Page 91 of The Ecstasy of Sin

I pull back, my cock painfully hard behind the zipper of my pants. I need to be inside of her. I need to mark her in ways that can never be undone.

Ghost says something to me, but it doesn’t register.

I lift Wren into my arms. She wraps around me instantly, her face buried in the crook of my neck, speaking to me—but I don’t hear her either.

All I know is that I need her in ways these faceless strangers will never get to witness. When I fuck her for the first time, her ruination will be mine, and only mine.

With her secured in my arms, I push through the small crowd that gathered near the incident between my brothers and Dimitri, and head for the back entrance we came in earlier.

Ryker’s men step well out of my way as I stalk through the club, one of them opening the exit door before I even reach it.

Before I know it, I’m setting Wren down on the back of my bike and securing her helmet. I slide into the spot in front of her, my bare chest still soaked in blood, and my leather jacket half-zipped against the bite of cool night air.

The engine roars to life beneath me, and I pull out of the parking lot without looking back.

The only force left in me now is the unbearable, all-consuming need to get inside of Wren.

CHAPTER 23

Wren

Myheartispoundingbehind my ribs, a rapid beat that won’t slow down, no matter how hard I try to convince my nervous system that we’re not being pursued by armed men intent on seeing us dead.

I don’t understand why the brother of the man Dominic was fighting put his hands on me and pulled me into his body like he had every right to touch me.

I remember his voice, though. The callous way he whispered into my ear like he was already rehearsing it for the moment he followed through.

“If my brother dies, so will you. But not until all of my men rape you, torture you, and leave you begging for death.”

His words felt like more than a passing threat. They felt like a promise he intended to keep.

After a lifetime of struggle and suffering, the cruelty of it hit a nerve I didn’t know was still so raw. Just when I started to feel some safety in Dominic’s world… that man shattered it with his threat. I was brought back to the churchyard where I was strangled, the pharmacy where I was assaulted, every moment I couldn't keep myself safe from the dangers men pose.

I cling tighter to Dominic, pressing my body against the broad wall of his back as we speed down the dense forest road. I wish more than anything he could wrap me in his arms and hide me away from the world. Lock the doors, and shut it all out, until it’s just him and me.

All I ever wanted was peace, and safety, and comfort. Now I’m left wondering if my future ends in screams and broken bones before someone finally puts me out of my misery.

Tears sting my eyes—but frustration holds them back. I don’t want to be afraid, not of Dominic. I wouldn’t be alive today if he hadn’t intervened when I needed him.

But is blind trust in him going to get me killed? He’s obviously a man with secrets I haven’t uncovered, and what if he really is a danger to me?

I just watched Dominic step into a cage and beat a man nearly to death. His skill as a fighter isn’t just impressive, it’s terrifying.

If Ghost hadn’t told me who his opponent was when I asked, I think I would’ve felt differently about the bloodshed.

Knowing the man Dominic fought—Maksim—is the brother of the man who threatened me? The man who promised to have his men rape and torture me before killing me? I feel better about what I witnessed. Relieved, even.

Apparently, the Volkov brothers are part of the Russian mafia. I imagine they’ve done plenty of heinous things to innocent people.

He probably deserved it.

Just like the man who tried to kill me.

Dominic is a man with blood on his hands, and I know it should send me running for the hills. Instead of red flags, all I see is the aftermath of a man who did unspeakable things to save my life.

The truth is, I crave him like an addict chasing a high. My brain, rewired by trauma and hardship, has crowned him the pinnacle of safety.

Dominic is the north that my broken compass keeps pointing to.