On instinct, I buried my own teeth in his neck, biting until I tasted the metallic tang of his blood against my tongue. It satisfied me in a way I didn’t expect, but it satisfied him too.
He carried me to the sofa and bent me over it. His hand gripped my hip as the other pulled down the zipper of my dress, revealing the lines he’d left on my back from this weekend.
His fingers traced over them again and again as his hips crashed into me.
His breaths were coming even harsher than before. The room was completely quiet, save for the slapping of his skin against mine. I felt the sheer power of his thighs as they flexed behind me, the strain of his bicep as he held me in place. He was so strong, I would never escape his grasp, even if I wanted to.
His darkness bled into me, inch by torturous inch, consuming me from the inside out. It made me feel powerful. It made me feel free. It made the next words that flew from my mouth a plea that he never stopped.
He was dark and twisted, but maybe I was too. Maybe that’s why we found each other. It was the addiction I was drunk on, and the same addiction that drove me over the edge.
I combusted around him, milking him for all it was worth with every wave of release that rolled through me. And when it was all over, he exploded inside of me, filling me so completely I never wanted to move again.
For a long time, we didn’t. He held onto me as though I still might bolt at any moment. I was too weak to even consider it. When he finally pulled out, my body felt his absence immediately.
The cool air danced along my exposed skin until he zipped my dress up and put me back together. Then he spun me around and brushed his thumb over the fresh bite mark on my shoulder. My eyes drifted to the angry red marks I’d left on his neck, but instead of regret, there was a deep sense of pride. Because I’d claimed him too.
Who was this woman, and what had become of me? I didn’t bite men or have rough, angry sex. I didn’t fall for the man who was hurting my family. My brother.
My eyes snapped to the blue irises of the creature before me, and I couldn’t make him out. Was he a monster, or was he a man? When I looked at him, I could only see a man. One who’d been hurt somehow, and deep-down was vulnerable. But when I thought about what he was doing to Brayden, I knew he couldn’t do those things unless he was a monster.
“Brighton.” He gripped me around the waist and pulled me close. “This changes nothing.”
His tone was firm and confident, but his eyes betrayed him. In the depths of those eyes, I could see the question he was asking. For my reassurance. That our agreement was still on and that he still had claim over my body and life.
A smart woman would have walked away then. She would have lit a match and set fire to the entire clusterfuck that was this situation. But I was never a smart woman, and if you didn’t believe me, all you had to do was ask my mother.
Chapter Fourteen
When I got home that night, I found Nicole sitting at the breakfast bar. She was staring at a bouquet of Morning Glories and an expensive bottle of red wine that sat untouched in front of her. A quick glance at the label revealed it was a 2009 blend from the south of France.
“What’s this?” I teased. “Do you have another secret admirer I don’t know about?”
She glanced up at me, and I immediately regretted my lighthearted joke. Her eyes were red and puffy.
“Nicole, are you okay?”
I moved around the breakfast bar to hug her, but she retreated backwards, holding her hands up in a placating gesture.
“I’m fine,” she croaked. “Sorry, but it’s been a long day. Would you mind… getting rid of that stuff while I take a shower?”
“Sure.” I nodded in confusion. “Do you want me to put it somewhere?”
“Just get it out of the apartment,” she whispered. “So I don’t have to look at it again.”
I picked up the flowers while Nicole padded to her room. The blooms were already drooping in the evening light of the apartment, and I found it a strange selection for someone to send Nicole. I wasn’t a flower connoisseur, but I thought I once read that these were a symbol of mortality or something along those lines.
When I stepped into the elevator, I bumped right into Ryland and nearly dropped everything in my arms. His lips tilted up at the corners as he helped me to regain my balance.
“Are you going to be popping up like this all the time now?”
The irritation in my voice was clear, but I couldn’t control it. I was still in shock from the big reveal, and the more I thought about it, the more questions I had.
He didn’t seem fazed though because he was too busy staring at the flowers in my arms.
“What are you doing with those?”
“I’m taking them to the trash. I think some creep sent them to Nicole, and she doesn’t want them.”
His gaze narrowed, and I wondered if he thought I was lying to him. Or perhaps he was upset someone had sent Nicole flowers. I still couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on between them, and it irritated me further to even think about it.
“What’s the deal with you two?” I questioned.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean is there something going on between you and Nicole? Or anyone else for that matter?”
His expression softened as he took a step closer and tilted my chin up to meet his gaze.
“Would it bother you if there were?”
“Of course it would bother me,” I snapped. “I don’t know who else you’re playing these sick games with, and I think it’s only fair I know if I need to protect myself. You haven’t used a condom once since we’ve been together, and…”
“Brighton.” He smiled, completely derailing my train of thought. “Do you really think I’ve waited this long for you only to have someone else come along and distract me?”
“I don’t know.” I frowned. “I didn’t know that you had waited for this to happen. You acted like I didn’t even exist that first day you saw me again…”
Something occurred to me then. Something I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of before. “How did you know I would come to San Francisco?”
“I arranged the apprenticeship,” he said. “I had no doubts you would take it, but even if you didn’t, you’d be here regardless.”
“So this whole time, you’ve been testing me?” I accused. “With Stacey and with… who else is in on this?”
He opened his mouth, but I didn’t give him a chance to answer.
“Oh God, was that thing with Tom at the bar a test too?”
His jaw tightened and it was answer enough. “I had to be sure you weren’t like your family.”
“You mean like Norma-Jean?” I snapped. “Because I’m nothing like her. And neither is Brayden. He’s a good person, and I thought you were his friend. I don’t understand why you’re doing this to him!”
The elevator doors drew open, and he shook his head in clear warning. I knew what I asked was against the agreement, but I had too many questions, so recklessly, I persisted.
“Tell me why,” I demanded. “Tell me what happened between you two. Why were you at our house that night? Is that why you brought me into this?”
He didn’t answer, and it was infuriating me. So I kept peppering him with whatever questions I could think of.
“What about those initials you put on my back?” I asked. “They aren’t even yours. Are they someone else’s? A womans?”
“You don’t get to ask those questions,” he barked. “Remember?”
“Fine.” I tore my gaze away from him like a scolded child and continued my walk to the trash receptacles. He caught up to me within a matter of moments and waited until I’d discarded the flowers before pulling me into his arms.
“The only thing you need to know is that you belong to me. Everything else, it doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” I insisted. “But you don’t care about that, do you?”
He answered by nuzzling into my hair and kissing his way down my throat while his hands explored my body. It wasn’t fair. He was touching me in all the ways he knew I liked, trying to weaken my defenses.
“You’re cold,” he whispered into my ear, rubbing his hand up my back to grip the base of my neck. “You should go back upstairs.”
“I should,” I agreed.
I didn’t move. I couldn’t while he was looking at me that way. As if he didn’t want me to go anywhere, and that right then, I was the most important thing in the world to him. It was a complete contradiction to everything he was doing.
He cradled my face in his hands and kissed me as if it were the last time he’d ever see me. I secretly wondered if he still thought it might be. That I might bolt at any given moment. And it was then that the truth of our circumstances really dawned on me. I already had the upper hand in this situation. He might have been holding the cards, but without me, he couldn’t win. Whatever this was, he needed me. And by the genuine emotion in his eyes, I wondered if that was a requirement of his game or his heart.
“You get one question,” he said. “I’ll try to answer it as best as I can. But it can’t be anything to do with Brayden.”