Saving Tally (last Book 6) Jacobs Broken Mercenaries

chapter 17

Lucifer 

“So Tally, huh? You know she’s younger than me, right?”
I ignore her open judgment, enjoying the fact she’s talking to me.
“Ah, age is just a number. It’s souls that meet.”
Jolene scoffs, rolling her eyes.
“Is that how you won her over? With that sappy crap?”
She definitely gets that crass attitude from me. Her mother was too polite to say anything offensive.
“The way I won her isn’t meant for a daughter’s ears.” I tell her with light humor in my tone. 
“Ewe, gross. I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that.”
She makes a face that can only be described as sour. I know I would enjoy this more if I could just get through to Tallisa.
This is how it’s to be from now on? Everything dull by the loss of her presence in my life.
“What happened?” 
Jolene has noticed our situation, I see she's not as cold to me as she likes to portray.  Women!
“I lied.  More than once.”
She tsks.
“lies. the root of most problems.  Have you begged yet? Like literally down on your knees. Women love when guys do that.”
Begged? On my knees? Could that actually work?
“Are you coming, sweet?” The demon says with a hand at her hip.
I swallow back my sneer, staring at his hand. He pays me no attention, just to piss me off.
“Later, pops.”
Pops? She called me pops! It’s a start, and it softens the blow of the demon being attached to her.
I don’t see Tallisa in the crowd. She must be in her room. 
Thinking back to when I first saw her. I pegged her a brat. Imagining everyone doting on her. The center of attention. How could I have gotten it so wrong? No one has even noticed she’s left. 
Before I think better of it, I climb the stairs to her room and stand outside the door. It’s completely silent on the other side. Gently taping. I call her name, but she doesn’t answer. No surprise there.
A quick check tells me the door is locked. She should know locks don’t keep me out. Boundaries are for chivalrous men, not heinous like me.
I break it in one turn .
I won her by force once. I can do it again. It’s not time to give up. I see that now. It’s time to push harder than ever.
“Get out!”
She’s expecting me. Good.
“No. I don’t think I will, Tallisa.”
She rips the fluffy pink blanket off her bare legs and jumps out of her bed. She’s irresistible when she’s angry.
“If you don’t leave right now, I’m going to scream and cause a scene.”
I smile at that, moving toward her.
“I highly doubt they’d hear you over the music and excited conversations. It’s a party, pet.”
She snaps her teeth at me.
“Don’t call me pet!”
Tallisa backs up. When she bumps the bed, she circles. I follow her movements like she’s prey. In a way, she is.
“But you love it when I treat you like my pet. I reward you when you’re good and when you’re bad.”
I tilt my head sideways, looking at her backside. 
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me right now? Are you suggesting spanking me?”
I catch my tongue between my teeth. Mostly out of habit, but I happen to know it drives her wild.
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it, pet.”
She grinds her teeth and clenches her fists. Anger is good. It indicates emotion, feeling.  I’m still in the game. Now I just have to turn that anger into something more pliable. So, she realizes what I do. 
“Trouble sleeping? If memory serves me right, there was one thing that worked like a charm.”
I move closer still and she stops fighting. I’m not sure whether to be thankful or cautious. Her unpredictable actions are half the cause of my arousal.
I’m inches away, and she’s as still as frightened as a cat. The one thing I can always count on with something as wild as her is the pounce. Any second now, she’s going to choose. Fight or flight. Gods help me, but this is the most exciting part. I try to savor it just a little longer before pushing her to the breaking point. 
“Should I give it to you?”
She punches me square in the nose. It all feels familiar. I knew she’d pick a fight. She’s a natural redhead. It’s in their DNA.
No, not tears.  She’s not supposed to cry. 
“What could you possibly want from me? You’ve had my body, control, freedom... Why don’t you just leave me alone!”
Patience, I remind myself. She’s too young to understand her own feelings. She can’t begin to comprehend the complexity of mine. She’s too pure for that.
“Think for a moment Tallisa, is that what you really want? And truly want, not what you think you should want or what Jacob or Amanda tell you; what you think they would do. What do you want? On a primal level...  Answer with your heart and soul. Don’t restrict it by rules of society or examples of other decisions, not even your own. When you cut out the noise and labels. Only then, will you truly be happy.”
She scowls, turning away from me to face the window. It’s thick with smoke outside. Small fires gleam around the broken city like little balls of light. I wonder if she can now relate to it like I do. A city in ruins, yet still very alive, maybe more than ever.
“What I want is impossible.”
She’s so quiet and inordinately still. I come up behind her, surrounding her with my body. She drops her head in defeat. I want to consume her thoughts and stoke her desires. I’ve accepted my darkness; I want her to accept it, too. I know I’m no good for her, but I still want her. I’m selfish.
“Nothing is impossible, pet. Let me in and I’ll show you.”
I know what she wants. A happy ending. Everything a fairy tale gives you. Prince charming, a beautiful city stronger than ever. Eternal light and bellies full of bubbling laughter. She probably imagines little fucking birds chirping a cheery tune.
I need her in the darkness with me. To want to live there and bury her feet in the dirt to take root alongside mine. I’m going to show her how fucking boring it is in that castle she longs for. How anything can be created in darkness because I’ve glimpsed it in her.
Running my fingers through her hair, I pull her head back to expose her neck. Tallisa’s pulse quickens as I trace it with my tongue. She submits to me sweetly with a gust of air. I kiss away the salty drop of liquid riding down her cheek. Her eyes slip open. When they meet mine. I see that darkness. It’s a sliver. I’m going to feed it to be a fucking tree; thick and strong in the middle of her heart. She should be selfish. No one is going to give her what she needs but me.  
Dropping to my knees, I keep my eyes locked on hers, slipping my hands up the legs of her shorts. She’s naked and wet underneath. I shudder at the discovery.
“Stay with me Tallisa.”
Her eyes are back on mine. She squeezes my shoulders as the fabric slips down her legs. I spread her with my tongue.
This is ours. I’ll be her first and last. No other will know her this way. I’ll make sure of it. I rush up with her on my shoulders and lay her back on the bed; taking away her flimsy shirt. 
Time stops as I look down at her. She’s perfect. 
Mine. 
I savour her.
Every taste, touch, is different this time. I’m ingraining it all to memory. 
I lose time, awareness. This is for me. 
Her legs are wrapped around me, her nails digging into my shoulders as I pound inside her. I’m sweating. On the verge.
No, too soon. I slow down and take her mouth, delving in with same slow deep thrusts I’m giving her between her legs. The moan she lets slip nearly undoes me. This is my heaven and my hell. Here with her, inside her. It’s everything, light and dark. I never want to leave. 
Perfect. 
She comes sending me along with her. I can’t look away; I have to tell her. When her breathing slows and she opens her eyes, I say it.
“I love you.”
Her intake of air stops abruptly and there’s a slight widening to her eyes before she turns away from me.  I don’t expect to hear it back. I don’t expect her to let me hold her either, but she does. We fall asleep in silence. 
It’s enough.
For now.