Her cheeks flushed a rosy pink, and she tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth. I decided to let her in on where we were going.
“Today you’re gonna get inked with my brand. Then one of these days really fucking soon, I’m going to marry you like I should’ve years ago and put another baby in this belly. Except this time I’ll be around for every single second. Yeah?”
Doe eyes blinked down at me before she nodded. “Yeah, that sounds amazing.”
“Then let’s get our asses in gear.”
We got up, showered, and got dressed. While she finished doing her hair and whatever other girly shit women did before they could enter the world, I got our son up and dressed.
“Dad?” he asked as he tied his little Converse shoes. My heart tripped, and I knew I’d never get tired of hearing that.
“Yeah, son?”
“When my little sister gets here, can I teach her to play Go Fish?” He said it so matter-of-factly, I almost choked on my tongue. It knocked me so much for a loop that I had to sit on the edge of his bed.
“What?”
“Grandma said I’m gonna have a sister one day and I have to teach her stuff. I wanna teach her to ride a skateboard, but she’s gonna be real little for a long time. So I think I’ll teach her to play Go Fish first.”
“Um, sure. Yeah, you can do that.”
Korrie walked into the room, fishing her hair through the last loop of her hairband. “You two about ready? Someone told me we were going to be late.”
She shot me a teasing grin. I stood and approached her, placing a hand over her lower stomach. “Do you have something to tell me?” I asked quietly. She gave me that look. The one that asked if I’d been smoking crack.
“Like what?”
My eyes flickered down to her abdomen. “Like something here?” I pressed gently, and her eyes widened comically.
“Definitely not,” she replied. My heart sank a little. The thought that my boys were tough enough to make it past birth control twice withered.
“Oh,” I said with a sigh, and she laughed. The sound was music to my ears. She’d been so on edge since Trace had been abducted. Even after he was home safe, she hadn’t been herself. It was good to see her lighthearted, especially after that night in her mother’s hotel room.
I brushed a stray strand of hair back out of her face and pressed a lingering kiss to her lips. “You sure you’re doing okay?”
Her expression told me she knew I wasn’t referring to a possible pregnancy. She nodded. “I trust you when you guys say you’re going to take care of the uh, situation.”
“Mom! Dad! Let’s go!” Trace squeezed between us, looking up at the both of us with a twinkle in his dark brown eyes.
“You sure it’s a good idea to take a seven-year-old to a tattoo parlor?” She gave me a droll raise of her eyebrows.
“I’m almost eight!” he piped in with a frown, causing me to chuckle.
“It’ll be fine. No one else will be there this early. Come on, I have other things planned for us too.”
We all said our goodbyes to the few brothers that were already up and about, then climbed in the truck. As I pulled out of the compound and the prospects closed the gate, I chewed on my lip nervously.
“What’s wrong?” she asked warily.
“Nothing, I was just thinking.”
“About?”
“What do you think of looking for a house?” Silence was my answer, so I shot her a quick glance, then returned my attention to the road. She was staring at me, blinking owlishly. In the rearview mirror, I watched my son bebop his dark head as he listened to the music filtering through the speakers and watched out the window.
“Well?” I prompted when she didn’t answer.
“You want that?” she whispered uncertainly, and I took her hand.
“Maybe I should’ve explained how serious it is to get my mark.” I paused as I gathered my words. “You know I love you, right? I mean, I haven’t made a secret of it.”
She nodded, then whispered, “I love you too.”
“You getting my brand—my mark—means you’re it for me. You’re my do or die. My woman. My every-fucking-thing. It tells anyone that if they mess with you, they’re messing with me and every single one of my brothers. You’re my ol’ lady forever.” Not that there was question of it in my mind before, but saying the words and waiting for her reply was nerve-racking. Her continued silence wasn’t helping.
