Page 28 of Shadows and Flames
All parts of me yielded to him in a relieved exhale. Elián drank, now, and the whole bloody realm ceased to exist. The pleasure of him inside of me, hitting a spot that undid every one of my shields.
He could’ve drained me in that moment, fucking me into true death, and I would’ve thanked him with my last breath.
Instead, he clamped a hand over my mouth and gave me something to scream into. Sink my teeth into while the ecstasy built, spilled over, and coursed again in an incapacitating cycle. I became undone on Elián’s fat cock as it pistoned in and out of me, hips stroking sinfully. More tears fell from my eyes as he told me who I belonged to.
And his final shudder became my own. I came again as he spilled his seed inside of me. Something I should’ve fought. But it was an undeniable stamp on his claim, taking and giving and destroying.
We still held onto each other, as our hearts gradually steadied. Until he brought his lips to mine in a bloody kiss. One that tasted of me and him.
Elián’s tongue slipped against mine, his teeth bit at my lips with no attempt at gentleness.
But wasn’t that what this was? Him withdrawing his gentle handling of me for a firm one so I couldn’t twist and slither away.
“Wherever you go, I will find you. Whatever words you have, I will listen. Whatever tears you have, I will wipe away.”
And there they went, falling and testing his promise after all of two breaths. He brushed them away, not with his thumbs but with his tongue.
In these three years, I had enough tears for him to never grow thirsty.
“Meline,” he exhaled.
Those eyes, now calmed to smoldering embers, swallowed mine again. I didn’t glare. I didn’t break his stare as my gloved fingers still strangled the front of his jacket.
“I am—I’mbroken, El.”
He didn’t even hesitate. “As am I.” I gasped, guilt churning. “So, we will rebuild. Together.”
Chapter Twelve
MELINE
“Rebuild,” I repeated, not quite believing what I was hearing.
“Together.” My heart started pounding again, and my legs tightened around Elián’s waist.
He nodded, like he wasn’t shattering every expectation I had for this moment. In those hours in the darkness of my bed, or when my mind would wander just to torture me, I pictured my begging. His admonishment. His broad back as he turned away from me.
How long would Elián claim me after he knew how I’d truly failed?
“Meline. Look at me.”
I swallowed, focusing back into the present. The thick, brown muscles of Elián’s throat. The glossy black of his hair running against my fingers. The feel of his cock still inside of me.
My stare collided again with his, and the cold, sharp panic came back. “Fucking isn’t going to solve everything between us,” I whispered.
Elián pursed his lips, and when he pulled away, pulled out of me, I let him go. Despite what he’d said, I would never make him stay with me. Not after what I’d done.
Not after I’d taken a hammer to his already-cracking pieces.
But instead of turning tail and giving me what I deserved, Elián shoved my skirts higher, exposing me to the air. My legs hung off the edge of the counter as he tilted his head to gaze between them.
And he hummed a deep, rolling note. One that reflected the satisfaction flaring on his face. Elián took two long fingers and swiped them where he brutally claimed me, collecting the remnants of him that were undoubtedly running out.
“I know. But it is a start.” He raised his glistening fingertips to my lips, and fuck me, I opened my mouth. Let him feed our releases back to me. It tasted like home. My salvation. “And I couldn’t give you time to let your fear take over.”
That had me spitting out his fingers. “I’m not afraid.” With a huff, I closed my thighs and hopped down from the counter. Elián took a step back, allowing me to situate my skirts.
That was, until he clutched my chin and tilted my head to his liking. That face. Jaw and brow line strong. In his aristocratic disguise, he looked more like a king.
