by Jo Raven
I bet we’ll be called to his office another time and day to talk some more. There’s the subject of the Lost Boys we haven’t even began to cover.
Frankly, I want tonight to be over so that I can take my man home and curl up in his arms until I forget this godawful night, the fear that rode me all the way from Audrey’s apartment until I saw him standing there, his face covered in blood, his knuckles bleeding.
The EMTs insist that he and Rafe ride in the ambulance, and it’s frigging hard to let go of him and watch him go. We all climb back into our cars to follow them, and I sit in the back of Tessa’s car, glad I’m not driving. Too shaky for that.
It’s over, I keep thinking. Kenneth Shaw has been captured and is going on trial. He’s no longer free to roam the streets and kidnap innocent boys. No longer free to foster children and torture or kill them.
Thanks to Zane’s mad plan.
Oh yes, I absolutely understand why Zane did what he did. Truth is, I’m married to the most amazing, selfless man I could ever hope to meet.
***
“Can’t sleep?” I roll on my back on the bed, stifling a yawn, glancing toward the unmistakable tall, Mohawked figure of Zane standing at the window. He’s a dark shadow, faint silver light outlining his body.
He turns at my question, and my breath hitches. He’s only dressed in his briefs and the light catches on the silver barbells in his nipples, on his taut, hard chest and defined arms, on the bulge between his muscular thighs. The colorful ink covering his chest and arms looks slick and dark, washed out to shades of black and gray.
He’s like a fantastical painting of a man, perfect in every way.
And then he smiles and becomes real.
“I dunno what woke me up,” he says, his voice quiet and low. “The baby’s asleep. As should you. You’re tired.”
I almost laugh. If anyone should be exhausted it’s him, but I know his resilience is extraordinary. It’s what kept him alive, and I can’t stand being away from him tonight. Hopefully the feeling will fade as the days pass, but right now I need to feel him close.
Throwing back the covers, I go to him. “You sure you’re okay?” I shiver as the cold air hits my skin. I’m only dressed in a T-shirt and black boyshorts.
“Hm.” He puts his arms around me, and he’s so warm. I wrap myself around him like a starfish, remembering just in time to be careful with his ribs. “I’m okay.”
He doesn’t sound convinced. I lean back to look into his face. “It’s okay to want to talk after what happened yesterday.”
“I don’t wanna talk.” His voice drops even lower, sending a different kind of shiver through me. “Not tonight. There’s something else, though. A small problem.”
Crap, I knew it. “What problem? Tell me.”
He shifts a little and something long and thick and hot presses against my stomach. “This.”
A startled laugh escapes me. “Oh boy. That’s hardly small.”
“Know what? You’re right.” He winks down at me.
“Let me take care of it for you.”
“What if I take care of you instead?” He guides me back to the bed and pushes me down, then climbs on top of me, gazing at me with those exotic dark eyes that make my heart pound.
I want him. I want him so much it hurts. But after last night, I’m not sure he can do this, even if he thinks he can. He always pushes himself too hard, too soon.
“Let’s do it your way tonight.” I cup his beautiful face and start pushing him off so that I can turn around, give him my back. That makes it safer for him. Fewer triggers.
But he stops me. “Your way.”
I shake my head. “That could send you back into a flashback. It’s too soon.”
“It won’t.” He brushes his mouth over mine, stealing my reason. “Trust me.”
I don’t know if I should. My daredevil husband may not know that he absolutely breaks my heart every time he hurts, but he seems determined.
Turning, he sits on the bed, leaning back against the headboard, and pulls me onto his lap before I can protest more.
“Zane…”
“That’s how you fixed me,” he whispers, his hands on my waist, his eyes serious.
“I didn’t fix you,” I whisper back. “I made love to you.”
“Then make love to me. I fucking love you.” And he kisses me, his hands traveling down to my ass, cupping me, kneading me, setting me on fire.
I’m drowning in his smoky taste, his spicy scent. When he tugs my boyshorts down, I help him get them off me, and I reach for his briefs. His hard-on catches under the elastic, and when I free his cock, he leans back with a heartfelt groan.
