Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 94782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 474(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Once we’re both naked, I haul her up into my arms and step inside the shower, pressing her back against the tile. She arches into me, whimpering as I suck her nipples and slide my cock against her wet pussy.
“Oh, God, Thorsen.” She wrecks my hair when I thrust inside her.
“You feel so fucking good,” I groan into her neck.
Her nails dig into my back, and I fuck her into the wall, my hands squeezing her ass to hold her up. It’s brutal and necessary, both of us racing toward release with a restlessness that betrays how much we need it.
“Oh, shit.” Her eyes fly open, and I freeze.
“What?”
“My patch. I haven’t worn it since the doctor took it off when he was cleaning my wounds back in Norway.”
My dick surges inside her with primal possession as my fingers dig into her body. “Min gudinne, I don’t care. I’m coming in you.”
Her mouth falls open, and I kiss her again, my teeth gnashing against hers as my cock swells within her. She comes around me first, milking my rigid flesh until I bury myself balls deep and flood her womb with my seed. The caveman in me is beating his chest. I don’t want to leave the warmth of her body, but more than anything, I want to get her back home, in our bed, where I can do this all over again. When I set her on her feet, Ella peeks down between her thighs, observing the come as it leaks out of her.
“Are you sure about this?” she asks.
I tilt her chin up and force her to look at me so there can be no misunderstanding between us. “More certain than I’ve ever been. Now, let’s get you cleaned up.”
35
Ella
“I want to see Narcissa and the girls while we’re in Cranbrook.”
Thorsen’s jaw works as he glances at me from the driver’s seat. “Why?”
“I have a few things I want to say to them before I leave.”
He’s quiet for a long beat, and I’m getting the sense that this is going to be a battle, but he surprises me.
“First, I want to show you something.”
“What is it?”
“I’m taking you there now.”
That’s all I get out of him, and I’m not really sure what to think as he navigates the familiar streets of my old neighborhood. It’s strange how I’ve lived here for most of my life, but now, it feels like anything but home. The closer we get to the manor, the harder it is to breathe. Facing off with Narcissa and the girls isn’t going to be easy, but it’s long past overdue.
I’m thinking about all the things I want to say when Thorsen stops the car and parks it. We’re near the field I usually cut through on my way back from the sanctuary. I’ve walked this path countless times, but I can’t figure out why he stopped here. Not until he looks out across the field, and I follow his gaze. There’s a direct view of the manor, but it isn’t a manor anymore.
A cold chill shoots up my spine as my eyes move over the blackened shell of what used to be my home. Thorsen won’t take his eyes off me. He’s watching me too carefully, and I’m still trying to process what I’m seeing. But then his words from last night come back to me. I thought I’d dreamed about him saying he was going to leave. I was exhausted and overwhelmed, but I know now that it wasn’t a dream. He doesn’t have to tell me what I can see in his eyes. He did this for me.
“Are they… dead?” I shudder.
In answer, he unlocks his phone and hands it to me. On the screen is an article about the fire along with a few photos. My eyes move over the text in a daze, and it all seems too surreal. But the details are right there in black and white. Lavinia, Magnolia, and Narcissa have all been badly burned, and they are in the hospital.
“Say something.” Thorsen grabs my hand when I give him the phone back.
I lean my head back against the seat and close my eyes. My mind is a tangled mess, and I don’t even know where to begin. After everything they’ve done, I can’t find it in me to feel sorry for them, and I think that’s what shocks me the most. When I finally release a breath, it feels like a thousand-pound weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Every cruelty they ever doled out, every mocking word. They all break away, unleashing a flood of emotions I’ve kept buried for so long. My body shakes, and then I start to laugh and cry simultaneously.
“It’s what they deserved.” Thorsen strokes my cheek, wiping away my tears.
“I know.”
He turns my face back to his. “They suffered, Ella. And they will continue to suffer. I want you to understand they can never hurt you again. I will always do what it takes to protect you. From here on out, they will only ever know pain.”