Letting Eagle deal with getting everyone out of the room, I headed for the bathroom, turning on the shower to almost scalding temperature before stripping off my clothes and climbing in under the hot water.

It felt like heaven against my skin, washing away the shitty day.

Yesterday had been an exhausting day, but today trumped it tenfold.

I don’t think you’re ever prepared for your childhood to make surprise appearances twice in one week and slap you across the face—literally—especially when you’ve spent more than six years running from it and telling yourself you’ve escaped.

Maybe because I was so happy to see Emerald, so proud of how brave she’d been, that I hadn’t really considered to sit down and talk with her about what was going on back at the place I dared to call home. In the back of my mind, I didn’t think I really wanted to know just how bad things were. I’d forgotten the pain that I’d gone through, and what it was like because it was a long time ago. I’d pushed all that into the furthest places of my mind so I wouldn’t let it impact on who I was today.

I wanted to be a different person, I didn’t want to carry that baggage with me and let it pull me down. All of the abuse, the threats, the punishments and torture, seeing my brother brought it all back in a rush of emotions which I was struggling to control, and with it, a wave of guilt passed over me because I was starting to realize that… yeah, I got out. But I left so many people I cared for there to suffer without a second fucking thought.

I was weak.

I could have gone back, tried to take my siblings with me, attempted to rescue them too.

I could have fought harder.

But I didn’t.

I hid. I buried my head in the sand, and I hid.

I took my punishment, and then when no one was looking, like a coward, I ran.

I didn’t look back, didn’t consider how I was hurting the people I loved.

It was selfish.

Tears dripped onto my cheeks as I turned off the shower and climbed out, stepping through the fine mist that lingered in the air. Quickly drying my body, I was eager to get the hell out of there and be somewhere else, somewhere where I wasn’t alone with my thoughts.

Part of me thought I’d escaped today with a win. Seeing Abel, being able to tell him what I thought of him, letting him know that he couldn’t hurt me anymore, these were all things I’d been dreaming of doing since I was just a little girl, and my father started using him to exact our punishments. I hated him, with everything inside me, I despised him.

He was my older brother, he was meant to be my protector, and for a while I remember him being just that. Then my father took him under his wing and created this monster.

Wrapping the towel around me, I hugged the soft cotton to my body as I stepped out of the bathroom. I needed to get dressed, maybe put some makeup on to hide the blooming bruise on my cheek and my puffy red eyes, and then have the discussion I was dreading, that I was scared was going to do more harm than good.

Frankly, I was embarrassed.

There was a particular shame that came along with being a part of a community that so willingly smothered and degraded women. I knew people would tell me I shouldn’t carry that on my shoulders and they would be right, but the fact that it was my father who was causing so much pain, it was something I simply couldn’t shake. It made me hurt for them, it made me angry that they saw me as part of him, and it made me feel responsible.

“How you doing?”

My eyes were drawn up to the sound of Eagle’s voice. He was sitting on the thick window ledge with his feet propped up on a chair from the tiny table that was tucked into the corner of the room.

“I’m doing okay,” I responded, before making a beeline for my backpack. Luckily, the hotel had a dry cleaning service so my leathers and riding gear which I would need for the ride home, would be clean—smoke and sweat smell free—when we left the day after tomorrow. I’d packed enough outfits for while we were here, but I hated riding long distance on the open road without my leathers for protection.

“You don’t seem… okay,” Eagle responded as I dug out my jeans and a tank top and placed them on the sofa. I heard him climb down from the ledge he was on, but I couldn’t turn around because I knew if I looked at him I’d burst into tears. The softness in his voice was already making me choke up, the way it sounded like he really gave a shit.

I cleared my throat, trying to fight the burning feeling rising up inside that told me the tears were coming. “I’m j-just…” my voice cracked, and I inhaled slowly through my nose and out my mouth before trying again. “I’m just angry at myself.”

He hummed lowly, his warmth moving up behind me. “For what?” he asked.

My fingers fiddled with a loose white towel thread, twisting it in my fingers to the point where it was almost painful, leaving red, angry imprints on my skin. “I’m angry that I left everyone else there to deal with that bullshit while I ran. I’m angry that he can still have this kind of effect on me after I’d fought so long to be stronger than this.”

His body was almost pressed against my back now, drawing my thoughts in an entirely different direction, making me stand a little straighter. “Sounds like you’re thinking too much.”

Things were turning, the air in the room was growing heated, swirling around us. Eagle’s hard torso was now pressed against my back. I clutched the towel a little tighter in my hand, a shiver running through me as I felt his breath against my naked shoulder.

