Reese

“I knew you weren’t Graves when you brought me in here, but I still came willingly.”

His movements falter for a second before he fists a handful of my hair and yanks my mouth to his. He kisses me with a desperation that makes my heart hurt.

I wrap my hands around his biceps and hold on tight as he fucks me hard. My body reacts to him as if we have done this dance a thousand times. The push and pull, the soft kisses and hard thrusts, the gently whispered words and vicious scratches marring perfect skin, all twist together in a kaleidoscope of raw, unfiltered need on both our parts.

I rip my lips from his and bury my face against his throat as I come, my teeth sinking into his skin as he roars. He pulls free before coming over my pussy in hot spurts.

His hand wraps around my throat, his thumb tapping lightly over my pulse point as his lips glide over my temple.

“He needs you. Don’t let him push you away.”

“And you, Glitch? What do you need?” I ask quietly.

He kisses my temple before pulling back, tucking himself away, and leaving me alone in the bathroom, still dripping with his cum.

Jumping to my feet, I grip the counter for a second as my weak legs threaten to give out on me. As quickly as I can, I clean myself and slip my clothes back on just as the door opens, and a woman walks in.

She takes one look at me, turns right back around again, and leaves.

Jesus, how bad do I look?

I turn to look in the mirror and grimace. Well, I guess that answers that.

When the door opens again, I sigh and look to see which poor unsuspecting soul is about to run at the sight of me. I suck in a breath when I find Vega prowling toward me instead.

“I’ve got you, Duchess.”

He wraps his arms around me, and I collapse into him, letting him support me as he grips me tightly.

“What happened? Graves said you needed me, then left in a hurry. He didn’t seem right, so I sent Blink after him.”

“I’m not even sure I can put it into words. I need to talk to Graves. We all do.”

“Let’s get you home.”

“No. Law has his fight, and we’re staying for that. Afterward, we can deal with what just happened. But right now, we need to be here for Law.”

“Mal—”

“No, Vega. This is important, okay? We’re a team from start to end. He needs us here. I need to be here.”

“Alright, baby, we’ll stay. But consider me glued to your side.”

“Thank you,” I whisper, feeling strangely overwhelmed.

“Don’t thank me, Mal. It’s a fucking privilege.”

“If you make me cry, I will kill you,” I warn him, making him chuckle.

“We wouldn’t want that now, would we?” he says before looking me over once more.

“I have to ask, did he hurt you?”

I shake my head before he’s even finished speaking. “No, I think, and this is going to sound so fucked-up, but I think somehow I hurt him.”

There was so much pain and loneliness in his eyes that it hurt to see. I can’t imagine what it feels like to carry that burden around.

“Alright. Let’s go watch our boy, and we’ll figure everything else out after.”