Chapter 77 Chapter Seventy-six
ARA
In full view of the nurses, the security team, and the police, Thayne kissed me like fire meeting gasoline.
Violent. Consuming. Utterly unforgiving.
Like he was trying to remember. No, like he had remembered and was terrified of losing it again.
My breath left me in a broken gasp as his hands framed my face, thumbs brushing my cheeks with a familiarity that made my knees go weak.
The kiss wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t careful.
It was hunger and fury and relief tangled together, his mouth moving against mine like he was anchoring himself to something real. To me.
I clutched his shirt, my fingers curling into the fabric like it was the only thing keeping me upright.
The hospital disappeared. The chaos, the blood, the guns, the fear…. it all blurred into nothing but the heat between us.
He tasted the same. That realization shattered something inside my chest.
Thayne Slade didn’t kiss like this unless he meant it. Unless it was personal. Unless it mattered.
His forehead dropped to mine, breath heavy, his lips still brushing mine as if he couldn’t quite let go.
“I remember,” he murmured so low only I could hear it. “All of it. I remember all the times I claimed you. All the different ways I claimed you.”
My heart slammed so hard it hurt.
Before I could speak, hurried footsteps interrupted us.
“Sir.” One of Thayne’s personal escorts stopped short when he saw us. “We’ve been looking for you. There’s an emergency—”
Thayne didn’t even turn.
“I’m not leaving,” he said flatly.
“Sir—”
“I said I’m not leaving.” His arm tightened around my waist, as if the man was going to steal me from him. “Whatever it is can wait.”
The guard hesitated. No one ever argued with Thayne Slade when he sounded like that.
Millie was in Mollie's ward, half-asleep against Mollie's shoulder, both of them watching Thayne like he’d just stepped out of a fairytale written in blood and sirens.
“I’ll stay,” Thayne continued, eyes finally lifting. “Here. With them.”
Something in the escort’s expression shifted. Surprise. Then understanding.
“Yes, sir,” he said quietly, stepping back.
Thayne exhaled slowly, then pressed his lips to my temple. Fuck, what I wouldn't give for us to continue from where we stopped.
We didn’t leave the hospital until morning.
Thayne barely slept, spending most of the night pacing, making calls in hushed tones, checking on Mollie every hour like he didn’t trust the world not to try something again.
When we finally returned home, exhaustion sat heavy in my bones, but it didn’t last.
The news came just after noon. Ethan ‘Slade’ had escaped police custody.
There were no signs of no forced entry. No alarms triggered.
Just… gone. I stared at the television screen, dread pooling in my stomach.
Thayne didn’t look surprised. His jaw tightened, eyes darkening with something that looked dangerously close to satisfaction.
“We both know how,” I said quietly.
He nodded only once.
“My father,” he confirmed. “He always cleans his messes.”
A chill ran through me. Because Ethan wasn’t just missing. He was free.
And if Thayne’s father had pulled him out, it meant one thing and one thing only…
This wasn’t over. Not even close.
Thayne's eyes locked on mine, dark and stormy, the news of Ethan's escape hanging between us like a noose.
But right now, it didn't matter. Nothing did except the heat building in his gaze, the way his body tensed like a predator scenting prey.
He crossed the room in two strides, his hands finding my waist and yanking me against him. "I need you. Now."
I didn't resist, I couldn't, even if I wanted to. My body remembered him too well, craved the way he took control.
His mouth crashed down on mine, teeth nipping at my lower lip, tongue invading my mouth with a possessiveness that made my core clench.
He backed me toward the bedroom, shedding clothes as we went, his shirt first, then mine, buttons popping in his haste.
By the time we hit the bed, I was down to my panties, and he was kicking off his pants, his cock springing free, hard and thick, veins pulsing with need.
Thayne pushed me onto the mattress, his body covering mine, but he didn't enter me yet.
No, he was going to savor this. Ravish me, like he always did when the world tried to tear us apart.
His lips trailed fire down my neck, sucking hard enough to leave marks, no, claims.
"You're mine," he murmured against my skin. "Every inch. And I'm going to remind you.”
He moved lower, hands cupping my breasts, thumbs circling my nipples until they peaked under his touch.
I arched into him, moaning softly as his mouth closed over one, tongue flicking, teeth grazing.
The slight swell of my belly, though it was barely noticeable, didn't slow him. If anything, it fueled him, his hand splaying protectively over it for a moment before sliding down.
