by Lucian Bane
“Don’t fucking taunt him, Tara.”
“I hope you know I’m gonna kill you,” he strained before yelling out in agony.
“What you’re going to do is apologize to Lucian. My fuck partner, my lover, my protector. And my best friend. Right now.”
He howled in agony as she put more pressure on his arm, his cry strangling from her elbow in his throat.
She looked at me. “You want me to break something? Just tell me, I can snap it.”
I stared at her feeling like I’d time warped into another strange dimension and she was asking what I wanted on my burger. I felt my head shake.
“You sure?” she cried, not happy. “It’ll heal. I think it would be good for him to have a woman break him. Don’t you think? It might actually help change him.”
“You are one dead—aaaaaaagh” my father yelled, followed by whimpers.
“That did not sound like an apology, sir. Did you not learn how to submit to authority in the service Bane? Didn’t you learn that in boot camp?”
“Tara let’s leave,” I reached toward her. If my father managed to get free, people would die because I couldn’t let her get hurt and he would make me kill him.
“Get my goddamn gun Jared.”
I turned and found him staggering up. “Stay down,” I yelled at him, “or I swear to God I’ll put you down.”
He sat there unmoving, a look of uncertainty and confusion in his eyes. That was new.
“One more chance Bane. Tell Lucian you’re sorry.” She ended with a yank and his sorry ripped out with his scream of agony.
“Sorrrrrrry, sorry,” he cried.
“For being a bad father,” she said.
“For being a bad father,” he gasped, his words trembling out.
“For hurting Lucian.”
“For hurting Lucian.”
“For being an ass.”
“For…aaaaaagh for being an ass!”
Tara looked at me and I saw it in her eyes. The loathing of all those years I’d suffered. Like she tasted it and it disgusted her. “This is all for you baby,” she said to me. Then she flipped and there was a loud crack followed by agonized howling and cries from all the shocked spectators.
Tara got up and staggered to me, her hair disheveled. “That last one was for me. Bastard bruised my trachea.”
I grabbed Tara’s hand and hurried to the front of the house, feeling the heat of hell barreling down on us. Steve was right behind us, then ahead, running to open the car like we’d just robbed a bank.
He hopped in and we followed and he tore out of the driveway. We passed several cop cars with blaring lights a half a mile away. Fuck, what did this mean?
“Oh my God, my phone!” Tara cried. “I left it.”
I thought about all the texts on there and panicked. “Shit, turn around.”
“You both may get arrested for assault.”
“I don’t care,” Tara said, “If they get a hold of that phone, they’ll know.”
“Let me make a phone call.” Steve dialed into the office and told the story then sighed. “We’ll get it.”
He turned the car back around and an ambulance over took us. Jesus. Now we had to go back in that shit.
When we got there, one of the police approached our car. “Officer, we left the scene because we feared for our lives.” He looked in the back at us. “I was hired to chaperone Miss Tara, here, and while here an altercation broke out and put her in danger. She was attacked and she defended herself.”
He looked at her and me. “Stay in the car a minute.” He walked a few paces and got on his phone, talking with his back to us. He returned. “Step out of the car please. All of you. And put your hands on the front.”
We got out and did as he said. “I left my phone, I need it to reach my grandmother, she calls me on that.”
He half grinned at her. “You the one that assaulted Mr. Bane, I take it.”
“I just fractured his arm a little and that was just to incapacitate him because he threatened to kill me when I let him go. He’d strangled me ten seconds prior.”
“I can attest to that. as can all of the spectators sir,” Steve said. “I’ve chaperoned for the president, I have impeccable credent—”
“How about you just be quiet for a minute while we sort this out. I need to know anything, I know who to ask.”
“Yes sir, absolutely sir.”
A stretcher made its way toward the ambulance parked in the front with my father on it. Pride suddenly welled in me at what she’d done to that fuck. My little sweet princess. I fought down a grin, realizing it wouldn’t exactly look innocent.
