His Asperger’s clouded his interactions with others—like ignoring my concerns about heading into the worst part of town to save a handful of kids. For a genius, the man had a thick head.
“Sara!” Forest bellowed from his office.
The man never learned what an inside voice was, what it was used for, or why I got on his ass to stop shouting all the damn time. I rolled my eyes because he was incapable of using an office intercom.
Hello! They are called phones for a reason.
I picked up the receiver of our office phone and dialed his desk. It rang and rang. Which meant I had to go into his office. When I stepped inside, I shouted and averted my gaze.
“For the love of God! Clothes, Forest.”
He’d stripped out of his clothes and stood in front of his desk stark naked.
If he’d been a flabby-assed bastard, it wouldn’t be such an issue. Except Forest had the physique to go with his towering form. All carved granite and chiseled perfection, everything was proportional.
I couldn’t help but see his penis…and what an impressive thing it was.
“You told me to take a shower.” He responded like there was nothing wrong with calling me in when he was standing buck naked in his office.
Why couldn’t he strip out of his clothes within the privacy of his bathroom like a normal person?
“I assumed you could do that without my assistance. What the hell? Put a towel over that…that…”
“That what?” He glanced down and wiggled his toes. The man didn’t try to cover his groin. Instead, he glanced down and arched a brow.
I couldn’t shift my gaze away from his sculpted physique fast enough.
Having the hots for your boss was one thing. Seeing him naked? I didn’t have the strength for this.
My fingers itched to touch him. My mouth watered to taste him. I needed to stop thinking about my boss that way.
Dammit all to hell, I do not get paid enough for this kind of shit.
“Where’s my towel?” he asked.
I clamped a hand over my eyes. “I told you. It’s hanging in your bathroom, where a towel belongs. Can you at least cover that thing?”
“I didn’t see it.”
I peeked through my fingers. The bastard made no move to cover himself.
“Did you look?” Exasperated, I headed to the bathroom. Sure enough, two fluffy towels hung right where I had left them. I snagged one then returned to Forest.
He stood at the floor to ceiling windows and stared out onto the city skyline.
“You’ll get arrested for that.” I tried to keep my tone level, projecting a calmness I didn’t have.
Holy hell, but the globes of his ass were perfection.
“For what?” He turned around, bringing him full frontal to me again.
I tossed the towel, which he caught at his waist.
“For flashing innocent people. You can’t stand at the window naked like that. If anyone sees you, you’ll get arrested.”
He scrunched his brow. “No, I won’t. No one can see in.”
I pointed to the glass and the offices in the buildings across the street. “I can see them.”
“So?” He lifted the towel. “They don’t have privacy glass like we do.”
I snapped my fingers. “Well, I don’t need to see you naked. Cover that up!”
“Why? Have you never seen a naked man before?” He moved the towel down. “Didn’t think it would bother you.”
“Well, it does. Now, if you don’t mind, don’t call me in here again unless you’re decent and dressed. I need to go bleach my eyes…thank you very much.”
“That’s sarcasm, right?”
“You think?”
“If you say so.” He gave another shrug.
I pointed to the bathroom. “Get in the shower, and don’t forget to shave. Your scruff is growing scruff. And drag a brush through your hair.”
Why were the basics so damn hard?
“I’m thinking of growing out a beard again.” He ran a hand over the stubble of his jaw.
Too many of my fantasies centered on that scruffy face doing things between my legs. I had to press my thighs together against the sudden ache. And now that I’d seen the full package, my dreams would be filled with another thing between my legs as well.
Thank you, Forest.
Not.
I hated my boss, only because I was helplessly in love with a man who couldn’t love me back.
Leaving him to his shower, I wandered back to my desk, where I sat down and stared at my computer.
Fatigue pulled at me, and all I wanted was to crawl back into bed and sleep like the dead. If I had any other boss but Forest, that’s precisely where I’d be. Instead, I closed my eyes and prioritized the tasks I needed to accomplish for the day.
A quick check with Child Protective Services confirmed what we already knew. None of the four kids we pulled off the street had living relatives.
This was good because we could streamline them into Forest’s Foster care initiative.
That’s what happened to me.
He rescued me from an abusive foster home when I was fourteen. Like little-Sara, I’d been forced to do things no girl should ever have to do.
I was placed with Forest’s first foster family and officially became his first rescue.
My name wasn’t Sara at the time. Jake and Allison Brenerkie told me I could choose a new name for my new life.
Sara seemed simple, and I needed simple. Little did I know the Brenerkie’s would later adopt me. They took in three more of Forest’s rescues, adopted them, and turned us all into one of the most unique and loving families on the planet.
I had hope for little-Sara and her friends.
The phone on my desk rang, which surprised me. It rarely rang during the week, let alone on a Sunday.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Sara.” A decadent voice rolled out of the receiver. “I need to speak with Forest.”
I knew that voice.
