Austin's Ward

by Lynn Burke

  “My marks are down.” Brewer’s whisper came through my earpiece. “Sentry approaching my way from the north. Get ready to roll.”

  A harsh curse sounded from behind the house a few seconds later, and Bowie and I sprinted forward without a word, pistols raised.

  The sentries guarding the house’s front had turned, distracted. A sniper’s rifle cracked through the air, but we kept moving even as Brewer cursed in our ears. Pops from our guns put the two guards down, a second shot as we hurried past assured they wouldn’t move again.

  Once on the porch, we flanked the door, and I nodded at Bowie. Since he was the better shot, he kicked in the door and went in first.

  A bullet ripped into the doorjamb by my head, and I swung my gun up the stairs straight ahead, shooting as Bowie downed someone on the left. The bastard I’d hit tumbled down the stairs with a groan. Another bullet between his eyes cut his voice short.

  “Clear,” Bowie said, moving into the kitchen on our left.

  A backdoor leading out the back flew open, a man with blood spurting from his neck stumbling inside.

  Bowie popped him between the eyes, and he dropped.

  “Brewer?” I asked into my mic, eyeing the staircase on our right.

  “All outside marks are down,” Brewer said, “except for the one on the roof. Fucker put a bullet in my shoulder, but I hit him, too. I’m making my way around front.”

  Val cursed, but the rest of us remained silent.

  I pointed Bowie up the stairs, and I moved back toward the kitchen.

  A hiss pulled my focus down, and a bullet whizzed past me as a cat flew past my legs.

  I dropped down and shot toward the kitchen, ducking into a laundry room. A door lay on my right -- had to descend into the basement since most staircases lay atop one another in old houses.

  If I’d abducted someone and held them in an old house, they sure as hell wouldn’t be all comfy in a bed upstairs. Ears straining, I drew in a deep breath and reached for the handle.

  * * *

  Cadence

  “Senator!” A voice barked from the doorway, making loosen his grip on my hair and stopping him from shoving his cock into my mouth. “We’ve got company!”

  “Shit!” The senator backed off, quick as fuck, shoving his limping dick back into his slacks.

  Thing One rushed after Thing Two, disappearing out the door. The sound of gunfire hit my ears, sending a rush of adrenaline through my bloodstream.

  Austin.

  I let out a sob, and Oliver grabbed hold of my hair, yanking me into his arms, putting his back against the wall. He pulled a gun and held it in front of me to pull back the slide. Cocked and ready to end lives, the gun pressed against my temple by his trembling hand.

  “Make a noise, and I’ll fucking end you,” he whispered against my ear, his other hand yanking on my hair once more.

  I bit my lip and held still, eyes clenched shut. Hurry, Austin… please fucking hurry.

  More shots sounded, and I fought off imagining Austin bleeding out, losing his life in attempt to save mine. I considered screaming to let him know where I was, but the cold metal pressing against my head made me realize how much I wanted to live.

  A shot sounded loud -- close enough I yelped.

  “Fuck!” I recognized Thing One’s voice. “Motherfucker!”

  Three shots echoed in my ears -- and Thing One fell onto his back in the doorway, red oozing beneath his head.

  “Shit, shit, shit!” Oliver gulped behind me, pulling me tighter against his chest. “Show yourself!” he yelled, his voice shaking.

  Austin rounded the corner, gun in his hands, trained on the two of us but his gaze locked on the senator. “Put the gun down,” he ordered, his tone low and steady, seeming as unshaken as his grip.

  Two barrels trained on me, and I’d never felt such relief. My knees weakened, and I slumped against the senator. “Austin.” I barely breathed his name, but he didn’t shift his focus off Oliver’s face above and behind mine.

  “Let her go, MacGillroy,” Austin said with the type of authority in his tone most men would quake at.

  “Let me go, and you’ll have a friend in power for life,” Oliver said, his voice betraying his anxiety with clipped words and shaking tone. “Think of it -- a senator in your back pocket,” he continued, not loosening his hold on me. “I can make all of this go away.”

  “Austin.” Bowie turned the corner and appeared in the doorway behind him.

