Chapter 4: Chapter 4
The silence wasn’t peaceful. It was thick, cloying, saturated with the raw stink of sex, woodsmoke, and the lingering tang of Jace’s blood on Vera’s tongue. His forehead remained pressed against her shoulder, his massive chest heaving against her smaller frame, his cock still half-hard and buried deep inside her. Vera felt pinned, not just by his weight, but by the sheer, terrifying enormity of what they’d done. Her inner thighs were slick, a sticky mix of her own arousal and his cum already cooling in the night air. The stars tattooed on her hips felt branded by the pressure of his hands.
His grip on her waist tightened almost painfully before slackening. He didn’t pull out. He just… stayed. Anchoring her. Or anchoring himself. The fire crackled, a hungry sound that mirrored the chaos still echoing in her veins. Every nerve ending felt flayed open, oversensitive. The bite mark on his lip, the scratches on his arms from her nails, the deep, possessive ache between her legs – they were undeniable brands.
"Jace," she whispered again, her voice sounding small and fractured. Her fingers, still trembling slightly, traced the intricate pattern of ink swirling up the back of his neck. It was warm, damp with sweat. "Are you… okay?"
A harsh chuckle vibrated against her skin. He finally lifted his head, his hazel eyes dark, unreadable pools in the firelight. Sweat had plastered strands of his black hair to his temples. He looked wrecked. Dangerous. "Okay?" His voice was scraped raw. "Just fucked my best mate's little sister raw against a log, princess. 'Okay' ain't really on the fucking menu."
He shifted, finally pulling out of her slowly. Vera gasped at the sudden emptiness, the cool air hitting her tender, swollen flesh, the unmistakable wet slide of his release leaking out of her. The sensation was visceral, obscene. She felt exposed, completely vulnerable. His gaze dropped between her legs, watching the evidence trail down her inner thigh. A muscle jumped in his jaw.
"Fuck," he muttered, the word thick. He reached down, his calloused fingers brushing the sensitive skin near the stars on her hip, then tracing the sticky mess. Not gentle. Possessive. Marking territory already claimed. "Look at that. Made a fucking mess of you."
Heat flooded Vera’s face, a mix of shame and a dark, unwanted thrill. She pushed weakly at his chest. "Stop it. Get off me."
He didn’t budge immediately, his eyes locking onto hers. The defiance flared back in her pale green gaze. He saw it. Recognized it. A slow, dangerous smirk touched his split lip. "That’s my Vera," he murmured, finally shifting his weight, letting her legs slide down. She wobbled, her knees threatening to buckle. His hand shot out, grabbing her elbow, steadying her with rough efficiency. "Easy. Took it like a fucking champ, but no shame in weak knees after that."
He bent, scooping the ruined scrap of her bikini bottoms from the shadows near the fire pit. He held it up, the torn fabric dangling from his ink-stained fingers. "Evidence," he stated flatly, before shoving it into the pocket of his discarded jeans. He kept a firm grip on her arm, pulling her towards the sliding glass door that led into his kitchen. "Come on. Need water. Need to clean up. Need to figure out how the fuck I explain this to Adam when he finds your shredded knickers in my fireplace."
The sterile, fluorescent light of the kitchen was a brutal contrast to the primal darkness of the firelight. It illuminated everything. The flush high on Vera’s cheekbones. The smudged remnants of her mascara. The vivid red bite mark on Jace’s lower lip. The angry scratches raking his biceps over the intricate tattoos. The way his cum glistened on her pale skin, stark against the delicate stars near her groin and smeared on her inner thighs.
He guided her wordlessly to the sink, turning on the cold tap. The sound was jarringly loud. He grabbed a clean dish towel, ran it under the water, and wrung it out roughly. He didn’t hand it to her. Instead, he stepped closer, crowding her against the cool stainless steel counter. His free hand landed on her hip again, holding her in place. His eyes, dark and intent, held hers as he brought the damp cloth between her legs.
Vera flinched at the first touch, the coolness shocking against her overheated, sensitive flesh. He didn’t pause. He wiped firmly, dragging the rough cloth over her swollen folds, cleaning away the sticky evidence of their coupling. It wasn’t tender. It was clinical. Possessive. He was erasing the physical proof, but the act itself felt like another kind of claiming. She watched his face, the concentration in the furrow of his brow, the tight set of his jaw. The sheer intimacy of it, after the raw violence of their fucking, was almost more overwhelming. Her breath hitched.
"See?" he murmured, his voice low and rough. His thumb brushed deliberately over her clit as he wiped, sending a jolt of unexpected sensation through her spent body. "All clean. Mostly." He tossed the damp, stained towel onto the counter. His hand stayed between her legs, his thumb now applying a slow, deliberate pressure to her clit, circling it. She was still swollen, sensitive almost to the point of pain, but a treacherous spark ignited deep in her belly. "Still fucking throbbing though, isn't it? Bet you can still feel me stretching you wide open."
"Jace..." The protest died in her throat as his thumb pressed harder, circling faster. His other hand slid around to grip her ass, pulling her hard against him. She felt the renewed hardness of his cock pressing against her hip through his jeans.
"Shut up," he growled, leaning down, his lips brushing her ear. His breath was hot. "Can't get enough, can you? Just like that fucking fire out there. Greedy little cunt. You come on my cock screaming, then get wet again five minutes later when I touch you?" His thumb kept working her clit, relentless. His fingers delved lower, sliding easily through her renewed slickness, pushing two thick fingers back inside her with no warning. She gasped, arching against the counter, her nails digging into his shoulders. She was wet again. Insanely so. The stretch was immediate, welcome. He curled his fingers, finding that spot deep inside that made her vision blur. "Fuck, Vera. Dripping again. You're fucking insatiable."
He pulled his fingers out, glistening. He held them up, then slowly, deliberately, sucked them clean, his eyes never leaving hers. The obscenity was breathtaking. Before she could process it, his hands were at his waistband again. The zipper rasped down. He shoved his jeans and briefs just past his hips, freeing his cock. It was fully hard again, thick and heavy, the head purple and slick. He spat into his palm, slicked himself roughly, the sound crude in the bright kitchen light.
He hooked her leg high around his waist, hoisting her off her feet. Her back hit the cold stainless steel of the refrigerator door with a thud. The shock of cold metal against her bare skin made her cry out. He braced her there, one hand gripping her thigh, the other guiding the thick head of his cock to her dripping entrance. He didn't