Page 53 of Darkest Kiss

"Don't be sorry." She cups my face in both hands. "Be here with me."

I kiss her, pouring everything I can't say into it, and when I start to move again, she moves with me.

I don't hold back. She told me not to, so I don't. I fuck her hard enough to rattle the headboard against the wall, hard enough to drown out Beast, hard enough to make the bed frame groan in protest. She wraps her legs tighter around me and drags her nails down my back and screams my name so loud that I feel it vibrate through my chest.

Her pussy clenches around me and I know she's close. I reach between us, finding her clit, and rub circles while I fuck into her with everything I have. She comes with a cry that pulls air from my lungs, her body locking up beneath me. The feeling of her squeezing my cock is so intense that my vision goes hazy at the edges.

God damn.

My own orgasm builds at the base of my spine. I can feel my control slipping. There's nothing I can do to stop it and losing control is the thing I fear most in this world.

But I think it’s going to happen whether I want it to or not.

"Let go,” Noemi whispers. “It’s okay.”

“Fuck,” I grunt. Pounding into her, I come so hard that my arms give out. My whole body shudders. I bury my face in her neck, making sounds I'll never admit to, completely and utterly undone.

She holds me through it. Her fingers card through my hair. Her legs stay locked around my waist.

“Good boy,” she says softly. “That felt amazing.”

Her praise means everything.

She stayed, Beast says. She isn’t running.

I roll onto my back and pull her with me. She settles against my chest, her ear over my heartbeat, her hair splashed across my skin like spilled ink.

“Was that… good? For you?” She glances at me.

“Yes, pretty girl.” I kiss her forehead. “I wasn’t sure I could–finish. But your soft little pussy was milking my cock… I couldn’t hold on.”

Her face flames bright pink.

“Good.” She gives me another shy smile. “That’s good.”

After a minute of lying pressed together, our hearts slowing in tandem, I get up and head for the bathroom. Noemi’s virgin blood is coating my cock. I don’t care, really. I am glad that she let me touch her, have her like this. I clean myself quickly, then run a washcloth under the hot tap.

Cleaning between Noemi’s legs is a strange, almost worshipful affair. She rises up on one elbow to kiss me. “Thank you.”

My lips twitch. “You’re welcome, pretty girl.”

After that, we lie in the dark for a long time, breathing together. Her finger traces lazy patterns on my chest. I stroke her hair. Neither of us speaks. It's the most peaceful I've felt in my entire life, and that thought is so foreign that I almost laugh.

"Rian." Her voice is soft against my skin. "Can I ask about my aunt? You said you would explain everything. I’ve been worrying about her. Is she… d-did something happen to her?"

My body tenses. She feels it and lifts her head, frowning.

There's no good way to say this. There's no right moment. Unfortunately, there's just the truth, and she deserves it.

I sigh. "Your aunt Kathleen is the one who sold your location to the Vitellis." I clench my fists as I say it, even though I can’t actually do anything. "She traded your address for a job offer and a promise of protection. Once she got what she asked for, she turned around and tipped off Ransom anonymously about the auction, thinking she could get paid twice. Somehow, she knew that I was watching you."

Noemi goes perfectly still against my chest. She sucks in a breath, her eyes wide.

"Ransom traced the anonymous tip immediately," I continue. "I've known that your aunt sent it since the night I bought you."

Silence stretches between us. Her heartbeat picks up speed against my ribs. I can feel her brain working, turning it over, trying to make it fit.

“She… she raised me. She braided my hair. She helped me pick a prom dress, for god’s sake!” Noemi’s eyes shine with tears, but she hesitates. "Except she hated the bookstore. She was furious that my mother got to run it. She and my mom used to fight about it before Mom died. My mother would– would just get quiet whenever Kathleen's name came up."