Chapter 36
A DANGEROUS GAME
NIA
My eyes narrow, staring at the words on the page and failing to take them in.
I pull the blanket over me, wondering why Luke thought this book would be good for me.
It’s a story of a dark and brooding antihero and a hurt and wounded heroine, both trapped in a whirlwind they can never escape.
The haunted moors they live on are as bleak as the thoughts encapsulating my psyche and I’m about to lose my shit.
“He had to take care of something, Luna.” Malcolm shifts, uncomfortable. The doctor’s lying and he needs to get better at it. “I’m sure Luke will be back soon.”
He’d better fucking be.
I know exactly where he is and what he’s been doing.
Our connection is a blessing and a curse, and the idiot stopped shielding me from his emotions as he started beating the living shit out of Carl.
Presumably, he forgot about it or lost control, but either way, I felt all of his anger and I can’t say I disapprove.
Of his rage, or what he did with it.
I’m tired and too damn weary of all this shit. Every revelation is another punch to the gut and I’m not sure I can take many more. My life’s been tossed up in the air like a salad, and now I’m wilting away again, half wishing I could shrivel up and die.
The door shuts and I don’t look up.
“You can leave, Malcolm.”
Luke swallows and I hear the doctor’s jaw snap shut.
The door closes for a second time and the silence it leaves behind is louder than thunder echoing around a mountain. The beating of Luke’s heart is the only sound I hear, and its steady rhythm accelerates, racing ahead as if it’s trying to outpace mine.
“Nia…”
I snap my book shut and slide it onto the varnished coffee table. My head turns slower than the stars change their orbits until they land on Luke, catching sight of his disheveled appearance. He’s bruised, cut and he’s clearly taken one hell of a beating.
“Was it worth it?” I ask, my tone scathing.
“Always,” he says, his dark eyes unashamedly flooding with pride. “You are always worth it. What matters now is how you’re doing, Nia.”
The moon ducks behind a cloud, cowering from the darkness as I prepare to face mine.
I’m still lost, still achingly hurt and wounded in a way few experience, and even fewer survive.
I’m losing my sense of self, confused and dangerously out of touch with whatever center ground I used to hold.
I couldn’t navigate my way back there if you handed me a star chart and asked me to roam the woods I grew up in, and I’m so far from a path I recognize that I’m not sure I’ll find my way back.
“It hurts.”
That doesn’t come within a thousand miles of describing that agony tearing through my chest. Every heartbeat is another little death and I find myself clinging to life out of habit, too stubborn to give up.
“It fucking hurts.”
Luke’s jaw ticks and his arms cross. He’s every bit the Alpha, every inch of him enraged his mate’s been wounded.
“What do you need, Nia?”
My chest heaves. My eyebrows rise. My heart sinks and I don’t know. I don’t know what I need to make this stop, certain only that I want the endless cycles of pain. I sigh as I realize that I need something I’ve rarely been afforded and I wonder if I can achieve it now.
“Control.”
Luke stiffens as he draws another heavy breath and edges closer, his eyes scrutinizing every inch of me.
He leans against the window frame and waits, watching the cogs in my head turn as I finally figure out exactly what I want.
His muscles tense and my breathing hitches as I stare at the man who holds my attention and is making my arousal sore.
“Make this stop, Luke.” Our eyes meet and there’s only truth between us. “For tonight. For a few hours, please just make it stop.”
Luke nods.
“Tell me what you want, Nia.”
My lip trembles until I force it to stop. “I want you to fuck away the pain.”
His eyes flash with lust and there’s only warmth, only trust in our bond.
Luke offers me the safety and security of complete intimacy, and Lyall purrs, making her presence known before she disappears back into the shadows.
This need is mine, this time is mine, and she isn’t going to fight me on this.
“I can’t be soft.” Luke’s jaw clenches. “I’ll keep you safe but this will be rough. I’ll replace one pain with another, Nia, and I’ll make sure you enjoy it.”
Luke’s sure. I’m certain.
Our wolves fade away and there’s only us and the intensity of the attraction between us. I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted him more and my core clenches, its heat undeniable and irresistible.
I hold Luke’s gaze as he stalks closer, more predator than man. He knows I want this. He knows I’ve agreed to this. Luke’s reading every flicker of every muscle and every emotion I’m experiencing. We’re so closely connected we’ve lost the boundary between us and my lips curl into a wicked grin.
It’s a miracle to be feeling anything other than despair and Luke’s lips curl into a smile even more sinful than mine.
