31. Chapter Thirty-One Shattered Chains
Chapter Thirty-One: Shattered Chains
Tess
I remained frozen in that position, Reaper’s large frame enveloping me. A breeze caressed my arms, blowing some of my hair into my face. A cool breeze. Like we were outside. There were sounds of traffic somewhere close, too.
“You’re alright now.” Reaper tried to be reassuring, but I was too dazed.
His voice raised goosebumps along my arms. Soft moonlight illuminated the floor at my feet. I picked up my head, the biting wind nipping at my exposed skin.
The moon loomed large in the distance. Randomly illuminated windows dotted the surrounding buildings. We were alone on a rooftop.
Reaper pulled back. His gaze sent goosebumps cascading down my arms. A slow grin curved his lips, sending a ripple of apprehension coursing through me. He stroked his fingers down my arm, electrifying every nerve.
In the blink of an eye, the world around us had shifted and warped, the solidity of the mansion replaced by the disorienting embrace of freedom and emptiness. The clear air filled my lungs, and disbelief pierced my head.
Despite the vertigo-inducing height, I refused to give in to the fear closing in on me. “What the actual fuck?”
He smirked, his head cocked. “Awww, you’re welcome, monstre.”
“What happened? Where are we?”
“Top of the Starlight Guild building. I always come here to calm down…” He shook his head in awe at the fae-owned building, the worst-kept secret in the city. “Figured you’d need it too.”
Stunned to silence again, I stared in disbelief, my jaw opening and closing as I grappled with something coherent to say. I settled on, “What happened to Ivan? Did he blow up?”
He gave a nonchalant shrug. “I assume so.”
“So you what? Teleported us out?” He nodded. “You could have gotten us out of there at any time?” He shrugged. “Why didn’t you?”
“You wanted to get Ivan, right?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“What, and show my hand to a stranger? You’re hot as fuck, Tess, but I’m not stupid.” He gazed up at the stars, and I followed his eyes. “It helps calm the brain to be up here, don’t you think?”
From the rooftop, the twinkling stars were initially just a blur to my overwhelmed senses. One minute, I was about to be face-fucked by Ivan, and the next, he was on the floor, and I was on a rooftop with Reaper. It left me reeling, my breath coming in shallow, rapid gasps. My mind raced, a chaotic whirlwind of thoughts too fast to seize, glimpse, or make sense of.
I felt the urge to run, to flee from this disorienting new reality, but to where? The dappled night sky stretched endlessly. I kept my feet planted, Reaper’s solid presence beside me; his hand was still on my arm, a steadying grip anchoring me to the moment.
Trying hard not to show my internal panic, I forced myself to continue staring up at the midnight sky. With each breath out, the stars came more and more into focus, their silvery brilliance piercing the night. The cool night air brushed against my skin, carrying the faint odors of city life far below and something burning. My shallow breaths lengthened, the tightness in my chest easing as the rhythmic rise and fall matched the slow twinkling of the stars.
I searched the horizon for the source of the burning and found a bright glow in the distance.
“Is that the mansion?”
He followed my gaze to the faint orange hue in the distance and grinned. “That’s the one.”
“He blew the whole thing up…”
I wondered what Valorsyn would make of his favorite event literally exploding in his face. A hysterical giggle escaped my lips—they hadn’t even taken the contestants’ details. The last decade of my life… about to vanish like smoke.
The city sprawled beneath us, an obsidian tapestry speckled with muted lights. The distant hum of traffic reached my ears, a surreal reminder that the world still turned. My hands gripped the cool metal of the rooftop rail, the tangible sensation anchoring me as my mind reeled.
I was still alive.
I’m still alive .
The realization hit me like a thunderbolt. I leaned against the railing, letting out a shaky breath that seemed to carry the weight of ten years. My forehead pressed against the smooth metal as I fought to steady my breathing, my entire body trembling.
Safe. I was safe.
Ivan is gone.
A wave of heat washed over me, and I gulped in air, my hands shaking uncontrollably. “It’s over,” I whispered, the words tasting foreign and wonderful on my tongue.
Reaper’s silent presence beside me was an unexpected comfort. I stole a glance at him, his face unreadable in the darkness, gaze fixed on the star-studded sky. As my breathing steadied, the stars seemed to pulse in rhythm with my wildly beating heart.
