Chapter Eighteen
Malory
This is it.
The best feeling in the world.
Freshly showered, freshly fucked, lying naked in fresh sheets wrapped around the man who smothers me with care and pleasure.
My rough, tortured man whose unfeeling heart is starting to unravel.
I see the slight changes in him, the occasional flash of unease in his penetrating gaze. And I know it isn’t easy for Tyson to let go of the safety of his numbness.
I get it because the intensity of my own feelings for him is overcoming me as well.
Illuminated by moonlight, I look at his defined torso sprawled on the bed.
Equally brutal and breathtaking.
Unable to resist, I start tracing the beautifully detailed patterns of his tattoos, making him groan contently as he drifts in and out of sleep.
With his features relaxed, I can almost see the little boy facing his father’s cruelty.
He’s undeniably the most handsome man I’ve ever seen in his own dangerously dark way.
Deathly devastating.
There’s nothing soft about him. Maybe except for the hint of tenderness I sometimes catch in his lingering gaze.
The man switches in on and off so effortlessly. One moment I’m looking into eyes filled with affection and gentleness, but then he looks away and they once again turn into impenetrable, bottomless pools of emptiness.
Around me he acts so at ease that I utterly forget what he told me about himself, what I witnessed for myself time and time again.
Given his occupation, I thought he might be after all finding pleasure in the suffering of others, but that's not exactly true.
His victims along with everyone else are met with the same dispassionate indifference like a stranger passing him by on the street. I saw it every time we ran into someone, and I see it when he talks on the phone.
The fact that he lets me listen in on his calls, I’m not sure whether that's a good thing or not.
Naturally, I don't want us having any secrets but at the same time, his are so much darker than mine could ever be.
Be that as it may, I keep wanting to know everything there is about the man. And with every new part of him I get to discover, I’m slowly but surely nearing the point of no return.
If I hadn’t crossed it already.
Brushing my fingertips over the hard ridges of his abdomen, I make my way down his prominent V, following the trail of black hair as Tyson’s heavy eyes flutter open, zeroing in on me with devious intent.
There’s nothing unfeeling about them now.
Looking into those bottomless orbs, I feel too vulnerable, afraid to acknowledge that with every passing day I’m falling deeper and deeper without the means to claw my way back out.
There’s no question about who holds more power in this relationship. I can’t bring myself to give up more by admitting to my feelings without being completely certain that they will be returned.
If that’s even something that would be possible for him.
I don’t truly believe Tyson would intentionally hurt me. With everyone else he wouldn’t bat an eye, but not with me.
Yet it’s the truth of what’s in his heart that I fear the most, that could crush me so easily.
Rough fingers ghost over the bumps of my spine, caressing my hip and ass until his hand lands on my thigh, squeezing the bare flesh possessively. Like he owns me, and I guess he really does.
Unlike my previously self-conscious self, I feel utterly comfortable being naked around Tyson. I feel wanted and worshipped as I stretch out beside him, relishing in the sensation of his skin against mine.
Black eyes rake over my silhouette with appreciation that sets my core aflame.
I don’t doubt his desire but there’s more that I need beyond carnal lust.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?” Tyson tips my chin up, his thump pulling my bottom lip from between my teeth.
“What will happen to us once your revenge is done?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper. “Will it ever be over, Ty?”
“If you’re asking me whether I’ll let you go…” His lips connect with my forehead for a brief moment. “The answer is never .”
Strangely relieved, I let out a long breath. The tension I didn’t know I carried easing off me.
I think I’ve known for a while that I never truly wanted to leave him, but the weight that’s been lifted off my chest just now solidified it for me.
“Okay.”
That’s it, one simple okay sealing my fate.
Now that I’ve found freedom in my custom-made prison, I don’t ever want to abandon it.
So, I guess it’s time to embrace this new reality.
If I’m staying, if we’re really doing this together, I want to know where it will take us.
“What else is there for you? I mean beyond your vengeance.”
“You.”
My breath stutters as I struggle to keep my composure from melting away, struggle to believe his words.
“Isn’t there something, anything else you want in life?”
Suddenly, Tyson rolls on top of me until our chests are pressed together, making our hearts beat in unison.
