The cabin feels like mine for the first time since I took it from Tom. In the past, I viewed this place as just another part of my territory. Odessa changed everything with her arrival, and there’s no returning to the old ways.
Once in the bedroom, I strip out of my clothes while Odessa watches me and fumbles with her shirt. Even wanting to help her, I hold back. My trembling fingers finally reach out to undo the buttons. Her damp shirt and bra cling to her pale flesh. Exhaling roughly, I rub my fingers together at the thought of exploring her body.
Odessa glances at the chains, but I shake my head. “I need to touch you.”
Even uncertain about my intentions, she sits on the bed and works off her jeans. I notice the healing wound on her wrist. Later, I’ll ask for details. For now, I only want to claim her in a way I haven’t before.
Odessa’s breasts draw my gaze to them. Her chilled skin looks different than I remember from our time together in bed. I’ve never seen her nipples soft the way they are now.
My fingers tremor when they graze her tender flesh. Uncertain, I look to Odessa, who smiles reassuringly.
“They want you to play with them.”
“How?”
“Do you remember how I stroke them with my fingers when we’re together? Or you can tease them the way you do with your tongue.”
Licking my lips, I think of how good her nipples taste in my mouth. I’m desperate to suck them, but first I need to own them with the same hands I’ve used to end so many lives. I want to prove myself to Odessa. I’ve claimed her heart. Now I need to possess every inch of her body.
Her nipples instantly harden when I stroke them between my still trembling thumbs and index fingers. I smile when Odessa sighs with pleasure. Cupping her breasts, I cover her lips with mine. I swallow Odessa’s moans as my fingers pluck at her hard pink flesh.
“Quill,” she gasps, leaning back as I nibble at her earlobe.
Her moans reassure me. I’ve felt her taste my flesh, sucking and nipping at my body. She knows me, and I want to know her. I’m frightened, though. Odessa is everything for me now, and I can’t bear the thought of harming her.
Gently, I suck at her hard nipples, enjoying their reaction to my touch. Odessa squirms on the bed, and her legs part. She wants my cock inside her. I hear Odessa beg for me to fuck her, but I need to take my time so I won’t lose control and become violent.
Odessa grips my face and lifts me level with her. “I need you inside me.”
“I’m afraid,” I whisper.
“Why? I’ve been yours since the moment we first existed. You’re only making it official. Take what’s yours.”
Despite her arousal and words of encouragement, Odessa is filled with fear. A part of her remains terrified in the dark night, trapped in a tree with monsters lurking below.
Soon, my body covers Odessa’s, warming her with the heat of my arousal. Though I fear I’m too heavy, her arms possessively wrap around my neck. All of her stress evaporates, and I feel her completely present with me.
My cock probes her pussy, unable to find her wet entrance. Odessa reaches down and guides me into her waiting body. I stare into her eyes and find no fear in them. Even when I thrust into her roughly, she only watches me in wonder.
“I don’t understand love,” I whisper into her ear as our hips frantically move together. “I know I love you, even if I can’t promise my love is worth anything.”
“It’s everything,” she murmurs. “I love you too.”
Studying her face, I know I won’t hurt her. My fear of losing control is gone. Odessa is mine. Rather than make me weak, love provides a new focus beyond my killer instinct.
Together, we’ll survive the Lost Highway.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Odessa
After returning to me in the woods, Quill is a beast in a different way. He wants me unconditionally. His body fucks the same, rough and hungry. When his dark gaze focuses on me, he’s never been so open. Quill wraps me in his arms and stares at me as if afraid to look away.
I know how he feels.
Though I believed in my heart he would return to me, holding onto positive thoughts proves tricky in this place. By the time I heard his voice, I had wondered if I was fooling myself. I even considered how to end my life if he didn’t return. Suicide was preferable to life without him.
But Quill did return, and now he won’t leave my side.
We spend long hours in bed. When we aren’t making love, he nearly crushes me in his embrace. Quill craves me closer than I can manage. If I’m quiet for too long while we rest in bed, he lifts my chin so he can see my face. I never imagined him demanding so much reassurance, but there’s no way I’ll complain. Quill’s neediness is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
“My turn,” he says one day and wraps a metal cuff around my wrist. “You trusted John to tie you up. Do you trust me?”
“More than I trust myself.”