“If you don’t want it, I’ll understand. You don’t have to get it. Shit, I’m fucking this up. I’m not like Voodoo. I’m not great with the caveman shit. He would’ve just said ‘it’s happening’ and moved on.” I was rambling, and I hated it. Sighing deeply, I shot her another glance. “But no matter what you decide, in my mind, you’ll always be mine and I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth to convince you.”
Her fingers squeezed mine. “Is this you proposing?”
My eyes widened, then I choked a little. “Well, in a way. Maybe.” I cleared my throat. “To be an ol’ lady, you don’t have to be a wife. Mostly because it almost carries more weight than the title of wife, but I’d like that too. Anything to make it clear to the entire world, you’re mine. Would you marry me, Korrie Kingston? I mean, if I was asking.”
“Well, earlier you told me you were marrying me someday soon. Now you say you want to look for a house. I’m getting your brand. I’m your ol’ lady—your do or die, as you said. So you’re not asking me to marry you?” Her lips twisted in a subdued smile.
“Damn, babe, I can’t ask you like that,” I said as I turned the corner and pulled into the shared lot for the tattoo studio and the pawnshop next door. After I put the truck in Park, I reached over, cupped the back of her neck, and pulled her over the console to my lips. “But I meant it earlier. I’m gonna marry you. I’ll be askin’, but I wanted it to be a little more romantic than that, so you better be prepared.”
“Mmm, okay.” With a soft curve of her lips, she pressed them to mine, and I nipped her bottom lip as I pulled back.
“Ready, little man?” I said into the back seat. Little eyes were watching us intently with a satisfied expression on his mini-me face.
“Yeah!” He scrambled to unbuckle, and we went to the shop door. I knocked, and Chains came to unlock it.
“Come on in. I got some donuts in the break room if your mom says it’s okay,” he said to Trace, who looked up at Korrie expectantly. She smiled and raised a questioning brow to me. I nodded.
“That’s fine,” she told him.
Korrie was looking through the books at the front counter, but what she was getting wouldn’t be found in them.
I crouched in front of Trace after I walked him into the break room. “We’ve lost a lot of years, and I’m sorry I wasn’t around.”
He shrugged, but he looked unsure and more like the little boy he was than he ever had before.
“I’m going to ask your mom to marry me. Is that okay with you?”
The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Then you’ll live with us? And we’ll be like a real family?”
The innocent question hit me right in the heart. “Yeah, buddy. A real family.”
“Mom’s kinda stubborn. What if she says no?” he questioned as his gaze skated toward his mother then back to me.
“Then we’re gonna have to convince her,” I said with a conspiratorial grin.
His dark head nodded. “Deal.”
I ruffed his hair and stood.
While Trace helped himself to a donut and settled in front of the break room TV, Chains had secured the door again, then went to his room. “We can get started if you’re ready,” he called from his doorway.
We followed him in, and I quietly discussed what I wanted. He drew out a quick sketch and showed it to me. I grinned and nodded. “Hell, yeah.”
“Do I get to see it?” Korrie questioned as she tried to look over our shoulders at the sketch. I turned toward her, blocking the drawing from her.
&n
bsp; “Do you trust me?” I asked with a mischievous grin. She gave me a narrow-eyed consideration before raising her chin.
“Maybe,” she drawled, and I wrapped her up in my arms, lifting her feet from the floor as I backed her away from the design.
“Maybe, huh?” I nipped her neck, and she giggled. “Take off your jacket and sit your ass on the table.”
She did as instructed but the whole time gave me an assessing glare, softened by the hint of a grin on her plush lips. Since I knew she would probably want to get a job at some point—not that she needed one—I decided to place her ink in a spot that she could cover when needed.
Her eyes widened and flickered over toward where Chains was prepping his materials when I started to unbutton her flannel shirt. I only opened it enough to drop it over her shoulder, and she breathed a sigh of relief. “Nervous?” I asked before teasing her shoulder with a kiss.
“No,” she said, and I drew back to look in her eyes. The truth shone from them that as long as she trusted me, she knew she had no reason to be nervous. Unable to stop, I leaned in for a sensual kiss that became increasingly heated until there was a clearing throat behind us.
