Effie only lasted another half hour at the event before pleading a headache to escape the suffocating party. She paid for her purchases but refused to take them with her, making a fuss until the owner – only too eager to please and court a prestigious customer base – agreed to have them delivered the next day. She waved Seneca off when he tried to walk her back to the car, knowing he would probably want to go out for late drinks.
She was eager to get home.
She was eager to get back to something that was paradoxically less and more complicated.
She spent the whole drive smocking and playing with her phone, wishing the driver would speed up a little, wondering if Haymitch would be there or…
She would have asked Darius first thing once she had reached her building's lobby but Darius was gone. The night shift was Thread's prerogative and Effie disliked the man. He was a professional doorman – right down to refusing to be called by his first name – but he also had cold eyes, was not particularly nice and seemed to despite humanity as a whole.
He nodded at her and answered her polite greeting with one of his own but it was usually the extent of their exchanges. She didn't find it in her to ask if Haymitch was there because she didn't want him to see her devastation if he wasn't.
She regretted not asking once the elevator doors had closed in front of her. Would Thread have let Haymitch up? She was certain Darius would have passed along her instructions but… With that man you simply never knew. Sometimes he liked being contradictory on purpose.
To distract herself, she tried to imagine what kind of soulmate words Thread could have to have become such a cruel bitter man. And then she decided it wasn't that funny and nervously tapped her foot against the floor, her gaze glued to the red numbers flashing by.
She had a few neighbors but she never saw them. Most of them were famous just as she was, other were simply rich, few actually lived there. The apartments were investments more than anything else. The penthouse had been too at first, before she had seen it, fallen in love and decided to keep it for herself to her father's dismay – he had bought the property with her money with the hope of turning them into offices and selling them with a nice profit margin.
When the door opened, she strutted in, ready to make a show for the man no doubt eagerly waiting for her…
No one was waiting in front of the elevator. Of course. She couldn't expect him to stand there all night when he didn't know when she would be back.
The penthouse was dark though and it made her anxiety rise up as she made her way to the living-room. He had sent messages earlier, he hadn't cut her out. He wouldn't… Would he? What did she know about him when all was said and done? That he was her soulmate? Would that stop him from leaving her behind without…
The living-room's light automatically flickered on when she stepped in and tossed her clutch on the kitchen counter.
There was a groan from the couch and, when she peered in that direction, she spotted two sock clad feet propped up on the armrest. Relief washed over her, so powerful her legs almost gave in.
He must have fallen asleep and the motion sensor had stopped detecting him and had turned the lights off. It happened sometimes.
With a smile on her lips, she walked around the couch and could only smile harder when she found him lying on his back, an arm tossed over his eyes, his button-up shirt already half undone. Clearly he had made himself comfortable.
She didn't resist the urge to sit down on the small space left between his hip and the edge of the couch. She leaned down slowly and pressed a soft kiss on his lips. He responded to it lazily, without taking his arm off his face or making an effort to greet her properly.
"What did I say about startling me?" he grumbled against her lips. "All the more so when I sleep?"
"I knew you were not asleep." she argued, stealing a new peck and another one just because she could. Kissing felt so good. She felt so much better already. All the strain from earlier, the stress… It was washing out, chased by his lips.
"You knew that, yeah?" he mocked, finally taking his arm away from his face only to wrap it around her waist. His eyes were tired and she figured he had been asleep before she had walked in and woken him up.
"Yes, I did." she insisted in a matter-of-fact sort of voice. "I am also giving you fair warning that I am going to straddle you in a second."
She almost expected a protest because he had been quite clear earlier that morning that it would take time for him to trust her enough to accept it but while his body tensed a little, he didn't object so she went on with her plan and slowly slipped a leg on the other side of his hips. There wasn't much space and her calf was digging into the back of the couch but the discomfort wasn't enough to stop her.
His smirk was a slow sexy thing. "Nice view. Would be better if you were naked."
She pursed her lips to fight her smile, knowing her twinkling eyes probably betrayed her. "Would it? Perhaps you should do something about that, then."
In a moment he was sitting, his legs bent behind her and she was propped up, trapped between his chest and his thighs, sitting on something that was quickly hardening. His mouth found her neck and he made a sound of annoyance when he tasted the heavy layer of foundation that had been necessary to cover the bite marks. He touched her hair, tried to bury his fingers in the hairdo and sort of froze only to slowly drew back, holding his hand in the air. He studied it with a disgusted face.
