I shake my head. “No.” I carry her to the bathroom, and set her on her feet in front of the counter, folding her over it. She looks away from the mirror—a habit of hers that pisses me off to no end; perfection deserves to be admired—and gazes down at her bound hands, bracing her elbows on the counter.
“Punishment’s over,” I decide. She’s suffered more than enough, and there’s something else I’d much rather get out of this scene. “Now, your only job is to obey, and you’ll get your reward.” I lean down to kiss her shoulder. “Look at yourself.”
“No.” The word is faint and frightened, absent of the conviction I’m used to hearing from her and filled with something else.Fear.
“Flame,” I say softly. “You’re beautiful.” I cup her pussy in one hand, and reach around to fondle her breast in the other. “Your bodyis fucking stunning, obviously, but you have a beautiful soul. And, despite what you might tell yourself, you have a beautiful heart.”
“Idon’t.” her voice cracks on a sob. “You have no idea what I’ve done—”
“You spent five years protecting a girl you knew for six months because you knew it was the right thing to do,” I interrupt, sick of hearing her self-flagellation. “Then, you nearly killed yourself to kill the monster threatening her, andthen, you negotiated terms of her safety with another monster. All at massive risk to yourself. What you did was honorable.” In some rare cases, the ends justify the means—and this is one of those times. “You’re not a bad person, Ember. You’re a survivor. You’re strong, and capable, and fuckingbeautiful,inside and out.Look at yourself.”
She stays quiet. I watch her wage an internal war with herself, and see the moment she gives in. Her posture slackens. Her muscles lose their stiffness. She looks up slowly,soslowly, until her eyes meet her own in the mirror. They’re wider than I’ve ever seen them, glimmering with a vulnerability that makes her look unbearably young.
She stares at her eyes for several beats, while I start stroking her clit in a reward. Her eyes flutter, and I give her ass a light slap. “Keep looking.”
Her throat bobs with a swallow and her eyes flash open. I watch as her gaze flits around her facial features, which morph into an expression of curiosity and awe. After a beat, she says faintly, “I grew up.”
My lips curve. “You did.” I raise her upper body from the counter and cup her breasts in my palms. “These are bigger…” I slide a hand over her belly, “this is toned,” I cup her pussy, “this will bring any man to his knees…” and then I grasp her hips before clutching the firm globes of her ass, “and this is what could start wars. But this.” I lay a hand over her heart. “Thisis what enslaved me. What’s in here.” I leandown to kiss her neck. Her eyes meet mine in the mirror, and they shine with something that looks a lot like revelation. As if she’s seen the divine light.
Her knees buckle, and her bound hands grasp the counter for purchase, holding herself up.
I tilt my head to the side. “What do you see?”
She exhales a long, shuddering breath, shaking her head. Licks her trembling lips. She meets her eyes in the mirror, and then mine again. “The girl who’s always loved you… and the twisted woman she’s become.”
I nearly collapse. I knew she loved me, as afriend. Isuspectedshe loved me in a different way towards the end, too, but hearing those words… it’s like an awakening. Every convoluted, jagged piece of my life clicks together like a puzzle.
Thisis what I’ve been waiting for.Thisis what I’ve been craving and hoping for. If I knew it were as easy as getting her to look in a fucking mirror, I’d have done that from the start.
“I always preferred the messy and real over the perfect and boring, Flame. Now watch my face and remember that I love you, because I’m about to fuck you like I want to kill you.”
“Finally,” she gasps, and pushes her ass into my cock. I lodge the tip inside her, and wrap a hand around her neck. “This’ll be quick and mean. I still haven’t figured out how to last when I’m inside the woman of my dreams.”
I thrust inside her like I want to split her in half, and she releases a throaty, gratitude-filled moan. I squeeze her throat as I fuck her, stare hard at her in the mirror, and try to think through a calculus equation to keep myself from coming, but it’s futile.
Her orgasm is near instant, and I follow her into the throes of pleasure, unable to hold back. My knees nearly give out, and I squeezeher neck so hard I cut off her air, which only makes her comeharder.Jesus fuckingChrist, this woman is perfect for me.
And, as I carry her back to bed and feel her curl up into me, watch her gaze into my eyes with a soft, affectionate glimmer… I know she was worth every battle it took to acquire her and make her mine.
Chapter Forty-Six
Max
Hours later, once we’ve gone five more rounds and regained our bearings, I stroke Ember’s hair back from her forehead with a featherlight touch. “I have something for you.”
Her eyelids slide shut. “I’ve already gotten that something. Half a dozen times, in fact. And, if it’s that other thing, lets see how you feel when it electrocutes your balls.”
I chuckle. “Something unrelated to sex.”
“That’s new.” Her eyes open, and her brows furrow. “Like… a present?”
“Yes.”
“For me?”
“Correct. Why do you look so surprised?”
She blinks ten times in a row. “I… don’t really remember getting presents, even with some of the memories coming back. There are a few times when you or a friend gave me something, but those times feel distant. Inaccessible. Kind of like a blurry dream.” Her frown deepens.