Free. I was free . The realization bloomed in my chest, expanding with each breath. Never again would I be forced to submit to Ivan’s twisted games, his emotional torture, his suffocating control. I was my own woman.
Could it really be possible? After all this time?
A chuckle bubbled up from deep within me, growing into a full-bodied laugh. It was absurd—my curse, my father, Ivan, magic, and now this. The laughter grew, bordering on hysteria. I clung to the railing, my body shaking with the force of it.
“I’m free,” I gasped between peals of laughter. “I’m free!”
I don’t know how long I stood there, caught between laughter and tears. Reaper remained a steady presence, never interrupting. When I finally met his gaze, tears streaming down my face, he offered a simple smile and nodded. As if he understood perfectly that, in this moment, losing my mind was the only sane response .
For the first time in a decade, I felt the intoxicating rush of possibility. The future—my future—stretched out before me, vast and unknown and mine.
Slowly, my racing thoughts began to fall away, the cacophony in my mind quieting to a manageable hum. The fear and bewilderment ebbed, replaced by a cautious calm. The stars above no longer seemed distant and indifferent. The night air felt cool and refreshing against my flushed skin.
Standing there on the rooftop, with the city spread out below and the vast sky above, I felt a strange, growing peace. The world might be chaotic and unpredictable, but in that moment, I was alive.
The stars continued to twinkle, their light steady and reassuring. In their glow, I found the strength to face whatever came next.
In retrospect, I didn’t know what I was even thinking back there. With no plan, I should have been killed, but for some reason, Reaper saved me. Why?
“Are you going back?” I asked, wondering if he’d want to claim his win.
Leaning against the banister beside me, gazing out across the city, he didn’t answer. “Sometimes it takes time to come down from shit like that. It was pretty intense.”
“Pretty disastrous,” I corrected.
“I don’t know.” Amusement rang out in his voice. “We’re here. He’s not.”
I flattened my forearms against the railing, looking over at him, and pursed my lips. “Mmmmm. And how is that?”
He smirked. “Everyone has their secrets, don’t they, Tess?”
“I suppose they do…” My voice drifted off, leaving silence to take over. In the quiet, my body and brain relaxed. I wanted to say thank you. Ask him what he expected from me for saving me .
I wanted to fuck him again. The memory of his hands all over me, his cock inside me, that growly throat thing he did. I started to warm, and my face flushed, but I hoped he couldn’t see it in the shadows. “Uh, do you think you can get me home?”
He nodded, straightening and leaning in toward me. “Whenever you want to go.” His tone made it clear there was a reason to stay. Chiseled features framed his golden eyes, which caught my gaze, and I stilled. The memory of how he moved in me earlier had me mesmerized at the feel of him so close. He traced his fingers down my arm and edged closer, but I jerked my hand away before he reached my wrist. I did not want to see his death right now.
Unlike everyone else in my past, he didn’t even flinch at the rejection—just confidently slid his fingers back up my arm. I couldn’t breathe. Time stopped, and moments later, I found him squarely in front of me, flanking both shoulders.
Not counting the ballroom—which was a bizarre extenuating circumstance—this was the first time I could consider a man’s advances all on my own since I’d met Ivan. He and his friends didn’t count. They just did what they wanted with me. I bit my lip, taking a moment to orient myself in the present moment. It wasn’t difficult; no woman would say no to Reaper. No one would want to.
“Plant your hands behind you, monstre.” The rumbling lilt of his voice vibrated straight to my core. When I reached back to grasp the railing, he smoldered. “That’s a good girl.” He brought a hand to my chin and hovered there. “Can I touch your face?”
I nodded, swallowing audibly. My heartbeat echoed in my ears so I could barely hear him. With a deep breath, begging my body to calm, I felt like a revved-up engine, ready to take off over the edge of the rooftop .
He traced his thumb over my lip, his gaze an inferno threatening to incinerate us both. I watched him lick his own plump lips as he captured my chin between his fingers, leaned in and took my bottom lip between his. I squeezed my fingers tighter. He was too gentle; the anticipation was killing me. I wanted him to be rough, tear my clothes off and rail me with his hands around my throat. But this was a different game, one too novel to disturb. I swallowed, trying to be patient, to see how he would unfold the promises made with every stroke of his tongue.