“Uh, we gonna do this or do I need to leave you two alone and reschedule?” Chains had a raised brow and a smirk on his face as he watched us.
“Naw, bro, I know you have a full schedule. Let’s get this done.”
He nodded with a shrug, turned on the TV in the room for her to watch if she wanted, then slipped on a pair of black gloves and got to work. Korrie lay on her stomach and waited. “That channel okay? Angel can change it for you if you need him to,” he said as he wiped her skin down. One of the news channels was on.
“It’s fine,” she said. “I probably won’t watch it much.” She pulled out her phone and started reading a book. I chuckled. Of course my girl would sit and read a book while getting a tattoo.
Korrie was a fucking trooper when it came to getting ink. She barely blinked when he started. He raised his eyes to me and gave me his signature grin in approval. For a second it was like old times, without concerns of what had happened with my sister and him. Because the more I looked back on their behavior, the worse my suspicions got.
Trace came in a few times to see what we were doing before curling up on the couch in the employee break room and dozing off. The room was right across the hall, so I could keep a close eye on him.
We were about an hour and a half in on her piece when a banner flashed across the television screen. It caught my attention. Shooting a quick glance her way, I snagged the remote and turned the volume up.
“Holy shit,” I heard Korrie mumble as I stared at the events unfolding. They were showing her mother getting arrested and escorted out of her fancy house surrounded by cameras and reporters. For a moment I wondered how the media got a hold of the story so quickly, then I decided I didn’t care.
The next thing it showed was former senator Damon being arrested as well. The announcers were talking about rigged elections, scandal, possible links to sex trafficking, and underage prostitution. They even mentioned Lester Damon’s reported embezzling and disappearance into Mexico and further into South America.
There were several other prominent individuals included in the arrests.
The buzzing of Chains’s machine had stopped, and I glanced over to see Korrie pushing up to her elbows to watch it all unfold as Chains glanced my direction. When our eyes locked, he gave me a satisfied grin.
Korrie looked at us both with tears in her eyes. “Thank you. I’m sure she’ll find a way to get out of it, but thank you.”
“At least Lester ‘fired’ you before any of this broke,” I said with a chuckle. She glared at me.
“What if it comes back to me? I could still pop up in the investigation! My mother was just arrested.”
“Have a little faith in Facet. He made sure it was clear in everything he planted that you had no clue or connection. Besides, they already talked to you again and said they had nothing further, so don’t worry. We’ll go over what to say if they contact you regarding your mother. It’s all good.” She gave me a disbelieving stare. I chose not to tell her the rest of it—she’d find out eventually.
The TV moved on to the next story, and Chains got back to work. When he started the shading over her shoulder blade, she gave a little gasp. “Sorry, babe. It can be a little tender over bonier areas. You okay?”
Narrowing my eyes, I took exception to him calling her babe. His shit-eating grin told me he knew exactly what he’d been doing. Fucker.
“Yeah, it’s okay,” she said. “Just startled me.”
Chains finished, cleaned up her skin, then offered her a mirror. She took it over to the full-length on the wall. “It’s beautiful,” she murmured. Her eyes teared up a bit, but she blinked them away.
The delicate angel wings wrapped around the words “Property of Angel.” Sitting next to them as if it had fallen was a slightly bent and broken halo. In my opinion, it was fitting.
Standing, I turned her to face me. “Mine,” I said firmly but with a crooked grin.
Not to be outdone, she clutched the front of my hoodie and tugged me close. Lips pressed to mine, she spoke against them. “Mine.”
“You’ll get no argument from me,” I replied, then kissed her deeply. Years and lies had separated us, but I didn’t plan on allowing anything to ever come between us again. Gripping her ponytail, I tipped her head back and trailed kisses down her jaw and neck. Neither of us noticed Chains stepping from the room and closing the door until the soft click echoed through the small space.
“Wanna take Trace for lunch, then a nap?” There was no stopping the wolfish grin as I waited for her answer.