“There’s only you.” He says thickly and with absolute finality, cradling my head between his palms.
“You’re my only reason to keep living, Malory.”
Peering up at him with glassy eyes, I see how much it took to confess these thoughts out loud.
This feels different that all those times he claimed me as his. Maybe because there’s a different implication in his words, one that means more than merely staking his ownership over me.
“You’re not meant to be confined like this. And I hate being another person in your life who’s not letting you bloom, little blossom.” He rasps, overwhelming me with emotion at the new nickname.
“No matter how much I like having you safely tucked away, I’ll end this soon.”
“How?” I breathe.
“By announcing your death.”
My heart drops, right before it starts violently hammering in my ribcage, panic gripping me in its clutches.
“Malory, look at me!” Tyson cups my cheeks, his voice barely breaking through to me.
“What have I promised you the first night?”
Fighting the anxious haze clouding my mind, I’m hardly able to remember our earliest exchange. Until his first words, spoken in the darkness of my former home finally dawn on me.
“T-that I’m safe with you.” I stammer, relief flooding my veins as I see the truth reflected in his eyes.
“Exactly. And I meant every fucking word.” Our lips connect in a brief, gentle kiss.
“If nothing else, you can trust that.” His deep gaze offers me a glimpse of his unwavering devotion to me, diminishing all my earlier worries.
“It will by my final blow. By letting your father believe he failed you, lost you for good, it will torture him more than simple death.” Tyson’s sharp features contort as he goes on.
“Once they’ll stop looking for you, broken by their futile efforts, we’ll get you a new identity. You’ll finally be free, little one.”
Free.
Such a foreign concept, living without limitations and ridiculous rules of society.
I’m not entirely sure what do with it.
It’s wasn’t just because of my parent’s restrictions that I’ve always preferred living a quiet life.
Most people make me inherently anxious, and I’ve only ever allowed a select few to get close. In the quality over quantity kind of way.
And somehow Tyson has managed to fall right into that category. He has dominated it.
For the rest of my life, I’d be more than content just sitting out on that balcony with Nero, painting the beautiful views with Tyson’s strong arms wrapped all around me.
It doesn’t seem like much but the simple happiness I felt in that moment, it was so much more than I thought I could ever have in the first place.
I guess what I’m trying to get at is that I don’t really know what to do with all this. Or what I would want for our future.
“Are you saying that I’d be free to do anything? Except for returning to my family, obviously.”
His jaw flexes as he nods slowly, making it clear that there’s no discussion to be had about his decision on the matter.
That’s fair enough.
Regardless of how much he’s been doting on me, Tyson wouldn’t let anything get between him and the execution of his vengeance.
I’d never ask that of him.
“Where do you fit into this scenario of freedom?” I voice the one thing that has remained unanswered for too long.
“Nothing will change the fact that you’re mine, Malory. You can travel the fucking world for all I care, but it will be with me by your side. You’re under my protection for the rest of our lives and I don’t give the slightest shit about what you want to do as long as you’re doing it with me.” His thumb grazes my pulse.
All his burning intensity focused on the whirlwind of emotions passing over my face.
“That’s the cost of your freedom.”
I remain silent, nervously biting my bottom lip until Tyson tugs it from between my teeth once more, possibilities of a future with him taking over my mind.
A real future, one where I wouldn’t have to fear that one day all of this would end.
A future where there’d only be us.
It has long ceased to matter whether his reasons for wanting me are morally justifiable.
Tyson has never made me think even for a second that I’m unwanted, that I’m anything but precious to him.
There’s no doubt about his obsession. His open show of care and possessiveness leading me to believe that his commitment to me is truly unrelenting.
As is mine.
“Well then.” I palm his nape, sinking my fingers into the short hair at the back of his head. “But I need your promise that my parents will stay alive.”
“I won’t be the one to drive a knife into your father's heart if it will make you feel better about the type of man I am, little one.” He grits out through clenched teeth like that’s exactly what he’d love to do most.
“But it’s not just up to me. My brothers might change their minds about wanting no part in killing their…” Abruptly, Tyson catches himself mid-sentence as if he told me something he had no intent in sharing.
