Chapter 35
“Mine.”
Maya grinded against her, and Harper moaned again. Way too loudly, but she couldn’t hope to catch the sound. Not when Maya pulled at her hair, making it sting, and throwing more fuel on the fucking furnace between her legs.
Heat throbbed through her thighs, growing more intense with every snarl vibrating against her neck. Raspy, guttural snarls.
Everything about this felt so primal. How Maya’s muscles tensed and shifted under her fingers, how her body pinned Harper down like she was trapped prey.
It wasn’t far off. She knew Maya was strong, but not this strong. Even as Harper arched against her, she didn’t move an inch.
“I want you to come,” Maya said. “I want to taste you as it happens.”
“I can’t,” Harper whined. “This isn’t enough. I need more.”
Maya let out a low growl. And then she vanished, leaving Harper panting on the mattress. But she barely had time to blink before a dark shadow fell over the bed.
Maya was leaning over her. Limbs rigid, eyes wide. Her pupils had dilated so much that they swallowed the gold in her irises, and her lips were stained with blood. It ran down her chin, dripping onto Harper’s naked chest.
“Yes?” Maya’s voice was strained. As though she had to force out the word. The question.
Harper wrenched her eyes away from Maya’s, looking down at her body. She had put on the leather harness, the strap already fixed in place, and she was holding a wand vibrator. One of the toys Harper had packed when she first drove out here.
But it and the harness had been in a bag across the room. A distance Maya had crossed and returned from in little more than a second.
Harper hadn’t truly realized before. With how careful, how gentle, Maya usually was, it was easy to forget this side of her. This part of her being that wasn’t let out except under highly specific circumstances. Which might never have been let out before this moment.
This woman… This woman was so fucking dangerous.
“Yes,” Harper sighed. Maya switched on the vibrator and put it in her hand.
“Hold this. Do not move it away.”
She didn’t even wait for a response. Instead, she yanked down Harper’s underwear, guided the strap between her legs, and thrust in hard. Harper hissed, the noise turning into a sharp moan as Maya’s mouth returned to her neck.
Fangs pierced her skin, but she barely registered the pain. Her body was alight with want, adrenaline coursing through her in response to the danger snarling at her throat.
She had no interest in getting away from this. And she couldn’t, even if she wanted to. Maya was too strong. Too fast. All Harper could do was cling to her as she angled the vibrator between their bodies, pressing it against her clit.
Pleasure soared through her. She was so fucking wet already, her body craving the stimulation so much that just a second of it yanked her towards the edge. One that inched closer and closer as Maya started rolling her hips.
She did it hard, did it fast, and every time their bodies connected, it was accompanied by a spike of ecstasy and an animalistic groan.
“Fuck.” Maya’s body trembled. “Your taste… It’s… It’s so… Oh my God, you are fucking heavenly.”
Those words alone could have gotten her close. When combined with the buzzing vibrator and the strap thrusting inside her, she had no chance of keeping it at bay. No interest either.
Harper wrapped her legs around Maya, pulling them closer together and clinging to her with her free arm. Harper pressed her face against her shoulder, as any attempts at stifling these moans would result in loud failure, but when muted by Maya’s skin they were at least not at shouting levels.
“Please don’t stop.” Her nails raked over Maya’s back. “Fuck. Fuck, I-I’m… I’m going to come.”
The sheets tore as Maya dug her fingers into the mattress.
She used the hold to steady herself as she rolled her hips faster.
The sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the room, mingling with Harper’s now rapid moans as all of this—the vibrator, the pounding strap, the prick of teeth against her neck—shoved her over the edge.
“Yes,” Maya moaned. “Stay with it.”
Harper’s legs were twitching. Coiling tension snapped through her limbs, over and over, and she almost yanked the vibrator away.
“I can’t,” Harper whimpered. “It’s too sensitive. I can’t take it.”
“Yes, you can.” Maya hadn’t slowed down in the slightest. Every roll of her hips staggered Harper’s breathing into shallow gasps. “You want to. I can taste it. So until I say otherwise, you keep your hand in fucking place.”
Everything was so blurry. Her skin so sensitive. Her body so hungry, even though she felt wrecked beyond measure.
It felt like she couldn’t take this. But she wanted it. Even though she could barely move. Even if it killed her, she wanted this moment to last for hours.
She did as she was told. Kept her hand in place. Kept the vibrator pressed against herself, and she had to let go of Maya so she could clasp her hand over her mouth. It was her only chance of muting her cries as unrelenting stimulation shot waves of euphoria through her limbs.
“So fucking amazing,” Maya snarled. Each word was emphasized by the strap thrusting inside her. By a peak of pleasure added to the height of an already mountain-sized orgasm she had yet to fall from.
It hurt. It hurt in the best fucking way. This wasn’t a gentle guide through the aftershocks. This was an agonizing continuation. One that stayed as radiating waves, lasting so much longer than the usual burst of pleasure.
She had never experienced that. Pleasure that persisted like this. That rocked through her so hard her body shook, and she had to scream against her palm at the sheer intensity of whatever the hell this was.
It was constant. Aching. Utterly overwhelming. So much so that, for a moment, Harper felt like she floated off the bed.
All the while, Maya kept fucking her with no sign of slowing down.
Kept snarling at her neck. And Harper did what she was told, holding the vibrator in the same spot, even when her hand started shaking, and it felt like she was about to pass out.
She kept it in place even when dizziness made her head fall back.
Maya stopped moving. Pulled out of her. The vibrator turned off and the sudden lack of stimulation made Harper collapse on the mattress.
