Page 64 of Crown of Steel

Let me out.

Let me out. Let me out. Let me out!

I can’t breathe.

Let me out.

"There you are. I wonder where you'd gone."

"Not far."

"Nah, not far."

Enough. Let me out. You’re a monster.

A monster.

But there’s no door to this cage. Only a lock. And I don’t have the key. He has the key. He has it. He has it…

On instinct, my mouth opens on a cry and I suck in the largest gulp of air. Fuck, I feel like I haven’t taken a breath for so long. Drained, I’m feeling drained, my chest tightened and myheart beating furiously at the same time. Panting, I open my eyes, blinking a few times to see clear.

Where the fuck—I take in my desk with my reassuring books, my computer, and backpack. Gazing up to the curtains, I catch the faintest of moonlit darkness. My closet…I’m not in my closet. My limbs stiffen at the realization.

Fragments of those haunting thoughts still linger, making my brain sluggish. The past is burned, Dad behind bars, but it doesn’t save me from my own mind. Perhaps that’s what scares me most. You can change your entire life, but horror always has a way to find you.

It sucks me right back in, making me close my eyes again, falling back into my nightmare. It’s different now. The cage is still there, but the threat is dissipated. Instead I’m feeling hot, so fucking hot. It’s still dark around me, but somewhere a torch is lit, putting a silvery glow over the cage. There’s a soft noise, like a moan, low and smooth, and it’s making my body slow and lethargic, as my stomach hits the warm floor. Arousal shoots through me at the next shuddering moan. It takes me a moment to realize that it’s my own, pleading voice.

Then I can feel it. A strong hand wrapped around my waist. Rolling my hips back, desire inflames instantly, thick and hungry, as I touch something hot, and hard.

“Fuck, yeah,” I urge on a breath. My vision flutters behind my lids. The lock is opened, the darkness fading away. I’m free.

I’m free.

“Ouvre tes yeux, chaton.” Open your eyes. A hoarse voice rumbles in my ear, making my flesh explode in goosebumps.

“Hmm.” My body rocks into those soothing thoughts, into that liquid heat that runs through my body, faster and faster with every grind of my hips. Dazed, I open my eyes again. Fuck, I’m feeling euphoric. Black and golden light shimmer through the room, and my hips roll slowly while I try to catch my breath. My body is burning with desire, and when I slide myhand down, I find my cock hard and dripping behind their restraints.

I’m wearing my pyjama pants and a tank top, but can’t remember when I put those on, nor when I somehow rolled back into my usual side, facing the window.

And that tanned arm, tightly wrapped around my waist, prominent veins and soft, dark hairs.

“Fuck.” It comes out on another moan. I’m not alone. Blinking furiously, my thoughts come tumbling back. Last night’s meeting with my mother and Jean-Luc, followed by that freaky evening in the forest. Then finding my stepbrother waiting for me, here, in my bed… “You’re still here.”

My nightmare has left me so vulnerable. Raw and exposed, and ready to be picked up and fooled around with. It scares me. The way my mask has slipped from my face and has wiped off my guard. I’m left naked. It’s why I want Arthur so badly it hurts. Want him to braid his strength around me and claim my body and mind, chase away the fear by doing so. Fuckingcravehim to keep me safe.

Arthur’s hand tightens around my waist as he guides my hips to skim flush against his groin with every roll. He’s hard, like me, his cock teasing the crease of my clothed cheeks with every pound. It makes every single nerve ending come alive, making my lips part in ecstasy.

“Is this what you need,chaton?” He rasps.

I moan.“Yes. Oh yes.”

“Fuck yeah.” Arthur lets out an unhinged grunt and his hand creeps up, long fingers sliding around my neck and squeezing. His lips brush against my ear. “Nightmare?”

I swallow, my gaze still focused on the curtains. “I—yeah.”

“Got those often?”

I bite my lip, shaking my head only to hesitantly turn it into a nod of my chin.

---