“Such a slut,” he rasps. “A desperate fucking whore who’ll do anything for my cock.”
I nod and edge along the sofa.
He tsks and his stuttered breath sends vibrations rippling through my clit. “Don’t move an inch. Not unless you want something you’re not ready to handle, sweetheart.”
The thrill pulsing through me is un-fucking-real and I want more. I crave more. Luke commands my attention and he’s all I can think about, all I can focus on. My pussy’s already dripping and my clit’s throbbing so damn hard it hurts.
“Clothes off, pretty girl.” Luke stops, kneeling right in front of me. “Let me see and smell what’s mine. I want my pretty pussy on display for me before I fuck it so damn hard it’ll be sore for weeks.”
My fingers fiddle with my top and as I pull at its ties, leaving Luke impatient.
His lips part and his nostrils flare, setting me more on edge as he leans in and his breath licks against my skin.
I’m getting stuck inside my head and I can’t undo the knot holding my silk top in place and the man in front of me is about to lose his shit.
“Hurry the fuck up, sweetheart. I don’t appreciate a cocktease.”
I whimper and he moves.
His hands shove mine out of the way and push me into the sofa.
Luke tears the silk apart, shredding it as if it were delicate and weak.
His claws tear through the little short bottoms, exposing me in seconds.
I gasp and he doesn’t flinch, grabbing my knees and yanking them apart, spreading my legs wide open.
“Such a pretty girl.” He licks his lips. “With a pretty pussy too.”
I shudder and he laughs, low and devious.
“Who owns your cunt Nia?”
Luke’s head drops and his fingers glide over me, setting me alight with pure excitement.
“You.”
He grunts. His finger hooks around my clit and I moan, begging for more. Desperate for more. Willing to do anything for more.
“Good girl.”
Luke’s arm moves lightning fast and his hand grips my throat.
His fingers squeeze either side of my windpipe and I stare up, eyes wide and heart pounding.
His grip tightens as he pushes me back while his other hand starts to tease my clit, making my chest burn and heightening the sensation of breathlessness.
“You come so pretty too,” he sighs. “It’ll be a shame if you pass out before you climax.”
I whimper and he smirks.
“I’ll fuck you anyway,” Luke threatens. “Awake or not, I’m breeding you tonight, so if I were you, I’d hurry up and come for me like a good little slut.”
His fingers push inside me and I moan, caught by the sudden, harsh intrusion.
The pinch is a sharp reminder that Luke has no intention of being gentle but I’m so damn full and I want more of all of it.
His hand moves as his thumb presses on my clit, and the mix of pleasure and pain is perfect, a heavenly blend of agony and ecstasy.
Each enhances the other and my arousal’s soaring as my pussy clenches around him, begging for more. More of anything. More of everything.
“Come for me, Nia.”
Luke’s fingers press harder, in my cunt and around my throat.
“Fucking come like a good little slut.”
I close my eyes and surrender to the sensation sweeping over me. It stops and I start moaning when a sharp sting spreads over my face. My eyes snap open and Luke’s face is tense, his blue eyes piercing as they demand my obedience.
“Eyes on me, pretty girl. Always on me. Especially when I’m giving you pleasure.”
I nod frantically and Luke’s perfect lips curl into a vicious smile. His nail scrapes down my center and his fingers find my clit, pinching it hard and making me scream.
“That’s for being disobedient.”
His fingers thrust inside me again and I cry, somehow holding his gaze. He curls them forward as he slides them in and out, easing the sting of pain with a burst of pleasure. Luke moves his hand harder, faster and when his thumb finds my clit for a second time I moan.
“Only my name. Or please. Or begging for me like a well-trained little whore.” Luke’s mouth kisses my inner thigh and I whimper. “Tick tock, Nia. My cock’s in agony and I’m running out of patience.”
My pussy clenches around him and my hips move with him. It’s fast and frantic, and my chest burns as every breath reminds me of the hand around my throat. His hand. The one that could cut my air supply off at any goddamn second, leaving me unable to respond.
It’s a dangerous game.
It’s about control and trust, dominance and submission.
It’s thrilling and exciting, and I’m getting off on it.
The fire burning scorches my core and its flames lick through me, heightening my need for oxygen.
My cunt clenches around Luke’s fingers as he plays with precision, finding the perfect spot with every goddamn thrust. It’s hard and mean and absolutely divine, the pain and ache relieved with the pleasure as my clit becomes sensitive.
“Come.”