Page 73 of Mayhem

I opened my own trousers and freed my cock. The metal of the Jacob’s ladder caught the light as I stroked once, twice, spreading the precum already beading at the tip. Echo’s gaze dropped to it and stayed there. When I stepped closer again she reached for me, but I caught her wrist a second time and guided her hand back to the couch.

“Not yet.”

I lined myself up and pushed in slowly, one long, controlled stroke that forced every inch of the ladder against her walls until I was buried to the root. Echo’s head tipped back, a short, sharp sound leaving her mouth. I stayed still inside her, giving her time to feel the stretch, the metal, the way I filled her completely.

“Look at me.”

She complied as I started moving with deep, measured thrusts that kept the piercing dragging along her front wall with every stroke. I held her hips steady so she couldn’t rush me, setting a pace that was relentless without being frantic.

Every time she tried to roll up to meet me harder I tightened my grip and slowed just enough to remind her who was controlling it right now. She let me. The surrender was visible in the way her thighs stayed open, in the way she kept her hands where I had put them even when her fingers dug into the leather hard enough to leave marks.

I fucked her like that until her breathing turned ragged and her eyes started to lose focus. Then I pulled out completely.

Echo made a sound of pure frustration. I turned her without asking, my hands on her hips, spinning her so she faced the couch, then bending her forward over the arm so her chest pressed to the cushions and her ass was presented to me. I stepped back between her legs and pushed in again in one smooth thrust. The new angle made her gasp. I reached around, found her clit with two fingers, and started working it in tight circles while I fucked her from behind, still controlled, still deep.

“You can move now,” I told her.

She pushed back to meet every stroke, chasing the pressure of my fingers, the drag of the ladder inside her. I let her set the secondary rhythm while I kept the primary one steady. When she started tightening around me I slowed again, denying the edge until she made a low, desperate sound against the cushion.

“Hunter—”

“I know.”

I gave it back to her, faster now, harder, fingers relentless on her clit while I drove into her with enough force that the couch shifted against the floor. She came with a broken moan, her walls clamping down around the piercing in hard, rhythmic pulses that almost pulled me over with her. I fucked her through it without stopping, drawing every last flutter out of her until she was shaking and oversensitive.

Only then did I let myself go. Three more deep thrusts and I buried myself to the hilt, coming hard inside her with a low, rough sound against the back of her neck. I stayed there, cock still pulsing, one hand braced on the couch beside her head while the other stroked slowly along her side.

I pulled out carefully after my breathing evened out. Come slipped down the inside of her thigh. I reached for the box of tissues on the side table, cleaned her with the same deliberate care I had used for everything else, then cleaned myself. Echo stayed bent over the arm for another moment before pushing herself upright. I handed her the tissues and stepped back to give her space while she fixed her skirt and found her blouse.

Afterward, the lounge felt too quiet, Echo sitting on the edge of the couch while she pulled her clothes back into place, and I brought her water before collecting my own shirt from the floor. She accepted the glass without comment and drank most of it while I dressed. There was no awkwardness between us, but there was also no sudden softness demanding interpretation. What had happened was clear enough without either of us trying to name it.

When she finally stood, she picked up her heels in one hand instead of putting them back on. Her eyes dropped briefly to my belt before returning to my face, and I knew she had not forgotten the threat from earlier even if the rest of the afternoon had changed considerably.

“I meant what I said downstairs,” she told me. “This doesn’t erase it. If you need me for something, ask me. If I say yes, I’ll play whatever part I agreed to play. You decide for me again, and we have a problem.”

“I understood you the first time.” I slipped my watch back onto my wrist and met her gaze. “What happened here doesn’t change that.”

She studied me for a moment before nodding. That was all I needed from her.

My phone vibrated on the desk before either of us moved toward the elevator. Malakai had sent an update from the secured room: Nichlas was awake, stable, and asking how long Hunter’s protection still applied.

I read it twice.

Echo saw my expression and waited until I turned the phone so she could read it herself. Her face did not brighten or twist into anything dramatic. She simply looked toward the hallway where Nichlas was being held and then back at me.

Keeping him protected had already become difficult to justify.

Tomorrow, we were going to decide exactly when it ended.

malakai

The woman behind the clinic desk checked the authorization twice before looking at me again. Camille’s family owned the place, but the clinic operated under enough Quorum agreements that Hunter’s name carried more weight than whatever instructions Camille had issued yesterday, and Ronan had already made sure the paperwork reflected the current situation. Nichlas Mercer was no longer protected. He was medically cleared to leave, and the authorization transferring him into my custody sat right there on the receptionist’s tablet whether she liked the idea or not.

“He’s still heavily medicated,” she said, keeping one hand around the tablet instead of giving it back. “The physician signed the discharge because Mr. Vale confirmed someone would remain with him, but he shouldn’t be alone tonight. His balance is poor, he’s been drifting in and out, and we’ve had to wake him for several of the neurological checks.”

“I’ll make sure someone stays very close to him.” I smiled when her expression tightened, then took the tablet once she finally released it and signed where Ronan had marked. “You can also tell the doctor we appreciate him keeping everything functional. That was important.”

She did not ask why.