A cold shiver crept up my spine and I nearly bolted out of the booth when I felt the girl’s hand creep up my thigh in search of my flaccid dick. I shoved her hand away and bit down on the rage that was demanding that I kill this fucker right now.
“No thanks,” I ground out. “I’m here to talk, not to use one of your whores.”
“Ah, but haven’t you already?”
Mason froze as I coldly asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Have you already forgotten that you stole a girl from me recently? A pretty girl—one I was planning to keep personally. I imagine you’ve probably already taken such a beautiful girl on a ride of your own.”
Bile rose in my throat because I couldn’t deny the truth of his words. Instead of reacting to his blatant attempt to piss me off, I simply said, “She doesn’t belong to you.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed and every bit of mirth drained from them in an instant. “But she does. I was owed a debt and her owner signed over her life to me.”
“That piece of shit was not her owner, Dante,” I hissed as I leaned forward to avoid watching as Mario grab ahold of the girl’s hand and guided her to jerk him off. “She’s not a piece of fucking property.”
“No, of course not. A beauty like her is a piece of art, Allen. And she would have been an excellent piece to add to my collection.”
“Maybe you’re not understanding him,” Mason chimed in as he leaned forward as well. “But property or art or what the fuck ever—the girl isn’t yours. She’s ours.”
Dante let out a low breath and shook his head. “No, I don’t think so.”
“I can pay you for her,” I cut in, still holding on to the vain hope that this could be settled without the risk of putting Amber in even more danger. “I’ll pay you double the amount that Chris owed you.”
He appeared intrigued by the offer, tilting his head to the side and regarding Mario. “What do you think, boy?”
“Whatever,” he said breathlessly, pumping his hips under the table and tossing his head back against the leather booth. Like a train wreck, I watched as his eyes rolled back and his mouth fell open—his body jerking as he came in the girl’s hand.
Fucking disgusting prick.
“I say... no deal.”
My eyes cut back to Dante. “Are you serious?”
His face was solemn as he nodded. “Yes, I’m serious. You will return the girl to me immediately, or face the consequences.”
If we weren’t going to solve this peacefully, then this was exactly what we needed.
“Is that a threat?” Mason asked, eyes darting to me for a brief second to confirm that the plan was still a go. I inclined my head slightly and watched as he nodded back.
“It is a threat. I want that girl.”
“You’re not getting her back,” Mason said with a chuckle.
“I believe I will, if you little piss-ants know what’s good for you. If you and your friends want to live, you will bring her to me within twenty-four hours.”
If the threat itself wasn’t enough to get my murderous rage running, what he said next certainly was.
“Return her to me and no one will die. But one way or another— by this time tomorrow, I will be buried balls deep in her tight cunt.”
I slammed my fists on the table and slowly pulled in a long, sobering breath. I watched Mason as panic appeared on his face, afraid that I was about to break the code and raise hell inside the safe zone.
Instead, I simply said, “Fair enough.”
“I will see you tomorrow,” Dante called as I stood up. I didn’t look back at him, but I could still hear him as he said, “Girl, hold still. I want to come on your face.”
I clenched my jaw tight enough to send sharp stabs of pain through my entire face and slid back the curtain, walking away from the sound of his hand working his flesh and the girl’s whimpers as he released with a grunt.
* * *
“Overall—that could’ve gone worse,” Mason said as soon as we were on the road heading back towards the house. “But fuck, man. That shit was disgusting. Could you guys hear it?”
“Unfortunately,” Troy said dryly from the passenger’s seat. “I’m just grateful I didn’t have to see it.”
“We’ll fix it,” I said, more to myself than to anyone else. My knuckles were white as I clenched the steering wheel hard, wanting nothing more than to get home and make sure Amber was okay.
And tell her how much I cared for her.
And to assure her I’d never treat her like Chris did—or like Dante would, if given the chance.
“We’ll make it right. Set the captives free,” I mumbled as I refocused on my thoughts.
I could feel the curious look Troy was giving me from the passenger seat and the silence in the back of the car alerted me that I was likely getting the same looks from Derek and Mason.
“I think you need to get a few hours of sleep before this goes down, Allen. With all due respect—we don’t need you for the set up.”
“That won’t be necessary. I need to—”
Mason interrupted me mid-sentence. “John can cover for you while you spend a little time with your girl and get a few hours of shut-eye. The rest of us will alternate until we’re ready to go.”
I wanted to argue, but I knew my body was running on fumes. Plus, the idea of spending some time alone with Amber was more than enough to make me cave.
“Alright, fine. When we get back, I’ll get John to relieve me for a few hours.”
Everyone seemingly satisfied with my response, the rest of the ride back to the house was silent.
* * *
Amber
I was having what was probably the best dream of my life. I was lying on a deserted beach with Allen on one side and John on the other—both of them totally nude and feeding me ice cream spoonful by spoonful, occasionally letting a bite plop onto my own naked body and then licking it off with their talented tongues.
