I squeaked when he climbed on the bed, covering me. “You can’t do that,” I said, looking up at him. “You’ve canceled twice already.” The last week had been one of the best in my life. Tomas hadn’t left my side and I couldn’t say I didn’t love it, but this meeting was important. An amazing opportunity to expand one of his legitimate businesses.
“Don’t care.” He kissed my neck, making me squirm.
“You need to go, Tomas,” I said. “I’ll be here when you get back.”
He growled in frustration.
“You know I’m right. This is too important to flake out on again.” I batted my lashes at him. “It’ll give you a chance to miss me.”
He scowled. “How is that a good thing?”
I chuckled. “I don’t want you getting sick of me.”
I was only joking, but his face darkened. “That will never happen, Steph,” he said. “Not fucking ever.”
I slid my hand down his back. “I know.” And I did. I believed him because I felt the exact same way. I tugged him down and kissed him, then said against his lips, “Now go to your meeting, kick butt, take names, make deals, whatever it is that you do.”
He grinned wide. The sight was heart-stoppingly sexy. “Fine, but I have plans for you when I get back.”
“I’ll be here waiting…and looking forward to it.” I sounded kind of breathless, but I couldn’t help it. I wanted him, like all the time.
After a small but very enjoyable make-out session, he got up and left for his meeting.
I started counting the minutes until he came home.
* * *
Tomas called after lunch to say he’d be later than expected. He sounded pissed about it, but there was nothing he could do. I found myself wandering around the house. Arthur had gone out to run errands and I had the house all to myself. I’d worked out, danced for a bit, and made a batch of muffins.
I sighed and headed for the kitchen. I might as well eat one and watch a movie to kill some time. I was making a coffee to have with it when the doorbell rang.
I stood motionless for a few seconds.
Who the hell could that be?
My bare feet didn’t make a sound as I walked over the tile floor, across the foyer, and to the door. I had no intention of opening it, no matter who was out there, but something squirmed in my belly as I stood in front of that door. It’s just because you’re alone for the first time in weeks.
I knew I was safe. Tomas had the best security system you could get. The place was basically impenetrable. So why was my heart pounding out of my chest as I leaned forward to look through the peephole?
I blinked, trying to make out what I was looking at. It was Arthur and he was standing very close to the door. He was wrenched aside suddenly and Ryan’s face was there, his familiar cold eyes staring back at me.
“You’re there, aren’t you, Steph? Are you looking at me?” he said, the expression on his face sending a chill down my spine. Arthur was jerked back, giving me a better look at him. Ryan held a knife to his throat.
My hand flew to my mouth and I yanked the phone from my pocket, hitting Tomas’s number.
“Are you there, Stephanie?” Ryan called again. “If you are, you better open this fucking door or I’m slitting this old fucker’s throat.”
Arthur shook his head. “Don’t open the door, Stephanie—”
Ryan pressed the blade into his skin and blood bubbled to the surface. Tomas’s voice echoed down the line, asking to leave a message.
“Ryan’s here,” I whispered, trying to hold back my sob. “He’s outside the door. He’s going to kill Arthur.”
A loud bang against the door had me jumping. My phone fell from my hand and hit the tiled floor, shattering the screen.
“Open the fucking door. You’ve got five seconds,” Ryan called.
“Don’t do it, Stephanie,” Arthur choked out.
I stared out at Ryan, and I knew that look on his face. I’d looked into those wild eyes. It was the look he got right before the pain started. He wasn’t bluffing. He was going to kill Arthur if I didn’t do something. If I complied, if I cowed and apologized, he might not hurt me right away. It might buy us some time.
“Three. Two…”
With no other choice but to hope like hell that Tomas got my message before it was too late, I flicked the lock. I couldn’t let anyone die, especially not for me. My heart pounded, palms sweating as the door opened on silent hinges. When Ryan saw me standing there, he grinned.
“There you are,” he said and shoved Arthur inside.
