I have for only her.
Her nails rake down my back, marking me as hers. She kisses me, desperate, and I taste the hope she holds deep inside her chest. I taste forgiveness and the kind of longing that only comes from years apart.
I lose myself in her, in the way her body welcomes me, in the way her heart beats against mine, stubborn and wild.
The world outside the cabin disappears. There’s no war, no hit list, no Vultures or Russians or ghosts.
There’s just us, tangled up in sweat and love and a need that’s too big for words.
Her climax hits first, sudden and violent, her body clenching around me, milking every drop. I follow with a shout, spilling inside her, letting go of everything I’ve been holding back for years.
For a long moment, we don’t move. I rest my forehead against hers, breath mingling, heart still thundering.
“I’m not leaving you again,” I promise. “Not for anyone. Not for anything.”
She cups my cheek, eyes shining. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Cipher.”
But I know, for the first time, I mean it.
I roll us onto our sides, wrapping her in my arms, holding her close as the fire burns low and the world outside closes in. She fits against me like she always did…like she was made for me.
As sleep pulls her under, I keep watch. For the monsters outside. For the doubts inside. For every chance to make her mine again, every day I’m given.
Because loving Harlow is my new mission and I’ll do anything to protect it.
Anything.