Chapter 61

Chapter 61
 IRIS

I made a mistake. I am not a child. I can take my own damn medicine. The anger burning through my body made the pain less as I took my shower. The hot water and steam felt wonderful running over my skin. The sting it brought woke me up more and more as I stood underneath the large rain shower head. The steam clung to the air as I stood beneath the cascading water, my mind racing with an agonizing mix of anger and clarity. Each droplet seemed to peel away the veil of exhaustion, sharpening my focus as I grappled with the turmoil embedded deep within me. I clenched my fists, my determination hardening with every heartbeat, pushing back against the vulnerability that had threatened to consume me. As my skin tingled under the heat, I allowed my mind to wander to the choices I faced, each one a thread tied inextricably to shadows of my past and the weight of an uncertain future. When I finally stepped out, the mirror was fogged, its blurred surface an apt reflection of my current state—a woman caught between injury and resilience, innocence and experience, light and encroaching darkness. Wrapping myself in a towel, I took a steadying breath and vowed to face whatever came next with the fire that had been reignited within me, no matter how daunting the path ahead might be. 

When I walked out of the bathroom, I was in only a towel. Ryker walked in and stared at me for a moment before walking over to me. “You are so beautiful, Babygirl.” He grabbed me firmly around the waste and pulled me to him. I dropped the towel catching myself against him. “It is so hard to see you standing here, naked, delicious, and not being able to take what is mine.” I leaned my head back, exposing my neck to him. I had forgiven him as soon as he entered the room and looked at me like he does. I was silently begging him to stop treating me like some kind of broken victim. He took my signal and started kissing my neck softly. I moaned into the darkness. The light from the window making shadows on the wall. I watched as they moved with us, like the darkness inside of him, and the darkness hiding inside of me. He kissed my collarbone, being careful not to hit my bandages. Running his hand up my sides, he stopped abruptly, backing away. “I don’t want to hurt you, Iris.” He growled going to the drawer and finding me a t-shirt and pair of his boxers to put on. I knew it would hurt but I needed him to see that I was still his. I was still the same girl that stood vibrating from the toy he shared with me before all of this. I climbed up on the bed, careful not to show him my reactions to the pain. I laid back, spreading my legs to give him the full view of what he was missing. When he turned back around, he dropped the clothing on the floor. “What are you doing?” He said, this time his voice dark. I didn't speak. I ran my hand down my thigh shakily, reaching the slit where his eyes were stationed. I touched myself, rubbing the button that he loved to tease. He watched for a few moments as I pleasured myself before walking over to me. “I am going to take you now. Be quiet. I don't want to hear the pain... Only the pleasure...” He walked over to me, grabbing my hips and jerking me to the edge of the bed. “Do you understand?” He asked his voice finally back to the voice I had been longing to hear. “Yes, Daddy.” I panted.  

He placed the head of his shaft at my opening, and I saw a shimmer of hesitation in his eyes. “Take me, Daddy.” I begged when finally, he pulled me onto him hard. The pain was intense but in ways only added to the pleasure. I was no longer a victim. I was his again. The sexual temptation that he couldn’t walk away from. The young woman of his dreams that he couldn’t leave alone. I am the woman he loves, and he is the man I need to love me. The man I love. I was his. I knew in that moment; I undeniably belonged to Ryker Lorcane. I screamed out, but for the first time in so long it was in pleasure. “Did you want this, Babygirl? Did you want me to own you again?” His questions were like music in my ears, feeling my head with rhythm, and dancing with the beating of my heart. “Yes, Daddy. I am yours. I will always be yours.” I moaned the words as loudly as I could. I wanted the world to hear me. The men who hurt me, Ivy, even Theo. I wanted everyone to know that I belonged to Lorcane. When I was ready to explode, I looked up at him, biting my lip. “Ask me for permission.” He said sharply looking back down at me. I felt my toes curling and my body tensing as the burning sensation started to move from my feet to my head. “May I give you my release, Daddy?” I asked, my voice barely audible through my deep breaths. “Let’s get lost together Babygirl.” I nodded and as soon as he reached down to manipulate my trigger, I screamed out in pleasure. The orgasm felt like it lasted for hours, but I knew it had only been a few minutes. The aftershocks rocked me, making my legs shake, and my mind foggy, though it could have been the pain medicine doing that. 

He grabbed the towel and cleaned me up, placing the boxers over my feet and helping me to a standing position. “I fucking love you Iris.” He said as he slowly placed the t-shirt over my head. “I fucking love you too, Lorcane.” When he heard me use his last name his eyebrow raised. “I love you as Ryker, professor, daddy, and as Lorcane. To me, they are you. They are all a part of the only man I ever want inside of me. The only man I ever want to love.” I said kissing his cheek. “Do you know the darkness of Lorcane?” He said sitting down beside me on the bed.  “I do.” I said looking over at him with a small smile. “I also know Lorcane is a name of someone who is feared and respected. Someone who will do absolutely anything to protect what he loves. He is someone who the worse criminal knows not to fuck with.” I said trying to show him that I truly did know and understand who he was. He was like my father. He was like I was, before I left Ohio. I was a monster though, in ways, and he is a vigilante. He tilted his head looking confused. I giggled a little before standing up from the bed and facing him. “I have a darkness too Daddy. She is on the verge of coming back to the surface. I hope you can accept me as the not so innocent young Iris as well.” I kissed him and headed for the bar.