Page 85 of Cherished By the Sinners
She smiled at him.“That in all the ways that count, we’re the same.”
He stared at her for a couple of seconds before sliding his hand slowly up her back.This time, her body didn’t throw her back into an awful memory.His touch was real, warm skin on hers, and an answering throb of desire pulsed through her body.
His fingers didn’t just rest there; they began to trace the raised lines of her scars with a reverence that made her breath catch.He wasn’t recoiling from them.He was learning them.
“They’re beautiful,” he murmured, his voice thick.Magnus shifted, his gaze following his brother’s touch.He reached out, his own hand joining Mason’s, his touch just as gentle, just as worshipful.
“They are not marks of shame, Darlene,” Magnus said, his voice a low rumble.“They are the script of a warrior.Proof that you fought and survived.”
Mason leaned in, and she felt the soft press of his lips against a scar high on her shoulder blade.Then another.He wasn't just touching her; he was honoring her.Magnus followed suit, his lips tracing a path of healing warmth over her skin.They kissed every mark they could reach, their quiet breaths washing over her, erasing years of pain with every tender touch.
Tears welled in her eyes, but these were different.They were tears of release.Empowered, she turned, shifting so she faced them.She reached out, her own fingers finding the silvery lines on Magnus’s ribs, the puckered scar on Mason’s shoulder.She mirrored their actions, tracing the history of their battles, feeling the story of their own survival.
She leaned in and pressed her lips to a long, faded slash on Mason’s chest.He shuddered, a raw sound tearing from his throat.She did the same for Magnus, kissing a starburst of scars near his heart.It wasn't about pity; it was about recognition.I see you.I see all of you.
“I’m starting to regret asking for underwear,” she muttered against Magnus’s skin, the words a raw confession of the desire stirring within her.
Magnus’s laugh was a low rumble against her cheek.“We can fix that.”
“No,” she said, pulling back to look at them both.The trust she’d felt when they touched her scars—that profound sense of being seen and accepted—now fueled a different kind of courage.“Not yet.I want...to try something.”
She was in the middle, a place not of vulnerability, but of quiet, absolute power.She looked at Mason, whose dark eyes were full of a desperate, patient hunger.On her terms.She leaned in and kissed him.
This wasn't a kiss of greeting or even of passion.It was one of exploration.She set the pace, her lips moving against his, learning his taste, the way he responded with a gentle pressure but never pushed for more.A current, low and electric, sparked to life inside her.It wasn’t frightening.It was...interesting.
She pulled away from Mason and turned to Magnus.He was waiting, his gaze unwavering.She kissed him, and the difference was immediate.Where Mason was a sharp, intense heat, Magnus was a slow, deep burn.He met her exploration with a patient confidence that invited her to take whatever she wanted.The spark from Mason’s kiss met the embers of Magnus’s, and a coil of heat tightened low in her belly.
She went back to Mason, bolder this time, her tongue tracing his bottom lip.He groaned, a sound that vibrated through her, and his hands, which had been resting at his sides, clenched into fists in the sheets.He was giving her all the control, and that knowledge was intoxicating.
She eased down from her knees, shifting onto her side to face him fully.He mirrored the move, rolling toward her until they were chest to chest.As she deepened the kiss, she shifted, her leg sliding over his, trapping his thigh between hers.A moment later, she felt the solid warmth of Magnus pressing against her back, his arm sliding around her waist to rest possessively on her hip.
The coil of heat inside her wound tighter, a pleasant, insistent thrum.Mason’s body trembled against hers, and she moved, pressing the juncture of her thighs against his in a slow, rocking friction.The rhythm was hers, driven by her.The sensation built, a deep, spreading warmth that started low in her belly and unfurled through her entire body.
This wasn’t a violent crash, but a quiet, profound loosening of knots she hadn’t known were there.A sharp gasp escaped her lips as a delicious shudder wracked her frame—a release so pure and intensely personal it was as if she took her first complete deep breath.The wave of liquid heat left her pliant and trembling in its wake, her forehead resting against Mason’s chest as the last tremor faded.
His hand was on her nape, his fingers massaging her scalp, and he was breathing heavy.“Do you need more?”
“More?”
The realization bloomed in the quiet aftermath, bright and hot in her mind.This.This was what it could be.It wasn't about sex, or a performance, or survival.It was about this feeling.This staggering, world-altering pleasure.It was something she could have.Something she could want.
The paradigm of her entire life didn't just shift; it was obliterated.
She slowly eased back, her body feeling boneless and new.She looked between them, their faces filled with awe and a fierce, protective tenderness.
“Our goal is to make you happy,” Mason said, his voice thick with emotion as he gently brushed a tear from her cheek.
She let out a watery laugh.“Yes.”She paused, thinking about it.“Yes, that sounds really good.”She swallowed hard.“Before I came to work here, I couldn’t remember when the last time anyone touched me because they cared about me.”
Magnus gently turned her to face him.“You will never have to remember that again.”
Mason’s voice rumbled in her ear.“We will show you how much we love and care for you every day.”
A low moan escaped her.“I love you too.Both of you.”
Darlene settled, half on, half off Magnus.Mason snuggled up to her back, his arm coming to rest possessively over her waist.They were warm, solid, and safe.But it was more than that now.It was a shared strength, a mutual healing, and the quiet promise of a future she was finally free to want.
“I love this,” she whispered against Magnus’s skin.“So much.”
