Page 11

Harlow

Monday Afternoon

Dr. Bradley’s Office

D r. Bradley and I stared at each other, neither one of us willing to break the silence between us. I had refused to apologize about last time, and it seemed me questioning the awful way he spoke to patients upset him.

Sounds like a personal problem to me.

We continued our silent standoff until he shifted in his seat, getting more uncomfortable by the second, and finally broke.

“Do you want to go to Dr. Vane instead?” He said it like he was offering me an out, but the glint of malice in his eyes told me that I was right in assuming he was hiding something more behind this whole Mr. Rogers mask.

From the menacing look in his eyes, he wasn’t bluffing.

My blood ran cold at the mention of Vane, and I narrowed my gaze on the awful doctor in front of me.

“Are you threatening me? I thought it was your job to be a counselor,” I said in a faux-innocent voice that had him shifting in his chair. Why they would choose a counselor who seemed to be hiding a monster just under the surface was beyond me, it seemed like a stupid move.

I’d hate to hear a session with a more vulnerable patient.

“We do have a high-security floor for our more unruly patients, Harlow,” he continued. I swallowed hard at the next threat he was throwing at me but kept my mask of indifference in place.

I refused to let a man in a sweater vest make me feel like I was a failure.

It was like his words flipped a switch in me, and I couldn’t hold in my anger anymore. Similar to the consuming rage that took over in that abandoned warehouse, I was ready to end this man.

“No. I won’t be treated like this,” I said. “Go tell Vane that you aren’t a strong enough doctor to handle me questioning your off-the-wall methods. And just a bit of advice, victim blaming someone for the trauma someone else caused is fucking gross.”

He stuttered out something before standing, glaring at me through his obviously fake spectacles.

“I’ll be speaking to Vane about your behavior, expect a visit to his office in your future, young lady,” he managed to choke out. His face turned red, and he rushed off yet again.

“Enlightening appointment, I feel cured already,” I snarked before he could shut the door.

His gasp had me chuckling to myself. However, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I’d likely land in the office of my abuser, and I wasn’t exactly thrilled about that.

Though, this time I was no longer a shell-shocked, unmedicated woman.

I’d fight back.

If they don’t send you to high security and you can’t see anyone. With that happy thought, I had the overwhelming need to get the fuck out of this shithole office.

There was no Hiro waiting for me when I gathered my things. This time I was alone, and all I could think about was Vane, his hands on me and his cold eyes and voice putting me in my place.

Once again, even in memory, he was taking what wasn’t his to fucking take.

Anger simmered under the surface while I rode the elevator up, and I was shaking by the time it opened to the third floor.

My body was mine, not his, and I refused to let him be the last to touch me. It was my choice.

I ignored the nurses’ station and the common room other than a quick glance around for the man I was looking for. Emotions didn’t have a place here, I needed someone who wouldn’t ask questions and would have no strings attached.

Drake.

I stalked down the hall, only stopping when I reached the right door. I knocked hard enough my knuckles stung, but I wasn’t backing down.

Defiance and righteous indignation were too strong to ignore at this point.

“What the fuck, Harlow?” Drake growled as soon as he flung it open. But I wasn’t here for words, I pushed him inside, closing the door and locking it behind us for privacy. “What?—?”

I cut him off by slamming my mouth to his. He was stunned, body tense and eyes wide, yet didn’t hesitate to grip my hair in his fist and tilt my head, taking over the kiss.

For a flash, I was glad I didn’t misread him. A rejection might have been my undoing.

Then again... Drake might be my undoing anyway.

This alpha was intoxicating and consuming, and I knew just how easily I could give into him, to let him claim my body, mind, and soul.

My hands ripped at his clothes, and we broke away long enough for him to pull his shirt over his head. I licked my lips at the sight of his perfectly toned abs and the deep V on full display with his low hanging jeans.

“Those, too,” I demanded as my chest heaved. My thoughts were still a mess, and I didn’t want to think anymore. I wanted this to erase the rest of it, to help me reclaim the body that should have been mine all along.

“What is this?” he demanded, but he didn’t stop unbuttoning his jeans and letting them drop, his long cock springing free as they fell, revealing he was commando. The piercings that lined his shaft were the icing on the cake.

