The Redemption Saga Box Set

by Kristen Banet

  “He knows every Magi of importance that’s ever gone through Atlanta. I’ll call him and see what I can learn. I’ll need to pass this all onto James as well. Oh, there’s something you two need to know. James knows about us. All of us. And the press thinks you and Elijah are a thing. Intimate dinner gave them the impression. You know, perception. This is going to get uglier before it gets better.”

  Sawyer sighed, glancing again at the cowboy. She wished this hadn’t happened. She had really wanted to break some of the tension between them, had every intention of acting on every sly, flirty comment, every touch they had ever shared.

  The press had gotten it right, in a way.

  “Thanks. We’ll call you when we’re closer,” she promised.

  “Wait. How are you handling this? I’ve been worried; so have the others.”

  “Elijah had to snap me out of the shock, but I’ll be fine. I mean, we knew this was coming. Wasn’t expecting it like this, but we knew it was coming.” She took a deep breath, trying to remind herself to stay calm. “Being in public when it happened, being in the middle of all of that, really did a number on me for a moment. Elijah reminded me of something important, which I’m thankful for.”

  “What was that?”

  “I could handle everyone else who already knew, already judged me. This doesn’t really change anything.” Even repeating those words made her feel better. “You know, this might just be the distraction I need right now.”

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Public opinion could cause us some problems,” Vincent chastised her gently. “But I think if we just weather the storm, everything will be clear on the other side.”

  “Me too,” she agreed. “I’m going to let you go. It’s a long drive home.”

  “Be safe. Both of you.”

  “I’ll try to keep him from getting us killed.” She grinned at Elijah, who rolled his eyes. “See you later.” She hung up and dropped her phone in the center console.

  There were no ‘I love you’s’ exchanged, but it didn’t bother her. She knew from his concern that it was there. He knew she felt it right back.

  “I think we’ve lost them, so I’ll make sure not to kill you on the drive home,” he teased and braked, bringing them down to a reasonable speed. “You’ve been more comfortable, though.”

  “Well, I’ll admit that sometimes you need to go fast, and the road is empty. You drive fast and weave through traffic like a crazy person.” She wasn’t going to let him think his driving was completely okay. “I drive fast on open road, where no one is going to get in my way. There’s a difference.”

  “Sure there is,” he said, humming at the end. They sat in complete silence for a moment then he sighed. “I would turn on the radio but you can guess why I haven’t.”

  “Yeah. I figured.” She didn’t care. Silence was a blessing after the madhouse they had just left.

  “I’m sorry tonight went this way. I know, it’s not really my fault, but I’m sorry.”

  “It’s not your fault. Don’t feel guilty. Hell, I would even go so far and say it wasn’t Rogers’ fault either. He just wanted to put a name to a face. He didn’t know his contact was going to take those pictures to the press.”

  “We’ll find who outed you, Sawyer. I swear.”

  “I know. I trust you guys will do everything in your power to get back at whoever did this.” She smiled at him. “It doesn’t change anything, though. It’s out now. There’s no going back. I wonder what the press statement is going to be from our bosses. The IMPO and the WMC. I wonder what they’ll say.”

  “They will probably say how much of an asset you’ve been to the safety and security to Magi all over the world, even in the short time you’ve been with us.” Elijah continued to hum, as if he was thinking too hard. “They’ll trot out your first couple of assignments. They’ll talk about how this isn’t the first time you tried to go good. They’ll talk about how even though it took years after your supposed death, you weren’t active. You had already shown signs of wanting reform.” He chuckled. “Not like you need to be reformed. You aren’t particularly the boogieman people think of you as. Axel was the real monster, and now he’s behind bars. Thanks to you. They’ll remind people of that.”

  “The press will try to find ways to drag me through the mud. I killed people.”

  “You still do,” he reminded her. “But, if it’s any consolation, they will also drag our bosses through the mud. They will have to defend you to defend themselves, and they can’t exactly drop you in a jail cell just because the PR is bad and they need to make themselves look good. They’ll probably put us back to work faster, so that people think we’re out doing good.”

