Page 41 of The Shadow

“Yeah?” I lay beside her naked, worn-out body, dragging my fingertips gently over her. “What else did you like?” I follow the movement with my eyes, my finger dipping down between her breasts and back to her nipple.

“The talking.” She blushes and curls into me.

“No need to be ashamed about that. And it works out for me because clearly, I can’t keep my fucking mouth shut when I’m inside you.” I lick her nipple, blowing a cold puff of air against it. “You bring out the animal in me.” I bite down this time and her hands come to tangle in my hair. I repeat the process on her other breast, bringing my lips back to hers to slide my tongue deep inside her mouth.

“What does the animal in you want?”

“To possess you.” My cock twitches against her thigh and she reaches down to grip me. “Fuuuck, to claim you.” I lean my head back as she slides her hand up and down my shaft. “To fucking ruin you for any other man.”

My eyes fly open when she releases me, pushing her hands against my chest as she climbs atop to straddle me. Her hand reaches back down to stroke me a few times before lifting her hips and hovering over my tip.

“Are you sure?” I struggle to restrain myself as I look down to see her hips lowering just enough that her pussy grips my tip, the warmth of her making my thighs tremble with the need to be inside her again.

“Tell me more.” She lowers down a little farther, wincing. I lick my finger, rubbing it gently against her clit. “Take your time.” I hold her hip, still stimulating her clit while she moves up and down the first few inches of my cock, trying to acclimate. We stay like this for several minutes, my eyes not moving away from the way her pussy lips stretch around my girth. Her hands press against my chest, her hips slowly starting to find their rhythm.

“I want to hear more,” she whimpers, taking more of me.

“I’m gonna leave bruises on you,” I groan, my fingers digging deeper into her hips. “I hope I do because every time I look at them… Ohhh—” She slides down my cock deeper this time, coming back up fast. “Do that again. Fuck.”

She obeys, her hands pressing harder against my chest as she begins to move only her hips.

“Every time I look at them,” I try again, “I’ll be picturing you bouncing on my cock like this.”

“Don’t stop,” she begs as I remove my hand from her clit and slide it up to grip the base of her throat.

“Oh, I’m not stopping, Aspen. I’m not stopping until you’ve drained every last drop from my balls with your tight cunt.” I lift my hips as she slides down, her body falling slightly forward onto me as she yelps. “You can take it. Come on, baby, let me fuck you.”

She’s a wreck, a complete quivering mess, but I continue to grip her throat, using the lever to pull her down onto my cock as I lift my hips.

“And if you like the things I’ve said and done to you this far”—I nip at her jaw, her lips, sucking her tongue into my mouth as her pussy begins to quiver and pulse around me—“you should see the things I’ve already done to you in my head.”

Chapter 15

Aspen

“You are heavenly.” Harvey’s hand tangles in my hair, his fingers rubbing gently against my scalp as we stare up at the ceiling, the soft glow of the early evening light cascading across the bed and casting long shadows on the wall.

I sigh and roll into him, the warmth of his skin a welcome sensation. I smile against his chest as he pulls me into a warm embrace that feels so natural, so right.

For a brief second, I completely forget the reality of our situation. The fact that an untouchable asshole is blackmailing me and Harvey has been hired to protect him. My smile fades, a knot forming in my stomach.

“What’s wrong?” His brow furrows, my expression in direct contrast with what it was only seconds ago.

For the last several hours we’ve completely lost ourselves in each other. Neither of us bringing up the dark threat the looms. I stretch, my body aching in the most delicious way as I extract myself from his embrace. I try to smile but the weight of the secret I'm about to tell him weighs too heavily on me to even pretend.

“Harvey.” My chin quivers but I swallow down the tears. “I meant it earlier when I said there’s something I need to tell you, something nobody else knows.” I try to avoid his gaze, but he refuses, gently pulling my chin back toward him so that our eyes meet.

“It’s okay, whatever it is.” He looks at me intently, genuine concern in his eyes as he reaches out to grab my hand.

I close my eyes, taking in a deep breath as I attempt to brace myself for the storm of emotions I know I’m threatening to unleash with this confession. He squeezes my hand gently, silently reassuring me.

“I didn’t have the best home life growing up, not unlike a lot of people. I grew up struggling. We were not dirt poor; we always had food on the table and a roof over our head, but that’s where the good times ended. We only ever lived in one place, our two-bedroom trailer in the Magnolia Mobile Home Park. It was a small community, pretty tight-knit. Everyone knew my dad; he was kind of the mayor of the mobile home park—not really but that’s how everyone treated him. He always advocated for people when they needed help from the management office or he’d help them himself, especially the older single ladies when they needed repairs done or cars worked on. He always had the tools and answers for anyone’s problems.”

“Jack-of-all-trades,” Harvey says and I nod.

I take in another deep breath, my mind instantly transporting back to the turbulent and toxic years of my childhood. “But at home, behind closed doors”—I shake my head, his angry face flashing behind my eyelids—“he was a monster, a completely different person. It was like he’d shed his skin once he was alone with my mom and me.” Harvey’s hand squeezes mine tighter as he braces for what I’ll say next. “He was controlling, a religious zealot that pretended to be selfless and kind to everyone else but us. It was like when he looked at us…”

“Hey, it’s okay, you don’t have to go on.” I look over at Harvey, not realizing that I drifted off.

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