“We’re going to fuck, Drake. I thought that was fairly obvious,” I said drily as I dropped to my knees. His breath cut as I wrapped my lips around him, using my tongue to lube him up enough that I could slide my mouth over him with ease.

“Don’t be a smartass,” he hissed as he pulled at my hair hard enough my eyes stung. I whined as his cock fell from my lips, but he was studying me, trying to figure this out.

I didn’t take him for the overthinking type, but here we were.

“Then stop holding back. I promise I can take it, Drake. This is my choice, and I’m willingly giving myself to you right now. Take me. All of me. Don’t hold back,” I said. “Give me your knot, alpha.”

His eyes widened at my invitation and there was a moment of hesitation. He was warring with himself at the abrupt change in me, but I wasn’t having it.

“Should I go find someone else who is willing?”

His chuckle sent a menacing thrill through me. “You can’t handle me, Harlow. Not all of me.”

“Yes, I can,” I growled, moving forward to take him back in my mouth, but he stopped me again with a hard yank of my hair. My eyes watered as I glared up at him.

Yet everything in me loved this, loved the domination I was allowing him to have over me.

Even though I was still in control.

“Alright, you’re about to prove it,” he huffed out with amusement before tightening his hands again and slamming forward so I was forced to choke on his cock.

The piercings scraped the back of my throat as he fucked my mouth without holding back. I gasped for air as he pulled away, but he didn’t give me long before he was shoving right back in, slamming his hips forward and holding my head still so all I could do was take the abuse.

My throat burned, my pussy ached, slick slid down my thighs, and my mind was blessedly quiet.

This was exactly what I needed.

Why it had to be him.

Each time he pulled away, I hollowed my cheeks and sucked hard, my tongue teasing over stud that lined his cock.

The noises he made, deep and rumbling, were turning me on enough I had to squeeze my thighs together for relief.

His scent of dark chocolate and spicy chili mixed with the sweet scent of my slick, filling the air with a heady, intoxicating perfume.

Every moment I spent with Drake chased Vane from my mind and body. He had no hold over me now, I refused to let him.

I’d spent enough years letting others win. Now was my time to take control and fucking keep it.

Drake’s knot started to swell and my hand wrapped around it, squeezing to give him relief as I took the rest of his length.

His movements turned stunted, and he slammed home one last time, cum spilling down my throat. I swallowed him down and licked his cock clean as he pulled away, humming at the salty taste of him.

My eyes were watering, and I knew I looked a mess, but he didn’t seem to mind.

He looked hungry for me.

With his hand in my hair, he pulled me to my feet, gently this time, and slanted his mouth over mine. It was so gentle that I was shocked when he slid his tongue in my mouth, tasting me despite what we’d just done. He didn’t hold back, even now, and it only fueled the fire licking at me from the inside out.

Drake pulled away and studied me for a quick second, gauging if I was still interested in more. And I answered by sliding my shirt over my head and dropping my jeans, revealing the matching red lace set I had on underneath.

Shout out to the stipend we got for participating in this program, allowing me to at least buy some decent clothes for once in my life. Now if I could just get my hands on some nesting supplies I’d truly be content.

“Fuck,” he breathed out, pulling me close and hunching down to bury his face between my breasts, breathing me in like I was a drug.

I gasped as I was shoved backward, hitting his bed and bouncing on the soft mattress.

“What the fuck, why is your bed so comfortable?” I demanded with a laugh.

He gave me an exasperated look. “You want to discuss that now?” I swallowed hard and shook my head as he hooked his fingers in my lace boyshorts, sliding them down my legs before tossing them aside.

“Wait,” I said in a moment of panic. My life hadn’t exactly given me time to learn what I liked and didn’t like with sex. And this? This was new. “I’ve never, I can’t, I don’t...”

For once it was lack of experience holding me back, not the men who’d abused my body before.

Drake made me feel safe, what you saw was what you got and even with that, he had checked in on me so far.

I’d chosen well in coming here.

He raised an eyebrow at my stammering. “Do you not want me to or you’re nervous?”

“Nervous,” I blurted, my cheeks heating. This was not the confidence I was aiming for. “It’s never been my choice.”

“That’ll pass,” he promised before pulling my legs apart and settling between them.

