7. Rand
RAND
As we pull up to my country manor, I’m distracted by the burning need to call Ghost. I need to know who approached her in Brownie Bakehouse. I have to know who to kill slowly.
But that will have to wait. I focus on Karolina to quell my murderous impulses. The sight of her calms me like nothing else.
She’s staring out the car window, eyes wide. “This is your house?”
We reach the end of the long, private driveway, and I park in front of the sprawling Edwardian manor.
It’s too soon to tell her that I bought it for her. I don’t want to scare her again.
Karolina has forgiven me. By some miracle, I’ve managed to earn her trust. She told me her real name, even though I’ve always known exactly who she is.
Disquiet makes my gut churn. I’m still keeping so many secrets from her.
I harden my resolve as I get out of the car and circle it to open her door. When I take her hand in mine, all that matters is our connection. Nothing will stop me from claiming her again, not even guilt over my own duplicity.
I’ve been honest about the fact that I killed when I was part of the underground fighting ring. It seems she can live with that.
But if she ever finds out that I was a coldblooded assassin, she’ll run screaming.
Even when we were teenagers, I never shared the full truth of what I am—the curse that taints my blood.
My black soul makes killing as natural as breathing.
Their deaths mean nothing to me, and I would do it again a thousand times if that’s what it takes to have her.
When I was Brandon, I did it all for her. I did it to survive until one day I could come back to her as a new man, with the means to take care of her the way she deserves.
As Rand, I’m whole physically. Worthy of her beauty, even if I’ll never be worthy of possessing her heart.
That won’t stop me from taking it, anyway.
She’s offered herself to me. It’s too late for her to turn back now.
I’m never giving her up.
I lead her into the manor, disabling the alarm with a quick tap on my phone. The security I have in place will help protect her, but it’s not enough to fully put my mind at ease. While I’m out hunting down my enemy, Ghost will watch over her. I need him in England as quickly as possible.
But I can’t call him in front of her right now. I need to come to an agreement with Ghost about how he’ll explain our friendship first. I won’t risk him slipping up and revealing hints about my dark past.
“You’re worried,” she observes. “Do you think we’ll be safe here?”
I gently grasp her shoulders, craving to hold her and reassure myself that she’s real and whole in my hands.
“No one will touch you as long as you’re with me,” I swear.
She nods. “Don’t worry. I don’t plan to go anywhere until we figure out what’s going on.” Her head tips back, and she sways towards me. “I know you’ll protect me.”
I can’t hold back any longer; I crush my lips to hers as I kick the door shut behind me. She meets me with a desperate kiss, her lips molding to mine. I flick my tongue against hers, and she opens for me, allowing me to claim her mouth in deep, hungry strokes.
She melts into me. We fit together perfectly.
I’m much bigger than I was when I was a lanky teenager, but this is how it’s always been between us. Nothing feels more right than having Karolina in my arms.
I only bring myself to tear my lips from hers so I can lift her up over my shoulder and carry her through the house, making our way to our bedroom.
She relaxes against me with a delighted laugh.
It reminds me of the night we were together at the hunt.
She’s completely comfortable in my possessive hold.
She wants me.
She wants us.
I climb the stairs two at a time, eager to get her to our room. When we reach it, I toss her down on the huge fourposter bed I bought for us.
For a moment, I simply stare down at her. She’s perfect, her dark hair falling around her porcelain face, auburn threads gleaming through the dark locks like a subtle, fiery halo.
Her hands fist in my shirt, and she pulls herself upright so she can press her body against mine to claim a hungry kiss.
I groan, and she devours the sound of my weakness for her.
My fierce Karolina is so delicate in my careful hold, but she could command me with a word. She owns me.
But she’s mine, too.
And she likes it best when I take charge.
Her hands cup my cheeks, and she breaks our kiss. I barely breathe as I stare into her light green eyes, studying the way her pupils dilate with desire for me.
Shock punches me when she drops to her knees.
Her gaze is almost shy, with no sign of her usual brattiness.
This is raw and real. No games.
Her hands tremble slightly as she reaches for my belt.
“Karolina…”
“I’ve always wanted to do this with you,” she murmurs, unzipping my pants. “I want to taste you.”
I groan again, and my fingers thread through her hair.
She’s fantasized about taking my cock in her mouth for years.
I wish she would call me by my real name, but that’s madness.
This is more than enough. I’ll be Bones for her. I’ll be Rand.
I’m whatever she wants me to be. Whatever she needs.
