HURRICANE (Beasts of Prey Book 2)

by LC Lehesaho

  I dig my fingernails into my calves to keep myself from showing the storm of emotions inside me. Tiger doesn't want my pity. He hates it more than anything. So, even when I feel the blood draining down my calves, I bite my cheek and force myself to keep the tears inside.

  He doesn't look my way, not even once, when he continues, hands curled to fists at his sides. "They forced me to watch when they raped her." I bite my tongue hard enough to taste the blood in my mouth, and my heart shatters from his words and seeing the teardrops rolling down his cheeks. I'm sure he doesn't even realize them. "In the beginning, they always forced me to watch."

  I've never imagined... oh my god.

  "Did they..." My voice falters away, and I can't make myself ask.

  But he always knows. Always reads me like an open book, this time no exception.

  "Yeah, they did the same things to me, but..." He wipes his face, a low, pained growl arising from his throat. "The worst thing is they did it to her. Amelia was... she was so fucking amazing. Mom used to say that Amelia was the sunbeam, and I was the crescent moon, illuminated by her. We weren't just a brother and a sister. We were one." Tiger leans his back to the wall opposite of the bed's end and slides down to the floor, bending his knees and resting his elbows to them while burying his face to his hands. "She was a part of me. One soul divided into two bodies. That's what twins are, soulmates."

  I can't even imagine the pain he is feeling—all the things he'd gone through. The things no one should go through, especially not a child.

  "Tiger..." I start to get up from the bed, to go to him and hug him. Hold him. But he lifts his palm up to a stop sign.

  "Stay there."

  Sinking back to the bed, the weight of his pain crushing my insides, I obey. Chewing my lips, I keep myself from sobbing out loud. Tears are streaming down my face, wetting his T-shirt I'm wearing and the black sheets I'm on. It hurts every inch of my existence to not be able to touch him. Hold him.

  But he doesn't want it right now, and it's the only thing keeping me away.

  "How long did they keep you there?" I manage to wheeze out.

  "She was two years, and I was three," Tiger says, voice trembling.

  My breath catches from his words. Three years in a cage? Oh, my fucking god. I slap my hands to my mouth when a whimper tries to escape from me. Tiger lifts his head, dark eyes taking me in.

  "Stop crying, please. I can't... just stop crying, okay?"

  I brush my eyes with my arm, nodding frantically. Finding my vocals, I ask the one question I need an answer.

  "Why did you kill her?" It's just a whisper, but I know he hears me.

  "Remember what Silas said? About the auction?" he asks, the rough voice a little bit more collected than before. The sharp gaze reads the answer from my eyes without a single word. "Hernandez was going to separate us. Sell her to the Germans. I don't remember where I was going, maybe it was Italy or something, but the main point is they were going to tear us apart from each other. Amelia was so scared, just like I was. She told me she couldn’t live without me."

  My stomach convulses. I've always known Tiger was tough, that his strength of will is outstanding, but this... my god. Dad's words come back to me.

  He's a good kid, one of the most loyal and good-hearted boys I've ever met.

  Now, I know what made him so sure.

  "Amelia begged me for hours. She repeated kill me like a mantra, telling me reasons why, pleading with me to save her, so she wouldn't end up there without me." He leans his head on the wall, broken from the memories. "I helped her out of there. I couldn't save us, but I set her free. I had to do it, Cobra."

  Tiger's eyes find mine, and the anguish in them crushes my heart and soul. He'd been so fucking brave for his sister. He'd saved her from the life in Hell, and not just imagining what it would be like. They were already living in one, and he was strong enough to sacrifice a part of his own soul to save Amelia. He let his soulmate go.

  "I know, Tiger. You did it out of love, and if that isn't the most selfless thing to do, I don't know what is." I wipe the tears off my face, but it's useless, more of those just keep coming. "I promise I'll never pity you, but you can't stop me from feeling for you, ‘cause I love you."

  "You still want to be with me?" he whispers, more uncertain than ever.

  "Always. Nothing will ever change that, love," I convince him, petting the bed beside me. "Come here. I need you to hold me tonight. I need you to hold me forever."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  I regret everything I fucking said. Cobra has been sleeping the whole night, twitching, and jerking in her sleep, but without hallucinations, thanks to Satan. Me? Not a single minute.

