“You kept going back?”
I nodded. “I craved the attention.”
“Did he insist on sex?”
“Yes.”
“Did he force you?”
“Yes. But he said it was role-playing. That he wanted me to be the innocent victim. I didn’t think anything of it at the time. He was rough. I didn’t care for it, but when I told him as much, he would praise me for playing the role. The first time I didn’t meet him, he showed up at my house. Everly didn’t live there yet. He played the wounded role, said I was hurting him, and he didn’t want to lose me. Begged me to go back to the club. I told him I’d give him another chance.”
“Nothing changed?”
“Oh, it did. For one weekend. He toned it down, focused on me a little. He told me I was too naive, that he needed to train me. Said it was his ultimate goal in life to show me what it meant to be owned by someone. Him. He would drag me naked around the club on my hands and knees, offering me to other Doms for the right price. He had no takers. None that were willing to pay him, anyway.”
“Thank Christ for that,” Ian muttered.
“I think that pissed him off, that no one wanted what he did. His temper only grew from there and he took it out on me. If I didn’t show up at the club, he would come to my house. One time he went to my job, told me he would make my life a living hell if I didn’t come back. By then, Everly was living with me and I didn’t want him going to the house, so I went back to the club again and again.
“He learned about Everly somehow, threatened to hurt her. He even showed up at the house one night. Everly was already in bed. He raped me in the living room, told me if I didn’t do what he wanted, she would soon learn what it was like. I told him not to come back, that I would only do it if we could meet at the club. He agreed.
“I hated him, but I wasn’t willing to risk Everly. Then Heaven moved in and I think that tipped him over the edge. He started accusing me of fucking them. His anger intensified; his threats became more violent. Then back in March, I went to the club. I talked to the manager, told him I was canceling my membership. He asked me why. I told him I didn’t feel safe. He brushed it off, called me a pussy. Before I could get out of there, Roger arrived. I decided to stand up to him.”
The memory of that night had my hands shaking.
Ian’s arms came around me from behind, holding me together. I hadn’t been aware he’d moved, but I was grateful for the comfort he offered. I gripped his forearms, clung to them. His strength was the only thing I had in that moment.
“Finish the story,” Ian rasped, his chin resting on my head.
I nodded. “We went to a room for privacy. He locked us in. I told him I was leaving the club, that I didn’t want this anymore. And I guess…” I inhaled, exhaled, felt light-headed.
“Breathe,” Ian whispered near my ear, his arms still securely around me. “You’re safe.”
I shuddered. “He must’ve drugged me. The next thing I knew, I was chained to a bed. Not at the club. It was an apartment. Turned out it wasn’t too far from my house. Anyway. I woke up and I hurt. Everywhere.” I swallowed back the emotion that churned. “I needed a hospital. He had beaten and raped me. Repeatedly. While I was unconscious.”
“Holy fuck,” Ian hissed, his arms tightening around me. He didn’t let go and I held on to him.
“I heard him talking on the phone. I don’t know who it was, but he was pissed when he hung up. Ended up unchaining me. Told me if I went to the cops, he’d come after Everly and Heaven. Said he would be in touch.”
“That was three months ago?”
“Yes. I didn’t hear from him for a while. Then I got a few text messages. I always messaged back, told him I was busy. I didn’t want him hurting them, but I refused to see him again. I had gone to the doctor once I’d healed, gotten tested. Being in the clear felt like a new beginning and I didn’t want to risk that. Then he texted me a couple of nights before he attacked Everly. I told him I was busy. He didn’t respond. I thought nothing of it, hoping he’d found someone else who interested him.” I sighed. “Clearly I was wrong.”
So fucking wrong.
TWENTY-ONE
IAN
When Dante asked if he could be alone, I couldn’t deny him.
That story had taken a hell of a lot out of him. Out of me, too.
And while I would’ve held him for the rest of the day and all through the night, I knew that wasn’t what Dante needed. The man thrived on having his own space, being able to make his own decisions, process his emotions in his way. It had been taken from him for so long, I understood.
Isaac had returned to the house and I’d filled him in on the details. He’d had the same reaction I did. Sympathy for the hell Dante had been through and rage directed at the bastard who deserved to burn in hell for what he’d done.
“Have you heard back from Ransom?” Isaac asked when we slipped down to the basement while Everly cooked dinner.
“No.”
“Maybe you should call him again,” he suggested, his attention on his computer.
It wouldn’t matter, I knew. I didn’t need to hear from Ransom, to even know if Ransom’s buddy had come through with information. It wouldn’t matter. Not with this guy. Vernon Hathaway had more money than God, had gotten away with this since he was a goddamn teenager.
No way was he going to stop.
And it wasn’t like we had proof. Aside from them possibly tying back the attack on Heaven’s ex to the guy, the police would be fucking useless.
“What about the texts?” Isaac prompted. “Can those be used against him?”
“Perhaps. If Dante testified, made his hell public. And with the money backing him, it’s not like Hathaway’ll have a public defender. Bastard probably won’t see any jail time.”
No, America’s beloved justice system wasn’t what they needed. It had failed Dante before, Ian had no intention of sitting back and watching it fail him again.
