Page 44 of Drowning Her

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I grabbed her by the hair, pulling her back into the alcove. I pressed my lips to hers, a slight moan coming from her mouth vibrating through me, my hand pressing her wrists down against the brick walls. Everything shook beneath us, humming with energy, and Maisie melted underneath me. I shoved my tongue inside of her mouth, forcing her to endure me. Those flashes of light coursed over her closed eyes. She was so vulnerable. So weak. And yet, so strong-willed, it enraged me.

And I wanted her.

Her knees trembled, and I broke the kiss. I thrust my hands into her pants, her pussy wet, her arousal drenching my fingers. I licked my fingers clean, tasting her sweetness, then rubbed my saliva on her face. Squeezed her lips between my fingers.

The last train cart passed by, and the air pressure relaxed, letting us breathe again. I pulled her forward, our shoes on the track. She grabbed for my belt, unzipping my pants. Fisted my cock. Her hand was small and cold on my dick, but I twitched at her touch, imagining ripping her apart. She kneeled down on the train tracks, taking me deep in her mouth. The light from the tunnel’s entrance dimly lit her eyes, beaming at me like an angel and demon mixed into one. Maisie, the woman I thought would break easily, a woman who had never known innocence, nor would she pretend to be pure. Her mouth took my length, swallowing me down, her lips firm, her tongue massaging me. I groaned, my eyes rolling back, trying hard to hold back, to let her do what she wanted to me. I stroked her head, letting her take control. Letting a woman actually takemefor once.Deeper still, my shaft penetrating the back of her throat, her gag reflexes pushing into action, constricting against me, but then she teased my balls, her mouth going up and down, her hand working me, her fingers warming with my skin. Her tongue teased along the head, licking languidly. Taking her time. Pleasing me.

But I wanted her my way. And I wanted hernow.

I pulled her by the hair, then pressed her down on the tracks, laying her down like a damsel about to meet her doom. But it was me keeping her tied there. I mounted her mouth, letting my balls slap into her chin, fucking her throat until she gagged on me this time, barely able to breathe, everything inside of her constricting around me. I fucked her face. Fucked her like she was nothing but a hole to me when the opposite was true. I knew that now. And I was so damned tired of resisting. Tired of fighting it. Tired of letting everything go by when all I wanted was her. To fuck her. To understand her. Like she somehow understood me.

I braced myself on the planks, the wood biting into my skin, fucking her throat until she pushed on my hips, trying to tell me it was too much, but I knew she could take it. I didn’t stop. I kept fucking her mouth, those lips opening, trying to find a breath, until she dragged her nails across my hips, the pain lighting me on fire. I pulled out, come shooting out of my dick, spraying her face, her eyes, her cheeks, her lips. Mine. Every part of her. Marked by me.

In the dim light, she licked the come from her lips and hands. I wished there was more light. I wanted to see her.

But if I had waited, I might have never done it.

I took a deep breath, then I helped her stand. We both sat back inside of that recessed alcove, waiting in silence for a while, our heartbeats settling into a comfortable rhythm.

I had done what I had sworn not to do. And somehow, that didn’t matter. I couldn’t change it. And even if I could, I wouldn’t.

Chapter 16

Maisie

Neither of usspoke on the way back to the house. But the tension had changed between us. In my bedroom, I gazed up at the ceiling. Was Wilder sleeping? Did he ever dream? Have nightmares? Was he restless like me? But an hour later, his bulky bare feet smacked against the floor, heading to my room. He scooped me into his arms, bringing me to his bed. He laid me down, then crawled under the covers. Flipped onto his side. Faced away from me.

I smiled to myself. Even if we weren’t touching, even if he was facing away from me—Wilder wanted me next to him.

The next day, everything continued as normal. I didn’t acknowledge the change in our sleeping arrangements, knowing that it might make Wilder uncomfortable having to face what this small, but significant difference meant. He woke before me, heading to a long day and night of work. I stayed in bed until the sun rose, thinking about what this meant.

That evening, a wiry alarm blared through the property.I looked out the window; the ranchers turned toward the speaker, then headed to the Calving Barn.

My fingers twitched at my side. I checked the time; Wilder wouldn’t be back for a few more hours. He had stopped by for dinner but had left to hunt another livestock order. It unnerved me. Was I supposed to go to the Calving Barn too? What were they doing?

Someone banged on the front door. I jumped, adrenaline coursing through me. I took a deep breath, then adjusted myself and answered the door.

“Better head to the Calving Barn,” Sawyer said. “Everyone’s waiting.” I bit my inner lip. What was I about to walk into?

“Where’s Wilder?” I asked.

Sawyer scoffed at my question, waving a dismissive hand to the side.

“Don’t think about leaving,” he said. “I’ll be back to check on the house.”

Then Sawyer went to the Calving Barn too. My gut sank. Something bad was happening. I grabbed my purse, then peeked in Wilder’s nightstand. I slid the drawer open: knives, clubs, grenades, rope. Anything I might need, except for guns. He must have had all of his guns on him. What the hell was going on? I grabbed a knife, then headed toward the door.

Another knock tapped on the back door, this one faint compared to Sawyer’s. I held my breath, racing to it. I knew who it was before I even saw her.

Bambi darted inside, ducking behind the countertops, hiding from the windows. I kneeled down beside her.

“I didn’t know where to go,” Bambi said, her voice panicked. She pulled on her hair, then tucked it behind herears. “I didn’t know what to do. I told him not to, but he did anyway. And I just?—”

I grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to lock eyes with me. “It’s okay. We’ll get through this.” She batted her lashes, trying to focus, and once she did, we both took deep breaths together. We had been through crap like this before; we would get through it again. “What happened?”

“Green has been stealing from your in-laws,” she whispered. “A lot. That alarm. They know, don’t they?”

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