Page 99 of Chained

His heart beat quickens against my palm, but his body relaxes. "I've waited so long to hear those words slip from your mouth." He grips me by the waist, pulling me into him. "Waited so long for you to finally accept your place."

"I tried to fight it, Vincent, my feelings for you," I whisper, conscious of how close to the bed we are. Praying with everything inside me that Jax doesn't make another noise. "But I can't, not anymore. I want this. I want you." I swallow down the way my mouth is overflowing with saliva due to the overwhelming nausea in my stomach.

He keeps me pressed close against him, his eyes searching mine for the lie, but his arrogance taking over. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

"Vincent, could I ask something from you?"

"Go on…"

"I would love an evening for us. An evening to prove our love, a special moment for the two of us to celebrate."

"Like a date?"

"Exactly, a date."

"We could do that." His eyes light up, a smug smile on his face that screams triumphant. I'll let him have this moment, I'll let him do anything if it means he gets out of this room.

"But I'd like to wait until we're in our special place. Not this room, before we…" Don't say it. Don't say it. "Make love again."

"I had plans for tonight. My cock is throbbing, Amora, I need you to suck me dry just so I can think." He frowns, every word slicing through me with ease, like a knife against butter.

"It'll be worth it. I promise, it'll be worth it." I force my hand to his crotch. "I just want it to be special."

His eyes roll to the back of his head, I want to snatch my hand away and dip it into acid just to get the feel of him from my skin.

"Okay," he lets out through a long breath, "but you better make it worth it."

"I will, I promise I will." The sound of my desperation and pathetic fucking compliance makes me want to take that shard of glass to my own wrists.

"Very well." He moves back, adjusting his suit. "Tomorrow. Wear something delicious, Amora. I plan to make it a night you'll never forget."

I sigh with relief as he turns away to leave, but he stops just shy of the door.

"Before I go, I'd like something in return." He licks his bottom lip as his eyes fan up and down my body. My heart stalls. "Kiss me. Like you mean it. Like you want it."

For a second, I don't think my body will allow me to lie. I don't think my mouth will comply or my hands will touch him with an affection that I don't think I possess anymore.

Worse than that, I fear he'll taste Jax on my lips.

Before he gets the chance to ask twice, I force every inch of my body to move across the room until the distance is closed. My hands wrap around his neck. Force it, Amora. Make him believe. I pull him into me, his lips pressing against mine. His arms wrap around my body as I push my tongue into his mouth. Every inch of me is dying with every breath as I kiss the man who's ruined my body, who's stolen my soul, and who's very nearly broken my mind. He presses me against the wall, his hands roaming around my body like he knows every mould, remembers every inch of my skin. His teeth grazing against my bottom lip as he pulls away for just a second.

"Amora, Amora, Amora…" he whispers my name like the favourite line of a song. "I can't wait for tomorrow, to indulge in you over and over. To taste your want on my tongue, to devour every inch of your desires."

I don't say a word, there's nothing else to say. I've already made a deal with the devil.

He bends down once more, placing a simple, single kiss on my forehead. Then he opens the door and leaves without looking back.

I stay pressed against the wall, heart beating but lungs tight. I can hear the shuffle from under the bed, Jax slowly coming to stand. I know he heard. I know he knows my shame and the deal I'd just made to spare us both. His eyes find mine, and I wait for the judgment, but all I see is pity. And somehow that's worse.

"You still wanna talk about how I ruined your life?" I ask dryly.

"Amora…" he whispers, walking closer, but I move away—walking straight past him and out to the balcony. The room is too suffocating with him inside, the memory of Vincent and my deal weighing too heavy on my chest. I can't fucking breathe.

Rain drips onto my skin as I stare out into the distance. It feels like years ago since I stood on this ledge, ready to give up. It's funny how time works so differently here, how each second feels like a lifetime. I just wish the guilt worked the same, that with each passing minute it might ease. That every time I close my eyes, I wouldn't be back in that bar. That I'd choose to stay home with Rosa instead of forcing her out.

I hope wherever she is, she's not alone. I hope she's safe, maybe even free. I'd been so wrapped up in my own survival that I'd stored her in a box just so I didn't sink further. And every single night, I'm forced to have my body laid beneath Vincent's whilst he tears through every part of me, reminding me with every breath of how I'm being a good girl for him. How the more I give, the more he'll try to find her.

But what kind of a sister am I? To bring her here and put her in his hands, just so I'm no longer alone.