Groaning softly, he pulled back and gazed into my eyes, running a finger over my tits. “Delicious. Thanks for the tip.”
The disorientation in my eyes must have shown. “Tip?”
“Your shirt… ‘Lick a witch.’ Glad I did.”
Heart still pounding erratically, I smirked at him. “Tease,” I croaked, cringing at the sound of my wavering voice.
“Is that another tip?” There was a twinkle in his eyes that was more friendly than fierce, but I wanted the monster back.
“Yes.”
My false confidence didn’t fool either of us, but it seemed to amuse him. He growled and, still gripping my chin, tugged my head to the side, exposing the length of my neck.
“Can I touch you here?”
I shrugged.
He placed an open-mouthed kiss to the side of my neck, sending currents of electricity careening down to my pulsating pussy. God, I just wanted to climb him and impale myself on his cock again. Forcing myself to slow down and enjoy his foreplay was a trial. We’d done it once, and I wanted it again, pronto. But I knew I should be grateful for a seduction. He trailed a finger down between my breasts to the bottom hem of my T-shirt. “How about here? ”
I gnashed my teeth. “Everything but my hands.”
A wicked smile spread out across his cheeks. “Is that carte blanche consent?”
Yes! Do what you want with me, now! “You wish.”
“I can live with that.” He leaned in and kissed me again, harder this time. His tongue lapped at the opening, seeking mine and thrusting in.
More dominant thrusting was all I wanted.
He pulled away and quietly rumbled into my ear, “You can say no whenever you want me to stop.”
“No,” I breathed.
He hummed a warning sound. “Bad girl. Only when you mean it, monstre. Remember your safe word?”
“Frozen,” I whispered. But I wasn’t anywhere near frozen. I was overheating. About to combust.
He smirked, hooking a finger into the waistband of my leggings and tugging me against him. “I do like playing with brats…”
We crashed into each other like battling beasts. He curled his hand around my waist, cupped my ass, and crawled his other hand up my front to pinch a nipple. I moaned into his mouth, pressing against him, and lifted a leg to wrap around his waist.
Trading Ivan for Reaper was a dangerous game.
A niggling voice in the back of my head warned this was like consorting with the devil.
I should stop him.
But I hadn’t lived in years.
I was finally emancipated, so fuck that.
I leaned into the urge and let myself freefall into oblivion with him .
He slid his fingers over my leggings between my legs, and I threw my head back as he slid further until the heel of his palm rubbed against my aching nub, building tension and need into a frenzy.
He growled against my ear and clutched a handful of the fabric taut as if he were about to tear them off. My belly clenched because that would have been so hot, but I didn’t have anything else to get home in.
“Hold on there, Elsa,” I mumbled against his ear. “That’s a frosty path you’re headed down.”
His lips pulled taut in amusement, but he unfurled his fist and tugged my waistband down a smidge. “Warmer?”
“Seems cozy,” I whispered. He kissed me and then lowered down, sliding my leggings off, along with my shoes, which he placed to the side. The crisp breeze brought goosebumps up along my skin, but I didn’t mind the sensory contrast. It was intoxicating.
Like him.
He crushed me against the railing, cupping my jaw with both hands and dove in for another earth-shattering kiss. His erection pressed into my core, but I wanted more. I dry-humped his caged cock, pulling both legs up to wrap around him.
A low growl came from his chest like a wild creature. “Fuck, where have you been hiding all this time?”
With his arms wrapped around my waist, he ground against me harder. It felt so good I let out a cry into the night sky. The pressure mounted, but I still needed more. The breeze against my skin was invigorating after the oppression of the hot, stifling house. He let go and dropped to his knees, letting his hands coast down my body. With the back of his fingers, he stroked my clit and exhaled hot breaths against my folds. I bucked against his hand, and he grinned.
“That’s a good girl. ”
“Not even a little bit,” I murmured. “Give me more.”
With a slight squirm, he chuckled. “God damn, girl.”
I gazed down at him with what must have been a glazed expression by then. “Why don’t you let your beast out to play already, then?”
