The Scumbag's Guide To Heroism

I barely managed to get the door closed before Sloane’s hands were on me, shoving me hard against the wooden surface. Her mouth found mine with a force that made my teeth click together — no gentle exploration, no tentative buildup. Just pure, unfiltered aggression and the lingering taste of maple syrup from the french toast she’d demolished at breakfast.

"You think you can just carry me around like some princess?" She bit down on my lower lip, hard enough to make me wince. "Like I’m some damsel who’s going to melt because you made me fucking french toast with extra butter?"

"You practically licked the plate clean," I managed.

"Shut up." Her hands framed my face, nails digging crescents into my jaw as she kissed me again. The sting felt electric. "I’m still furious with you."

"Yeah, I picked up on that."

Her palms flattened against my chest and shoved. I stumbled backward through her room until the backs of my knees connected with the edge of her bed frame.

"Sit."

The command came out sharp and breathless. I sat.

Sloane stood over me, pink hair disheveled and wild around her shoulders. Her oversized sleep shirt had slipped off one shoulder, revealing the smooth line of her collarbone. Those blue eyes — identical to her mother’s but burning with something entirely different — blazed with an intensity that sat somewhere between fury and raw hunger.

"You want forgiveness?" Her hands moved to the hem of her shirt. "Then you’re going to make me forget all about her."

She pulled the fabric over her head in one fluid motion. It hit the floor with barely a whisper.

My mouth went completely dry.

She wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Her breasts were small and perfect, pale skin flushed pink from the heat in her cheeks. Her nipples were already hard, tight peaks that made my hands itch to touch.

"You’re going to fuck me so thoroughly I forget what it felt like when you weren’t mine." She hooked her thumbs in the waistband of her sleep shorts and pushed them down her hips. No underwear. Just smooth, pale skin and the soft pink between her thighs that was already glistening with want. "You’re going to make me come so hard I can’t remember anything except your name falling from my lips."

I reached for her automatically.

She slapped my hand away, the crack of palm against skin echoing in the quiet room. "Did I give you permission to touch me yet?"

"Sloane—"

"That’s not how this works." She stepped closer, near enough that I could feel the heat radiating from her bare skin. "You messed up. You slept with my mother. You made me cry." Her voice cracked slightly on the last word, but she pushed through it with typical Sloane determination. "So now you get to sit there and watch until I decide you’ve suffered enough."

My hands moved to her hips before I could stop myself.

She gasped, trying to push my hands away, but I held firm.

"Let go."

"No."

"Lukas—"

I pulled her forward. She stumbled, catching herself with her palms against my shoulders. Her legs bracketed my thighs, her body pressed against mine — bare skin to bare skin except for the boxers I still wore.

"You want me to make you forget?" I looked up at her, taking in the flush spreading down her neck, the way her pupils had blown wide. "Then stop giving orders and get on my lap."

Her face went nuclear red. "I hate when you get all commanding."

"Liar."

"You’re such an arrogant asshole."

"Get. On. My. Lap."

She climbed onto me with a huffed breath, straddling my waist. Her weight settled and I could feel exactly how wet she was through the thin cotton between us. She was soaked, practically dripping, her body betraying what her mouth refused to admit.

I pressed my lips to the curve of her neck, tasting salt and something uniquely her. She tilted her head automatically, giving me better access to the sensitive skin.

"I thought you wanted me to suffer," I murmured against her pulse point.

"I changed my mind."

"Already?"

"Shut up and kiss me properly."

This time when our mouths met, everything shifted. The kiss was deeper, slower, though her anger still simmered underneath. There was something else there now — something that tasted like trust mixed with terror in equal measure.

My hands mapped the curve of her spine, sliding down to cup her ass. I squeezed and she made a sound low in her throat, grinding down against me in response.

"Fuck," I breathed against her lips.

"You like that?"

"You know I do."

She rolled her hips again, the motion deliberate and slow, dragging herself along my length through the thin fabric still separating us. The sensation made something in my chest tighten, made my grip on her hips flex harder than I meant to. I could feel everything — how wet she was, how her body was responding even while her mouth kept throwing attitude, how the cotton between us was completely soaked through.

"Sloane."

"Hmm?" Her voice came out breathy, distracted. She was still moving, still grinding down with this focused intensity that suggested she’d stopped hearing me entirely.

"Take these off." I tugged at my waistband, the elastic snapping back against my skin. "Right now."

She paused, breathing hard, then lifted herself up just enough for me to shove the boxers down my thighs. They caught on my calves for a second before I managed to kick them off with more force than grace. The fabric hit the floor somewhere to my left and I stopped caring about where.

When Sloane settled back down, there was nothing between us. Just skin and heat and the weight of her pressing down against me in a way that made my thoughts scatter. I gripped her hips harder, positioning her with deliberate care, angling her exactly where I needed her. The head of my cock pressed against her entrance and I could feel how wet she was — not through fabric this time, but directly, coating me already.

"Wait," she breathed suddenly, her whole body tensing above me.

I froze. Every muscle locked into place even though stopping felt physically impossible. "What’s wrong?"

"Nothing, just—" She swallowed hard, looking down at where our bodies were about to join. "I want to control this part."

"Then do it."

She began to sink down slowly, inch by torturous inch. Her eyes went wide, her lips parting as a soft sound escaped — somewhere between a gasp and a moan of pure sensation.

"Oh god," she whispered, voice already shaky. "You’re so much bigger than I remembered."