Another police officer walked over and handed a phone over to Tara who took it and shoved it in her… bra? Okay.
“Okay, you guys can be at ease,” the new officer said.
We all turned and faced the two cops. The newest one was huge and seemed to try to hide a humored grin. “There will be no charges pressed. Witnesses say he attacked this young lady and she defended herself.”
I let out a sigh of relief.
“If we can keep this out of the newspaper, we’ll be doing great.” He raised his brows and looked down. “You’re free to go.”
“All of our belongings are still within the residence,” Steve said. “Can we have escort to retrieve them? There’s another male suspect in there that is a threat.”
“My brother,” I said.
“Let’s go,” the first officer said. Steve followed at a curt pace, his Georgian accent singing to the man of his service to the president as a chaperone.
“You okay, little lady?” the tall officer asked.
Tara rubbed her neck. “I’m fine.”
He chuckled and shook his head. “We could use female instructors at our station if you’re ever interested. Anybody who goes up against Mr. Bane has the kind of balls we’re looking for.” He grinned. “Rhetorically.”
She gave a single ha. “Obviously. And no. I think young Mr. Bane here may require my body guard services yet. But I appreciate the offer.”
He laughed and I put my arm around her and kissed her cheek, smiling. “She’s not really my body guard. She’s actually my best friend.”
I kissed Tara on her lips softly and looked up at hearing the soft voice of my mother. Regret hit me at all I’d said. Fuck. “Come with me to say goodbye.”
“Keep it light and quick and where I can see you,” the officer said.
We went to my mother and two sisters standing near the ambulance in tears. As we approached, Jennifer ran me over with a bear hug. “I’m sorry Looshy,” she cried. “I hate when they’re mean to you, you know I do.”
“Hey, you stood up for me back there. That was so brave, I’m proud of you.”
She gasped again. “Thank you. And your girlfriend, oh my God!”
“She’s not one to anger.”
She released me and hugged Tara next. “You keep Looshy safe for me? You were amazing.” She laughed a little.
“Eh, he’s a big boy really. He’s done the same for me.”
“I’m inspired. Truly,” my little sister whispered.
“Good,” I said. “Make sure you do the same thing for yourself. Don’t let a man walk on you like dad does to mom, do you hear me? It’s wrong. Don’t let him do that to you, Jenny . Promise me.” I looked at my mother, who nodded with tears streaming.
Jennifer nodded and wiped her eyes. “I promise.”
Steve emerged in several trips with our luggage and we finally loaded up and left. On our way back to the final hotel, I got a text. Feeling like the worst had been done, I looked at it. Have a romantic evening with Tara.
The idea that Danielle was behind all the texts suddenly vanished with that one. My heart hammered in my chest as I thought about what I could possibly do. At the first gas station stop, I sent Tara into the store for some bullshit.
“I need your help,” I said to Steve after knocking on the window.
“Sure.” He turned in
his seat, blue eyes eager.
“Last text.” I presented it to a worried Steve and his face slowly bloomed into that wicked funny grin.
“Now this is what I am talking about.”
I nodded. “Only that is what I don’t know much about. Any ideas?”
He arched a brow, his eyes burning up with storm burning in his brain as he thought. His eyes slowly widened and he turned to rummage through the glove compartment. “This,” he hissed, turning with a bag. “Your final apology. You never got around to doing it. Did you tell her yet?”
I grinned as I considered that. “No. And yes, that is… the perfect idea.”
Chapter Fifteen
“Don’t even think of peeking,” I whispered in Tara’s ear as I led her onto the private honeymoon suite balcony—acquired by Steve after pulling strings at the last minute. I owed him.
“I’m not, I’m not,” she giggled.
I sat her in her chair and kissed her the satiny skin of her neck. “You look beautiful baby.” She wore an elegant black dress with spaghetti straps on one side. Black heels. I asked her to wear her hair up and it broke my heart when I saw she’d left hair to cover her ears.
“Still no peeking.”
