Page 18 of Capricorn

I don’t have time to process the revelation. He’s already dragging the head of his lubed cock through my wetness, sparking me to life all over again. His slick digits probe my back hole, an uncomfortable yet arousing way of preparing me for him. One finger, then two, easing in and out with a measured rhythm, coaxing me open until I’m groaning from the stretch.

I try to relax and match his rhythm, but tension flares as I brace for more. Then, with a low grunt, he pushes into my ass, and despite the preparation, it’s an abrupt intrusion that’s far more painful than I remember.

“It’s too much!”

“Relax, my sweet girl. Breathe through it. Let your body take me in.” Liam’s voice has never been so gravelly or strained. Holding my wrists to the mattress, he drives himself deeper.

“Fuck, that’s good.” His voice roughens as he shudders through the sensation. “Do you feel that? You’re taking me so well.”

I bite my lip to stifle a whimper and try not to bear down, but the burn is relentless. “It hurts.”

“I know it does, but you have to get through the pain to find the pleasure. So feel the pain, hate it with all your soul, but know it’s necessary.” His gruff words brush my nape. “Give in and accept it.”

As he continues to open me up, his thrusts quick and urgent, I can’t help but understand the double meaning of his words.

“I can’t accept it.”

“Yes, you can.”

“I can’t!”

“I won’t let this grief kill you. Sebastian wouldn’t want that.”

Sebastian.

His name roars through my ears, awakening the agony all over again. Unbidden, a sob bursts free. But I don’t want to cry anymore. I don’t want to hurt anymore.

Liam’s determined to make me do both. “Cry until you can’t cry another second.” With every deliberate thrust of his cock, he drags out another sob. “Remember him and accept the pain. Embrace it until it no longer hurts.”

Memories of Sebastian flood my mind—his teasing blue eyes, the way he painted my portrait like I was special, how he felt inside me, claiming what he could. His touch and his love had filled me so completely.

Just like Liam’s doing now.

I wail harder than I ever have, my ass taking the brunt of his cock. Acceptance tears me open, bulldozing through my walls as if they were never there at all.

“He’s gone.”

Liam slows his pace, his thick shaft gliding between my cheeks as he brushes a hand over my hair. His thumb strokes my damp cheekbone, wiping away liquid grief.

“He’s really gone,” I weep.

“That’s it. Let it go.” His words follow the cadence of his thrusts, edged with a tenderness that sends a familiar shiver down my back. It’s unsettling, the way every hard inch of him moves inside me, his groin rocking against my backside, steady like the sea.

“He’s not coming back.”

“No, he’s not.” His warm lips hover at my ear. “But you’re going to be okay, because you’re the most astounding woman I’ve known, strong and capable of great things, and this will not break you.”

His fervent vow heats my stomach, igniting a spark in my core, dulling the burn.

“Liam…you feel…”

“Tell me.”

“You feel good.”

“You feel perfect,” he rasps, his hips building rhythm again. “Perfect and mine.”

I can’t be his.

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