Page 101 of Corrupted Deception

“Fuck.”

I was done for, but some tiny remnant of reason stayed with me, and I pulled out, fisting my cock as lightning bolts of pleasure shot through me and I decorated her ass in thick ribbons of my come.

And while I’d been reluctant to pull out—to say the least—I couldn’t say I was disappointed in the result.

“I like seeing my come on you,” I said as I reached down and rubbed it into one cheek.

She chuckled under her breath and moved to try to roll out from under me, but I grabbed her hip, holding her still as I worked the proof that I’d fucked her into her other reddened cheek and up the small of her back.

“If that asshole comes near you again, I want you smelling like my come,” I said, even if it did make me sound like a dog marking my territory. Suddenly, I didn’t mind if Aiden Quinn came wandering back. Little did Charlotte know, he hadn’t wandered far.

“Caveman,” she said, laughing.

“Damn right.”

When I was satisfied, I let her go and rolled off her. The moment I did, I could feel the change in her, back to pushing away. When she moved to sit up, I grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back down next to me.

I shook my head when she opened her mouth to protest. “Don’t bother. You think this is a bad idea—objection noted. Now, go to sleep,” I said in a tone that brooked no refusal.

She eyed me for a minute, then—surprisingly—acquiesced. Or at least, mostly. She dropped down onto her side, facing me, and propped herself up on one arm. Her free hand began to trace idle circles across my chest. Idle at first, until her fingers started to follow along the clouds and lightning like she was tracing out the whole scene.

“What is this?” she whispered as she swept her hand across my chest, her voice hesitant, almost fearful. No doubt, she had to have some inkling that the elaborate storm scene had something to do with her.

“Read it,” I said, not certain whether doing so was just going to have her running again.

She leaned up further, her brow furrowed, as she searched across the scene for the text I knew was hidden there. The moment she found it, I could tell by the way her breath caught in her throat.

‘In the heart of the tempest I find my way’it read down the lightning bolt that ran directly over my heart.

“When?” she asked as her fingers grazed over the words.

“When I was eighteen,” I admitted.

She nodded once, then shook her head. “Why? I was already gone. And even when I was there, you never—”

“I only ever wanted you,tempesta,” I confessed. Maybe it would send her running; maybe it wouldn’t. But while I was fine with shadows and secrets, lies had always tasted bitter and cowardly to me.

Her fingers stopped moving, and she looked up at me, one eyebrow raised.

“You were unpredictable,” I told her honestly. “I couldn’t read you—I never could. I had no idea what you were thinking, what you wanted. It scared the shit out of me.”

She scoffed, but the sound was forced. “So, what? I scare you?” she asked, her voice loaded with doubt.

“Scariest woman I’ve ever met,” I said, only half-joking. Never being able to read her meant never fully trusting her, and I had no idea how to make that fit in my world. Or maybe that was bullshit.

She eyed me for a moment, and like always, I had no idea what was going on in her head.

“My mother,” she said eventually.

“What about her?” I asked, preparing for another round of whiplash. If I intended to keep this up, a good chiropractor might have been a worthwhile investment.

“You wanted to know why I left, so I’m telling you because I don’t think it’s me that scares you, Cielo. I think it’s not having all the answers. I was a puzzle you could never quite put together. So, I give you the answers, and you can solve your puzzle. Then you can finally move on. And now you know, it was my mother who made me leave.”

She was right back to pushing me away.

Frustration welled up because it seemed I’d finally caught her in a lie.

“Your mother saidyouleft,” I said, fighting the urge to snap, which was something that had become far too common since Charlotte had reappeared.

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