  Every muscle in me aches, my head hurts from the lack of sleep, and my goddamn brain won't give me a second of peace. Why should it? I shouldn't have told her all those things. I got fucking tricked by her tears, her pure heart, and I don't know what happened, but suddenly I was crying my goddamn tragedies to her. I should've let Bear knock me the fuck out, and this disaster would never have happened.

  Yeah, she said we are fine, but it was a late night, and she was all emotional from the beginning, so... When she wakes up and realizes everything, I blurted out to her, she'll never look at me the same way.

  I just fucking know it.

  Cobra yawns in her sleep, clearly swinging on the edge of awareness. I keep my arm around her, holding her a little bit tighter, and she snuggles her back against me, pushing her ass unintentionally against my dick—benefits of spooning. The movement makes it twitch, and like feeling it, she sways even closer, making it grow hard in point two seconds. It doesn't surprise me even a little. She has always had that effect on me. It makes me think about yesterday, the cuts on our palms.

  The blood oath.

  I made it to get her to realize how fucking serious I am with her. I'd do anything for her. I've killed for her, bled for her, and I'd fucking die for her. I wonder if she would've let me bind herself to me if she'd known back then how far I'm willing to go for her. If she'd known how ruined I actually am.

  Cobra said she'd never pity me, but... how can I be sure she's with me because of me and not because she feels sorry for me? She is my whole fucking world, and I ruined us.

  This is the reason I never wanted her to know in the first place.

  I can't breathe.

  Fuck. My brain is starting to go into overdrive, but there's nothing I can do to stop it. I want Cobra to be with me, but at the same time, I fucking don't because I don't want to see that emotion directed at me, especially not from her. It makes me sick. The look in people's eyes when they see the marks on my skin makes me want to hit them in the face. It's repulsive, the way their gaze practically screams poor boy. I'm not the one who should be pitied. Nowadays, it doesn't happen too often; tattoos have their advantages—those who can feel such feelings walk on the other side of the road than me. But not Cobra, and now when she knows everything… it makes me sick to my stomach.

  Cobra stretches her back, reaching her hands above her head like a cat waking up from a nice nap, and pushes her ass tightly against my hard-on, letting out a stretched, humming yawn. Her contented sound makes me shiver, and testily I give her a little pressure back to make sure she is awake. I want to dive into her and forget last night, even for a moment. Press pause on my brain.

  My heart is pounding so hard I can feel it in my ears, and blood runs boiling hot in my veins. There is something seriously wrong with me, but I don't know what to do about it. How to fix what I fucked up.

  Cobra is definitely awake because she starts to sway against me like the enchanter she is. Her hand comes over mine, dragging it down on her stomach towards her lace undies. I could do what she wants me to, please her so she'd be moaning my name. But that's not what I want right now.

  I want to hear her beg.

  I need her to beg.

  Jerking my hand away, I grab both of hers and pull them above her head, locking them into my fist
. I slide my other hand down her arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her smooth skin. Her breath picks up speed, body curves against mine, and the way her ass grinds me again ignites the hellfire inside me. Takes every last string of my willpower not to fuck her raw right now.

  It's not even five o'clock in the morning yet, the darkest hour of the night just before the moon gives way to the dawn, so it's pitch black in my room, and for some fucking reason, it makes this even more rousing. I realize the reason might also be that this is the first time I have her in my bed like this. The night before was… different. But now?

  I've dreamed about this moment for so long. Having her in my bed as my girl. Yet, the knots in my brain won't let me be in peace. The gap between past and present, who I am, and who I was, is tearing me apart. I don't fucking know who I am anymore.

  I don't know who I am with her.

  "Tiger," Cobra's throaty purr is the sexiest sound I've ever heard, and it pulls me back to her, giving me some sort of direction. Or a distraction.

  Whatever it is, I need it.

  "Yeah, baby girl?" I scrape my teeth on her arm while sliding my hand under her T-shirt—my shirt—and snap her bra open. She shivers under my touch when I bring my hand to her front, making my way under the loose bra and cup her full breast into my palm.

