Chapter 18

CHAPTER

EIGHTEEN

HARPER

A warm hand lingering up and down my spine rouses me from my sleep. Waking up, I find myself tangled in Edmund. My head on his chest, both our arms and legs wrapped around each other.

“You don’t strike me as the cuddly type,” I mutter against his chest as my finger traces down the ripples of his stomach.

“I’m not.” His hand moves lower until he’s cupping my ass. “I haven’t shared my bed with a woman in years.”

Before I can say a word, he swiftly rolls us both and pushes me face-down onto the mattress. His fingers slide up my spine and into my hair. He fists it roughly and yanks my head back, and I can’t help but smile as a moan rattles from me.

“It was the only way I could ensure I got to fuck you again this morning,” Edmund groans as his lips and teeth travel along my exposed neck. He rubs his cock teasingly along my entrance before slipping himself inside. Still tender from last night, I groan at his intrusion.

“Are you sore, little rose?” His voice is soft as tender words are whispered against my neck while he begins to savagely thrust against my ass. “Too bad, because I don’t intend to be gentle with you.”

And he’s not.

Not that I even remotely expect him to be.

He likes it to hurt.

We both do…

He takes me hard and fast, setting my pussy on fire. My screams and cries are muffled by the pillow my face presses into as he peppers my ass with his hands.

Fuck, he feels good.

Edmund slams into me, burying himself ungodly deep as I come around him, causing my entire body to tremble with bliss. His hands knead the already aching skin of my ass, and he lets out a roar as he comes inside of me.

Edmund stays deep inside of me as his sweaty body collapses half on top of me. Using his grip on my hair, he pulls my mouth to his and kisses me— matching my need —claiming my mouth as rough and hard as he just took my pussy.

“I want to keep you here,” his lips rest against mine, “and fuck you until you’re unable to walk, but I have business to get back to tonight.”

Pulling up to my building, Edmund helps me out of the car. I take a small step from him, and he roughly pulls me back to him, immediately wrapping his fingers around my throat. He tips my face up toward his and stares down at me with a heated, unwavering gaze.

He presses his lips against mine and wraps his arm around my body, pulling me possessively tight against him. His kiss is demanding. It and the tight hold on my throat quickly making me breathless. Every bit of the roughness behind it travels straight between my thighs.

If the intention is to leave me wanting more from him, it’s working.

Pulling back from our kiss but keeping my lip between his teeth, he stares at me for a moment before speaking. “I intend to see you again, little rose.”

I don’t think I could say no if I tried.

Heading inside, my legs feel unsteady, like they belong to a newborn deer. I step into the elevator, already missing the feel of his lips on mine, and my fingers linger over my swollen lips.

Opening the apartment door, the look on Nikki’s face shatters my high. I’ve known her far too long; something isn’t right. She looks downright broken.

“Nik?” I quickly cross the room to her. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m so sorry,” she sobs. “I never should’ve convinced you to go to that party. It’s not your scene. And now…”

“And now, what?”

She proceeds to give me the play-by-play of her date last night, which turned out to be a cop. A disgusting, dirty cop who is now blackmailing her for sex to prevent a video of that first night with Edmund from being leaked to everyone in her life.

“My family can’t find out…” she exhales.

“And mine can?” I shriek. She’s had hours to come to terms with this situation. I’ve had minutes, and my emotions are all over the place. “I want to see it.”

“Trust me, it’s bad.”

“I said, I want to see it.”

She pulls out her phone and sends a message through an app.

I talked to Harper.

Blackmailing Asshole

What did she say?

She wants to see the video.

Give me your cell phone number.

She sends her number, and a moment later she receives a single text of a video clip. Taking the phone from her, I press play. I watch for a minute before tossing the phone in her lap and burying my face in my hands.

“Whatever he wants,” I mumble as I shake my head. “Until I figure out how to make this go away.”

She said she’ll do whatever you want.

I’m going to need to hear it from her.

Mere seconds later, a FaceTime call pops on the screen. Nikki hands me the phone, and I open to find a very normal-looking middle-aged man. Holding back tears—and the urge to scream at him—I give him the statement he needs, “Like Nikki said, that video can’t get out. I’ll give you everything she offered.”

“What kind of confirmation are you going to give on that?” His words cause bile to rise in my throat.

“Well, I can’t exactly suck you off over the phone now, can I?” I snark.

“I’m going to need something,” he continues to press. “I need you to take a little initiative like your friend, Nikki, and tell me a bit about what is happening in this video.”

“I’m getting fucking railed while eating out my roommate.” I close my eyes as I exhale the salty words. “Is that what you want to hear?”

“I’m going to need more, Harper.” He’s relentless, and as much as it disgusts me, I know what he wants.

“Nikki, he wants more.”

“Prop the phone on the table,” she instructs me as she pulls off her tank top, exposing her breasts. “I’ll help you give him what he wants.”

Grabbing my hand, she cups it over her breast as she kisses my lips, erasing the feel of Edmund on them. Beyond her on the screen sits a man pulling out his dick and beginning to slide his hand along it.

“Just fake it,” Nikki whispers quietly in my ear. “He’ll finish quickly, and it’ll be over.”

She shimmies my skirt up my thighs and spreads my legs, putting me on display for him. I close my eyes as she slides her fingers inside me, unable to see him yet still subject to every sound he makes as he gets off to this. The disgust—at both his noises and my own actions—causes bile to rise in my throat as Nikki continues to rub between my thighs.

It'll be over quickly…