29. Chapter 29
Grace
My back is warm with a delicious sting when I wake the next morning. It’s early, and Lili and Victor are still asleep on either side of me. I lay there for a long time, contemplating how nice it is to be here like this.
With Kara and Sampson, half the time Kara wound up on the futon in the guest room, claiming to be too hot.
Thinking of Sampson causes an ache to bloom in my chest. I was never meant to be with him, but his life being cut so short by suicide is painful.
Guilt threatens to overtake the morning, and I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my palms over them in an attempt to shove the emotion aside.
I let my mind wander to last night’s needle play. It was intense and cathartic, and I want to crystalize every second in my memory.
The feelings the memories evoke bring to mind a scene I wrote in one of my unfinished manuscripts. I look to either side of me, and ease down the center of the bed so I can crawl off the end without climbing over either of the sleeping bodies next to me.
I pull on a robe and grab my laptop bag. The club is quiet, everyone is still sleeping except for Samuel Carter who sits near the entrance to the main dungeon, keeping watch. They have a rotation of security team members always keeping an eye on things, even through the night.
“Would you like some coffee, Samuel?” I ask as I tighten the belt on my robe.
He holds up a mug and smiles. “All set. Thank you, though. You’re up early today, Miss Grace.”
I smile. “Slept hard after my scene last night. Woke up inspired, but I don’t want to disturb my… partners.” Is that what they are? “Will I disturb you if I sit at a table out here and work?”
He waved a hand. “By all means. This is your home more than mine. I took the overnight shift because Erin has been having trouble sleeping with me in the same bed now that she’s growing a whole human.”
I grin. “It’s hard work. You’re going to make great parents.”
Silence falls over the space as I settle into a chair and open my laptop.
My heart is racing as my cursor hovers over the file name for my manuscript.
A reaction I often have. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never published.
The crippling self-doubt and impostor syndrome have kept me from doing final edits on anything I’ve written, and despite the mountains of research I’ve done on publishing, I’m still too chicken to put myself out there.
But something about last night, and the way I woke up this morning has me thinking about it again. I want other people to enjoy what I’ve created, so I double-click to open the document.
As I read through the scene that was rattling around my brain, I get engrossed in my own story. My fingers rest on the keyboard, one finger drifting down to the trackpad to scroll the page from time to time.
Time away from the story means I’m seeing it with fresh eyes, and I like what I’ve written. It’s the first time I’ve been excited by the prospect of someone else, a stranger even, reading my books.
Soon, I’m typing notes in the side panel about the changes I want to make to these characters to strengthen them. Before I know it, I’m lost in the work and joy of writing.
A plate with two strips of bacon, some strawberries, and fluffy scrambled eggs appears in front of me, and I glance up to find Tyson Vance standing over my table. “Eat. You played hard last night, and something tells me you haven’t had protein yet.”
I smile up at him and push the laptop to the side for a moment and pick up a strip of bacon. “Thank you. For everything, Tyson. You’ve taken good care of us for so long. I’m really sorry about what happened to Sabrina.”
Tyson settles into the seat across from me and waves a hand. “No guilt. You’re not the lunatic who planted a bomb in her car. I’m glad you’re both OK.”
“Me too,” I murmur. “But I still feel bad. And I would understand if she doesn’t want to live with me anymore.”
Tyson chuckles. “That’s for the two of you to work out. Something tells me you’re moving in with Victor any day now.”
I raise an eyebrow. “That obvious, is it?”
“The question is whether you’ll have a third person with you or not.”
My heart clenches at the idea of Lili not being with us. “I sure hope we do. But she has a lot to figure out for herself.”
Tyson nods. “She does. I’ve been there. Want my advice?”
I lean forward as I pop a strawberry into my mouth. “Of course.”
“Be the person she feels safe walking away from if she needs to.” He reaches for my hand when I recoil.
“It’s not easy. I get that. Especially because you love her.
