Page 96 of Silent Schemes

Not soft, not sweet.

I hold her like the last weapon in a world gone to shit.

She doesn’t resist.

We stand in the ruins of my living room, blood on the floor, broken glass everywhere, and nothing between us but the truth.

I tell her, “We end this. Once and for all.”

She nods, just once.

There’s nothing left to say, just silence as she stares down at me. I’m on my feet, her jaw cupped between my fingers.

“Fuck me, Varrick.”

We don’t make it to the bedroom.

She’s on me the moment the words are out of her mouth, hands in my hair, mouth on mine, blood and fear still warm on her tongue.

I taste the iron, the salt, the fucking hunger that’s been building for weeks.

My back hits the wall, shoulder blades grinding into the plaster, her knee already pushing between my thighs.

I don’t know if I want to strangle her or worship her.

Maybe both.

I grab her by the chin, squeeze until she gasps. “You lied,” I say.

I want her to deny it. She doesn’t.

“A lie by omission is still a lie, and I will destroy you for that. You broke the oath.”

Instead, she claws my shirt open, nails scoring fresh lines through the old scars.

She rips the buttons loose, then pushes me back until the wall shakes.

My hands find her waist, lift her onto the console table, still upright in the ruins.

Shards of glass dig into her ass and the side of my hand, but she doesn’t flinch.

Her legs go around me, tight enough to leave bruises.

Our bodies crash together, not soft, never gentle.

I bury my face in her neck and bite down.

She moans, low, animalistic, nails dragging lines down my spine.

I want to punish her for every second she kept this from me.

I want to fuck her until she forgets every other name, every other command.

I want to own her, not like a possession, but like an adversary you’ve bested in single combat and let live just to fight again.

She pulls my head up, smashes our mouths together.

Her teeth cut into my lip and a hiss escapes me as she sucks the blood and swallows.