My chest heaves with the raw breaths and the strain of my words. I turn my head in the other direction, not wanting to look at him.

The car swerves into a dirt road. We bump for a few seconds before coming to a screeching halt underneath a tree. If it weren’t for the seatbelt, I would’ve toppled over.

Still refusing to acknowledge him, I stare out into the distance. The flaming of my cheeks spreads to my entire body like a rapid-fire.

Aiden places two fingers under my chin. His touch is rough, yet gentle at the same time.

I jerk away. “I’m mad at you right now.”

“I told you. We can be mad at each other while I touch you.”

When he grips my chin again and turns me to face him, I’m ready to give him a piece of my mind. The hunger on his face stops me. It’s tangible and raw, so raw my own hunger responds in kind.

A jolt of want zips through me and deep longing grips me in its merciless clutches.

“You missed me, huh?” His metal eyes shine, almost becoming black.

“Maybe.”

“Maybe is good enough.” He pauses. “For now.”

His thumb grazes my jaw, and I feel it straight in my peaking nipples and slick core.

My breath catches, but that’s not the only thing abnormal. My heartbeat is palpitating like crazy. I’m not sure if it’s because of my illness or Aiden’s touch.

His fingers tilt my chin up and he captures my lips in a slow, soft kiss.

This isn’t the time to be soft.

I don’t want him to be gentle and take his time with my mouth. I want him to own me. I want him to fuck my brains out like he can’t breathe without me just like I can’t breathe without him.

Manoeuvring my bound hands, I loop them over his neck. My fingers grip strands of his hair as I push my tongue up the roof of his mouth, demanding more.

With a groan, Aiden is on top of me. His hard muscles flatten my chest, nearly suffocating me.

He’s too much.

Too raw.

Too... real.

He fiddles with something on the side of the seat and we both topple backwards.

My eyes flutter closed as I kiss him, my fingers toying with the hairs at the back of his neck. Our breaths mingle together, rough and unrestrained like a symphony. I arch my back and slowly roll my hips against his pelvis.

That earns me a groan. Deep, and animalistic.

“Fuck, sweetheart. I need to be inside you,” he grunts and yanks at his belt, nearly ripping it off.

“I’m going to hurt you.” His blackening eyes slam into mine like a challenge.

“Y-you will?” I ask in a small, trembling voice filled with excitement and thrill.

“Oh, I will.” He grins, but it’s still intense. “And you’ll like it.”

He yanks my skirt up and my underwear down. I don’t know how he’s made it inside of me, but he has. The brutal thrust stretches me open. I don’t only feel the fullness in my pussy, it’s ramming straight to my belly, all deep and hard.

I grip the back of his neck for balance, my body arching off the seat.

His thrusts turn merciless, and true to his words, it does hurt. It hurts so good. It’s the pleasurable type of pain only Aiden can give me.

Like last week when I continued feeling him inside me for days. Every time I moved, every time I sat down, or ran, he was a constant reminder inside me.

“I’m addicted to you. I’m obsessed with you. I’m mad about you.” With every word, he hits my most sensitive spot.

My whimpers and moans tremble and vibrate off his throat with every pound and every touch of his lips against my heated skin.

He feathers kiss after a kiss to the curve of my jaw, the corner of my mouth, and the tip of my lips. He licks them, devours them, feasts on them.

My ears ring and my limbs quiver with the force of my pleasure. The orgasm rips through me like a heatwave, violent and uncontrollable. It’s not about the pleasure of the body anymore. It’s about the one who’s bringing me said pleasure.

The damning realisation hits me.

I’m screwed.

There’s no way I’ll be able to live without Aiden King.

Tears barge to my eyes as his body stiffens and his cum coats my inside. He collapses atop of me, his entire weight covering mine

It’s not tears of sadness. No. They could even be tears of happiness. They might as well be tears of acceptance.

Aiden props on his elbows, breathing heavily atop of me, the rise and fall of his chest vibrating on my skin. He licks my tears. One by each one.

“Don’t cry.”

He said it a long time ago, didn’t he? That it hurts him when I’m hurt.

I stroke the hair on the back of his neck and we remain like that for what seems like forever.

For a moment in time, it’s just me and Aiden shielded from the world.

I even forget that we’re in public and some passing cars might have seen what happened in full detail. Hell, even if they didn’t see, they would’ve noticed the shaking of the car due to Aiden’s rough thrusts.

Truth is, I couldn’t care less about what they saw.

The only thing I care about is the person atop of me, protecting me from the world.

“Now what?” I murmur after a while.

“Now we go back to where it all started.”

27

Elsa

Now we go back where it all started.

It turns out to be here.

My home in Birmingham.

The scent of pine and copper fills the air like a thick fog. The cold, punishing wind whistles in the distance and blows blonde strands in front of my face.

A shiver claws down my spine, causing my limbs to quiver. It’s not due to the wind or the cold.

No.

It’s the fact that I’m standing here with Aiden which hits me with a strange type of terror. The type that bleeds under your skin and forges wires around your bones.

I’m shivering like a leaf in the pounding rain.

This brings back a horrible feeling from a long time ago. I can taste the pungent taste on my tongue. Back then, I stood at the shore, my toes soaked by water as Eli dove into the lake and never surfaced.

One second he was within touching distance, the next he was gone.

Just like that. He was gone.

That sensation burns through me and grips me by the throat, its nails scratching and scraping the skin. That sensation tells me without words that the past will repeat itself. This time, I’ll lose Aiden just like I lost Eli.

“Why are we here?” I ask.

“You said you want to know the truth.” Aiden touches my elbow. “You can do that where it all happened.”

I’m tempted to shake my head, grab Aiden, and tell him to drive me to the nearest hotel.

A part of me wants to run as far away as possible from this place and my dark, fucked up memories.

But then again, what did running ever do for me aside from nightmares and unanswered question?

If I keep being a coward, a large chunk of my life will be missing. I’ll always stare back at my reflection with confusion. I’ll always keep wondering about what-ifs and whys.

Enough is enough.

I’m done running.

I’m done being a coward.

It’s time I unravel my past. The good and the bad.

Aiden stares down at me with a perfectly raised eyebrow. “You said you’re ready.”