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And for once, I did.

Safe and dreamless.

Chapter 9

Ash

Warm. Relaxed. Peaceful.

My body hummed with each sentiment, snuggling deeper, craving more. It was bliss, a feeling I hadn’t experienced in a long time, yet against my will, my eyes cracked open, spilling milky light between my lashes. Awareness slowly dragged me out of my slumber, the smells of fried eggs and smoked ham drifting into my nose.

I sighed with contentment, feeling serene everywhere… except my cock, which was pushing hard against the zipper like it wanted out, wanted to sink into the warm body I was curled around.

My lids flew open, oxygen halting in my chest, last night flooding back.

And the awareness of a naked ass curved into me.

Long, silky brown hair pooled on the pillow I was sharing, Scarlet’s head facing the wall. Her small body was tucked tightly into mine, her sweater pulled up to her hips. My arm was wrapped around her, my hand halfway up her sweater, grazing her ribs right below her tits.

I waited for panic to take over, to leap away from this girl and berate myself for letting this happen. My heart slammed against my ribs, but I couldn’t move. Or maybe I didn’t want to.

I hadn’t slept this soundly since I lost Kek and Lucas, and for once, I didn’t wake up drenched in sweat, screaming… or coming off a high, smeared in dried cum and tangled with faceless whores.

Scarlet was so warm against me, her figure cuddling into mine like a security blanket, and for one second, I wanted to live in this moment. To have serenity. To not suffer endless sorrow.

As much as I wanted to tuck into her hair, close my eyes, and fall back to sleep, I became too aware of the fact she was pretty much naked against me. My mind strolled back to how her pussy soaked into my pants last night, how close I came to forgetting everything, unbuckling my pants, and fucking her hard. I could sense how turned on she was, how responsive.

Scarlet wasn’t the type you fucked once and walked away from without a thought. Especially since we were stuck on this journey together. And that was all I could offer anyone. My heart was dead, my soul was empty, and my cock was unbiased about who it sunk into. Except right now, it felt anythingbutimpartial.

Groaning, I rolled over, placing my bare feet on the ground. I scoured my face, my dick throbbing. I tried to breathe through the need to fuck, hoping to force my body to relax.

It wasn’t working.

This had been normal for me at one time, but since Lucas and Kek died, I only got hard when I was drugged up in a brothel, taking my anger out on the world. And when I came, it left me empty. Unfulfilled. Searching for something else to take my pain.

This isn’t because of her. I just need to let off some of this excess energy. Take the edge off.

The craving hit like a brick—my mouth watered for fairy dust, to feel it trickle into my veins, alleviate the tension… and then fuck this energy out of my system with someone I didn’t care to know.

My fingers twisted into my hair, the need for at least one of my vices ripping away my tranquility.

“Hey?” Scarlet’s husky morning voice slithered around me. I glanced back, watching her stretch, still sleepy and hazy. I quickly turned back, my knuckles turning white.

“Wow. I slept so good,” she muttered.

“Yeah.” I bounded up, grabbing my shirt and yanking it on.Me too… the best sleep I’ve ever had.

The shift in the room was instant, coldness lapping up the silence behind my comment, Scarlet clearly sensing my mood.

She sat up, one hand tugging at her sweatshirt, the other holding her ribs, staring down. The blissful expression she had a moment ago had darkened. Insecurity, shame, hurt? I couldn’t tell; I just knew I had put it there. And all I wanted was to have her smile back.

“Buna dimineata.”Good morning. A knock softly tapped the door, Anca’s voice coming through the wood, whipping me around to it as if I was caught doing something bad.“Micul dejun este gata.”Breakfast is ready.“Also,” she switched to thick English. “Anddraga, I have your clothes clean and dried for you.” She addressed Scarlet.

Opening the door to our hostess, I nodded my head. “Thank you.”

Her gaze went from me to Scarlet’s barely dressed form on the bed and back to me, doing well to not look down at my massive erection carving through my cargo pants. She dropped the clothes into my hands, and a knowing smile shyly curled her lips.

“I’m sure you both are starving.” The double meaning felt like she left a grenade in the room when I shut the door, something we had to avoid, or it would detonate.