“Unless you give me some sort of clue, how am I supposed to narrow this down?” I complain. “There are millions of names.”
He pauses, fingers still buried inside of me. Rocking my hips, I try to chase the release that he’s holding just beyond my reach and he breathes a laugh before kissing my hip. “Fine. Julian chose it, and it’s one that certainly makes that fact apparent.” He gets quiet for a moment before he flips a mental switch, going back to his game.
I take what I know of the cruel man, running a few ideas through my mind. Whatever it is, it’s not something he likes, otherwise he wouldn’t go by Grave. Julian looks at Grave as a thing under his control, something to do his bidding instead of a person.
Every name I think of just breaks my heart and I can’t bring myself to voice any of them. If I guess wrong, I’ll still make it clear how I think Julian perceives Grave, and that could do more harm than good if I’m reading things wrong. Or worse, I guess correctly. Then there’s no more denial, no games to hide behind. And as much as Grave desperately wants someone to see him, I don’t think he’s actually prepared for how to handle it if they do.
“Roman?”
He clucks his tongue, using his free hand to smack my ass while driving his fingers deeper. “Wrong again, angel. Take your shot and pick your fate.”
It takes all of my willpower not to just tackle him to the floor and ride his face, but if this exercise has taught me anything, it’s restraint. So when I lift my gun for my final shot, I purposely miss, confident in my decision.
Grave needs a win for once.
As the gun clicks empty, he rises to his feet, hand still buried between my legs as he looks over his shoulder to inspect the hole-ridden target. He turns back to me shaking his head, hooking his fingers to draw me a step closer.
“Couldn’t keep your head in the game. That’ll get you killed when we’re on a job, you know.” His thumb brushes over my clit and I whimper, legs shaking. Leaning in, his breath tickles my ear as he whispers, “Good thing you threw the game, or I wouldn’t be able to trust you alone out there.”
I swallow as he chuckles, taking the gun from me and pocketing it. Fisting his shirt for balance, I rock my hips, growing desperate.
“How’d you know?” Because there’s no use denying it, especially when he’s made it abundantly clear that he despises liars.
Pushing me against the small wall beside us, he picks up with renewed vigor, quickly drawing me back to the edge I’m so desperate to throw myself off of. He bites my neck, my shoulder, before kissing away the marks. It’s like he consciously needs to remind himself not to get carried away, trying to be careful. He’ll kiss me, but not deepen it, and never for long. There’s a huge part of him that’s closed off to the idea of intimacy despite desperately wanting it, and I don’t think he’s sure of how to process the conflicting impulses.
“You’re easy to read,” he murmurs. “Your muscles were loose when you adjusted your aim at the end, rather than the tight jerks of when you startled before.” He pulls back to look me dead in the eye. “You can say all the pretty words you like, angel, but your body betrays you.”
Clutching his shirt in a tight fist, I keep my gaze locked on his as he hits the perfect spot. My breathing is ragged as I snake my other hand between us, covering his so that he can’t pull away this time, pressing him tightly against me. The urge to close my eyes while I ride out my release is nearly overwhelming, but I fight it, legs trembling.
‘You don’t get to hide’.He’s said it enough that it’s clear that it’s important to him, cemented by how rapt his attention is on my face as I splinter apart in his grasp.
He slides his fingers free, brushing them over my hypersensitive spot and watching me shudder. “Fine, you can shoot someone else.”
I shake my head, not ready to move. “I’m not shooting anyone unless I have to.”
He gives me a stern look. “You’ll have to; sooner than you might like. So you might as well get off on the power, Elyse,” he declares, flicking his thumb faster. “Realize how good it can feel to take what control of your life that you still can.”
My gasp turns into a soft moan, rocking my hips against him. I force myself to hold his gaze as long as I can before I cave, taking a risk and closing the small distance that separates us to kiss him. Though his fingers never cease drawing out my pleasure, his lips remain pressed into a thin line for several heartbeats.
With a soft rumbling in his chest, he tentatively kisses me back. Growing bolder, he deepens it, tongue rolling against mine as he pins me more firmly against the wall. As much as I’m tempted to push for more, I keep my grip on his shirt and the other I pull from between my legs to wrap around the back of his neck.
Relentlessly fucking me with his fingers, I writhe against him, shallow breaths coming quicker as I’m left merely able to hold on for the ride. As he drags his fingers over a certain spot, I gasp into his mouth, tightening around him with a series of unintelligible, pleading sounds.
When his phone rings and he stills, my whimpers turn into a litany of curses. Thumping my head back against the wall, I glare at the ceiling as he answers it.
“Yeah?” Julian’s muffled voice sounds on the other side of the line and I turn my glare onto the covered security camera. But as Grave twists his fingers, languidly toying with me while he’s on the phone, he pulls my attention right back to him. “Quite well, unsurprisingly. Not to brag, but I’m thinking I’m definitely a more effective teacher.” I bite my fist to stay quiet as he quickens his pace, fluttering his thumb over my clit. “Ev just left her to figure shit out on her own, and our lawyer buddy nearly made off with her.” This time I don’t stop my eyes from closing as I tilt my head back, riding the wave of sensations as I come on his fingers.
All the while, Grave continues on as if completely unfazed. “Sure as soon as I finish up-“ he’s cut off and as I come down from my high, he sighs, glancing at me apologetically. “Yeah, I’ll take care of it.”
Ending the call, he tucks his phone back into his pocket, reluctantly withdrawing his hand from between my legs and leaning in to kiss me once more before pulling away completely. “Sorry, angel. I’ve got a couple of fires to put out.”
“I feel worse for you than me, admittedly.” On shaky legs, I bend over to retrieve my pants, yanking them on before slipping my shoes back on. “Where are we going?”
By his tight look, I already have my answer. “This is a little too ‘trial by fire’ even by the bossman’s standards. Finish off the box and wait for Ev to come pick you up.”
Setting my gun back on the counter, he heads back out into the store, loading a spare magazine that he slips into his pocket. His steps are quick and sure as he strides to the door and I wonder just how bad it must be to have him looking this serious.
He pauses as he passes a display, eyeing the assortment of blades and plucking a pretty knife from it that he promptly tears the price tag off of, tossing it onto the floor as he pockets the new blade.
