Chapter 14 #3
We cross the threshold and he kicks the door shut behind us. Then he’s on me. Hands on my chest, pushing me backward until the back of my knees hit the bed.
We tumble onto it together. Him on top of me, pinning me with his weight.
“Get off—”
“No.” His hands find the laces of my suit, fingers working them with quick efficiency. “Not until you understand.”
He pushes the leather aside, revealing the scars underneath. Decades of violence written on my skin. But his eyes are only focused on the bruises on my throat, the clear imprint of fingers. His expression goes dark and murderous.
“I want to hunt them down,” he says quietly, voice shaking with barely controlled rage. “I want to make them understand what it means to hurt what’s mine.”
That fucking word again.
“I’m not yours.”
“Aren’t you?” His eyes meet mine, challenging. “You said this isn’t just a job anymore. You said you’d drag me back from hell. That sounds like mine to me.”
His mouth descends on my throat, kissing my bruise like he can erase it with his own touch.
“Only I get to mark you,” he murmurs against my skin. “Only me.”
Then his teeth sink into my collarbone. I gasp at the sensation.
“This is—fuck, Garrett. Your father hired me to guard you,” I manage to say, even as my hands slide into his hair. “This crosses every line.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me with those dangerous eyes. “I don’t care about that.”
His mouth moves lower. Soft at first, gentle nibbles tracing down my ribs that make my breath catch. Then his teeth sink in harder, marking the skin over bone. Pain flares sharp and immediate. I bite back a sound.
He doesn’t stop. Another bite, lower this time. Harder. The pain blooms hot and I jerk against the bed. His tongue drags over the mark, easing the sting. I don’t know if I want him to stop or keep going. He’s claiming territory, branding me one painful inch at a time.
My breathing comes ragged now. He works his way across my ribs, teeth and tongue in turn. By the time he’s done I’m shaking, skin hypersensitive everywhere he’s touched.
“No one else gets to mark you,” he says against my ribs. “No one else gets to hurt you. Do you understand?”
I’m trembling beneath him, caught between the pain and the pleasure of it.
“If I’m yours, then you’re mine too,” I manage to grunt out. “Only mine.”
What the fuck am I even saying?
I’m nothing. A guild assassin. Garrett’s a noble with plenty of suitors, a future, a legacy. There’s no reason for him to agree to this.
“Deal,” he says immediately, and there’s something fierce in his eyes. “I’m yours. Only yours.”
Wait, what?
“If someone touches you again, I’ll break their fucking neck.” There’s something terrifying in his expression as he vows it.
He’s completely unhinged and possessive. But instead of pushing him away, I find myself pulling him closer.
“If someone touches you, I’ll do worse,” I mutter because I’m so fucking unpoetic.
Garrett gives me the brightest smile I have ever seen. “Deal.”
He seals our agreement with another kiss.
His hands map my body, fingers tracing over ribs and shoulders before tangling in my hair.
I pull him down until he’s lying next to me, our bodies aligned.
We’re both grinding against each other, seeking friction.
His hips press against mine and I feel how hard he is through his breeches.
The knowledge sends heat spiking through me.
He grinds down against me and I gasp into his mouth. My own cock is painfully hard, trapped between our bodies.
“You have no idea what you do to me,” he murmurs against my lips, rolling his hips again. The friction is maddening. I arch up into it. His hands slide down to grip my hips, holding me in place while he moves against me.
“Garrett—” His name comes out hoarse.
“I know.” He does it again, harder this time. “I can feel you.”
His mouth moves to my ear, tongue tracing the shell before his teeth catch my earlobe. A shudder runs through me. Then his tongue pushes into my ear, stroking deep. Goosebumps break out across my skin, hair standing on end.
The sensations layer together until I can’t separate them—his weight pressing me into the mattress, his cock grinding against mine through our clothes, his tongue in my ear sending shivers down my spine.
Heat floods through me without warning. My vision whites out as I come hard in my pants, back arching off the bed. The orgasm tears through me, unexpected and devastating. Wave after wave of pleasure crashes over me until I’m trembling, gasping his name into the space between us.
When I come back to myself, I’m shaking.
Fuck.
Embarrassment burns through me immediately.
“Wolf, did you come from just a kiss?” Garrett asks slowly.
I can’t even look at him. “That’s never happened before. I’m sorry, I—”
Garrett laugh and shakes his head. “Do you know how fucking hot that was? Watching you fall apart just from this?”
He grinds against me again and I gasp, oversensitive.
“Let me show you what you do to me.” He takes my hand, guiding it down between us to the front of his pants.
He’s rock hard and straining against the fabric. My breath catches. I did this to him. I made him this desperate.
“Feel that?” His voice has gone rough. “That’s all you.”
He kisses me again, swallowing whatever response I might have made. When he pulls back, his eyes are dark with want.
“You can’t let anyone kiss you,” he suddenly says, voice rough. “From now on, these lips are mine.”
I quirk an eyebrow at him.
“Besides, it’ll be bad if everyone knows just how sensitive you are,” he grins, all teeth.
I roll my eyes. This bastard messes with me too much. Let’s see if he likes it when I return the favor.
Emboldened, I work the laces of his pants open. Garrett’s eyes widen, his throat working. When I finally get my hand around him he makes a sound that goes straight through me.
“Fuck,” he breathes. “Yes. Just like that.”
I stroke him slowly, learning what makes his breath catch. The way his hips jerk when my thumb swipes over the head. How he groans when I tighten my grip.
I watch his face as I work him. Eyes fluttering closed. Lips parting. The flush spreading across his cheeks.
I’m making him fall apart. His breathing gets faster, more ragged. His hips start moving, fucking into my hand with increasing desperation.
“Wolf—” My name escapes from his lips. “I’m going to—”
I stroke him faster, twisting my wrist the way that made him gasp before.
He comes with a harsh grunt, spilling over my hand. His whole body goes rigid and shudders through it. I work him through it until he’s gasping, catching my wrist to still my hand.
We lie there for a moment, both breathing hard. His forehead presses against my shoulder. He lifts his head to look at me and there’s something soft in his expression.
His hands slide to my belt again, and this time I don’t stop him. I watch as he works the buckle open. But before he can go further, a bell tower chimes in the distance.
Once. Twice. Three times. Marking the hour.
Dawn has arrived. We both freeze, the spell breaking. Garrett looks toward the window where gray light is starting to seep through the curtains. Then back at me.
“You should get some rest before the day starts,” I manage, not quite meeting his eyes.
“Yes,” he agrees finally. But he doesn’t move or bother getting back to his own room.
Instead, he shifts to lie closer beside me, his forehead pressing against mine. “You know what I think?”
“What?” I breathe.
“I think you’re scared. Not of staying, but of wanting to stay.” His eyes search mine.
My heart is pounding so hard he must be able to hear it.
“You’ve been watching me so you know I’m pretty greedy. Three fucking days isn’t enough,” he continues, his hand moving from my throat to cup my jaw. His thumb traces my lower lip. “I want more time. I want you to trust me the way I trust you. I want—”
He trails off. But I understand what he’s not saying.
He wants forever.
“You think the guild can stop me?” Something fierce enters his voice. “Even if the whole world is against us, I’ll never let you go.”
I want to believe it’s possible. That someone like him could want someone like me permanently and the guild would let me walk away.
But wanting something doesn’t make it real.
His breathing gradually slows, becomes deeper. More even. The tension drains from his body as sleep pulls him under.
I lie there, feeling the weight of him against my side. His forehead still pressed to my shoulder.
Garrett’s hand is still resting on my chest, right over my heart.
Gods help me.
I’m completely, utterly, catastrophically fucked.