“Now let him go,” I said.
He made a tutting sound as he kicked the door closed behind him. “Who do you think you’re talking to? You know better than to tell me what to do, Steph. You know what happens when you give me attitude, or have you forgotten? Maybe you need a reminder?”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think. I’m just, I’m scared. Please, Ryan. Please don’t hurt him.”
His eyes lit up. He loved making me scared. It got him off, made him feel like a big man. “You should be scared,” he said. “You left me, then you sent your fucking boyfriend after me. He tortured me. Did he tell you that?” He lifted his left hand. Two fingers were missing.
When he saw the shock on my face he smirked.
“Prince Charming isn’t so charming, Steph. He’s a drug dealer and a pimp, and you chose him over me?” He shook his head. “You really are a stupid bitch, aren’t you?”
I stared at him, waiting for the self-loathing, the feeling of worthlessness to wash over me. It didn’t. Instead, I felt angry. Furious. I wished Tomas had cut off more than his fingers. I wished he’d buried him.
Ryan saw something in my eyes and his face reddened, his grip tightening on Arthur. “Answer me! Say I’m a stupid bitch,” he said in a singsong voice.
“I’m a stupid bitch,” I forced out quickly.
His shoulders relaxed a little. “Say I made a mistake. I should never have left you.”
I curled my fingers into fists. “I made a mistake. I should never have left you.”
He smiled like the cat that got the cream.
“We can talk, if you want. Please, just let Arthur go.” I had to try, even though I knew I was wasting my breath.
He snickered. “You think you can convince me not to kill you both? There’s nothing to stop me. Your boyfriend isn’t here. I know because I watched him leave.”
I had to stall him. “Tell me what you want. I’ll give you anything…just, please, don’t hurt him.”
His eyes lit up and I thought I might be sick.
“You leave here with me, and I’ll let him live,” he said. “You’re still my fucking wife. You belong to me.”
Adrenaline was pumping through my veins, making me dizzy. I had no choice but to go with him. Tomas would find me; he would. I just hoped it wouldn’t be too late when he did. “I’ll go with you.”
He seemed to relax further. “Get me something to tie him up with,” he said and gave Arthur a shake.
Ryan followed me to the living room and used the ties on the curtains to restrain Arthur. He shut the door and was about to lock the room.
My fear spiked in that moment at the thought of leaving with him. Arthur was out of immediate danger. I had no control over what happened next. I just reacted.
Spinning away, I wrenched my arm from Ryan’s hand and ran. He cursed viciously and I heard him pounding after me. I sprinted down the hall, back out to the foyer, but I wasn’t fast enough. I’d never been fast enough. Ryan collided with my back, knocking me to the ground. I hit the tile hard, knocking the wind from my lungs as he came down on top of me, pressing my front into the floor. The sound of his knife clattering to the ground and sliding away gave me a small amount of hope.
Grabbing my hair, he twisted my head to the side so he could see my face. “You fucking lying whore,” he spat. “I should have killed you when I had the chance.”
He wanted me to cower, h
e wanted to see my fear, but I refused to give it to him, not again, never again. If I was going to die, it was going to be fighting. “Did it hurt when Tomas cut off your fingers?”
His eyes grew round and he bared his teeth. “What did you say?”
“I hope he made you scream, you spineless piece of shit,” I said, letting him see the hatred I felt for him.
He roared and brought his face close to mine. I knew what was coming. He was going to bite me. He’d always liked to bite. No goddamn way. I slammed my head back. Pain radiated through my skull, but I didn’t care. The sound of his nose crunching was satisfying as hell, and so was his bellow of pain.
He clutched his nose with one hand and tightened his hold on my hair with the other. Forcing me over onto my back, he got in my face. “You know what comes next, don’t you, bitch?”
I stared into his eyes, ignoring the blood pouring from his nose, dripping on my face and shirt. “There’s nothing you can do to me that can hurt me anymore. I can die happy because I know now what it is to truly love someone. To be loved in return.”