He hissed and whipped my panties off my ankles, draped my knee over his shoulder and dove in like I was his last supper.
I threw my head back, moaning and subtly directing his movements. When I opened my eyes to see the stars overhead, the pressure built into a vibrant heat that coiled tighter than ever. “Fuck,” I shouted. “Don’t fucking stop that!”
He didn’t; instead, he shook his head violently from side to side like a rabid beast, and I exploded into fractured curses in the night. The rolling spasms sent echoes of brilliant torture through me over and over until I worried it might never stop.
When would I tell him to stop if my orgasm continued endlessly? It felt too good to cut short. I screamed out again, clutching the railing behind me.
When it finally eased, as I steadied my breathing, he licked me gently. There was no abruptness forcing me to move on. He just savored every drop of me. Finally, I let out a satisfied moan. “Fine, I’ll admit, you’re pretty far from ice right now.”
“I could watch that all night.” He rose up to kiss me. The scent of my sex all over his slick mouth and chin had me melting for him all over again.
“I bet you couldn’t,” I teased.
“Monstre, I would love to eat you over and over again all night long, until you’re a good little pliable fuck toy for me. I’d stroke myself for hours as you scream and tremble in relative bliss until the finale.”
Damn, that was hot. How could I still feel so horny after I’d just come so hard? “Mmmm. Relative bliss? So what’ s the finale?”
“That’s when I bury myself so deep and hard inside that exquisite pussy I’ve just devoured, we’d both forget we even exist and become a writhing mass of ecstasy until we burst into a cataclysm of delirium.”
I bit my lip, staring at him, and he kissed my neck, sucking on it hard, and I brought my legs up and around him again. “So you’re a poet. Stop teasing and skip to that last bit.”
He growled. “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into with me.”
“Do I have to beg again?”
“That’d be nice, but then you might have to beg me to stop.”
“Sounds like fiction. I can’t imagine why I’d do that.”
He unzipped his jeans and pulled that thick, veiny cock out, letting his pants fall to the floor. “Get on your knees, you needy bitch.”
My dripping pussy twitched. She whined for me to do as I was told, and I was happy to oblige. “Yes sir.” I kept my eyes locked on him as I lowered to the floor and licked the head of his dick.
He grasped my head and shoved my mouth onto his cock, balls deep. I choked down a gag but looked up at him, letting the elation shine from my eyes. “Fuck me,” he growled as he thrust his hard shaft in and out of my throat.
My hand edged between my legs, needing to ease the ache there, but a sharp pain in my scalp stopped me. He wrenched my head off him. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
“Trying to suck your cock as well as you did my clit, sir.” A fusion of fear and excitement blended inside me, ready to erupt.
“Get up.” He pulled me to my feet. I stood in front of him, naked from the waist down, and squared my shoulders, eager to see what he wanted .
Shifting his hand around to grasp my throat possessively, he grinned. “Is that delicious pussy of yours throbbing with need for me?” His dark gaze was pure evil, but he wouldn’t hurt me. Not yet.
As a breeze kissed my ass and ruffled my hair, I licked my lips and gave him my most sultry expression. “She’s desperate for you.”
“That’s a good fucking girl.” He squeezed my neck just a tinge tighter. “Tell me what you want, Tess.”
I was nearly a puddle on the floor already. It was a struggle not to writhe around all over him and hump his leg. He was torturing me, but I caught his eye and gave him the strongest, straightest answer I could manage. “I want you to fuck me.”
“Beg for it then.”
I could do that, and with so much authenticity. “Please fuck me. I need Reaper’s exquisite cock to pound me like I need air to breathe. I can’t exist another moment with the emptiness my cunt feels when you look at me.”
“That’s fucking perfect,” he growled and lifted me up, impaling me on his cock. He bounced me on him as he made his way to a brick wall and pressed my back against it, giving him the leverage to fuck me harder.
The wall was rough, and I gasped, letting out a needy moan, but as he pulled back and thrust again, I found I couldn’t control myself. I screeched into the midnight sky, releasing all the proof of ecstasy within. He grunted and moaned, too, his deep, gruff voice edging me closer again to another orgasm.
“Oh. My. God!” I shouted as I tipped over the edge and spasmed around his pistoning dick.
