Chapter 13 Rion #2
I inch closer, remaining as quiet as I can, waiting until I’m needed. The second she leans back, her shoulders hunched forward as she sags, exhaustion threatening to get the best of her, I swoop in, slipping my arms around my girl as I keep her on her feet. “I’ve got you, Petal.”
Dipping my nose to the curve of her throat, I inhale her sweet scent that infuses me with the warmth of home.
She’s back. She’s safe. She’s in my arms again.
I’ve never felt more whole.
Taking a step back from the mangled body, I slowly wrap my fingers around her blood-stained weapon of choice, and she lets go of it willingly. I waste no time tossing it off to the side as I continue to inch back, bringing Elodie with me until my back hits the farthest wall away from her father.
Simultaneously, a whimper parts her lips as her hands fly to her mouth, but the sound quickly morphs into a weighted sob that rattles through her frame. Wordlessly, she turns to face me, hiding her face in my chest as she crumbles.
As gently as I can, I lower us to the floor, leaning back against the wall as I cradle my Petal in my arms. Every sob consumes her, and I do the only thing that I can; I hold her. My palm slowly slips up and down her spine in comfort, but I give her the space and time to let it all out.
Trauma is a bitch, the worst of them all, and what my girl has endured at the hands of this man is incomparable.
But more than that, knowing he’s gone is even more emotional.
Even here in The Vale, another lifetime away from her home, this man and the pain he caused her were still lingering around her and clouding her vision.
It kept her shoulders stiff and her constantly looking behind her in fear.
Now she’s free. She knows it. She fucking did it. But that doesn’t eradicate it all effortlessly on a single breath; it’s got to worm its way over every muscle, twist through every vein, and allow her entire body to heal before she can even begin to live a life not infected by him anymore.
It’s something I’m far too familiar with. She wasn’t the only one to have the worst father in existence.
Before I can get lost in my own thoughts and pain, I redirect my attention to Elodie as her breathing evens out and her sobs grow muted.
Slowly, she peels herself from around me, only to silently nudge my thighs apart and take a seat between my legs with her back pressed against my chest. I don’t get a chance to consider what she does and doesn’t want from me; she takes it, just like she takes my arms and drapes them around her, keeping her safe and the chill away from her body.
I still don’t move until she snuggles deeper against me and I manage to rest my chin on her head.
“Hey, Petal,” I rasp, and she hums, the sound weak before she clears her throat.
“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her fingers curling around my forearms as she clings to me.
“I missed you,” I admit, opting to ignore her unnecessary apology, but she scoffs, revealing the self-loathing before she even speaks.
“Now you’re probably disgusted by me,” she bites, her hold on me only growing tighter as her mind and body collide on what it is they want.
Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, I grin.
“Never.” She scoffs again, confirming that she doesn’t believe me, but this is a challenge I refuse to back down from.
“Do you want me to have a go too, so that we can be disgusted together?” I offer, and she snaps her gaze to mine as her jaw falls slack.
She stares deep into my eyes and I don’t hold back.
I want her to see every part of me.
I want her to know every part of me.
I want her to have every part of me.
“He’s here because of you,” she rasps, but there’s no anger in her eyes as she speaks.
Cautiously, I lift my hand to cup her cheek, ghosting my thumb across her delicate skin as I make sure I have her full attention. “No one harms you like he did and gets away with it.”
With my admission, I instantly hear her heart flutter, and it rings in my ears like a beacon, guiding me to the light.
“You shouldn’t have kept it a secret,” she declares, and I gulp as I nod, hating the hint of disappointment in her eyes, but it doesn’t linger.
“I know, I’m sorry,” I insist, daring to skim my thumb across her lower lip as I shake my head.
“But I would do it again in a heartbeat,” I admit, and she gapes at me.
The question is clear in her eyes, but it seems I’ve stunned her enough to render her speechless for a moment.
“You were dealing with copious amounts of shit already,” I offer, and she finally splutters.
“So were you,” she retorts. I can only assume she’s referring to Laurie because that’s the only shit I’ve had to deal with. Regardless, it doesn’t compare, but I don’t get into that. Instead, I keep my focus on her.
