Chapter 62 Strip – Koen
STRIP
KOEN
“You can’t be serious.” She stares at me incredulously.
I shrug, leaning against the wall of the hotel room with my hands in my pockets. “It’s your turn.”
She chews her bottom lip, her eyes darting between me and the door.
My eyes narrow, and I step closer, watching as her breath catches but she holds her ground. “Truth or dare, Briar Rose?” I repeat, letting my eyes soften when she searches my face for reassurance.
She swallows hard. I see the memories playing out in the shadows of her eyes. The last time we played this game.
“Dare,” she whispers finally.
A slow smile tilts up the corners of my mouth. “Strip,” I tell her. There’s no mistaking the command in my voice.
Her mouth falls open, and I have to force my eyes to stay on hers.
“W-what?” she says, taking a step back from me, folding her arms across her chest, immediately uncomfortable.
I take another controlled step forward, taking off my suit jacket and hanging it over the back of a nearby chair, slipping my hands into my pockets.
“You heard me. Strip. Take off that dress. Right now.” I take another step until I’m fully invading her space. She won’t look at me, her eyes on the floor. I place two fingers under her chin and slowly lift.
Her eyes close in defeat.
“Briar, look at me.”
She does, but there’s ire in her eyes that wasn’t there before. After everything her mother just said to her, she thinks I’m being cruel.
“I hate you,” I tell her, watching the hurt flash in her eyes, revealing all the broken pieces she’s been killing herself trying to keep together.
“You hate me?” she repeats softly, her bottom lip quivering slightly.
“I do,” I tell her unapologetically. “You’ve haunted me, little Rose.
” I release her chin, letting my fingers lightly trace the skin on the side of her neck, traveling south.
I run my thumb over the Celtic knot at her throat.
“Since the night we met, you’ve haunted every dream, every nightmare—you’ve lingered in the deepest shadows of my mind, a divine sin I can neither escape nor forget.
My sweet damnation.” I stare down into her eyes, feeling the rapid beat of her pulse against my thumb, before my mouth finds her ear. “Take off your dress.”
I step back, watching her spiral with brutal intensity. Her arms wrap tighter around herself, searching for comfort while shaking her head no.
“I hate how fucking beautiful you are,” I continue, starting to circle her.
She trembles when my fingers brush against one of the faint white scars across her back.
“I hate the way you draw attention everywhere you go because of it. I hate the addictive taste of you, the rarest of drugs, nearly impossible to get my hands on.” I smirk.
Briar’s staring up at me, her eyes wide.
“I hate the way you look at me.” I reach out and grab one of the curls framing her face, running the silky strand through my fingers.
“How it makes me forget all the reasons I shouldn’t touch you.
” I move behind her. The backs of my fingers stroking her still silk-covered side, before reaching up and smoothly tugging down the zipper of her dress.
“The dress, Briar,” I remind her. “Take it off.”
I come back to stand in front of her, sliding my hands into my pockets while I wait.
Her eyes stay on mine, uncertainty shining through them, but there’s something else there now too…
She wants to trust me. For a few long seconds, she battles with her inner thoughts, until she takes a deep breath and lifts her shaking hands to her shoulders.
Slowly, while averting her eyes, she hooks her thumbs through the straps of her dress and drags them down.
The silk glides over her porcelain skin as it drops, pooling at her feet, leaving her in just her panties and glittering heels. No bra. Briar’s arms quickly wrap around herself to hold her chest, hiding it from me.
I look her over slowly, purposefully, appreciating the literal goddess standing before me, as she’s meant to be appreciated. She won’t look at me, keeping her gaze trained on the floor, trembling.
I freeze when my eyes come across the dark ink, just above her right hip bone.
My mark.
She still has it.
I reach out to trace the tattoo with my fingertips, the little black club, the letter “K” just above it, and then, of course, the crown.
“It’s my turn,” I say, feeling Briar’s eyes lift. “And I pick truth.”
Her eyes are on me.
“You were too good for me back then.” My fingers brush against the tattoo one last time.
“You still are.” I move my hand to her arms, gently pushing them down, away from her chest. She resists slightly before giving in, her arms falling to her sides.
