Page 70 of Ballistic

Until I hit the crest, and my whole body seized as my muscles went haywire, stretching and pulling in different directions. Nerves ready to burst, I focused on that ball of fire behind my eyelids, pulsing and growing with his suckling, until it exploded inside of me. I threaded my fingers through his hair and bit my lip, surrendering to whatever had built up within me, and at the final flick of his tongue, I cried out in the surrounding darkness.

Screamed.

My voice echoed back with a harrowing sort of pleasure. Something I’d never heard before. Every muscle pulsed in celebration, as the orgasm slammed through me in waves of pure ecstasy.

Face still buried between my thighs, Dax shook his head, his beard tickling my sensitive flesh, and I jerked in his grasp. Another shot of tingles climbed my spine as he sucked and licked my still throbbing clit, lapping up every bit of me.

No one had ever teased an orgasm from me that way. What I wouldn’t have given for Tesarik, or Vinco, to watch me right then, to let them seethe with anger as another man brought me to exhilarating climax without drugs, or manipulation. I wanted to throw it in their face and spit at their feet, because the strange sounds caught in my throat, while Dax licked me clean, proved I wasn’t completely damaged.

He finally pulled his face away, setting me back down on my feet, though I felt too weak to stand. My knees threatened to buckle as I lazily slid my panties and jeans back up my thighs, trying to catch my breath.

In those seconds, I waited for him to shove me to the ground and cram his cock down my throat, or strike me across the face for having glutted on the pleasure. I knew better, but my muscles stiffened in defense, anyway. It wouldn’t have been wrong for him to want something in return, but he didn’t.

Instead, Dax pushed to a stand until towering over me, then leaned down and kissed me. “I’ve seen some of the best sunsets in this city, but this, by far, was the most beautiful yet.”

I kissed him back, letting myself get swept up in the illusion, a fleeting moment of bliss, because for the first time in my life, a man had given me something with no expectation, no consequences for my selfish indulgence.

And it didn’t take the promise of a drug to know I’d soon want more.

27

Dax

I rounded the car as Nicoleta climbed out on her side, and hoisted her over my shoulder as she pushed the door closed.

Laughing, she braced her hands against my back and kicked her feet. “Put me down!”

Arms wrapped around the back of her thighs, I jogged up the stairs to our room, but set her down while I opened the door.

Toying with a small curl of hair behind her ear, she tapped my knuckles. “Hey, I’m going to have a smoke out here for a minute. Can I bum one?”

“I’ll have one with you.”

The smile she’d worn all the way home withered to something somber. “Dax, I just need a minute to think, is all.”

Frowning, I tipped her chin back so I could see her eyes. “Everything okay?”

“Definitely okay.” The slight smile returned, seeming genuine, and she kept eye contact with me. “Seriously. I just want to bask in the moment.”

I glanced around at the remote, empty parking lot and back to her, sliding the pack of smokes from my pocket. Place didn’t get much traffic, and she’d already burned me for hovering like one of Tesarik’s shitheads. I’d never been the kind of guy to smother a woman, but then, I’d never been so goddamn crazy for one, either. “Okay. But you’ll tell me if anything’s wrong, yeah? If I hurt you, somehow.”

She nodded, slipping her hands down into the pockets of my jeans. Her left hand grazed over my dick, and she smiled, tugging me close and rising up to her tiptoes to kiss me. At the break of the kiss, she waved my lighter in the air, eyes flirting with danger as she lit up her cigarette.

“I’m going to take a quick shower. Come join me when you’re finished.”

“Yes, sir.” The wily glint of her gaze put my stomach at ease a bit.

Another kiss later, I pushed through the door, and made my way toward the bathroom, feeling a buzzing against my chest. From inside my coat pocket, I tugged my cellphone out and clicked on a notification from China. An email opened, and I clicked on the attachments, which popped open to a collection of pages.

Medical records.

I glanced back toward the front door, seeing the top of Nicoleta’s head through the sheer curtains, where she sat on the balcony smoking a cigarette. I quietly closed the bathroom door and sat down on the edge of the bathtub, thumbing through the file for Eden O’Malley.

Psychiatric consult performed by Dr. Marquis Jackson at the request of attending physician, Patrick Montcliff, MD.

Chief Complaint: Amnesia after patient stabbed mother’s boyfriend

Patient is a fifteen-year-old Caucasian female taken into custody by police following an attack against her mother’s boyfriend at approximately 22:00 two days prior. She claims to have no memory of the actual events. Her mother called paramedics, who arrived to find the patient unconscious on the floor. Patient arrived to ER, conscious, presenting with dizziness, nausea, and multiple bouts of vomiting. Noted to be in shock. She reports depression on and off. Experiences excessive energy at times, with racing, irritability and reckless activity. She states that she has difficulty falling asleep with daytime fatigue. No known history of previous psychiatric disorder. Will review progress notes from Crestwood. Denies regular use of recreational drugs but admits she has occasionally smoked cigarettes. Denies delusions or hallucinations, obsessive thoughts or compulsive rituals. Past medical history includes hospitalization one year prior, on September 10th, 2014. During that admission, patient was transferred to pediatric ICU, suffering from suicidal ideation, as well as burns and disseminated bruising. At the time, her mother claimed she had run away from home and appeared to have been attacked while living on the streets. Patient was discharged to Crestwood Institute with no recollection of the events that had taken place just prior to her admission. Examination performed in consultation with the nurse practitioner, K.S. Lippincott and social worker T.L. Henderson.