CHAPTER SEVEN – ROSE

It hurt so good.

I wanted to scream. My entire body attempted to resist, to push him away as the aching sent a cataclysmic cramp throughout my entire body. His lips swallowed my groans while his tongue danced against mine. My pussy ached, and I could feel the war between my legs. I could feel the intrusion of his cock pressing against my walls that stretched to accommodate his massive size.

But oh, how his mouth felt against mine. Oh, how his teeth felt against my neck.

The blindfold was robbing me of my sight, but it heightened everything else. He rocked steadily into me, mixing the pain with the pleasure until nothing else was left but the shivering of my body against his. I panted, clinging to the air that was filling my lungs as his hips snapped against mine. I could feel the electricity building in my core as the tightly wound curls of his pelvis raked against my clit.

He sunk his teeth into my neck and my entire body pulled taut.

I moaned out into the room, choking on a name I didn’t know as my back arched. I could feel his teeth grab hold of me while my tits pressed against his clothed chest. His hand wandered over my body, feeling every part of me while his hips continued their assault. My legs shook from the feelings rocking through me.

But then I felt his fingertips slip between my legs and the moment he found that sensitive bundle, I began to whimper and beg.

“Please. It’s too much. I can’t. My prince, I can’t.”

“Yes, you can, my little songbird. And you will.”

His voice rattled my bones and shook my joints. I moaned and whimpered for his mercy while the pad of his thumb sent electric shocks down my legs. I was squirming underneath him as he explored around inside of me, pulling from me yet another moment of rapture as my jaw unhinged in silent pleasure.

His lips collided with mine, swallowing my groans, while my pussy clamped down around his dick again.

I could feel him pulsing, slamming deeper into me with every passing second. The bed was knocking against the wall and his hands pinned me to the bed. I had him in a vice grip. My body was pulling him deeper and deeper into me. I could feel my wetness pooling underneath my ass, soaking the sheets below us as his lips crashed against mine.

I tugged relentlessly at the handcuffs around my wrists, trying to free myself so I could cling to him.

So I could pull him even closer and take him all in.

He slammed into me one last time and I felt him twitch. His face dipped into my neck and latched on again, nipping and sucking on my skin as I felt something spill inside me. My legs fell to the bed in total exhaustion as he grunted into my neck and I could feel the way he was shaking against me.

He lifted his head from my neck and kissed me softly while his hands reached up and freed my wrists.

My body tumbled to the bed as my eyes fluttered closed. I could feel him pull out from between my legs, releasing the waterfall of fluids that drenched the bed below me. He moved me over in his strong hands, sliding me underneath the satin sheet before he draped my body in a fur blanket.

I was so exhausted from everything that had just taken place that my body automatically swept me off into a deep, dark sleep.

I dreamt he was right there, holding me close and massaging my body while I slept. I swore I could still feel his hands on me and his eyes on me. I was sure his hands were still roaming my curves, rubbing down my wrists while my body got the rest it so desperately needed.

But when I opened my eyes, I knew that I was alone.

I couldn’t believe what had happened. In my wildest fantasies, I never imagined that sex could be that powerful, that carnal, that earth-shattering. I’d experienced orgasms before at my own hands. I had a fun little collection of toys at home I’d attempted to experiment with. But none of them amounted to anything close to what I’d just experienced. None of them made me feel the way my dark prince made me feel.

I suddenly realized I was still wearing the blindfold and I took it off and tossed it to the side.

My legs were throbbing and my wrists were aching. My pussy was still sore and every movement I made felt like I was creaking from within. I rolled over to see if he was there, to see if there was a chance that I could look at his face and gaze into the eyes of the man that took my innocence and replaced it with a passion I never thought existed.

But all I found was a handwritten note on the pillow next to my head.

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
the ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
are full of passionate intensity…

It was a quote from a poem by Yeats. I read it over and over again as I sat up, allowing the satin sheet and the fur blanket to fall from my naked body. I scanned the room, looking for him as the note trembled in my hand.

But I was all alone, with the party still raging downstairs.

With no tears in my eyes and a stoic expression on my face, I slipped from the sheets and dressed myself. I tucked the note in my lacy bra, holding it as close to my heart as I could get it. I slipped my mask that had been placed next to me, back over my face and smoothed my hands over my dress, trying to make my hair look presentable before I wandered back out into the crowd.