It’s not the first time he’s avoided talking about his brothers, or my father for that matter.
Thinking of it, there might be a connection there somewhere.
“Will you ever tell me what my father did to you?” I ask softly, running the pad of my thumb over his sharp cheekbone.
“Someday.” And for the time being, that’s all I’m going to get. I can live with that.
“Then tell me something else about yourself.” My curiosity takes over, wanting to get a glimpse inside Tyson’s head.
“What you see is what you get with me, Malory.” The man grunts like that’s all there is to him.
“That’s not true. I doubt I’ll ever fully figure you out.” I run my hands down his broad shoulders and then back up to his nape, looping my arms around his neck. “I’ve never met a person with so many hidden layers.”
“Right back at you, baby girl.” He looks at me pointedly, drawing a soft laugh from my lips.
“I want to know more about what you do.” I go on. “What would you be up to if you weren’t stuck here with me?”
“I’m not stuck anywhere. There’s no place I’d rather be than right here with you.” He absently caresses the shell of my ear before tucking a strand of loose hair behind it, making my heart squeeze at the warmth flooding my chest.
“And I purposefully chose this cabin as our home because I was under the impression that you’d like it up here as much as I do.”
Something indescribable softens in his gaze. “As for your question, I used to stalk this tiny plant-obsessed princess stuck in her tower, creeping outside her window every chance I got.”
Tyson nudges my nose with his and I lightly slap the back of his head. “Come on, I’m serious.”
“Why do you want to know what hitmen do?” His face turns serious once more, wariness clouding his dark eyes.
“It’s an unusual job to have, to say the least. Maybe I’m intrigued.” I shrug since I’m not entirely sure myself, only wanting to understand him better.
“Don’t be, it’s only for the heartless ones.”
“Like you?”
Tyson’s chin dips in confirmation, yet he doesn’t look at me as he continues.
“I’m not sure whether I believe in destiny, but it seemed like a stroke of fate that I had the perfect predisposition to start with.”
“Your numbness.” I whisper, afraid of breaking the spell.
“It turned out to be a useful skill, perfectly suited for contract killing.” His jaw clenches as he suddenly lets me see the pain etched deeply into his soul.
The wounds from a long time ago that were left to fester, buried under an impenetrable layer of nothingness.
Pain so unbearable, the only way to survive it was for Tyson to detach himself from feeling the agony, shutting off all other emotions in the process.
And despite seeing all of this, I refuse to believe that there’s nothing there to salvage.
The first night when I woke up into a real-life nightmare with a masked stranger looming over me, I was paralyzed with shock yet never truly feared the threat he posed.
Maybe even back then those black, unfeeling eyes harbored a hint of reassurance, subconsciously telling me that the man wasn’t there to hurt me.
Maybe that invisible spark between us was the reason I didn’t fight him harder that night, like any other sane person would.
I made it entirely too easy for him.
And I don’t regret it one bit.
“Most of the time, I work at night. The darkness, that’s my element of choice.” Tyson goes on, lost in memories of the past.
“It used to be a way to blend in when I was too young to defend myself any other way, using everything I could to my advantage. In the end, I made it my strength.”
His cold and empty eyes burn when they turn to me, making me drown in their depths.
This isn’t a look of someone who’s hollow inside.
“My demon of the night.” I palm his stubbled cheek, aching for the little boy seeking solace in dark corners.
No child should ever come to know the pain Tyson suffered. And yet he managed to conquer what would have broken most others.
Though it has left a mark. Irreparable damage that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Those wounds will never fully go away. No matter how hard we both fight it.
“I don’t regret my actions. All those men I killed were well deserving of their fate. But don’t mistake me for a vigilante, Malory.” He pauses, letting his words sink in. “I’m not the judge or the jury, I’m only the executioner.”
Tyson looks away like he expects me to be disgusted with him, like it would make me think any less of him.
“Any attempt at redemption is lost on me, little one.” Upon seeing the intent to argue reflected in my eyes, he shakes his head. “I’m beyond saving.”
“No. I don’t believe that.”
If anyone ever saw this man as heartless, it’s because they don’t know him. And I feel incredibly privileged to be the only person he allows a glimpse of his true self.