  She didn’t have a response. He was right, or probably right. Any other response from the IMPO and the WMC would be surprising and unlikely.

  They drove home in silence and Sawyer even closed her eyes. She didn’t get any sleep, but she tried. She didn’t reopen them until she heard the garage door closing them in. Back into the safety of their private plantation house, where no one would bother them or find them.

  “Sawyer?” Elijah was talking quietly. “Before we’re surrounded by the fan club, I just wanted to say I had a great time tonight, before everything happened. Thank you for coming out with me.”

  “It was wonderful,” she replied, turning to him. She unbuckled her seat belt and leaned closer to him, kissing his cheek. “I’m sorry it didn’t end as planned.”

  “Me too,” he groaned, grabbing her chin. She was beginning to realize there was a dominant streak in the cowboy, as he held her there to kiss her slowly. It was like he was trying to drag the moment out, keep it just between them for just another moment, before her ‘fan club’ came and took her away.

  She grabbed his shirt and nearly crawled into his lap, earning a growl as her tongue dove into his mouth. His free arm wrapped around her waist and held her there. She could feel the bulge in his jeans under her.

  “Maybe next time,” he whispered when she pulled away.

  “Definitely next time,” she corrected.

  With that, they untangled and got out of his truck. She saw Vincent waiting at the door inside, smiling knowingly. She shrugged without a word as she walked over to him and kissed his cheek.

  “I’m going to sleep,” she told him before she passed him.

  “Good night,” he called after her.

  She found Jasper, Zander, and Quinn in the kitchen and did the same for them. A small good night kiss, just something for them to know she was okay, and that was all.

  With the mood she was in, she should have dragged one of them upstairs.

  She only saw hazel eyes and a slightly arrogant smile when she closed her eyes, though. That seemed like such a farfetched idea for this evening. Sex in general, after all of that, seemed like a bad idea.

  She was in her room, stripping, when she remembered why she was happy to be home. The press would never find her here and if they did, it wouldn’t be soon.

  She was down to her bra, some lacy thing, something that had that unique ability to make the wearer feel desirable, when she felt like an idiot. Why wasn’t she saying fuck the world and just taking what she wanted?

  She didn’t bother putting a shirt back on. Her black jeans were unbuttoned, but she didn’t fix them. She left her room, angry that she had let what was going on stop her from taking what she wanted. She opened the door to the staircase leading out of the attic.

  And there he was. Standing at the bottom of the stairs, holding that door open.

  “Little lady,” he said casually, looking her over. “What are you doing?”

  “Sugar,” she replied, her eyes trailing over him. He was shirtless, his belt undone. He wasn’t wearing the cowboy hat either, and his boots were gone. He had also been getting ready for bed, she figured. “What are you doing?”

  “I think,” he began, taking a step up the stairs, “that we both know what I’m doing. The question really does lie with you i
f I can or not.”

  “I won’t let them stop me from what I want.” She didn’t move as he made a slow climb up the stairs to her. “I won’t let people tell me I can’t have something. I’m greedy like that.”

  “You really are a thief, then, the way you steal hearts and happiness for yourself,” he murmured, getting closer. “Are we going to try to find where I fit?”

  “You had a great suggestion to that earlier.” Their chests touched. She had to look up at him. She had always loved how tall he was, like Zander. They both made her feel a little smaller, and not the five foot eleven she actually was.

  “We’re on the same page then.” He wrapped a hand around her waist and the other up in her hair.

  That first kiss was slow and testing, as he backed them out of the stairs. It didn’t stay that way. She pulled his belt from his jeans and threw it away in the attic before they made it in her room. He undid her bra and didn’t bother to stop kissing her as he yanked it off her. She moaned into him as one of his rough hands massaged one of her breasts.

  “Elijah,” she whispered as they moved into her room. “I hope this ride is longer than eight seconds.” She absolutely couldn’t resist making that comment.

