Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Gideon
Every voice in my head told me this was a bad idea. That I should walk away. Hell, that I should have walked away the second she started touching my scars.
I’d never been able to keep my head on straight where Imogene was concerned. Her touch, her voice, her very presence made me feel alive. And when she called me Samuel with such tenderness and longing, it felt like coming home after a long journey, stirring something deep inside I thought was dead.
Maybe Henry was right. Maybe Imogene was slowly bringing all the pieces of Samuel out of me once more.
My eyes held hers as I slowly dragged her shorts down her legs, her tattoo stark against her pale skin. I pressed a tender kiss to the symbol of her unconditional love, then stood, pushing my own shorts down, her gaze burning into me, full of greed as she stared at my erection.
I loved how much she craved me. Loved how her body responded to me. Loved how free she was with me.
Giving my cock a few more strokes, I returned to her and captured her mouth in a heated kiss. Hunger and desperation mingled together as I circled my hips, teasing her clit with my throbbing erection. She released a tiny moan, her breaths coming shorter and faster as desire coursed through her body.
“Please, Samuel,” she begged, digging her nails into my back.
I winced slightly. My back may have been mostly scar tissue at this point, but I still had several spots that were more sensitive to touch than others, especially along my spine.
When she noticed my expression, she immediately dropped her hold on me. “Did I hurt you? Your scars. I?—”
I silenced her concerns with a kiss, tugging on her bottom lip. “Do it again.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause you pain.”
“I said…” I slowly rocked my hips against her, hitting that little bundle of nerves once more. “Do. It. Again.” I hovered my lips over hers, bringing my hand to her throat and squeezing lightly. “I thought you knew how satisfying a little pain with your pleasure could be.”
“I certainly do,” she said with a smirk as she dug her nails harder into my skin. I rewarded her by tightening my grip on her neck, rubbing my erection against her clit, praying I didn’t lose it before I could bury myself inside of her.
But I needed this more.
Or maybe Imogene did.
“Again,” I urged her.
And again, she dragged her nails down my back, and I roared through the mixture of pain and pleasure. With every ounce of pressure I added to her throat, she rubbed her slick cunt harder against me, burrowing her nails deeper into my flesh. I didn’t know how much longer I could last, the sensation of pleasure and pain almost unbearable.
Finally, she spasmed around me, her muscles clenching and convulsing in a frenzy of ecstasy. I quickly removed my hands from their tight grip on her throat, and she sucked in a welcome gulp of air. I covered her mouth, giving her my breath as I eased inside her, relishing in the warmth that enveloped me as we became one, moving in perfect harmony.
I resisted the urge to go hard and fast, wanting to remember every shiver, every circle, every moan. Instead, I kissed her slow and deep as I made love to her the way I once did, savoring the moment as if this was the last time I’d ever feel her.
She very well could change her mind about us tomorrow morning. She should change her mind about us tomorrow morning.
I wasn’t lying when I told her I wasn’t a good person. It was probably the one honest thing I had told her. I had more blood on my hands than even her sorry excuse of a father. I’d taken countless lives, some because it was the only way I’d live. Others because they hurt Imogene. Others because they hurt me.
It was only a matter of time before my bad deeds caught up to me.
But right now, as my body trembled with more pleasure than I thought possible, none of that mattered, Imogene’s touch erasing any doubt or guilt from my mind.
It had only been mere days since we’d done this, but tonight felt different. Even when I showed her my scars that first time, it didn’t compare to this level of intimacy.
Because now, there were no more lies caught between us. We were finally free to be who we were always meant to be. The people I never thought we’d be again.
At least the person I never thought I’d be again.
Maybe I was wrong.
Could we find our way back to the people we once were?
I’d given up hope of that ever happening, a slave to my revenge.
Yet, with every thrust and kiss, Imogene seemed to chip away at my compulsion, making me think there could be more to life than just darkness and pain.
More than revenge.
“Please, Samuel,” she moaned, wrapping her legs tighter around my waist, urging me to increase my rhythm, her skin slick with sweat. “Faster.”
I shook my head, sliding my hands up her arms and intertwining my fingers with hers, pinning them to the pillow.
“Like this, Imogene.” I moved in a deliciously slow circle, her back arching as I hit the spot that drove her crazy. “I don’t want to rush this. Want you to feel me. Not Gideon. But Samuel.”
Tonight wasn’t just about satisfying our carnal urges, as was the case when she thought I was Gideon Saint. Instead, tonight was about reminding each other who we once were before all the pain and betrayal destroyed everything.
“I do feel you. I always have. Even after that first time we were together, I knew it was you,” she confessed. “Only one man has ever made me feel the things you did.” She craned toward me, chasing after my kiss. “The things you do.”
My lips collided with hers as we poured all the emotions we’d locked up for years into the kiss. I couldn’t even be upset that she figured out the truth of who I was from the beginning. It was a testament to the connection we once shared. And as I moved inside of her with increasing desperation, I was convinced that hadn’t changed, even with the passing of time.
If anything, it felt even stronger now, considering everything we’d been through.
Shouldn’t that have been enough?
I wanted it to be, but at what cost?
Could I really let Liam and James get away with all the pain they’d caused? Could I risk allowing them to be free to hurt even more people?
But when I felt Imogene’s muscles clench around me, I pushed the thought away, focusing on the incredible woman in my arms.
“Samuel,” she moaned again, her breaths ragged and desperate as she gripped my hands with a bruising force. Each gasp from her lips ignited a fire in my veins, pushing me closer to the edge of oblivion.
“Yeah, baby.” I nuzzled into the shallow of her neck, nipping my teeth against her sensitive skin.
“I’m about to?—”
“Do it,” I ordered. “Let go.”
I released her hands, tracing my fingers along her torso until they found her soaked clit, rubbing it as I thrust harder. That was all it took for her to detonate, her body convulsing as wave after wave of bliss rolled through her.
“Damn, you are so fucking beautiful when you come, Imogene,” I grunted, picking up the pace in the hopes of prolonging her orgasm. “I don’t know if I can hold on much longer.”
She ran her hands down my back. “Let me feel you.”
“Do you want me to?—”
“All of you,” she interrupted, answering the question on my mind.
I was about to ask if she was sure when she grabbed my ass, only allowing me enough room to continue my rhythm.
“Please, Samuel.” She curved toward me, taking my earlobe between her teeth. “Come inside of me.”
Hearing those words was all I needed, and I let go of what little restraint I had left, giving in completely to the primal urge coursing through me.
When I had nothing left, I collapsed on top of her, the only sound our labored breathing and hearts racing in time with each other. I adjusted our bodies so she lay beside me, her back to my front.
Then I did the one thing I never thought I’d do again.
I fell asleep with Imogene in my arms as I traced the symbol of unconditional love on her hip.