Thorne Princess(81)

“I get it. Then why do I get turned on by all this?”

I gave it some thought. “Maybe because you want to remind yourself of the important part.”

“Which is?”

“That you survived.”

Silence lingered before she spoke again.

“You looked like you cared about me today.” She shifted under her blanket.

“Just did my job.” I cleared my throat. It felt tight.

“It was your job to protect me, not to almost kill him.”

“Some jobs have perks.”

Another silence.

“Ransom?”

“What?”

She hesitated. I held my breath. I really shouldn’t. I’d avoided her for seven days. I had no business waiting for more of her words.

“Can you…”

No.

“Maybe…”

Fuck, no.

“…hold me?”

The worst part was that I couldn’t actually say no. I wanted to. I could not deny her anything right now.

I felt my body rising up and rounding the bed. I slipped behind Hallie, staying on the far end of the mattress. She didn’t turn around. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, leaving room for Jesus between us, and a few other biblical folks if they wanted to squeeze in.

She was shaking like a leaf. I wanted to butcher Craig until nothing was left of him but dust and those fake-ass veneered teeth.

Slowly, in hopes of calming her down without awakening my cock—which had no qualms about Hallie’s distress—I began stroking her hair. It was soft and long. It smelled of coconut and flowers. Since I’d never before cuddled—I doubted I’d even said the word out loud—I went off what I saw people do in movies.

Her shakes slowly subsided.

“I want to kill him,” I heard her whisper.

“I can do it for you.” I was only half-joking.

“Have you ever killed someone?”

I stilled, my hand halting over the nape of her neck.

“Never mind.” She burrowed deeper into me, sighing. “I don’t want to know, because it’s not going to matter. You’re still the only one who treats me half-decently. How sad is that?”

“Very,” I admitted, swallowing hard. My cock was straining against my sweatpants, hyperaware of the fact the only barrier standing between it and Hallie’s ass was a flimsy pair of worn-out boxers.

“Keep holding me.”

“Stop moving, then,” I barked.

“Why?” Her voice dropped an octave, becoming sultry.

“Because my cock is as hard as your day has been and I would very much like for my balls not to fall off.”

She wiggled that luscious butt in response. My erect cock was nestled between her ass cheeks through our clothes. I looked down under the duvet. It was the hottest shit I’d ever seen.

“Hallie.” I closed my eyes, shuffling back. Half my body was hanging off of the damn mattress. I was about to fall off the bed. Still, I held her.

“Hmm?” She chased my crotch, moving her ass up and down, grinding against my cock, which needed absolutely no further encouragement to release a pearl of pre-cum which stuck to my sweatpants. My shaft swung back and forth, tapping her ass. She purred. She knew exactly what she was doing.

“Stop,” I groaned, my balls tightening.

“See, I know I should.” She laced one of her legs through mine, continuing to grind against me. “But you’re the only man who’s ever made me feel…desire.”

“See, saying that to a Dom means whatever’s happening here should end immediately, since I’m the adult in the room right now.”

The words sounded right and felt right. I’d practiced the lifestyle long enough to know boundaries—mine and my partners’—and yet I couldn’t fucking deny her.

She snaked a hand between us, gripping my cock through my sweatpants. “I want you, Ransom.”

“I don’t want to ruin you,” I croaked. And I generally ruined everything I touched. Unless it was work-related.

“Ruin me anyway.” Her hand slipped into my sweatpants, her thumb twirling the drop of cum on the crown of my cock, rubbing it against the sensitive part. “There’s not much left to destroy as it is.”

The remainder of my self-control shredded into confetti. I flipped her around so we were face-to-face. We stared at each other in the dark. I wanted to kill myself for what I was about to do.

“Kiss me,” she grumbled.

Helpless, and completely fucked, I shoved my fingers into her hair, pulling her forward as my mouth crushed down on hers.

Our teeth clashed. I growled, drawing away. This was my first real kiss, at age twenty-nine, and as far as first kisses went, it was probably a lackluster one for her. Then I remembered she probably hadn’t really kissed anyone, either. We were both new at this.

Hallie wouldn’t let go. She tugged me closer, clasping her legs around my waist, like a human octopus, not letting me go.

She shook her head, opening her mouth against mine, the tip of her tongue searching inside, exploring, sweeping against my teeth and my tongue and the roof of my mouth.

“We aren’t doing this right,” I grunted. I was no expert, but I knew. She froze inside my arms. Her mouth disconnected from mine, and she pulled away, searching my eyes.