  "I need you," she moans the last word as I pinch her pebbled nipple.

  "What do you need from me?" I challenge, playing with the peak, and coax more sounds out of her. My answer is her ass rubbing my cock so hard it makes me fucking groan. I bite her shoulder, not as hard I want to right now but hard enough to deliver my message. But her being herself, Cobra won't even flinch. "Use your fucking mouth, baby. What. Do. You. Need. From. Me?"

  "Everything you can give me and more," her whisper vibrates through me, leaving goosebumps at its wake. And what comes out of her mouth next makes me want to rewind minutes and just let her sink my hand into her pants. "Take away my nightmares, Tiger."

  I swallow the lump forming in my throat and glide my hand to her neck, folding my fingers around it. "How do you want me to do that?" I ask, lifting myself to lean on my elbow, still keeping her hands locked in mine. Stroking her neck, I place little kisses on her arm, trying to keep myself in order. How can she make me feel this fucking torn?

  "It doesn't matter how. Just take care of me, please," Cobra pleads, her words making my chest ache, but at the same time, it awakens something inside me.

  That's all I've ever wanted to do. Take care of her.

  My heartbeat thunders like a drum when I swipe my leg over her, rolling her onto her back, and straddle her, placing my knees on each side of her hips. Even in the dark, I see Cobra's beautiful figure underneath me, so much smaller than me—so tough, but still so fragile.

  I lean onto my hand which keeps her hands pinned above her head and land my lips on hers. Taking a deep breath, I fill my lungs with her scent. The mild raspberry comes from her hair, but the other scent—my shower gel—makes me smile against her lips.

  She's mine, and I can take care of her. No matter what I spilled out to her yesterday, I can take care of her now.

  Even if we wouldn't be the same anymore when the lights go on.

  Cobra opens up to me, letting my tongue slide in to play with hers. A groan reverberates through my chest as she turns needier, sucking me in like she can't get enough. Reminding myself I want to take care of her, not me, I stop the idea of crawling up on her and shoving my dick into her throat. Instead, I move between her thighs, pressing the length of me against her core.

  She purrs from pleasure into my mouth, her throat vibrating under my palm as I rock my hips, the friction between us making me pant. If I wouldn't still have boxers on, I'd be balls deep inside her right fucking now. The way her gorgeous body waves against me, seducing me to fuck her into oblivion, makes me crazy.

  "Tiger, I need to feel you inside me," she breathes, bucking her hips even harder. I want nothing more than to make her wish come true.

  But I don't. Not yet.

  "Na-a, baby girl." I kiss my way to her ear and move my hand to her jaw, exposing her elegant neck. I love that part of her the most, and even more, I love to leave my marks on it for everyone to see. "Let me take care of you." I nip her earlobe while dry-fucking her slowly. "I'm the only one who knows how to do it right, isn't it true, baby?"

  Breathless moans float out of her pretty mouth as I suck the soft skin of her neck, and she tries to nod, but I keep her jaw in place. I give her a little nibble to remind her how things work around here. "If I ask, you answer by using words. Do you remember?"

  "Yes," she vows, voice filled with need. "You're the only one, Tiger."

  Fuck, if that ain't the most satisfying sentence ever, I don't know what is.

  I let go of her jaw, lifting myself to look at her beautiful face as I guide her hands to the iron bars of the headboard. She curls her slender fingers around them, hazel eyes glued to mine, and the bleeding want in them curves my mouth into a smile. "Keep your hands there, okay, baby? If you let go, I'll tie you up, and you don't want that."

  "What if I want it?" Cobra bucks her hips up, and even through the fabric, I can feel the heat she radiates.

  I smirk. "Trust me, you don't want it now. When I tie you up, I promise I won't let you go easy. There are no safe words when it comes to me; you know this." I sweep my tongue over her plump lips, "So, if you're ready to let me do anything I want to you right now, then go ahead. Let go."

  Her eyes narrow as she ponders my words, and then she nods, apparently getting some sort of vision of what I'd do. Her fingers grasp the iron bars tighter. "Okay, I’ll hold on."

