Chapter 25

Twenty-Five

My girl gets the kids settled in, checking on them twice to make sure no one has any immediate needs. Dr. Louis helped them all as best as he could. Many need time to heal and lots of meals, and we'll offer them that here, giving them a sanctuary until they are ready to fly free if they want.

It seems it's not enough for my queen though. She's still angry, still wound up as she paces in her tent. We watch her, taking in the glorious picture she paints. We feel it too, the pain and fury from that place. Even the flames can't tame the horrors we saw there, but she was magnificent tonight. Watching her hurt that warden was a show all in itself, and she was its puppet master.

It probably wouldn't be appropriate to tell her I was hard while watching her cut into the woman or that I almost came when the flames turned into screams, but when her eyes meet mine, there is something wild in them I understand better than most—madness with no outlet.

It's why I do what I do. It's why I kill. Why I hunt. Why I hang above crowds and offer death-defying stunts.

Our girl needs an outlet.

I prowl her way. She's too busy pacing to realize how close I am until I step into her path, our bodies pressing together. She stumbles backward, but I capture her and pull her closer. "Queen," I purr, licking her mask before I reach her ear. "Do you want to play with me?"

She hesitates, frozen between what she knows is right and what she feels. It's a fine line most people walk, balancing between what they know they should do and what they want to do. Usually the latter loses, but not with me. It always wins.

Biting her ear, I grin when she gasps. "Play with me, Queen. Let out all that anger. Let it be free or it'll rot your insides. There's nobody left to kill tonight, so let's fuck instead."

She startles at my bold words, her eyes wide as I pull back. "Heart . . ."

"Don't want to play with me, Queen?" I hum, tilting her chin up with my finger as my other hand drags down her body. "Or don't want to admit you want to? Tonight, you can let go. You embraced the nightmare inside you, and you hurt the woman and liked it." Her eyes blow wide when she realizes I noticed. "You liked it, and it wasn't enough. You need more. I'll be your outlet for tonight."

"Heart," Diamond warns, concerned that I'm pushing her too far.

"No, she needs the shove," I snap as I move closer again, my other hand grabbing her ass. "Don't you? Or you'd hide away and let it destroy you, worried about how you should be rather than what you want to be. Didn't anybody tell you, Ember, that at the circus, you can be whatever you want? I want to be yours."

Her hand hits my chest, and I see flames burning in her gaze, but something holds her back—something keeps her locked away from me even though I'm pushing. Pulling her mask up, I stare into her bloodstained face and let her see the raw truth in my gaze.

"Take it out on me," I tell her honestly, licking her cheek. "I can handle it. Rip me to pieces if you need to, Queen. I'm here, and I'm yours."

"What if I hurt you?" she whispers in horror and hunger.

"I'd like it," I admit with a grin. "They won't let you kill me though." I nod my head toward the others who are watching, showing no signs of leaving anytime soon.

When her head turns back to me, I see the decision in her eyes. Reaching up, she pulls her mask down, her eyes darkening further. Gone is the sweet, innocent Ember who was worried about hurting me, and in her place is the beast that was born from nightmares.

"You want to play, Heart?" she purrs, her voice lower and filled with a hunger that makes mine grow. My dick swells in my pants as she presses against me, dragging her hand up my chest to grab my chin just like I did her. "Then let's play. Get on your knees for me."

She pushes me down, and I sink to my knees for her, my mask firmly in place as she pets my chin softly. "Diamond," she calls. "Whip."

There's a moment of hesitation, and then the whip lands at her feet. She bends down and picks it up, letting the coil slip through her hand. The sight makes my cock twitch, and a moan escapes my lips. My body braces, expecting pain, wanting everything she will give me.

"You want me to hurt you, don't you, Heart? Despite it all, you'd thank me for it." Her words caress my body like silk, leaving me panting, and she hasn't even touched me yet. This girl might have been weak once, a victim, but there is nothing left of her.

Not anymore.

This is our queen.

This is our nightmare.

"Yes," I answer. "I want anything you'll give me."

The whip lashes out, slashing across my chest. I hiss in pleasure as it tears through my shirt. The fabric gapes open, and she moves again, hitting it with the whip a second time, the tip lashing my chest. A stinging welt rises, and it has my hips tilting forward, seeking the pleasure she offers.

She snarls in annoyance at my lack of pained reaction and loops the whip around my neck while grabbing one of my daggers. "I want to see all of you. I want you to be weak for me. I want to use you."

The whip curls around my neck, tightening slowly with each word, and then the dagger slices down. We both watch my shirt flutter to the ground, leaving my chest bare for her eyes. She feasts on me, her gaze making my heart race. The touch of her eyes on my skin almost has me spilling in my pants.

"Queen—" I start to taunt her, but she tightens the whip, yanking until I'm silenced, my air cut off. Her head tilts as she watches me. I don't struggle. I can feel my face changing color as my lungs scream, but I let her, keeping my eyes on hers without flinching. I'd let her kill me and fuck my dead body if that was what she wanted, and I'd fucking do it happily.

If she wants my life, then it's hers.

If she wants my air, then she can take it.

If she wants me to carve out my heart, then I'll do it with a smile on my face.

Black edges my vision, but my smile doesn't waver.

"Ember," someone warns, but we ignore them as I grab the whip and pull it closer to her, tightening it even more. It hurts so fucking good I roll my hips.

She watches me, drinking in my reaction, and when I'm about to pass out, she releases it, letting the whip slacken. I draw in deep breaths, coughing slightly as my eyes water. My heart races and my lungs ache with the sudden pressure, but my first word makes her laugh darkly.

