Chapter 28
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Aven
The tiny purse buzzes at the girl’s side, but she’s too panicked to feel it. I clutch her squirming body against mine and try to think of a way to show her it’s me without showing her it’s me. I pull the phone from my pocket and shove it into her face.
Her green eyes widen, then focus. She relaxes against me.
I grip her tighter, asking if she’s good now, and she nods. I let her go.
Without missing a beat, she starts pummeling my chest with her wee fists. She’s so cute when she’s mad.
“I thought you were my stalker! I thought you were trying to warn me that he was after me!”
I shake my head and type out another text.
I’m going to chase you like one of those men in your books.
Seconds pass before the phone buzzes in her hand. Jim’s rigged cell service is far from reliable, and the shitty signal takes ages longer than it should to reach her device.
Realization dawns as she reads it, and she smacks her forehead. “Oh my gosh. You were just trying to help me fulfill a fantasy.”
I nod enthusiastically, and the black hockey mask nearly slides off my head.
“What happened to the signature green?”
I type another reply.
I did the best I could with what I had on hand.
Quinn circles me, appraising me from every angle, and I’m melting under her scrutiny. Does she notice anything that reminds her of Aven? You know, the person I actually am? But she doesn’t seem to make the connection as she stops in front of me.
“I mean, I’m not complaining. We just might have to change your name.” She sighs. “Then again, after tonight, you may not see me again. Come have a seat on the bench. We need to talk.”
She’s about to break up with me so that she can be with me. How fucked is this? I should just stop everything right now and tell her the truth. Then she can be with me without any guilt.
Or she could decide you’re a piece of shit, and then you’ll never see her again.
Aye, there’s that.
Fuck, this is why I don’t do lies and secrets. It’s too fucking complicated.
I join her on the bench, but I don’t take her hands in mine. The lass needs my strength, but that’s an Aven thing to do, and I don’t want to confuse her more than I have. Without anything to do, her hands begin fidgeting with her dress. It’s killing me.
“I really like spending time with you,” she begins. “Well, fucking you.”
I almost laugh, but I bite my tongue.
“It’s just not enough, though. I don’t even know what you look like, and while I don’t care, it’s still hard to imagine things with you when I can’t imagine you.”
I respond via text.
It’s complicated.
She reads the message and offers a humorless laugh.
“This is what I mean. We can’t even have a conversation.
” She shakes her head and lowers the phone.
“Meanwhile, the man I can talk to and look at doesn’t want to touch me.
Or rather, he doesn’t want me to touch him.
Why can’t the two of you compare notes?”
I wrap my arm around her before she can start to cry. What a godforsaken mess I’ve created.
“Worst of all, I still want to fuck you,” she mutters. “Does that make me a bad person?”
I snatch up the phone and type as fast as my fingers can fly.
One last time for old time’s sake?
I can’t help it. I’m a monster, and she’s the only thing that soothes the beast.
She laughs when she reads the message, and the sound lightens my heart. “That’s the whole problem. I don’t want it to be the last time.”
As she looks up at me, I know that I have to tell her the truth. There is no more room to run. After I fuck her senseless, I’ll get a good night’s sleep and break the news to her in the morning.
Run
She laughs again and shows me the phone. “Oh look, you sent it twice.”
I stare at her and cock my head.
“Oh shit,” she breathes. A grin slides onto her face. “You’re serious?”
I nod.
As she jumps from the bench and takes off, she’s more like a giddy lass than a woman running for her life. She’s all smiles and squeals. No matter. I like my prey willing when it’s her.
I give her a good head start before I rise and start the hunt. It’s easy enough to follow her at first, but I soon lose the trail. When the path branches in three directions, I’m left scratching my head as I peer into the trees.
A flash of blonde hair disappears into the foliage.
My quarry has gone off the trail, it seems, so I follow suit.
Branches crack under my weight, and I push forward as glimpses of her spur me on.
