Page 19 of We Will Rise

“You okay, Little Menace?” Crew asks from behind me, and I startle, finally tearing my eyes off the bed to look over my shoulder at him.

Like usual, he’s dressed in an impeccable suit. This one is light gray and makes his copper hair pop more than his usual dark colors.

I nod. “Just thinking about the last few months.”

Crew wraps his arms around my middle and tugs me back against his hard body. I’m not dressed as I would be if we were meeting with the other families, going for a more low-key outfit of black skinny jeans and a soft cream sweater with a quarter zip, and I’m grateful for it. After how the last meeting ended, I wanted to be comfortable if I had to run for any reason.

“You don’t have to lie to me, Camilla. You can tell me if you’re not okay.”

I sigh and lean my head back against his chest, allowing his warmth to ground me. “After my mom died, my dad taught me that loving people was a weakness. He said I should marry someone I could stand to live with, but that I should never develop real feelings for them so it wouldn’t hurt if they were taken away.” The words come out in a whisper because I don’t trust my voice to remain even at the admission. “The time since I was here last has reminded me how much I love you all and how much I stand to lose if something happens to any or all of you.”

So quickly that I can barely catch myself, Crew spins me and presses my back to my bedroom wall, his body towering over mine by almost a full foot.

“Did you just tell me you love me, Little Menace?” he rumbles.

I open my mouth to respond but snap it shut again. Have I never said it before? I’ve thought it so many times it feels like the most natural thing in the world, but maybe the words have never made it past my lips.

“Answer me, Camilla.”

“Yes. I love you. I love you so fucking much that it terrifies me that you could be taken from me because I don’t know how I’d survive. I don’t know how my heart could possibly keep beating without you.” The vulnerable words fall from my lips before I can catch them, but maybe this will stop him from trying to retreat again the way he did before.

Crew lowers his face until his breath whispers across my cheeks, and his lips are so close I can almost taste them. “I love you too, Camilla. Your love doesn’t make you weak. And being afraid of losing the people you love isn’t something to be ashamed of. It gives you something to fight for. It gives you something to live for.”

Before I can respond, his lips crash down on mine with desperate fervor, and I sink into the feel of his mouth on mine and his body holding mine in place.

My heart swells with emotion because the man who was uncertain about our future together just a few days ago just told me he loves me, and I’m overwhelmed with relief.

His hand snakes between us and grasps my throat, tightening just enough that my breaths are slightly labored, which only heightens our kiss.

I grind against him, my core aching for relief despite how hard I came for Kovu a few hours ago. It’s a good thing I have a high sex drive because otherwise there’s no way I’d be able to keep up with the four of them.

“I need you,” he murmurs against my lips.

“Then take me.”

He stares down at me through intense eyes, and my breath catches in my throat. He’s so fucking handsome and yet so deadly. It’s a heady concoction that I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to. “We don’t have long.”

“Then you better get to it.” I smirk up at him with a brow cocked.

He chuckles and tugs me from the wall, quickly leading me over to the bed, where he bends me over. He presses his palm into the center of my spine, forcing my face down against the mattress and my jeans-clad ass up in the air. “You have no idea what you do to me, Little Menace.” He rubs his hand over my hips before he reaches around me and unbuttons my pants, making quick work of shoving them down to my knees before his hands fall away and he starts working on his own clothes. “I’m always so fucking desperate for you.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” I say over my shoulder, earning me a quick slap to my already tender ass. Kovu did not hold back this morning, and I have a feeling I’m going to be feeling him for at least a few more days.

“This is going to be hard and fast, Little Menace,” he grunts as he runs the head of his cock through my sore folds.

“Please, Crew,” I moan as his hardness rubs over my aching clit.

“Mmm, I think you can do better than that, Camilla,” he rumbles as he grasps my hair at the base of my skull and drags me up, forcing my back to arch how he wants me.

“Please fuck me, Daddy,” I moan and a moment later he slams inside me.

Crew doesn’t give me a chance to breathe before he pulls out and slams home again. Over and over again, he thrusts into me with so much force I’d likely face-plant into the mattress if it weren’t for his punishing hold on my hip and hair.

“You beg so pretty for me, Little Menace. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about your punishment after the little stunt you pulled the other day,” he forces through gritted teeth, and I can’t help but smirk at the memory of getting myself off on his desk after I tied him to his chair and forced him to watch.

“Crew,” I whine.

His hand cracks down across my ass, and I cry out. “You’re going to beg me for mercy, Little Menace, but I’m not going to give it to you until you’re so fucking desperate you’re mindless. You’re going to be a perfect little whore for me, aren’t you, baby?”

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