43. Liam
CHAPTER 43
Liam
Sliding my bloody thumb over her lips didn’t make her look away from Cas and I smiled slightly, proud of her for knowing what I wanted, even now.
I watched as that sinful tongue darted out again, making Cas groan at the sight of it. Lucy let out this little gasp that told me she was about to get knotted and I needed to hurry the fuck up or I’d lose my chance, but fuck me, they were beautiful together.
Gently, I turned her head, pressing my slightly parted lips to hers. Slipping her the candy was easy enough and her eyes widened in surprise, but she never looked away from Cas. Now he’d taste oranges on her tongue when he kissed her and that would make him think of me .
Leaning down, I set my lips against her ear and slid my gaze to Cas. “You better hurry up and come for him, Lucy. I don’t know what I’ll do if he knots you again.”
She almost fucked up then and hesitated.
Just before she could look up at me, I set the knife against Cas’s throat, the blade so sharp even the slightest bit of pressure split his skin and a tiny trickle of blood went down his throat to his chest .
“It’s your choice, Lucy.” I grinned and kissed the side of her neck, right where I planned to sink my teeth in and bond her. “If you come before he knots you, I’ll let you have the knife.”
Crouching down beside the tub, I watched Cas closely, but he never faltered and he never once looked away from her.
“Because I already know he’s willing to die for me.” I put just a little more pressure on his throat and the trickle became a stream. “But is he willing to die for you?”
Neither of them said anything, but Cas didn’t let her stop. He forced her to ride him even when it made the cut on his neck worse. It wasn’t enough to kill him even if I pushed a little deeper. I’d been careful of my placement, but did Lucy know that?
She watched the blood slide down Cas’s chest into the water and stain it red instead of pink. I tilted my head and wondered if this was going to help or hurt. Unfortunately, we couldn’t possibly know until we tried it.
Lucy was different, and I could never forget that. What would send someone else into a spiral might just be exactly what she needed to calm down.
This would remind her of her mother’s death, but it might also help replace that memory with something better – something that wouldn’t terrify her when she thought about accepting an alpha into her life.
Cassius would survive this bloody bathroom, unlike her mother.
Maybe that wouldn’t be enough, but it could help, and I’d take all the fucking help I could get.
“Come for him, Lucy. I know you can. Show me the look on his face when you fall apart for him all over again. I want to see it.” I leaned over the edge of the tub to kiss one of the spider lilies on her throat. “Stop being so stubborn and let us take care of you. That’s all I want right now.”
She didn’t need to worry about what I wanted tomorrow. No, the only thing I cared about was getting her through this heat safely – then she’d know what it should be like, and she’d never want anything else ever again.
I watched her face closely as she leaned forward with those devastating tears in her eyes to kiss Cas sweetly – surprising me with just how tender she could be with her nails digging into him like that.
“Help me,” she whispered against his lips. “Help me come for you, Cas. I don’t…think…”
I dropped the knife from his throat and grinned into the crook of my arm as Cassius surged forward, finally taking full control. He gripped her hair hard and tugged back, feasting on her mouth instead of her throat.
The whole time, his other hand controlled her hips, grinding her against him as he pushed deep inside her. Cas ate up her screams when she started shaking enough that water splashed out of the tub, soaking my pants.
God, she was perfect.
Taking her hand, I set the handle of my favorite knife in it and wrapped her fingers around the leather hilt. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t have to.
Lucy knew what I wanted.
Prove it to me, baby. Show me just how fucking crazy you are. I want to see it. Show me how vicious your love really is.
She whimpered in pain and pleasure when Cas slammed her down on him, forcing her to endure a never-ending orgasm, and the crazy in his eyes made me smile even wider until I knew I looked just as insane as these two, but neither of them were looking at me.
Cassius was already obsessed with her.
My omega was going exactly nowhere because she would never be able to escape both of us.
Then she pressed that knife to Cas’s throat and I went completely still as I waited to see what would happen next – what choice I might have to make.
I really didn’t want her to kill him, not like this, but she needed to see how far he would go. Lucy needed to see it in his eyes the same way I had. Otherwise, she’d never be able to accept the fact that she was allowed to need us, and we would always be there for her. No matter what.
This was my test.
Could I sit here and risk the chance she might choose to slit Cas’s throat? Could I trust what I knew about her to gamble with his life?
I didn’t know, but I wanted to find out.
Lucy’s hand shook and those beautiful tears poured down her face with a vengeance as she stared into Cas’s eyes, clearly struggling with her choice as he continued to fuck her, every movement forcing the knife to cut him again and again.
