Chapter 25 #2
I rest my head on her shoulder, breathing her in again. “Turn off all your worries and let me take care of you.”
She melts into me, quiet and trusting. All soft limbs and silent permission.
And for the first time, it hits me. It’s her strength that anchors me. Not the darkness or the hunt.
Her.
My hands glide up her sides, satin beneath my palms. Her warmth soaks straight into me.
No edge. No rush.
Tonight, I don’t want obedience or resistance.
She needs a safe space.
The blindfold slips away, soft as breath, settling between us. I tip her chin up, my mouth brushing her ear. “Did someone threaten you today?”
The silence lingers for a moment, then her voice comes out softly. “I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to talk at all.”
“Okay. The night is yours. You’re in control.”
She turns to look at me, eyes adjusting to the soft light, and she sees the mask on my face.
“You wore it.”
I nod once. “You need the lights on tonight. No blindfolds or darkness.”
I reach up, brushing her cheek with my knuckles. “I want you to see everything. To know where I am and what I’m doing. No surprises tonight.”
Her eyes soften, and her shoulders ease. One hand comes up, her fingers ghosting over the jaw of the mask.
“That’s why you’re wearing it?”
“For you. To make sure you feel safe.”
She leans in, mouth brushing mine through the skeleton mask.
“Thank you.”
Her hands go to the bottom of her top, but I stop her. “Let me.”
My palms glide up her sides, the satin warm from her skin. I peel it off, and she doesn’t flinch. This woman trusts me to undress her and see all of her.
My hands drift lower and dip into the waistband of her thong. She shifts, turning onto her back, eyes finding mine through the cut of the mask. She lifts her hips in silent permission.
I ease the thong down, baring her inch by inch.
She doesn’t look away. Not once. Her steady, unflinching trust hits harder than any cry ever could.
She’s here, open and unguarded. And I’ll give her everything.
Still kneeling, I strip off my shirt, dragging it over my head in one slow motion, baring skin that aches to touch hers.
She reaches up, tracing her fingers over the scars and ink on my chest. “I’d like to know more about these one day.”
I nod. “When you’ve earned it. But right now, you’ve earned something else.”
My hands move to my belt, unfastening it with a quiet snap. The zipper slices through the hush, loud in the silence. The sound of a man unraveling.
Now there’s nothing between us.
I crawl over her slowly. My body hovers above hers, and her legs part in quiet invitation. Her arms stretch up over her head, displaying the graceful length of her body.
I settle between her thighs, bracing myself on either side of her. My eyes never leave hers.
She asked for safety tonight, and I’ll give her that. Not just protection or control. But something deeper and steadier.
She’ll get all of me—every thought and intention. Every inch.
Unmasked in every way that matters.
I ease into her. Slowly. Agonizingly slow.
Each inch is a promise, each movement deliberate. Not for conquest or speed. But for something deeper.
Heat coils around me. First a whisper, then a burn.
She arches beneath me, a soft gasp slipping from her parted lips. Her thighs spread wider. Not out of desperation, but out of invitation. A cage made of want.
No savage rhythm like usual. Only the agony of restraint and the slow, building pressure of knowing each other.
My arms brace beside her, and my eyes stay locked on hers.
I don’t need to rush.
I don’t want to rush.
Tonight is about more than release, more than hunger. It’s about her feeling safe, about letting her trust every inch of me. Not as predator and prey but as strength in flesh and something sacred.
I move inside her, my hips rolling in deep strokes. Her fingers skim up my arms and settle at my shoulders. No pulling or desperation. Just closeness and heat.
She clenches around me, legs tightening. Her lips move, but no sound comes out. Only breath.
I kiss her jaw, cheek, and collarbone. My hands cup her hips, guiding her rhythm to match mine. Our bodies align, designed in tandem.
She arches, and a soft groan rips from her lips as her fingers dig into my back. Her voice—barely more than a breath—cuts through the haze.
“Don’t stop… please… Bastien.”
Then a gasp, and finally, her release. A tremor ripples from her core and surges through me until the world narrows to nothing but skin and warmth and sound.
I fall into it, coming hard and deep, my head bowed and breath broken against her throat. I stay buried in her, not moving or speaking. The sound of her breathing is the only rhythm that matters.
We stay like that for a while before I pull out and ease down to lie beside her. Every part of me trembles from the moment we just shared. My hand rests on her stomach, fingers splayed flat. I don’t want a bit of space between us. Not a single inch.
The candlelight flickers, and tiny shadows dance across the walls. I get up, muscles heavy and senses still ablaze, and snuff out the flame.
Darkness falls, and I reach for the mask, pulling it off. My skin is flushed, and my hair damp with sweat. It hits the floor somewhere beside me. I don’t care where.
I lie beside her unmasked. And for the first time since we were last together, I feel peace.
I brush her cheek with the backs of my fingers. “You don’t know how badly I needed to see you and touch you. To hold you in my arms.”
Her face brushes my chest as she nods. Her breath catches again, but not from lust. Something heavier between us.
My arm tightens around her, protectiveness twisting sharply beneath my ribs. “What happened today?”
Her whole body stills, but she says nothing.
“Tell me, Laurette.”
“A man came to see me. Someone tied to a case I’m working on.”
“Did he threaten you?”
“He used polite, measured phrases, soft on the surface but soaked in venom underneath. He spoke hypothetically, but his words weren’t innocent. They were threats dressed in civility. He wanted to scare me into backing down.”
My blood ignites and becomes a molten weight in my veins that slows time.
“Tell me who.”
She molds herself against me. “It’s something I can’t talk about. I’ll never be able to discuss my cases with you.”
Her oath and silence. I respect it.
But the name? I’ll find that out for myself.
I pull her closer and kiss her forehead. “Just so you know… I can handle anyone who threatens you. And I do mean anyone.”
She half-laughs. “What does that mean?”
“What do you think I mean?”
She stiffens. “Are you a cop?”
A low chuckle slips out, dark and amused. “Not even close, but I take down predators.”
Her voice shifts, softer now. “When will you tell me more about who you are?”
My fingertips trail up her ribcage as I kiss her jaw. “When you earn the next secret.”
“O… kay.” She squirms as my fingers move over her ribs. “And how do I earn the next secret?”
“More of this. Lots more of this.”
I wrap an arm around her waist, my other hand threading through her hair to tip her head back and expose her throat. I trail soft kisses along her neck, nibbling her earlobe when I reach it, taking my time.
“Do you feel safe right now?”
“With you, yes. Always.”
This is no longer about wanting her. It’s about keeping her safe and protecting what’s mine.
I’ll bleed anyone who threatens her safety.
We lie face-to-face in the dark. Moonlight spills in through the windows, faint and thin. Enough to prove the night exists but not enough to reveal my face.
It’s just us now. No masks. Nothing beyond the two of us wrapped in these sheets.
And that’s enough.
I brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “I want to stay with you tonight.”
Her reply is instant. “I dare you to try to leave.”
That’s all it takes.
She’s not only mine when the world goes dark. She’s mine in the quiet and the calm. When no one’s looking and she lets her guard down.
She falls asleep curled into me, one hand tucked under her cheek, the other resting over my heart. I hold her close, every breath syncing with hers.
Tonight, I’m not the monster. I’m the shield.
And as long as darkness prowls outside, I’ll stand between it and her.
Because she deserves more than safety.
She deserves my protection.