Chapter Thirty-One

Riot

W e left my mother and Romulus tied up in one of the guestrooms. I'm sure they'll free themselves eventually. Our fathers are dead.

Our fathers are dead.

Per their wills, all their financial holdings were transferred to us. Atlas took pity on his mother and left her their country house and a small monthly allowance. She cared less about him than his father did.

But I don't give a fuck about the money. I care about the control. The power that they can no longer abuse.

Fuck.

It's late, and we haven't spoken much since we arrived back at Tenebrose. Atlas went straight to the greenhouse. Felix is staying with Villette back at the Nest, afraid to leave her alone with her memories of what happened tonight. And Val… fuck. He freed himself, but that monster was still his father. So he went to the one person he always goes to when Laurent Erebus breaks his heart—his uncle Julian.

I find Maureen sitting on the terrace, sipping a double shot of whiskey neat. "Thank you," I murmur.

"For what?" her voice cracks. Her skin is fresh after an hour-long shower as if the blood was never there. But the blood will always be there. It will stay in her bones next to the other lives she's taken.

I sit next to her on the porch swing. She smells so fucking good. "For coming to Raven's Gate. For making me love you. You saved us."

She leans her head on my shoulder and sighs. "We saved each other. You always show up for me. I love you, Riot."

I kiss her forehead. Fuck, I need this woman more than I need food or sleep or air. "I am obscenely and undeniably in love with you, Maureen Blackwell."

"What we did tonight will leave marks on our souls, you know?" she squeaks.

It always does.

"Don't worry about that now, Firecracker. Just rest." I want to bottle her scent so I can have it with me always.

She stands up and faces me. The moon shines behind her, casting a halo around her head. "I want you to fuck me gently tonight." She pushes her sweatpants down, no panties, and climbs onto my lap.

I lean back as she unzips my pants and pulls out my cock. "I'll fuck you any way you want, love."

The sweetest smile I've ever seen on her face emerges as she lifts up and slides her pussy down my shaft. "Mmm… fuck. So perfect, Riot. You're fucking perfect."

I roll my hips up as the wind whips around us. The porch swing rocks as I still myself inside her, pulsing against her walls. It's an ache that roots deeper than any that have come before. This need to just feel her around me. After all the violence… we need this .

"I'm so fucking happy I found you in that bathroom in Wickford Hollow." I anchor her hips, relishing the way her eyelids flutter, the way her voice whimpers as I pull her back down. She is fire, fucking pure passion encased in a vision of black hair and golden eyes.

"I never hated you, Riot. Not even when you did your worst. I fell for you that same night. The night you zipped up my corset. The night you killed for me." She arches her back and rubs her pussy against the base of my cock, moaning as I hit that sweet spot deep within her.

I slide my hands up and underneath her tank top until I find her nipples. I trace my fingers lightly around them and almost cum as they harden instantly from my touch. "Oh, baby… You feel so good like this. I can feel all of you. Every fucking beautiful inch of you."

Our souls might be damned, but the pleasure we take from each other is pure. Even when it's rough and chaotic. Especially when it is. But as I thrust gently inside her, I'm overcome. Every sensation heightens the agony of drawing it out…

She presses her lips against mine and kisses me softly. I moan as the tip of her tongue probes my mouth. The hunger for this woman is unnatural. It moves beyond obsession, teetering on actual physical need. Like if I don't have her, my body will disintegrate and turn to ash.

I squeeze her hips as she rocks back and forth on my cock.

"I'm going to cum for you. Ready, Riot?"

This is more erotic than anything we've ever done. This slow crawl over each other as we edge ourselves into orgasmic oblivion.

I suck on her bottom lip. "Mmm, yes, baby. I'm going to cum with you."

"Uhhh, fuck… Riot. I love you." She throws her head back and lets out a pent-up moan.

I thrust in deeper, faster, as her juices coat my cock. "Oh, fuck." I grit my teeth as the blood in my cock rushes forward, taking me by surprise, the pleasure overwhelming me. We grind against each other on the flapping porch swing, coming at the same time.

I kiss her lips, her cheeks; I devour her neck and shoulders as my pleasure intensifies the longer I'm inside her. "You've ruined me, and I fucking love you for it."

She sucks on my earlobe, trembling as she clenches around my throbbing cock. "Our ruin is our salvation."

I wrap my hand around her throat loosely just to feel her pulse beat against my palm. "Over and over again… Always."