Page 64 of Rogue’s Promise

Then, as if pulled back to be by an invisible cord, Meg is back before me, seeking out my touch. I’m not strong enough to refuse her. With the ruined clothes gone, there’s nowhere left to hide. Splashing water across her exposed skin, I wipe at the mud streaks across her thigh, at the smear of dirt that marks the dip of her ribs. She’s quick to return the favor. Every inch we wash clean carries an intimacy that ignores the silence we’re trapped inside.

Reaching for her face, I hold Meg’s jaw tenderly, searching her blue gaze for a hint that she’s still in there. Not lost to the calm she’s forcing to the surface, but somewhere deep inside I can’t reach right now. She stares off into the distance, her features frozen until a single tear spills from her eye. My entire body stills, my heart shattering like glass inside my chest.

“I killed him,” Meg breathes, her voice small enough to crush the last of my restraint. Cupping her face, I bring her gaze straight back to mine.

“It wasn’t undeserved. Don’t forget that,” I reply almost sternly. It’s true, the bastard deserved it. His death isn’t what I regret. It’s the effect this might have on my strong, invincible Meg. I keep cleaning, distracting myself with her cheeks, the line of her jaw, the delicate skin of her throat.

“But to take a life…That’s not me,” she whispers. I swallow, forcing my teeth together as my forehead dips against hers.

“No, it’s not. It’s what I made you.”

“This isn’t on you,” Meg shakes her head, pulling back to frown at me. I drag her back into me, unable to let her put any space between us.

“I brought you here.” This time, she forces the space between us, a stern frown pulling her brows together. I can see myself reflected in her large blue eyes, the tears that welled there a moment ago hardening.

“I would have ended up here one way or another. I was one bad decision from coming alone, delusional and unarmed. I couldn’t outrun my demons forever, you just sped up the process.” Sighing, I toy with a loose strand of her hair.

Meg has spent the past year fighting to keep Harrison from defining her, but if anyone finds out what she did tonight, he will be her entire story. The dead man. The body in the pit. The blood on her hands. No matter how justified, no matter how understandable, he is all she’ll be associated with. I can’t let that happen.

“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I finally reply, tucking that strand behind her ear. Lifting her hand to my nape, Meg tiptoes to bring our eyes level.

“Then feel something else.” Then, her mouth crashes against mine. An instant heat burns through me, desire wrapped in grief, hunger disguising the shame.

My back hits the bathroom door, the lock rattling beneath the impact as Meg presses into me, nails seeping into my chest, mouth frantic against mine. Every gentlemanly instinct I have, whatever pathetically small amount that is, attempts to break the kiss before it can fully take root. Meg’s spiraling, using me to crawl out of her skin, to ignore the shock that will come to claim her later. She needs comfort, not another regret to add to the ever-growing list.

“Meg,” I mutter, gripping her shoulders and easing her back an inch.

“Don’t you dare lecture me right now,” she snarls, lunging for my mouth again. A chaste kiss that’s all teeth and grit burns through us like the fuse of a firework preparing to blow. On a low growl, I spin us and slam her back against the door.

“You’re not in the right mindset,” I grind out, practically panting from the effort to hold back. “I can’t take this from you.”

“You’re not taking anything. I’m giving myself over to you, Everest.” Those few words short circuit my brain. For a man who yearns for complete control, her submission is an aphrodisiac to every single part of me. Releasing her nails from where they’re embedded in my skin, her hands gently press against my chest, her eyes searching mine openly.

“You’re shaking,” I mutter, running out of reasons to hold back. Meg smirks the smallest, smuggest little smirk. She knows she’s got me.

“So hold me tighter.” Fuck. This isn’t the girl who sat silent and rigid in the car, swamped within her hoodie, each breath crackling as she refused to break in my presence. This is someone who is choosing to bury it all, and to take me over that cliff’s edge with her.

Slamming my mouth against hers this time, I pry her jaw to open wide, my tongue invading and seizing. The collision is brutal, encased with the emotions I can’t handle, the promises I can’t keep, the words of adoration I won’t say. Meg’s hands drag at me with a desperation that makes my control rip apart at the seams. I catch her wrists, pinning them gently between us and keeping her hands pressed over my heart where I want them. Consider it the more chivalrous thing I can do right now.

I was raised to look like a gentleman. Trained to wear the suit, open the door, lower my voice, offer my hand, and hide everything the world would consider ugly beneath my polished manners. But there has always been violence under my skin, a thin line where I can’t tell the difference between devotion and control.

Well, I don’t want to control her tonight. I want to give her somewhere to put the pain. Somewhere to burn freely without being watched. Somewhere to feel like her body is still hers and not the weapon I’ve turned her into. So, against my base instincts, I let go of her wrists.

“Tell me to stop and I stop,” I state against her jaw, drawing my mouth along the line of her throat. That’s the only warning she gets before I bite down, marking the juncture between her neck and shoulder. Meg’s resulting cry is laced with pleasure, a shift of her body allowing her panties to be shed and kicked away. Her bra goes next, and arching into me, her hands instinctively sliding into my hair.

Dropping my mouth to her nipple, I take the hardened bud into my mouth and suck hard. There won’t be anything gentle from me now. Not when I’m chasing the same relief she is, the same denial that anything needs to change between us. We’re killers, lovers, and who knows what else, but for right now, we’re just two people hunting for an escape.

Peeling off my boxers, my cock bobs between us, already hard. The fact I can even entertain an erection calls for a fresh round of therapy, but I lift Meg and seat her straight onto my shaft. She’s unbelievably tight, stretching around me with a delicious burn. Sucking on her nipple, I palm the other, not sparing her a second to adjust. I’m already working my way inside of her, my hips snapping until she’s able to take every hard inch. A thud highlights her head dropping back against the door, the sounds bursting from her guttural and holding far too much weight. Popping my lips free, I lick a path from between her breasts up to her chin.

“Stay with me,” I murmur against her mouth. Meg’s hands in my hair tighten, her eyes scrunched shut.

“I’m right here.”

“Then look at me,” I demand. The intensity in her blue eyes spears me through. I haul her even closer, thrusting into her like a rutting animal. Between us, the heat builds within the cold bathroom, fading out the rest of the world. The harsh lights, the blood, the dirt, the gunshot, all of it blurs at the edges until only the two of us remain.

“You know I won’t be able to let you go after this,” I grunt through her breath sawing against my mouth. Meg’s fingers tighten in my hair, yanking hard enough to sting.

“We’re bound together now, Everest. No matter what happens.” A broken noise escapes me. Meg doesn’t realize the weight behind what she just promised, but the band of restraint around my chest snaps. She’s mine now, and it’s only a matter of time until she’ll be Cody’s too. A future I’ve only dared to dream of opens before me, and my hips pick up their pace.