But something was ruining it. Every now and then, the colors would flicker as if someone was flicking a light switch in my head, stirring me out of the fantasy even though I was desperately clinging on to it.
“Wake up... John, wake UP!”
A violent jolt to my right pulled me all the way out of sleep and I yelped when I felt John abruptly sit up and move to block my body with his own.
I sat up in bed and looked to the doorway with wide eyes, a sigh of relief slipping past my lips when I saw a thoroughly unamused Allen staring at us. John relaxed and sat on the edge of the bed, running his hands through his hair as he breathlessly laughed.
“You scared the shit out of me, man.”
“Nice to see you were keeping her safe,” Allen said coldly.
John bristled and sat up. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, I just—”
“Save it. They need you downstairs.”
“What about you?” he asked as he stood up and grabbed his discarded jeans from the floor.
“You’ll be covering for me so I can get a few hours of sleep. The guys seem to think I need it.”
John nodded, avoiding Allen’s steely gaze as he redressed.
“Allen, it’s my fault,” I said softly, hoping that I could dissolve some of his anger.
I wasn’t entirely sure it worked at making him less mad at John, but when he turned to look at me, his eyes softened instantly. I gave him a small smile, hoping he’d return it, but that was apparently pushing my luck.
“Get some sleep, man,” John told him, patting him on the shoulder and finally meeting his gaze. “And I’m sorry for passing out. It wasn’t intentional.”
Allen nodded and I could tell he was trying very hard to reign in his anger. He patted John on the shoulder, but didn’t say a word as he started walking towards the bed. John gave me an apologetic smile before leaving the room and I waved to him before the door clicked shut.
Once we were alone, I sat up on my knees and crawled to where Allen was sitting on the edge of the bed. I hesi
tantly laid my hands on his shoulders and whispered, “Allen?”
“Yeah?” he whispered back, his voice cracking slightly.
I frowned with concern. “Are you alright?”
He turned his head back to look at me and I gasped at the glassiness of his eyes.
“Not really.”
I crawled back on the bed and tugged him with me, allowing him a moment to remove his shoes before he laid down beside me.
“Come here,” I said, opening my arms and hoping he would curl up to me for comfort like I had done with John a few hours prior.
Not a single tear fell, but he did let out a harsh, wavering breath as he started to curl up to my side. I wanted to ask him what happened and attempt to sooth his worries, but I felt my frown deepen when I realized that he wasn’t curling up to me.
He was curling over me—shielding my body with his own.
Confused, I laid perfectly still, allowing my eyes to drift close as he nuzzled my hair and whispered, “I won’t let them take you. They’ll have to kill me first.”
The fear his words caused wasn’t strong enough to battle the sense of safeness I felt in Allen’s arms and soon enough, I drifted right back into my dream.
Chapter Sixteen
John
“What’s going on?” I asked as I walked into the kitchen and saw everyone leaning over the table. “This the map?”
“Yep,” Derek confirmed with a nod. “This is it.”
I looked to the spot on the map he was pointing at, noting with a grimace that it was right in the heart of their turf. It was going to take some careful planning to get in and out without drawing a lot of attention to ourselves.
“What happened at Monaco?”
Mason filled me in. “Allen made the offer to pay double—Dante declined. He really wants that girl and he’s given Allen twenty-four hours to deliver her. Or else.”
“So we’re primed to move.”
“Yep. The threat has been made and we’ll take the first leg of the fight to their turf come sunrise.”
A brief surge of panic rose in my throat. “The first leg?”
“There’s no way that we can attack a building of that size and not have a few escape,” Troy chimed in, ever the master of strategy. “We’ll have to do it quick—kill as many as possible, free the captives, then return here for the second wave. It’s unavoidable.”
“Fuck that. We’ll stay there—I’m not putting Amber in danger.”
“She already is. And she’ll be in a hell of a lot more if we don’t come back to defend her.”
There was a tense moment of silence where I begrudgingly realized that they were right. There wasn’t anything else we could do.
“Did you tell Allen this?”
A solemn nod. “He signed off on the plan. He wasn’t happy about it either, but he’s aware that this is how it has to happen.”
“We’re not leaving her alone.”
Mason raised his hand. “I’ll watch her.”
I raised a surprised eyebrow. “You? I would think you’d want to be as close to the action as possible.”
He pursed his lips and shrugged. “That’s typically true, but after what I saw tonight, I’d rather be as far away from that scene as possible.”
I quickly realized that he must have witnessed something at Monaco that reminded him of his owns demons and I couldn’t fault him for wanting to hang back. He’d be useful in the fight itself, but at least Allen and I could feel more secure about Amber’s safety with Mason than if we were to leave her with Derek.
“Alright, Mason will hang back. Derek—you’ll back up Troy and I’ll cover Allen.”
“Agreed,” Troy said. “Now, let’s discuss how we’re going to get in unseen...”
* * *
Allen
I wasn’t the biggest fan of sleep.
I realized that it was human nature to need sleep to function, but I typically tried to run on as little sleep as possible. Because with sleep came dreaming.
Dreaming, for me, meant nightmares.
