Black Thorns (Thorns Duet #2) by Rina Kent

“No one has.” She pants, her dark, teary eyes meeting mine. “No one has fucked me since you.”





35





Naomi





It’s strange how easily the words leave me.

I never thought we’d be back here, at Blackwood’s forest, at the rock we called ours. But here we are. And that’s part of the reason why I spoke up.

Maybe all the depraved sex went to my head. Maybe the chase loosened my tongue.

But as soon as I say it, it’s like I’ve broken a spell.

The cold air forms goosebumps over my skin and draws a chill down my spine.

Sebastian’s chest leaves my back, his lips no longer tormenting my ears or whispering filthy words.

He pulls out of me and I moan softly at the loss of him. I survived without him for seven years, but now that he’s back to touching me and being one with me, it’s torture to be away from him even for a minute.

The moment he releases me, I force myself upright, wincing due to the bumps the rock has left on my chest and shoulders. It’s probably already bruising.

My hands shake as I pull my underwear and pants up. I’ve always been a mess whenever Sebastian has unleashed his beast on me. He knows all the right places to touch and the best ways to make me insane.

I can feel his attention on my back, looming over me like some sort of threat.

“What did you just say?” The tenor of his voice is low, but it’s rough and deep.

I carefully turn around to face him. He’s all tucked into his sweatpants, his shoulders tense. The lack of light turns his face into an impenetrable shadow. “I never had sex with Akira or anyone else.”

If I expected relief, joy, or any sort of reaction, there’s none of those. Only his narrowed eyes greet me. “You never had sex with your husband of seven years?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“Akira would kill me if he knew I’d told you this, but I’m done hiding. I…just want it all out.”

“Want what out?”

“He’s asexual—or was asexual. I think he’s on the spectrum for that. Anyway, he’s gay. He’d never look in a woman’s direction.”

Sebastian is silent for a moment as the revelation sinks in. His brows are still knit together and the sharp lines of his face tighten under the moonlight. I want to reach out and touch him, to kiss him and seek his warmth, but it’s definitely not the time for that.

So I lean against the rock, just to have something touch, and wince when my ass touches the surface. Well, damn. We’re back to the stage where I need daily care after his ruthless fucking.

I touch my forehead, stroking my hair away from my face. “Aren’t you going to say anything?”

“What do you want me to say, Naomi? Do you want me to be happy that he never looked in your direction when you looked in his?”

“Stop being defensive, damn you! And I never thought of him that way. Akira and I had an agreement since the beginning. I’m his image for his traditional family and he’s my image for my own family. We weren’t to get involved in each other’s sexual lives either. We’re in an open marriage.”

“Open marriage is still a fucking marriage. You still go back to his house and have meals with him. You still appear in public on his fucking arm, have his last name, and wear his goddamn ring. So don’t expect me to rejoice at the news, Naomi. Don’t expect me to be a gentleman and say ‘you did the right thing,’ because you fucking didn’t. It should’ve been my name attached to yours. My ring on your finger. My fucking arm around yours. You were my Naomi first. My fucking woman. But you went ahead and ruined it.”

I taste salt, and it’s then I realize a tear has escaped my lids. The strength in his emotions leaves me breathless, feeling suffocated and with no way out. I’ve never seen Sebastian so down, so hurt.

I’ve never seen him so angry.

But his anger wraps a noose around mine and drags it out.

Because he has no right to be. Not after everything I’ve been through.

“Who do you think I did it for?” I jam a finger at his chest. “Do you think I enjoy being on Akira’s arm or that I’m delighted to wear his ring and have his goddamn name? I don’t! But I had to for you.”

“Me? Oh, that explains it all. Thanks.”

“Shut up, you fucking idiot. For once, just shut up and listen. You know the father I found? He’s Abe Hitori, as in, the head of the Yakuza in New York. It was by his order that you were shot that day in the forest and held in the cell. He did that to break me in and make me into his obedient daughter. And it worked. It fucking worked. If you hadn’t gotten medical care, you would’ve died, Sebastian. You would’ve disappeared as if you’d never existed. They would’ve buried you in some damn hole and no one would’ve found your body. So yes, you asshole, I did it to save you. I left and married Akira so you’d survive.”

Sebastian’s eyes widen and he steps closer, reaching a hand toward me, but I push him away. “No! Let me finish. You wanted to know everything that happened. So here it is, Sebastian. Here’s the fucking truth I’ve been swallowing like a bitter pill every damn day. When Ren and Kai, my father’s men, gave me the choice of following his orders or witnessing you die, I didn’t think twice about it. I was ready to sell my body and my fucking soul if it meant seeing you safe and sound. That’s how much you meant to me. That’s how much I cared about you. But that’s not all. My father would’ve sold my younger sister, Mio, who was only fourteen at the time, without batting an eye. But Akira wanted to marry me and my father needed the Mori family’s power, so that’s where I came in. The only reason my father even looked in my direction was because I’d be able to secure an alliance for him.”