"Tell me the truth, sweetheart…" he taunted. "Did the hairspray can survive?"
She shoved him back, huffing with irritation, but he didn't let himself get pushed away. He chuckled, the sound a rough rumble that came from deep in his chest, and buried his face between her breasts, her arms encircling her to keep her in place.
"Are you going to call me by a clown name again?" she asked, her lips pursed, trying to resist the urge to drop her head back because he was nuzzling the dress down and it felt really good.
"Trying not to." he deadpanned. "But you make it hard."
"Yes, I do seem to make things hard for you, do I not?" She grinned a salacious grin and found her vengeance by rotating her hips slowly, tearing a groan from his throat.
He looked up, propping his chin on her chest. "You're still sore?"
He asked it casually, as if it wasn't a big deal at all if she was, as if he wasn't quickly becoming hard for her… As if he wasn't so desperate to fuck her right there and then…
She could feel it.
The power of his lust.
She could feel it inside her chest and it was so weird and so wonderful at the same time… It was a vague echo to her own desires but it felt so good to know he wanted her, that he wanted her so much he was actually showing restrain. He wanted her. Just like that. No… She realized a heartbeat later, not just like that but anywhere, everywhere. In any shape or form. Wherever she would let him have her. However she would let him have her. He wanted her.
"Hey." he said, sounding alarmed and she didn't understand why until he cupped her cheeks in his hands, his thumbs retracing the hard lines of her cheekbones. She was crying. "Hey, hey… Sweetheart, it's fine… If you're not up to it, we don't do anything. No problem. Come on, stop…"
He sounded so awkwardly out of his depths, so sorry to have made her cry… She shot forward and kissed him hard, still crying a little, trying to convey just how much she wanted him back. Because she did. All of him. All the time. Anywhere and everywhere. In any shape or form. However he would let her have him. She wanted him.
It was a scary realization to make after only twenty-four hours of acquaintance but something slid in place for her at that moment. Perhaps she hadn't truly understood what having a soulmate meant before. She had recognized the concept, had a vague idea of what it entailed, but, right then, she felt it.
There was no sound, no light show, nothing outwardly changed… And yet she knew the bond had finally settled. On her end at least.
Was it because of the aggressive kissing or the unexpected surge of feelings through the bond she didn't know but Haymitch dropped down on his back again, taking her with him, kissing back harder if possible… He was overwhelmed. She knew he was overwhelmed. She was overwhelmed too. The whole bond was overwhelmed.
She barely noticed when he rolled her under him because she was too busy tangling her fingers in his hair to keep him close, to keep his mouth on hers.
"Mine." he growled against her lips. He had claimed her once already, earlier that day in the bakery, and she felt the same shiver of pleasure at the possessive tone. It was stronger this time, though, because of the words he didn't say. The words that still echoed clearly in her head, in his voice.
Mine to protect.
Mine to keep.
"Mine." She heard the word slip out but was barely conscious of it. She nibbled down on his bottom lip until he allowed her entrance again.
Mine to keep.
Mine to love.
He must have heard her thoughts – or at least a weird echo of her thoughts – because his head shot back suddenly and he stared at her, his breathing hard and labored.
Panic was obvious on his face but no matter how much she tried to reach through the connection between them, she couldn't tell what else he was feeling. Somehow, she suspected they had fried the bond.
She slowly, very slowly as not to spook him, strained her neck until she could peck his lips. Her mouth was tingling from the kisses, her chin itched from the stubble burn… She drew him back. Peck by peck. Until he closed his eyes and kissed her again, his whole body sagging as if in an inevitable surrender.
It became frantic after that.
She couldn't remember taking his shirt off but she must have because soon it was skin under her palms, the faint scars on his back she hadn't yet had time to explore. She opened her legs for him, bracketing his hips as he romped against hers. Her soulmate words rubbing against the rough fabric of his pants…
His mouth was everywhere. Her neck, her chest…
She wanted to reach for him but she couldn't get to his belt when he was lying on top of her like that…
"I need you…" she eventually whined, not even caring how pathetic she must have sounded.
The straps of fabric that made up the lower part of her dress were getting in the way and he growled in irritation. She had the very strong suspicion he was about to tear the dress in two and when he grabbed the fabric a little less carefully that it probably deserved, she gripped his wrists, some sanity slowly coming back…
"Wait." she urged. He didn't like that. He grumbled and rubbed against her quicker. He was really hard now and probably more than ready. "Haymitch, that dress costs a lot of money and it's a loan. I will be in trouble if we damage it."
