Page 58 of Reaper Flame

Before he could say more, I put my hands on his cheeks and pulled his mouth down to meet mine. His lips responded hesitantly like he suspected the punchline of a joke was still to come. Maybe he thought I was delivering the kiss of death? It wouldn’t be the first time I seduced a man before killing him.

A few moments later, Zander broke away, and my hands fell to my sides.His gray eyes probed my soul, searching for a reason why this was happening. I stared straight back, unblinking.

“Is this really what you want?” Zander whispered, stroking his lips with his finger as if he couldn’t believe what happened. If his were anything like mine, they’d feel on fire. I may have made out with a viper, but poison didn’t scare me. My soul was already too far gone.

“Just kiss me before I change my fucking mind,” I growled.

He held my face in his hands as if it were made from china and kissed me. His tongue cautiously explored my mouth, parting my lips like they were breakable flower petals. When we’d fucked before, it’d been rough and primal, but this was different. The night blew apart a hidden barrier between us. All of our hard edges had fallen away to leave the shattered remnants of two hopelessly broken people looking for a way to put themselves back together.

“I don’t fucking deserve you,” he murmured, caressing my hair.

“No,” I replied, sliding my hands up his chest. “You don’t.”

I wasn’t stupid. Zander didn’t deserve me after what he did. He deserved to be buried in a shallow grave and left to rot, but my body craved him. His hands trailing down my back sent a lightning bolt between my legs. Instead of polluting my veins with venom, his touch acted as an antidote to a disease I never realized I had. After tasting him, I couldn’t stop.

Zander showed me who he really was. He was the badass, ruthless leader of the Sevens, but he was also twisted and fucked up like me. He held those he loved to high standards and himself to higher ones. He favored loyalty above all else, no matter the cost. For the first time since we met, he wasn’t hiding anything. I could see the real Zander Briarly.

Before moving to Port Valentine, I would have slit his throat and delighted in rolling around in his blood, but things were different now. I recognized myself in Zander. He allowed me to see the shadowy depths of his mind, and it didn’t make me want to run… not anymore.

The Sevens were under Zander’s control, but West had been right. Zander was undermycontrol. If I had Zander, they were all mine, and things would never be the same again. For any of us.

Zander stroked my back and pulled me into his embrace, like he was afraid I’d change my mind and wanted to grasp the moment before it was stolen. He untied the knot holding my dress together at the front and gently slipped the fabric away, letting it fall. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes looked for permission as his warm hands paused at my bra clasp. I nodded.

When Rocky and I reunited, our emotions took over. After learning he was alive, I wrapped my legs around him and never wanted to let him go. With West, our heightened emotions came out in a passionate and violent frenzy when our twisted monsters collided. With Zander, I didn’t know how to feel…

I’d always hate Zander for what he did, but not in a way that made me want to claw his eyeballs out. I pitied him without feeling sorry for him. My head was a mess, and my feelings were deep and complex. They made no fucking sense, and I didn’t have time to thrash it out over a therapist’s couch.

I reached for the bottom of Zander’s shirt, then stopped. I didn’t want to hurt him. He sensed my reluctance and took it off himself.

“And the rest,” I ordered.

Zander undressed and stood naked before me. I swallowed hard as my skin heated, feeling like a virgin all over again. My eyes scanned over his strong shoulders, tattoos, the scars across his chest, then…

“Zander...” My voice shook as I looked at his ribs where the name ‘Candy’ was inscribed. From the clear lines, the ink was fresh. “You did that… for me?”

“I meant what I said, Candy,” Zander purred. He took my hand and held it against his chest, letting me feel the beating of a heart I didn’t think he possessed. “Whether you want it or not, my heart is yours.Iam all fucking yours.”

“I-I-I—” I stammered like an idiot, not sure what to say. Was this the proof I’d been waiting for that he’d been telling the truth?

“You are the only person who has seen the real me,” Zander said. “I did what I did because I wanted you to be ours forever, little one. But I was wrong, and I’m going to prove myself to you.”

I arched an eyebrow. “Since when does Zander Briarly need to prove himself to anyone?”

“You’re different,” he replied, stepping closer, but not close enough for his hard cock to brush against me. “And whatever happens, you will always be my Seven girl. MyonlySeven girl.”

Zander reached out to stroke my shoulder blade, sending tingles racing down my body.

“I’ll prove I’m worthy of you, little one,” Zander said fiercely. He grabbed my hips suddenly and pushed me back onto his bed. “If you’ll let me.”

His words were still whirring through my mind as Zander parted my legs. His lips grazed the tops of my knees, and his hair tickled my skin as he pushed my legs apart. He hooked his hands under my thighs and gripped my hips, pulling my pussy onto his face. Vixen’s crotchless panties weren’t a total bust.

I whimpered as his hot tongue licked along my wet slit. “Zander…”

“I’ve missed the taste of you, little one,” Zander said. He pushed his tongue into me, making me gasp, then pulled away. I looked down to see him grinning and licking his lips. “You taste so fucking good.”

We should stop,the sensible part of my brain reasoned, it would only complicate everything further.But don’t you want to believe him?Another small voice piped up.What if he is telling the truth? If he wants to worship you, why don’t you let him? You’re already going straight to hell, and the devil gives damn good head.

I pushed his head down, locking him in place. He ate me out with the same calculated focus as an athlete going for gold, murmuring in appreciation and sending vibrations pulsing through my limbs. A sizzling heat spread from between my legs over my entire body, making my chest feel like it was about to burst wide open, like everything I’d been holding onto was going to crack and explode like an escaped firework.

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