Page 12 of Bonds of Obsession

I kick out, feeling my foot connect with something. There’s another grunt, and the grip on my arms loosens slightly. I use the opportunity to wrench one arm free, swinging wildly.

“Fuck!” Another voice, deeper this time. “Nico, hold her down!”

Nico? The name registers somewhere in my scrambled brain, but all I know is that I need to keep fighting.

“Mia cara, please!” Nico’s voice again, strained and pleading. “It’s us! It’s me and Killian!”

Killian? The names start to sink in, and reality begins to bleed through the nightmare. My movements slow, and I blink rapidly, trying to clear my vision.

“That’s it,” Nico says, quietly reassuring me. “You’re alright. You’re safe.”

I focus on his face, hovering above mine. His eyes are wide with worry, and a bruise is already forming on his cheek where I must have hit him.

“Nico? What—where?—”

“You’re here with us,” Killian says from my other side. “At home. In bed. You were having another nightmare.”

But I don’t want to be safe. I don’t want to be comfortable. I want to hurt something—or someone. Anything to make the pain in my heart stop, even if it’s only for a little while.

“Let go of me!” I snarl, thrashing against him. “Both of you let go!”

I feel Killian’s presence as he moves in closer, wrapping his arms around me and trying to contain my flailing limbs. But it only makes me fight harder.

“We’re only trying to keep you from hurting yourself,” Killian warns, his voice strained with effort.

“Fuck if I care about that!” I know I sound crazy right now, and I don’t care about that either. “Maybe then I’ll feel something other than this goddamn pain!”

I twist and buck, using every ounce of strength I have. I don’t care if I bruise or break something. The physical pain would be a welcome distraction from the emotional agony that’s been tearing me apart.

Nico’s face is just inches from mine, and I can see the concern that’s weighing on him. Concern for me. For Atlas. He knows just as well as I do that we don’t have a plan to bring Atlas home. Not one that will actually work.

Our eyes lock, and for a moment, everything else fades away. Without thinking, I step forward, closing the gap between us until my lips crash against his.

I kiss him with a desperation I’ve never felt before, pouring all my pain and anger into it. He freezes for a moment, but then something in him shifts, and his lips press hard against mine, matching every bit of my force.

I can feel the wave of emotions radiating from him—grief, frustration, need—all mirroring the chaos inside of me. Hishands come up to cradle my face, fingers tangling in my hair as he pulls me even closer.

Our kiss deepens, and I start to lose myself in it. It’s not gentle or loving—it’s as raw and primal as the storm raging inside both of us. I bite his lower lip, hard enough to draw blood, and he groans into my mouth.

My fingers are curled into his hair, scratching at his scalp, desperate to cling to him like a lifeline. His hands move down to grip my hips, pulling me roughly against him. I can feel his hard length through his jeans, pressing into my stomach.

A growing need is rising inside me—a burning, desperate need to connect with him, to feel something other than this never-ending pain. I scratch my nails down his back, needing to mark him, to claim him, to feel him under my fingertips.

“You don’t have to fight it anymore, mia cara,” he whispers, his lips trailing down my neck. “I’ve got you now. We’re gonna take care of you. I promise.”

His words are helping, but they’re not enough on their own. I press myself even closer to him. I can’t get enough of the friction and the heat, the feel of his body against mine.

“I need you inside me,” I beg, not even caring how desperate I sound. Because I am desperate. Desperate to fill the void that Atlas has left behind. “Fuck me, Nico. Please. Please.”

His eyes search my face, and I can feel the exact moment he understands. The tension leaves his body as he crushes me to him. His lips are bruisingly hard against mine, and his tongue thrusts into my mouth in a brutal, hungry kiss.

It’s exactly what I need, but it’s still not enough—and I’m pretty sure he realizes it at the same time I do.

He tears his mouth from mine and moves lower, nipping at my neck, then lower again, sucking and biting at my sensitive skin along the way. His hands are rough as they tear at theoversized t-shirt I was wearing to bed, leaving me in just my panties before he rips those away as well.

His hands are everywhere while Killian holds me in place against his own hard body. Between the two of them, I can feel those hot, rough hands cupping my breasts, stroking my thighs, holding me open wide and exposing me completely.

“Yeah, look at that pretty pussy,” Killian growls into my ear. “You want him to fuck you, siren? Want him to fuck that gorgeous pink pussy until you’re screaming his name?”

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