“Don’t even think about it,” Isaac warned, lifting his head. “We’re not going that route.”
I didn’t respond.
“Ian.” Isaac’s eyes shot up to the stairs, then back to me. He proceeded to enlighten me in our native tongue. “There’s no turning back if you do this. They’ll own you … us … forever. They’re the whole reason Dad brought us to America, to get us out of that life before it was too late.”
I did know that. Our father hadn’t been a corporate type like I’d told Dante and Heaven, hadn’t come to the US for a job. He’d gotten us out of Ireland because he didn’t want the Irish mob to get their hands on us. We’d been riding a fine line up to that point.
“You promised me.”
I glared at Isaac. Damn him.
“We’ll take care of this ourselves,” Isaac said, back to English. “We can keep him safe. For a little while longer.”
I nodded. “Fine. We’ve got another week before we’ll be shipped out on some job.” I pushed to my feet. “But if we don’t have him by then, I’m making that call.”
Isaac stared at me. “It won’t come to that.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Everly called from upstairs.
My brother and I shared another look, then tabled the argument for later.
After dinner, Everly talked us into getting into the pool. We indulged her while Dante slipped back into his room. I couldn’t stop thinking about him and I knew Isaac was having the same problem. The man was haunted by the demons of his past, and this bastard had tormented him for too fucking long. How anyone hadn’t stepped in to stop it, I would never know.
“Why are you so gloomy?” Everly asked, throwing her arms around me as she straddled my back.
The move surprised me. Up to this point, whenever Isaac was around, she tended to gravitate toward him. Admittedly, I enjoyed her touching me.
I gripped her forearms, held tight. “Just thinking.”
“Perhaps I could distract you,” she whispered against my ear.
&n
bsp; “You think so?”
“I am naked, you know.”
“So am I.”
“I know.” She nipped my earlobe.
“While you two play, I’ve got something to take care of,” Isaac said, clearly distracted.
I waved him off, my full attention on the sweet girl who was evidently trying to seduce me.
With Everly securely wrapped around me, I waded out to the deep end, stopping at the point I knew she couldn’t stand without going under.
“What are you doing?” she asked, kissing my neck.
“Come around so I can see your pretty face.”
She used my body like a jungle gym, shifting around and wrapping her arms and legs tightly around me.
“That’s better.”
“I know what would be better than this,” she murmured, her lips grazing mine.
“Feisty tonight, huh?”
She grinned.
“I’ve got an idea.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “What’s that?”
Sliding my hand between her legs, I teased her pussy with my fingers.
“Mmm. That feels good.”
“Now, if you want me to keep that up, I want you to tell me which scene you’ve enjoyed most at the club.”
“With you and Isaac?”
I could hear the teasing in her tone, but I nipped her lip anyway.
She giggled. “Okay. Let me think.” Her eyes widened. “It was that time you and Isaac made me sit in the chair in the dungeon. All eyes were on me and there was no way I couldn’t notice because the two of you were keeping your distance.”
I remembered exactly the moment she was referring to.
“Then Isaac produced a vibrator.”
“Two,” I corrected.
“Right. Two. One thin one and a bigger one. You passed the bigger one over to me, told me to tease my clit until you said I could stop.”
God, she’d been sweet that night, and though it had been a relatively innocent scene, it had drawn quite the audience.
I leaned in, kissed her neck, making her sigh.
“So I did.”
I pressed my thumb against her clit. “Here?”
Everly gasped. “Yes. Oh, God, that feels good. Don’t stop.”
“I won’t. As long as you keep talking.”
“I … uh… Where was I? Oh, yeah. Vibrator on my clit. So I did that for a few minutes. Apparently, I was a little too good at it because … well, because I came.” She lifted her head, stared into my eyes. “It wasn’t until that night that I realized how serious Isaac took that rule. Like serious serious.”
“He definitely does.”
“Could’ve warned me.”
I pushed my finger inside her pussy, felt it clamp around me. “Keep talking.”
She moaned softly. “Since I hadn’t thought anything of it, I… Ian … that feels so good.” Another moan, then she was back on topic. “I inadvertently earned punishment that night. But then Isaac surprised me. Told me you were going to dish out my punishment.”
I added another finger inside her. I wasn’t sure if Everly realized it or not, but she was fucking my fingers, lifting and lowering on them in the water.
She continued her story, pausing for breathy moans. “You made me go over to the spanking bench. Face down, ass up. I did. You didn’t come over for a few minutes and I was starting to think that was my punishment. Being on display for the club. Nope. It wasn’t.” She ground her hips down, trying to take my fingers deeper. “You finally came over, brought the vibrator with you. Settled it against my clit and told me to hold it there, but I wasn’t allowed to come. Since I already had, I figured that wasn’t a problem.”
She sighed when I added a third finger.
“Part of me had hoped … oh, God, yes … hoped you’d take me that night. Right there in front of everyone.”
That was news to me, and her declaration had me pulling back, staring into her eyes. “Did you?”
Everly met my gaze head on, held it. “I did. Of course, you know that didn’t happen. So, there I was, on the spanking bench, a vibrator on my clit, expecting to get a spanking but hoping to get fucked.”