Every muscle felt tense, even though her body was completely slack. She was shaking with every breath and her muscles refused to cooperate. She couldn’t even lift her eyelids.
Seconds went by. Maybe minutes. Some undefinable amount of time that she only realized passed because her breathing changed. Going from whimpering to gasps and then finally to deep sighs. The remnant tension faded into a pleasant buzz, transforming her thoughts into mist.
But Maya didn’t touch her. Didn’t kiss her, didn’t hold her. She was just gone.
Harper forced her eyes open, finding Maya right next to her on the bed. The harness was gone, as was most of the light. Only a few candles glinted in the corner, enveloping the room in darkness.
And Maya was staring at her. Eyes wide, lips stained red. Face tense with worry.
No. With fear.
“Are you okay?” Maya’s voice shook. Her gaze had fused on Harper’s neck. “Please say something. Please say you’re alright.”
Harper tried to speak. To assure her everything was fine. But all she could manage was a sigh.
This was just like their first time. When Maya had somehow transformed Harper’s body into air and became fearful of having done so.
Harper reached a hand towards her. The movement was slow, taking immense effort, but Maya understood. She leaned in, as though readying herself for a whispered response. But words had no use in this moment.
Harper took Maya’s face in her hands. A light hold that she followed with no hesitation, letting herself be guided down to Harper’s lips.
The kiss was light. Soft. A contrast to its dark, forbidden taste, as blood mixed with sweat. Harper hummed, the sound growing into a satisfied moan as Maya lowered herself on top of her. Her skin was cool, her body wonderfully heavy.
“I’m fine,” Harper whispered.
“You sure? It just… it looks like I went too far.”
“You didn’t. You only did what I asked you to do.” Harper let out a breathless laugh. “And if I wasn’t close to passing out, I would ask you to do it again.”
Maya stared at her in disbelief. Kept staring until Harper caressed her chin and guided their lips together again.
How she wished to deepen it. To fill this kiss with all the love she could muster. To show Maya, with nothing but certainty, that the terror she felt for herself had no ground to stand on.
Even without words, it seemed like she understood.
She relaxed against Harper’s body, and the last traces of tension evaporated in a sigh.
She deepened the kiss when Harper couldn’t, letting it last only for as long as Harper’s still shallow breathing could take, but even when it ended, they didn’t part.
Her lips stayed by Harper’s, barely touching.
“I forgot…”
Harper ran a hand through Maya’s hair. “Forgot what?”
“That I could feel like this. Could feel so… alive.”
She drew her head back. Not far. Just enough that she could stare down at Harper. Marvel at her. That was the only way to describe the awe-struck look in her gilded eyes.
“It’s all because of you. I’m like this because of you.”
“You’re exaggerating,” Harper said, chuckling. “I didn’t really do much.”
“You did. And I’m not just talking about now.
” The wonder in Maya’s gaze bled into her voice.
“I wasn’t living before I met you. I hated myself.
Was scared of myself. My life didn’t feel like mine, and I didn’t know how to change that.
” A smile grew on her face. Adoring and breathtaking.
“But you showed me. Reminded me. My heart and soul had no purpose before I met you, Harper. You are my everything.”
She meant it. Every word. Every kind word she’d uttered, now or before… they had always been honest.
How could Harper ever have categorized this as simple fun? That was far too small a word for what they shared. At best, it was a veneer. A means of hiding that, from the moment they met, they had been lost to each other.
There was no one else. Wouldn’t ever be anyone else. Even if something were to happen that made them part, Harper couldn’t imagine ever finding anything close to this type of devotion.
Maya tensed. Her head snapped to the side, tilting. For a moment, Harper thought another wave of guilt had hit her, but that didn’t match her expression. Brows knitted and eyes shining silver.
“Maya?” Harper pushed up on her elbows. “What’s wrong?”
Maya raised a hand for silence. Other than the wind outside and the creaking cabin, Harper didn’t hear anything.
Maya slipped off the bed, putting on her clothes.
“Stay here.”
She vanished in a blink. One moment she was there, and the next, the only sign of where she’d gone was the open bedroom door.
Harper frowned. She listened again, but whatever had stolen Maya’s attention, she couldn’t hear it.
Moving slowly, on account of her still being lightheaded, she pulled on her underwear. The discarded t-shirt and sweatpants followed before she staggered to the door, grabbed the door frame, and poked her head out of the bedroom.
The living room was almost pitch-black. The candles had been put out, and the fire had burned down to embers.
Nell was curled up on the couch, Evie asleep in the armchair, while Maya was by the window.
She’d pushed aside the curtain, a bright light shining outside making her silhouette look pure black.
Keeping a hand on the wall for support, Harper moved up next to her. The floorboards creaked under her weight, but Maya didn’t react to her approach. She just stared out the window, the sheer glow of a pair of headlights illuminating her face.
A few pickup trucks were parked outside. One had the engine still running, the bright cones of light catching the falling snow. About two dozen people stood gathered by the vehicles, fresh tracks in the snow leading to and from the windows, as well as circling around the cabin.
Every single person was covered in blood. Most of them were wearing torn clothes, with only a few carrying weapons. Handguns, knives, and gore-covered baseball bats.
Harper’s first thought was that some Chains members were seeking refuge at the safe house. But these people weren’t supposed to be here. A fact made chillingly clear as a man moved to the front of the group.
A man with wide shoulders. A graceful gait. And shaggy dark hair.
Kieran.