Page 86 of Fire Bound

“When I first was free of Sterling and Nicolai, this is the first place I came. I sat on the beach for hours just watching the waves come in as I tried to come up with a plan,” I explain. “And then every time I needed a place to think, or I needed to put some serious distance between us or else I was going to lose my fucking mind over the fact I couldn’t have you, I came here.” I spent hours pacing in the sand convincing myself that Remi didn’t mean anything to me. It, of course, all fell apart when I saw her again. “Sometimes there are storms that happen out over the water. Each time lightning would strike, I would have to laugh because it’s like the universe was taunting me. Your eyes have always reminded me of thunderstorms, and even halfway across the world, I couldn’t escape you.”

Remi turns away from the water. “That’s because we were never meant to escape each other. We kept running, but we weren’t really going anywhere. All we were doing was hurting ourselves, but not anymore,” she declares. “There’s no more running, no more bad guys after us, and no more hiding sides of ourselves from each other. Now we can just...be free.” She looks back at the water before smirking at me tauntingly. “Let’s be free, Jax.” She backs away from me as her hands grip the bottom of the white T-shirt she wears before lifting it over her head.

Completely naked, she takes off down the beach. Her laugh, full of joy and happiness, joins the sound of the crashing waves. I’m yanking at my sweats, bouncing on one foot as I pull them completely off my body before she has time to touch the water.

I run after her and watch as she dives into the waves without fear.

A few seconds later, I’m jumping in after her. The warm ocean water washes over me, cleaning my skin of the dried blood that still coated my flesh. It also cleanses me of my past and the darkness that I’ve felt clinging to me my whole life.

Like Remi said. We’re free.

I’m free.

We surface from the waist-deep water at the same time and before either of us has fully taken a breath, we’re grabbing for each other.

She tastes like saltwater as our mouths crash together.

I kiss her like I’ll never get enough of her. I kiss her like it’s my last time because, after today, I’m learning that we truly never know what will be our last moments. I kiss her like she’s my reason to get up in the morning because that’s what she is. I kiss her like I’m trying to brand her with my mouth because the mark on her neck isn’t enough.

A wave knocks into us, making her stumble away from me as she catches her balance on the sandy ocean floor. Not wanting that to happen again, I grip her hips and wrap her legs around my waist.

My hardening dick jabs into her flat stomach making her grin against my mouth. “Hard already?.”

“For you? Always.” I kiss down her throat until I reach the bite mark on her neck. I seal my mouth over it and suck lightly. Her head falls to the side as she moans softly. “What about you, love? Does that sweet pussy of yours want my cock?” My hand dips between us to tease her with my fingers. The pads of my fingers rub slow circles around her clit until her hips begin to swivel and mimic my pace. “That’s it,” I coax.

“Now, Jax,” she pleads. “I need you inside me now.”

I made a vow to keep her happy. How am I supposed to refuse her request?

Lifting her in my arms, I slowly bring her down on my dick until I’m buried deep inside of her. Both of us shudder and groan as white-hot pleasure takes us over. The world washes away, and all I can see or feel is us. My only focus and priority are the woman in my arms. She’s the one who owns my heart and soul, and she’s the one who saw the good in me before I was capable of seeing it myself.

There are a lot of things that I don’t have the answers to yet. There are still so many unknowns regarding what comes next for us, but I know one thing for sure. We will walk through the mystery of life side by side, and we will find the answers together.

And we will continue to set each other ablaze while we do it because her flames combine with mine, and together, like a wildfire, they burn everything in their path.

Five Months Later

I’m happy.

Like deliriously and irrevocably happy.

I’m the kind of happy that’s hard for other people to be around because I’ve been floating on a bubbly pink cloud of pure joy for months. If I was forced to spend time with someone like me, I would probably feel inclined to punch me square in the nose.

I’m happy and I’mexhausted, but in the best way.

Five months have passed since Sterling and everything he built was dismantled to the ground. Or I should sayburnedto the ground. After we figured out how to help the ones we’d trapped in the binding circle, we’d moved onto the few remaining breeding facilities still standing.

Kaius gave me the addresses and held up his end of the deal. Well kind of…

I’d walked out to my brand-new SUV one morning to find the list of locations pinned under my windshield wiper with a note from the necromancer.

Remington,

Absolutely immaculate work with Sterling. Bravo, my dear. It was a truly thrilling experience watching his final battle. A shame it’s already over, but still a very satisfactory end.

As promised, here are the addresses. With news of Sterling passing, security will be light as the staff is starting to jump ship faster than rats.

Best of luck with your little crusade. Though I do want it noted, I still find this mission ridiculously tedious, and I firmly believe there are better things you can do with your time. That’s just my two cents.

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