And she with me.
Just as it always should have been.
With each hard, strong thrust as I pump inside her, with each squeezing pulse as she wraps herself around me, together we rock each other until we’re heating this cold place with just our bodies. Sweat rolls off my nose and drips onto her chest, and her fingernails dig into my back, and I spread my legs, steadying us as I rut faster and faster.
I’m close to coming, and I slide my fingers down over her puffy wet clit and press, swirl, and tease, and then she’s gasping, breathless, greedy.
“Blaise,” she cries out hoarsely, and I close my eyes because she’s never cried out like this before, never said my name with such need and reverence, and it’s something I never knew I needed to hear.
“I’m coming,” I say through a groan, kissing the side of her mouth, her jaw, her ear, and then she’s coming.
Her cry is choked off, and she starts quivering, her limbs jerking as she pulses around me, hot and wet and tight and . . . heaven.
“Fuck me,” I cry out, the words escaping me as the orgasm sneaks up on me and nearly takes me out. I do what I can to stay upright, to keep rubbing her clit, to keep thrusting my dick deep inside of her, harder and harder and harder until I’m sure we’re going to go right through the wall.
When we’re finally done and she’s milked everything out of me, I gently lower her to the ground, and she nearly falls over on shaking legs.
I hold on to her arm, keeping her steady. “Easy,” I tell her.
She glances up at me, her cheeks flushed, lips red and wet, eyes shining, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen her look so beautiful.
“You made me forget how to walk,” she jokes softly.
“Glad I have that ability,” I tell her. “And I’ll be happy to make you forget over and over again.”
She grins at that, showing her perfect white teeth, and then it fades as she picks up her clothes, clothes that are dirty and torn from last night’s fight. My own are splashed with blood. Thank God our dark coats will cover up everything.
Reality has come knocking.
It’s just outside this door.
It’s waiting for us, and we have no idea what to expect.
We dress quickly and soundlessly. She goes to use the washroom but looks disgusted when she’s done, which suggests things in this apartment have been untouched for a long time.
Even though our rocking moved the love seat, it’s still blocking part of the door, so I move it out of the way.
We step outside into the hall. There is some sound in the building, the soft murmur of a TV from the apartment across, and I guess we’re just lucky that the sound of us fucking didn’t make anyone think twice, although I wouldn’t be surprised if most places in here are used for exactly that.
We make our way downstairs and out the front door, looking up and down the street. I expected to see police cars, maybe investigating the sound of a gunshot or the spilled blood in the park, but there’s nothing. It’s cold and calm as the city slowly wakes up, and birds are calling from the trees.
“It’s like it never happened,” Seraphine muses quietly.
“We both know it did,” I tell her, opening my Uber app on my phone. “Now, do you have a friend you can go stay with for today?”
She looks at me in shock. “A friend?”
“Yeah. Someone to harbor you and keep you hidden.”
She stares at me for a few seconds, and it’s like everything is becoming real to her. “I can’t go home.”
I shake my head and grab her hand, holding it tight. “I know. That’s why you need to go to a friend’s house. Or call Olivier and see if he can arrange something for you at one of his hotels, but you can’t go home right now.”
“What about your place? Where are you going?”
I look off into the distance and frown, not liking what I’m about to do. I exhale loudly. “I have to talk to Pascal.” I pat the side of my coat where the gun is. “And I won’t leave until he listens to me.”
Seraphine clutches my arm. “Don’t be stupid.”
“I’m his brother. He has to listen to me.”
“Don’t be so naive, Blaise! He’ll throw you to the wolves. Fuck, he is the wolf!”
“Even wolves can be tamed,” I tell her. “So give me an address.”
“I won’t let you do this alone.”
“You have to let me. This is the only shot we’ve got.”
She stares at me pleadingly, the pale morning sun bouncing off her face. Her breath hangs in the air as she speaks. “You said you’d never let me feel alone again.”
Fuck. She’s got me there.
I lean in and kiss her hard, my features contorting as I feel everything, just everything. I pull away, holding her. “This is the only way we can be together. If I don’t do this, we don’t stand a chance.”
“You mean I don’t. You’re not the one who had one of my father’s henchmen try to abduct you.”
“No, but whatever happens to you happens to me. Besides . . . don’t you think by now that the men talked? That they gave my description to Jones, and then Jones gave my description to my father? I’m surprised he’s not calling me right now. Maybe he thinks I’ll walk into work like nothing’s happened, my face busted up like this, and sit right down at the conference room table.”
“And that’s exactly why you need to—”
“What? I need to do something, Seraphine. If you think we can just go on the lam like Bonnie and Clyde, the family version, then you’re not thinking clearly. I have to set things right, and I can’t do that until I know you’re safe. So please, I need an address.” I wave my phone at her.
She closes her eyes, her lips moving though no sound is coming out. Finally she says, “Marie. My friend Marie. She’ll still be home, she doesn’t go to work until ten. She lives in the thirteenth arrondissement.” She opens her eyes and takes the phone, scrolling through the map until she enters the Nationale métro stop into the address bar.
It turns out there’s an Uber just around the corner from us.
We get in the car, and it takes forever to reach Marie’s place; it’s on the other side of the city, and the morning rush hour is thick.
“Are you going to your apartment first?” she asks me.
I shake my head. “I can’t risk it. People could be waiting for me.”
She studies me, frowning deeply. She glances at the driver and then leans in, whispering, “Do you really think your father won’t hurt you?”
I shrug and give her a sour smile. “He’s done it before, remember? I’m sure he’ll have no problems now, when I actually deserve it.”
She eyes my coat, where the gun is resting against my side. “Are you sure we’re not better off with the police?” she says, keeping her voice barely audible.
“Did you learn nothing from last year? From the car chase with Olivier? We reported it to the police, and they did nothing. They did nothing because it’s like it never happened. That’s what my father can do. One word and it’s like everything . . . and everyone . . . disappears. He has everyone in his pocket.”