“Fuuuuck,” he rumbled, and he let go, spilling his hot load inside me and roaring to the heavens. “That’s right, that’s me. ”
When he kissed me as we came together, I wrapped my arms around him and tangled my hands in his hair, all without thinking. We devoured each other, but it only took a second for me to realize what I’d done.
I touched him.
Gasping loudly, I raised my hands, braced for the impact of a deathly vision.
Frozen in a quiet panic, I waited.
And waited.
Nothing.
Where was the vision?
Of course, since I wasn’t touching him anymore, but why wasn’t I catapulted into the pain of his traumatic death?
Slowly pulling away, my heart in my throat, I still half expected the agony to slam into me.
Still nothing, of course.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, letting me down. “Did I hurt you?”
I couldn’t breathe. Where was the vision?
I’d never touched anyone without seeing—and feeling—their ultimate demise.
What was he?
He scrutinized every inch of me, checking for signs of damage, but I just gazed up at him, still waiting for the shock of my impending vision. My breathing was shallow and fast, but I didn’t dare move for the fear of triggering it.
But what could I do?
“What is it, monstre? What happened?”
I swallowed and tried to get a breath in. It was a struggle, but nothing hurt .
I should have been clutching my head and rolling into a ball with the vision of his ultimate end.
But there was nothing.
“I touched you.”
He nodded. “You touched me with your hands. Are you okay?”
“I think so.”
“Come sit down.”
He led me to an internal brick wall I could sit on and threw his jacket down for me. I dropped down on it and let out a long breath while he rushed across the way to snatch up my panties and leggings. He brought them back and knelt in front of me. Reaching up, he cupped my jaw and gazed into my eyes.
“That wasn’t how I envisioned breaking you.”
I laughed. “No complaints here on that front.”
He pressed his lips together, not quite reassured yet. “What happened?”
Thinking hard, I rolled my lips between my teeth. It hadn’t happened before, but there was only one reason I could think of that I wouldn’t have felt his death just now. Hesitating, I brought my hand up to try again. I really didn’t want to plunge into the pain on purpose after I’d been lucky enough to avoid a death vision, but I had to know. “Just… let me do something.”
He nodded, and I laid my hand over his. His warmth seeped into my palm, but my stomach dropped with the void of any deathly vision. My head spun, and I let out a breathy sob in disbelief.
He stood by, very still, obviously wanting to say something. But he didn’t; he kept quiet and watched carefully, giving me the space to process what I needed to .
I let out a light wail and hunched forward, bringing my other hand to lay over his on the other side of my face. Tears welled up and streamed down my cheeks, and I sobbed and laughed all at once.
He watched me with desperation, waiting for me to explain. He had no idea what was going on, and I was torturing him.
“I don’t even know your name.” I flushed as I brought our hands down to my lap. “Only Reaper , but that can’t be your real name, right?”
“It’s Maverick. I have nothing to do with the name Reaper .”
“Who came up with Reaper?” I canted my head.
He twisted his lips to one side. “I don’t know. Someone intimidated, I suppose.”
There were a lot of people who were very intimidated by him, so I supposed that was why the name had spread. And now, with this new clue to his nature, this possible lack of any discernible death in his future, I could see why. Unless it was me.
My curse ‘failing’ me for the first time ever was refreshing, but also unsettling. I narrowed my eyes and went with the most outrageous interpretation, trying to keep the atmosphere light and relaxed, even though I was nowhere near relaxed. I was freaking the fuck out on the inside, despite my smirk. “Maverick, are you immortal?”
He laughed. “I guess you could say that.”
My heart stopped.
I swallowed a cough.
“Oh. Oh, god… Are you a demon?”
He rolled his eyes. “Not the kind you’re thinking of.”
It wasn’t a denial, though.
I didn’t know much about demonology.
In fact, I knew way too little to get involved with someone who answered that question with that answer .
I chewed on my lip, trying to consider all the implications from all angles in that single moment, but instead, my mind emptied like a storm drain.
“Vampires still have an effect on my curse.” I’d seen one staked in a vision when I was a kid. It was incredibly traumatizing to see this scene of a guy in a dark room fighting with someone and then getting stabbed, screaming, and then bursting into flames and burning into dust within seconds.