But she has some demons to slay, and sometimes those demons have to be handled solo.
She’ll come back if you give her the safety to walk away without pushing her away. ”
I shove eggs around on my plate, my stomach suddenly queasy. “It makes sense. You’re right, though. It’s not easy to think about.”
Tyson and I sit and talk for a few more minutes while I finish my breakfast, then he clears my plate and kisses my cheek before disappearing into the kitchen again.
I pull my laptop back in front of me and allow myself to be pulled into the fictional world I’ve created once more.
Thinking about Lili needing space away from us is a little too much to think about right now, so I’m grateful for the escape.
It’s been so long since I’ve opened this manuscript, I find myself surprised by how much I’m enjoying my own story.
I don’t even remember writing some of these scenes, but they don’t need nearly as much work as I thought they did.
I have homework I should do, but I’m so wrapped up in my fictional world that I can’t even fathom studying anatomy or writing about the reproductive system right now.
It feels good to be doing something that comes so easily.
Lili
I wake to the sound of Victor in the shower. Grace isn’t in bed either, and I sit up and stretch, trying to get my back to release.
When I’ve finished a round of stretching, I walk into the bathroom expecting to find the two of them in the shower together getting frisky.
Instead, I find Victor facing the wall, one hand raised and pressed against it, his muscular back towards me as hot water falls down his hair and shoulders.
I slip off my robe and climb in behind him.
“Where’s Grace?” I ask, letting my hands roam up and down his chest.
He stops me, clasping my hands still against his abdomen, then turns me so we’re both under the water and facing each other.
“I’m not sure. But security is tight, and I figured she needed some space when she woke up. Was going to go looking for her after I shower.”
I squirm and press a kiss to his chest.
“What is it?” he asks, his voice dropping to a husky tone I recognize. “What do you need, Liliana?”
I let my forehead rest against his chest as water soaks my hair. “I need to feel. Or maybe I need to stop feeling. It’s complicated.”
“Do you want my help with that? It sounds to me like your brain is noisy and you need some help quieting it. Do you trust me, Liliana?”
I nod against his slick skin without looking up. “I trust you. What do you have in mind?”
“You shutting up and being my good little pain slut,” he growls in my ear.
My breath catches, but I don’t argue or object. Perhaps he’s right. My brain just needs something else to focus on.
His fingernails dig cruelly into one of my nipples and I cry out. Then he’s shoving my face under the spray of the water so that screaming isn’t safe.
His hand closes around my throat as he trails the hand from my nipple down to my pussy and finds my clit. “What do you think? Should I be nice to her, or does she need a little sting too?”
When I don’t answer, he digs his nails into my clit and I scream anyway, choking on water.
He immediately pulls me out of the spray so I can catch my breath, but he turns me to face the wall and puts my hands flat against the tile and yanks my hips so my ass is sticking out.
Then his hands scratch down my back until I’m moaning.
He lines his cock up with my entrance and drives into me with no preamble.
I’m writing against him, pressing my hips back trying to urge him deeper.
He grips my hips to hold me still. “Do you want my cock to hurt this pussy, sweetheart?” he asks.
“Please,” I whimper. “Fuck me hard.”
He thrusts into me, adjusting the angle of my hips and his cock so that he’s slamming into my cervix with brutal force.
I’ve been fucked hard before, but this is on an entirely different level.
He’s making it hurt on purpose, and I can’t fucking get enough.
It occurs to me only briefly to wonder what’s wrong with me, because he snakes a hand underneath me and finds my clit, rubbing in quick circles.
“Come for me, Liliana. Show me how much you like it when I make you scream for me.”
His mouth and his cock and his fingers all converge in a perfect storm that sends me flying over the edge at his command. I convulse around his cock and cry out as he keeps fucking me.
“That’s a good girl,” he growls against my ear. “Do you have more to give me, Spitfire?”