“What?” he whispered.
“I never loved you, Ryan,” I said.
He looked stunned. God, I could actually see hurt under all that rage. “You’re lying.” He got in my face again. “Tell me you’re lying!”
“How could I ever love someone who took pleasure in causing me pain?”
He hissed. “Shut your fucking mouth.”
“You’re nothing,” I said. “I don’t even care about you enough to hate you.” It was the truth, I realized, and it was freeing. It sucked that I’d only come to that conclusion right when I was about to die.
“I said shut your fucking mouth,” he screamed.
I did the thing he hated most: I laughed at him. I laughed in his face, harder when his face turned red with rage.
He grabbed my chin. “Crazy bitch, why the fuck are you laughing?”
I looked into his eyes. “Because Tomas is going to kill you. You’re so stupid you actually think you can get away with this? That you can hurt me or kill me and he’ll just let it go? That you can take me from his home and he won’t care?” That’s when I saw it—fear. It was clear in his eyes and I relished it. “What he did to you last time will be nothing compared to what he’ll do to you after this.”
I could see the panic setting in, the realization that he’d fucked up. His eyes darted around the room, mind working, trying to think of a way out. He looked back down at me, sliding his hands around my throat. “Then I’ll have to make it look like a break-in, won’t I? I’ll kill you and the old guy,” he said, panic clear in his voice. “Take a few things, leave town…”
“What about the cameras?” I said.
He froze. “What?”
“This place is filled with cameras. It’s all been recorded. All of it. Face it, Ryan, you’re dead.”
Sweat beaded on his forehead, sliding down his temples. “Then I’ll use you as leverage,” he said, more to himself. “He can have you back if he lets me go.” He jumped off me, grabbing his knife off the floor as he tugged me to my feet by the arm. “Let’s go.”
No way was I going anywhere with him. I tried to wrench away and he grabbed me around the waist, hauled me off the ground, and carried me toward the door.
“No.” I fisted his hair and yanked, doing my best to pull it out of his goddamn head. During our wrestling, I ended up with my front plastered to his, and I took advantage. I brought up my knee as hard as I could between his legs.
He screamed, the sound one of pain and rage mixed together. His hold loosened and I got free and ran for the door, but he grabbed me again from behind and slammed my head into the wall. My sight went dark for a moment, my head spinning as I grabbed at the small table beside me, searching blindly for what I knew was on it.
My fingers found the statue. The antique war horse and rider, forged in steel. Not huge, but heavy as hell. He had me by the hair, had started pulling me back. I ignored the pain and spun, slamming the statue into any part of him I could reach. It only managed to glance his shoulder and Ryan laughed, making my skin crawl.
The front door flew open and Ryan spun toward it, his knife at my throat.
Tomas stood there with a gun in his hand. We were side on, giving him a clean shot, and Tomas didn’t hesitate, saw his opening, and fired.
Ryan’s hold on me vanished instantly, and he dropped to the floor.
I stared down at him as a pool of blood quickly formed around his head, my ears ringing, voices muffled from the shot as people rushed around me. I dropped the statue and stumbled back, my legs giving out under me. I didn’t hit the floor. Tomas was there, scooping me up in his arms.
“Fuck. Where are you hurt, Angel?” he said, eyes filled with fear.
I looked down at myself and remembered I was covered in Ryan’s blood “It’s not mine,” I rasped. “I’m okay.”
Jude was there as well, along with Zeke and Neco. I watched in shock as Jude crouched down, checking Ryan’s pulse, not that I could imagine any scenario where he would have survived that. Jude looked up at us and shook his head.
“Arthur’s tied up in the living room,” I whispered. “He tried…he tried to stop me from opening the door…”
“I’m on it,” Zeke said and headed down the hall.
I gripped his shirt. “I thought, I thought I was going to…”
“Shhh, Angel.” Tomas spun away, carrying me from the foyer into his office. “I’m here,” he said against my temple. His voice was still muffled, the ringing still in my ears, but I heard him. “I’m here, Angel. You’re okay. You going to be okay.”