Those crass words coming out of her sweet, innocent mouth had my cock hardening. The fact that she was getting off retelling this story didn’t hurt, either.
“Next thing I know, a vibrator’s being pushed into my ass.”
Her pussy clenched around my fingers.
Her voice was raspy with desire when she continued. “While I’d been hoping to feel your cock inside me, you fucked my ass with a toy.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
She moaned softly, grinding against my hand. “Yes. More than I thought I would.”
“Did you come?”
“Yes.” She smiled sweetly. “But I asked permission first.”
Everly kissed me, grinding against my hand. I teased her clit with my thumb, fucked her with my fingers. She was panting.
“One of these days,” I whispered against her mouth, “my cock’s going to be in your ass.”
She inhaled sharply. “I know.”
“Do you want that?”
“Yes.”
I moved over to the wall, leaned against it, and bent my knees, shifting so that she was sitting on my thigh, her legs floating out to the side, her back across my arm.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Close your eyes. Lean your head back.”
She did, her head bobbing on the water, ears submerged, face above. Her hair floated out around her.
I drove two fingers into her pussy, fucked her ruthlessly as I watched. She moaned, begged, her nipples puckering, stomach muscles flexing.
“May I have permission?”
“For what?” I growled, drilling my fingers into her.
“To come … oh, God. Please, Ian, please let me come.”
“You may,” I groaned seconds before she splintered in my arms.
I held on to her, keeping her face above water as she went limp in my arms. I pulled her into me, chuckling as I kissed her neck.
“Feel better?” I asked as she draped her arms around me.
“So much better.”
I held her there for a few minutes, giving her time to recuperate. All the while, I secretly relished those moments I got to spend with her. I wasn’t sure why’d I’d gotten so damn lucky that day, but I wasn’t going to ruin it by thinking about it too much.
When Everly lifted her head, she was smiling.
“You do know you’re going to return the favor,” I told her.
“When?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out.”
“You’re going to surprise me?”
“Perhaps I will.”
Everly leaned in, her lips hovering over mine, her voice but a rasp when she said, “Surprise me now, Ian.”
She shifted, her legs coming around my hips, her arms wreathing my neck. I wanted to tell her no, to maintain control of this situation. I was the Dom, for fuck’s sake.
“I’ll beg if you’d like me to,” she whispered, her mouth still close to mine. “I’ll do anything you ask of me. Anytime. Anywhere.”
I got the feeling she was telling me something. Something vitally important. But I could hardly think beyond the fact that she was in my arms and we were alone, out here beneath the stars.
Not like we hadn’t been alone before. Hell, I’d just recently had her in the library.
But this felt different.
Everly pulled back, met my gaze. “I’ve missed you.”
Her words tore at my heart, had my arms banding more tightly around her. I wanted to carry her into the house, deposit her on my bed, spend the next few hours buried deep inside her. Then I wanted to wake up with her in my arms and do it all again.
It wasn’t an option, not with our current circumstances, but it was a great fantasy.
“Take me inside you,” I breathed against her ear as I pulled her closer.
For a few breathless moments, I remained like that, buried to the hilt inside her blistering warmth, content to hold her, to breathe in her delectable scent.
But then I was moving, positioning myself with my back to the wall in the shallower middle section of the pool. Sliding my palms up her spine, I curled my fingers around her shoulders, dipped her back and drove my hips forward, slamming in deep. Using the wall of the pool against my shoulder blades, I braced my thighs and fucked her as she leaned back, braced in my arms. Her breasts bounced with every punishing thrust. I could do nothing but stare at her as I lost myself in her body. Everly was so fucking beautiful as she gave herself over to me, offering up her body for my pleasure. But there was more to this and I felt that connection, the slow knitting of two souls.
Although I’d thought all this time that she belonged solely to Isaac, I had my first glimmer of hope as our bodies were joined in that moment.
“Hold on to me,” I urged.
Everly instantly sat up, her arms ringing my neck, her ankles pressing into my lower back. I gripped her hips and jerked her into me, thrusting forward, impaling her on my cock again and again. The heat between us was so great, I was surprised not to see steam coming off the water.
“Ian … I need to come. Please…” Her eyes opened, met mine. “Come inside me when I do.”
Oh, fuck.
I hadn’t expected that. Her soft plea was more than I could handle. A dark, rumbling growl escaped as I slammed into her, jerking her down again. My release tore up through my shaft, erupting inside her, triggering the most beautiful cry I’d ever heard come from her.
It was in that moment that I knew there would be no other woman for me. Not for as long as I lived.
The question was: how did I tell Isaac?
Or better yet, could I?
TWENTY-TWO
Everly
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
By the time Tuesday night rolled around, stir-crazy was no longer the right way to describe what I was feeling. And I was making sure everyone knew it, too. I’d even texted Heaven to let her know I was climbing the walls. Although she wasn’t locked inside, she didn’t seem to be faring any better being at her sister’s. But she seemed happy, so I figured she could deal with my complaining.
Their Fairy Princess (Office Intrigue Book 7) Page 24