My brain screams that there is no way I can have another orgasm, but his nails scratch down my back, and the rest of my body disagrees, so I find myself crying out. “Yes, please. More.”
His thrusts are hard and fast, but just deep enough to hit that perfect spot.
“Victor, please,” I pant, unsure of exactly what I’m begging for.
“Please, what? What do you need?” His breathing is ragged, as if he’s exerting himself to keep from exploding, and I realize that’s exactly what I need.
“Come with me,” I whimper. “Please.”
He wraps my hair in his hand and grunts as he sinks himself deep. “Come. Nice and hard, Liliana.”
I scream again as I spasm on his cock, and then he goes still and loses himself. The way he twitches inside of me draws out my own orgasm.
After a minute, he helps me ease back into an upright position and turns me into his arms.
“Fuck, that was perfect,” I murmur as the water still falls on both of us.
“Yes, you are,” he says, no teasing in his voice. “Thank you, Liliana. For always giving everything when we’re together.”
“You trying to make me cry?”
He chuckles. “I wouldn’t dream of it unless you asked. Though I imagine you would look gorgeous crying for me, Spitfire.”
“We should probably get going and find Grace,” I murmur.
We’re quiet as we get out of the shower and dry off. It’s a nice quiet though, the kind that says we’re comfortable with each other.
Twenty minutes later, Victor kisses me soundly at the door to the hallway. “Go find Grace. Make sure she’s had food,” he orders. “I have a couple of things to check on before we figure out the rest of our day.”
We part ways when he heads for the path to his office, and I head straight for the main dungeon.
I pause when I spot Grace sitting at a table with her laptop out and headphones on.
Her fingers are flying across the keys, and something tells me she’s not working on her paper for class.
Her shoulders are relaxed, and she’s got a little smirk on her face.
She’s writing for pleasure, and she’s excited about it.
I’m tempted to get Victor so he can witness the beauty of it. Instead, I linger, watching her until she notices me.
Her eyes light up and she waves me over. “Lili! You’re awake.”
I settle into the booth next to her, and she doesn’t hide her screen from me like she’s done before.
“Good morning, lover. How long have you been up?”
She glances at the clock in the corner of her screen. “A few hours. I talked with Samuel until he went to bed. Tyson fed me breakfast, and I’ve just been writing. I woke up inspired.”
I lean in and kiss her temple. “Good girl. Victor told me to make sure you’d eaten. Do you need a snack, or did you get enough breakfast?”
Grace lays her head on my shoulder. “I had enough. But you and Victor should eat too. Is he up?”
I nod and blush and Grace grins. “I’m glad I left you two alone then. You needed some alone time.”
“Well, we certainly got it. He was rather mean to me in the shower.”
Grace beams and raises a knowing eyebrow. “And you loved every second of it.”
I let out a snort. “Maybe. Definitely. Just don’t tell him I said that.”
“Your secret is safe with me. Is he in his office? I should take him food.”
I grip her shoulder and nod to the screen. “Don’t. I’ll take care of it. He would want you to keep writing if you’re inspired. I want you to keep writing. And I’m immensely proud of you, Grace. You’re going to be a very successful author.”
She looks at the screen and back at me. “Are you sure? I’m his submissive. It’s a joy to take care of him.”
I kiss her cheek. “It is, and you do a lovely job. But sometimes taking care of him is taking care of what makes you happy. And right now, darling, you’re fucking radiant. We both know he would want you to stay like this.”
I stand to make my way to the kitchen, but a noise at the front stops me.
“You can’t come in here, Sir. We’re not open.” I recognize the voice as one of the men guarding us, and I make my way to the front and into the back room of the sandwich shop. There, I’m confronted with Jacob the assassin, looking frantic.
“I need to see Victor right away. It’s important.”
My heart is in my chest as I face the man who attacked me a year ago, but something about his demeanor says we should hear him out, so I lean over and murmur to the guard. “Keep him here. I’ll go get Victor.”