Page 91 of Inked in Bloom
There’s only a thin pane of glass between myself and the hunched-over harbinger with his hand pressed against it from the other side.
A few of his prints are smeared along the glass and his chest heaves. I lick my parched lips. Rose-covered knuckles come in and out of focus as he fists his thick sage cock in heady strokes. And when Briar lifts his chin, his eyes meet mine, and we both freeze.
Caught.
38
MONROE
Desire and fear bounce between us, colliding along the mess that’s our bond.
I’m not sure who feels more trapped right now. Briar, caught with his hand wrapped around himself or me. I stare up at him from my knees, enveloped in his jacket, inhaling his rich vanilla scent. The inside of my thighs are damp, slicker from watching him fuck his fist across the glass. There’s no pretending we don’t know what we are to each other, even though the denial was a godsend while it lasted.
Briar releases his dick and—Holy hell. Of course I’ve seen it before, but not likethis. Not erect and wanting.
Wantingme.
The purple-stained evergreen tip weeps thick drops of cum on the floor. I’m glad for the barrier separating us because I’d be crawling to lick it up.
So wasteful…
Wow. Not sure where that thought came from.
While I still have a bit of clarity in my randy rabbit haze, I tug the jacket around myself. “You went through my nightstand.”
“Would you rather someone else have done it?” His attention lingers over my shoulders draped in leather.
“I guess that depends.” I slowly inhale. “Why didyou?”
“You know why.” He lowers to his knees so we are nearly level.
I avert my gaze, but he doesn’t continue until I meet his lavender eyes. They shine like a pair of brilliant amethysts beneath his glasses. “You’re my mate. I understand you don’t want this, but that doesn’t mean I won’t do whatever I can to help you through your first solstice.”
His tone is sturdy and smooth. An honesty that saysI dare you to run from this.
Any other day, I would have, but not today. “How long have you known?”
“Since the moment ink covered my last bit of available flesh.” His eyes drop to the mate mark then shift to mine. His cock twitches, and another pearlescent droplet seeps from the tip.
“My eyes are up here,” he teases.
I snap my attention up. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because you said you didn’t want to know, and after everything you’ve been through because of me, I knew I could give you that.” He draws in a deep breath. “How was I supposed to go against your wishes, look you in the eye, and tell you I was the mate you were so desperate to cleave yourself from?”
“Did you even ask Fate to break our bond?” Heat fills my rib cage, unsure what to trust.
His face falls and he clasps his hands in his lap. “Of course I asked Fate. I begged her. I may not have been forthright about who I was when you arrived, but I have never outright lied to you.”
His eyes don’t leave mine and the corner of his jaw ticks.
“I pleaded with her to take away a bond I’d waited decades for. One I somehow managed to ruin before it took hold.”He sucks in a breath, stare hard and unforgiving. “Maybe I should have told you sooner, but I know you don’t want this. You don’t want a mate—much less a mate that’s me.”
Perhaps deep down I was always aware he knew but denying it was safer. If I denied what I was and what we were to each other, I could leave. I could fight the cards Fate dealt me.
“If you wanted me so badly, why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you let me touch you before we came back?” Shame heats my chest, knowing how desperate I was. Briar had been in control, logical—everything I prided myself on being but hadn’t been when solstice took over.
“I’ve spent hours fisting my cock raw over the memory of you begging me to take you. Your fingers glistening with your cum, tasting like carrot cake on my tongue.” The angle of his jaw shutters, a vein throbbing along the vines on his throat. “You didn’t feel that through the wall? Or the months where I went painfully rigid every time you spread your legs and made yourself come?” He shakes his head. “You’re telling me you’ve never felt that? Because I did, Monroe.Every. Damn. Day.”