“Yeah, we got up awfully early this morning. Think I could use a nap, too,” she said with a sultry curl to her kiss-swollen lips.
“Oh, there won’t be any sleeping on our part,” I growled before grabbing her ass and lifting her up. Instinctively, her legs wrapped around me, and I nudged the soft flannel of her shirt down to nip and suck on the swelling curve of her tits.
“Okay,” she gasped.
One last grind into between her legs, and I slowly slid her down to her feet. Peeking out the door, I saw Chains busy on his phone at the break room table. He glanced at me without raising his head and hid his grin as I tugged her down the hall in the opposite direction of the front door.
“I thought we were leaving,” she said in confusion.
“Change of plans,” I replied as I closed the bathroom door and dove in to kiss her. Catching on quickly, she started to unbuckle my belt and then made quick work of undoing my jeans.
Not one to waste time, I was already unbuttoning the remaining buttons of her shirt and slipping it off. I tossed it to the counter and reached around to unhook her bra. By the time I had it off and started on her jeans, she had my dick in her hand and was stroking it from base to tip.
I groaned into her mouth before breaking loose, jerking her jeans to her knees, spinning her to face the mirror, and bending her over the sink. Her cheeks were glowing pink, lips full and parted, lids heavy with need.
“I want to fuck you while looking at my brand on you,” I whispered into her ear as I held her eyes in the mirror.
“Yes,” she agreed as she softly breathed out the word like it was a prayer.
When I reached down to slip my fingers into her slit, I groaned at how wet she was already. She might be the death of me, but what a way to go.
Lining up the tip of my cock, I worked it in with slow strokes until I was completely meshed with her. My fingers dug into her perfect ass as I slid out and watched as she gripped the edge of the sink expectantly.
Biting my lip, I drove in hard, watching her tits shake with each blissful plunge I took. With each thrust, she clenched tight, driving me wild.
It was a hard, fast, and wild coupling as I pounded into her and she pushed back into me. If I never made it into heaven after I died, I’d be okay, because with
her, I was in heaven on earth.
“I’m going to come, I want you to come with me,” she said, stealing my words as I picked up the pace.
When the familiar tingling started in my spine, I grabbed her ponytail, winding it around my fist, and pulled until her back arched and I could reach her better. Careful of her tender shoulder, I reached around to cup her perfect tit and pinch her nipple. She gasped, and her hot, greedy cunt clenched tight around my swelling cock.
“Touch your fucking clit. Now!” I ground out as my orgasm barreled down on me.
Watching her reach down to touch herself made me explode. As I rode the pulsing waves, she whimpered and her sheath gripped my throbbing cock, milking every fucking drop from me. A shudder traveled through me as my world rocked, then righted.
Breathless and sweaty, I cupped her lush breasts and placed a suckling kiss to the side of her neck. My eyes lifted to hers in the mirror. “That was fucking incredible.”
She gave a shaky sigh and nodded. “Hell, yes.”
Not wanting to leave the heat of her body, but already eagerly anticipating a repeat, I slipped out. She whined and I chuckled as I cleaned her up. “I’ll make it up to you when we get back.”
“Promise?” She gave me a sleepy satisfied smile.
“Damn straight.”
“Jude?” It was the first time in weeks she’d used my given name.
“Yeah, baby,” I said as I straightened her clothes, then mine.
“I love you more than is wise.”
Like it always did, those words hit me right in my heart, causing it to trip and stutter. Gently cradling her face, I brought her in. “And I love you more than is safe.”
“Angels Fall”—Breaking Benjamin
Angel held my hand over the console. Three more turns, and we were entering an affluent area in the Westwood neighborhood of Des Moines.
When we pulled up in front of a beautiful historic home, I took a fortifying breath and got out.
Hoping this went well, I rang the doorbell. Though he’d said he’d be home, I was beginning to worry until I heard the lock turn. The door swung open.
Angel: RBMC: Ankeny IA Page 19