  Austin shifted to the right, and Bowie moved into the room to stand him, gaze hard as flint as he took sighted along his handgun in our direction.

  “As much as I want to rip your heart out and sink my teeth into it,” Austin said, still and focused, “and as much as Bowie here would love nothing more than to slice off a few choice parts of your skin, I’m all done with this shit.”

  Austin lowered his gun slightly. “Bowie.”

  The deafening noise of a gun going off pulled a shriek from my throat and clenched my eyes shut.

  Oliver’s hold on me slackened, and I shuffled sideways as he sank to the floor.

  Austin bound forward and pulled me against him, his hands running down my hair, my neck over my arms. “Are you okay, baby? Fuck…” He crushed me to his chest before I could answer, and sobs once more tore from me.

  “The fucker is dead, isn’t he?” Austin asked.

  “Yes,” Bowie replied. “I’ll cut you loose, Cadence,” he said a second later. “Hold still.”

  Cold metal slid between my wrist and the zip tie, slicing the plastic away.

  I grasped at Austin’s shirt, keeping my face buried against his chest.

  He swooped me up into his arms and started out of the room. “Keep your eyes closed, baby. You don’t need to see any of this.”

  Tears squeezed from between my clenched eyelids, and I nodded. I’d had enough bullshit in the previous couple of hours to haunt me for life. I sure as fuck didn’t need to see the blood and carnage of Austin’s rampage to get to me.

  His heart thrummed in his chest and through the artery in his neck my face pressed against. Sweat slickened his skin, but I couldn’t get close enough as he climbed stairs, couldn’t breathe him in deeply enough.

  “The fuck?” he said again with surprise in his voice, and my eyelids popped open.

  Brewer stood by the front door, blood pouring down his arm holding a rifle -- and a woman sat bound beside him.

  “Sniper from the roof.” He bit the words off, lips pressing in a thin line, but the glare he angled her way held more than anger.

  “Why the fuck is she still alive?” Austin asked, setting me onto my feet but keeping me tucked against his side.

  Brewer held the dark-haired woman’s stare for a few seconds, but he turned away, his focus once more out the window. “Gunner’s here,” he said rather than answer Austin’s question.

  Headlights flickered over the front of the house, illuminating the interior clearly. A body lay sprawled on the stairs leading up on my left, and I jerked my attention back to the woman.

  Dark eyes, dark hair in a pixie cut with a tattoo creeping up her neck, she glared up at Brewer as though she wanted to put a bullet between his eyes -- but like Brewer, more than mere anger lit her eyes.

  I found myself wanting to laugh hysterically -- and vomit all at the same time.

  Safe, I told myself, trying like hell to keep focused on the warmth of Austin’s body pressed against mine.

  Chapter Ten

  Austin

  Fucking blood and bodies everywhere, and Brewer had found his mark -- in more ways than one. The fact he’d let her live said it all. My brother was fucking done for.

  Snorting, I pulled Cadence back up into my arms, murmuring for her to keep her eyes closed as she shivered and shook in my arms. I’d managed to save her regardless of the damn fear that had near choked me to death, and the rushing adrenaline began to ease up.

  Gunner, Comet, and two other brothers hopped out of the full cab
, and I moved onto the porch, stepping over a body and clutching Cadence close against the cold air.

  “Shit.” Comet glanced at the bodies and through the door I’d left open.

  “More bodies inside,” I said. “Out back, too.”

  “Ought to just burn this shit to the ground,” Comet muttered, stepping past us.

  Gunner nodded. “Get it ready.” He glanced down over me. “You okay?”

  “She’s okay. That’s all that matters.”

  He turned toward the front door. “What the fuck is that?”

  Brewer squatted in front of the female sniper, and his body language said it all. “A fucking mess,” I said with a chuckle.

  “Shit.” Gunner expelled a heavy breath. “Get your woman home. I’ll take care of this.”

  “My truck’s down the road. Give us a ride?”

  Nodding, he turned and made his way back to his truck.

  I held Cadence on my lap in his cab for the two minutes it took us to reach my truck, my nose buried in her hair, breathing her deep into my lungs as the aftereffects of my adrenaline high settled into my bones.

