It was enough for me to hear the whisper,This is why you left the first time.And you know what? That whispering bastard was right. This was exactly why I left Rett at first, because caring about people is hard.
And loving them? Makes it easy to kill.
Funny how, before, I was sometimes conflicted. Thought bad of myself for being such a villain, even if it was in the name of trying to clean some of the trash off this planet.
I’d always accepted who I was, even if sometimes I felt bad about it.
But now? I would torch this entire city with satisfaction. I would do anything in Rett’s name.
He’d probably hate to hear that, so let’s keep that between us. But that’s what you get when a man with questionable morals falls in love. Certain death to anyone who threatens what is his.
And Rettis mine.
The stakes had never been higher. Tomorrow and every day after, the price of my success.
The bedroom door opened, stretching a beam of light across the darkened floor. I slid deeper into the shadows, avoiding the false beacon of hope that golden band offered.
The darkness was more honest; in it, I knew what to expect.
“Hiro.”
His voice did to me what it did every single time. Brought me to my knees.
I said nothing, just watched his slim silhouette slip inside and close the door behind him, walking right into the dark to find me.
“The wire came,” he whispered like he was afraid his voice would shatter the tension clouding the room.
I tracked his movements like a predator starved for prey. He stopped by the bed, laid down what I assumed was that idea I never agreed to, and then tilted his head.
We stood like that for long moments, barely breathing, neither moving. And then he shifted, in my direction. Like he was some sort of compass that knew the way home.
The air in the room whispered when I moved, snatching him from his spot and pulling him into the darkest part of the room, pushing his body until it stopped against a wall.
His breath whooshed out, but he said nothing, and I leaned down to claim him. To have the thing that scared me most right in the palm of my hands.
There was no hint of hesitation.He surrendered like it was all he wanted, and I hunched around him, using my size to create a barrier between him and the rest of the world.
Small, trembling hands slid up the front of my chest, smoothing over my T-shirt, and I broke the kiss long enough to rip the fabric away. His hands were on me instantly, rubbing, scraping, clutching everything they touched. My heartbeat hammered in my ears, and a warm flush spread through my limbs.
His head fell back when I kissed deeper, my hands ripping the shirt right off his chest. Scraps fluttered to the floor as I grabbed him by the hips and lifted, pinning him between me and the wall.
His hands threaded in my hair and pulled me close. I kissed along his jaw, bit his ear, and then sucked a bruise on the side of his neck. I went lower, stitches pulling when I hoisted him higher so I could get my mouth around his nipple. He cried out and arched when I sucked, his fingers biting into my shoulders. I marked him all over until he was writhing and panting and tugging my ears.
I came back to his mouth, crawling inside him once more until I tasted more of me than I did of him. Wrenching my mouth away, I sucked in gulps of breath, wondering if he could feel the way my heart hammered against his chest.
His blond head dipped, mouth latching on to my neck and sucking long and deep as if it wasn’t enough to wear my mark; he had to leave one too.
You own me.I tried to tell him, but all I managed was a groan deep in my chest.
Hands trembling, I pulled him back and dropped my forehead against his, letting his gasping breaths be my onlysource of air. Wrapping my hand around his throat, I pushed his head up, seeing the glimmer of his eyes through the dark.
“If anything happens to you,” I rasped, just the suggestion enough to cut me down.
“Shh,” he whispered, hand lying against my heart. “Nothing is going to happen.”
“I will not live without you.” The words scraped violently across my tongue. “I cannot.Will not.”
A shudder moved through him, and the hands clutching my back pulled me closer. I went. Of course I fucking went. Pulling us both away from the wall, I carried him over to the bed and laid him across it, ripping at our clothes so there was nothing between us.