She frees my cock from my pants, her touch bold despite her inexperience.
She’s staring at my dick as though it’s the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen.
Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, and my fingers tighten in her hair.
The urge to surge forward and sink into her hot mouth is almost overwhelming, but I restrain myself. This will happen on her terms. It’s a miracle that she’s touching me at all. I won’t betray her trust.
Disquiet threads through my lust. I’m still betraying her trust with every breath. I’m keeping so many secrets, and she’s shared everything with me.
Then she rubs her thumb over my cockhead, and all thoughts are obliterated. My knees almost buckle at the burst of pure pleasure, and I brace a hand against the bedpost for support.
She lifts her thumb to her mouth. My precum glistens on her skin. She licks it up.
I almost come undone at the sight of her eyes flaring with raw lust.
“I’ve never done this before,” she admits, voice low and sultry. “I want it to be good for you.”
It’s taking all my willpower to hold back my orgasm.
“Neither have I,” I admit. “It’s only ever been you, Karolina. No one else.”
“You mean… When we were together before. Was that your first time, too?”
She sounds so hopeful that my heart aches.
I caress her cheek. “Yes, kitten.” I finally use the nickname she likes for the first time since she met me as Rand. “I’ve been waiting for you for years.”
Before I can fear that I’ve said too much, she leans forward and brushes her soft lips over my cock.
My fingers fist in her hair, and I hiss out a sharp breath.
“I won’t last,” I warn. “I can’t. I want you too goddamn badly.”
I’ve always coveted her. When we were teenagers, I held myself back because she was the purest, most perfect thing in my world.
But after all these years of denial, I crave to defile her. I’ll ruin her for all other men. There’s no one else for her. Not ever.
“Lose control,” she challenges, her breath hot on my cock. “I want your cum on my tongue.”
I tug her head back with my grip on her hair. She gasps, and my dick pulses at the sight of her parted lips.
“Don’t tempt me like that,” I growl. “I don’t want to push you too hard. Not this first time.”
“Then you’d better go slow,” she purrs. “I want to learn what you like.”
“What I like is seeing you on your knees for me. I want to fuck your pretty mouth and come down your throat. Is that what you want to hear?”
Her eyes flash with challenge. “Only if it’s true.”
I bite out a curse and press my cock to her lips. “Open.”
She obeys, and I have to keep her immobile with my grip on her hair. She’s trying to take me deeper, but it’s too fast. I’ll come undone too soon.
My sassy Karolina flicks her tongue over my shaft, tormenting me despite my attempt to take control.
My muscles are so taut with the effort of holding myself back that I’m shaking for her. My hand flexes around the bedpost, as though I’m grasping for the last vestiges of my sanity.
“Naughty little thing,” I grind out. “You want to take me deeper? Tell me.”
She hums her agreement, sending vibrations through my dick that dance up my spine. I shudder.
“Say, yes, Professor.”
She blinks up at me. I don’t pull out of her mouth.
Her words are garbled around my shaft, and she shudders as a wave of pure lust rolls through her in response to the mild humiliation.
She knows exactly how to unlock my most primal, savage kinks.
Hers match mine perfectly.
Or maybe she’s the reason I’m this way. I would do anything for her. I’ll be anything she needs me to be.
For now, she wants me to master her. She revels in my control, even as she relishes testing it.
She traces the underside of my shaft with her tongue and says something else. I can’t understand the muffled words, but the vibration is enough to shake my careful control.
My hips surge forward, and my dick slides deep into her mouth.
She gags when I touch the back of her throat, and I withdraw immediately.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes,” she breathes. “I want more.”
My hand in her hair keeps her restrained, but she dares to flick her tongue out over my cockhead again.
“Fuck!”
I slide between her hungry lips, and she takes me deeper this time. I hold myself there, my fingers flexing against her skull.
When I drag back out, she hollows her cheeks, sucking me.
I moan her name and push back in.
Pleasure is gathering at the base of my spine. I know I can’t last.
I should stop. I should give her pleasure first.
But she swirls her tongue around me, and I push into her throat. My cum pulses into her mouth, and I bark out my helpless release.
Lightning flashes over my vision, blinding white as ecstasy sears me.
Her throat convulses, and I quickly withdraw to allow her to breathe.
She sucks me clean.
My knees go weak, and I’m kneeling before her.
“Are you alright?” My voice is rough, barely human.
“Wonderful.” She licks her lips, savoring my taste.