Chapter 22
I don’t want to think about what will happen when we leave. There are still so many obstacles in our way. But together, we’ll overcome them. Baring our souls to each other last night was liberating. I shed that overwhelming anger and need to fight and embraced my love for him without shame, guilt, or regret. He’s my person, and trusting him comes naturally. No wonder I acted like I did, I was going against my core beliefs. My erratic behavior was more of a cry for help. I am safe with him. And that knowledge broke my shackles, filling me with lightness.
While he plays soulful music, I make myself comfortable on the bed, going through more letters. But knowing he’s here, the need to read every one of them dims. I put them away for later and close my eyes.
When I wake up, the sun is high in the sky.
Kaden follows me with his eyes, and I step outside, walking toward the dome. He’s right behind me, and he puts his palm on a panel and the door opens.
“I searched for a key.”
“We’ll program your palm print for the access panel as well. It’ll be our secret.”
When I enter, a cozy, open space greets me. At our feet lies a plush carpet and the room is filled with a small library, a velvet sleeper sofa, and a small rectangular table. On a counter, there’s a vinyl record player.
“This is even more beautiful than…”
His muscles flex with tension.
“You did what you had to do.”
His eyes turn serious and his hands curl at his sides. “I hate them so fucking much. I don’t know how I can contain my rage.”
“They’re bad people. How inhuman must they be to push us away from each other, as if our love is something wrong?”
“Psychopaths. They see love as a weakness. Look at them. They’re all miserable. They work nonstop and have no idea how to be parents. How could I ever want that: a loveless marriage and making children to be good little soldiers for the Family?”
“Kaden.” It’s one thing knowing he and Abigail are not and never were romantically involved, but marriage. I don’t know how I can deal with that.
“It won’t come to that. I promise.”
I grab his hands, and he intertwines our fingers.
“I lost you once. I can’t do that a second time.”
“We can’t run away, Kaden. They’re too powerful. We have to fight them first.”
“I had to give her my necklace as a display of my loyalty. It’s in Grandmother’s room. When she feels particularly joyful, the old hag loves to invite me to her private chambers and there it is, hanging from her mirror, mocking me.”
Anger flares inside of me, and I can barely contain it.
“We’ll get it back,” I say resolutely.
He plucks the other necklace from his pocket. My hand flies to my mouth.
“I thought you’d thrown it away. You can be a dick.”
“I couldn’t. And baby, you have that power.”
“Such an honor.” I pin him with a glare and he tucks me into him.
“I’ve thought of a hundred different ways of killing Hunter, believing you are in love with him.”
“You have more in common than you think. He’s so angry and lost, and I could relate to that too.”
“Way to make me feel better.”
Jealousy sparks in his eyes, but I go with the truth. “He’s important to me, and I love him. Not like I love you. I could never love anyone like I love you.”
“Then how do you love him?”
“A sibling and a friend. Stop being jealous. Abigail is your friend too.”
“Only friends. But you’re the best of my friends.”
“So you never wanted to kiss her?”
“Never.” His voice brooks no argument.
It shouldn’t please me after all his confessions, but it does.
“What about you?”
I tap my finger against my lips, pretending to ponder my answer. “Let me think.”
I goad him, loving this slightly unhinged side of him. The dangerous energy he emanates does funny things to my insides.
One second he’s side-eyeing me, a glint in his blue orbs. The next, he flips me on my back and lands on top of me.
“What’s the only acceptable answer, Sky?”
“Never.”
My entire body is hyperaware of him. Goose bumps cover my skin. My chest rises and falls wildly with anticipation.
“Good, because you’re only ever fucking mine.”
Playfulness and something dark mingle, creating an exquisite painting of male handsomeness.
After a few beats of silence, he says, “I was gonna come for you. I mean, that was my plan. But with every year, I turned more angry, and keeping it bottled up always came with me thinking I wouldn’t live to do that. Strangely, I made a will at eighteen. Quite macabre, don’t you think? But I wanted you to know my heart belongs to you.”
“Was it that bad?”
The stiffening of his body is evidence enough.
“They’re heartless, Celine, and have zero remorse. They go as far as killing if needed. The Prescotts were cut off because they dared to question the status quo. The debris left from their house is a reminder to obey and play by the Family’s archaic rules.”
“Even so, how can a mother want her own child dead?”
“That doesn’t add up. You endured Grandmother’s resentment, but that’s because she faults you for the accident.”
“I don’t remember anything from that day.”
“You were five.”
“Still, some images would have come up eventually, right? I couldn’t have distracted my parents to cause that accident. The roads were almost empty.”
My head throbs and I caress my temples. Kaden freezes next to me.
“Celine, you never remembered anything whenever I asked you about that day.”
I blink at him, shooting up on my ass. My heartbeats turn frantic as I force my brain to come up with more, but there is nothing.
“My father found you,” he says, brows bunched together.
We eye each other.
“He might have erased your memory. Something never truly added up.”
“But… everything was recorded. Felix brought me to the hospital.”
“Yes, or he brought you to Caleb first.”
