Chapter Seventeen
Talia
Suddenly, this feels like a dumb ass idea. I didn’t consider that I would also have to be around Henry. The thought of that fucking terrifies me. We brought multiple vehicles here so we had a way out if I needed it, so it’s just Soren and me. When he parks, he turns to look at me.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“No,” I snap, but close my eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. I guess I’m surprised is all,” he says, studying me. “I’ve never seen you this scared of me.”
“I’m not,” I say, opening my eyes to look at him. “You are a monster, Soren, but only by nature. He wakes up every day and chooses cruelty. You battle it every single day to maintain some sense of humanity. It’s how you got shot.”
“No, that was because…”
“Because you refused to kill a dog,” I remind him. “That’s what you told Micah after, right? You didn’t go in because there was a dog. I’d like to think that you can accurately judge a man based on how he treats innocent animals and children.”
“Talia,” he says. “You’re stalling. Are you sure you want to come in?”
“I need to do this.”
“No, you don’t,” he argues. “You do not have to face him, Talia.”
“I need to,” I say again, but quieter. “I need to show myself how far I’ve come.”
“Okay,” he says. “If you want to leave for any reason at all, take one of the guys with you. You are never to be alone. Understand?”
“I understand.”
Soren gets out of the driver’s seat before walking around to open my door. Slipping out of my seat, I am trembling. Soren keeps his hand on the small of my back as we walk.
When we get into the mall, people are walking around like there aren’t literal traffickers in here. My head is on a swivel, trying to spot Henry before he spots us. Micah said everything is handled and I am safe, but they don’t know him like I do.
We get to the food court and sit at a table with the guys. They are strategically positioned to see all around us. Soren has me pulled close to him and never takes his hands off me.
“Heads up,” Micah says. My entire body senses him before he gets close. I lean into Soren, desperate to escape already.
“Afternoon,” Henry says. “Talia.”
I drop my head as hot tears fill my eyes.
“Why am I being summoned to a mall?” Henry says, sitting across from me.
“Let’s cut the shit,” Soren says. “You know what I am, and I know you don’t want me to react to you shooting me in the fucking head.”
“Technically, I didn’t shoot you,” he muses. “What is your point?”
“Your guard, Greg, attacked Talia last night,” Soren says, and I can feel Henry staring at me. “Talia is my mate, and I will not allow him to breathe after putting his hands on her.”
“I was not aware that he did that. What happened?” Henry asks. Soren nudges me, and I look up at him.
“Do you want me to explain?” Soren asks.
“I’d like to hear it from her,” Henry says. “What happened, Talia?”
“He came into the house…” I start.
“You will walk away from here with Soren, so please look at me when you speak,” Henry says in a weirdly calm voice. I don’t trust it, but I look up at him anyway.
“He came into the house and raped me,” I say. “He beat me half to death, and then shot me.”
“She was nearly dead when I found her, and she wouldn’t have survived if I hadn’t been able to heal her,” Soren says. “So you have two options.”
“Go on,” Henry says.
“You can hand over Greg, or I will kill you, him, and everyone involved with you,” Soren says. “No matter how this goes, I will fucking kill him for touching my mate.”
“I will have him delivered within the day,” Henry says. “We will handle our situation with you killing my client and taking my property.”
“My mate is not your property,” Soren growls.
“Like I said,” Henry says. “We will handle that at a different time, but I did not approve of any of my men making any moves for any reason. They were barred from engaging, so I do not mind if you handle him. It’s less work for me if you do.”
“Then it’s settled,” Soren says. “Contact Vaughn, and we will get Greg from you. I just ask that he is alive.”
“Deal,” Henry says. Soren stands and pulls me up with him, and Henry does, too. “It was good to see you, Talia.”
I keep my head down, and I haven’t stopped shaking. I’m afraid to speak because some part of myself is terrified that I will be punished for being too loud. Too happy. Too much. He always said I was too much.
When we start to walk out, I am practically dragging Soren out the door.
