Page 31 of Promise of Hellfire

Everyone was worried about Ethan disappearing and with good reason. The last time he vanished without telling someone where he was going, he got into a fight with two men, had a knife pulled on him, ended up in handcuffs, and was threatened by the chief of police.

I let the stream of water sting my skin as I scrubbed the scents of the day off of me. Gunpowder, sulfur, and blood were replaced with the familiar scent of strawberries and my muscles began to relax. By the time I stepped out of the shower, exhaustion clung heavily to my soul. I toweled off and shrugged on a clean shirt before collapsing on the bed and falling into a restless sleep, wondering what Ethan was doing and when he would show back up.

A feeling of warmth washed over me and dragged me from my sleep sometime later. Rough hands tenderly brushed over the skin of my torso and soft lips pressed kisses to my cheek.

I blinked several times, trying to remove the haze of sleep that lingered.

Ethan laid beside me smelling of soap. His hair was still damp, and he reached out to brush some from his face. “Where did you go this morning?” I asked, the sound of my voice quiet even to my ears.

His hands stilled, and he frowned. I sat up and took a better look at him. Even in the dim light, his eyes were shiny and red. What had happened?

“I went to visit my father.” His voice cracked as he spoke and I wrapped my arms around his torso, holding him tight. He didn’t have to say the words for me to know what happened. Silently he shook against me, ducking his head into the crook between my neck and shoulder.

“Tell me what you need,” I whispered.

After several minutes, he managed to compose himself. His breathing slowed as I rubbed my hands down his back, soothing him. He wiped his face on his hands and then pressed his lips to mine, sealing it in a kiss.

“The only thing I need is you. I want to lose myself in you,” he murmured against my lips before tugging the hem of my shirt up and ducking his head to my breast. His tongue flicked against my nipple before his mouth latched on, swirling his tongue against the hardened peak. Moving across my chest to my other breast, he repeated the action. Lick. Bite. Suck.

If this was what he needed to feel better, if he needed to lose himself, then I would help him. I needed to know the details of what happened, but if he wanted to feel better for a few minutes, everything else could wait.

He pushed my thighs apart, settling his body over mine, grinding his hard length against the material of my underwear. “When you told me I should lose myself in you, it drove me crazy. You drive me crazy.”

He tugged against my bottom lip with his teeth. I rolled my hips against him, the only thing separating us was the thin piece of fabric that I wanted gone. The bare skin of his chest rubbed against my nipples as he moved, panting in my ear. His touches were desperate and needy, his fingers digging into my skin. “I can’t get enough of you.” His hips rocked against me and I wrapped my legs around his body, linking them at my ankles.

My hands brushed against his back, nails lightly scratching down his skin. “Then take what you need from me. Use me to feel good,” I whispered in his ear. He pulled away long enough to yank my shirt over my head, tossing it to the side. He ripped my underwear down my thighs, tearing the thin fabric, and hovered over my body again. As he rubbed the head of his cock through my wet folds, each pass hit my clit, and a moan escaped my lips.

He smirked before thrusting in. This wasn’t Ethan’s usual lovemaking where he reverently worshiped my body. This version of Ethan was unrestrained. Sweat beaded on his body, his muscles tense. Our skin slapped against one another as the headboard knocked against the wall. My nails dug into his shoulders, breaking the skin as he chased his demons away inside of me. He lifted my legs onto his shoulders, and my eyes closed as he hit a spot inside of me.

“Fuck. Just like that,” I cried out, biting down on my bottom lip. My skin was on fire as he reached between my thighs, his fingers making circles against my clit. I pushed my hips against him, meeting every stroke, and when he pinched the sensitive bundle of nerves between his fingers, the world around me faded. I cried out, clawing against the sheets beneath me as my body jerked.

He flipped us over, him lying on his back and me straddling his hips. “Look at me. Show me how you feel about me. Show me I’m not the only one who feels like this.” My hips began to move, slowly at first. My limbs were sluggish from my orgasm as he brushed the hair away from my face. Soon the rhythm increased, my body moving against his faster.

He thrusted beneath me, and his eyes closed. “Fuck, you feel so good. You’re like a drug and I can’t get enough.” His movements from beneath shook me and my breasts bounced from the impact as I leaned back, bracing my hands against his thighs. His fingers dug into me, his hands splayed against my hips, guiding me how he wanted me to move. He opened his eyes looking into mine. “When I told you I loved you, I meant it,” he rasped, his breath ragged. “I love every imperfection, every scar. I love your stretch marks and curves. You have no idea how fucking beautiful you are.”

His words were raw tonight, real. My eyes stung from the honeyed words that fell from his lips. This was a side to Ethan that was rarely seen. He usually masked all of his emotions behind arrogance and smug looks.

He pushed upward into me one last time, the muscles in his shoulders tense and his jaw clenched, before stilling inside of me. He rolled us onto our sides, our bodies tangled together and covered in sweat, and inhaled deeply before tenderly kissing me on my forehead. I hid behind my hair, my cheek against his chest. “I love you, too. Next time, tell me before you make a decision like that. Never leave me in the dark again,” I whispered, closing my eyes.

His grip on me tightened. “I won’t.”

Chapter nineteen

Rayne

“Thetwoofyouneed to wake up. Now,” Hunter hissed in my ear, shaking my shoulder. “The police are downstairs and are requesting to speak to Ethan.”

The grogginess of sleep immediately fell away as I processed his words. As I jumped up searching for clothes, Ethan rolled onto his back and covered his face. “Shit, what time is it?” he groaned.

“Time for you to face whatever you’ve done,” Hunter responded. “They won’t talk to us.”

I quickly shrugged on the shirt lying on the floor and tugged on a pair of yoga pants. “Just breathe,” I told him quietly. “I bet they found your father.”

Hunter raised his eyebrows and left the room silently, anger radiating off his back. I had assumed he told them what had occurred earlier, but that was apparently incorrect.

I didn’t have all the details about what happened this morning, but I wasn’t overly worried. As long as Ethan played it cool, everything would be fine. It was standard procedure to question family members when violent crimes occurred.

Finally, Ethan threw the covers off and sat up, rubbing his hands over his face. “Fuck,” he mumbled as he stumbled out of the room.

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