An icy shiver runs through me. “Do you think they made me forget? Why would he do that?”
“Who knows, but I am guessing that Grandmother doesn’t know.”
“They pride themselves on trust. What if we can start a war among them? Can you imagine if Grandmother finds out two of her subjects betrayed her like that?”
“That’s a brilliant idea. This Family… I am so over it.”
“Me too.”
The sun is about to set, and I close my eyes, savoring the cocoon of Kaden’s embrace.
When I wake up from a quick nap, I gasp at the beauty of violets and oranges painting the sea. My stomach growls. When I pat around to wake him up, I find the spot empty. For a second, my pulse races, only to see him entering the room and carrying a tray. The delicious aroma of steamed vegetables and cooked meat waft around me.
He puts it on the table and lights the candle. Loving him comes easily. My every heartbeat has him as a driving impulse.
He puts on classical music; it has always fascinated me. There is something haunting about every note. Every key is played to dig into your heart and awaken emotions. You’re trapped, forced to go through everything the composer felt while creating it.
We dig into the meal and when the sky turns dark, he presses play, and a projector displays a movie on the glass.
“Okay, whatever, I don’t want to go back.” I pout, feeling the heaviness of my responsibilities and the risks of going back.
Here, with Kaden, time stands still. It’s a peaceful intimacy filled with cotton dreams. An endless love, lazing around and giving in to our physical desires.
“If you could do anything you wanted, what would it be?” he asks me, and I turn on my belly.
“That’s easy. I would do you.”
His throat vibrates with a sound of satisfaction, and I add in a serious tone, “I would build a real home.” I shrug. “It’s silly, such a simple thing when I could do anything…”
He grazes his knuckles over my cheek. “Simple is so underrated. Whoever said it’s not good enough must have been miserable. Life is complex, and chasing everything until you burn out doesn’t seem like the best goal. Now, a home filled with joy, a family, it may appear simple, but it’s life in its purest form.”
“And you?”
“Building that home with you, helping other businesses succeed, leaving something better behind. Between knocking you up, which, baby, is at the top of my priority list, I could imagine myself doing that.”
“We’re so young.”
He arches a brow. “And being older guarantees what?”
“I don’t want to get my hopes up.”
“Then we’ll enjoy the process.”
“Sex addict.”
“You know my dick was in hibernation. He has a lot to make up for.”
“Ahh, your poor dick.”
“Yes, baby, you can kiss it better.”
I slap him playfully on the chest, but that’s too good an opportunity to let it go to waste. Straddling him, I kiss down his toned chest. I take my time peppering each letter with kisses when I see my name.
“You hurt yourself by doing this, but I love that you wear my name on you.”
“Celine, baby, I am mad about you. It’s a badge of honor for me. You’re my wife, and I already wear you on the inside. Why not also on the outside so everyone knows who my heart belongs to?”
“You’re so getting laid.”
He chuckles and I continue my exploration of my husband’s ripped body. A throaty groan escapes his mouth when I bite his nipple, and his dick pokes at my ass.
His eyes are glazed over in pleasure, and I wiggle down, playing with his happy trail, his heady scent, my favorite fragrance.
Hooking my thumbs at the waistband, I peel his sweatpants off. Even his cock is beautiful: satin soft yet steel hard. Thinking about how good it feels inside of me, stretching me to the point that I gasp for air, I get wet.
I lap at his crown, poking my tongue into his small slit. A spasm rolls over him, emboldening me. I lick him from top to bottom and back before I take more of him in my mouth, teasing him. I love to drive him mad.
He wraps his hand in a fist around my hair, losing control from all the pleasure I bring him.
“Be a good girl and deliver. Suck me, or I am going to fuck that pretty mouth of yours until I fill it with my cum.”
Challenge accepted. I peer up at him from between his strong thighs while I suck on the head, licking the bead of pre-cum and that prominent vein traveling up his length.
I inhale deeply and open my mouth wider, taking him down my throat. My eyes water at the stretch, but I guess he enjoys the view and the sensation because he bucks up.
“Fuuuck.”
I smile with a mouth full of cock, breathing through my nose.
“You don’t play fair.”
I release him slowly, and he throws his head back, fisting his hands at his sides. What an incredible experience to see him come undone.
I alternate between bobbing my head up and down, but I want to feel that burn again that reminds me I have him inside of me.
“Do you have any idea how you look right now?”
I slip his cock out, take a breath, and shake my head.
“Like a fucking dream. Lips swollen, puffy cheeks, eyes glistening.”
He grabs me by the back of my neck and pushes me back onto his cock.
“Did I say you could stop?” His eyes burn, the flecks of gray almost liquefying.
Oh my god. That deep, raspy voice has a direct link to my pussy. My thighs are soaked, and I grind on his leg to relieve a bit of my need.
The moment I open my mouth, he takes the control from me, shoving his cock to the back of my throat, taking his pleasure from my mouth.
I don’t mind. I love him like that.
His groans turn louder as he seeks his release.
In one move, he pulls out, pushes me back, and straddles my face.
After a few more thrusts, he takes himself out of my mouth.
