Page 59 of Soul Bound

I line up my hips over hers and lightly grind against her still sensitive center. “We can stop if you want?” I offer.

“Don’t youfuckingdare,” she growls at me. She shudders when the head of my cock rubs against her clit. “Condom?”

I shake my head. “I’m clean. Wolf shifters can’t carry or contract STIs and I can’t get you pregnant since we’re not mated,” I explain.

“I’m clean too,” she assures me.

I hike her leg over my hip and line myself up at her entrance. We both watch as I slowly sink into her. I swear we both stop breathing as I move my hips forward.

“You’re so small and tight, I’m afraid I’m going to hurt you.”

“I’m not fragile.” She thrusts her hips up, fully sheathing me to prove her point.

The urge to thrust hard into her is strong, but I don’t want to cause her pain. I give her a second to adjust, before starting shallow thrusts. She says she’s not fragile, but she’s still basically human and I don’t want to lose my control with her.

But that plan goes out the window the second her legs wrap around my hips and the heels of her feet dig into my ass, urging me to move faster.

My wolf rides me, urging me to sink my fangs into her lush neck… to mark her. He craved her as much as I did, and now that we have her, he’s determined to never let her go. I feel my fangs descend, primed to bite into her. It takes a lot of strength to not do what my wolf wants.

Her hands feel like they’re all over me as I thrust into her. I growl in satisfaction when she rakes them down my spine and over my shoulders. I lean down as she scratches at me and suck on her nipples again.

The walls of her pussy flutter and I know she’s close again. I move my hips fast and harder, while I bite down harder than before on her taut nipple. She shouts out louder than she intended. She must realize we’re still in a hotel because she covers her mouth with her palm, stifling her cries.

“Come on little witch,” I taunt. “Come for me.” I reach between us and press down on her clit and send her over the edge.

Her climax sets mine off and I shudder, my hips grinding into her. “Fuck!”

Out of breath and fully sated, I drop my head to her shoulder as I pant. Our chests heave together. Winslow’s fingers trace the lightest pattern of circles over my back, and her lips press soft kisses to my shoulder. After a moment, I slip from her, making her breath catch slightly from the sensation.

I rise from the bed and walk naked into the bathroom. I wet a washcloth with warm water before returning to the bedroom. I scoop up our discarded clothing as I walk. Winslow is still laying where I left her, her arm is now thrown over her face as her chest continues to rise and fall roughly. She lies still as I clean up the mess between her legs. I toss the washcloth toward the bathroom, not caring where it lands. I pull my briefs back on and Winslow takes her oversized T-shirt from me when I offer it to her.

Now both partially dressed, I climb back into bed and pull Winslow to me before I drape the sheets over both of us. She cuddles into my side with her head on my chest and her leg draping over both of mine. I’ve never been one to cuddle after sex, but I’m not ready to let Winslow go back to her bed.

We’re silent for a long time, just enjoying each other’s company in the dark hotel room. I still don’t know what time it is, and blackout curtains cover the windows, blocking out any light I could use as a reference.

Her hand lies on my chest and I trace lightly over the scar that encircles her wrist.

“When I was trapped under the man, it triggered something in me,” she says softly, her voice barely a whisper. “I don’t like to be restrained or pinned in place—as you probably guessed.” I had. “When I brought back Poe? My grandmother was watching from the window and she saw everything. She already thought something was wrong with me when I started to say I could see ghosts. My parents brushed me off like I was crazy, but my grandmother looked at me like… like I was thisabomination. It got worse after I started seeing her deceased husband. I would go to her all excited and tell her what he had told me about their relationship, things I wouldn’t have known otherwise. She started to treat me differently. She was a religious fanatic—not like a normal Bible thumper, but it was an obsession of sorts for her, I swear.

“After she saw what happened with Poe, things got really bad. Every time I’d enter the same room as her, she’d cross herself and whisper a prayer. She’d tell me she was praying for my soul, saying the devil had me in his grips. She truly started to believe I was possessed by a demon. One time she even flicked holy water on me, promising to banish the demon.”

Looking back, her questions about demons and possession make sense now.

“When I was seventeen, my parents were out of town and I was left alone at home with her. She sent home my nannies and tutors, saying I was ill, and she was going to take care of me. But really, she had hired this priest—not like a normal priest, but one that was just as delusional as she was about demons and possession. I was in the kitchen grabbing a snack and something struck me over the head. I passed out and when I woke up, I was tied to my bed by my ankles and wrists. The rope wassotight, my legs and arms were stretched out as far as they could go.”

Her voice is strong when she talks, but I can tell by the slight tremble in the hand I’m caressing she’s anything but calm.

My blood begins to boil as she tells me her story, but I try to stay composed for her. She needs me to be strong for her right now. I can’t go back and stop what happened to her, but I can hold her tight and comfort her now.

“The priest and my grandmother forced this liquid down my throat—it tasted so bad. It wasn’t long after I started to hallucinate. I don’t remember what I was seeing, but just remember that I’ve never been so scared in my life. I fought hard against the restraints, but the rope dug deeper and deeper into my skin. I didn’t know how long I had been tied there. The drug he was giving me would fade and I would have a moment of clarity. I would see my grandmother standing over me each time I came to, she held her rosary beads in her hand and she just glared at me, yelling at me about the demon that had taken me over and how my soul was doomed to hell. The priest kept me drugged and tied to the bed for four days, it felt longer though. The whole time I hallucinated and pulled tighter at my restraints.

“It wasn’t until the fourth day my tutor had shown back up at the house. She had left a book she needed for another student. I don’t know exactly where my grandmother and the priest were when she found me tied to my bed, but I’m just so thankful they weren’t there because she ended up cutting me loose. She helped me escape the house too. I stayed at her home for two nights as the drugs left my system. She tried to convince me to contact the authorities, but I couldn’t. My dad has more money than God and he would pay off each person I talked to keep quiet and I would be dragged back home. My only option was to run away. She gave me some money for a bus ticket, and I found myself in New York two days later. That’s where I lived until three months ago when they sent men after me and had me committed against my will. Like I told you before, my dad is running for governor and needs to make his image pristine—having a daughter who claims to see ghosts would be a PR nightmare for him. I heard from a guard at the hospital they were telling people I was on a mission trip overseas, helping build villages or something. And as you know, now they’re telling everyone I died in an accident, so I guess they’ve officially washed their hands of me.”

My heart aches for this girl.

Your family is supposed to love and protect you, but hers repeatedly let her down and hurt her. “I’m so sorry, Winnie.” What else am I supposed to say to her? “You’re so strong and these…” I bring her scarred wrist up to my mouth and press a kiss to it. “Your battle scars… proving just how strong you are.”

“I didn’t feel strong earlier,” she admits.

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