He didn’t answer, he put me on my feet and continued to undress me. I stepped into the hot scolding water, wincing from the temperature before slowly dipping myself into it. The pinching slowly started to dissipate and the steam rose, swimming around my face in a mix of sweet lavenders and fresh cut green grass. Bishop slid in behind me, opening his legs and pulling me against his bare chest.
“I don’t know, baby, no one knows.” He cleared his throat, kissing my head. “If you are, then I’ll be here, and if you’re not, then I’ll be here. I’ll always be here, Madison. Through the good times, but most importantly through the ugly times. I’m not going anywhere, and I can’t promise you that I’m not going to fuck this up somewhere along the way and piss you off epically, but I’ll always be loyal to you. There was no one before you and there sure as fuck won’t be anyone after you. I begin and end with you, baby.” He kissed my temple. “So I don’t know if you’re going to be ok, but I do know that I’ll be here regardless.”
Tears fell down my cheeks. I sniffed, clearing my throat. “That’s all I need.” Then I turned to face him, and his arms fell to the side. I climbed on top of him and watched his features soften as I lowered myself onto his cock. His eyes rolled to the back of his head, his bottom lip pulling into his mouth and a soft groan vibrated from him. I slowly lifted, and then circled my hips, my walls clenching around his thick length. It felt natural, like a piece of my puzzle was now in place every time he was inside of me. I was addicted to the feeling of him being inside, filling me. His hands came to my hips, his fingertips gripping my hip bones, then he tapped my thigh. “Get up.” I stood, following his orders, and he leaned my body in half, propping one leg on the edge of the bath. I hung onto the bathroom sink for support and he gripped onto my hips again, pulling me into his cock. He pulled out and sunk back in, then one of his hands came to my hair, wrapping it around his fist as he pounded into me. Water splashed around our ankles and sprayed all over the floor. Moans were leaving my mouth, and his hand flew to my throat, where he clenched down roughly, using it as a handle. He continued to lay into me relentlessly.
He pulled out, and I stood to my height when he sunk back into the bath and I sat down on top of him again, reverse cowgirl. Using his legs to lift myself up, I slowly rode his cock until sweat beaded off of my flesh and the water turned cold. His thighs clenched under my palms and my body vibrated from the lead up of my orgasm. When his cock stroked my pussy once again, I let go, my core exploding inside of me. His cock throbbed, emptying himself with every thud. I dropped into his chest and he pulled me into him, kissing my head.
“You’re going to be fine, baby.”
I remember the day I bought this dress. I saw it in a storefront window. The way the black lace weaved over my chest and the tight material curved over every bone, and muscle on my body. It was held together by lace, with the middle strip missing, displaying the edge of your abs—if you had them, which I didn’t. My lack of food intake was beginning to show, and it was the first time I realized my collarbone was sharp enough to cut through rock. I stared back at myself in the free-standing oval mirror, really looking deep into my own eyes.
“Te amo, frater.” Tears formed at the surface again, on the brink of spilling over, but there was a knock on the door and my head tilted towards the entryway.
“Hey, Mads, I have a couple people who want to meet you,” Jase said, hinting to who it could be. “Is that ok?”
I stomped down my feelings, cleared my throat, and then ran my hands down my dress. Black. The color was symbolic to death, which was why I chose to wear white. I refused to believe my brother was dead. He deserved more than what the color black could give.
I nodded, wiping my eyes. He opened the door wider, and a man and woman stood there. The woman was dressed in a black long dress and was holding a large hat that had lace hanging off the front. She was beautiful, had honey brown eyes, skin that held a tint that no amount of sun could give you which told me she had something else in her blood. Her eyes met mine and her eyebrows pulled together. My own went to the man standing next to her. He wore a dark suit and a dark tie. He was tall, towering over her small frame, had grey hair and aged skin. He had to be pushing his early fifties. He looked somber and held a different softness on his shoulders than most of the other Kings.
“Madison,” she started. “I’m Jamima, your—” she paused, her fingers twisting around her hat. “Birth mom.” She stepped forward, and that’s when I caught Scarlet leaning against the wall behind them. She sent me a sneaky wink, and I knew what it meant. She had my back if I needed. Jase stayed, opening the door wider. I appreciated it because it didn’t feel like I was closed off in this room with nothing but the parents I didn’t know who, essentially, gave me and Daemon away.
“Why?” I asked quickly.
The man cleared his throat. “I’m Johan, Madison, I’m sorry we had to meet like this. Jamima and I understand that you will have questions, and we don’t want to hold back on answering those for you. You deserve honesty,” he paused, and his eyes went over his shoulder, straight to Scarlet, who gave him a look I wasn’t sure how to decipher. It was like a mother bear protecting her cubs. My heart warmed instantly, and with that small notion, I knew I could handle whatever they dished me, because they didn’t matter to me right now. What mattered was the strength I felt radiating off of Scarlet. She was the only mother I needed, anyone else didn’t matter. I nodded. “Thank you. I’d appreciate that.”
He looked back at me. “I’m sure you’re familiar with how our world spins by now. When your m—Jamima found out she was pregnant, she was ecstatic, when we found out that we were having twins, we were even more pleased. Twins were rare in any case, but there had never been twins born into our world. When we found out that one of you was a girl, we kept it quiet, though we were shattered. We knew we couldn’t share it with anyone because the risk was too high. You were a Silver Swan; you were sure to die.” His hands dove into his pockets, and Jamima finished it off.
“We were close to Elizabeth and Joseph. They were cousins, so they agreed to take you and run. Run for the rest of your lives. But when your brother was born, Elizabeth didn’t bond with him, so she sent him to Katsia’s mother where he was raised on Perdita, speaking only Latin. They tried to teach him English as well, like they did with Katsia, but he refused.” She cleared her throat. “I understand that you have a lot of love around you, and we don’t deserve a nick of your time, but we wanted you to know.”
My eyes went to Scarlet. “What will happen now? Now that Katsia is dead? What happens to little girls now?”
Scarlet smiled at me. “Now they will be welcomed.” She pushed off the wall and came to me. “That’s why we stayed behind, to have a conference with The Circle. Your father pushed for it, as did I. Hector on the other hand.” She rolled her eyes, but her hand found mine. “He came around, though, and now? Because of you, sweet girl.” Scarlet’s hand came to my face. “No King needs to worry about having a little girl. Nothing else would change, only that the girls would be accepted into the family alliances now.”
“Jesus take the wheel,” Nate muttered from somewhere in the background.
I snorted, my hand coming up to cover my mouth. “Thank you, Scarlet. For being everything I ever wanted in a mom.”
She wrapped her arm around mine. “You can call me Mom.”
Scarlet’s eyes went to Jamima and Johan. “Are you done? We have a funeral to attend.”
They both nodded and exited the room.
“You don’t like them?” I asked, not looking at her.
“No. I never have. I don’t agree with what they did and how they went about it. You suffered greatly as a child and even as a young adult. They failed you as a daughter, and failed as humans.”