I got the feeling he was comforting himself as much as me.
“He can’t hurt you, not anymore. He can’t hurt you,” he said as he sat on the couch, me in his lap, and held me close.
I clung to him, breathing him in, needing his strength.
Tomas rubbed my back. “You were so brave, so fucking brave.”
We were silent after that.
The guys from The King Agency talked to the cops first, then they came in and spoke to Tomas and I. There was video footage of what happened, which meant Tomas wasn’t going to be charged for killing Ryan. He’d saved my life.
I could see he was getting impatient, and when another officer came in to talk to him, Tomas actually growled and held up his hand, stopping him from saying whatever he was about to say, and stood. “My woman is covered in that fucker’s blood. She’s tired. I’m tired. You want to ask me more questions, call me tomorrow. I want you all to leave. Now.”
Jude walked in during this. He was an ex-police officer and knew a lot of the officers there. He said something and the other guy dipped his chin and strode out.
“The body gone?” Tomas asked Jude.
“Yeah. You take care of her. I’ll help Arthur clean up a bit down here and make sure the place is secure when we leave.”
“Thanks. I owe you,” Tomas said.
Jude shook his head. “Nah, brother. We’re even.”
Tomas dipped his chin and carried me out of the office, tucking my head against his chest as we passed through the foyer. I knew the body was gone, but the blood and…other stuff wouldn’t be. He carried me up to his room and straight to the bathroom.
I gripped his biceps when he lowered me to the floor and looked up at him. “Thank you,” I whispered. “You saved my life. Again.”
“I nearly lost you.” The expression on his face could only be described as destroyed. “I should have been here. I should have been here to keep you safe.”
He started stripping me out of my blood-soaked clothes, dropping them in a heap on the floor.
“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t do that.” I rested my head against his chest, taking several steadying breaths as I slid my fingers to the buttons of his shirt and started undoing them. “He’s gone and he’s not coming back. The only person to blame for that is him. I’m okay. You’re okay. That’s all that matters. I don’t
want to think about him anymore.”
“Okay, Steph,” he said and slid my panties down my thighs. “Whatever you want, whatever you need, it’s yours.”
I knew he still blamed himself, and I hated it. But I’d do whatever it took to make him change his mind.
He reached over and turned on the shower, and I worked on the front of his pants, undoing them, shoving them and his underwear down his strong thighs.
We were both completely naked.
I rested my hands on his chest and tilted my head back. “What I need right now…is you moving inside me. I need to feel alive. I need you to wash it all away.”
Tomas
I’d give her the world if she asked for it. She wanted me to make her feel alive. I’d make her body sing. “Whatever you need, Angel.”
Lifting her off her feet, I planted her in the shower and quickly soaped her up, washing away that fucker’s blood from her skin.
“Head back under the spray,” I said.
She did as I asked, and I washed her hair next, staying close behind her, making sure she felt me there, that she knew I was right there with her. She turned when I was squeezing the last of the shampoo from her hair.
“You’re so beautiful,” I said.
She pressed into me, her bare skin warm and smooth and slippery. Her hands slid up my chest to the back of my neck and she pulled me down. “Kiss me,” she said.
I did. I kissed her like she needed, like we both needed, deep and fierce. Walking in and seeing that knife to her throat, the blood, I needed this as much as her. Her body slid against mine, making me crazy, and when she reached down and grabbed my hard cock, I was already close to blowing.
“Now,” she said against my lips.
Lifting her, I pressed her into the tile at her back and gripped her ass. Her legs came around my hips instantly, and I slid home. Our mouths stayed fused as I pumped in and out of her tight pussy, keeping it slow, making sure she felt every deep stroke of my cock.
She clung to me, grinding against me, her hips meeting mine, straining against me, fucking me back. I was lost, lost to her and I never wanted to come back.
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