I want to get as far away from Henry as I can.
I am hyperventilating by the time we get into the car, and panic has fully set in.
Everything sounds tunnelled, and the world is spinning around me.
Soren takes my face between his hands and presses his forehead to mine.
“You did it, Bunny. You faced him. I’m so proud of you,” he whispers. “I am so fucking proud to be your mate, Talia. You hear me? You did it.”
“I can’t breathe,” I gasp.
“I know, baby. Slow breaths,” he says, still holding me. “Match your breathing with mine. You’re okay.”
I force my breathing to slow down, and I am still violently trembling as I take slow and steady breaths in and out. When I relax and pull back a bit, he kisses me. It’s gentle at first, but passion floods in and it takes everything in me not to climb into his lap.
“Baby, I will fuck you senseless, right here in broad daylight,” he grunts. “But we should avoid letting ourselves be vulnerable with Henry so close by.”
He nods in front of us, and I turn to see that Henry is watching us from not too far away. I sink into the seat a bit, and Soren shifts the car into gear.
I don’t relax, even once we get to the house.
I am so mentally exhausted that Soren takes me upstairs and we lie in bed together.
He has us naked and facing one another, but he has his arms wrapped around me, and my face is buried in his chest. I am desperately trying to calm myself down, but I can’t.
I am squirming and completely restless. I readjust and nuzzle into his neck, but then immediately feel the urge to bite down on him.
I hesitate for a moment, feeling too shy, but then I just go for it.
This bond is the most comforting thing in my life, so I let it lead me.
When I bite down on Soren’s neck, he groans and rolls to his back before sitting up.
I automatically start stroking his cock as I bite down harder.
Soren grunts when I start sucking, feeding from him.
I truly don’t understand, but I don’t stop myself, and he encourages me by gently dragging his hand up and down my thighs.
Needing to be closer, I lift myself up and position his cock at the entrance of my pussy before slowly lowering.
“Fuck,” I groan and pull away to let my head tip back.
He kneads and squeezes my breasts as I start bouncing on his cock.
I slam his cock as deep inside of me as I can and moan with every movement.
His blood is on my face, running down my neck, and I gasp when he bites my breast without his fangs so hard that I bleed.
When he slowly licks the wound, the pain dulls and disappears.
He does it to the other as I start moving faster and taking him harder, and he heals me each time he bites me.
At one point, he reaches over and picks something up from the nightstand, and I open my eyes to see that it’s a pocket knife.
I am still bouncing on his cock, desperately chasing an orgasm, and he digs the knife into my chest. He makes a cut down my sternum, and I am panting as I watch the blood run down my body.
It feels like fire, but then he drags his tongue across the cut, sealing it as though it never existed.
I take the knife from him and make a cut along the junction of his neck and shoulder, moaning when I cover the spot with my mouth and drink him.
He growls and moves me to my belly. I am on my knees, and I have them spread so far apart that I am resting on my elbows still.
He can easily ram into me, making us both moan.
“Fuck, this tight little cunt,” he growls.
“Harder,” I moan. “Please, hard.”
“I’m sorry for this,” he grunts and bites down on my neck, sinking his fangs into me.
I gasp and relax a bit, just in time for him to pull out of my pussy and shove into my ass.
The moan that comes out of me is more like a scream, and he pounds into me as hard as he can while feeding from my neck.
I grip onto the blanket and stay up on my elbows, but he has my hips pushed down so he can straddle my legs as he ruthlessly fucks me.
I vaguely hear the bedroom door open, but it doesn’t faze either of us. Soren continues to fuck me as if our lives depend on it, and whoever it is can wait.
By the time Soren comes, I am exhausted from coming so many times that my body is relaxed on the bed.
Soren gently kisses my back after cleaning me.
“Sleep, my sweet mate. I’ll wake you when it’s time for him to die,” Soren says softly, kissing my cheek after pulling a blanket over me.
I am so cozy that I fall asleep before he even leaves the room.