“Pull your knees up and spread them.”
I lean back, opening myself for him like a butterfly.
He grabs his cock, jerking his hard length up and down. His eyes are set on me, glowing with passion and darkening with hunger.
“Open your mouth.”
I do, transfixed by the sheer eroticism. My thighs clench instinctively. I am so wet and horny I could come from a touch alone.
His entire face pulls taut, his firm body rippling with his orgasm. The first spurt lands on my tongue and mouth. He paints my chest and belly with the rest. When the shudders stop, he looks at my body with sheer awe before guiding his cock through his cum and writing his initials on me.
“Now you can clean me up.” His voice deepens with the command, ending on a husky note that makes me even wetter and even more desperate to please him.
And while I do, his fingers work their magic, maddening me with that pleasurable push and pull. One finger, then two. With three inside me, I gasp. With four, my belly contracts. But that stretch pushes me into the arms of euphoria. The orgasm tears through me. I explode, coming so hard stars dance before my eyes.
“Do you like how you dirtied me up?” I ask breathlessly, feverish with desire for even more. I’m insatiable for this man.
With my juices on his fingers, he moves his hand up and down his hard length, slapping my pussy with his cock. “I created a work of art.”
I am delirious with lust, lost in the haze of desire.
He brushes his nose against my cheek. “Are you wet?”
“Like Niagara Falls.”
We burst into laughter as he slides his thumb up and down my slit.
“You weren’t lying… so wet from pleasuring me, my sky.”
And in one thrust, he’s buried to the hilt inside of me. Skin on skin, he pushes in and out of me––lovingly, claiming, possessively. Arching my back, I meet him thrust for thrust, enjoying him taking me into the land of pleasure.
A symphony of moans echoes through the room while we give in to the desperation of our needs. Time slips away as we make love unhurried, and together, we find the peak of pleasure.
We make each other come several times more until exhaustion catches up to us.
I lay at his side. His finger runs up and down the valley of my hip.
“Still your favorite spot?” I ask.
“You’re my favorite spot.”
***
I don’t even know what my favorite part about this place is. Our place. I inhale on a soft breeze, basking in the crisp freshness of nature. Kaden’s arms wrap around me, creating my safe cocoon, my dreamy reality.
We stand at the edge of the cliff. His chin rests on my shoulder as we watch the waves crash against the shore.
But we must go back, especially since we both disappeared. Giving the Family any reason to distrust us is a risk we must avoid.
A deep sigh rolls out of his mouth. “We have to return.”
“One more night. Who knows when we can escape again?”
I turn in his arms and he says, “I have to get close to my father. He’s the key.”
A part of me, the one that would not survive if something happened to him, winces, but the realistic part is aware that this is the only way.
“What do you think about finding someone trustworthy to do hypnosis. If it works, we’ll know exactly what happened.”
Reality impatiently waits outside our bubble with a needle ready to poke it at any time––mocking us with its cruelty.
“I’d be okay with trying. But we have to be careful, Kaden.”
“I know, but how when the mere thought of keeping our distance makes me boil.”
“We still have people we love to think about. Our love should never be the reason we put them in danger.”
“I love you so fucking much.”
We stay wrapped in each other, and I send a small prayer to the universe. Let the odds be on our side. I have made vows, God. I must keep them.
When we get inside our bedroom, he eyes the empty bed, a questioning look in his eyes.
“The letters are for safekeeping. When you make me crazy, they will remind me you’re not that bad.”
He points at himself. “What about when you make me go crazy?”
“Remind yourself I am the only one for you.”
I love the playfulness between us, and I need to drag it out a bit longer to gather strength.
“You are.”
“Good. Now tell me something.”
We climb into bed, and I cuddle myself to him.
“There was this one time. I was slowly losing myself. When the pain morphed into numbness, and my love felt like a play in my mind, for a while, I didn’t care if I lived or died.”
I gulp. His confessions have a way of rattling my heart, and I feel the cracks.
“What changed?”
“I found this place. I needed some space and just drove away. My survival instinct finally kicked in when I stopped the car before the edge of the cliff. I stumbled out of the car, and I felt your presence. I don’t know how to explain this, but everything I bottled up came to the surface.”
“Kaden?”
His eyes find mine, those endless blues, the color of the summer sky and frozen lake coming together, is my all-time favorite image.
“You have been strong for a hundred people. I love your protective side, but baby, that won’t get us anywhere if you don’t share the burden. I was this small girl you coddled until I realized it was a handicap.”
“I’m sorry. That never was my intention.”
I love how he doesn’t excuse himself, he just respects how I feel.
My heart chose well.
“Of course not. I don’t doubt that. We are the world to each other, and I wouldn’t change that for anything but just a bit of a balance.”
“You’ve been this version of yourself all along. I loved you like a boy as if it was my role to protect you even if I clipped your wings. It was hell without you, but it was worth it if that meant we both have come to accept the less innocent, less perfect versions of ourselves. I love you as my equal, as my partner, as the woman you have become: strong, independent, but still mine.”
I kiss him with all the love I have for him.
He is right.
I am his.