"More."

"More? Why would I give you what you want?" she retorts. "There is something I want from you. If you want me to turn this fury into fire, then stoke it." Stepping back, she perches on one of the crates in her tent and spreads her legs.

I moan shamelessly, wanting what she's insinuating. "Please," I whisper.

"Beg for me. Beg for it," she orders as she pushes her pants down and strips off her shirt, leaving her naked for my eyes. There are groans from the others, but I ignore them. She's mine tonight.

Mine. All mine.

I drink in every raised scar on her perfect skin and every soft curve before my eyes land on her pussy. It glistens for me, so pink and ripe, begging to be eaten as she parts her thighs wider.

"Fuck," Spade mutters.

"Please, Queen," I beg, dropping to my hands and knees as I bow for her. "Please let me touch you. Let me taste you. Let me burn in the fire we started."

She watches me for a moment, and then her legs spread farther apart.

"Crawl to me," she orders.

I do so gladly, not stopping until my hands slide up her legs to her bare hips, and I press my face to her pussy, inhaling.

She forces my head up. "Did I say you could touch?"

"Please," I implore. Using the dagger in her hand, she pushes my mask up until it sits on my head, and then she drags the sharp edge along my lips. I feel them split, and my hands tighten on her hips, drawing her closer as I pout for her. She watches blood drip down my chin before leaning down and licking it away.

"Make me come, Heart. Make me come, and I'll play with you again. I'll give you what we both know you need," she whispers, telling me this isn't all for her. It's for me too. She saw my madness and realized I need this as well.

I don't waste a moment, even with my bleeding lips. My hands slide under her ass and lift as I open her for my mouth. I seal my lips around her cunt, and I suck until she groans. Chuckling, I rub my lips along her throbbing clit and then down, licking around her hole until her hand grips my head. Her nails sink into my hair until sharp pain spears into my skull, and my hips hit the crate she's on, rubbing against it as she pushes me closer to her pussy. She's all I can taste, see, and smell, and I fucking love it.

I want more.

I want to fucking drown in her.

Thrusting my tongue into her, I drink down her taste, licking up every drop as she rolls hips her hips, grinding her cunt into my face. My lips sting in the best fucking way, and that pain mixed with the pleasure of tasting her has me humping the crate until it hurts.

I circle her clit until she cries out, pressing her hips closer, then I flatten my tongue and slide it down, circling her hole before dipping lower and slipping into her pretty ass. Her gasp tells me she likes it, and I silently promise to bury myself in this pretty hole later to hear that sound again.

Switching my hold on her ass to one hand, I slip my other between us and thrust two fingers inside her, filling her channel as she cries out. I curl them, rubbing fast as my tongue lashes her clit in a brutal, harsh rhythm until she drips all over my face. Adding another finger, I stretch her and press them deeper. It must hurt, yet she clenches around me, silently begging for more.

Wrapping my lips around her clit, I suck hard, and she practically comes away from the crate. I slip my thumb between her parted cheeks, pressing against her pretty asshole and slipping inside—a promise.

Rolling my eyes up her body, I marvel at the view this sinner is getting. Her mask is still in place still, and her pretty, pink-tipped breasts heave, matching the blush spreading across them.

She's close, and I want to see it. I want to burn it into my brain so when my nightmares come knocking, I can replace them with this. It's as close to heaven as I will ever get.

I coat my fingers in her pleasure instead of blood, and I coat my lips in a silent promise instead of taunts.

I'm hers.

I press my thumb deeper as I close my teeth over her clit, and with a scream, she comes. Her thighs clamp around my head until I can't breathe, and her channel clenches tightly on my fingers as she gushes around me, her legs jerking. I lick her through it, watching every single reaction of her body until she slumps, her pussy still fluttering around my fingers.

I reluctantly pull them free and sit back, waiting for my next instruction as her eyes open and lock on me. Leaning down closer, she sweeps her gaze greedily over my face, making me sit up taller.

"Say thank you, Heart. Thank me for letting you make me come," she orders, her blade pressed to my dripping chin.

"Thank you, my queen. Thank you for letting me make you come."

Grinning, she rips her mask up as she lowers to her knees before me, her lips crashing onto mine as her hands rove down my body and grip my dick. Humming into my mouth, she pulls away slightly. "If I wrap the whip around you here, will you come for me?"

Holy fucking shit.

I swear I see stars.

"God, please," I beg, thrusting into her hand.

She yanks the whip closer and wraps it around my cock, slowly tightening it. It hurts so fucking good, yet I can't stop myself from rocking into it, my lips seeking hers. Our tongues battle as she strokes me with the whip, making me gasp until I can't take it. I'm so wound up from tasting her that when she tightens it again, I bellow into her mouth and fall into her as I spill across her hand and the whip. She licks my face as I come.

"Good boy," she praises, and then she loosens the whip as I fall farther into her.

All the fury and pain are gone. All that's left is pleasure.

Pleasure she controls.

She pushes me to my knees and grips my chin, kissing me solidly. "Thank you for understanding," she whispers just for me. "For giving me an outlet." She kisses me again and gets to her feet, looking down at me as I kneel, panting for her.

"Anything for you," I say without hesitation.

Her smile makes it all worthwhile. She grabs the whip once more and heads past me, over to Diamond, then tosses it at his feet with a cocky smirk. He watches her with his eyebrow raised. "Next time, you're using it on me," she orders. With that, she grabs her toiletry bag and heads out of her tent.

All of us stare after her. Groaning, I roll onto my back, sprawling on the floor.

"I'm in love," I declare.