Tonight was no exception.
A mere hour after passing out with my body protectively wrapped around Amber, I shot up in bed, covered in sweat and panting hard. When I realized I was still in my bedroom and not actually chained to a chair with a gun pressed to my temple as I was forced to watch Dante brutally raping Amber, I instantly relaxed.
“Allen?”
I turned to face the sleepy voice, watching as Amber cracked open her eyes and looked up at me with confusion. She was laying on her side and when she propped up on her arm, the sheet that had been covering her slowly started to slide down her body.
Even after the horrific nightmare I’d just endured, my dick still twitched at the sight of her naked in my bed.
“Go back to sleep,” I whispered hoarsely, swinging my legs off the bed and heading towards the bathroom to take a leak.
After I washed my hands and twisted open the door, I startled a little at the sight of Amber standing right in front of me, clutching the sheet to her chest with one arm.
“Are you coming back to bed?”
“I can’t sleep anymore.”
“Why not?”
“I’m prone to nightmares,” I answered honestly.
Her face softened and she stepped closer, pressing the sheet between our bodies as she wrapped her arms around my back and hugged me. I followed suit, hugging her back and reveling in the feel of having her so intimately pressed against me. I said another silent ‘thank you’ to both John and to the universe in general for bringing me to this point.
Even with all the bad—she was still here. Still in my arms.
And it will fucking stay that way, no matter who I have to kill.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
With a start, I realized she was asking about my nightmare and I shook my head fiercely.
“No. I don’t even want to think about it.”
She hummed her acceptance and turned her head to place a sweet kiss over my heart, making it beat faster in my chest.
“Do you want to hear about my dream?”
That sounded... interesting.
“Sure.”
“Come back to bed and I’ll tell you,” she said with a sly grin, taking hold of the sheet and staking a step back.
“Amber...” I started, trailing off when I realized I couldn’t find my voice to truly protest.
She huffed a little but seemed to understand, then I watched as her eyes lit up.
“I need a shower,” she abruptly stated, dropping the sheet to the floor and revealing her perfect body to my greedy eyes. “If you help me wash up, I’ll tell you about my dream.”
“Deal,” I croaked, more than willing to run my hands all over her soapy, wet body even without the extra incentive.
I followed her without a second thought, letting her drag me by the wrist back into the bathroom. She frowned at the knobs of my shower and I snapped into motion, twisting them on to the settings I liked and hoping she would enjoy it at the same temperature.
“You’re going to get your clothes all wet if you don’t take them off,” her breathy voice pointed out.
I quickly stripped, keeping my eyes locked on her face as she stared down at my skin as it was revealed to her. She had a happy smile on her face and soon, mine mimicked hers, the smile stretching across my lips without my consent.
Once I was naked, she stepped into the shower stall and I followed right behind her. She was already tipping her head back under the spray to wet her hair and it was making streams of water run down her breasts. The sight immediately called to me and I leaned forward, trailing down the wet path with my tongue until I reached her tight nipple.
But Amber pulled me back by my hair and whispered, “Wait. I want to tell you about my dream.”
“Tell me.”
“The three of us were on a beach,” she said wistfully, sighing with contentment as her eyes closed and she started to work the water throug
h her long hair. “I don’t know where, but there was no one else except us. And we were all naked.”
I inhaled sharply, wanting to know more. “And?”
“And you and John had ice cream sundaes and you were taking turns feeding me.”
Startled, I stood up straighter and barked out a laugh.
“That really wasn’t where I was expecting that to go.”
Amber opened her eyes and grinned. “I’m not finished yet.”
My eyes hooded as I watched her hand slowly trail down her neck and shoulders, undoubtedly heading towards her tits.
“Every now and then, you would hold the spoon to my lips to give me a bite, but then you’d yank it away and drop it right here,” she said, her fingertips circling around her nipples. “Then you’d lean down and lick it off.”
“Like this?” I asked hoarsely, leaning down to swirl my tongue around her skin before sucking the pink tip into my mouth.
Amber moaned and grabbed the back of my head. “Yes, just like that.”
My cock throbbed painfully—already rock hard just from the tiny amount of details she had given me. And when she pulled me away again, it was clear that she hadn’t finished yet.
“But you see, Allen, I really wanted that sundae. It was hot fudge with whipped cream.”
“Your favorite,” I interrupted, looking up to see her surprise that I remembered such a trivial detail from so many years ago.
“Yes,” she said softly, her eyes becoming no less full of desire, but now also lit up with emotion. “My favorite. But you and John just kept dropping it on my body and licking it up yourselves. It was mean.”
I swallowed hard, wondering where she could possibly be going with this.
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I got my sundae in the end. Want to know how?”
“Yes,” I begged, desperate to hear the ending.
She pulled me upright and leaned in close, like she was going to tell me a secret.
“With all the time you two spent teasing me, the ice cream was almost melted,” she said with a pout that quickly turned into a wicked grin. “So I took the sundae from you and made you stand up so I could dip your cock in the mess. Then I sucked it off.”
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