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Chapter Nineteen

COLETTE

I wish I could pinch myself right now. I’m not sure if this is even real—Merrick’s mouth on mine. I have a million questions to ask him, but I’m afraid that he’ll stop kissing me, stop touching me if I ask them. So I stay quiet as his lips drag from mine, across my jaw, and then down my neck before I feel him suck on the hollow of my throat.

He spins me around, and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My lips are a little swollen, my lipstick is smeared, and my cheeks are bright pink. God, this man makes me feel absolutely gorgeous.

He doesn’t even have to say a single word to me.

All he has to do is look at me, and I feel so stunning, just for the simple fact that his gaze is on me and not anyone else. His lips touch my shoulder. His eyes focus on mine in the reflection of the mirror before he lifts his mouth to the shell of my ear.

“Hands on the glass,” he demands in a whisper that floats around me like a promise.

A promise of everything good that is about to come to me. Everything beautiful. Everything I thought would never happen again. Just… everything. I place my palms on the mirror, feeling the cool surface against my skin.

My eyes focus on Merrick behind me in the reflection. I watch as he lifts my dress up to my waist, and then I feel his fingers hook in my barely there panties as he snaps the strings that hold the fabric together.

My panties fall to the floor, but before I can really process what’s just happened, he slips two fingers between my thighs. I feel them glide through my folds. My eyelids flutter closed as I let out a sigh of relief.

Not just physical relief, because my pussy is aching for his touch, but emotional as well. I want, no, I need his touch. I need to know that I’m alive, that just for a few more moments, I’m free.

His lips touch just behind the lobe of my ear as his two fingers continue to slide inside of me, curling. His tongue tastes me from my earlobe to my shoulder. Sucking, licking, nipping at my flesh. It’s sexy as hell.

Goose bumps rise on every inch of my body. Lifting my head, I open my eyes slightly as I look straight ahead through my lashes. Merrick’s gaze focuses on mine, holding mine, as his fingers move inside of me.

Wordlessly, I watch him watching me. He is mesmerizing in so many different ways, but this is by far my favorite way to be hypnotized by Merrick. I feel his palm against my clit as he continues to move his fingers inside of me. My breath hitches as I climb higher and higher toward my release.

I don’t want to come yet, though.

I want this to last a whole lifetime.

He slides his mouth up the side of my neck. Then I feel his lips at the shell of my ear again before he whispers.

“Come for me, Colette. I want to watch you.”

He doesn’t have to tell me to come. I’m right there, ready to fall over the edge with just a little more pressure against my clit. And as if he knows just what I need, he gives it to me. My back bows, my knees threaten to buckle, and I come.

It’s hard and fast, almost too much for me to handle as I whimper and try not to scream with my orgasm. My chest rises and falls rapidly as I try to control myself. It’s increasingly difficult to do since he slips his fingers from inside of me but then swirls them around my clit, continuing to send shockwaves throughout my entire body.

When his hand disappears and curls around my hip, I try to gain my breath. But I don’t have the chance because my hips are tipped, and then he’s inside of me. Stretching me and consuming me all over again.

My lips part as I gasp. Merrick’s lips twitch into a smirk from behind me. “Look at me. Do not break eye contact. I want to look into your eyes while I’m fucking you.”

Somewhere in the background, I can hear the music in the church as guests arrive. Guests who I don’t even know. Guests who are likely just as inhumane as my future husband. I don’t care about any of them. I never did.

I’m looking into the eyes of the only man who has ever meant anything to me while he moves inside of my body. When he pulls almost completely out of me and then slides back inside, his gaze holds mine.

True to his demand, he holds my gaze with each and every stroke of his hips. As he thrusts harder, faster, showing my body no mercy, my eyelids slowly begin to close, but each time they do, he buries himself inside of me, stopping his movements, and it jars me so they pop back open.

“Don’t close your eyes,” he warns. Nodding, I bite the corner of my bottom lip to keep from closing my eyes again. It doesn’t take long, just a few more strokes, until I come again. I don’t know how, but it rushes through me unexpectedly.

So unexpectedly that I cry out louder than I should. Merrick lifts his hand from my hip, covering my mouth to muffle my screams of pleasure. But he doesn’t stop moving from behind. Only when he comes does he stop, burying himself deep inside of me with a guttural groan.

MERRICK

Being inside Colette feels like finally being free. I can’t say that it feels like home because the only home I’ve ever had is the apartment I have now, although when she lived there, it felt bright and happy. But other than that, I’ve never known a home. But I do know what it’s like to not be free.

