Page 45 of Wicked Riddles & Bitter Heartbeats

“Please don’t,” she begs, kicking her feet to get away from me. “I hurt.”

I squeeze her so tight she squeals. She laughs loudly, shoving at my chest to get down. I kiss her deeply before settling her on her feet.

“You can feed me, though.”

“Anything you want, Kitten. Anything at all.”

Two hours later, we’re naked and sitting in the jacuzzi tub that’s in the bathroom on the first floor. It’s not a place I frequented before Lilah moved in, but the view is gorgeous. A full wall of paned glass overlooking the rolling hills and miles of trees in my backyard. There aren’t many places that have such a naturalistic view in Boston.

There is a plate full of chocolate-covered strawberries, cheese, and crackers on the side table. We each have a glass of wine, the empty bottle on the floor by the tub.

When Lilah said she was hungry, I put in an order for groceries to be delivered. I made us steak with roasted potatoes and carrots. The dessert was delivered by a local bakery for a ridiculous fee, and we already had the wine.

The lights are dimmed, the heated floors on, and a few candles are strewn about along the counter.

I never thought myself a romantic person, never thought I’d care about someone enough to do things like this for, but here I am. Lilah is fucking special, and I want her to know it.

She, like me, hasn’t had it easy, and we understand one another on a level that most can’t comprehend. Neither of us had a perfect life. Definitely not like my ungrateful piece of shit brother, who got everything.

“When are we going to start?” Lilah asks, dragging her hand along the top of the water. She brings the wine glass to her mouth, and I watch her lips press against the glass as she takes a sip. Her tongue darts out to lick her lips and my dick twitches. Unbelievable.

Our legs are tangled together under the water that reaches her shoulders while it’s at my chest. It’s hot, and we’ve turned off the jets because it was too loud for us to talk.

“We?” I ask with a smirk.

She pauses her movements, glaring at me. “If you think you’re doing this without me, you’re crazy.”

I mean… we already knew that, didn’t we?

“So we’re going to Bonnie and Clyde this shit?” I ask with a raised brow.

“Minus the bank robbing because you’re rich.”

I laugh, then lean forward to grab her arm and pull her onto my lap. Water sloshes over the side, slapping onto the floor. My wine glass slips from my hand, falling into the water, but I quickly grab it up. My wine is spilled, so I empty the glass of the bath water and rest it on the end table before taking hers and doing the same.

Grabbing a strawberry, I bring it to her lips and watch as she sinks her teeth into it. It reminds me of all the times I’ve sunk my teeth into her, which has my dick even harder.

Her perfect skin is marred with bruises and red marks, old and fresh. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen, and I can’t wait to make more. See what shapes and colors I can create on her gorgeous and otherwise porcelain skin.

We sit like this for a while, me feeding her, watching her, and her enjoying the hell out of my attention. I’ve never felt so at peace in all my life. If only I could hold onto this moment forever, forget the bullshit in my life, I think I could be happy. But outside of this room, hell exists. The world that’s wronged me. A brother who got too much while I was left with nothing.

When we’re all wrinkly, full, and clean, I help her out of the tub, dry her off, and get her dressed. It’s early evening but we crawl into bed, the silk sheets soft and cool against our skin.

“You never answered my question,” Lilah says as she cuddles against me.

I grab the remote on my nightstand and press the button on the top. The flap in the ceiling across from the bed, on the other end of the room, flips down and the TV slowly descends, turning on once it’s in place.

“Tomorrow,” I say as I scroll through movies.

“Really? So soon?”

“Are you worried?”

“Not at all. Just surprised you don’t want to plan more.”

“We know what we need to do, now we need to do it. No point in overthinking.”

She sighs a happy sound, hugging me tighter.

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