Bitter Truths (Crimson Falls Duet 2)

It’s been too long since I’ve been inside her.

“Why are you doing this?” she pleads, her body still moving, still turned on at the thought of being taken by both of us. “Why would you say these things? I love you,” she tells me, her hands cupping my face, her eyes large, glassy as she regards me.

There’s no doubt she loves me.

But she’s struggling with the guilt of wanting Darius.

“Because I want to know if that love is enough to see us through this,” I tell her earnestly, my voice scratchy as I confess, “Because I need to know that my obsessive need for you is matched by your possessive craving for me. To know I’m yours, that’s all I want.”

She stills all movement. My words have hit her hard. Her lower lip trembles as she watches my expression, which I keep guarded. I don’t want her to see the fear that’s coiling deep in my gut.

With all the other women, I’ve never once been concerned about them running off. Yes, it is the fear of not being good enough. I have to be better than Darius, this time because I actually love the woman in question.

This feeling, these emotions, are all new to me. And they scare the shit out of me. I never wanted this. I never wanted to feel so out of control, that I have to play games to make sure that someone wants me.

But with Scarlett, that fear is so real, it’s debilitating.

“Do you want him?” I ask once more, gripping her hips as I move her back and forth. When she doesn’t respond, I lift her up and buck my hips against her. Lifting my ass from the bed, I focus on the pleasure of her cunt and not the pain in my chest.

Her body tightens around me. My cock deep inside her, coaxing whimpers from her plump lips. I continue my assault, my mouth clamping down on one of her hardened nipples, my teeth grazing the flesh as I bite down.

A cry of pure pleasure breaks free from her mouth, and I steal it with my own. Our tongues dual as we kiss, it’s violent, it’s filled with passion I never once found with anyone else.

And when we both still with our releases, I realize she still hasn’t answered me.

12

Scarlett

When I wake up, Lycan is sitting on the bed with his back to me. His elbows resting on his knees as his head hangs down. I wonder what he’s thinking, but I don’t interrupt him. I don’t speak.

He must know I’m awake, because I move, rolling over to really look at him. His body is perfectly beautiful. Thick corded muscles tense from whatever is racing through his mind. His shoulders wide, strong, a promise of a man who can look after himself and me.

My husband.

He fucked me again last night, and still the question hung between us like a heavy weight in the room. My answer non-existent, but I owe him the truth. I do. Never once have I wanted to lie to him, and this time will be no different. He is the man I love, and he needs to know that. I chose him. But then, his doubt is not unfounded.

“Yes.”

He doesn’t turn to look at me, but I notice how he stiffens at the whispered word that falls from my lips. His muscles in his back tense, and release, and I take in just how beautiful his smooth, tanned flesh is. There isn’t a blemish in sight.

“One night.” Is all he says before he stands and walks to the en-suite bathroom, leaving me alone in bed. My head hurts. My heart hurts. And my body thrums with the need to make him see just how much I love him.

He still doesn’t believe me.

Even though I told him, honestly, how I felt. Even though I married him without being coerced. Can he not see the guilt I feel? Or is he ignoring the fact that I care for him so deeply that I didn’t want to answer his question last night.

Stepping into the bathroom, I find him already under the warm spray. I join him, allowing my hands to trail over his strong back. Even though he’s disappointed in the answer I gave, honesty is always the best path to follow.

I learned that by watching my parents. They were never honest with each other, and that’s where they were wrong. They hurt each other with lies, and I don’t want to be like them.

“I’m sorry.”

Lycan spins at my words, and I gasp when his cock presses against my stomach. He’s tall, and the thickness of him against my soft belly throbs as he pulls me closer. His strong hands grasping my hips in a vice-like hold.

Like this, he seems like a wild animal. One that’s about to lay claim to his possession, which is me. And my blood heats at the thought. I want to be his, every part of me screams for him to take me. Never before have I craved such violence, such volatile possessiveness, but with Lycan, it makes me hungry for more.