He heard the yelling, the accusations, and tears. He could make some of the words, but most of it was a blur. Then the main door slammed, and it was silent again.

The oscillating blades of the ceiling fan above chopped the air. The whomp whomp whomp filled the otherwise dense silence of his room. Brady’s hands braced behind his head, covered ruched down around his shins, he laid on the bed and stared up at the whipping blades, his thoughts a storm of pounding hail, his body too tight for sleep. 

 

Like a red-hot branding iron, the sight of Marlena standing before him half-naked seared into his mind. Her goddamn perfect body dared him to touch her, baring her vulnerability beneath a desperate defiance that had his cock damn near tearing through his pants. He might have stopped breathing. 

 

His father would kill him.

On the spot.

He took his frustration on that Kiriakis kid, that fucking asshole. 

He needed to get his mind off of her.

Marlena.

 

Even now, his lungs were constricted in a furious vise that threatened to make his heart explode. He touched her, and it took all his willpower not to chase her down and bend her over and spank that sweet little ass until it was blistered red. Any pain he’d sustained to his hands would be worth it. 

She’d burn more painfully than any acid. He raked a hand down his face. The bandage wrapped his palm was an annoying barrier from stroking his cock that had been rock-hard since he forced himself out of her room. When the monster was ravenous, he fed. 

Just as earlier today, he drew blood in a futile attempt to sate the violence raging inside his skull that one innocent touch from Marlena initiated. 

Picking fights with random strangers was the only way to keep him from pinning her to that fucking kitchen island and claiming her right there. He expelled a tense breath from his lungs and met her smoldering gaze behind his shuttered eyes as she doctored his hands. 

Her soft and slender fingers spearing between his, the feel of her soft skin slippery and wet… 

 

“Fucking shit.” Brady shifted positions, tempted to either tear the bandage away or just beat his cock off with the coarse bandage right in place. He almost yearned for the abrasive rub to counter his craving. Another, stronger temptation pulled at the weakened tether of his sanity, and if he didn’t calm the fuck down, he’ll climb out of this bed and go downstairs and commit carnage that would send his damned soul straight to hell. 

 

Taking Marlena—right the fuck now—would put an end to this misery. She’d be ruined, her marriage to his father a done deal. 

He’d suffer John’s wrath, most likely with an acid bath—but the torment would finally end. Because the torture of watching her with another man for the next however many years while he secretly craved her, wanted her, needed her…to the point of sheer fucking madness… That will kill him. 

Absolutely. 

He had only two choices: a torturously slow death, or a quick one. 

 

Pick your poison. 

 

His turbulent thoughts churn into a vortex that had his head spinning, and he didn’t register the gentle give of the mattress until he felt a light touch on his arm. 

 

Before his eyes opened, he had a slender throat clutched in his hand. His grip tightened and, as her pulse thumped against his fingers, Marlena’s soft features came into focus in the moonlight. 

 

Something primal stirred beneath his skin, its teeth bared.

A rush of heat blistered his veins, like being raked over hot coals, and instead of releasing her, he squeezed tighter. Her hands got to her neck, nails scraping at the seam of where his bandage-wrapped palm welded to her skin. 

 

“Brady, let go of me—” a hint of whiskey in her breath.

His name spoken on her breathy exhale dragged him away from the edge. He loosened his grip just enough to free her breath, then he slipped his hand around her neck and clasped her nape, drawing her face close. 

From this close he finally noticed.

She has been crying.

 

“What are you doing here, Marlena?” Hair still wet from her shower and falling over the side of her face, she bit the corner of her lip, stalling. 

She was wearing a silky night thing, all black. The fabric grazed his ribs. The smooth feel of her breast beneath that thin slip caused havoc to his nervous system. 

 

Finally, she laid a hand on his arm. “I don’t know how much you’ve heard,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry, I hope—” 

“I did. I don’t care, and that’s not what I asked.” This close, he could make out the dusting of freckles across her nose, and the beautiful sight crushed his trachea. Biting down on that fucking lip again,” I better go.”

Her soft voice settled in his mind, and cracked his resolve. The warmth of her body sitting next to him tightened his stomach muscles, and the sinew around his bones constricted painfully. 

“Wait”

“Brady, I-”

“Jesus…I said. Wait.” He closed his eyes, trying his damndest not to imagen Marlena straddling him. But the feel of her so close…fucking hell. 

 

He gripped the edge of the mattress to hold himself back, restraint nearly decimated as she lightly dragged her nail over her forearm. He released her fabric and clasped her wrist, the one not bruised, stopping her from roaming. 

 

She tilted her head, features etched in a mix of fear and uncertainty. “I don’t know what you want from me, Brady,” she whispered, the desperation leaking from her timid voice stalling the air in his lungs. 