  Once buckled into my passenger seat and headed south, her tears began again.

  “Come here,” I said, pushing up the console and gesturing her over toward me.

  She unhooked her seatbelt and scooted close, burrowing into my side, her arms wrapping around my waist. I settled my hand on her upper arm and held her close.

  “Thank you for saving me.”

  “I’d burn the fucking world down for you.”

  Cadence didn’t respond, and a few miles later, her heavy breathing and twitching muscles let me know she’d slipped into some probably much-needed sleep.

  * * *

  I pulled into the compound an hour and a half later, rousing Cadence from sleep as I put the truck in park.

  She sighed and straightened, pressing her palms against her eyes. “God, I feel like shit.”

  I hopped out and rounded the front of my truck to get her. Once I had her settled in my arms again, I kicked my door shut and carried her up to my apartment.

  Silent, she sat on the edge of my bed as I started the shower. Without a word, I helped her undress and put her under the spray. Another sigh shuddered through her as she tipped her head back.

  Unable to help myself, I glanced down over her naked form -- and the memory of what had gotten us into the mess of the previous couple of hours slammed into my head.

  “You lied about needing tampons.”

  “I needed to get out,” she whispered. “I’m so damn sorry.”

  “You ever lie to me again, and I’ll redden your ass so damn bad, you won’t be able to sit for a week.”

  Cadence nodded and held her trembling hand out to me as I stepped back.

  “Please don’t leave.”

  I shucked my clothes quick as fuck and climbed into the shower with her, pulling her softness against me. “Thought I’d fucking lost you,” I murmured against her wet hair as the spray pelted my face.

  She squeezed me tight, and I turned us sideways, taking my time to wash her from head to toes, trying and hoping to erase whatever touch she’d felt from Senator MacGillroy Eventually, her shivers stopped, and once finished caring for her, I pulled her against me once more. She scaled my body, settling her legs around my hips, head tilted back, her blue eyes wide and clear -- and fucking tormented from what she must have endured -- she peered at me.

  “Did he hurt you?” I heard myself ask as my anger relit, kindling the flame to break his ass all over again.

  “No.” Cadence grasped the back of my head and pulled me toward her. “Kiss me, Austin. Take it all away.”

  I gave her what she wanted, my damn throat thickening at the press of her lips against mine. The need to take out my aggression, the stress of the previous couple of hours, tempted me to plow into her as my dick swelled between us. I wanted to take and plunder, ease my damn head, but I kept my hold on her ass gentle, my kiss unhurried.

  “I need more,” she whispered, pulling back, her eyes sheened over with tears. “Please.”

  More than happy to oblige, I turned off the water and climbed out of the shower, my hands beginning to shake while drying the two of us off. The damn shakes settled in fully as I allowed myself to acknowledge Cadence was safe and in my arms, right where she belonged.

  I kept a lamp on and laid her on the bed, settling atop her, planked on my elbows. My palms cradled her cheeks, my dick hard as fuck and resting against her pussy. We shared breath, our gazes locked as a slew of emotions damn near drowned me. I couldn’t hold it in any longer. I’d almost lost her -- and it wasn’t going to happen again.

  “You’re it for me,” I murmured, stroking her chin with my thumb. “Knew it the first time I set eyes on you.”

  Tears filled her eyes, but she smiled and slid her hands down over my back. “Make love to me, Austin.”

  With a groan, I took her lips again, rocking my hips against hers, sliding up through her lower lips as wetness grew to coat them.

  “Need you,” she whispered against my mouth, her hips lifting as I flexed my ass to rub my dick against her clit.

  I angled and slid an inch inside her opening, lifting my head to capture her gaze. “You’re mine, Cadence. Mine to love, mine to fucking protect.” Holding her gaze, I pressed into the clutch of her hot pussy, fighting the need to roll my eyes back into my head. “Fuck,” I groaned once my balls pressed against her body. “You’re fucking heaven.”

  Dragging my length back out along her wet walls pulled a whimper from her lips and arched her back beneath me.