She’s smiling still, but that smile will fade soon enough.
I pull a blade from my hip and wave it at her the next time she turns around.
Just as I expected, her smile drops. “Oh, shit,” she mutters before colliding with a tree. “We didn’t discuss weapons!”
She knows the safeword. If she’s smart, she’ll use it. I won’t stop unless she does.
Panic grips her in a chokehold as she rights herself and takes off again.
I worry about her poor feet, but the ground is mostly leaf litter through here.
She’s choosing the easier way through. Unfortunately for her, it’s even easier for those of us with shoes, and I’m on her in the next few seconds.
I band my arm around her waist, pinning her arms at her sides.
In two flicks of my wrist, I’ve separated those elegant straps from the dress.
The top falls away, exposing her breasts.
I want nothing more than to lower my mouth and devour those perfectly pink nipples, but the damned mask prevents so much.
My hand moves to her mouth. She struggles and screams against the glove as I drag the dull end of the blade against her cheek.
Her eyes close, and tears pop from the corners.
I snatch my hand away from her mouth, terrified I’ve genuinely hurt her, but she’s smiling behind my gloved grip.
Confused, I hold her at arm’s length and cock my masked head.
“What are you doing?” she belts. “Consensual non-consent . . . If I’m uncomfortable, I'll say the safeword. Now fucking use me!"
I step into her and grab her hair in a firm hold, snatching back her head.
“That’s more like it,” she says through gritted teeth.
I spin her around and pin her against a tree. She resumes the fight, but when I ram my knee between her thighs and force her to spread those pretty legs, she grips the trunk and steadies herself. The wee lass thinks I’m just going to have my way with her and be done.
Not even close.
I drop to my knees behind her and raise the dress. Moonlight catches on the curve of her full ass, and I’d give anything to drag my tongue up that glowing line.
I mean, she is facing away from me.
Fuck it. I raise the mask enough to expose my mouth, then drop my lips to her plump cheek. Smooth skin runs under my tongue, but it’s not enough. My teeth sink down in a painful bite that I can’t help.
Quinn clutches the bark tighter and sucks air through her teeth. I swirl my tongue over the bite to ease the sting, and she relaxes. When I bite again, she tenses. It’s a glorious game of push and pull, and we’ll both win in the end. I’ll make sure of it.
Gripping her ass, I raise her hips just a bit to give me access to her dripping cunt. The son of a bitch is practically weeping with need, and I have just what it craves. I raise the blade and run the dull end through her slit.
Realizing the danger, Quinn sucks in another breath and holds it. Her pussy quivers as I flip the knife around and force the handle inside her. It’s only three inches, but it’s enough to have her standing on tiptoe and letting out a whimper.
Good lass. Let me have my way.
I watch as her pussy grips the handle with each pass I make.
My tongue slides out to catch a bit of her excitement as it slips down the blade, and metallic essence coats my mouth.
Ma always said it was a bad idea to lick knives, but frosting is easier to say no to than Quinn’s pleasure.
I’d thrust my tongue into a drawer full of knives if it meant getting a taste of her.
When I’ve had enough, I pull the handle from her and push my mouth to the source. She tries to step away, but I slide under her and wrap my arms around her thighs to prevent her from going anywhere. With my back against the tree trunk, she’s locked in place.
I pull down, urging her to sit fully on my face. I want to drown in her. She refuses, as most women do, likely because she thinks she’s too big. Here is a fun fact for all women. We dinnae care! Please suffocate us. The thicker the thighs, the sweeter the demise.
“Fuck, I’m going to come,” she whimpers, and I immediately pull away. She grips my head and pulls it back toward her pussy. “What are you doing? I said I was about to come!”
I lower the mask, slide out from under her, and grip her hair again.
The men in those books don’t typically cater to the woman’s needs.
They’re selfish and wanton with their passion, so that’s what I’ll give her tonight.
