Theirs to Protect - Julia Sykes Page 0,11

my possessive stare, and dark pleasure gathered at the base of my spine. I released Ashlyn’s hip, grinding my thumb over her clit in a demanding rhythm to force the orgasm from her taut body.

She screamed out her climax, and her inner muscles contracted around my cock. Joseph’s jaw went slack as I roared out my release, lashing hot seed deep inside the woman I loved. Ashlyn went limp beneath me, and her broken moan wrapped around me, binding me to her.

I kept Joseph bound in my fierce, greedy gaze as I roughly rode out the last of my orgasm, giving them every last drop of my pleasure, even as I claimed them both.

I drove into Ashlyn’s trembling body one last time, finishing on a growl.

“Marco.” This time, Joseph barely breathed my name, as though it’d gotten crushed in his constricted lungs. His wide eyes flashed with something like pain before his slack jaw firmed, sharp enough to cut.

Realization slowly descended, a cascade of icy water that froze every inch of my heated flesh. When he’d said my name the first time, Joseph’s low tone had been a warning. His wide eyes had conveyed shock and concern. Now, that concern had darkened to worry as his attention dropped to Ashlyn. His full focus centered on her, shutting me out. He caressed her cheek and gently brushed her sweat-dampened hair back from her brow, lifting her face to inspect her.

The black beast that lived inside me sank its claws into my heart, tearing me apart. I gritted my teeth against the agony and slowly withdrew from her. My fingers had imprinted on her pale skin, and my chest hollowed out when I saw the bright red streak on my dick: evidence of the damage I’d inflicted on her delicate body.

Joseph’s sharp intake of breath sliced into my heart, and I couldn’t bear to meet his horrified gaze. I stumbled away from them, our bedroom spinning around me in a sickening blur. I forced my shaking legs to carry me into the bathroom, where I could wash away the evidence of my sin. Joseph’s voice wavered around my consciousness in steady, soothing tones as he comforted Ashlyn.

I shut the door behind me, putting a protective barrier between my darkness and their light. I’d told myself that I could draw on that darkness to keep them safe, but it’d consumed me the moment I surrendered to it. The toxic taint of my enemy’s blood on my hands burned deep into my bones. I stepped into the shower and cranked the water as hot as it would go, as though I could scour all my sins from my soul.

Chapter Four

Joseph

I shoved my shock at Marco’s behavior deep in my chest, allowing all my tenderness and love for Ashlyn to take top priority. Our scene just now had been intense, and she needed extra praise and coddling to ensure she didn’t drop. It’d been too long since we’d engaged in rougher play, and clearly, Marco had more pent-up emotions than I did.

I knew he hadn’t been so aggressive because he was sexually frustrated; this was something far more complicated. As I stroked Ashlyn’s sweat-slicked skin and silken hair, the alarm that’d gripped me when Marco lost control began to ease. Our girl wasn’t hurt. Not really. Occasional tremors rolled through her delicate frame, but a small smile curved her lush lips, and her features were relaxed and serene. Marco and I had pulled back from rougher play because we wanted to give her space to focus on her studies. That’d obviously been a mistake. She needed the release from all that stress, the responsibility.

I’d seen the blood on Marco, but now that I held Ashlyn in my arms, now that she snuggled into me with such sweet trust and contentment, my concern began to fade. It wasn’t the first time this had happened. I’d made her bleed a little before, and it wasn’t serious or lasting damage. It’d been a while since I’d taken her ass, and it wasn’t uncommon for her to need a couple of sessions to adjust to the stretch again.

Marco was thicker than me, and he’d been fucking her as punishment, taking her into her submissive headspace with a demanding touch. She’d needed it. She’d loved every second of it, even the more painful aspects.

I just wasn’t used to seeing Marco handle her like that. He was stern and uncompromising in his discipline, but I was usually the one who needed