“You have a good heart, Tyson. Others would have raped and chained me in a basement without blinking an eye, but not you. You’ve always treated me with decency, with care and so much more.” I grasp his face, drawing him closer so he sees how utterly convinced I am of the truth of my words. “That’s the real version of you I’ve come to know.”
“Sounds like the bar is pretty low, little one.” He teases, but it sounds forced.
“You’re everything I could have wished for, Ty.”
Maybe I imagined it, but I could swear a spark of hope flashed briefly over his tormented features.
“What do you enjoy about being a hitman?” I ask, wanting to show him that I can be open-minded, not condemning his occupation.
For some inexplicable reason, I’ve grown to be okay with it as I’ve come to know the man behind the cold facade.
“Maybe you expect me to say it’s the trill, or the satisfaction of quelching my bloodthirst, and partially that’s the case.” He states with indifference.
“But it’s more than just that. It’s the feeling of having control. Control over myself as well as the lives of others.”
I get it. It’s something he lacked as a child, having no power over what was happening to him.
It’s the side of him that gets unleashed in bed as well. And it hits me then how much of himself he’s been showing me in those vulnerable moments.
We truly fit together seamlessly because I’d never dream of robbing him of that control. I crave his dominance.
“I grew to like the feel of weapons in my hands. They’re solid, never letting me down. It’s a comforting feeling of sorts.” He drawls wistfully.
“Will you show me someday?”
“Show you what?” Tyson’s eyes search mine with caution.
“How to hold a gun maybe...” I clarify that I don’t want to actually see him kill someone.
“Why would you want that?” His brows draw together, creating a deep etched crease in the middle.
I’m a little surprised he didn’t outright deny me.
Instead, the man always considers my perspective before making a decision. Something I’m gradually getting used to.
“I want to understand you, Ty. Besides, it kind of seems badass.”
He barks out a rare laugh and instantly the mood lightens, dispersing the last reminder of seriousness.
“I’ll think about it if you promise you won’t shoot me in the back and run, Malory.”
Behind his smirk, there’s genuine concern that makes me kiss the tip of his nose, easing his worries. “ Never .”
“Maybe I can convince you some other way.” I nudge his side and he allows me to roll us over, letting me climb on top and straddle his firm stomach. His hands immediately shooting up to grip my hips, kneading the soft flesh.
“What do you have in mind, baby girl?” His deep voice is pure sex and I feel myself getting wet from just hearing my pet name.
Scooting down his massive body, I settle between his legs. His massive cock standing tall between us with a drop of pearlescent precum glistening at the tip.
Eyeing it, I’m overcome with the urge to trace my tongue over the velvety skin and pulsing veins.
“I want to taste you.” I state hesitantly, forcing my voice not to tremble.
Out of all the things Tyson and I got up to in bed, sucking his cock wasn’t one of them.
Maybe he didn’t want to force me, maybe he didn’t want to give up control. Either way, he has always made it primarily about my pleasure.
The man eats me out like it’s the greatest joy in life and I desperately want him to have the same feeling of being worshipped.
“Are you sure, baby?” Halting my movement, he searches my gaze for a hint of uncertainty, only to find none.
“Let me take care of you.” I whisper, lowering my voice along with my lashes. “Let me put my mouth on you.”
There has never been the need for me to initiate intimacy between us. Tyson always being the one in charge, ravaging me as he pleases with me loving every second of it.
“I wanted it back on that mountain. Let me give this to you, Ty.” I lick my lips. “ Please .”
“Fuck.”
My begging does it for him.
He leans back into the pillows, his eyes half-lidded with lust never leaving me as I tentatively run my nails over his thick thighs, earning myself a feral growl.
I reach for his solid shaft. Stroking it gently from base to tip, my thumb smearing his arousal.
Something between a gasp and a broken moan escapes Tyson’s lips as his hips thrust up, seeking friction as he throbs in my hand.
Closing my small fist around his impressive girth with my fingers barely touching, I begin to work him in long, languid strokes. His breath turning ragged while I tighten my grip, rubbing harder and faster.
Finally I lean down, brushing my lips over the swollen head as Tyson jolts up, cursing under his breath.
