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Valen is moving in those fast, sharp thrusts he’s so good at, and Lucas’ thick finger brings the sensation to life. I sob, trembling on my hands and knees. Lucas slams up, his finger moving at the same pace. I arch up, I flex back, unable to decide which sensation I love more as my pleasure builds and builds, my mouth open in a loud, endless cry.
“Oh fuck!” Lucas cries out, his head slamming back on the bed. He’s trembling, his tendons straining. “I’m going… I’m going—” He bites his lips hard, his pace faltering when his cock thickens.
In my mind, I see Valen, his grin evil, eyes glinting as he watches Lucas with a hungry gleam. “Look at how we break him, my love. He can barely control himself.”
“Do it, Lucas. Come!” I demand, my nails clawing him. Lucas cries out with his release, sweat slicking him as his large cock pulses deep within me. It’s too much. I come again, so hard I see stars, writhing on top of Lucas with the surging pleasure that nearly stings.
“Oh, stop, please, ohgodohgod.” I’m shaking so hard that my teeth chatter. Lucas slowly withdraws his finger and holds my thigh respectfully while he twitches and pants. I collapse on his chest, my ear pressed flush against him to hear his pounding heart.
I swallow painfully, my eyes filling for another reason. All my walls are down from the intensity of our lovemaking after such an awful night. My voice rasps when I finally whisper the truth behind all my manipulative, logical reasons for withholding information from Lucas, “I can’t see Valen. I can’t keep getting my heart broken by him.”
Lucas exhales harshly and his hands slide around my back. “I know.”
“He left us, Lucas. He left us. How could he? We could’ve been amazing. The three of us could’ve been everything. How could he not see that? Why would he willingly go back to a cage when he could’ve been free to live?”
Sadness tightens Lucas’ eyes, and his throat works before he says roughly, “I don’t understand it either.”
“It could’ve been beautiful. We could’ve been beautiful.”
Lucas strokes the tendrils of my hair that stick to my sweat-slicked brow. “I know. It hurts me, too. You still have me, Tori. I’ll try to fill the void he left.”
My breath gasps with the lance of pain through my chest. I capture his hand to grip it in a bruising force and whisper my confession through my heart’s agony. “I’m… I’m… I’m scared.”
He shakes his head, and I snap, “I am! I can’t even… I can’t…” I take a steadying breath and try again. “I know I should ask Valen for help, but I need time to find the strength. Then I’ll face him.” I spasm, and a sob takes the strength from my words. “If we do discover that it was me who killed Vincentius while corrupted, I’ll still tell Valen, even if it means that he’ll never return to us. I promise. I won’t keep this from him.”
Lucas’ lips brush my shoulder and he presses soft, gentle kisses along it, his fingers stroking me as he says, “If that’s what you need, then okay.”
A sob shakes me, and I weakly whimper, “Thank you. Please don’t leave me.”
He chokes on a laugh, “Listen, Torment, I meant every word I said. I love you. There is no life without you. If anything, don’t give in to the corruption and leave me.”
I huff a helpless laugh and relax more into his hold. He drags the blankets up from where they were piled together.
Silence stretches until I finally whisper, “I really needed that.”
“Anytime, Torment.”
His smile lights the darkness of my soul, and my trembling fingers stroke him tenderly. My heart pulses in a delightful pain I haven’t permitted myself to feel in years. “You’re so beautiful, Lucas.”
His chest expands, his eyes shifting to glisten. He claims my stroking hand to kiss along my palms. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”
“To what?” I press my fingertips against his lips one by one so he kisses each.
“To you wanting me. It feels like a dream.”
My smile blooms, and I lean forward to kiss him sweetly, my fingers stroking down his throat to linger over his pulse. “It scares me how much I want you.”
Lucas’ deep voice hums over me. “Sometimes it feels like you’re waiting for me to eventually break your heart, but it’s never going to happen. I’ll spend the rest of my life proving it to you if that’s what you need. I’ll never leave you, Tor. I’ve seen you at your best. I’ve seen you at your worst. There’s nothing you can do to chase me away.”
I swallow thickly and nod. “Okay.”
And I pray to the Tapestry that I never prove him wrong, no matter how broken and rotten I become.
CHAPTER 5
LUCAS
Wearing my dirty clothes from the night before feels wrong, especially when I approach Tor’s bed. She’s so beautiful in the morning, her face soft and peaceful while she sleeps.
