Page 82

"You're going to ruin this work of art if you keep that up," Luca says, finishing the final cut. I can't tell what it is; when I look down, all I see is dark red blood pooling on my chest. He thrusts into me again, licking and sucking the area clean while moving inside of me. I let my legs fall open to the sides with my knees bent, closing my eyes and savoring every sensation—the pain in my chest, his mouth on my wounds, the scent of him, the waves of pleasure washing over me each time he slides his cock in and out of my pussy.

When he lifts his mouth, my blood is all over his face and in his beard. The sight of it is both insanely erotic and deeply comforting. It reminds me that there's still exactly one place in the world where I can exist besides prison or as a nameless, faceless killer.

And it's with him.

He switches positions, lifting my legs by my calves and holding them out to the side while he fucks into me hard and fast.

"Fuck, that feels good," I whimper. I reach behind me and place my palms flat against the headboard, using it to push my body back against him and give him better access.

"You look fucking perfect like this," he groans. The headboard slams hard against the wall with each relentless thrust of his hips. "Fuck, I missed you. I'm going to fill you with so much cum—it'll be dripping out of you all day tomorrow."

His words pull a moan from the back of my throat. "I want it," I tell him. "I want it all."

He pumps into me again and again before he stiffens, grunting while he empties himself inside of me. I take one of my hands from the headboard and move it onto my clit, circling it with my fingers and sending myself over the edge again with his rigid cock twitching inside of me.

"Fuck…" he grunts. I writhe beneath him as we come together. Luca groans as I squeeze the last of his cum from his pulsing cock before collapsing on top of me. "God, that was good."

"Yeah, it was…" I agree, breathless. "So good."

"I think you broke me, baby. I can't feel my legs at all now. I'll probably never walk again."

"What!?"

He rolls off to the side, props himself onto his elbow, and smiles. "I'm just kidding, Teag. Relax."

He leans in and kisses me on the lips. I wrap my arms around his neck and stay like that for minutes, kissing him softly, toying with his lips with my teeth, until finally—painfully—I pull away.

"Luca, where were you?" I ask.

He wraps his arms around my back and pulls me tight against him. "Mmm…Belarus, mostly. Did you hear your song?"

I nod. "I did. I was driving, and I pulled over on the interstate and cried in the ditch."

"Aww, Teag. It was supposed to make you happy. I wanted you to know I was alive."

"It's not that it made me unhappy, I was just…overwhelmed…and scared. A lot had happened and…I didn't know what to think."

We end up talking for hours. He tells me about his recovery, and how mad he was when he found out Declan left me and I was in jail. He says that he thought he'd never walk again, and he spent that first month alone in a dark room. They had one Russian television station and weren't able to use phones.

I tell him everything about when the police took me, about being in the hospital, being alone, and going through cult deprogramming therapy. And then about how stupid I was—that I let the bloodsluts online convince me they were doing a secret concert and about what happened afterward. I tell him about Bone Saw, and that he made me help them kill a couple of people from The Order in exchange for letting River and Hazel get away. I tell him how he's hurt me, but I leave out that I'm still sleeping with him, even though I know he can tell. He doesn't ask any questions, though; in typical Luca fashion, he just pulls me in closer, kissing the top of my head.

"People are either disgusted by me or they want me to be their savior, and I can't even save myself. I can barely leave my house; it's insane. At the restaurant earlier, one of them sent me a drink with their blood in it with a note that saidfor our queen. My sister was fucking pissed."

"I bet she was. Did you drink it?"

"Well…yeah." He smiles, shaking his head. "Oh, and they have fucking churches now," I tell him, "based on Declan's supposed teachings. Have you heard about those?"

He laughs. "Yeah, I saw that."

"I bet Declan fucking loves that shit," I scoff.

"He does," Luca says. "But you know what he loves more than any of that?"

I look away, shaking my head. He places his palm on the side of my face, bringing my gaze back to him. "You."

"No. He left me."

"It's true, angel. He loves you so much. I was angry, too—I was. But…I get it now. He was just trying to keep you safe."