“Hurry,” she whined with a smile.
I went in the room and turned on the music Steve had carefully selected. I walked back out on the balcony and stared at her, sitting there with her eyes tightly shut. I sat across from her, and watched her for a few seconds, my heart burning. “Open.”
She slowly opened her eyes and I smiled at the adorable awe on her face as she took in the set-up. White gauzy curtains hung all around the balcony, giving it a sense of being in the clouds. The small table was set with red taper candles. Probably a hundred tea candles littered the remaining balcony, lighting it with a soft surreal glow.
“You did this? Why?”
The sincere confused question stirred fire inside me. “Because…I needed to tell you something.”
She suddenly became very serious. “Is it…bad?”
I eased up out of my chair and stood at the table. She held my gaze as I slowly pulled my dress shirt out of my black slacks. I unbuttoned my shirt beginning at the top, my speed keeping to the tempo of the slow song playing. I finally peeled it off and she tore her gaze from mine to lower it over my body. I walked over and held my hand out for her.
“Dance with me,” I said.
Our eyes remained locked, hers burning with raw terrified passion as she put her hand in mine. I pulled her to her feet and led us to a vacant space. I continued holding her gaze as I slid my hands along her arms then lifted them, placing them around my neck. I journeyed back down her arms and then around her back, spreading my fingers and feeling her through the thin soft fabric. Silk. Delicate like her. When I encountered her ass, I explored it completely, watching desire fill her eyes until she looked drunk. I pressed her close to me and held her ass with one hand, gliding the other up for soft finger strokes along her face.
My body swayed with her to the music on its own and I leaned to place soft kisses on both her cheeks, then forehead, then nose, then chin. I began kissing at the outer edges of her mouth, and her lips parted with warm gasps.
“Tara,” I whispered thickly against her lips. “My princess…” My throat closed at the memory of her words to me. “My best friend.” I dug my phone from my pocket and found the first awful text I’d been given. “I got a text, love.”
She continued to stare at me, trapped in the sedation of what we created together. “What?” she said, breathless.
“Humiliate Tara at the restaurant you’re stopping it. You will not be permitted to tell her this was your assignment until after the final demon domination. Good luck.”
The spell gradually broke and Tara’s gaze cleared, then filled with confusion. “What?”
I smiled at the boggled look she had now. “That was my first assignment, love. The first of many horrific ones.”
She stopped swaying to the music, digesting the fullness of that. “What else?” Her voice sounded sick and frail as she connected the dots.
“Anger Tara. Make Tara jealous. Taunt Tara. Insult Tara.”
Her eyes filled with tears that quickly spilled over. “So… so all that stuff you did…”
“Fucking killed me. And I couldn’t tell you until now.”
A sob burst out and she buried her face in my chest. “Everything was a lie?” She looked up at me, searching my face. “My…ears too? The sounds I make?”
I grabbed her face and shut her up with a hungry kiss. I couldn’t stand to hear the words. “There is no fucking part of you that I don’t love.” I sucked at every inch of her face, moving her hair and kissing the shell of her adorable ear. “When I say I am crazy about you, I mean that in the most psychotic sense of the word.”
She half-sobbed a laugh and pulled my lips back to hers and kissed them repeatedly.
“I got a text at the end like that. To flirt with your stupid brother and not tell. I should have figured it out then, I’m so sorry for fucking doubting you, baby.” More kisses to my lips now.
“And I tried to tell you I was sorry without telling you.”
She looked up at me again, confused. Then her eyes widened. “The clouds!” She covered her mouth and continued thinking.
“Yes, there’s more.”
“The cat named Sari!”
I nodded with a frown. “But I’d gotten that stupid fucking assignment at the mall and ruined it. “And all of those flowers my mother got? The Irises? Those are flowers to show remorse. They were intended for you.”
She thought a moment and then burst out laughing. “Oh my God, you poor thing. Your mother loved them.”
“Steve had them sent to the house and… we weren’t thinking.”
