Page 43 of Tribute
“If you don’t know, Rehz Akran, then I can’t help you.” She blew him a kiss. “Say good night and thank Kai for me. I’m glad you can give him what he wants, at least.”
CHAPTER
TEN
“Iknow you joked about not wanting to live in the same building as me, Lee, but I thought you should see this place.” Akran tapped in a code and the door to the apartment swung open. “It’s only a floor down from mine. It’s basically the same layout over two floors.”
Anna followed him into the empty space, and looked around the familiar room and out of the big windows overlooking the city. By the time she’d woken up, Kai had gone and she’d been left with a quiet, very courteous companion who treated her with as much warmth as a robot. Not that she could blame him. He was a fucking robot, after all, programmed by the government to do one thing and unable to believe he was capable of anything more.
“The government will give you a generous furniture allowance to fill it up with all thatgreezwomen love.” He kept walking, opening doors as he went, and she silently followed him. He wore a tight black T-shirt and jeans low on his narrow hips.
“Of course there are a lot of other complexes where you could live. This one has good security, but if you wanted to live near Kai or Malke, you could see if they have anything over there.It’s about five kilometers away on the other side of the city, overlooking the lake.”
“The lake sounds nice.”
He paused to look down at her. “You think so?” He shoved his hand through his hair. “You’d get priority if there was a place vacant. Do you want me to take you down there today, or should I call Kai to meet you?”
She turned away from him and looked over the sunlit city. “I appreciate your help.”
His reflection shrugged. “It’s the least I can do.”
“You’re just keen to get rid of me so that you can have your own space back. I get it.”
“No, I—” He exhaled. “Believe me, Lee, I just want you to be happy. I want you to have anything you fucking want.”
“Except you.”
“What the fuck would you want me for?” He cleared his throat. “I’ve been thinking about that. If you still want sex, I can do that. I’ll?—”
She held up her hand. “Sex when you won’t come, and won’t even let me help you come? Do you really value yourself so cheaply?”
He placed the key on the countertop with the code underneath it. “I’ll leave you to look around, okay? Let me know what you want to do.”
“Palk really did a number on you, didn’t he, Rehz? Made you feel like all you were was his personal sex toy to be used and abused whenever he wanted.”
“That’s not true.”
“Then why are you afraid to ask for what you want? What will it take to get through that thick skull of yours?” She took an impulsive step toward him. “You survived theUngrich, Akran,twice.” She shook her head. “I can’t even fathom how you did that.”
“By shutting down everything inside me that wasn’t useful or necessary tosurvive.” He slowly raised his head to look at her, his gray eyes bleak. “You can’t be weak in there, Lee. Youknowthat. They’ll tear you apart and enjoy doing it.”
“You’re notinthere anymore. You’re not even in the program. You’re done! What are you going to do now, Akran? Live the rest of your life like this?” She swung around in a circle. “So emotionally closed off that nothing is allowed to get through to you?”
“Don’t do this, Lee.”
“Do what? Make you angry, make you care about something?” She raised her chin. “You picked me as a Tribute. You know I won’t back down for anything or anybody. You taught me how to be strong, so how can you be such a coward right now?”
He moved so fast she gasped as he hauled her against the wall, one hand wrapped around her throat. Well, she’d wanted to see him lose it, and now she was going to experience it up close and personal.
“Shut up, Lee.”
“No, I fucking won’t.” She glared into his furious gray eyes. “Make me.”
His mouth descended and she moaned as he kissed her, his hand on her ass, molding her sex against the hard rod of his erection. She bit his lip and he cursed, jerking his head back and loosening his hold to readjust his grip on her body.
He reached between them, yanking down the fly of his jeans and shoving her pants out of the way until the crown of his cock pressed against her clit. Then he slid lower, impaling her on his stiff length in one brutal thrust.
She screamed and wrapped her legs higher around his hips as he pounded into her. His strokes grew shorter and more ragged as he groaned with each thrust. Unwilling to release him,she dug her heels into the pumping muscles of his ass and rode him harder, keeping him deep inside her as he fought to escape.
