Chapter Forty-Two #3
“You’re so perfect,” He rasps in awe. “Just look at you. Do I still make you sick, pretty girl?”
He removes his fingers, and I catch my breath. “No.” One of my hands reaches for him, fisting in his shirt as I pull him closer. “You infected me. I want it all, Kairo.”
He snaps. His hands shove me into the dirt as he ruts into me wildly. My climax explodes, causing me to bear down on him as my teeth grit and I ride out the pleasure.
He pulls out at the last second, stroking himself as he paints his release over my pussy in an erotic display of ownership. He sucks in a ragged breath, a startled chuckle tumbling past his lips as he observes his mess.
He slaps my ass before letting my legs fall back into place. He rises over me, offering a hand to help me up as footsteps near us. His head whips around to the left of the thicket. “Better hurry, Thorn. Roman is coming, and he’s starving for his turn.”
I slap my hand in his as my heart revs, and I bolt back into the forest without a glance back. Kairo’s hearty, taunting laughter echoes through the trees as I pant. My arms pump quickly as my feet carry me deeper into the woods.
I keep the privacy fence in my peripheral vision, holding onto it as if it’s a lifeline. It’s my only connection to civilization and a stark reminder that this is our playing field. If I cross over, it all ends.
And I don’t want to lose.
I only stop to take a break when I’m sure I can’t hear anyone else around me.
I place my hands on my knees as I try to catch my breath.
My whole body is aching, but there’s something much deeper there—a thrumming beneath my skin that’s thrilling.
It’s what has me listening to the sounds of the forest, hoping to pinpoint anything that stands out.
There’s a rustling to my right, and my head swivels to the trees. I hold my breath, waiting.
No footsteps.
Only the sounds of the occasional bug.
I release my breath, standing upright as I stretch my neck and prepare myself. I get two long strides ahead until a brick wall knocks into me from behind, and massive arms wrap around my abdomen. I’m airborne for a split second, kicking my legs until he eases me back down.
“Fight me, and I’ll take you over my fucking knee again.” Roman’s deep baritone vibrates through his chest at my back, sending shock waves to my clit as I bite down on my bottom lip.
I turn my head to look at him over my shoulder, the bright blue of his mask illuminating him into a daunting presence. “I like it when you spank me.” I challenge.
He grabs my cheeks, growling low in his throat. “Oh, yeah? You like my fucking marks on you? Looks like you enjoy Kairo’s too. Have they both got their fill?”
I nod.
“Good. Because after this, there is no more running, Siren. We own you.” He says, cementing finality between us.
A little of the hurt from our vacation surfaces, and my mask slips. “Are you just going to go back on that, too? I don’t need your attention if it’s conditional, Roman. I want everything.”
He chuckles darkly, the sound causing my muscles to coil tightly. “I was stupid to think of letting you go. There is no end where we don’t coexist together, Rosalie. You’re ours. For good.”
He spins me around so fast that my brain jumbles, but I’m useless to stop him. Because his proclamation has sick satisfaction erupting in me. It takes hold of my reason as he hoists me up into his arms, and my legs wrap around his waist. He cups my ass before slamming my back against a tree.
“Nothing could ever make me abandon you,” he says heavily as his hand wedges between where our bodies meet. “I’ll find you in every fucking lifetime, Siren.” He frees his cock, and the metal of his piercings rubs against my abused clit.
I grab his masked face, pulling him to me as my eyes soak in the neon blue glow. “Do it. I’m yours, Roman. Forever.”
He slams into me, making my head tip back as I scream. He doesn’t take his time as his harsh, hard pounding shoves my back into the rough bark behind me. All I can do is claw at his shoulders, begging for purchase as he ruins me.
“Infinite fucking timelines,” He growls in my ear. “And I’ll pick every single one that leads me to you.”
My fingers dig into his shoulder, leaving marks as I claw at him. My body can’t handle much more, and his words are only adding fuel to the fire as I clamp around him.
“Mark me, Rosalie,” He commands through gritted teeth. “Show the world you own us as much as we own you!”
I shatter—my whole body coils, and tears prick my eyes at the intensity.
I’m mumbling incoherently, but Roman doesn’t stop.
He drives me beyond pleasure to white-hot desperation.
Everything melts together until his movements become unfocused and his hips mesh with mine.
His release trickles down my already soaked folds as he pumps languidly into me.
The come down is surreal, and I don’t feel like I’m in my own head as I pant. Roman gives me a moment before detangling my legs and letting me slide to the ground. My knees wobble, and I hold onto him as I try to get my bearings.
