Page 64 of King of Clubs

“Put your hands above your head, now,” he barked and I did as he asked, his face eye-line with my pebbled nipples. “Such a good fucking girl,” he praised and the admiration went straight through me. Holy fucking shit.

Sebastian, in this moment, with no control other than the intrinsic desire to take, use and possess, was a version only I got to see. He was stripped bare in the most vulnerable of ways and it was withme.

He took my nipple into his mouth and moved his hips faster, increasing the friction I craved with savage thrusts.

“You are going to cover me in your pleasure, Marlee. I want to feel you tighten around my cock as you cum,” his hand moved to grip my neck with the slightest amount of pressure and my eyes rolled back in bliss.

“Oh, fuck,” I said, the feel of his tongue on my chest, his filthy mouth and the drive of him deep inside me combining until I exploded, his name slipping from my mouth at the same time that he groaned loudly.

“Mine!” he bellowed, as he thrust into me one last time, our laboured breathing combining with the still running water, his forehead resting on my shoulder.

Slipping out of me, he placed me down until I was standing but maintained his hold on me.

“Are you okay?” He asked so tenderly it made my heart flutter. His attentiveness knew no end, his altruism unmatched when he was with me.

“Yes,” I confirmed with a soft kiss on his swollen lips. “When you said you couldn’t be gentle, I was expecting much worse. That was pretty tame,” I teased and was met with narrowed eyes and a quick bite to my lower lip.

“This unpredictable mouth of yours,” he said with a chaste kiss, “never fails to take me by surprise.”

“You’re welcome,” I grinned, planting a kiss against his chest as it thumped rhythmically with his laugh.

His use of the wordminebounced around my head. The idea of a healthy possession, a control coated in love and kindness so excitingly unfamiliar it elicited a craving within me.

With Sebastian, I yearned for more. Yearned for a level of control where I was his vessel and he was the driver and I wanted him to own my body in the same way he was already beginning to claim my heart and soul.

Marlee

Chapter Twenty-Six

Watching the waves break along the shoreline while being cocooned by my new favourite person was pretty incredible. I snuggled into him, wriggling until I was a perfectly comfortable burrito and once I settled, I felt him harden against me.

“You’re insatiable,” I said, tapping his thigh with my hand, a soft laugh spilling from my lips.

“Only with you,” he murmured, running his hand up my arm and I looked at him over my shoulder. God, he was gorgeous. “I’ve never had a woman stay in my bed before you.”

His succinct admission interrupted my adoration.

“Really?” My question was stupid, but I couldn’t believe someone as put-together as him had never shared his bed with a partner. Truth be told, I still didn’t believe he had never had a girlfriend.

“It’s true. When I brought you back here that very first night the thought of offering you my spare room wasn’t even considered. I went straight to my room and I think subconsciously, my body knew it was where you belonged.” The sincerity of his words wrapped me up like a bow.

“That’s a pretty nice thing to say considering I thought you were angry all the time,” I joked but it had been a while since that was true. His actions spoke louder than words and as I thought about all the things he had done for me since we met, I realised he’d been taking care of me since that very first night without me even noticing.

Unable to articulate exactly what I was feeling, I rolled over to face him properly, brushing my fingers lightly down his face before kissing him softly. At that moment I wanted to share everything with him. My troubles, my worries, random thoughts throughout the day and scarily, my future. Breaking the kiss, and feeling thankful for the darkness that hid my face, I mustered the courage to share my vulnerabilities.

“I was with Lucas for about a year and a half. The first few months were good. He was kind and attentive,” I was whispering, my gaze focused on the light stubble of his jaw rather than his eyes, “and then, as if he was an entirely different person, he flipped. At first it was a lot of yelling, telling me how stupid I was and that nothing I did was right. Critiquing everything. Something as small as folding a towel could turn into an hour-long lecture. Literally. But – eventually that wasn’t enough,” Seb’s thumb lightly rubbing my arm was the only movement he made as he listened.

“I’d gotten really good at ignoring him. Blocking the acidic words he spat in my face. Retreating into the depths of my mind where I was anywhere but there. I’d nod as if I was listening, but really I was picturing a place where I was happy. A place where I was safe. When he noticed that I was numb to his words, he started to hurt me in other ways,” my voice was so low now that if it weren’t the middle of the night, he wouldn’t have heard.

“He was all I had after my parents died and that was exactly how he wanted me. Reliant. I felt helpless and alone. I had no one other than him because he made it unbearable to see Arna or go to work until I eventually just stopped. Mostly, when he lost it, he would slap me or push me into walls or the floor. And I started to make excuses for him. It could be worse – there’s no blood, or he could really hurt me but doesn’t,” I wiped a stray tear which escaped at the bitter memories.

“But the last time, he fractured my wrist,” I said, lifting my hand off his solid chest and moving it from side to side. My new purple woven bracelet was firmly secured, reminding me of my depth in uncovering deeper truths about myself.

“He ran out of beer and apparently that was my fault as I didn’t work so it wasliterally my job,” I mimicked the tone he used, and was still amazed at how ridiculous it sounded. “He never even let me drive his car, and rarely gave me money to buy the beer so I wasn’t sure how I was supposed to have brought it home. He apparently didn’t believe in having groceries delivered and I would need to make multiple trips to and from. But that was Lucas, unreasonable expectations for anyone other than himself.” Sebastian was still, not having interrupted me once and I appreciated the space to tell him in an unhurried manner.

“Towards the end, I was also certain he was seeing other women. He’d come home smelling of perfume as if I wouldn’t notice. But honestly, I didn’t even care because it meant the attention wasn’t on me and his mood was better. I realise how hideous that makes me, and sounds as though I wished it on someone else, but it was truly awful for me. I never wanted him to treat anyone else that way. I was certain his sister knew what he was like and had my suspicions she may have even suffered his violence in the past, but she would never engage in conversations about it and the one time she accidentally told me she spoke to her parents, she begged me never to tell Lucas. And I didn't. He despised them, so ultimately, it would only make it worse for me. And by then, I just couldn’t take it anymore.

“It was pretty bad in the last couple of months. Almost as though he was testing to see how far he could push me before I snapped. See how pathetic I truly was. And it’s embarrassing to admit that I still didn’t leave right away. Because he had taken everything from me, including my will to survive. I believed there was no one other than him who cared. I’d ignored so many of Arna’s calls that I thought she would be done with me. It was exactly what he wanted and I allowed him to do that. I gave him that power over me,” I paused as the tears fell freely now and Seb pulled me into him, his arms so strong and safe.

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