"Spread for me," he commanded, his voice low and commanding.
I did, parting my thighs as he hooked his fingers into my panties and tore them off.
The cool air hit my exposed skin, but his breath was hotter, teasing as he settled between my legs.
His eyes met mine before his tongue delved in.
Oh God. He devoured me like a man starved, lips sealing over my clit, sucking with relentless pressure while his fingers parted my folds.
One digit slipped inside, then two, curling to hit that spot that made stars explode behind my eyes.
I bucked against his face, hands fisting in his hair, but he pinned my hips down with his free arm, forcing me to take every lick, every thrust.
"Thayne….fuck…” I gasped, my body trembling as pleasure built, coiling tight.
He hummed against me, the vibration sending me over the edge.
I came hard, crying out, my thighs clamping around his head as waves crashed through me.
He rose up, his full, delicious lips glistening with me, a feral grin on his face. "Your turn, baby."
Before I could catch my breath, he flipped us, me on top, straddling his chest.
He guided me forward until I was hovering over his mouth again. He pulled me higher, but then shifted, urging me to turn.
"Face the other way," he said huskily. "I want to taste you while you suck me."
Heat flushed through me at the command. I obeyed, positioning myself in a sixty-nine, my knees on either side of his head.
His cock bobbed inches from my lips, pre-cum beading at the tip.
I leaned down, taking him in my mouth, swirling my tongue around the head as he groaned beneath me.
Then his mouth was back on me, tongue thrusting deep, lapping at my oversensitive clit.
I moaned around his length, taking him deeper, hollowing my cheeks as I bobbed.
He was thick, filling my mouth, and the dual sensation, giving and receiving, had me grinding against his face, chasing another high.
His hands gripped my ass, spreading me wider as he worked me relentlessly. I felt him throb in my mouth, his hips bucking slightly, but he held back, focusing on me.
When I came again, it was muffled around him, my body shaking as I swallowed him deeper.
"Enough," he rasped, pulling me off him before he lost control. He flipped me onto my back with effortless strength, settling between my thighs in missionary.
His eyes bored into mine as he notched himself at my entrance. "Look at me while I fuck you, Arayna.”
He thrust in deep, filling me completely in one stroke.
I cried out, my nails digging into his shoulders as he set a punishing rhythm.
Each drive was intense, his hips snapping against mine, the slap of skin echoing in the room.
He ravished me, one hand bracing beside my head, the other roaming, pinching my nipple, then sliding down to rub my clit in circles.
"You're so wet for me,” he growled, pounding harder. "Even now, carrying my child, you're mine to take."
The words sent me spiraling, my walls clenching around him as another orgasm built.
He felt it, thrusting deeper, grinding against that spot inside until I shattered, screaming his name.
But he didn't stop. Sweat slicked our bodies as he pulled out, flipping me onto my stomach.
"On your knees," he ordered.
I complied, ass up, head down, still trembling from the aftershocks.
He positioned himself behind me, one hand on my hip, the other teasing my back entrance. "You want this?" he asked, voice dark with lust. "All of me?"
"Yes," I whispered, pushing back against him. "Please."
He grabbed lube from the nightstand, always prepared, and slicked himself, then me, his fingers probing gently at first, then deeper, stretching me.
I moaned into the pillow, the mix of pleasure and slight burn making me ache for more.
Then he was there, pressing in slowly, inch by inch, until he was buried to the hilt.
"Fuck, so good," he hissed, holding still for a moment to let me adjust.
His phone vibrated insistently on the nightstand, a harsh buzz cutting through the wet sounds of skin on skin.
Thayne froze mid-thrust, buried to the hilt in my ass, his fingers digging hard enough into my hips to bruise.
His chest heaved against my back, sweat-slick and scorching.
The sudden stillness felt violent after the relentless pounding he’d been giving me.
I felt him throb inside me once, then twice before he snarled a low, furious curse and pulled out in one slick slide.
Cool air rushed over my heated skin as he rolled off the bed, not bothering with clothes.
He stood there in the dim light, naked and magnificent, muscles coiled tight, cock still hard and glistening as he snatched the phone and jabbed at the screen.
He put it on speaker and dialed. Munroe answered immediately.
“Thayne, your father just went live with the press.
Thayne’s voice was lethally calm. “Talk.”
“He told them you shot Madison and put her in a coma, and also attacked Ethan when he tried to protect her.”
There was a stiff silence before Munroe dropped the last bomb.
"He also knows about the pregnancy."