With a sudden, biting clarity, he realized what was holding him back. 

Not his father. 

Not fear. 

There was nothing in this fucking world that terrified him enough to keep him from her. He didn’t want Marlena once. 

Once would never be enough. 

 

“Don’t do this,” she said, “Don’t touch me...Your father-” She blinked back the wetness from her eyes and shook her head. 

“My father betrayed you. He betrayed you.” he protested through his teeth.

“It’s too fresh. I can’t discuss it with you.” 

A dark groan worked free of his constricted throat. “Fuck, you’re trying to kill me.” 

Her face paled. 

Even in the dim lighting, the only source coming from the sliver of moonlight spilling through the window, he could see her sudden fear. 

“Why would you say that?” 

“What do you think will happen when your husband realizes he wants to be with Hope, or Gina, or who ever the fuck she is?” Brady released her wrist so he could drive a hand through her hair. “Fuck, Marlena. It doesn’t matter who you choose to fuck, he’s doing the same. My father would make me suffer for tarnishing the family, so shamefully. You know this is true, and yet here you are, sitting here. With me.” 

 

Fucking hell, if she take another deep breath one more time, he’d toss out every last conviction and willingly become a dead man walking. 

“No one has to know,” he said. 

She swallowed hard, her lips dry. He pushed closer, gripping her wrist, settling his mouth near her ear. “No one ever has to know. I can keep a secret really, really well and…” He pressed his mouth over the shell of her ear. “You want me to ease your conscience so this is easy for you. I won’t. I told you before that this…you either surrender to it, or you walk away.” 

 

“Things like this never stay secret,” she said to him, and her words felt like a concession. Pain flashed in her eyes, mocking his assertion. She twisted her wrist beneath his hold and forced his grip to loosen around her wrist. She let out a low, guttural sound as he physically submitted her to him. 

“Fuck…” he breathed out. “Your sweet torture is divine, goddess. But my patience is running thin—don’t make me wait any longer. I need to be inside you.” Then his head dropped to her bare shoulder. His teeth sank into her skin, and she sealed her lips together to stifle a scream. The pain awakened all her senses, stirring carnal desire in her belly. 

 

Her craving traveled to every limb, piquing every nerve. “We can’t…” She got out around the catch in her throat. Brady’s rumble of frustration reverberated through her chest as his lips and tongue massaged the sting from her shoulder. He pulled away, just enough, so that the sudden release of pressure saturated her underwear. Then his hand was there, slipping between her thighs and caressing the ache away. 

“I know you’re wet for me,” he whispered. “I can almost feel you right through your nightgown…so fucking wet.” His eyes ensnare hers. “Just one order, goddess, and I’ll make the pain stop.” 

Her chest panged with pain.

The betrayal.

The lies.

All she wanted was to surrender completely. Close her eyes and be lost to him…but she shook her head, trying to stop this from happening. “I can’t… I can’t.” he mind was foggy.

 

His fingers grazed the smooth skin of her hip, sending a tingling thrill to her chest. “Is that a demand?” His fingers pushed into her panties, and she gasped. “Tell me, goddess. Tell me to please you right now.” 

Her hands found his hair, her fingers gripping at his black layers as his masculine scent surrounded her, dissolving her will. 

 

She moaned. That was all the consent Brady needed. 

 

Oh, goddamn. 

 

His cock throbbed at her approval. His hips bucked in an involuntary response. 

“Fuck,” he growled. Releasing his grip on the mattress, he clasped her waist. In a maddening desire to bring her closer, his hands roved up her back. He tunneled his fingers into her hair and pulled her down. His breath was ragged, chewing at his lungs as he maintained the smallest measure of control. 

“Things like this never stay secret,” he said to her, and his words felt like a concession. The tiny lift of her lips told him she was close to surrender. With a daring roll to her hips, he brought her closer, she didn’t move. His fingers curled into her hair, gripping to hold her close to him. 

“Why are you torturing me?” It left his mouth in a desperate plea. A fierce shiver traveled through her, and she released a broken breath. “You tortured me for a few months now,” she said, her nails digging into his muscles between his neck and shoulder. “The fact I affect you at all makes me so fucking wet.” 

“Jesus Christ.” The last thread of his control frayed, and he snapped.

His fingers plundered lower until they discovered her entrance. His middle finger slid into her slit, the heel of his hand already seeking her swollen clit. A hard shiver wracked his body as he swirled the pads of his fingers around her slick lips. “Fuck… You’re going to break me.”

