Page 14

Reese waits for me in a small galley kitchen. He has a mug in his hand, and the scent of coffee reaches me from the doorway. I step in, dragging the sleeves of my sweater down over my fingers, and cross my arms.

My mouth is dry, my head vaguely hurts, but I cannot recall getting here.

He reaches behind him and shakes a bottle of painkillers. It draws me deeper into the kitchen. The walls are cream, the tile backsplash between the butcher block counters and cream, upper cabinets seaglass green.

In short: it isn’t familiar.

“Where are we?” I accept the bottle, then the glass of water he sets between us.

“Emerald Cove.”

I choke. Sputtering, I cough up the pills I had been in the process of swallowing. The wet, dissolving tablets land in my palm, and the bitter taste coats my tongue.

Try that again, I guess.

He waits for me to swallow, then polish off the glass of water, before continuing.

“I didn’t know where else to go. I’m more familiar with Emerald Cove, although I was sort of hoping your brother and his friends could meet up with us…” His eyes narrow. “What do you remember?”

What do I remember?

The first thing to jump into my mind is sitting at a booth in Madness, waiting for Kade. But Kade didn’t…

I left him sitting there, and Gabriel awaited me.

“Gabriel,” I answer. “He…”

Reese pulls out his phone and flashes the screen at me. An image of me, unconscious and on a couch. Laid out, my hands folded over my stomach.

I could be sleeping, but I know I’m not.

And now I’m here.

I swallow sharply around the sudden lump in my throat. My eyes burn.

What is this reaction?

I blink and try everything to keep my expression blank, but it doesn’t work. It takes me too long to pinpoint why my body is doing this.

“You came for me?” My voice squeaks.

He tosses his phone on the counter and takes my hands. His brows furrow. “Of course I did.”

“I…” I pull back ever so slightly. “Where’s the bathroom?”

“Down the hall on the left.”

I nod and scurry back the way I came. I pass the bedroom I woke up in, find the bathroom, and lock myself in.

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Panic claws at my throat.

Saint’s ire I can handle.

Kade’s betrayal, sure.

But Reese? Reese coming to my rescue?

I pat myself down. Gabriel drugged me—I remember that much now. Sitting at the computer in that little building on the edge of town. The sting of the needle entering my arm…

My heart skips just thinking about it.

And then my fingers brush my pocket, and my heart full-on stops.

I know what it is before I pull the slender syringe out of my pocket. It has the amber liquid already in it, the needle capped and ready to go.

Without thinking, I shove my sleeve up. I flick the cap off with my thumb and slide the needle into my skin. Draw it back to confirm I hit a vein, pause . The bite of it is delicious, and anticipation claws at me.

Then there’s no more waiting. I remove the used syringe out and recap it before I forget. My hands shake, and I stuff it in my pocket. I tip my head back, my eyes closing, and wait for the rush.

There’s nothing quite like it. It’s being in the center of a symphony. It’s a thousand mouths on my heated skin. It’s the freefall leaping off a cliff.

It hits me hard, and I grip the counter.

Oh God .

My knees buckle.

After a long moment, I take a breath. My first breath in what feels like a decade. I exit the bathroom and go straight for the kitchen, where I find Reese. He seems lost in thought, but that changes when I don’t stop in the doorway.

“I’m so glad you came for me,” I breathe.

I kiss him.

Dazzling electricity bursts across my lips, the teeth of his touch burying in my mouth. I cup the back of his neck, and it only takes a moment for him to respond. Eagerly. He kisses me back, his hands at my waist.

More .

I push at his shirt, sliding it up. We separate just long enough to get it off. His skin is so soft. Never mind the healing bruises. He’s like silk. I tear my lips from his and drag them down his jaw, his throat. I nip and suck, my hands roving down farther.

“Tem—” His voice hitches.

I unbutton his jeans and shove them down.

“Artemis—”

“Shh,” I whisper, going to my knees.

His dick quickly rises to meet me. I avoid looking Reese in the eye, taking in a familiar cock. Familiar. Familiar. Familiar .

Yes. Right.

Terror held me hostage, but now I can’t seem to grasp at the trauma. It’s just… away. I curl my fingers around him, jerking him off slowly. Until my mouth is watering and precum beads at his slit.

I want to taste him.

I do.

He fills my mouth, and he makes a noise above me. I fall upon him, until he hits the back of my throat. I barely gag. My cheeks hollow, sucking him until his hips jerk forward.

Deeper, harder.

I want him to fuck more than just my face, but the taste of him is addictive. I keep going until his fingers twist in my hair and he pulls me off of him.

His expression is dark.

“You sure?”

I nod.

He stands me up and tears my shirt and sweatshirt off. I unbutton my jeans, careful to not dislodge my hidden contraband, and stand in just a sheer bra and panties.

His gaze locks on my nipples, visible through the bra.

I reach up and unclasp it, letting it fall.

He reaches for my right breast, his fingertips grazing the ring. “You kept it?”

