Chapter Twenty-Seven #2
She was struck by the power of the panic on Silas’ face when she turned to look at him. His mouth opened then shut again, then opened and shut one more time before he finally spoke. “Anytime.”
He was right at her side for the rest of the climb down, and he kept looking at her, and she kept looking at him, and by the time their feet touched the empty alleyway below, she was so desperate for him to be the thing that grounded her that she bolted into his arms at top speed.
He pulled her against his hard chest, enveloping her in the scent of ash and sweat and safety. His hands dug into the bunched-up fabric of the shirt at her back until their bodies were completely flush. She felt the soft brush of his lips against her hair, and then she lifted her gaze to meet his.
He was a mess. His pupils were blown out, his hair mussed, his mouth parted as his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths.
Kissing him wasn’t even a choice. It was a necessity, the connection she needed—the connection they both needed—to prove that they had somehow made it through this alive.
From the moment their lips touched, Katherine knew she was gone. It was supposed to be easy to build walls against her attraction to him. Easy to deny herself. But here, now, all that had been burned away.
Silas backed her up against the wall, the rough-hewn texture digging into her spine.
She tilted her head, letting him go deeper as his tongue swept through her mouth.
She returned the favor, and he groaned, the sound rumbling from low in his chest. Her hands tunneled into his hair, her nails running along his scalp, and he pulled away from the kiss just long enough to let out a low “fuck” against her throat.
His hands traveled to her hips, then down, brushing over her ass before gripping the bottoms of her thighs and lifting her in one quick motion, so her legs were wrapped around his waist. Katherine gasped as he pressed himself against her, his hard length hitting right where she needed him.
He leaned in and lightly pressed his teeth where her neck met her shoulder, and she bucked against him.
She tried to reach for his belt buckle, to get rid of the layers separating them, but he’d penned her in with his body.
“What do you want, Katherine?” he whispered, his breath hot against her ear.
Damn him. He knew exactly what she wanted.
He laughed as she tried to circle her hips again, his hands forcing her still. “Come on. It seems like you’re really desperate for something.”
Katherine huffed, trying to capture his lips in a kiss again, but he pulled back, staring at her with a crooked smile that sent a bolt of heat straight to her core.
“Just fuck me already.”
“What, no please?” he said, and she was going to give him a snarky retort, but then he was putting her down, spinning her so her back was to his front, pinning her hands to the concrete in front of her with one of his own.
His other hand went to her jeans, pulling them open just enough for his hand to snake into her underwear.
Long, sure fingers immediately found her clit, circling softly before dipping inside her.
She was soaked already. She should be embarrassed that it was Silas causing this, but she was too far gone.
He pumped his fingers into her a few more times, then shoved her pants and underwear down before pulling back for one agonizing moment.
She heard the ring of a belt buckle coming undone, then the rip of foil, and then she stopped hearing anything, because he was plunging into her with one powerful thrust.
All of the air whooshed out of Katherine’s body. The sudden feeling of fullness, the harsh grip of his fingers on her hips, the heat of his breath on her neck as he let out a sharp groan …
This time she said please.
Silas’ thrusts came hard and fast, and it was everything Katherine needed.
She snapped her hips to meet his, wanting rougher, deeper.
He sensed her need, pushing her legs wide as he dug a hand into her hair, arching her back so that he hit the sensitive spot inside her that made her moan.
He used his other hand to guide one of her own to her clit, following her movements as she touched herself.
“That’s right,” he ground out against her neck. “Use me. Make yourself come. I need to feel you around my cock.”
His words made her clench around him. He went wild, pounding into her and giving her hair a deliciously sharp tug, and that was it. The world blanked away as Katherine shattered, waves of pleasure turning her body liquid.
He followed her moments later, breathing hard as he shook through his orgasm.
Neither of them seemed able to move, so he remained there inside of her for a few still, quiet seconds before backing away.
He helped her turn around—a necessity since she wasn’t sure her legs were still fully functional—then adjusted her jeans with a gentleness that completely contradicted what they’d just done.
His gaze met hers, his eyes wide and soft, and something in her cracked.
And then the real world filtered in. They were alone in the alley behind the hotel, but the air was still filled with sirens and smoke. The truth of the moment came rushing back. The fire. The fight that had come before it.
Silas thought Sylvia was selling altum. He was going to destroy everything she cared about because of it. And she’d had sex with him.
She tore her gaze away from the shining affection in his eyes and stepped past him. “I need to go.”
She didn’t let herself look at him as she stormed out of the alley.
It didn’t seem like Katherine wanted him to follow her, but Silas did anyway, calling her name even as she ignored him.