 

Her breathless moan curled inside him like a flame dancing too close to the fuse. She had his mouth crushed against hers. The taste of Marlena was pure, divine rapture. Like finally getting a drop of water after roaming a barren desert for weeks. It was that goddamn satisfying. 

 

He could barely savor the moment, his hunger to consume her that feral, as he unleashed a year’ worth of yearning and tore into the kiss with a starved depravity. As her soft lips moved over his, her tongue slipped out, hesitant at first, then with the release of the sweetest moan, met his—and he led her with ferocious guidance. 

They clashed in fiery pursuit to chase each other over the edge, setting fire to the line they were forbidden to cross. Desperate to touch her everywhere and feel her, he ripped the bandages off his hands, then gripped the hem of her slip. He drew it up so his fingers could trail the smooth skin of her ass. 

Fuck ; there was absolutely nothing preventing him from touching her, and he sought her hot center like a heat-seeking missile. 

 

Brady dragged his fingers over the delicate contour of her ass until he reached the warmth between her thighs, and, as soon as he felt the wetness drenching her pussy, a curse rumbled through his frantic kiss. As he traced the slippery softness of her lips, he sank his other hand into the tangle of her damp hair and pulled her harder to him. 

 

He was a fucking liar. 

When he claimed either one of them could stop this—he never would’ve been able to stop. Even if she changed her mind and begged him right now, her tears would only fuel him on. He’d wipe those tears away just to gather them and stroke his cock before he fucked her raw. They were past the point of no return. 

 

The beast within got feral in response, salivating for a taste of her. He let her rock on top a few moments longer as he traced the seam of her pussy, feeling her get wetter, before he flipped her onto her back and caged his body over hers. Taking control, he spread her legs wide as he seated his hips between her thighs. 

She watched him with carnal lust filling her gaze as he drew the thin strap of her slip down around her shoulder to expose one beautiful breast. It took every bit of his willpower to go slow…as the desire to brutally ravish her ripped through him with vicious need. 

 

His fingers explored her sensitive folds, learning what makes her breath break and her eyes close half-mast in bliss. “I need to taste you.” He lowered himself between her legs and hooked an arm around her thigh, locking her to him as he breathed over her glistening pussy, and loving the way she shivered. As her body trembled, her breathing came faster, and as he took his first taste in a long and slow lick up her seam, he fucking came undone. His tongue delved deeper, sliding between her lips and curling upward to flick over her clit. He lacked the ability to describe how goddamn delectable she tasted. The only word running through his head was- Fuck. 

“Oh god…” Marlena’s hands got to her hair as her hips rolled in little urgent bucks. She was sin and sanctity and pure, unbridled passion. It killed him that she was only giving herself to him because she was angry at him. But right at that moment, he was a glutton, he was a heathen, and he was going to fuck her so goddamn right he’ll ruin her so she’ll never look at another man again. 

 

He pulled back, “Look at me.” Her gaze captured his on command. “I want your eyes on me while I devour your sweet pussy, goddess.” Her thighs clenched against his in response, and then she shoved her fingers into his hair. Her chest heaved, and her limbs were racked with tremors as he prodded inside her with his tongue. His thumb pinned her clit, and he rubbed over the bundle of nerves to send a shockwave through her. 

 

He slipped a finger inside the slick warmth of her center. A low growl climbed free at the feel of her tight flesh gripped around his finger. The burning sensation on the back of his hand was a welcomed pain, a needed measure to keep him grounded, to keep him from tearing into her. He wanted her loose enough to take her, because once he was inside her, he was not sure he’d be able to hold back any longer. Brady pushed another finger against her folds, seeking entrance as she undulated beneath him. 

He groaned against her thigh, nipping his teeth at her tender skin. “Goddamn, you’re so fucking beautiful, Marlena; you’re fucking killing me.” 

 

Her fingers gripped at his hair, nails deliciously scraping over his scalp. “Fuck me... Don’t hold back..” 

 

“Christ, Marlena. Don’t say things like that to me.” He looked up to see a pained expression straining her features, and god, she stirred the ember beneath his skin into a roaring fire. The monster within clawed at his skin from the inside, demanding to take her rough and fast. 

 

A beautiful sheen of sweat coated her forehead as she held his gaze. A low, dark growl resounded from inside the cavity of his chest as he removed his fingers and tasted her arousal. “Do you want this, Marlena?” He pushed the head of his cock against her pussy, dying at the feel of her wetness as it drenched the material of his boxers. He needed her consent one more time. Because, before that night was over, he was going to ruin this woman in the most debasing, vile way, and he won’t stop until she said the word. 

 

She licked her lips, eyes glistening with lust and yearning. “Yes..” 

 

Goddamn. 