My body had been sore since the confrontation with Abel, the shower had helped some, but now it was aching for a whole different reason, and it was an ache I welcomed, one I craved.

The bristles of his beard scratched across my skin as he pressed his lips to the crook of my neck. Unconsciously, I stretched it out, inviting him in, letting his touch draw me away and cloud my mind with lust over my worries.

“You’re right,” I rasped. “I don’t want to think anymore.”

His jeans did nothing to contain the hard cock that I could feel pressed against the top curve of my ass, the thin towel that was covering me allowing me to feel everything he was offering.

“If I can help you be free of that shit in your head for one moment,” he whispered, his lips gliding across my skin, his words sounding strangely familiar, “… then that’s what I’ll fucking do.”

Callused fingers threaded through my hair, tugging it playfully, pulling my head back against his chest. Then with one sharp tug, the towel I’d been holding onto for dear life was sent flying across the room, hitting the wall with a loud slap and falling to the ground.

I drew in a sharp breath, my skin which had been warmed by the shower now assaulted by cold air.

I’d never felt this exposed.

I was completely comfortable with being naked, putting my body on show, but Eagle was drawing out emotions that were so foreign. His touch delighted my body in ways that I’d never imagined with the other guys in the club, it was more intense than our escapades in the shower last night at the other hotel.

Every movement, every touch, I wanted more.

His free hand settled on my hip as he continued to hold me captive against his chest. His thumb kneaded at my lower back, pressing into the muscle and drawing in slow circles, which pulled a satisfied sigh from my mouth.

The hand in my hair loosened, slipping down my neck and over my shoulder, leaving a trail of fire as it moved down my body. I tried to turn, raising my hand to Eagle’s face, searching for his mouth.

He allowed the movement, and I used the opportunity to rise up, just as I pulled his mouth to mine, and the minute our lips touched the fire ignited, and we burst into flames.

My arms hooked around his neck as I devoured him, his kiss offering me an escape into bliss.

Eagle dipped, his mouth never leaving mine as he grabbed my ass and lifted me off the ground. Instinctually my legs went around his waist, and my center came into contact with the buckle of his belt causing me to gasp.

“Shit! That’s cold!”

He just chuckled as he moved our bodies over to the bed and leaned forward, letting me drop down onto the cloud-like mattress. Just when I expected him to follow, he paused, pulling his phone out of his pocket and pressing the screen a few times before holding it to his ear.

I narrowed my eyes and sat up. “Um… are you calling a damn pizza or something?” I asked in frustration, my body electrified and craving his touch. My pussy was already wet, my clit throbbing as it begged for some kind of attention, and this guy was on the phone?

He held up one finger to shush me, and my mouth fell open. “Hey, you’re gonna have to miss story time tonight, Sky’s gonna be a little preoccupied,” he said into the phone with a smirk. “She can tell you tomorrow, tonight she’s mine.”

Those words.

Fuck me.

Like seriously, as if I wasn’t already ready to leap on him like an animal in heat. Scooting to the edge of the bed where he was standing, I made quick work of his belt buckle and zipper, pulling it open just enough to see the dark hair hidden beneath.

“Tomorrow,” he growled sharply before hanging up the phone and tossing it over onto the couch where it bounced twice before landing on the floor. “A pizza?” he asked.

“It was the first thing that came to mind,” I responded, looking up at him and fluttering my eyelashes as I innocently removed his hard cock from his pants. “I don’t know about you, but I am kinda hungry.”

I squeezed the shaft tightly, and he inhaled sharply through his nose, his lips still pressed tightly together as if he was trying to keep control. It wouldn’t last long, though.

My tongue snaked out, lapping at the head of his cock, just a taste. His skin was so smooth and soft, I couldn’t help but hum softly in appreciation. I let my tongue trail his entire length, from the base to the tip, swirling my tongue around the head before starting again. My heart raced faster with every second that passed, his fingers twisting a stray piece of my hair as he watched me suck him into my mouth, slowly taking as much as I could before pulling back and licking him again.

The noises he made in his throat were low and approving, spurring me on. His fists clenched at his sides as I used both my hand and my mouth to please him, his hips moving in a gentle rhythm with my mouth.

“Touch yourself,” he finally said, and I didn’t waste a second, using one hand on his cock while I slipped the other between my legs. I spread them wide, and he leaned a little to the side, his eyes now moving past my face, to where I was dipping my fingers inside myself before bringing the moisture up to my clit.

I hummed softly in delight while I swallowed him back, my clit lighting up at the much-needed attention, instantly making me want to come.

His hand abruptly shot up and gripped a handful of my hair. He held me still, his cock halfway down my throat. “Damn it,” he cursed, tilting his head back and looking at the ceiling as I tried not to gag. When he finally let go, he stumbled back out of my grip.