Roman snatches my cheeks, drawing my face up to his. “Run, little siren.”
I swallow, the adrenaline leeching from my veins as my eyes grow heavy. This was their plan all along. They want me too tired to fight them, and I love it. I want to surrender to them—let them consume me until there’s not an ounce of doubt or uncertainty left.
We’ve made the most fucked up pact, and I don’t want to break it. Ever.
I release him before taking a staggering step.
My legs feel like jello, but the hunt isn’t over.
I force myself to trudge ahead, the distance growing between Roman and me.
When I look over my shoulder after walking a few feet, he’s already gone.
Most likely to gather his other two friends who have staked their claim on my heart.
It’s exhilarating. After tonight, there will be nothing in our way. We’ll belong to each other in the most primal, joining way.
They’re mine.
I stumble through the thicket on trembling limbs, my hand finding purchase on the privacy fence I’ve drifted towards. I look up, blinking at the familiar dark roof that makes up my home. I’ve run so far that I made it back to my house.
I chuckle as I shake my head. I let my back hit the fence before sliding down and sinking to my ass. I can feel the fluids sticking to my skin and the sweat clinging to my brow, but I can’t keep the smile off my face as I wait for my protectors.
“Rose?”
My head whips up as my brows draw. The voice is faint, but I recognize it instantly. My heart thunders as I slowly rise. “Charlie?”
“Rose!” My best friend’s voice echoes around me. I can’t pinpoint where it’s coming from as I glance around wildly.
“Charlie! Where are you?” My voice shakes as unease prickles my neck. She sounds scared.
“Rose!”
Why isn’t she answering me?
I take a step forward, following where I think her plea is coming from. It’s hard to see in the dark, but I follow my senses as the brush rustles beneath my feet.
“Rose!”
“Where are you? I’m here, Charlie!” I call, but there’s no response.
The forest falls into an unsettling calm as my throat becomes thick with emotion.
This doesn’t feel right. Something is wrong.
“Roman! Kairo!” I shout, but I’m only met with the stillness of the night. “Maddox!”
“Rose! Rose! Rose! The crowd was alive tonight! You did amazing!”
My lips part as the breath escapes my lungs. I stare unseeing at the ground as realization slaps me. Panic tears away at my composure.
It’s a recording. The same one Charlie got during my first tour. Someone is luring me out.
I bolt in the opposite direction, my adrenaline coming alive again and pumping through my veins as I shout for the three men I know are still lurking in the woods.
I have to find them before—
By the time I see the figure swing out from behind a tree, it’s too late.
It lifts something heavy into the air before cracking the object across my temple.
I fall to the ground, pain lancing my head as I feel hot, sticky liquid trickle down my face.
My vision blurs, doubling as I try to sit up on shaky arms. I lift my hand to my head before closing my eyes at the pain.
On the path before me, the figure squats down, resting its elbows on its knees as it peers down at me. The soft, warm light from one of the houses beyond the fence bathes the stranger, and my eyes widen as fear paralyzes me.
Dad is older now, with streaks of grey in his sweat-slicked black hair.
His beard is unkempt and overgrown, and his clothes look baggy on his lanky frame.
He’s lost weight since my last run-in with him, but his dark eyes still hold that deranged, wild look—like he lost his mind years ago and has been living in a state that isn’t human.
His lips twist into a sinister smile. “Hey, kiddo. Did you miss dear old dad?”
I shake my head, my eyelids sinking with my slipping consciousness. I want to fight, to scream, but I can’t. I’m fading quickly from the pain that’s radiating through my neck. “What…what—”
“Shhh,” he lifts a finger to his lips. “Don’t strain. I’ve already damaged you enough. That shiner is bound to knock your price down.”
Price.
My heart slams as I suck in a ragged breath. “What’s…happening?”
He tilts his head condescendingly. “I’m getting what I’m owed, Rosalie. Do you have any idea how much the flesh of a pop star pays?” He chuckles darkly. “More than what your fucking checks could ever cover.”
He closes in on me as danger blares in my head. I hold my trembling hands up to block him, but I’m not strong enough as he shoves me to the ground and covers my mouth and nose with his hand. His lips pull over his teeth as I throw my head to the side. “Go to sleep. Don’t make me kill you, Rosalie.”
I whimper as my alertness begins to slip from the lack of oxygen. I don’t want to die. Not at the hands of my father.
I close my eyes tightly as tears prick my lashes. My last thoughts are a desperate plea—a call to the universe for the three men who have stolen my heart to find me.
And then everything goes dark.