  “Little lady, I’m going to make sure you ride all night,” he crooned, kissing her jaw and down her neck as he pushed down her jeans. He wasted no time in pushing his hand down the front and sliding a finger over her clit. It sent a wave of sensation over her, like a shock.

  She hurried to undo his pants, pushing them down with his boxer briefs as well, while also trying to kick off her own, even as he sank a finger deep into her. He was kicking his pants away as her hand wrapped around the tree trunk that was his cock.

  “Holy shit,” she mumbled. She’d seen it before, but without having her hand on it to really judge the size. She’d seen it hard, but not for long, not enough to really consider it. Not up close.

  “Mmmm.”

  The arrogance of that sound.

  “Let’s hope you know how to use it,” she teased. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembered he was from Texas - and that stupid fucking saying. Everything’s bigger in Texas, all right.

  Grinning, he pulled the finger out of her and unceremoniously dumped her on one of her couches. She didn’t get a chance to sit up as he pushed a knee between her thighs and had her moaning in ecstasy.

  “Let’s hope you can keep up,” he taunted, kissing her roughly afterwards.

  There was something dominant in him, for sure. She remembered the last time he’d taken charge in the bedroom, though, and wasn’t having it. She pushed him off and they went rolling onto the floor, with her straddling him instead. She ground against him, making him groan this time.

  There was no more preamble. No more foreplay. Even with her thong on, she was done waiting. She positioned herself over him, pushing the scrap of fabric out of the way, and slid down slowly. She gritted her teeth at the width of him. It wasn’t that she wasn’t wet enough. He was just that thick.

  “Fuck,” he groaned, grabbing her hips to help her. She had to stop and breathe after a moment, refusing to move down further. “You’re not done yet.”

  “Oh gods,” she moaned out as he pushed upwards. It wasn’t rough, for which she was thankful. She felt full. She wondered if there was a single nerve ending he wasn’t rubbing against.

  “There you go,” he growled, grinning up at her. “Hold on. I like it rough.”

  She leaned over, nearly putting her head on his chest as he lifted her with her hips and pulled out of her. Then he thrust again, causing her to bite down on his shoulder to ineffectively hide her scream.

  For every upward thrust, he also pulled her down on him. And it was rough, he hadn’t been lying. He was trying to break her into two, she was certain of it.

  She loved it.

  She could feel every thick inch slide in then back out of her at a hard pace she wasn’t sure she could match, which meant she had to let him control everything, including her. He pushed her into an orgasm as if she didn’t have any say in the matter. It just slammed into her without any real warning or true build up.

  He stopped thrusting, panting softly as she convulsed, her legs and arms shaking while it ran through her. “You all right?” he asked softly.

  “Yeah,” she answered. She was more than all right.

  “Good. Because I’m not stopping us until you can’t walk.”

  She wasn’t surprised to be rolled over on her back. She was shocked when he grinned down at her and lifted her legs onto his shoulders.

  She knew what this meant.

  He shoved back into her and went deeper than he had before. It was nearly painful, but she didn’t want it to stop either. His first thrust was strong enough to move her on the carpet, and she had a feeling rug burn was in her future. She placed her hands on his chest to keep him from leaning down further. She wasn’t sure her legs were that flexible, for one, and second, that would only give him the ability to try and get deeper, somehow.

  He kept the pace hard, and she went from holding him back to just holding on again, her nails biting into his skin as he fucked her. They were sweaty now, and her hands found it hard to get a grip. He did let her legs fall, as they began to shake too hard to keep up. She wrapped them around his waist instead, crossing at the ankles to keep them there. His body moved like a wave, each thrust was executed like he was just dancing with her, with devastating effect. She closed her eyes, unable to function anymore, as it continued relentlessly.

  She didn’t come one more time. She came twice before he lifted her, sitting on his ankles with her wrapped around him. He came as deep inside her as he could get, panting as their foreheads met.

