By the time we're finished, I feel beyond grimy, there is dried blood caking my skin, sweat making me feel slick, and mud in places I didn't know existed. I feel like I'm the one who's been buried, and I've had to claw my way out of the earth as I watch Tristan pat down the soil with the back of his shovel.
“Christ, let's not do this again,” he groans, finally happy with his father's burial spot.
“The burying or the murder?” I chuckle as I brush my hair out of my face and stretch my back. I am sore and achy in a way that usually only ballet does for me, and I don't mind. I feel calm.
"The digging. Let's just hire someone next time, The Reapers can take care of it." At the mention of The Reapers, I shiver, it was what some people in The Society called members of the Grim family, and even though my mother was a Grim, the others still made me nervous.
“Let's just avoid there being a next time.” I raise an eyebrow at him as I take both shovels and head towards the shed.
“Be realistic, Lena.” He gives me a look, swinging the axe casually as he follows.
“I know.” There was no escaping our way of life, not if we wanted to escape with our lives.
Once everything is back where it should be, Tristan texts Atlas, who arranges a clean-up crew to come tomorrow, and we head upstairs. On the bed are the clothes Tristan gave me earlier, and I almost groan when I see them. I can't wait to get out of this stupid fucking corset and shower. I wriggle, trying to unlace myself but not getting very far when I feel Tristan's warm hands on skin.
“Here, let me help.” He tugs at the ribbons and struggles with the tiny hooks, cursing as he frees me. “What did they have to do to stuff you in this fucking thing? Lena, the skin on your ribs is raw.”
I push the remains of my gown all the way off, not caring that I’m standing in front of him naked as he runs his fingers over my back carefully. Shrugging, I look down and see the marks. “Yeah, the boning has been cutting in all night.”
“Why didn't you say something?” he demands, turning me to face him.
“Because I had other things going on,” I reply nonchalantly, or did he forget the whole drama of this evening?
He cups my face, and I should be annoyed, but I love it. “This stops now. Your health comes first. What you want comes first. No more stupid diets or hobbies that, honestly, you suck at. The violin, for Christ’s sake.”
I snort at the way he hisses ‘violin’, I wasn’t as bad as he made out. Looking up at him from beneath my eyelashes, I whisper, “Does that include college?”
Placing a hand under my chin, he tilts my head up and looks at me as if I was asking a stupid question. “Of course it does. What a waste of your big brain otherwise.”
Taking a step back, he strips off his own filthy shirt and pants, he’d already disposed of his jacket and vest earlier. “And besides, I wouldn't mind being a stay-at-home parent while my wife is out, busy making money using her expensive education.”
I almost gag. “Parent and wife are not words I am ready for tonight, so please, shut up.”
Grabbing my hip, he pulls me back flush against his naked body. I can feel his erection against my stomach as he leans down and whispers, “Make me, Princess.”
I murmur against his mouth, “Why are you such a brat, Tris?”
“Because you love it.” And he’s right. I do.
Chapter Eighteen
Tristan
Lena gets off on being in charge, and I get off on seeing her get off, so it’s a win for me no matter what happens. No other girl has dared to pull my hair, bite me, or tell me that I’m being a fucking douchebag, but Lena does, and that’s why I love her.
I lift her, wrapping her legs around my waist as I move us into the bathroom. The waiting is killing me as I turn on the water and move her under the warm jets. If I’d had my way, I would’ve thrown her on the bed and we would be fucking already, but I know she’s feeling shitty, and I don’t want our first time to be rushed and dirty, and not in a good way.
She unwraps herself from me as I grab a cloth. Slowly, I move down her body, washing away the blood and dirt. Cupping one of her tits, I pretend to wash the other one as she laughs. Taking her nipple in my mouth, I suck before flicking my tongue over the nub roughly. I move the washcloth down over her stomach, before sliding it between her legs. She moans softly at the friction as I drag the material over her skin and down her thighs, her nipple still between my teeth. The water running down her body makes everything slippery and silky as I drop the cloth and replace it with my fingers. She gasps as I slide two fingers inside her for the second time that night. My thumb trails lazy circles over her clit as my fingers slip in and out of her tight cunt. Fuck, I think I could come just from watching as her hips roll, her tight stomach muscles rippling as her tits bounce and her body shudders. Her dancer's body is perfection. Teasing her nipple, I can’t get over the noises she makes, her moan is like a drug, and I want that shit recorded and played on repeat.
Hand in my hair, Lena yanks my head back, but it isn’t to chastise me for being rough.
She pulls me up, the sting of my scalp making it all the more delicious as she claims my mouth.
