I took a shuddering step back, stunned by my body’s reaction to this stranger.
“I guess that depends on Snowden.”
We both knew I had no choice if Snowden ordered such a display. To keep Sara safe, I would do whatever it took.
“I’m sure it does, and here’s a little tidbit for you to think about while you sleep.”
I didn’t want to know whatever this tidbit was, but Paul wasn’t going to leave it be.
“Mr. Snowden gives me what I want, and I want you. Think about what that means while you cuddle with your girl tonight. Imagine how it’s going to feel when I fuck you, or when I fist you until you come all over yourself screaming my name. You and I are going to have plenty of time to explore this thing between us.”
“There’s nothing between us.”
“Don’t be coy, the air crackles with our need; it’s practically sizzling it’s so intense. All it needs is one spark, and only God knows where it will take us. You can’t resist a firestorm, Forest. You won’t be able to resist me. Deny it all you want, but you can’t ignore the sexual tension vibrating the space between us.”
“You might get to touch me if Snowden allows it, but the rest of that shit going on in your head?” I pointed at him. “It’s not happening. I don’t give a flying fuck what you think.” I gestured to my groin and lied through my teeth. “This is because I want to fuck my girl. Not you.”
Sara gave a tiny gasp.
Paul gave a low laugh. “Well, if that’s the case, go for it. You have all night to do whatever you want with her. I suggest you enjoy her while you can, but you and I both know she can’t give you what you need, but I can.”
“Fucking lunatic.” I grabbed Sara’s arm and pulled her across the room, keeping myself between her and the sex-crazed lunatic.
Ignoring his orders, I slammed the door to the bedroom shut and pressed my back against it as I struggled to breathe.
“Forest? Are you okay?”
I held out a hand, asking for her to give me a moment. My cock screamed for release, the kind which could only come from a man like Paul.
Fuck me.
The door behind me shuddered as Paul slammed into it.
He spoke from the other side. “You do not want to test me on this. Open the damn door.”
“Forest?” Sara’s eyes widened, and she clutched the towel to her naked body.
My attention shifted to the bed, where two pairs of clothes had been laid out.
“Get dressed.”
Her pert little mouth opened to argue, but I gave a curt shake of my head.
“Now.” I could only hold the door closed for so long.
The door shuddered beneath me as Paul kicked it. I was under no illusions he would force his way inside, but I would have Sara fully clothed when he did.
“Hurry!”
Sara didn’t need me to break it down and explain. A smart cookie, she understood. Without further argument, she raced to the bed and threw on the flannel pajamas.
Paul threw his body against the door, alternating his kicks with slamming his shoulder against it in his attempt to break it down.
I waited, timing things as best I could, then I opened the door as he came barreling through. His momentum took him into the room where he stumbled, arms windmilling out of control until he came to a stop.
He spun around, fists clenched, arm drawing back and swung at me.
I met him fist for fist, and blow for blow, as we grappled with each other.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sara
I’d seen Forest fight. He spent hours in the gym, perfecting his technique. Trained by the best of the best, he was proficient in several martial arts and the blood-thirstiest street fighting on the planet.
I thought it was going to be a quick fight because there was no way Paul stood a chance against Forest’s skill.
Limbs grappled. Fists flew. Feet kicked. Legs swept the other off his feet. Sprays of spit from fists hitting jaws had me backing up to the other side of the bed. Spit turned to blood as skin split beneath the blows.
The fight shifted into the other room, placing me out of danger.
For now.
My instinct was to try to stop them, but weighing a buck twenty soaking wet, I was less than half Forest’s weight.
So, I waited.
Nail biting. Teeth clenching. Fingers twisting. I waited for the dust to settle.
And I worried.
What was this going to cost Forest?
Granted, Paul wasn’t Snowden, but he worked for the monster. Did obeying Snowden extend to the lackeys he sent to watch over us?
There was an odd magnificence to watching the men fight. Forest was all nude flesh, a thing of intense beauty when he put his muscles to work. My gorgeous boss had been blessed by the gods and imbued with incredible strength. He moved with fluid lines and deadly force.
He was artistry personified with the flex of chiseled muscles and bursts of wild aggression.
Every one of his moves worked off the previous one, capitalizing on remaining momentum to accentuate the next hit.
He was a force of brutal, unrestrained power.
I found it breathtaking.
How many of his training sessions had I sat through, enduring the exquisite torture of watching my boss work out?
Far too many.
But those hadn’t been real. They hadn’t been life and death like this.
The aggression spilling from them both tangled in their limbs and filled the air with uninhibited sexual chemistry.
Paul might be gay, yet I felt his inescapable pull. He was simply magnificent and looked like he’d been pulled off the cover of a magazine. Not a pretty boy mag, but one of those rough, scruffy, simply beautiful mountain man kind of magazines. He was rough, ragged around the edges, and pristinely perfect.
From their grunts and moans, I didn’t know if they were fighting or fucking. I felt a little like a voyeur watching the exchange. They beat each other with their fists, but a sexual charge punctuated each brutal blow.
