Page 181 of Fractured Loyalties

“Come for me,” he demands, his voice a low snarl against my lips, and it’s all I need. The tension snaps, pleasure crashing over me in waves, my body clenching around him as I shatter, a scream tearing from my throat, muffled against his neck. He follows me over the edge, a guttural groan rumbling from his chest as he pulses inside me, warmth flooding through me, marking me as his.

I collapse against him, both of us panting, slick with sweat and satisfaction. His good hand traces lazy circles down my spine, a gentle counterpoint to the intensity of moments before. “We’re a fucking disaster,” he murmurs, lips brushing my temple.

“The best kind,” I reply, my voice soft but certain, still catching my breath.

Outside, the night hums with unspoken tension, the world waiting to intrude. But here, in this stolen moment, it’s just us—broken, fierce, and irrevocably bound.

Nothing is settled. Not yet. Not ever.

Chapter 30 – Elias - Reckoning in the Shadows

The room still smells like sex. And pain. My pain.

The air is heavy, humid with the residue of what we did and what it cost. My bandages are damp again—no surprise—but I haven’t moved, not because I can’t, but because I don’t want to. She’s still on top of me, her weight delicate but real, her head resting on my chest like she’s daring it to rise and fall.

Her fingers trace the edge of the scar that cuts across my ribs. Not the fresh one. The old one. The one from a time before she knew my name.

“You’re still bleeding,” Mara murmurs, not moving.

“Doesn’t matter.”

“It does.”

Her voice is calm. Steady. But her breath is shallow. I know that sound. The aftermath of adrenaline. Of surrender.

“I’ll redress it,” she says. “If you let me.”

“Only if you stay close when you do it.”

She lifts her head and looks at me with those fucking storm-gray eyes. There’s no judgment in them, just exhaustion, want. Something else she hasn’t named yet.

“You’ve had worse,” she says softly.

“Yes.” I reach up and brush a damp strand of hair off her cheek. “But not while caring if someone watched me die.”

That makes her go still.

There’s a shuffle in the hallway.

A knock.

It’s not impatient, not timid.

Kinley’s voice follows. “You’ve got a problem. Lydia says we’re not alone anymore.”

Mara tenses above me. I nod for her to get up, and she slides off me carefully, helping me sit up. My whole torso lights up with fire. My shoulder pulls like a stitched-up wound in wet fabric.

“I’m fine,” I snap before she can speak.

She doesn’t argue. She just reaches for my shirt and hands it to me. She knows better than to coddle.

I force myself up, stagger once, then catch my balance. The room spins, but I ignore it.

Lydia waits just outside the door, arms folded, pistol still holstered but ready. Her expression is unreadable.

“How bad?” I ask.

“Two vehicles spotted circling the perimeter three minutes ago. Thermal scans picked up five bodies in total. Two are on foot. Checking for movement. They haven’t breached yet.”