I lick my dry lips—both because he’s so sexy like this, naked in front of me, trusting me, and because we’ve been here before. His jaw is clenched. I know this position stresses him. He’s not in control, and he’s fighting the urge to push me off him.
But the position is better for his bruised ribcage, and that’s what makes up my mind. That and the heated look in his eyes.
He’s watching me from under his lashes as I whip off my T-shirt and toss it over the side of the bed, his gaze dipping down to my breasts. They’re not much to look at, not even a handful, but he’s always liked them. Plus now they’re swollen with milk, my nipples dark and hard, and from the way his pupils dilate I know he likes what he sees.
He’s distracted. Good. I avoid his trembling, flushed hard-on, and try not to stare at the way it strains against his flat stomach, leaving a shiny trail of precum on his skin.
I put my hands on his chest, on his hard pecs, and raise my head to kiss him. Moving my mouth over his, I gasp when he thrusts his tongue against mine, stroking the roof of my mouth, sending bolts of heat between my legs.
Shifting, I press closer, my pussy spread and my throbbing clit pressed to the root of his cock. Can’t help the moan spilling from my lips to his.
“Fuck. Wait…” He draws back, breaking the kiss, his breathing a little too fast, his face paling. “Christ, wait.”
It’s happening, as I feared. He’s falling back into memory.
My hands shake as I lift them to his face, and he flinches. Shit… I’m aroused, scared, my mind blank.
But he loves me. He trusts me. He wants me.
All I have to do is give him pleasure, distract him. Pain and pleasure, that’s what sidetracks his mind from this dark rut.
I can do this. I want this.
“You’re hot, Zane Madden.” Letting my hands fall back to his chest, I kiss his shoulder as I toy with the barbells in his small nipples, tugging and tweaking, first one, then the other. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I first saw you, did you know that?”
He blinks those dark eyes, his fingers spasming on my waist. “No.”
“When I came over with Audrey. She wanted to visit Ash. You were all gruff and pissed at the world, and I fell for you then and there.”
He huffs a quiet laugh, and I tug on the barbell in his nipple again until he moans. “I didn’t know how fucking much I wanted you,” he pants, his gaze focused on me again. “Not until I first saw you eat ice cream, licking it from the cone.”
“Insta-love, huh?” I tease him, getting distracted myself by the way his body is reacting to my touch, his abs tightening, his cock swelling more, leaking between our bodies.
“No, that was lust. This…” His hands move to my hips, hauling me even closer, pressing me to his length, and he groans, his eyes rolling with pleasure. “This is love.”
God.
Love and lust and need all rolled into one maelstrom that’s dragging me under. I drop my hand to his cock, tap the piercings there until he’s arching against the headboard and his hard-on is so thick my hand won’t close around it, his length hard as steel.
“Fuck, girl…” He’s lifting me, his chest rising and falling like he’s been running. “Need to be inside you. Need you to come on my dick.”
Oh God, yes.
He’s all
here now, his eyes pitch dark, his body trembling with desire. I rise on my knees, guide the head of his cock inside me, then slowly sink down, taking him in.
He steadies me when I shake and moan, as his cock stretches me wide, to the point of pain and then back to pleasure.
Oh God, white-hot pleasure that’s burning its way through me. The way he fills me, the way the piercings stroke me inside, it’s driving every conscious thought from my head. I’m hot and already riding an edge of pleasure so sharp it’s cutting me open, it’s blowing my mind.
It’s all I can do to hold on to his shoulders and bite my lip to keep my moans quiet as I ride his rock-hard cock. He’s cursing under his breath, his hips rocking upward every time I sink back down, his lips pulled back in a snarl, his face twisted with strain.
His thrusts grow harder, faster, and I dig my fingers into his shoulders, a cry leaving my throat when my pussy clenches around his length. I come so hard tears fill my eyes and track down my cheeks.