  "Such a good girl," I tout her and slide myself lower on her body, pushing her shirt and bra above her tits. Her back arches, and a satisfied purr fills the air as I twirl my tongue on her nipple and suck it into my mouth. The sounds she makes drives me fucking wild, and my muscles twitch from anticipation like my body is ready to explode.

  Which, in fact, it is.

  Her lace panties are soaking when I bring my hand between us, and the fact she's so fucking ready for me makes a pleasure stream through me. After everything she knows, after seeing all of me…

  "You want me, baby?" I ask, moving to give attention to her other nipple, giving it a hard suck at the same time as I roll my thumb over her clit. She quivers under my touch like a butterfly in the wind.

  "Oh, fuck, yes."

  Her gasps make my chest swell. I lean back and sit on my knees between her thighs, adoring the sight of her. The beautiful body elongated, glistening, and open for me. Cobra squeezes the iron bars hard—I can see it from the rigid muscles on her arms—and wiggles her hips at me like a bitch in heat. She lifts her leg to my thigh, sliding it up to my dick with a salacious smile on her perfect lips.

  "Why are you always teasing me?" she purrs, rubbing my hard-on in a way that makes me ask the same question from myself.

  "As I've said before." I glide my hands up her thighs to her waist, slipping fingers under her lace undies, and pull them off, tossing them over my shoulder. "I'm not teasing you. If I wanted, I could fuck you fast and hard without giving a shit if you come or not," I tell her, spreading her bent legs back to each side of me, taking a sweet moment to enjoy the sight. The dawn is casting a dim light on the room, and I couldn't be more pleased with the timing. I drag a thumb over my bottom lip, gliding my other hand on her inner thigh. "But this?" I skim my thumb from her entrance to her clit, and she lets out a cute-ass whimper. "I can't get enough of touching you. You're like a fucking drug, baby. But you like this, don't you?"

  Cobra watches me through half-masked lids, biting her bottom lip, and nods. Then she realizes her mistake and quickly opens her mouth. "Yeah, I do," she breathes out, brushing her slick surface against my thumb. "But I want more, Tiger. Give me more, please."

  She's so good at this game, and I fucking love it.

  "You want me to lick you up, and push my fingers inside your gorgeous pu
ssy, is that it?" I ask and can't help but chuckle at the flush which creeps up to her cheeks. How fucking cute is that? There she is, all open up for me, horny as fuck, and ready to go, but blushes when I talk dirty to her. There are not many things in life which make Cobra Hayes blush, and now when I've found it, I'll never let it go. It's way too adorable.

  "Well, yeah," she retorts, swallowing hard enough for me to hear it. My cock is bouncing fiercely against the boxer briefs, and I bring my other hand on it, stroking it through the fabric. Her eyes are glued to the movement, her mouth forming round O as she pants from the sensations, which I don't know are more from the sight or that I'm increasing the speed of my thumb.

  I like the way she is watching me. Like she wants nothing more than let go of the iron bars, jump on to me, and fuck my brains out. The feeling is totally mutual, and because I do like to tease her—one of the joys in my life—I strip off my boxer briefs, releasing my pulsing dick for her to see.

  "Na-a, remember the rules, baby girl," I remind her as she makes a move, looking like she is planning to release her hold. As I speak, I stroke myself up and down, enjoying the sight of her licking her lips like she could taste the precum from the thick head. "Only let go if you're sure. If even one hand comes off, it's on. There's no backing down then, no matter what you say."

  "I'll kick you in the fucking face if you don't stop touching yourself and start touching me instead," Cobra snaps, glaring at me while rubbing her planted feet on the mattress. I didn't even remember how fucking hot she is when she's mad. Goddamn.

  Her tone hits my system like a match thrown into a trail of gasoline. I want to fuck her so bad right now I can't see straight.

  So. Fucking. Bad.

  Yet, I want to do her first as I planned. Because I'm in control, not my feelings or my needs. My mind is in fucking control.

  "You know, if you keep talking like that, I might tie you up anyway." I pump myself a couple of times more, just to make her wait before letting go. "Spread your legs wide for me, baby girl," I say as I bend down, and she obliges, giving me excellent access between her thighs. Parting her lips, I lick her all the way up, and she tastes so damn good I feel I could come just by devouring her.