What were the odds Xavier would be calling moments after Forest demanded I get him on the line? Sometimes it seemed as if Forest had a sixth sense about the world.
“Xavier, it’s nice to hear your voice. It’s early for you.”
“That it is. Would Forest happen to be at work today?”
“He’s here, but he’s taking a shower.”
“A shower?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s not too much trouble, I do need to speak with him.”
“May I ask what this is concerning?”
“Tell Forest I found him.”
There was only one him.
Other than rescuing children, Forest had a vendetta against the man who sexually abused both him and Skye when they were foster kids. Skye killed their foster father in self-defense, but John Snowden fled the country. Forest’s entire life’s purpose was to find Snowden and put the man down for good.
The insides of my stomach did a little flip. It was more of a huge loopy-loop, and I felt a little sick to my stomach.
This was big news.
“Sara?” Xavier sounded concerned.
“I’m sorry, but I wasn’t expecting that. Forest will want to know right away. I’ll just put you on hold…”
“Don’t bother. Tell him to call me back. We need to talk.”
“Yes, sir.”
I headed back into Forest’s office on shaky legs. Snowden had always been a ghost to me. He was the villain nobody could pin down. If Xavier said he found him, everything was going to change.
And knowing Forest the way I did, his obsession with Snowden would consume him.
It would ruin him.
There was a chance it would kill him.
There was no response to my knock on the bathroom door, so I opened it a crack.
Thick steam billowed out, and I pushed the door wide to let the fog out. Waving my hand in front of my face, I tried to clear the air, and that’s when I saw Forest through the thick
shower glass.
He had his hand on his penis, his head tilted back, and was fisting himself. His arm pumped in time with his heavy breaths.
I covered my mouth, trying to stifle my gasp, but Forest’s acute hearing didn’t miss a beat.
He slowly turned to face me.
“Sara?”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude.”
“You didn’t intrude. I’m just fiddling the flute.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know, relieving some tension. You want to watch?”
“Why would you think I want to watch that?”
“Because you have yet to look away.”
Unfortunately, that was true. Damn, but he was impressive. I gave a sharp shake of my head and focused on why I was here.
“I came because Xavier called, not to watch you fiddle the flute.”
Seriously, who said shit like that?
Forest did.
“What did he say?”
“He found Snowden.”
Chapter Three
Forest
My guts twisted with the news. Snowden had been found.
I never thought this day would come.
Nervous and a little sick to my stomach, something powerful rose within me; a rage I kept in check most days.
Snowden destroyed my life.
He did unspeakable things to the helpless boy I had been and had planned to do far worse. He intended to send me to one of his death rings, horrible places where boys went to live or die.
Skye saved me from that.
The only reason I breathed today was that she had taken things into her own hands.
I’d been too weak to save her, but she’d been strong enough to save me.
Skye lived with the repercussions of what she’d done. That blood would never wash clean, and she would carry the burden of taking a life to her grave.
My sweet, darling sister lived with that because I’d been too weak to save her.
An undeniable rage thundered through me, tearing through my guts and slicing through my veins. I bled with the pain Skye endured. If there was an emotion stronger than hate, that’s what I had for Snowden.
I hungered to put that man down.
He hurt Skye.
He hurt me.
He destroyed our lives.
And got away with it.
He was still getting away with it.
A feral growl escaped my mouth, and my assistant took a frightful step back.
How many more children’s lives had Snowden destroyed over the years?
We put his business partner down. My associate, Joshua Davenport, killed Zane Carson at one of the death matches organized by Snowden and Carson overseas. Carson didn’t walk away from that, but Snowden still pissed in the wind.
We’d lost his trail in the aftermath.
I slammed my fist into the shower wall. Tiles cracked and fell to the floor. Blood streamed from cuts on my skin and swirled down the drain as I struggled to control my breathing.
Red.
All I could see was red.
“Forest?” Sara’s voice shook.
I tried to keep this side of myself from my assistant. Sara didn’t need to see the monster I could become.
“Get out!” I hated shouting, but I needed a moment to get my shit together.
Sara, however, didn’t move. She hovered at the door and wrung her hands as she took half a step toward me.
Ignoring her, I slammed my fist into the tile wall again.
“Get Xavier on the fucking phone. Now!” I didn’t mean to shout at Sara, and I’d have to apologize later, but too much anger surged within me to care.
“Y-yes, boss.” Sara retreated as I tried to rein in the anger surging in my veins.
Then I looked down.
At the erection jutting between my legs.
Sara saw that.
Shit.
Thick, ropey veins sent blood surging to my dick, stiffening it with the filthy desires festering inside of me. I didn’t blame her for her aversion. I’d tried to play off her walking in, but from the look on her face, I failed miserably. Not that I blamed her.
My cock wasn’t something she needed to see and certainly not in this engorged and needy state. It was a monstrous thing, and it hungered for its cheated release. After the news about Snowden, I didn’t have it in me to finish rubbing one out.
But it did.
I had a cock that fit my body.