She howled her laughter, glowing with joy. “I was wondering when I’d picked out those flowers and why I wasn’t notified.” She hugged my neck and pressed herself close to me again. “Was that it?”
I kissed her until her lips became silk petals beneath mine then smiled at her childlike eagerness for gifts. “You like getting presents I see.”
She grinned against my mouth. “Maybe.”
“Close your eyes then. I might have one more.”
She wasted no time to shut them tight as she bit her lower lip. I lifted her left hand and slid the silver band on her ring finger. She gasped and opened her eyes then gasped again. “Oh my God! Oh my God!”
My heart hammered my chest painfully as I recited the well-rehearsed contract. “I, Lucian Bane… do solemnly promise Tara Reese…. To always be her rear guard…to protect her…. make her laugh out loud…. Beat a motherfucker into the ground for looking at her.” I wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I promise to make her scream my name in orgasm…. Worship and adore her ass—I mean heart.” A tiny wail escaped her and I kissed her softly. “And I promise not to constantly pressure her about our future together…” I nipped with tenderness at her lips. “….until exactly one second after this game is over.”
When I was done, she jumped up and down a little, looking at it. “Oh my God, you gave me a promise collar!” She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me with a hunger that said she wanted me to fulfill the fifth promise that very second. And I couldn’t wait to make good on my word.
“Ouch,” she gasped as I tripped with her into the bedroom.
“Fuck,” I whispered. “I should have promised not to kill you while being romantic.”
She was on the floor yanking my pants to my ankles and filling her mouth completely up with my cock. “Jesus. Fuck. My God. Suck it, fucking suck it.” I held her head, wrapping my fingers in her hair as heat pumped through me. “Fuck, Tara, baby. You’re so fucking good at that.” Our moans grew to desperately hot in under a minute. “I need to fuck you.”
She hurried to the bed and laid on her stomach and drew her ass up high, sliding her finger along her slit and twirling her hips in invitation. I climbed on the
bed and turned her over. “I have to see you baby.” I laid on her and she wrapped me in her legs, kissing me, fighting to get my cock inside her. I lifted my upper body and began moving in her, watching the way she looked beneath me. “Your tits are so fucking beautiful like this. I need to discover you at a thousand angles. Fuck you in a thousand ways.” I quickened my pace, making her tits bounce hard, making her cries even harder.
“Lucian, God!”
I fell on her and filled her mouth with my tongue and growls, my dominance undone and on a rampage. I rammed my cock into her sweet body with the sole intent to devastate and make all fucking mine.
****
A knock sounded on our room door and I kicked my way out of the sheets, trying not to disturb Tara. I yanked a towel from the bathroom and wrapped it around my hips and hurried to peek through the peep hole.
I undid the locks and opened the door for Steve. “What’s up? Why didn’t you call?”
“Your phones have been disabled,” he whispered. “We are not to meet at the mansion for the dinner, they said we just needed access to a computer for it. Seems like something’s gone down and they’re being extremely tight lipped about it. They are announcing at noon and I wanted to give you a heads up.” He looked at his watch. “You have…thirty minutes.”
“What? It’s that fucking late? Wow.”
“Nothing formal, just throw on some clothes and meet me in the hall in twenty, we can watch from my room on my laptop.”
“Okay man. We’ll get ready now.”
I shut the door and hurried to the bed, tapping Tara’s foot until she moaned. “Love, we have to go in twenty minutes. We slept like dead people.”
“What? Who died?”
“Nobody, they’re announcing winners in thirty minutes.”
She bolted up in bed, looking frantically around, her hair sticking up on the right, her eyes half closed. I crawled on the bed to kiss her and she put her hand between our mouths with a m-m sound then hurried out of bed.
“Fucking beautiful baby. God, I wish I had time to fuck you first.”
“What did Steve say?”
I got my clothes on. “He said our phones have been disabled and something has happened at the organization and everybody is being hush hush about it.”