I was more tense than I thought I’d be, but I stayed completely still and waited.
The last fucking thing I expected her to do was pull the knife away from Cas’s throat to set it against her own.
Both of us surged forward at the exact same moment.
Cassius ripped the knife from her hand at the same time that I grabbed her by the throat and waist to rip her out of that fucking tub before she accidentally got hurt by all the thrashing around.
Water drenched every inch of me, but my arm around her waist held her tight against me and I wished Cas could see the look on her fucking face when I laughed. She’d surprised me once again, always choosing the path no one else would.
But I was furious with her.
I’ve never been this angry before – not even when I’d heard someone had killed Gideon. No, this was fury born of fear.
Stalking out of the bathroom, I slammed her into the mattress and bared my teeth at her, letting her see just how fucking crazy I could be. “Don’t you ever do that again.”
Lucy snarled right back at me, kicking and scratching my bare chest, but I couldn’t even feel it. That’s how fucking angry I was. “You’re the stupid asshole who put a knife in my hand! ”
The blood still seeping from my thumb turned the spider lilies on her throat to a bright red and I had to take a moment to breathe – reminding myself it wasn’t her blood but mine.
I hated the way she loved. It was even more self-sacrificing than Cassius and I honestly hadn’t thought that was possible.
“No one gets to hurt you but me and Cas, Lucy. Not even you.” Ripping off my sweats, I yanked her up higher on the bed and pressed down on her throat just enough to make every breath a struggle. “If you can’t manage that, I’ll never trust you with a knife again.”
Lucy glared at me, but her anger was no match for mine, especially when I shoved my cock all the way inside her with one thrust, forcing her to stretch to accommodate both my knots from the get-go.
She tried to cry out but couldn’t even do that when I was limiting her air supply like this.
It was just enough to make her dizzy – to add to the intensity and remind her that her life was in my hands, no one else’s.
“Liam,” she wheezed, reaching up for me, but I didn’t want her touching me like that – like she loved me enough to die.
“Stop it,” I growled, thrusting into her hard and snapping my teeth next to that spot I wanted to mark more than any other. “You don’t get to do that, Lucy.”
“Liam.”
“ No .”
“Liam!” Cas grabbed my throat the same way he did Lucy’s and yanked me back against him, preventing me from biting her once again.
I was going to fucking kill him.
“She passed your test,” Cas murmured, trying to soothe me.
Yes, she did. But I didn’t like the choice she’d made, and I had to make that very clear or she’d do it again.
Moving my hand from her neck exposed the small wound she’d given herself before either of us could stop her. It was right above others that were healed, white with age. The scars covered by all that ink were exactly the same shape and size as the cut she’d just given herself, as if she’d thought about slitting her own throat more than a few times and then for whatever reason, had decided against it.
Lucy looked up at me with enough devastation in her eyes to make me falter.
These cuts were old – after I’d left but before I’d found her again. They were my fault and I didn’t think I could ever do enough to make up for all those years she was alone without her alpha.
“I’m sorry.” I took a deep breath and leaned down, kissing one scar and then another. “I’m so sorry, Lucy. I should have been there.”
I never should have left.
Or I should have kidnapped her and taken her with me.
Cas had moved at some point without me realizing it, yanking her arms above her head to tie her wrists together. Then he tied her to the bedpost with ruthless efficiency as I pushed inside of her again and again, slow and steady.
We were going to fuck her until she passed out. I didn’t want her to have any energy left at all to do something stupid again. Lucy would be too tired and sated to do something else to make me panic. That was the only solution I could think of at the moment.
And those ropes? Cas had made sure she couldn’t hurt herself again with that quiet efficiency I loved.
Now we could focus on her without worrying about what shit she might try to pull next.
“Lucy…” Were those grey eyes getting lighter or darker? It was hard to tell. “You’re never going to be alone again.”
She looked like she didn’t want to believe me, but there was desperate hope in her eyes replacing the devastation.
I grinned, glad she seemed to like the way I chose to show my love.
Licking the blood from the cut on her neck, I let her see everything I was – everything I could no longer hide. “I promise, Lucy. You’ll never be alone.”
“You can’t promise that,” she whispered, turning her head to brush her lips against mine.
“Mm. I know I can.” I let her taste her blood on my lips that was mixed with mine, knowing she’d never be able to forget it. “Do you want to know why?”
Her eyes couldn’t focus and she arched her back to urge me on, lost in the haze of her heat again, which was probably for the best, because…
“We’re never going to let you go, Lucy.”
Never.