Another wave of scalding pleasure pulses through me, and I writhe on his cock, not sure I can take it. Too strong, too much—or maybe it’s that his cock is swelling more, pressing into me.
“Love you,” he growls, jerking his hips up, slamming me back down on his cock, his breathing ragged. “Goddamn, girl, oh fuck…”
The burst of heat deep inside me as he comes has me shaking with another rush of pleasure. He groans and rocks into me, and I cry out again and pant his name.
“Oh God.” I collapse against this chest. “Oh my God.”
He chuckles, that deep, warm sound I love so much, and wraps his arms around me. “Just Zane. And I am yours.”
EPILOGUE
Three weeks later
ZANE
“Hey, man, you coming? They’re about to start.” That’s Ash, knocking on the bathroom stall, sounding stressed. “And you have the rings.”
Dakota stifles a giggle against my shoulder, and I suck in a sharp breath as she clenches around my dick. “Coming.”
Quite literally, or almost.
“You guys can’t wait to make more babies, huh? Trying to catch up to Audrey and me?” Fucker is still outside.
“Not if you keep talking while we fuck,” I growl, and he chuckles before his steps retreat. The door clicks shut behind him, and I shift Dakota’s legs around my hips, lifting her a little, then pulling her back down on my cock. “Oh yeah.”
She moans as I thrust up into her heat, her feet locked behind me, her legs tightening around my hips as she helplessly rocks with me. Her hands scrabble at the back of my neck, and I force myself not to think about that, focusing on the feel of her in my arms, on her sweet pussy around my dick, the sounds of pleasure she’s making.
My girl. Mine. My everything.
Fuck, my body is tightening, muscles clenching as the tension ratchets up and my dick jerks. I’m inside her, I’m with her, and it’s getting better every day. I groan against her neck, clinging to the perfect, agonizing moment when our bodies are molded together, connected, balancing on the edge of a mind-blowing orgasm.
“Come for me,” I breathe in her ear, pushing her back against the stall wall as I lose control. “Oh fuck… Come with me.”
And she does, moaning before she muffles it against my skin, her hips rolling and her pussy milking my jerking dick.
“Are we making more babies?” she whispers in my ear as we pant, our bodies still rocking together.
“We sure are giving it lots of practice.” I’m grinning, can’t help it. “And I’m sure Lee would like a little sister.”
“Sister, huh? Not a brother?”
“Or a brother,” I concede. “Or both.”
She laughs, the sound like small bells. God, love that sound. Love how she feels pressed to my body. “You have wicked plans of world domination, I see.”
“You bet.”
“Maybe we should clean up and go now. You do have the rings, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Rafe and Megan’s?”
“Actually… I have all the rings. I’m the fucking ring bearer.”
“Why?”
“You know how Erin loves fantasy books? She and Tyler decided I should. Like in the Lord of the Rings. Said I was the leader of the fellowship.”
She snickers. “Sounds like something those two would think up.” She rubs her lips on my shoulder. “Now will you let me down?”
“I don’t wanna pull out,” I admit. “You feel too good.”
“Weddings,” she reminds me, panting a little when I thrust into her again. “Rings.”
And we are at the wedding venue, hogging one of the two stalls in the men’s bathrooms.
Dammit. If we don’t get out soon, Rafe will be next banging on the door, and I’m damn sure their next step will be to take the door down to make sure I’m okay.
They’ve been doing that a lot lately.
Checking on me.
And for some stupid reason, the thought makes me grin more widely. Fuckers. They’re good guys.
Not that I didn’t know that, but still. They say you know who your friends are when things go wrong, and there they were, by my side, all the way, boys and girls alike. It’s thanks to them I’m here today, making more babies with Dakota. I’ll never forget that.
And I’ll make sure they know it when they are on babysitting duty in the years to come. Heh. This is exactly what being part of a family means.
I guess I’d better get those rings to them before they go into a panic and come knocking. Let’s get the last of the Brotherhood married, so they can continue their babymaking with the blessings of the community and a wealth of compromising photos to blackmail them with in the future.