She grunts as I force her to look forward again, but she understands what’s happening when I start to raise her dress.
She tries to help, but I take her hands and place them on the tree.
When she pulls them away, I slap her ass and put them back where I want them.
“That’s not a good way to get me to do what you want,” she says with a cheeky smirk as she pulls her hands away again.
This brat.
I smack her ass again, then pull out the blade. When she spots it, she puts her hands back on the tree.
Good fucking lass. Stay just like that.
I position myself behind her and press my erection against her entrance.
A long, low moan rolls from her mouth with every inch that slowly enters her.
When I’ve fully soaked my length, I pull back and give her more force with the next thrust. Maybe too much, because her head bumps against the tree.
I ease back to give her more room to adjust, and I nearly stumble over a fucking rock.
These things didn’t happen in the book.
But I won’t be deterred. I’m determined to give Quinn the fantasy fucking of her dreams if it’s the last thing I do.
I move my grip to her hips and push forward. This time, she angles so that her shoulder braces against the tree, giving me the freedom to fuck her however I want. My pelvis slaps against her ass as I pick up speed—the only sound, apart from our heavy breathing and her occasional whimpers.
When I’m about to come, I pull out of her and spin her around. The dress is in tatters, yet she looks like a wild forest goddess. She looks like she badly needs to be kissed, too.
I raise a gloved hand and cover her eyes. Realizing what I want, she brushes my hand to the side and closes her eyes herself. I lift the mask enough to expose my mouth so that I can kiss her.
Our mouths meet with equal hunger. Her hands wind around my waist and pull me closer, and I grind myself against her. She reaches between us and grips my girth, moaning into my mouth, and I have to be inside her again. I don’t care if I fill her immediately.
I lower the mask and step back enough to bend and get my arms beneath her thighs.
I stand and brace her back against the tree as I lower her onto me.
Her hands weave behind my neck, and she looks into my eyes as I bounce her on my cock.
Each time she slams down, I grind upward to give her all of me and tease her swollen clit.
Loud music blares from somewhere nearby, and Iron Tiger roars across the tracks in the distance. The circus show must be over, meaning we’re running out of time. In just a few minutes, anyone could wander down one of the nearby paths and spot us.
Quinn’s head tips back as she lets out the most animalistic moan I’ve ever heard.
Heartbeats squeeze my throbbing cock as she comes, and I release inside her.
As my heat fills her, the cries rise until she’s practically screaming.
Our pleasure realized, we collapse in a breathless heap at the base of the tree.
“That . . . was incredible,” Quinn pants as she lies back. “Oh my god, I never knew it could be like this.”
I give her a thumbs-up, because same.
She grows quiet, and I turn my head to check on her. I expect to see her basking in the glow of one hell of an orgasm, but she just looks sad. I sit up and place a hand on her thigh, and she turns to look at me.
“Sorry, just in my head,” she says with a wan smile. “Well, I guess this is goodbye.”
Jesus, she looks like she’s about to cry. I have to do something to make her feel better. Maybe if she thinks I’ll pine after her, it will help. I grab the phone.
Doesn’t have to be goodbye. We could still sneak around.
I really like you, Quinn.
I expect her to wave me off and say this is the way it has to be so that I can slink to my room and forget I ever pretended to be someone else. Is that what happens? No. Of course not. My last name is still Slade, after all.
“I really like you too, but I can’t sneak around. That’s not who I am.” Quinn covers her face and groans. “This was supposed to be the fucking solution. Why is it just more complicated now?”
I place my hand on her arm, but voices in the distance snag her attention, and our heads turn toward them.
“Shit, I have to get back to my room before the others see me.” She presses the top of her dress to her chest as she gathers her clutch with the other. “I’ll text you,” she shouts over her shoulder. “Either way, I’ll see you again!”
“Aye, lass. You will,” I whisper into the mask. But she might not want to. Tomorrow, I’m ending this, once and for all.