It never failed to raise an eyebrow with those I fucked. Women might look at me with desire in their eyes, but they weren’t built to handle a man like me, not without a lot of pain. They felt things differently, too, with messy emotions that got in the way of what should be nothing more than physical release.
Men were easy.
Built to handle what I had to offer, I didn’t worry about hurting them, and there were no emotions.
Men fucked for release.
And we walked away without a care in the world or any emotional attachment.
Clean. Simple. Neat.
It made things…palatable.
But I had a big dick, and it had an insatiable appetite for sex. Which meant I’d be rubbing one out sooner than not. I almost considered finishing, but there were things to do.
I grabbed a towel and hastily dried off. My knuckles were bleeding.
Skye was going to have a field day with that.
With a clean towel wrapped around my thick hips, I headed out to my office, where Sara left my clothes.
The moment I let the towel drop, Sara walked back in, and I inadvertently gave her the full monty, again. Only this time, my engorged dick stood loud, proud, and hungry for release.
Her attention shifted to my groin, and her eyes widened until I could see the whites all around. But thankfully, her attention cut left to my hand. When it did, her lips twisted.
“You’re bleeding.” Her words came out flat and emotionless.
I glanced at my knuckles and sighed at the mess I’d made.
“Yeah, you might want to call Skye and tell her to bring needle and thread.”
Sometimes it worked to my advantage having a sister who was also an emergency room doc. She patched me up more times than I cared to admit. My attention shifted back to Sara, who stood looking, not at my cock, but rather at the mess of my knuckles.
I didn’t ask if she had Xavier on the phone. With the way she shoved her cell phone at me, it was clear he waited on the other end.
Her gaze slipped to my groin, and the raging erection jutting out from between my legs. I swear the beast roared, and those damn veins pumped more blood into it. The bastard gave a little jerk like it was showing off.
Like it was hungry for Sara.
That made my stomach clench.
Sara was an angel, a pure soul, and the last thing she needed was that.
It sickened me to even think of her in that way. I would hurt her without trying, but what I hated the most would be that I wouldn’t care. The hunger inside of me wouldn’t pause to consider the pain I would cause. It wouldn’t care.
And that could never happen.
Not to Sara.
Not to sweet, amazing, and beautiful Sara.
I rolled my eyes and put the phone to my ear. No use in covering my dick. She’d seen everything.
“Xavier…” I kept my voice to a low growl.
“We have a location.” The tonal registers of Xavier’s voice soothed the raw emotions swirling within me. The man had a presence about him which radiated through the phone.
My unlikely business partner responded with far more control than I displayed. I swore nothing riled Xavier. The man was smooth as silk, a predator who, somewhere along the way, decided he preferred saving the sheep rather than devouring them.
I had a profound respect for the guy, a little bit of a crush, and deep-seated envy for the control he exercised over every aspect of his life.
He’d been saving victims of human trafficking years befo
re I had my hands in the pot, and he was slick about it. Working both in and out of the sickening industry, he bought slaves and freed them.
I had heard whispers about him, did a little digging, then joined forces when I realized what he had to offer. He had something I needed, a veritable army of loyal soldiers waiting to serve his every command, and I had the technical empire to launch cyber warfare on our enemies along with deep pockets to finance our private war.
Like him, I rescued people.
Foster children, trapped in abusive homes, found loving families, new lives, and hope with the foundation Skye and I created.
It was a natural extension to funnel Xavier’s slaves through that foundation, not to find new homes and safe families, but to establish new lives with new identities.
It wasn’t perfect, but it got the job done.
“Where?” My hand tightened around the phone, and the skin of my knuckles split. I wasn’t sure, but I think that white stuff was bone. Skye was not going to be happy.
“Private island off the coast of Manilla, exclusive guest list. High security.” Xavier made it easy. He wasted zero time on unnecessary conversation.
He also instilled loyalty on a level that scared the shit out of me.
I felt the pull.
The man had something indescribable, and I almost found myself bending a knee to serve him. I might have, except I vowed never to give someone that kind of control over my life ever again.
Xavier also didn’t fuck men.
He had male slaves, but he didn’t use them for sex. An odd arrangement, it somehow worked. He also had a wicked-smart female slave, Raven, who I tapped to assist with our cyber warfare. An MIT graduate, Raven lived and breathed code, and the girl knew her way around computers. I admired her skill. That said something, considering my abilities.
Snowden.
He was going down. I lost too much in the basement where Snowden broke me, and while that was years and years ago, the pain remained as raw and fresh today as it had back then.
I woke more often than not sweat-soaked and panic-ridden from the nightmares. Skye, with the help of her husband, Ash, seemed to be healing. I, however, continued living a never-ending nightmare.
“And?” I asked.
Xavier’s mention of security didn’t bother me. I had teams, ex-SEALS, and Delta operatives, who I recruited and trained with me specifically for this. They were ready to drop everything at my command.
Forest's Fall (Captive Hearts Book 3) Page 3