Page 50 of Liberty

Chapter 20

LIBERTY

After Oak carriedme to bed, I lost myself to sleep, only awakening in the early hours of the morning when the sun rose above the horizon. Oak and Ellis both stood close by while they pulled on some pants. When they noticed me, Oak leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Go back to sleep, mo chuisle. We’re just getting coffee.” They left me with a kiss, and as much as I wanted to follow them, sleep still pulled at me, dragging me under into its blackness.

When I awoke again, my leg was thrown over a set of hard thighs, and my arm was draped over a muscled back. Who was under me, I wasn’t sure. My brain fog hadn’t cleared enough to figure that out, but I knew I enjoyed it immensely. I braved a downward exploration, discovering that the body under my own was completely naked.

“How many times exactly are you planning to squeeze my butt?” Sterling’s voice was rough with sleep.

“I was hoping I could figure out whose back I had attached myself to by identifying the butt,” I admitted, then added, “But I guess I haven’t mastered that skill yet.”

His body shook with a silent chuckle. “Apparently not.”

I forced my hands off his ass and up to his back, before I paused, my stomach retracting and growing nauseous at what I felt and wish I hadn’t. I peeled my body away from the bed, my hand going to my mouth as I looked on. I couldn’t even filter through the horrors I was feeling, the sadness, the shock.

As if he knew why I stopped, why my fingers were no longer stroking his skin, he said, “It was a different time, Liberty.”

The time shouldn’t matter. Humanity was humanity, life was life, and the monster who did this – he had lost a piece of that importance along the way. My fingers reached for him. A bizarre sense of needing to take away the pain blanketed me, but I suspected it was too late for that. I trailed my fingers over the jagged scars and deeply indented groves, the shallow pit marks, the deep engravings.

I opened my mouth to speak, to break the silence that had settled over us so heavily, and instead was choked by a sob. I covered my mouth again, trying to hide it but still unable to. “I’m sorry.”

I wasn’t sure why I was sorry. The scars, the past, the undeniable amount of pain he had to endure to have injuries that drastically stick with you after hundreds of years. How had I missed this last night? Sure, it was dark, and technically, his shirt was never entirely removed, but I shouldn’t have missed this. I shouldn’t have passed over something so drastic and devastating. His body rolled over onto his back, his hands found my hips, and pulled me over the space between us until I was straddling his hip. He reached a hand up and brushed my hair back, before using his thumb to wipe my eyes.

“My father wasn’t the best of man. He was awful, really. I used to hate the scars, but now it’s a reminder of a person I never want to be again. I won’t be weak or a victim without choice. People often think I’m arrogant, and I’ll admit, maybe I am. But I would rather be arrogant than show that I was once given less human decency than the animals that roamed our farmland.”

His eyes left my face and skimmed over my naked body. I hadn’t bothered to get dressed after the last round of rumpled sheets. I didn’t see the point when my body was so worn out. I could hardly stand, and all these men had seen every part of my body in depth. His fingers roamed from my hip to my nipple, flicking it gently before rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. His eyes found mine again. “You saved me last night.”

“If I recall, you saved me first.” I circled my finger on the skin of his abdomen, loving the way the muscles tightened and rolled under my touch.

“I would do it a thousand times.” He took my hand in his and brought my palms to his lips, kissing them.

I laughed. “You might have to.”

He smirked, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “At the rate you’re going, it might be a daily occurrence.”

I pulled my hand out of his to swat at his shoulder, and he laughed, causing the most delicious vibration at the junction of my thighs. Why the hell did I crave these men so much, especially now after I’d had them once? My body felt like it couldn’t get enough, as if it may never be satisfied again.

I lifted on my legs slightly before lowering myself slowly onto his length. His eyes closed, and he hissed as my body slowly dragged downward. When they opened again, they had a slight glow to them. I lifted and pushed back down, savoring the feel of his cock running against my inner nerves.

“Want to tell me what the glowing eyes are about?” I asked him.

He snorted as his hands came down to my thighs, his fingers digging roughly into the muscle. “Want to tell me how your blood healed me so quickly?”

His counter-question only confirmed what I already assumed. “You don’t know shit either, do you?”

“Nope.” He ended his answer with a low sound deep within his throat as he closed his eyes.

I leaned forward, kissing him slowly for a moment before pulling back and placing my hands on his chest, using his body as leverage. I asked as I moved over him, “Are you okay with it? I mean this?”

I had to question it. I fucked three people last night. Three. Together. Alone. I’d had three people in my body within the previous twenty-four hours, and I would usually be disgusted with myself over that fact, but I was not. If anything, having all of them felt so right that thinking one of them could reject whatever this was, made my eyes tear up. I craved them; I wanted them; I wanted to taste all of them.

I froze at the thought, knowing that thought wasn’t meant as some sexual licking. I wanted to literally feel their blood on my tongue and savor the richness as it dribbled down my throat. Below me, Sterling’s hips shifted as one of his eyebrows rose, questioning me for a moment. I continued my movement, promising to address this fact later.

He cleared his throat. “Am I okay sharing you, you mean?”

He flexed his hips below me, the movement driving every nerve from my core wild, sending shocks through the rest of my body.

“Yes.” The word came out on a gasp, and he chuckled.