“It’s my job to protect you,” I breathe, and she shakes her head.
“I protect myself.”
I grin at her unrelentingly fierce resolve. She may be an independent woman, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t my independent woman.
“I know you do, but now that’s my job too.”
She huffs, but I don’t miss the way her mouth curls a touch. “You’re insane.”
“No more than you,” I retort, bopping her nose with the tip of my finger, and whatever tension still bunched her muscles together subsides.
As she relaxes against me, she presses against my pants pocket, reminding me of the object inside.
She must also feel it between us because she peers up at me in confusion.
Refusing to let go of her, I drop my hand from her face to her hip, lifting her just enough so I can tug the velvet bag free.
I let it dangle in the air between us for a moment as she blinks at it.
I can sense her curiosity, her desperation to ask questions, but it seems her pride has cut her tongue.
Clearing my throat, I open the drawstring with one hand as I use the other to turn her palms face up and squish them together.
Once she’s in place, I tip the contents of the bag into her hands, watching as the gold glistens against her skin.
“What is this?” she asks, her gaze darting back and forth between the object and me.
“For you,” I answer as she unravels the links to fully expose the amethyst stones that round off the tennis bracelet.
“Why?”
I shrug, feeling my cheeks heat as she continues to stare at the jewelry in question. “Because,” I mumble, and she cocks a brow at me.
“That sounds ominous,” she mutters, and I scoff.
“Hey now, I walked into this carnage and didn’t ask any questions. How about you take the same approach?” I offer.
She doesn’t miss the opportunity to pout her lips at me while she glares, but I lose her pretty eyes on me a moment later as her gaze darts across the room to her father’s brutalised remains.
Her eye is different. My heart lurches, a thousand questions reeling in my mind. Her blue iris is tainted with a red ring, forming a soft purple hue across her eye.
Her pretty blues.
She’s a warrior, and I don’t dare to ask right now. If she’s okay and in my hands, that’s all that matters.
“I killed him,” she rasps, her shoulders deflating once again as she clutches the bracelet tightly in her hand.
Resting my chin on her shoulder, I hum in agreement. “You did. It’s quite poetic if you ask me,” I state, and she shakes her head as I take the bracelet from her and fasten it around her wrist, securing it in place.
“You really are insane.”
“No, Petal. I just see you through pure eyes. There is nothing you can do in this whole entire world that I won’t be able to romanticize because I am in awe of you.
I have been since the first time I laid eyes on you in the damn broom closet.
You dumbfounded me then, I’m awestruck by you now, and I will forever be floored by your beauty and your grace, inside and out, despite the hurdles you have faced.
We both know it’s far more than anyone deserves in one hundred lifetimes, never mind just one, but you continue to face everything like a warrior, and I’ll be damned if I’m not by your side when you conquer the world. ”
Her lips part as she stares at me, disbelief flashing in her scarred baby blues as she shakes her head, but she can’t seem to find the words to argue back.
Because they don’t exist.
Running my thumb over her bottom lip, I move first, tracing my steps with my tongue, and she groans, leaning into the touch with a firm press of her lips, and I moan along with her.
She’s intoxicating.
Fighting for power, we kiss back and forth, each one trying to dominate the other, but as I suck her bottom lip into my mouth, she turns to putty in my grasp, crowning me the winner.
As her cry of pleasure whips through the air, I grab her waist and spin her so she can place her thighs on either side of mine.
Her hands immediately land on my shoulders before curling up my throat and capturing my face as she deepens our connection.
My senses feel more heightened than ever as I plunge my tongue between her lips, dancing with hers as she grinds down against me. I should put a stop to this. It’s escalating out of my control. But it’s impossible to deny either of us, even if there’s a dead man in the room.
Tearing my lips from hers, I shiver at the slight height advantage she has since she’s hovering above me, but as she looks down at me with hooded eyes, any resolve I might have had evaporates.
Desire courses through me as I swoop the tip of my nose along her jaw before flicking my tongue along her heated skin, right where her pulse flashes.