The first flick of his tongue over my pussy had me whimpering, but Drake wasn’t there for slow. He was the all-in type. He moaned as he drank me in, tongue stealing every ounce of slick I gave him.

Drake settled into a quick rhythm of teasing flicks over my clit and fucking my cunt ruthlessly with his fingers. My mind couldn’t keep up and soon all nerves fell away as I gave over to simply giving into the feel of him tongue-fucking me like a fucking magician.

Pleasure tightened in my stomach, coiling there before unfurling and spreading through me until my legs were shaking and I was grinding into his face, chasing the feeling rocking through me.

It was foreign. Sure, I’d had sex but coming like this was not something I was used to.

I couldn’t have held back if I wanted to, he wouldn’t allow it. He sucked hard on my clit, and that was all my body needed to slam me headfirst into the waves of pleasure that were consuming me. My voice was hoarse as I cried out his name, a mix of babbling whimpers and a muted scream unfurling from me.

Drake pulled himself away to watch me as I writhed against the aftershocks. The self-satisfied smirk on his face should not have been that fucking attractive.

But it was.

Like I’d told Roman when we talked last, Drake’s rough demeanor was something I needed, just as much as I needed Roman’s safety and bluntness and Hiro’s sweetness.

“I’m going to fuck you now, Harlow,” he warned me as he readjusted on the bed, his cock teasing at my entrance. He didn’t wait for my agreement, I’d already given it, instead he slammed forward.

The stretch brought on a sharp twinge of pain that faded as he started fucking me, not giving my body a minute to adjust. I loved that he was true to his word, not being too sweet or gentle, he was taking what he wanted, and yet I knew he was keeping me in mind, watching my reactions.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Monty’s voice echoed in the room, and I froze, eyes wide as I turned to see him towering next to us, gazing down at us with pure, raw rage on his face.

Drake didn’t seem fazed, but he also turned to him and looked him dead in the eye, gloating at the obvious victory. “I’m fucking Harlow, per her request, see yourself out, Ivar.”

“What the fuck, you can see him?” I asked, my words cutting off as he reached between us to start playing with my sensitive clit. The moan that followed had a low, icy growl echoing around us, and fuck if I didn’t love the sound more than I realized.

My pussy clenched around him, and I couldn’t help but look at my familiar monster, almost wishing he’d join in.

“She seems to like that Ivar, keep it up,” Drake taunted.

“I warned you, half breed,” he hissed. Monty’s form was changing. A skeletal armor of sorts settling over his shadow-clad body, leaving openings for his flames to keep shooting through. The fires within him were raging along with his anger, licking the ceiling and walls around him, yet not catching them aflame.

“You have no power here, Hel does,” Drake said bluntly as he shifted and fucked me harder. “And if you even think of harming me, consider yourself a dead man. Or demon, I should say.”

“Demon?” I breathed out as my head fell to the side again, taking him in. The word fit him, but what the hell was going on?!

“Harlow, forget him for now,” Drake ordered, flipping us so I was on top and he was propped on his pillows. He pulled me close, sucking hard enough on my nipple that I gasped against the sharp pain. He was just as aggressive and amazing as he was with my pussy and the sharp shots of pain easily blended with the soothing swirls of his tongue.

I didn’t need his directions to keep fucking him. My hips rocked furiously over his, grinding down so each brush over my clit had me chasing my next release with a needy desperation.

His knot was swelling now, pushing against my walls as it locked us in place. Each thrust had his knot hitting that spot inside of me that had my eyes rolling back and my screams amping up.

Fucking Drake was all-consuming and I never wanted it to end. This was such a pivotal moment for me, even if Drake didn’t understand the depth of it all.

The entire time he fucked me senseless, Monty watched, eyes trained on us as anger rolled off of him in waves.

But for me? The audience only amplified every fucking wave of pleasure Drake sent rolling through me.

A rage-filled scream echoed out before Monty was gone again. Part of me was torn, feeling awful and worried, the other part of me was too far gone to go back now.

My questions would be there after I came. So would Monty.

“Mind on me,” Drake growled, biting down on my breast, claiming me. It was never something we discussed and he seemed just as shocked as I was as a bond snapped into place. I could feel him now, the depth of darkness in his soul but also the visceral need for me.