 

He was fucking done. His goddess was wet and needy, watching him lower his boxers with a lust-filled haze shining in her whiskey eyes, and he was drunk on her in their depths. He grabbed himself at the base and stroked slowly. A hiss slipped past his gritted teeth at the sight of Marlena wriggling beneath him. He sat himself between the summit of her thighs and notched the head of his cock at her soaked entrance. Her nails scraped his back in anticipation, her chest rising and falling beneath him, and he dipped down to take her perfect nipple into his mouth. Her breath clipped short when her fingers skimmed over his back. She halts and, it was only a moment of hesitation, one second stretched out for eternity, but he held his breath until she resumed. 

 

Releasing her nipple, he raised up and captured her eyes. Muscles flexed, he pushed the crown of his cock against her smooth folds, goddamn shaking as he controlled himself from entering her too fast.

 

“Marlena…” On a dark growl, he pinned her wrist above her head and thrust inside her in one ruthless stab of his cock, decimating the sliver of flesh. Her cry cracked the air and rippled over him in euphoric waves as he buried himself deep inside her, fueled by rage and the goddamn perfect feel of Marlena wrapped around him. Brady tightened his hold around her wrist. 

 

“You make me an animal. I’m fucking going out of my mind.”

She fought against him, her body bucking and squirming, her scream choked off by his hand collared around her throat. Those wide hazel eyes ensnared him, and it was like steel striking flint, the fire sparked and roared in an instant. The desire to ravish her violently and completely was his only course. He drove into her again, harder, shredding her sanity and fucking dying at the feel of her. He bore down harder on top of her, spreading her thighs with his hips, spearing her with his cock, and sinfully basking in every salacious, depraved jolt of pleasure that came from her fight. He peered down into her pained face—that beautiful, angelic face he’d worshiped—and breathed in her fear, reveling in every unholy thing he was going to do to her. 

He wanted her tears. 

Through the carnal bloodlust, he said, “There’s no going back now.” He thrust into her again, stealing her fight. 

Ruining her. 

His hand moved to her jaw, and he wrenched her head back, forcing her to look up into his face. He slammed inside her, and she released a shaky moan that gave way to a sharp cry. “That’s it,” he said, voice grating over her flesh as he pulled out and thrust inside her again. “Let me hear your screams while you take my cock like a good fucking girl.”

 

God, she felt so filthy and vulgar, and it was so wrong, but she couldn’t stop. The heat attacked all at once. He released her neck and grabbed hold of her shoulder as he buried himself deeply. She felt the muscles in his thighs tense, his cock grew rock-hard and then pulsed inside her. As he released inside her, he reached around and flicked his finger over her clit, and the intensity of his growl spurred her orgasm on, heightening her climax and drawing it out—and she came with shameless abandon, feeling the wet splash against her thighs. “That’s it, baby…come all over me… Fucking hell.” he panted against her cheek, his chest aching. Aftershocks sparked and pulsed through his body.

 

Though even in his drug-induced stupor, he knew she was the one who ruined him beyond repair. There was no coming back from this.The insatiable need to fill her tore a wild, destructive path through his brain. 

He was fucking lost. 

Her pussy clenched around his cock so tight, and he muttered a string of foul profanities and loosened his grip on her neck. She pulled in a breath past the constriction of her throat, and her inner walls pulsed, making him come undone with the next round of her fight. “Ah…fuck. Oh, god, it…” he growled as he sank so deep inside her his soul was flayed from his body. 

 

As he found her gaze past the haze, a distant whisper of her sweet voice broke through the madness: Let me go. 

 

And for a fleeting moment, he craved to see that serene beauty painted on her face. He fought the monster back into the cage. Brady pulled out of her and held himself above her thrashing body, his chest heaving. Trembling, he shook the dazed sensation from his head. Marlena became motionless beneath him, and he glimpsed the glistening trickle of tears leaking down the side of her temples. She looked like a fallen angel in the darkened shadow of the bed. 

 

With a heated curse, he fumbled off the edge. 

Panicked, she quickly rearranged her nightgown as Brady heaved strenuous breaths just inches from her. He watched the rise and fall of her chest as she visibly struggled to calm herself.

“Oh my god, I shouldn't have come here,...I have to go...” her voice broke.

“Look at me, Marlena.” The compelling drew of his voice forced her eyes on him. She swallowed again; her features pinched in discomfort, the bruises wrapping her throat apparent even in the subdued light. “You know the truth,” I told her. “He did the same to you.”

“Goodbye,” she breathed, and left the room before he could move.

 

Pushing to his feet, he tore the ruined bandage off and quickly inspected the torn stitches. He did most of the damage while fucking her. And yet, he couldn’t stop. He was determined to fuck them both to death if that was what it came to.