“Rion,” she groans, her breath hot and heavy as she grinds down against my length again. I can barely breathe as she rakes her fingers through my hair, desperate for dominance once again, and I’m on the cusp of giving it to her until she presses down on my cock so hard I feel her heat.
Digging my fingertips into her flesh, I move lightning fast, pinning her to my chest as I stand. Whirling around, I press her against the wall and her legs tighten around my middle, drawing me closer as I trail whispered kisses up her throat.
“Rion,” she whimpers, clinging on for dear life, and I drop my hands to her ass, desperate to eliminate the remaining barriers between us. Hiking her up the wall, she peers down at me with rosy cheeks and a slack jaw.
“Tell me you’re mine, Petal,” I murmur huskily, enamoured as she gulps, and I spy the uncertainty in her eyes.
“Rion, I—”
“Say it, Elodie. Tell me that while the world will continue to crumble around us, we’ll stand together.”
Her eyelids fall closed. “I want that so much,” she starts, and I already know there’s a but coming. “But, I… I’m scared.”
Her truth floors me, her admission of something so vulnerable, so honest, it’s everything.
She needs me as much as I need her, and to give her that, I have to remain strong and true.
“I know it’s scary, Petal, but I promise you with all that I am, I’m never going to let you down. I’d rather hurt myself than you. Always.”
Her lips are on mine before I can take a steadying breath. She grounds me in every way, wrapping her arms around my shoulders as she brings me in closer, attempting to flex her hips against me, but in this position, I have more power than she does, and it’s about time I used it.
Lowering her to her feet, I tug at her sweats, watching them gather at her feet, but she thankfully aids in discarding the unnecessary fabric as I do the same with my own.
Our chests heave as we gape at each other, the intent clear, as I reach for her hips once again, plastering her back against the wall behind her.
Our breaths mingle as we stare deep into each other’s eyes. Desperate to feel her, I hike her legs a little higher, aligning my cock with her entrance, and I groan when I feel how wet she is.
“Fuck, Rion,” she gasps with anticipation as I linger for a moment, securing her in my arms with both hands before I dare to slip inside of her.
Her eyes are locked on mine, framed with dried blood splatter, but it only makes her more hauntingly beautiful with the loose purple curls that frame her face.
“I’m addicted to you, Petal,” I admit, thrusting as deep as I can go, and she cries out, the sound just another part of her I can’t get enough of.
“Louder. I want the whole fucking world to know you’re mine,” I command, pulling out only to snap my hips and thrust back inside her, harder and faster this time.
“Fuck,” she whispers, panting desperately as I dig my fingers into her flesh, fucking her with all of the emotions coiling deep inside of me.
As her pussy clenches around me, I fall into her trap, consumed by her in every way as I slam into her again and again.
“Rion, I’m going to come,” she admits, her pupils dilating as she gapes at me, and I grin.
“Give it to me. Give me all of you,” I demand, hopelessly lost in her.
Two further thrusts, and she screams so loud I’m sure The Sanctum can hear her.
I feel every wave that washes through her, the rhythm replicated by her core as she takes everything from me.
The desire to join her is overwhelming, but I hold off until her pulsing starts to wane; only then do I allow the tendrils of ecstasy to wash over me.
Pressing my forehead against hers, I stare deep into her eyes, claiming her soul for my own as I find my release.
Spent, we don’t move, letting the moment capture us completely as I shower her neck with delicate kisses. When I run my mouth along her jaw, her eyes find mine again, flashing a hint of uncertainty my way.
“What’s wrong, Petal?” I ask, cupping her jaw, and she shakes her head. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but… together, remember? That means no secrets.”
She blinks at me, but instead of putting her defenses up between us, she sighs softly, a sad smile tilting the corner of her mouth. “I don’t want to face reality,” she admits, and my heart aches for her until I take strength from my own words.
Pressing a firm kiss to her lips, my cock flexes, still inside of her, and she bites back a groan. “This is reality, Elodie. Besides, you can do anything with me at your side. Let me prove it to you.”