I was left sitting at the edge of the bed, my fingers still strumming at my clit, my body buzzing. My eyes lit up when he grabbed the neck of his shirt at the back and pulled it over his head, tossing it in the direction my towel had landed.

My free hand went to my breast, capturing my nipple and almost detonating my body into the atmosphere, while I watched his perfectly toned abs ripple as he bent over and tugged his jeans off. I almost had to fan myself, my hands itching to touch him, to know he’s real and right now he was mine.

Eagle stalked forward, forcing me to sit a little straighter as he came at me with such an intimidating stare. “I wanna touch you, trace every fucking part of you, and see just how many ways I can make you come,” he murmured, grabbing my hips and pushing me further back on the bed before crawling over the top of me and forcing me onto my back. My body shivered in anticipation, his words making my hips move on their own, desperate to have him inside me. “But I ain’t got the patience for that right now because all I can think about is how good my name sounds falling from your lips.”

His cock nudged my clit, and I latched onto his arms as he held his body above mine. My nails dug into his skin as just that one touch almost sent me over the edge.

He ground his hips forward again, this time, finding precisely the right spot and slipping inside me. “Damn Sky,” he hissed, closing his eyes.

My mouth fell open in total awe of just how fucking good he felt, sliding ever so slowly inside me, filling me up to the damn brim. “Wow,” I gasped softly, but the word was barely comprehensible, even to me. When he bottomed out, he pushed a little further, just to give that jolt of pain mixed with the overwhelming pleasure.

He drew back and continued to torment me with slow strokes, in and out, letting me feel everything, making me beg for more.

“Eagle,” I moaned, raising my hips to try and get him moving faster. It only brought a fucking smirk to his face though, and he looked down at me like he was waiting for me. “Please.”

He hooked his arm under one of my legs and pushed it closer to my body, creating a new angle. One hard thrust and I let out a surprised and excited cry, his cock hitting the exact spot I needed.

“Is that it, right there?” he taunted, doing it again and getting the same response.

My heart pounded in my chest, knowing if he would just keep going, that I would no doubt explode into a million pieces within seconds. But he was determined to torture me, I had no fucking idea why.

“You’re an asshole,” I told him through gritted teeth as I tried to balance that line between seeing my orgasm on the horizon, but then watching it slip away when he retreated.

“Maybe that’s my plan,” he threw back as he pressed in again, holding my body captive on the brink of ecstasy. “Get you to think I’m an asshole, so you don’t see this coming.”

The air left my lungs as he rapidly began thrusting inside me, hard and fucking fast. I couldn’t catch my breath.

My heart pounded, my body tingled.

It was like I could feel everything and nothing at the same time.

The burning fire was already lit, it had been slowly burning, but now, Eagle had thrown on some gasoline, and within seconds, I was bursting into flames.

“Oh my fucking God, Eagle!”

He didn’t stop. He didn’t give up as a wave of heat crashed over me and my body bowed off the bed, my pussy clenching so hard around his cock that I was surprised he could even move it.

“Oh! Eagle… shit!”

Abruptly, his length slipped out, and he threw himself backward, grabbing his cock in his hand and jerking it hard. I’d never seen anything as erotic as him towering over me, his cum spouting out and over my stomach and breasts. His muscles were clenching, his body coiled so fucking tight.

“Fuck,” he cursed, pumping every last drop of cum out while his free hand wiped away the sweat lining his brow. “Holy shit,” he growled, watching the last drop fall onto my skin and sitting back to admire his masterpiece.

The air in the room was hot and humid. I struggled to find my breath, my whole body feeling electrified.

“Damn you look good like that,” he murmured quietly, his breathing heavy and uneven.

My own body was still trying to keep up, my hips moving on their own as my pussy continued to deal with the aftershock of the quick but intense orgasm. “That was…” I laughed, clutching the blanket below me in my hand, so tight my fingers were hurting.

His fingers trailed up the inside of my legs as I continued to lay there, fully open to him. He seemed mesmerized as he dipped his head and pressed his lips against my sensitive skin. “I know. I want to take things slow, touch every fucking part of you, learn every inch, but I get my damn hands on you and lose every competent thought in my damn brain, and all I can focus on is hearing you scream my name, because damn that shit is everything.”

He stared down at me, his eyes glazed with some kind of emotion that was new and one that both delighted and frightened me.

This was the time where brothers got up, dusted their hands off and walked out as I waved them goodbye. But he wasn’t moving, he was watching me, touching me, talking about learning my body.

And I could feel myself hoping that maybe there was.

Then why the hell did it feel so damn good?