"Mine."
I feel him shudder at the sound of my voice, a full-body tremor that tells me how close he is to breaking. His control—that carefully maintained facade of calm he presents to the world—is fracturing beneath me.
"Yes," he gasps, "yours. Always yours. Please, just let me—"
I silence him with a kiss, swallowing his pleas as I begin to move again, faster now, chasing my own release. The angle is perfect, his cock hitting that spot inside me that makes stars burst behind my eyelids.
"Please," he begs when I break the kiss, his voice wrecked. "Please let me come. I need to—I can't—"
My fingers flex on his wrists, feeling the desperate tension in his muscles. Leaning close, I breathe against his ear: "You don't get to come until I say."
He makes a sound that's almost a sob. I continue riding him, my pace quickening as my own climax approaches.
When it hits, it's like a tidal wave—powerful, overwhelming, washing over me in pulses that make me cry out. My inner walls clench around him rhythmically, drawing another desperate sound from his throat.
"Wren," he pleads, his voice cracking. "Please. I need—"
But I don't give him what he needs. Instead, I lift myself off him entirely, leaving him hard and aching, his cock slick with my arousal. He reaches for me blindly, a sound of disbelief escaping him.
"Wren? What are you—"
I step back, watching him. His chest heaves with labored breaths, his hands grasping at empty air. The headset still covershis eyes, leaving him disoriented and desperate. His cock stands rigid against his stomach, flushed and glistening in the dim light.
I retrieve my sleep shorts from the floor and pull them on, my legs still trembling slightly from the force of my orgasm. Jace remains on the couch, utterly wrecked, his composure shattered completely.
They think they're the ones protecting me. But they're the ones at my mercy now. They don't dictate anything anymore. And they need to earn my forgiveness.
Without a word, I turn and pad back to the bedroom, leaving him gasping and desperate on the couch. Theo hasn't moved, still lost in peaceful sleep, unaware of what's transpired just a room away.
I slide beneath the covers, a strange sense of satisfaction settling in my chest. For the first time since waking in the hospital—maybe for the first time in years—I feel powerful. In control. The author of my own story.
Let Jace puzzle over what just happened. Let him wonder where he stands, what I'm thinking, and what comes next.
Chapter 36
Theo
"ItwaslikeIwas dying," Jace says, tense and low. "I've never felt anything like it."
I glance toward the bathroom where the shower's running, then back at Jace. His eyes have a haunted look.
"So she just left you there?" I sound both impressed and alarmed. "With the headset still on?"
"I couldn't move for like ten minutes afterward. I thought I was going to lose my mind."
"Holy shit."
Jace runs his hands through his hair, leaving it sticking up in all directions. "She just... took what she wanted and walked away. Didn't let me finish. Didn't let me see her." His voice drops even lower. "I've never been so turned on and so completely wrecked at the same time."
I try to process what he's telling me. Wren—our sweet, quiet Wren—rode Jace until she came, then left him desperate and blindfolded. The mental image is so hot I have to shift in my seat to adjust myself.
"So that's how she's going to play this," I murmur, more to myself than to Jace. I can't help the small smile that tugs at my lips. If Wren wants to punish us by taking control, by making us feel what it's like to be kept in the dark, I'm more than willing to let her.
Hell, I'll happily grovel if that's what she wants. I'll do whatever she demands, give her all the control she needs. After what we did, we deserve it. And watching her reclaim her power this way is fucking magnificent.
"You okay with this?" I ask Jace, who's still looking slightly shell-shocked.
He nods slowly. "More than okay. I just wasn't expecting..." He trails off, then meets my eyes directly. "She spoke to me, Theo. Multiple times. Not a lot of words yet, but her voice—" He breaks off, swallowing hard.