Phantom: A Dark Retelling (Tattered Curtain Series)

Scarlett

My heart is pounding like a bass drum as I position myself on all fours facing the piano. On my right, the fireplace is warm on my skin, and so is Sol when he settles behind me, his hands on either side of my hips. His hard length prods my opening, and he waits for a moment, teasing it until I realize this is my cue.

“Yes, Sol, please fuck me—”

Before I can even finish, he drives in to the hilt. I cry out his name in a delicious mix of pain and pleasure. “I’m so full.”

“Your pussy strangles my cock, Scarlett. I can’t go a week without being inside you again. Do you understand?”

I nod adamantly. “Please. I can’t either.”

He pumps in and out at a quick speed and the sounds of our skin slapping together makes my clit tingle. I dig my fingers into the rug to meet him thrust for thrust. It takes me no time at all to find that pulsing flame in my core, and it builds into a bonfire. My back curls up like a cat as I try to get him to massage that special spot inside me so I can explode.

Sol pulls my hair like reins, forcing me to straighten, and easily finds that explosive spot, coaxing a moan from my lips. His cock drives into me over and over, taking me so close to my peak. One arm snakes up over my breasts and he suddenly slows, dragging the tip up and down. I cry out at the new, thorough pace and he turns my jaw to the side as he kisses up my neck. His other hand slides between my legs and swirls around my clit. The angle has him so deep inside of me that I can feel an ache in my core every time he thrusts up. The exquisite sensation begins to build and my nipples peak into diamonds against his forearm.

“Whenever you’re about to come, your entire body tenses around me. Do you love that feeling, Scarlett?”

His hand drifts down my throat before leaving my skin, while his other keeps working my clit and that exact feeling takes over my body, tightening my muscles in my core, my ass, and my thighs.

“Yes, I love it. And I love that you are the one who gives it to me,” I answer honestly.

He shivers against my back, still stroking in and out of my pussy. I stretch to thread my fingers through his soft, black strands and tilt to the side to see his midnight eye sparkling at me. My other hand clings to his forearm, and my fingertips move with his muscles as he works to tease my clit. I let go of his hair to caress the sensitive skin on his face. His body vibrates around me as we intertwine tighter and tighter.

He kisses me harshly and his tongue plunges into my mouth to brush mine. I moan at the taste of warm Sazerac, and emotion blooms in my chest as the kiss turns tender. When he pulls away, I meet his gaze again.

“I love you, Sol.” His thrusts pause and his finger stills on my clit, so I move my hips to keep going as I confess to him. “I loved you when you were only music sheets, roses, and letters. You’ve been here for me longer than I ever knew. I never want to let you go again. I want to be yours.”

The words feel beautifully final as they leave my lips.

His right hand strokes my jaw once. “Forever? One love, beyond this lifetime?”

“Forever with you, Sol, my demon of music.”

His fingers leave my jaw and he leans toward the fire. Before I can see what he’s doing, he captures my lips and drives inside me until my orgasm flares to life again. Each thrust is consistent and hard. His fingers swirl quickly over my clit and my inner muscles squeeze around his shaft.

He breaks our kiss and whispers against my lips. “If you make this promise, I’ll never let you go again, little muse. You are swearing to love me forever.” He pauses briefly before continuing. “You’ll have to wear my mark.”

“I swear it,” I promise instantly before licking my lips and making my decision. “I want to wear your mark.”

The words rush out of me just as I reach my peak. A moan escapes me as I come, and he kisses my neck while he leans us upright again and his hand returns from the fireplace.

“Good,” he mutters before kissing the tender skin between my neck and shoulder.

I cry out his name as pleasure racks my body with shivers and I fall, fall, fall into bliss thanks to his talented fingers and primal thrusts.

Until searing pain ripples up my body, radiating from the sensitive skin on my right hip bone.

“Sol!” I scream his name and scratch at his arms and neck, trying to writhe away from the burn, even while my pussy squeezes him tight as I come.

“That’s it, Scarlett. Claw into me, little muse. Give me new scars,” he growls against my neck.

He takes my beating and holds on to me with his viselike grip on my hip while still massaging my clit. His guttural groan vibrates against my back and fills my ear while his last thrust spills deep inside me.

My body convulses with agony, but his finger on that bundle of nerves draws out the ecstasy in my orgasm. When I’ve finally come down, he wraps his arms around me in a tight embrace and the scalding burn in my hip cools to a stinging ache. My orgasm must’ve helped temper whatever caused it, cloaking it in a veil of pleasure. He pumps gently inside me and it takes me a second to realize he’s singing that French lullaby in his soothing bass.

I breathe through the pain and pleasure while he holds me, keeping his cock nestled in my pussy. He maneuvers us to lie on our sides to face the fireplace. I rest my head on his bicep and he leans over me from behind to wipe tears I hadn’t known were spilling from my cheeks.

“Shh. Shh. You did so good for me. You’re mine now. You did so good.”

He traces featherlight circles around the tender skin with his right hand. Even before I glance down, I know what I’ll find, but my eyes widen anyway at the puckered indent of a skull above my right hip bone.

“Did he brand you… The most loyal get branded.”

“Sol,” I whisper. My heart flutters in my chest. “You branded me with your ring?”

As if he’s expecting me to flee, his arms tighten around me, locking me against him, and he hums the lullaby louder before answering.

“You promised me love beyond a lifetime, little muse,” he reasons. “You’re mine now and you can’t go back. You said you’d wear my mark, and this is what it takes to be one of ours. To be mine.”

I settle in his arms and an overwhelming flood of warmth fills my chest as his words sink in. I’d agreed to wear his mark, although I admit that I wasn’t sure what that would mean exactly or when it would occur. The pain isn’t gone, but the worst of it was only a fleeting moment thanks to my orgasm. His voice is low but rushed as he keeps going, obviously worried I’ll flee or fight him.

“I couldn’t tell you or the pain would’ve been worse. I’m sorry for the deception.” He wipes my tears again and I nod, allowing him to curl around me to soothe me. His masculine leather and Sazerac scent fill my nose, helping to calm me, and his cock pulses against my inner muscles.

My skin tingles as I realize that Sol is inside me still, surrounding me with his body, and filling me. He’s made his indelible mark on my mind, body, and soul. Now with this brand, I’ll be forever tied to him.

Lingering tension in my chest releases for the first time since I left Sol in the tunnels last week. A sense of peace settles over me. I rest my hand over his forearm banded around my chest and squeeze. The hard muscles enveloping me relax as he realizes I’ve forgiven him, too.

“I love you, my démon de la musique.”

“I love you, my muse,” he purrs against my neck and kisses it.

I am Sol Bordeaux’s, and I can never be free.

And I’ve finally accepted that I don’t want to be.