Paul’s hands were all over Forest, exploring every inch of Forest’s toned physique as their arms and legs intertwined during their fight. The low rasp of their breaths filled the air and was interrupted only by the solid smacking of flesh as they traded blows.
Despite Forest’s extensive training, Paul held his own. There was no clear winner and looked like the fight would be won not by brute force but rather a war of attrition as exhaustion pulled at them both.
Whichever of them tired first would find himself the loser in this fight.
And then what?
Paul’s nostrils flared as Forest scored a direct hit to Paul’s jaw. Blood streamed from his nose, and a cut bled beneath his left eye. Paul danced just out of reach, a grin splitting his face as he egged Forest on.
My pulse hammered in my throat. Not knowing who would be victorious left me in a precarious position. Even if Forest won, that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be repercussions.
Snowden had called them consequences.
“I see you peeking, little girl.” Paul glanced in my direction and flashed me his megawatt grin. The man was simply heart-stoppingly gorgeous.
The momentary distraction cost him.
Forest bent low and barreled into Paul’s midsection, taking Paul down to the ground.
“Don’t you fucking speak to her.” Forest’s possessive growl lifted the fine hairs on my arms.
I came around from behind the bed to peek through the doorway.
“You like your women soft…” Paul said with a huff.
Forest straddled Paul and clocked his jaw.
“Don’t. You. Fucking. Say. A. Word. To. Her.” Each word came with a punch to the face.
I cringed at the damage Forest had to be causing. Oddly, Paul didn’t seem the least bit fazed. He laughed.
“You like your women soft but your men hard, don’t you?”
Paul’s words struck a chord in Forest, m
aking him pull his punch. It was all the distraction Paul needed. With a bucking of his hips and some twisting of his legs, he flipped Forest to his back.
Paul straddled Forest’s hips and fought to restrain Forest’s wrists over his head. It took a moment, but Paul managed to hold Forest’s wrists down by using his arms as bars to press Forest’s elbows flat against the floor.
He hovered over Forest. Their hips rocked against each other, the brawn of their chests touched with each inhale, and Paul’s devilish eyes lifted to me.
“Do you see what he needs, little girl?” Paul didn’t wait for my answer. “He needs a man who can best him. You can only give him the soft yielding of your body, but he craves physical domination.”
“Fuck you!” Forest bucked against Paul’s grip but failed to knock Paul off his body.
“Oh, we’re getting to that, but you still need to learn to enjoy the finer points of foreplay. We’re just getting started.”
“You’re out of your fucking mind.” Forest’s body heaved as he growled with frustration.
Paul had him locked down tight. Forest couldn’t shake him.
“Am I?” Paul rocked his hips forward, and Forest’s gasp had me taking a step toward the open doorway.
“You feel it now. You’re not the only one with a big cock, and I’m fucking hard for you.”
Forest’s body rippled as he flexed his muscles. He tossed Paul off, and their positions exchanged again with Forest now on top.
It was Forest’s turn to trap Paul’s wrists beside his ears and lock his elbows against the floor.
All the air vacated the room as Forest lowered down. I held my breath because it looked as if Forest might kiss him. Instead, his low, rumbly voice filled the room.
“If you fuck me, it’ll be by Snowden’s command and his command only. I’ll never let you touch me otherwise.”
“Never say never.” Paul huffed a laugh. “You know you’ll beg for it.”
“And if you ever touch Sara, I’ll rip your dick off and fuck your mouth with it before making you swallow it whole.”
“Wow, is that supposed to scare me?”
“Doesn’t matter.” Forest released Paul’s left wrist and threw the weight of his entire body into his punch. “And the fucking doors stay on.”
A loud crack sounded. Paul’s head snapped to the side, and his entire body stilled.
My hands flew to my mouth, sniffling a scream, as Forest shook the unresponsive form of our tormentor. With a grunt, Forest lifted himself off Paul and kicked Paul in the gut for good measure.
“Piper would be very disappointed in you, Paul Rains.” He spat on Paul’s face.
“Is he dead?” My voice squeaked.
“Not even close, but he’s going to hurt for days.” Forest pointed back to the bedroom. “Let me take care of him, so he doesn’t bother us. Go ahead and get in bed.”
“But, you’re bleeding.”
“That’s not my blood.” He swiped at a spot on his cheek, and it wiped clean.
“You need another shower.”
That fight left a sheen of sweat on Forest’s body, and more of Paul’s blood clung to him.
“I don’t want to risk him coming to while I’m in the shower. Sorry, but we’re shutting that door and going to bed. You need to decide if that’s going to be a problem.”
It didn’t escape my notice Forest was still painfully aroused. He ignored his erection as he stomped toward the coffee table and retrieved Paul’s phone. He looked at it, grunted, then brought it over and placed it in front of Paul’s face. The display turned on.
“What are you doing?”
Forest sat down and crossed his legs in front of him. Cupping Paul’s phone, his fingers danced over the screen.
“Nothing,” he said.
Forest wasn’t doing nothing.
He glanced up, brows pinched together. “Seriously, go to bed. I’ll be there in a minute.”