There’s nothing but raw vulnerability in her eyes when she looks up at me.
I glance down, taking my time, my fingers skimming the underside of her breasts.
They’re fuller than I remember; her body is different from five years ago, softer, curvier, but her ribs still poke through far more than I’d like.
All the times she “forgot” to eat—or skipped meals—hit me like a punch to the gut, and I clench my jaw, thinking of how she has her mother’s horrible voice in her head.
“You are perfect. Every. Single. Inch.” My eyes darken as they linger on hers, making certain that she’s listening. My fingers travel further south, down the lean muscles of her stomach, until they find the hem of her panties
“Briar Rose.” She shivers as I play along the fabric’s edge.
“I pushed you away because I didn’t want my shadows to darken your light.
You were too untouchable for hands like mine—cold, rough, and forever drenched in blood.
I couldn’t let myself ruin you, so I let you ruin me instead.
” I hold her gaze, letting her see past the walls in my eyes.
A tear breaks loose, running slowly down her cheek.
“But darkness came for my little rose anyway, and in it, you didn’t wither and die; you grew thorns in the shadows; you got stronger, sharper, and unforgiving. Now, you aren’t just beautiful, you’re dangerous, but I would bleed a thousand times over just to touch you.”
Tears run down her cheeks as my hands grip her hips, walking her backwards until she’s up against the wall.
I stare into her eyes for another second before I drop to my knees, sliding her panties down with me, carefully lifting each leg to slip them all the way off, leaving the sparkling heels on her feet.
And fuck, if that’s not the most attractive thing I’ve ever seen.
Unlike the last time I touched her, I take my time. My fingers run up her inner thigh, and she shivers. “Beautiful. Now, hold still so I can show you exactly how you should be appreciated.”
I kiss her inner thigh, my mouth trailing north until my lips find her pretty, pink center.
I get a taste of her with a single swipe of my tongue, and the sound of her little gasp is music to my ears.
Of course, one taste is not enough, and soon I’m exploring every inch of her, finding her clit and circling it slowly with my tongue.
Briar’s head falls back, and the sounds escaping her only encourage me more, the way her body responds to me… going rigid and taut, to squirming and shaking when she gets close.
I grip her hips, holding her to me, grabbing her leg and throwing it over my uninjured shoulder to give me greater access.
She hooks her knee over my shoulder, and when my fingers join my tongue at her clit, her back arches off the wall and she cries out, her body trembling, but it’s when I start to suck that she really starts to writhe and scream.
I’m lost in her, utterly consumed by this beautiful, dark-haired girl that I’m on my knees for; my only goal to please her.
Briar comes hard, and I don’t relent until she’s a whimpering mess in my arms.
I pick her up. The tension I usually feel in her is gone. Her body is limp and trusting as I lay her down on the bed. She’s breathing hard, working to catch her breath while watching me slowly unbutton my shirt. Her cheeks, flushed a light pink.
“Truth or dare, Briar Rose?”
“I don’t think it’s my—”
I give her a hard look, and she sighs in defeat. “Truth”
“How many men have you been with since me?”
Her eyes widen, her cheeks flaming a brighter shade of pink before she presses her lips together, not wanting to say.
I reach the last button and let the shirt drop to the floor, moving on to unbuckle my belt.
Her breath catches, and I watch her blatantly check me out. Her gaze lingering on the single drop of color, the little red rose tattooed just over my heart.
“There’s no wrong answer. I just need to know,” I tell her, sliding the belt off and making quick work of removing my pants.
She chews her lips nervously and, okay, right now, she’s making me nervous, too. Just how many guys am I going to have to hunt down and kill for touching what’s mine?
“Do you want to switch to dare?” I ask, but after seeing the dark glint in my eye, she wisely shakes her head no.
“Then out with it.”
She stares at me for another second before releasing a sigh.
“None.”
I freeze, and my gaze turns molten.
“Lying is against the rules, little Rose.”
She swallows once, blinking up at me, the picture of innocence, her voice soft and quiet when she says, “I’m not lying.”
“Oh, Briar Rose.” I click my tongue, a dark smile curving up my face as I toss my boxers to the floor. “You should have lied.”