Page 198 of His Pretty Little Duet

“You defied me tonight.”

"I didn’t want?—"

"You left," he cuts me off. "You made your own decisions. You knew what the plan was. You heard what I said. Heard my orders. And you put yourself in danger. Why?"

"Because of Xander."

"Yes. But I told everyone that I was taking care of it. Try again," he challenges. "Say the words."

I breathe out hard, pushing the truth through my lips. "I thought you were making a mistake, Sir."

"Good girl," he praises. "You did." He nods slowly as his face tightens in regret. "But, little deer, you also decided that I wasn't reasonable enough to listen to your concerns. You didn’t even try to convince me. You just left me. Tell me the truth now."

My lips won't stop vibrating as I admit, "Yes.I didn't think you would listen to me. I thought you'd lock me away."

A deep sigh leaves him, and he curses before saying, "Christ.I’ve failed you."

I shake my head. "No. It's not?—"

"Yes." He cups my cheeks and presses his lips to mine, talking against the water and tears glazing them. "You didn’t come to me." His voice sounds strange. Strained. As though he is fighting a battle in his throat. "I don’t want you to feel as though you must take orders from me blindly.Dammit, Fawn. Question me." He kisses me and presses his forehead to mine, rolling it hard as he says, "Use your voice, sweet girl. And I will listen to your concerns. I will listen to you, Fawn. Every damn word that comes out of your pretty mouth, I will listen, but I swear to God, if you ever leave me like that again without at least giving me a goddamn chance to?—"

"I won't." I grip the back of his neck, his shoulders are large ridges coiled with taut muscles, and I pull his mouth to mine again. Our kiss is tight, a wince of emotion thinning both of our mouths. "I'm sorry," I say against his lips. "I'm sososorry."

"Swear it to me, sweet girl."

"I will never leave you again."

One of his hands slides back and fists my hair, using his grip to curve my neck so he can drag his lips down the column. I swallow over a lump of nerves, and he ardently licks along the rolling of my throat.

As his fingers twist in my blonde strands, my hair bites at the scalp. I whimper, feeling his darkness fill the room.

His breathing gets heavy and fierce, and his teeth now scrape along my skin. "I will kill the next person who tries to take you from me." He spreads my thighs and tugs me to the edge of the ledge, swiping two fingers through my slit before forcing me to take his cock in one brutal movement.

A yelp falls from me.

Impaled beautifully in a gasp.

He growls, and I dig my nails into the muscle cording his neck and shoulders. Then he starts to fuck me, powered by the confusion, the vulnerability, the confessions, and the honesty.

"Iwouldhave locked you up," he admits darkly, gripping my arse and thigh with one hand and using my pelvis to meet his hard drives. "I would have thrown away the damn key. You’re right. I wouldn't have seen reason. I wouldn't have taken a chance. Not with your life." Deep grunts fall from him with each punch of his hips. "Not with you. Never you."

His lips slide up to my mouth and I gasp into them. He fucks my mouth with his tongue as he ruthlessly thrusts into me. Fucking the truth from himself, the hatred, blame, stoicism, and control.

Breaking off from our bruising kiss, he smothers my small body to his formidable, packed muscles, my head to his chest, held there by his fingers wrapped around my wet blonde strands. His hips never relent, battering me hard, rutting into me without caution.

My arms envelop his waist. I hold on as his powerful muscles roll and tighten beneath my clutching hands.

"I worship you, Fawn," he goes on roughly. "I fucking worship you, and I won't always be reasonable, but give me the damn chance to be! I'll learn. Give me the damn chance."

He batters the end of me. I cry out as he opens up to me with his words and his hard inward thrusts that have me accepting him and then missing him so quickly one sensation overlaps with the other.

I can't keep up.

Holding on.

He groans, his cock thickening inside me. "You'll have to stop me one day. You'll have to make me see reason when I'm about to tear the world through the middle for you. If you leave me, I'll do it. I will bleed the streets. Kill them all. Nothing could hurt me more than existing without you."

The ecstasy of being full of him, of his words, of his raw lovemaking that is a trembling and desperate chase to a climax, fills my chest.

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