“Well, that’s probably because vampires aren’t immortal.”
“But…” He was immortal. He’d just admitted it. “But you are ?” I couldn’t help but stammer. I couldn’t even think. He reached down and took my hand. I flinched, but he smirked and waited for me to overcome the instinct. When I allowed it, he pulled me to my feet and curled an arm around my waist. I let my hands wander up his chest, savoring the hard-muscled planes.
All my life, I avoided touching anyone. But now…
The one person I could touch–
How could he be this fucking gorgeous?
It had to be a trick. I didn’t get to have nice things.
Never.
Not ever.
How could I be so lucky?
“How old… are… Uhhh…how old are you?”
“I lost count thousands of years ago.”
“Holy shit,” I whispered, bringing a hand up to his face, slowly. Hesitantly. With an almost imperceptible nod from him, I stroked a thumb over his cheekbones, then my finger along his eyebrow, down the hard lines of his jaw and across his lips. He caught my middle finger and sucked it into his mouth, swirling his tongue seductively.
“Can I take you home? ”
My stomach dropped, and a numbness shot through my limbs with shame. I dropped my hand and glanced away for a second. “Of course. Yes. Yes, please.” To my embarrassment, I looked down at my feet.
He chuckled and guided my chin up to look at him again, his expression dark and heated. “Tess. I mean my home.”
“Oh… Oh! Really?”
“This is why I don’t normally tell anyone. I’m just a guy, and not even a very good one. Not a god. Not a genie. Just a guy who doesn’t mind letting you rove your hands all the fuck over my body as long as you fucking want.”
My breath hitched. “Wow… Yeah. Yeah, alright.”
I nodded, and he seemed poised to pick me up when a huge, dark figure coasted over us and landed with a thud beside Maverick.
Scrambling back, I held in the scream.
Just about.
It came out as a pathetic whimper.
“Mav.” The newcomer’s voice was as gruff and masculine as Maverick’s.
Maverick sighed in a relaxed but exasperated way. “Lux, I’m busy.”
“I see that, and I’m sorry, but it’s important.”
“What is?”
“We have a situation. Come with me. Now, please.”
“For fuck’s sake, Lux!” he shouted. I backed away further, and Maverick turned to me. “It’s alright.” He turned back to Lux and intoned in a deep, guttural voice, “He’s a friend .”
“Bring her home. Call her tomorrow. We need you now ,” Lux replied.
Maverick threw his head back and growled, his hands squeezing into fists. “Fine. Get out of here. I’ll find you when I can.”
“Mav. ”
“I’ll be right behind you, fuck face.”
Lux smirked but cleared his face when he saw Maverick wasn’t playing. Then, he gave him a nod, and huge black wings shot out of his back. I gasped as he disappeared into the sky so fast I didn’t know if I’d really seen what I thought I had.
Maverick turned to me, lips flat, eyes glowing red. He had to be a demon. “Will have to take a rain check, monstre. Where do you live?”
Thinking the interruption was possibly a blessing, I swallowed. “Um, well, if you just get me down to the street, I can walk.”
“No fucking way. Come on.” He seized me around the waist and launched into the sky. A startled cry tore from my throat, but within moments, we were soaring, the ground falling away beneath us. His obsidian wings unfurled, their vast expanse blotting out the stars and plunging us into a deeper darkness. Wonder and terror converged tightly in my chest, and we climbed higher.
As the initial shock subsided, I forced myself to inhale deeply, acutely aware of his iron grip on me. The wind whipped through my hair, and the city shrank to a glittering landscape below. When he asked again, I managed to stammer out my address, and in a few more heartbeats, we descended.
My feet touching solid ground once more, I fumbled for my key at the doorstep, still dizzy.
He grasped my arm, spinning me to face him. His lips crashed against mine in a searing kiss that left me breathless and my pulse thundering in my ears.
“I’ll find you,” he rumbled, flying off before I could say goodbye. After watching him shrink into an imperceptible blur in the night sky, I slipped inside, locking the door behind me.
There was no way he would be back.
A guy like that …
An immortal who looked like that… who had me screaming from the rooftop within minutes of getting me up there. Literally.
He’d be on to the next girl tomorrow.