Page 40 of Everest

I say nothing. I don't ask questions. I don't offer words she doesn't want to hear. I simply let her break apart in my arms. Her tears soak onto my flesh, hot and fast. Her body shakes, her chest rising and falling in uneven breaths as the weight she's been carrying alone finally crushes her.

I fucking hate it.

I hold her tighter, burying my face in her hair, breathing her in.

She cries for a long time until her body has nothing left to give, and I absorb what I can until the storm inside her burns out.

"This doesn't change anything, you know." London breathes in deep.

"The hell it don't."

London pulls back, looking up at me. She opens her mouth to argue, but nothing comes out as I lay her on the bed. Her breathing hitches, and her body stills beneath me. I grip her hips as she lets me settle between her legs. "You're mine."

"I don't need saving." She lifts her hips off the mattress.

"Don't change the fact that you're mine." I slide into her with one hard thrust. "You don't get to push me away," I growl against her ear. "No more fighting."

London whimpers. "I can't afford to stop."

I slide in deeper, dragging a moan from her throat, the kind that makes me fuck her harder. "You can." My voice is rough with possession. "You will."

"I don't need you," she lies, gripping the sheets, her body betraying every stubborn word that leaves her lips.

"You need me," I counter, grinding into her, making her feel how much I need her. "Just as much as I need you." I move faster. "Say it!"

"No," she rasps.

"You belong to me." I grind against her, slow and deep, making her feel every inch of me. "Give me what I want, babe."

Her body tightens, and a strangled moan slips past her lips. And finally, she gives in to me. "I'm yours," she says, her back arching as her orgasm shatters through her body, taking me over the edge of release with her.

I still inside her, pressing my forehead to hers, breathing hard, my pulse pounding. She's boneless beneath me, her body trembling, the fight drained from her once again. I slide my hand down her side, over the curve of her hip, grounding myself in the feel of her. "You're fuckin' perfect."

London sighs, her breath still uneven. "I'm far from perfect. And don't go thinking just because you're a sexy mountain of muscle with a magic dick, it means you're always going to get your way."

I kiss her, chuckling. "That so?"

"Damn right."

I smirk, nipping at her skin, ready to go another round. "I wouldn't want it any other fuckin' way, babe."

We take our time coming down from the high, tangled in each other, until reality slowly creeps back in. Eventually, she slips out of bed and starts getting dressed.

When she turns to me, her eyes lock onto mine with a challenge. "You need to take me home."

I finish pulling my shirt over my head, stepping toward her. "Not happenin'."

Her hands land on her hips, her glare sharpening. "Excuse me?"

I grab my cut from the chair, pulling it on. "I've got shit to handle at the clubhouse, and you're comin' with me."

London folds her arms beneath her breasts. "No, I amnot. I have a life of my own, Kallum."

I close the space between us in a single stride. "You were abducted last night. If it wasn't for Tony, there's no tellin' what would have happened to you." Dark, unwanted thoughts ripple through my head. "All because you were pokin' around places you shouldn't have been.

London's jaw tightens, and I know she's about to explode. "I was trying to find out what happened to Amara. She was clearly being abused by the asshole she's with, and now she's been missing for days."

My chest tightens with anger. I know London means well, but she put herself in the crosshairs of dangerous men. "You know better," I say, my voice low but controlled. "You've seen firsthand how shit like this plays out. Yet, you still put yourself in the middle of it."

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