“M-malory…” He rasps roughly, his hand ghosting over the back of my head.
“Guide me, use me any way you want, Tyson.” I lower my chin in submission, gazing up at him through my lashes as a way of letting him stay in control.
Bending down, I lick the back of his cock from hilt to crown in one long swipe, my tongue circling his opening.
“Fucking perfection.” The man grits out when my whole mouth takes him in, lips stretching over his girth.
Tyson’s thumb tenderly traces my upper lip, his gaze full of awe and adoration.
“I could die right now with your pink, little mouth wrapped around my cock.” He groans hoarsely, his eyes igniting into an onyx blaze.
Threading his fingers through my hair, he sheaths himself deep within me as I slobber all over the painfully hard member.
“Fuck baby, you take me so well.” His grip on me is unrelenting, forcing me to breathe through my nose as he stretches me, reaching the deepest parts of my throat until I can feel him in my very core.
I desperately fight the instinct to pull back, wanting to give him this more than taking another breath.
“Your throat is so fucking tight, baby girl.”
Growing more confident, I hollow out my cheeks. My head bobbing on its own, slurping and sucking at a steady pace.
Once I have a good rhythm going, I dare to look up into his burning black eyes. The dark voids flaring with lust, causing me to moan around his shaft, the vibrations adding to his pleasure.
A sheen of sweat coats his flexing stomach and toned chest, turning me on to the point I can feel myself leaking onto the sheets.
He’s all mine.
This gorgeous man belongs to me alone.
Tyson’s abs ripple, contracting with tension as he holds back his release, letting his strained grunts wash over me.
Taking his engorged cock as far back as possible, my other hand caresses his balls, rolling them gently between my fingers.
“That's it, take all of me.” His low, hoarse moans fill the dark room. “My good girl.”
With that, he’s done being gentle.
Holding me down by the back of my head, his hips buck off the bed brutally, impaling me on his cock.
My jaw slackens as tears stream uncontrollably down my cheeks. And I eagerly lean into him taking the lead, using me as he pleases because Tyson needs control as much as I crave the loss of it.
“Fuuuck… b-baby…” The low groan he releases makes my clit throb as I claw at his thighs for some purchase, grounding myself as he continues his relentless onslaught.
The man truly fucks me. Thrusting into my mouth as viciously as he does into my pussy, savagely ramming in and out, leaving no doubt about who owns me.
When my nails sink into his flesh, drawing blood, he finally erupts. Coming with a roar that sends a shiver down my spine.
Hot liquid fills my throat and I sputter, unable to swallow all of it. Yet I don’t stop, milking him for every last drop.
I’m a mess. Sweaty and out of breath with tangled hair and teary eyes, yet Tyson looks down at me like I’m his most precious possession.
Sitting up, he gathers me up in his arms, stroking back my wild curls.
“You look like mine, little one.” He growls, looking upon my face smeared with his cum.
Gathering the bit I didn’t swallow from the corner of my lips, he brings it to my mouth, my lips closing around his finger.
I moan as my tongue laps up his release, taking all he has given me.
“Sometimes, I can’t believe that you’re really here. That I finally have you.” An uncharacteristic hint of vulnerability strains his voice.
“I’m here. I’m all yours .” I run my fingers through his hair, feeling the perspiration on his scalp.
With a rough curse, he flips us over. Assuming our previous position with him on top of me, caging me in as if the fear of me disappearing still lingers on his mind.
“This isn’t a mere obsession anymore.” Tyson’s chest heaves like he’s having trouble taking the next breath.
“I haven’t meant to get feelings involved, I didn’t know I was capable of it.” His words send my pulse fluttering dangerously. “Yet it happened.”
Fear, longing, determination. It all comes to the surface, passing over his face with dizzying intensity.
“ You fucking happened to me, Malory. You tore me inside out!” The force of the moment knocks the breath out of me.
He truly feels.
My eyes start to water as the words I haven’t dared to hope for come barreling at me, changing everything I thought was true.
This is too much.
I can’t think clearly with him on top of me, dominating all my senses. So when Tyson leans in, going to capture my lips with his, I turn my head.
“Don’t deny me, Malory.” He snarls, one large hand circling my throat, giving it a warning squeeze.