That seemed to do the trick. He rolled off her with a groan and almost tumbled off the couch in the process. It must have cleared his head a little though because he slowly sat up and stared at her.
"I'm gonna say it again…" he scoffed as she stood up. "This soulmate thing's making me crazy."
"You and I both." she laughed, easily locating the hidden zipper. She carefully eased out of the dress before draping it over the back of an armchair. It wasn't the sexiest striptease but at least she wasn't in any danger of having to explain why the overpriced dress was damaged. When she turned back, Haymitch's eyes were wide as saucers, his pants were open and he had a hand inside his underwear. The way he was looking at her… "What is it?"
He looked debauched, sitting there bare-chested touching himself with a collection of bite marks all over his torso. She loved the sight.
"You don't have underwear." he commented.
She wasn't sure if he sounded astonished or shocked or appreciative.
She automatically ran her hand over her bare breast and let it travel down to her sex. "It would have showed."
He licked his lips and kept staring, his hand moving up and down in a steady rhythm. "You went out without panties."
"I… often do." she confessed, tilting her head to the side, not quite sure of what was going on.
"It wasn't even a real dress." he said. "Could see your legs when you walked."
Ah. So that was the issue.
As if she would ever risk accidentally showing something nobody should see… Although Seneca might love the idea. An accident like that would guarantee some publicity…
"It is designed that way." she dismissed, strutting back toward him. "It was perfectly secured, I promise."
She tried to sit back down on his lap but his hands shot to her hips and held her up. Then his nose was nuzzling her pubic bone.
"Mine." he grumbled. He breathed against her sensitive skin and she automatically widened her stance a little. "All mine…"
He licked her soulmate words. Her inner thigh had never been that sensitive and it shouldn't have been that erotic. His teeth nipped at the skin and her head flew back. She grabbed his shoulders for purchase even as he properly moved his head between her legs.
It didn't take long for him to make her come and when she did, it was so powerful, her legs almost gave in. He kissed up her stomach, her ribs…
She felt dazed when he stood up and she could only wrap her arms around his neck, bury her face in his shoulder… He picked her up bridal style and she let him, forgetting to worry about the strain to his injury, forgetting to worry about anything but the skin that wasn't readily accessible to her lips…
He placed her down on her bed but remained standing to the side and she whimpered in protest, her arms stretched out for him, her legs indecently open in the oldest invite in the world…
Her brain eventually processed what the delay was about when she saw him take off his pants, underwear and socks. Then he was on her again, probing at her entrance and she sighed in bliss.
"Gorgeous…" he muttered, kissing her neck, her jaw, her ear… "So gorgeous…"
The word was a balm on a wound that had opened earlier in the car. She didn't want to think about the Escort right then though. She didn't want think about anything that wasn't this right there.
When she felt him reach for the bedside drawer, looking for condoms, she placed a hand on his arm, reached between them for his erection…
"Don't…" she whispered. "I want to feel you… I want to feel you…"
He paused and, for a second, she was sure he would let her have her way.
"You're on the pill?" he asked.
"I…" she hesitated, not sure how to explain. She was on the pill but she wasn't as diligent about it as was wise. Not that it mattered anyway because… But there was no way to explain all that in a few sentences and…
"It's alright, princess…" he replied, his voice rough and soothing. "You said you weren't sure it was a good idea yesterday…"
Because she wasn't sure she was clean, the voice of reason that was buried under pleasure supplied.
He didn't make it sound reproachful though, just a statement of fact.
She let out a disappointed sigh but nuzzled his shoulder, gently pumping him up and down until he found the condom. They rolled it on together.
When he entered her, her eyes rolled back.
The soulmate bond made its comeback, full force. She could feel Haymitch's pleasure on top of her own and it was…
Too much…
Too much…
"Fuck…" he panted in her ear. "Fuck, fuck, fuck… I'm gonna… Effie, I'm sorry I've got…"
She wasn't anywhere near ready to come but when he found his release, his pleasure was so overwhelming that it took her with it. It was odd. Not quite an orgasm but just as powerful. And that bliss it triggered in her was reflected back right to him which in turn sent her back right to her… The loop was never ending and far too much…
She passed out.
Possibly Effie is brain dead now XD Did you enjoy this chapter? Let me know!
There won't be an update for this story next week and there won't be any update for vampires for two week-ends! I shall be back on the 18th all things willing!
