Page 25 of Ghost's Revenge
I reach up to brush away the tears with my thumb, amazed at the tenderness I'm capable of with her. She tilts her head back, her body arching as she grips my shoulders tight enough to leave bruises, and then she's coming, her pussy clenching around me in waves that nearly push me over the edge too.
The sight of her… Eyes closed, mouth open in a silent scream, body tense with pleasure, is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I could watch her come a thousand times and never get tired of it.
Even after her orgasm subsides, she keeps moving, riding me with determination despite the way her thighs are trembling. Her eyes are half-closed, her bottom lip caught between her teeth, and she's clutching the sheets on either side of me like they're the only things keeping her anchored to this world.
I can't hold back any longer. The combination of her tight pussy still fluttering around me, the visual of her taking her pleasure so openly, and the knowledge that this is Debbie—brave, beautiful Debbie who trusts me enough to be vulnerable like this—pushes me over the edge.
I place my hands behind my head, letting her set the pace as I feel my release build.
"Fuck, I'm gonna come," I grunt, hips jerking up to meet her movements.
She doesn't stop, doesn't slow down. Just watches my face with those enormous brown eyes as I empty myself inside her, my cock pulsing with each wave of pleasure. One, two, three jets of cum, filling her up, marking her as mine in the most primal way possible.
When it's finally over, I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. "Shit, I should have warned you I was going to come inside you."
She lifts herself off me and collapses beside me, her head on my shoulder and one leg thrown over mine. "It's okay," she murmurs, pressing a kiss to my chest. "I loved feeling it. Like you were marking me as yours."
"I was," I tell her, the words coming out before I can think better of them. "Want you to be mine, Debbie. Want to take care of you and Tyler, make sure no one ever hurts either of you again."
She holds me tighter, like she's afraid I might disappear if she lets go. "Are you sure? I'm... I'm in the clouds right now, but you should know I'll have bad days. Days when I flinch if you move too fast, days when I cry for no reason."
"I'll have bad days too," I admit, running my fingers through her hair. "Been hospitalized for PTSD more times than I care to count. Because of things that happened at home, because of the military… I'm better now, but with the war with the Vultures MC... I might have episodes. Might shut down or get distant."
"I understand," she says softly. "You don't have to tell me, but... those things that happened at home… is that why this is personal for you? Because your mother went through something similar?"
I bite my lip, clench my fist against the surge of anger that always comes when I think about my childhood. But Debbie deserves the truth if we're going to try to build something real.
"Yes," I say finally. "My father was... he hurt my mother. For years. I ran away to the military as soon as I was old enough, and when I came back on leave after basic training, I was strong enough to fight back." I pause, remembering the sound of my father's bones breaking under my fists. "I hurt him bad enough that he never came near her again, even after I deployed. But she died a few years later, and I've always wondered if I could have saved her sooner."
Debbie's hand finds mine, squeezing tight. "It wasn't your fault. You were a child, and then you were doing what you could."
"Maybe." I've had two decades to make peace with my past, and I'm still not sure I've managed it. "But I can do better now. For you and Tyler."
"We can support each other," she says. "If you're okay with that."
The idea is foreign to me. Mutual support, a partnership where vulnerability isn't weakness but strength.
"I've never had that," I admit. "Someone who understood. I might not be good at it at first, but I'll try."
I sit up, needing her to understand exactly what she's signing up for. "But Debbie, you need to know what you're getting into. I'm a violent man. What I did to David this morning? That's nothing compared to what I'm capable of."
She sits up too, meeting my gaze without flinching. "Do you enjoy it? The violence?"
"No," I say immediately, wanting her to understand this if nothing else. "Never. I do what needs to be done to protect people who can't protect themselves. That's all."
"Then there's nothing to worry about," she says simply. "I know you'll take care of us, and I know you'll always come back to me. Preferably not covered in blood."
I shake my head, amazed at how easily she accepts the darkest parts of me. "You're perfect, you know that? And I promise I'll never come to you bloody."
I pull her closer, suddenly needing to feel her against me again. "You should stay here for now, at the shelter. Until we deal with the Vultures MC. But after that..." I hesitate, not wanting to push too fast. "After that, I want to find a place for you. For us, if things work out."
"I'd like that," she says, tracing patterns on my chest with her fingertip. "Taking it slow will be important for Tyler, too. He already likes you, but stepdad is a whole different level."
Stepdad. The word repeats in my head. Never thought I'd be anyone's father figure, especially not after all the blood on my hands. But for Tyler… Bright, curious Tyler who just wantssomeone to teach him to play baseball and look at him like he matters, I'll try to be anything he needs.
Debbie lays her head on my chest, her breathing starting to even out as exhaustion catches up with her. I run my fingers through her hair, marveling at how soft it is, how right she feels in my arms.
For the first time in twenty years, I'm not thinking about exit strategies or threat assessments or all the ways the world might try to hurt me. I'm just here, in this moment, with this woman who somehow sees past the violence to the man underneath.
