Page 50 of Burn Like An Angel

Hunger has overtaken him.

Raw, famished, cannibalistic hunger for all the emotion he’s never been allowed to feel. Every taut muscle shows how it’s overwhelming him. I place a hand on his chest, easing him backwards.

He lets me guide him until he’s on his back. Inelegantly manoeuvring myself on top, I ease the bloodied knife from his grip. He’s had his fun. Now I want to have mine.

Bracing one hand on his shoulder, I lift the other to my neck. Xander’s pupils blow wide as I collect the red spill, smearing it over my palm. His mouth falls open when I seize his cock, smothering it in my blood.

“I’ve given you all of me,” I tell him. “My submission. My trust. My life. Isn’t that proof enough that I want you?”

I guide his steel inside me. Xander’s eyes roll back in his head when I sink down fully, allowing his bloodstained cock to stretch my internal walls. The crimson lubricant creates a silky mess.

“Goddammit,” he hisses out. “Yes. It’s enough.”

“Then you will give yourself to me. Every day. I want this Xander by my side, not the detached man who felt no remorse for his actions.”

Adjusting, he leans back on his hands. “I’m scared, Rip.”

Part of me expected a fight, even wanted one. But I think I’m enjoying his vulnerability even more. The scales flipping back in my favour gives me an energy boost, numbing the pain from my aggravated injuries.

I begin to move, lifting my hips and pushing down on him in a steady beat. At this angle, he’s breaching me deeply, his cock nudging the sweet spot inside me.

“You should be scared,” I say between moans. “If I wanted to, I could take that stupid, goddamn useless organ and shred it to ribbons. But I won’t, Xan. You need to trust me.”

“I don’t… trust anyone,” he rasps.

“That’s the problem.” My nails dig into his shoulders, leaving crescent-shaped grooves. “Even if we can’t forgive or forget immediately, we can learn to trust.”

Riding him at an increasing pace, I batter my words into him with my body. We’re a sweaty mess of limbs, both nearing theedge. The orgasm that’s been slowly building is on the cusp of overwhelming me.

Xander drops a hand between us to find my clit. Extra sensitive, all it takes is one swipe through smeared blood to push me into the abyss. I throw my head back, calling his name.

His face buried in my neck, I can feel him finishing too. His body quakes beneath mine, and heat surges into me, creating an irreversible brand. Satisfying heat pulses through me as our essences mix.

The aftershocks continue, burst after burst, fireworks pulling at my skin. My entire body is weak and spent. It’s all I can do to collapse against Xander’s chest.

My head slumps onto his shoulder, too heavy to hold up. Warmth seeps between us as he catches his breath. Completely drained, we don’t move for a long time.

I can’t summon a protest when Xander lifts me from his lap to separate us. He lays me down on the bed then curls up beside me. Any hatred I had left dissipates when he lays his head on my stomach.

“Trust is hard for me,” he whispers faintly. “I’ve gotten this far alone.”

Stroking through his unkempt hair, the usually silky-soft strands are coarse, in need of a wash. My heart is still hammering relentlessly behind my rib cage. It feels as badly bruised as the rest of me.

“You’re not alone, Xan. You have Lennox and Raine.”

His palm splays across my belly, leaking warmth. “What about you?”

“I guess I’ve got this far by myself too.”

“You don’t have to anymore.”

“Don’t I?”

“You’re not alone now,” he explains drily.

“I still feel it. Even when I’m surrounded by people.”

“People like us?” Xander queries.

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