His attention shifted to the phone, and the well-practiced glazed look in his eyes took over as he focused on whatever he was doing.
That didn’t mean I was going to leave him covered in drying blood.
Paul didn’t move, he was knocked out cold, but the gentle rise and fall of his chest told me he still lived. I supposed that was a good thing.
What kind of trouble would Forest be in if he killed Snowden’s guard? What kind of trouble would he be in for the fight?
“Well, you’re not climbing into bed with me covered in his blood.”
Forest’s attention was locked to the phone. I ceased to exist when he got in the zone like this. He could go for hours without eating, drinking, or being aware of anything in his surroundings. As fierce and powerful as my boss could be, he could also be incredibly vulnerable, which was why he needed me.
I took in a deep breath and headed to the bathroom.
Forest wouldn’t take a shower, but I didn’t need him to wash his entire body. Just the blood spatter on his face, chest, and abs.
When I returned from wetting a washcloth from the bathroom, Forest was done with Paul’s phone. He placed it back on the coffee table, then returned to where Paul lay on the floor.
He removed the belt from Paul’s pants and used it to secure Paul’s arms behind his back. With a satisfied grunt, Forest smacked Paul’s ass.
“Who’s the big guy now? Asshole.”
Not sure if I was supposed to have heard that, I headed to the bedroom. Forest glanced up at me with a confused expression.
“What are you doing up? I thought you went to bed.”
“No.” I lifted the washcloth. “I went to get something to clean you up. I’m serious about not sleeping with you if you’re covered in blood. You can take a shower or let me clean you up.”
I was painfully aware of the fact we would be sharing a bed.
Forest left Paul on the floor and headed to the bedroom. I trailed behind him with a backward glance at the unconscious man on the floor.
“What about him?” I asked.
“What about him?” Forest parroted.
“We’re just going to leave him there?”
“I’m not bringing him in here, and the outer door is locked. He can sleep it off in there.”
“Where you tied his hands behind his back?”
Forest gave a little grin. “Yeah, he’s going to be pissed when he wakes up.”
“You think it’s wise antagonizing him?”
“I think antagonizing him is a foregone conclusion, don’t you think?” He rubbed at his jaw where a bruise was forming. Then he made a show of shutting the door behind him. Not that Paul would care about his defiance now.
Forest glanced around the room, then gave a satisfied grunt when he noticed a chair in the corner. He went to grab it and shoved it beneath the doorknob.
“What about Snowden?”
“Paul isn’t going to tell Snowden shit.”
“How do you know? And what about the cameras?”
“First off, Paul isn’t going to tell Snowden shit because Paul wants to fuck me, and as for the cameras, I think we just answered that question.”
“It’s like you’re speaking, but I have no idea what you’re saying. We just answered what question?” I scrunched my brows.
“If there were cameras, we’d be inundated with guards right now. I’d be getting the shit kicked out of me and you…”
I understood. “No one came in when you and Paul fought.”
“You got it.”
“So, no one was watching.”
“There’s my girl. You’re figuring shit out.”
Yeah, I was figuring shit out, but I didn’t understand his comment about Paul.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sara
I worried.
I worried about Forest but felt powerless to help him.
We were still prisoners. Snowden would eventually have something to say about what just happened. No way would that fight go without some kind of punishment.
&nb
sp; Consequences.
I was beginning to hate that word.
Questions filled my head, things I needed to ask, but one look at Forest’s stooped posture and the fatigue filling his face, I swallowed all my questions. Those would have to wait. Instead, I handed the washcloth to Forest.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” He took it from me and wiped his body down.
Odd how a few days ago, I’d never seen him naked. Now, he stood before me in the nude, entirely at ease, while I couldn’t catch my breath. Without another word, he dressed in the pajamas which had been left for him and turned down the covers.
“Let’s try to get some sleep.” His rumbly tone magnified in the small room, churning my gut with things I wanted but would never have.
If that fight taught me anything, it was that although Forest might think he was bisexual, there was no denying the intense attraction between him and the unconscious man in the other room.
How was I supposed to get any sleep?
“Shouldn’t we keep watch?”
Forest shook his head. “What’s done is done, and I’ll face the consequences when it’s time. Sleep is a luxury. Best to take advantage of it when we can.”
Pain filled his words, which reminded me of the horrors he’d endured in the past twenty-four hours, and all that would follow when morning came.
I supposed sleep would be his only refuge.
Snowden had a new plaything, and there was no doubt he had barely gotten started with Forest.
I hated it, but there was nothing I could do about it.
We’d lost so much and had yet to stop to grieve our friends, his sister, and little Zach. When would the tears finally fall?
When would Forest break?
“I don’t want to make this awkward,” he began, “but I need…I need to feel you beside me. Totally platonic…” His gaze shifted down. It was something he did when he lied, but how could that be a lie?
We were platonic.
Forest climbed into bed and patted the space next to him. “I’m so sorry, Sara, you don’t deserve any of this.”
Forest's Fall (Captive Hearts Book 3) Page 18