Page 125 of Falcon's Prey

He let go of my hands, and his came to my waist, his lips crashing against mine. He was everything I missed in the world. All the dark things I craved, because there was beauty in darkness, and I had always been attracted to his. His hands moved over my body, gripping and feeling, but he was over my clothes, not touching me where I needed him the most. His lips moved to my cheek, and he buried his face in my neck. He licked the pulse from my tendon before he kissed it and sucked it.

“I’m so fucking mad at you, Ember.”

He bit the side of my cheek, and I whimpered.

“I’m going to fuck your little cunt and remind it just who it belongs to.”

He grabbed me by my ass and kissed my lips as he walked us to the bathroom. He sat me on the counter, his cold, wet hands coming to my shirt, slowly lifting, leaving a damp path as he went. My head fell back as his hands moved over my midriff and over my breast. His mouth kissed all over my neck. His tongue licked me from my collarbone to my chin.

“Fucking missed you,” he groaned as he took my lips again.

His hands were tangled in my hair, keeping me in place. My hands went to his face, cupping his cheeks softly. That was enough to make him pull away.

Ren put his forehead to mine, our breath mixing…entwining. He was the night sky to my diamond stars, making it balanced and better.

“Do you still love me?” he rasped.

I stayed quiet, and that was enough for Ren to pull back. He turned on the bathroom light, and I gasped.

He was covered in blood. Crimson stained his white T-shirt. Then I looked down at myself, and I was covered in blood as well. My heart seemed to want to beat out of my chest at that moment.

“I knew love meant everything to you, princess, when the word means shit to me.”

Despite how scared I was, my stomach sank at his words. I thought I had come to terms with them, but they still disappointed me.

“Love doesn’t mean shit, but actions do. And yours, Ember, didn’t mean shit… The first sign of a struggle, you fucking left me.”

I squirmed in my seat as he got closer. He put his hands on either side of my hips, and what he was saying made me forget that we were covered in blood.

“Love doesn’t mean shit to me, but you, Ember…you do. I’d lie, cheat, and steal for you.”

His hand came to my cheek, caressing me sweetly. Then his eyes went dark with a mixture of anger and lust as his hand came to my neck, choking me.

“I’ve killed for you, and if it fucking came down to it, princess, I’d die for you too. Love doesn’t mean shit to me, but I’d worship any altar in your name.”

His mouth hovered over mine, our lips almost touching.

“You say it was all about the fucking diamond?”

He let go of my neck only to move his hands back and unsnap my choker. Once he removed it, he grabbed my hips, moving me off the sink and forcing me back to look in the mirror.

“Did you ever wonder why there was a pattern inside your necklace?”

My eyes met his through the mirror, and at that moment, I realized three things. One, there was no way that he knew. Two, I never hated him. I was just scared because I loved him when I had never felt this way before. Three, he was rock hard behind me. When I didn’t answer, he kept going.

“It’s a code, and I bet it opens the safe where the Ember is kept.”

My father had admitted the same to me; that’s why he hated that I wore it, for fear that one day someone would discover his secret. My father showed his love for my mother by trusting her to his most prized possession. Without the Ember, our company was nothing.

“So no, Ember, it was never about the fucking jewel. You want to know what changed?”

I could only nod. Slowly, he turned me around, sitting me on the countertop again so I could be at eye level with him.

“The day after I took you, you were so fucking delirious with withdrawals you said something to me…something that put everything into perspective. You never have to worry abouthimhurting you again.”

My eyes widened, and my lips parted as I tried to speak or maybe get away.

“I know what he did to you, Ember. I know that he hurt you, and for that, he didn’t get any fucking mercy. He took something from you…”

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