I don’t want to leave her body. I want to stay right here until I fucking die. She lets out a sigh as she blinks, and then her lips curve up into a grin, watching me through the reflection of the mirror.

“Are you ready to come home?” I ask her.

I watch as her eyes widen, her lips part in awe, and she just stares at me without answering or even breathing. I force myself to take a step backward, and we moan in unison when I slip from the warmth of her body.

Reaching for my pants, I guide them up my legs and fasten them again, tucking my shirt into the waistband, never looking away from her in the mirror. Slowly, she straightens her dress before she turns to face me.

Her gaze slides up my body and stops on mine. “If I leave with you, they will come and find me.”

It’s cute as fuck that she’s trying to protect me. Taking a step toward her, I lift my hand, cupping her cheek as I slide my thumb along her bottom lip. “Let them,” I say. “Let them come. I welcome it because it will be less time that I have to spend hunting them down.”

“Merrick,” she breathes.

“Come with me, Colette.”

I’m giving her about five seconds before I grab her and carry her out of the room. I would rather she come willingly, but I’m also not going to wait for her, giving someone even more of a chance to find us.

My gaze travels from her eyes down to her lips before skimming down her throat. Then I pause. I was so consumed earlier by desire and the need to be inside of her that I didn’t notice it. How did I not see it until now?

Her throat.

It’s bruised.

“Don’t,” she whispers, trying to take a step backward.

She likely notices my focus on the marks around her throat, and my eyes flick up to meet hers. “Who did this to you?” I demand.

“Let’s just go,” she breathes.

“Who. Did. This. To. You.”

I watch as her tongue slips out before sliding across her bottom lip. She shakes her head, reaching out to me. I feel the warmth of her palm against my chest radiating through my shirt. I don’t look down because I can’t take my eyes off hers.

“It doesn’t matter. It won’t ever happen again,” she whispers.

“Answer me this,” I grind out, gnashing my teeth together. “Was it your father or this fucker you were supposed to marry?”

She jerks her chin up in a single motion but doesn’t confirm which one. Hell, maybe it was both of them. Her father was involved. I know that much. He’s the one who took her wherever she’s been hidden away the past few weeks, and this bruising is not very old.

“They’re both dead anyway,” I announce. “I’ll just make them both suffer a little longer for daring to put a mark on the woman who belongs to me.”

Colette’s eyes widen, and I expect her to ask me not to kill her father or nameless fiancé, but she doesn’t. Instead, she reaches for my hand, taking it with hers and squeezing gently. Her lips curve up into a small smile, but I’m not sure it reaches her eyes, or maybe it’s just all the extra makeup and crap on her face. I’m not sure.

“Then let’s go home,” she murmurs.

Without another word, I tug her behind me. I can hear her shoes clicking on the floor as we move toward the curtains that hide the wall behind the door.

“How long were you back here?” she asks as soon as the hiding spot is revealed. Chuckling, I look over my shoulder back at her.

“Long enough that I could drown out the chattering from the women doing your hair and makeup,” I grunt as I reach for the handle of the door that will let us out and toward the waiting van.

I push the door open but don’t step out immediately. Instead, I look from side to side, taking in the area around me. The van is still in place and running, and the parking lot has some new cars, but I know that guests have started arriving, so I decide this is as good of a time as any.

Moving forward, I reach for the back of the van, pulling the door open before picking Colette up and setting her inside. I follow behind and slam the door closed. Before I can say a word, Theron shifts the van into Drive , and it lurches forward.

“I was about to go inside and make sure you weren’t fucking dead,” he barks.

Laughing, I clear my throat. “Still alive for now,” I mutter.

Colette squeezes my hand, and I do the same back to her. “Colette, welcome back,” Theron states.

She doesn’t respond immediately. I watch her, and her cheeks tint pink as she dips her chin to look down at her lap. I wrap my arm around her shoulders, tugging her against my side before I touch my mouth to the top of her head.

“Welcome back, baby,” I murmur against her hair. I feel her body release a heavy exhale before she slumps against my side. She’s not asleep, but judging by the weight she’s lost in the last few weeks, she’s likely exhausted and filled with nothing but stress and anxiety. I hope that this relieves that and she can finally relax, breathe, and thrive. I know what it feels like to be in a constant state of anxiety, and it’s hell on the body.

She needs rest, and I’m going to give her everything she needs—and more.