A scream erupted from my throat as my head fell back, pussy clenching around him as I came. He groaned at the feel of me tightening around him and soon he was filling me with his own release.

Drake fucked me through both of our orgasms, pushing his knot in further with shallow thrusts, stretching it out until I was babbling again.

“Good girl.”

My heart pounded in my chest at the praise and he smirked, seeing right through me.

“Shut up,” I grumbled as he rolled us to the side. He chuckled as I settled my head on his chest. My fingers trailed absently over his skin as we came back down from that high.

Part of me was waiting for him to kick me out as soon as his knot released me, but he currently had an arm around my shoulders, holding me close. He couldn’t hide from me now, not after that bite, or the revelations that just happened.

“Are we going to ignore our interruption or talk about it?” Drake asked. “Because, frankly, this whole dancing around the truth is getting old.”

I sat up and stared down at him, my mind coming back online so I could process what truly went down.

“Why can you see him? And what the hell were you talking about... demons? Hel?”

“He’s a demon, Harlow, not a hallucination,” he said bluntly. I swallowed hard at that and started to deny it, but he rolled his eyes and stood.

My eyes tracked his movement, trying to see what he was doing. Instead of pulling clothes on, he spread his hands out and a scream caught in my throat as he changed before my eyes.

His eyes faded from vibrant green to inky black, no white left at all. A tail flicked around him, wrapping around his middle. A set of curved horns formed on his head, forcing his black hair to fall over his eyes even more.

When he smirked, fanged teeth glinted in the overhead light. Even his skin had gone from pale to a shade of dark gray.

He looked like himself still but also not. He didn’t have the same fire that Monty and the other demons had, but the same color glowed through his tattoos, making them come to life before my eyes.

“Holy shit. I need to adjust my meds.” My words had a growl escaping. In a blink, he was right in front of my face. His eyes burned with frustration yet I wasn’t afraid. I could see Drake under it and feel his vulnerability echoing in my chest.

“This is real, Harlow, this is not a hallucination. Those things at night? Demons. Your friend? A demon. Me? Half demon, it’s why I look different,” he quickly explained. Almost as if he were frustrated I’d questioned him. “You’re going to have to accept it and realize our world isn’t as black and white as you thought if you want to survive this place.”

“Vane?” I questioned in horror. He shook his head.

“No, but he does know, he’s the reason they feed here. We feed here.” At that part he put up a wall, closing himself off from me.

“Drake,” I breathed out. “What? How? Why do I see you and others don’t?”

“The others see me,” he clarified. “Just not in this form. And the other demons keep themselves concealed, simple as that.”

“Monty? He’s different,” I challenged, still not quite buying it fully. How could there be real demons? And if that was the case, was I truly crazy? Were any of my hallucinations real? This honestly changed everything, and it wasn’t as easy to accept as he made it seem. “He’s always been around.”

“Did he come before your hallucinations started?” he questioned, crossing his arms like he wasn’t standing before me half demon and naked.

My words died off and I thought it through. It was true, Monty came first. He saved me from my dad and his friend, and stayed through me living with my grandmother.

All those years from a preteen onward he was there. The others didn’t come until later, a startling change to my world, but if not for him, it would have been worse.

In the back of my mind, I worried if he was the cause all along. Did he bring the hallucinations on by showing himself? Could my mind just not handle it?

“He was real?” My broken tone had Drake changing back and settling beside me.

“We’re all real,” he agreed. “And yes, he’s Hel’s commander. She’s the one who created the demons here.”

“Hel?” I squeaked out.

Even before he could explain, I remembered the flashes of the strange woman and her world I’d seen in the courtyard. The blue fire I’d seen was the same that the demons were made of.

Pieces of the puzzle were clicking into place. And it was fucking terrifying.

That was enough for me to stand and panic. I’d heard enough, I couldn’t take anymore.

“I have to go.”

He didn’t stop me as I pulled on my clothes and fled. I didn’t stop running until I was in my room, hiding under my blanket like I could chase away the new world I seemed to have stumbled upon.

Maybe by morning I could convince myself this was all a dream, that I wasn’t crazier than I anticipated.

Or even worse. That all this was real.