The man looks ravenous, unhinged.
All because of me.
“You’re the reason I lost my fucking mind the minute I first saw you.”
Tyson draws out my lower lip with his teeth.
“You make me mad, baby.” With that he devours me in a violent show of possession. Mercilessly thrusting his tongue against mine with so much passion I never want it to end.
“My beautiful obsession.” He rasps heavily, looking down at me with pure adoration.
“It’ll eventually wear off.” I mumble as I avert my gaze, unsure of how to handle these feelings he keeps evoking within me.
“Not possible.” Tyson kisses my lips gently this time.
I lift my eyes to his black ones filled with burning emotion. So clear and raw that it leaves no room for doubts.
“We’ll never end, little one.”
Tangled up in each other’s bodies, we make out for what feels like an eternity, silently conveying what words cannot express with every touch.
“I'm so fucking hard for you, baby girl.” He nuzzles the sensitive spot below my ear, making my legs widen for him.
His yet again hard cock grinding against my aching clit until I’m moaning needily into his mouth.
“So wet... Is this all for me?” Groaning, he fully coats himself in my arousal.
“For you.” I mewl, grinding up against him. “ Only you.”
Without skipping a beat, Tyson sheaths himself deep inside me, ruthlessly slamming in and out of my tight heat.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
With every harsh trust, I can feel him claiming me, feel that we were made for each other.
Nothing will ever change the fact that I’m his. As he’s mine.
Driving me deeper into the mattress with long, hard strokes, he holds onto me as though I’m the only solid thing keeping him together.
The headboard slamming forcefully against the wall, in tune with my whimpers and his wild grunts as we both get lost in each other.
“That’s it.” He moans, hitting my sensitive spot over and over. So unbelievably hard. “My good girl.”
My limbs shake uncontrollably as I hold onto him with everything I have left, my nails leaving their marks.
“Give yourself to me, little one!” Tyson snarls, voice full of dominance. Yet laced with a hint of yearning.
Clenching around him, my body convulses as I come with his name on my lips.
Worshipping the man who owns my heart.
A feral growl leaving his throat as he fills me up with one last powerful trust.
“My gorgeous baby.” With a spent sigh, Tyson falls on top of me, nearly suffocating me under his hard, muscled body. And yet, I can’t get enough of his weight pressed up against me.
Nuzzling my neck, he breathes me in. I can feel him smile against my skin when I kiss his temple.
As strong and unshakeable as Tyson is, deep down he craves the affection and gentleness he’s been denied all his life.
With both my arms and legs tightly wrapped around his broad frame, not leaving a morsel of space between us, he lifts his head, pulling me into another searing kiss.
In no hurry to pull out, Tyson licks along the seam of my lips until they part for him, allowing him to plunder my mouth with his tongue.
This time the kiss is different, full of devotion. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it’s almost loving.
Fisting the hair on the side of my neck, he bites the thin skin before soothing the sting with his lush lips.
There barely been a day when the man hasn’t marked me, constantly making sure my throat is stained in purple patches. A show of his ownership.
Suddenly, a shrill ring pierces the silent night, making me jerk in surprise.
With a heavy sigh, Tyson reaches for the burner phone lying on the bedside table. He’s been less cautious about leaving it out in the open, trusting me that I’m not going to run.
This is exactly what I set out to do in the beginning. Gain his trust and escape. But that plan is null and void now and he very well knows it.
“I swear Rafe, if someone isn’t dead or dying, I’ll put a dent in your damn skull.” Tyson barks into the speaker while I struggle to stifle a laugh against his shoulder.
I’ve never seen him irritated. This new range of emotions is quite something to witness.
“Check again, I don’t want any fucker slipping through.” His gaze hardens as he talks to his half-brother on the other side of the line, going back to the coldhearted hitman in the blink of an eye.
“Well done. I’ll join you tomorrow night.”
Tyson’s jaw clenches at hearing Raffaele’s distorted voice over the phone, his dark eyes darting to me.
“She’s none of your fucking business.”
With that he hangs up abruptly, throwing the phone across the room. The conversation already forgotten as he connects our foreheads with a heavy sigh.
“Mine.”