Change is terrifying, like stepping off a cliff and freefalling into the unknown, but with his arms around me, it also feels like flying.
I take a steadying breath and jump.
“The past week is more like a nightmare than reality,” I say. “There was a lot of pain. A lot of interrogating and questions, and a constant mental battle to keep him out of my head. It’s kind of a blur, honestly. I think I blocked most of it out. Then you broke into that room, and I thought I was dreaming. Thought my mind had finally snapped and conjured a hallucination of you. Once I realized you were real, I panicked.”
“I wasn’t going to leave you, Xen. Not again.”
“Like I left you?” I ask, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Don’t do that,” Bash scolds gently as he sits up and forces me to look at him. He’s quiet for a moment, searching my face. “Last night, seeing you like that? Chained up with those fucking bruises covering your face? Thecollar? That fucking destroyed me.”
I heave a sigh as I acknowledge the dull, throbbing pain throughout my body. “What he did to me was awful, butit doesn’t compare to what he would have done to you. He would’ve hunted you down and tortured you in ways that made what happened at Ljómur look like a damn vacation. And he wouldn’t have stopped, either. Not until he was bored with it, and then he would’ve killed you without a second thought. That’s why I hid everything… why I pushed you away. It wasn’t just to protect you from that place. It was to keep you alive.”
“He did this to you?” His fingers are careful as they trace the bruises and cuts on my face.
I nod. “He usually makes others do his bidding for him, but for me… it seems he made quite the exception and got his hands dirty.” A scornful laugh blows from my nose, and a bolt of pain shoots through my sore chest along with it. “Hands, boots, blades…”
“Xen…”
I hug him tighter, despite the ache in my muscles, and drag my palms over the bare skin of his back. “Don’t pity me, Bash. I made my decision, and it was worth it to keep you safe. He despises anything tied to the prophecy or mates. Hehateshumans. In his eyes, you are my ultimate weakness and his greatest embarrassment, and he would’ve exploited it until there was nothing left.”
“We got away, though.”
“We did,” I agree, focusing for a moment on the sirens outside. “But he’s seen you now. All of you.”
“You injured him pretty badly—”
Another laugh rips painfully from my chest, and I shake my head. “He’s old, Bash. Ancient. He’ll be healed within a day or two and only more pissed off for the inconvenience of a knife in his neck.”
Bash snuggles back into me. “I’d rather be hunted and on the run with you than anywhere else alone.”
Warmth spreads across my chest, and a tiny smile tugs at my mouth. “Look at you and your smooth lines,” I tease.
He huffs a quiet laugh as he presses a kiss to my throat. It’s like he’s washing away the memories of that collar, replacing the cold bite of metal with the warmth of his lips.
“I know it’s not the time,” he murmurs, barely audible over the alarms, but I don’t need to hear his next words as his hips rock forward. His cock is already half hard as it drags against my thigh.
A shiver travels up my spine as I slide my hand lower on his back to cup his ass and feel the flex of his muscles.
“It is literally always the time,” I argue.
“Insatiable,” he breathes, kissing up my chin.
A rush of slick leaks from my opening as my cock slides out, and I savor the sensation after so many days of pain. Our legs tangle under the sheets, and our ankles lock as we search for leverage.
Bash whispers my name, his arms banding my torso. “Missed this,” he mutters as his fingertips dance across my shoulders and neck. He’s far gentler with me than usual, and I appreciate the soft touch.
Bash knows I’m not picky.
Rough handling, sweet intimacy, a five-minute quickie, or an hours-long session.
I love it all with him.
Right now, though, my body is sore and my muscles ache from the conditions of my imprisonment. Gentle kisses pepper my neck and throat, and he grins when I try to chase his lips.
Fingers drag down my spine, moving us together as his cock slides against mine. He’s deliberate with each rock of his hips, then his hand moves between us. It teases my abdomen and traces the edge of our cocks as they grind.
“You’re so wet,” he murmurs as his lips finally find mine, scooping slick from where it coats my skin.