  “Holy shit,” she repeated, unable to reopen her eyes. Now she knew why men and women were always trying to crawl back into his bed, to experience the rough ride he promised.

  “Mmmm.”

  That still sounded so impressively arrogant.

  She didn’t say anything as he stood up, still in her, still with her wrapped around him like a cat that refused to let go. She didn’t say anything when her tender, rug-burned back touched the soft comforter on her bed. She unwrapped her boneless legs and they fell unceremoniously onto the bed as well. Elijah fell next to her, close enough that her shoulder brushed his chest.

  “You in there?” he asked softly. “I didn’t break you, did I?”

  “I’m hard to break,” she tried to say. She had no idea if he understood the words. She barely understood what came out of her mouth.

  “I broke you, but that’s all right.” He chuckled arrogantly. “Well, before you think it’s over…” He kissed her neck and jaw up to her ear. “I recover quickly and I have no intention of just sleeping the night away.”

  She nearly whimpered. She wasn’t sure if it was in sympathy for herself or want for more of what had just been done to her.

  Either way, she was just glad she refused to let those outsiders take this away from her. Fuck them. She had what she needed in life and it wasn’t their approval. It was men like the one next to her.

  10

  Sawyer

  Soreness was the first thing Sawyer noticed as she woke up. Everything was sore. A delicious soreness that she enjoyed, but more than what she was normally greeted with.

  Elijah had worked her into not just a second round but three rough rounds that left her unable to stay awake at the end of the last. He’d made her body sing while she screamed in pleasure, and even for a bit of mercy.

  She tried to roll, to move out of the bed, but found it impossible. He must have noticed, must have already been awake, since a massive arm wrapped over her stomach to her far hip and pulled her into the broad chest she now knew very well.

  “Where are you going?” he asked deviously.

  “To find someone who isn’t threatening to turn me into a puddle of nerve endings,” she mumbled. “And hopefully, the bathroom.”

  “The bathroom is a possibility
, but since you only live with men who want to turn you into a, and I quote, ‘puddle of nerve endings’, I think your overall mission will fail.”

  She groaned. Wasn’t that the truth? Hopefully her guys would have some sympathy for her in this trying time of being unable to move like a regular human being. She had a feeling that walking funny was in her future.

  “I’m getting up,” she told him, trying her hardest to sit up. She made it, but it felt like she’d been in the gym the entire previous day, working at her maximum without stretching. “What the fuck did you do to me?”

  “I think I fucked you like I’ve wanted to since the night we met,” he answered. “And want to every time I get the chance for a very long time.”

  “Oh gods,” she muttered, turning so her feet hung off the edge of the bed. “Do you do Quinn or anyone else like that? Are there countless people out there who will never walk the same again?”

  “I normally don’t keep anyone else going three rounds with me, no. That was just for you. Well, for me. That was definitely for me.”

  “Awful,” she mumbled. Not like she really should have been complaining. For round three, she had climbed back on top of him, hoping for a slow ride. She didn’t get exactly what she’d intended when she’d done that. He’d been just as rough as he’d been since the moment he’d started. “What time is it?” she asked, looking around. One of her couches was not where it had started. That must have been the one he’d tossed her on. Their clothes were everywhere, scattered on the floor with no care. She wasn’t wearing her thong anymore and eyed a broken one at the foot of the bed. Well, another pair ruined. Fantastic.

  “Nearly ten. We’ve missed breakfast. I went down earlier to check on things. Jasper and Vincent were up all night on the phone with James. The WMC and the IMPO put out their statements at seven. Exactly what I thought they would be. Talked all sorts of praise about you, about how you’ve helped them re-establish some connection to some of our wilder people, the Druids, and exposed anti-Magi feelings in Texas. That you’ve been a model agent for the organization. Those types of things.” He took a deep breath before continuing. “Also, that we were just having a quiet dinner, as friends, to enjoy the holiday season. They…they might have said something about how you lost someone important this month and that I was just being a good friend to get you out of the house.”