“And got a matching one.” I tip my head back. The way my hair moves sends a tingling sensation through my scalp and down my back.

“Fuck,” he breathes. He hoists me up on the counter, knocking aside the empty water glass. He touches at the edge of one of my wounds, the stitches tight, the skin pink as it heals.

But that’s all the attention he pays that .

His head lowers, and he licks at my nipple. My back arches. The new feeling is overwhelming, so much so that my vision goes white. I hang on to the edge of the counter, so tight my nails might as well be cracking. Not that it matters—I’d happily trade that for his mouth on my breast.

He sucks the piercing into his mouth, tugging at it, and I groan.

Fuck.

While his mouth is busy, he tugs my panties down. I squirm, making the job easier for him, and the fabric falls away. My legs spread, and I urge him closer.

He obliges.

He releases my nipple and palms his length, pumping quickly once, then again, before positioning himself.

“You want this?” he confirms.

“Please fuck me,” I whisper. “Right now.”

He slides inside me.

I let out a shaky exhale. My muscles immediately tremble. I’ve never felt sex like this. Every sensation is compounded. I could orgasm just from him being there, the fullness of him stretching me open…

And then he moves, and it gets better.

The friction alone brings a gasp to my lips.

He catches my jaw and draws my face to his, our lips reconnecting. He swallows my sounds. My breasts rub against his chest.

There’s no way to possibly be closer unless I cut him open and slide under his skin. But he’s already inside me, so what’s the point?

Connection .

I’m going to burst.

I’m on cloud nine.

I’m going to come.

His fingers on my clit bring me close to the edge, but he backs off too fast.

Then again.

“Reese,” I groan, and it comes out a bit chiding. Even though the ride is well worth it…

He smiles. “I just wanted to hear you say my name.”

Fuck. Fuck me.

I don’t realize it’s a chant until his thrusts get harder, spearing into me with vigor. I grip his shoulders and hang on, because this is the Reese show.

“You feel so good,” he says, kissing me again. Slower, deeper.

It’s so at odds with the way his dick slides in, it’s hard to focus on both at the same time.

He’s at my clit again. Working me just right, until I’m on the edge.

Shivering pleasure rolls over me, and he’s right there with me. Gasping, moaning. It takes a long time for the orgasm to slip away, and Reese’s gaze shutters when we separate.

Our bodies are misted with sweat. The cum between my legs—ah, so that’s why he’s making that face—slowly seeps out.

I peer down, then back up at him.

I should care about that, right?

But… it’s right.

The rush has left me wanting more. More touches, more Reese, more sex. More heroin, as fucked up as that is.

Heroin will lead me back to Gabriel… something that cannot happen again.

Reese runs his hands down my arms, and he pauses at my elbow.

I yank back, but he holds tight.

“Those damn nurses,” he murmurs after a moment. “I thought you had an IV? Is it normal to bruise this much?”

My mouth opens and closes.

His gaze comes up and crashes into mine. “Tem?”

“I don’t know,” I finally say. “I’ve never had an IV before.”

He examines the area again, the lines between his brows deepening.

He doesn’t believe me.

I twist my arm out of his grasp and loop it around his neck. “I think you’ve been holding out on me.”

“How so?”

“That was better than…”

“Than in a sex club under duress?” He rolls his eyes. “I sure hope so.”

He helps me down, then picks up my clothes.

The fallen panties and bra. Shirt.

Jeans.

I reach for it too fast, practically ripping the fabric away from him. I cradle the denim to my chest and shrug.

“Feeling self-conscious,” I lie.

Even though I really don’t.

I don’t care that I’m naked. He’s looking at me strangely, though. At any moment, he’s going to figure it out. The panic that creeps through me is distant. I’m aware of it, but it doesn’t change my expression or my heart rate.

It just flutters in my stomach.

My gaze drops down to Reese’s dick, and I tilt my head. There was something he always liked…

Overcome, again , I go back to my knees. For the second time.

“Artemis,” Reese protests.

Don’t care.

In an instant, I’ve reverted back to the fifteen-year-old who had to do anything to survive. I lift his dick and open my mouth. I take my time licking his balls, until his cock no longer hangs limp but stands up straight out.

“Stand up, golden girl.”

A shiver races down my spine.

I release him and stand.

He grabs me and spins me around, kicking my legs wide.

I gasp when he presses in close, and he thrusts inside me without an issue.

His cum and my arousal make it easy. He grunts.

His chest connects with my back, and his arms wrap around my torso.

He somehow avoids the stab wounds, but the pressure barely aches.

The way he’s bear hugging me is stabilizing.

His teeth score my shoulder, and I cry out.

I can’t go anywhere. He takes his fill, and only once he comes does he touch my clit.

He rubs me to another orgasm, one that nearly takes out my vision again.

The room goes silent, just the pulse in my clit under his fingers, and then everything tunes back in.

Our panting breath, my thundering heart. The tick of a clock.

Distance. As soon as he’s pulled out, I step away. I don’t look back at him, just pick up my clothes and hurry back to the bathroom.