  “Give it to me, Austin. Don’t hold back.”

  I rammed fully into her, enough she squeaked and gasped as my dick buried against her cervix.

  “Yes.” She groaned, her head tipping back and gorgeous eyes closing. “Fuck yes.”

  Wrapping my hands in her hair, I grinned. “Hold on, baby.”

  * * *

  Cadence

  Every thrust jabbed Austin’s cock against my cervix, ripping cries from my lips, and I squirmed, needing him closer. Deeper. All thought but him faded from my head as he devoured me, his mouth, tongue, and teeth trailing over my face, my neck.

  I squeezed my legs tight around him, my heels digging into his ass with every flex of muscle beneath.

  Mine to love.

  His words whispered over and over in my head, and I fought off the tears wanting to pour from my clenched eyes.

  “Look at me.”

  My eyelids popped open, our gazes colliding as his hips slammed against me over and over, quaking the bed beneath us.

  The black of his pupils overran the blue-green of his eyes, and I lost myself in the emotion he allowed me to see, the love he’d spoken of, the fierce protector he couldn’t help but be.

  He had put his life in danger for me. Had taken who knew how many others trying to rescue me. No man had ever done such a thing, no man had ever loved me in such a way. Swallowing against tears, I grasped his face and pulled him down, taking his mouth.

  Fire raced through me, the desire to step off a cliff -- of release and love -- swelled inside of me to the point my heart wanted to explode. Vulnerability, giving into my instincts which had led me astray so often, didn’t come easy, but I let go. I let Austin love me, and I allowed myself to feel -- allowed myself to experience the emotion rising inside me in response to his.

  He snaked a hand between us, his fingertips closing over my clit.

  My pussy seized, and I cried out his name, my cum soaking his thrusting length, pulling him deeper.

  “Cadence.” A mere whisper of his breath against my ear, and his cock jerked inside of me, the heat of his spurting cum branding me. Claiming me. Every shudder of his body in my arms shivered my skin, filled me. Assured me I lay where fate had meant me to be. The brush of his lips across mine, the fight to catch our breath between kisses, flooded me with happiness I’d never expected to find.

  Sweaty and sa
ted, we lay still long after he rolled us to our sides, his softening cock slipping from my body.

  My muscles lax and mind on the verge of sleep, I didn’t notice he’d gotten up until a warm, wet towel wiped between my spread thighs.

  He crawled back into bed beside me, pulled his comforter over us, and settled my back against his chest. “Sleep, baby.” He kissed my shoulder, and I obeyed.

  * * *

  Darkness still filled the sky outside Austin’s unshuttered window when my eyes jerked open. My heart raced from the images from a nightmare still flashing in my head.

  Fuck.

  I slammed my eyelids closed again, and breathed deeply.

  “You okay?”

  Austin’s rumbled tone eased my fear. While the insides of my thighs felt bruised from our fucking, I turned in his arms, needing him again. Needing him to take the shit away since I couldn’t keep the images at bay.

  I hesitated rather than pounce on him, my gaze tracking over his strong brow and eyes studying mine in the light of the lamp he’d left on beside the bed.

  “I’ve made some shitty mistakes in my life,” I said. “Ended up in places I shouldn’t have -- beds that ended up in disaster.”

  He opened his mouth, but I pressed the tips of my fingers against his lips.

  “You’re the first man to care, Austin. The first good man to take an interest in me, one worthy of my vulnerability. My trust.” My throat thickened, but I pushed onward, studying his eyes. “You said that I’m yours to love.”

  He nodded and kissed my fingertips, my heart welling with fullness as my eyes did the same, hazing my sight of his face. While Austin wasn’t what I’d been looking for, what I thought I’d wanted, I knew I would never find another like him.

  Laughter bubbled from my lips along with tears slipping from my eyes. “I’ve been searching for a ticket to happiness -- a ticket out -- but you’re so much more than that.” I leaned in and kissed his mouth, slow and unhurried, wanting to show him my feelings, wanting to share what had grown in my heart while I’d been unaware. Unaware and stupidly, supposedly closed off to his charms.