Her scream was amplified, filling the space. I had no fear of anyone interrupting us. They knew better. She could scream all she wanted. If she believed anyone would come to her rescue, she was wrong.
Sweat dripped from my brow, peppering her back. I grabbed a handful of hair, my fingers digging into her scalp, and thrust theremainder of my cock into the tight darkness. Fuck. Nothing had ever felt so damn good. She was on fire, her skin scalding to the touch.
There was a sudden sense of urgency, my actions reflecting the thought. My plunges surpassed savagery, pitching her body forward. The headboard was driven into the wall, the hard smacking sounds just another reminder I was an evil man.
But she didn’t seem to care. I could easily break her and she wouldn’t fight or beg for her freedom. She’d give it back, begging for more of what only I could give her.
My mind and my resolve were also shattered to pieces, incapable of thinking clearly or distinguishing if I was hurting her.
In the next few seconds of utter pleasure, nothing mattered but the two of us. There might be no chance at redemption for my sins, but this woman just might become my salvation.
Finally spiraling out of control, my own orgasm shut down every aspect of thinking.
Only when I heard her labored breathing and soft murmurs coming from beneath me was I brought down to earth, opening my eyes and seeing the world as if for the first time.
Rolling over, I pulled her with me, cradling my body around hers. Something that I wouldn’t have done before her. There’d been no one worthy of my time.
She was different.
The world was different.
No, I was the one who’d changed. She was the same brazen yet innocent woman I’d dared to corrupt. I’d never felt any peacein my life, at least not before being with her. A strange series of sensations washed over me and an instinct furrowing into my mind told me this was as close to tranquility as I would ever be allowed.
I absently brushed my fingers in circles on her shoulder as she nuzzled into my chest. The way her fingers were stroking the art on my skin that I’d once thought gave me a sense of power and satisfaction was far too comforting.
Didn’t she know she’d just captured the attention of a monster? Didn’t she have a better understanding of what that entailed?
And what it would do to her future?
She would never have another day of pure freedom.
Without me in it.
As my father had told me when I was a boy, possession was nine-tenths of the law. Not that my father had ever been a law-abiding citizen, but he was providing permission to take what I wanted because it was owed to me.
There was a difference with Catherine. The moment she’d walked into my life, she’d claimed a dark part of me that had been lost in a haze of anger and pain. But that wasn’t the only thing she’d laid claim to.
If there was any possibility that I still had a heart, she’d captured that as well.
“Who are you?” she asked moments later, the curiosity in her voice tempered by a continuing sense of exhaustion.
“You already know who I am. You made a determination hours before you met me.”
“Based on hearsay.” She crowded closer, easing her leg over mine. There was nothing quite like the feel of her soft skin rubbing against the roughness of mine.
“Are you trying to suggest you were wrong?”
“Mmmm… I’m never wrong, at least not completely. Remember?” She lifted her head and for the first time since the discourse of our first meeting, her laughter wasn’t strained. “I usually remind myself when taking any case that social media only provides a portion of the story about someone, whether good or bad. Photographs can be doctored, stories shaped to suit temperament and hidden agendas.”
“Then you’re suggesting I’m not the monster you claimed me to be.”
Twisting her body, she rested her head on her arm, the shift allowing the sheet to fall precariously away. The sight of the long curve of her back to her waist had my mouth watering. She was truly exceptional in her beauty, although I’d gathered a sense that she not only refused to flaunt her appearance, but shied away from doing so.
Yet nothing would keep her from standing out in a crowd.
She was very thoughtful about answering me, her brow furrowing as she tucked a piece of golden blonde hair behind her ear. Perhaps she was fearful she’d anger me once again.
“You can speak freely with me, Catherine.”