Sounds like a plan.
***
The triple wedding event is unfolding inside a historic building, apparently. Looks like a barn. Not that I’d know anything about barns.
Patting the rings in the pockets of my long coat—because fuck if I’m ever gonna wear a dress jacket—I stand behind the couples.
I’m holding Lee in my arms, and Dakota is standing beside me, looking damn gorgeous in a mini black dress and tall boots, lacy gloves and a choker, her dark hair piled on top of her head. Her colorful tattoos peek over her gloves, twisting around her upper arms.
She’s badass, my girl.
Tearing my gaze from her with difficulty, I lean down to kiss the top of my son’s head and listen with half an ear as the Justice of the Peace, a plump, bald man, rambles on about marriage, and the law, and love.
Motherfucker, these guys know all about love already. If only you knew…
I look at my friends, three couples in a row, standing there solemnly, holding hands and listening. Three couples and a few kids. Dylan and Tessa have Dylan’s brothers standing in front of them, and I smile at that.
Tessa is dressed in a light blue gown with white flowers stitched all over, her hair in an elaborate bun and a small tiara on her head. She’s like a Disney princess, and beside her Dylan is quite princely, too, in his dark suit.
Erin and Tyler are dressed in more interesting costumes—inspired from a movie they like. Was it Star Wars? Or Lord of the Rings? Not sure, but Erin looks damn fine in her long cream gown and Tyler in his stylized black jacket with gold designs on the sleeves.
Then there’s Rafe and Megan, and fuck, the word that springs to mind is regal. She’s dressed in deep red, red flowers in her dark hair, and he’s in a dark gray suit, his hair combed back.
Dammit, I must be bored out of my mind to be checking out clothes.
Then we have movement. I perk up as Dakota takes the boxes with the rings from my pockets and passes them on to the couples, but then there’s another lag as one by one they exchange their vows.
I wanna ask Dakota if we took so long to get married. I should apologize to everyone for putting them through this.
Then again… it’s a good feeling, seeing them all gathered here, looking good, looking happy.
So I
suck it up and grin at my friends.
By the time they’re done, Lee has started to whine. When he tries to suckle my damn nipple through my shirt, I pass him to his mom.
“Mom’s prettier than me anyway,” I inform my son, and earn myself a snicker from Dakota.
Ash grins at me from my right as my pretty wife wanders off to sit in the back to breastfeed. He’s holding Scott who’s trying to unbutton his dad’s shirt, while drooling all over it.
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I snicker and take in the small crowd that’s gathered around us. Behind Ash there are the Damage Boyz with their girls. There is Tessa’s mom, and her boss with his wife, and Erin’s parents who are busy with their grandchildren. The lady in a pink suit looks a lot like Megan so I’d say it’s her mom, and there’s Audrey’s mom, too, and Dakota’s parents, and…
I frown.
And the Lost Boys. I didn’t know for sure that they were coming. I knew they’d been placed with Dakota’s relatives. That due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the case, and the boys’ desire to stay together and close to us, social services agreed to our proposal.
Smiling, I head their way. They clean up well, the boys. Dressed in pressed shirts and dark pants, their hair combed, their faces scrubbed clean, they look good. Nothing like the broken creatures we found in that fucking basement, or even later, at the clinic.
The memory jolts me, but I keep walking, keep my smile on. That’s over. Kenneth Shaw is in jail, waiting for his trial. And these kids will be fine, if I have anything to say about it.
“Hey, man,” their leader of sorts, Quint, greets me and lifts his hand for a high-five.
We do that, bump fists, and I glance at the rest of them. “Glad you made it, boys. Settled in well?”
They all nod, looking uneasy. Well, they hardly know anyone here, although they’ve met the rest of the Brotherhood at least once.
“You’ll be just fine,” I tell them. “You may not realize it yet, but we’re family now. And family means a lot to me. Hell, to all of us here. We’re not leaving you, no matter what, got it? We’re not letting you go unless you want to. You’re part of the fucking Brotherhood.”