I’d given my virginity to a man whose name I didn’t even know and all I had to prove to me the encounter was real was a note and a pleasantly sore body.

I knew I would never regret it. I would never regret being with him. But oh, did I feel the heartache of his absence. I was nothing more to him than a passing distraction, while he was the man that had opened my eyes to everything. An entire world I would never have understood existed had it not been for him.

He wasn’t reaching for my heart when he was groping my chest and that revelation brought actual tears to my eyes.

I was numb and a bit shell-shocked. I had been swept off my feet by a man who I knew was dangerous. I could see it in his eyes and feel it in his hands. I made my way down the stairs and was ushered out by the two people clad only in buckles. I scanned the room and saw Crystal dancing between two men who were dressed identically. I didn’t want to interrupt her fun, so I walked along the edge of the club and took a seat that overlooked the dance floor where I’d met my dark prince.

“So, what was it like?”

I turned my face toward Eli as she pulled my hair back. She grinned at something on my neck, her fingertips tracing a place I realized the man had sunk his teeth into.

“He left a fun little mark there,” she said, grinning. “The beloved prince of this dark palace.”

“Beloved? Whatever.”

“Uh oh,” Eli said. “Trouble in paradise?”

“There’s no paradise anywhere in this place. Just an encounter that didn’t mean much.”

“Did you at least have fun?” she asked.

“Sure,” I said, shrugging.

Eli’s eyebrows hiked up on her forehead. I could tell she was curious and I was trying desperately to keep my tears at bay. But just as she went to ask another question, Crystal came bounding over with the two men she’d been dancing with.

“Rose! There you are! Getting into trouble? I hope not, because I found us two wonderful men to play with for the night.”

“Thanks for thinking of me,” I said as I stood. “But I’ve had enough fun for one night. I’m really tired. I think I’m gonna head home.”

I could see the disappointed look on Crystal’s face and I wasn’t about to ruin her evening.

Or Eli’s, for that matter.

“But I think Eli might enjoy the company for the evening,” I said. “Don’t worry about me. I know your address. I’ll just call a car.”

“Are you sure?” Crystal asked. “Because I’ll leave right now and not look back.”

I saw her eyes flicker to my neck and widen. I felt Eli stand behind me and put her hand on my lower back, but I was done being led around.

I told them what I wanted and, now, all I wanted them to do was respect that.

“Have fun you guys. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I went outside and called a car with my cellphone. The dress I wore didn’t leave much room for pockets, which meant I had to check my purse before we came in. I had just enough money to get me to the train station, where I could use my credit card to pay for a ticket to get my ass home to Pennsylvania.

I had no intention of staying in this city any longer than I had to.

I knew Crystal would ship me my stuff that I left at her apartment. I had all the essentials I needed with me in my purse. I purchased a coat in a nearby shop when I saw people staring at me in the train station. Then, on the rhythmic train ride back home, I reread his note. I read it so many times, his voice became engraved into my memory. I started thinking in his voice. The dreams that fluttered through my head while I rode those train tracks home were in his voice.

He permeated my entire existence and he would never remember me after tonight.

He was clearly referencing my loss of innocence with the line of the poem. How he took my virginity that night. He was also calling himself “the worst,” while also comparing himself to Yeats’s definition of “passionate intensity.” The man wasn’t just gorgeous. He was intelligent. Deep, with an innate understanding of how the famous poets strung their words together.

It made me ache for him more, which pulled tears down my cheeks as my eyes settled on the passing countryside.

The note had been a warning to scare me off. He told me he was dangerous and every ounce of me believed him. But being in his arms, I’d never felt more alive. The way he’d made my body feel still had me thrumming with electricity. The memory of his voice alone shook my knees and weakened my legs. But I couldn’t give any more thought to it. I had a life back in the Poconos. A life that required my stability and my strength.

I couldn’t be weak for a man who saw me as nothing other than his toy for the night.

I’d had a well-deserved vacation. I was bringing home memories I’d hold onto for the rest of my life. I’d lost my virginity to a handsome, mysterious man whom I’d never forget, or regret. I had a walk on the wild side and I felt stronger than ever when it came to raising my brother.

I’d carry that man within me for the rest of my life and his voice would give me strength.