Everything I Have (The Everything Series Book 2)

by A. K. Evans

  “It’s amazing to me that someone so beautiful could ever be made to feel anything but.”

  I swallowed past the lump forming in my throat again and managed to get out a throaty, “It doesn’t matter what happened before because now I have you and beautiful is all you’ve ever made me feel.”

  “Sweetheart,” he said tenderly, as his hand made its way around the back of my neck and squeezed.

  “Make love to me, Zane.”

  At that, Zane brought both of his hands to the top of the towel I still had wrapped around me. His fingers gripped the edge of the towel and slowly pulled it apart and away from my body. As the towel fell to the floor Zane’s lips came crashing down on mine. This kiss was different than any kiss I’d ever experienced before; it was claiming. I felt the possessiveness in his kiss and gave myself in return. He was taking so I was giving. Zane’s hands went to either side of my upper back while he began trailing kisses down my neck to my breasts. My hands went to his shoulders and my fingertips dug in. Zane’s mouth captured one of my nipples. He sucked, licked, kissed, and teased it while one of his hands came to my other breast to squeeze it. After paying proper attention with his mouth, Zane switched sides and took my other nipple in his mouth. I felt the wetness pooling between my legs with his relentless assault on my sensitive body. Soon enough, his mouth moved from my breast and he kissed his way down my abdomen. With his hands now at my hips, Zane pulled his mouth from my body and looked at me. The heat in his now liquid-blue eyes was mesmerizing, but I was unable enjoy them for long because Zane’s mouth went straight to my core. My head dropped back and my knees buckled. Zane caught my weight in his hands, which were now at my ass holding me in place, and he didn’t cease in working me with his mouth. I felt the onset of my orgasm with the tightening low in my belly within minutes.

  “Oh, baby,” I moaned as he swiped his tongue through my core and pushed two fingers inside me.

  Zane kept at me with his mouth as his fingers slid in and out of me. I cupped my breasts in my hands and brushed my fingertips across my nipples. Hearing Zane groan, I looked down at him to find he was looking up at me and watching me touch myself. His mouth worked me harder and his fingers moved faster. Seconds later, I was coming undone and screaming his name. I couldn’t stand any longer and Zane immediately caught me, lifted me in his arms, and carried me to the bed.

  After putting me down on my back, Zane settled his hips between my parted thighs while he brought his hands up to frame my face.

  “Couple days ago, I said I didn’t know if the way you looked or the sounds you made was sexier. Just realized that as beautiful as both are, the answer is neither. Watching you touch yourself — Christ, Em, nothing fucking sexier than that.”

  I felt my cheeks flush and I couldn’t look away since Zane’s hands had my head immobile. So, I stared back at him and made a mental note of his preference and knew that I’d have to do something about seeing to it that he got the full show.

  “Going to love you and give you beautiful now, Emme.”

  I smiled up at him and ran my fingers through his hair.

  He then pushed inside me, filled me with beauty, and loved me good…twice.

  *****

  Darkness.

  I was back in the alley.

  I was out of breath, running as fast as I could. I knew he was coming after me. I had to get away this time. He had found me and he was going to try to kill Zane. I had to keep running.

  I saw the light in the distance. I ran harder, faster. I kept looking for him in the distance just past the light, but I couldn’t find him.

  “Zane,” I whispered as I approached the lighted area. “Where are you?”

  I kept running, trying to get to him wherever he was when I lost my footing, twisted my ankle, and came crashing down to the ground. The skin on my hands was instantly burning as I used them to break my fall. The pain radiating from my foot wouldn’t allow me to get up and walk, let alone run. I tried to crawl away, but with the scrapes on my hands I didn’t get very far.

  “Emme, get up,” I heard Zane’s voice call to me.

  I looked up trying to find him, but didn’t see him anywhere. Tears welled in my eyes.

  “You won’t find him here, Emily.”

  Seth. Oh God, please no.

  “Please, let me go,” I begged, the tears pouring down my face.

  “Emme,” Zane called out.

  “Zane,” I cried out.

  Seth grabbed my shirt up near my shoulder and turned me so that I was now on my back facing him.

  “Get up, Em,” I heard Zane’s voice say, though my mind was consumed with fear now face-to-face with Seth again.

  “You aren’t getting away from me this time, Emily. No matter how far you run, I’ll always find you. And if you think he’s going to save you or stop me, I’ll just have to get rid of him first.”

  And then his fist came down and blasted me in my left eye. I screamed out in pain and brought my hands up to shield my face. He grabbed me by my hair and began kicking me repeatedly. I could no longer breathe.

  “Zane,” I rasped out. “Baby, please help me.”

  “I’m right here, Emme,” he said, as I felt his hands on me. “Come on, sweetheart.”

  I shot up in the bed, out of breath, and took in my surroundings.

  “Jesus Christ,” I heard Zane say beside me.

  I turned my head to the side to look at him and the second my eyes came to his pained ones I lost it. My breathing was rapid, the tears were spilling down my cheeks, and I grasped at Zane’s arms and chest, searching for something to hold on to that would keep me safe. He immediately wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his lap as he rested his back against the headboard.

  “It’s ok, Em” he whispered in my ear. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. You are safe with me.”

  My body trembled and shook with the fear I was feeling as I continued to cry on Zane’s chest. He held me tight and continued to whisper in my ear, reassuring me that I was safe and that he wasn’t going to let anything happen to me.

  “It hurts so bad, Zane. My whole body hurts.”

  “I know, Em, but you are safe. It wasn’t real.”

  It took a good long while, but I eventually began to settle. My breathing returned to a somewhat normal pace, the tears had stopped falling, and I was settling into the comfort that Zane was giving me.

  “Can you tell me about it, Emme?” Zane asked.

  I’m not sure if it was something he really wanted to hear or if he was asking out of obligation. Regardless, he’d been there for me through too many of my nightmares and always asked me to share with him, but I’d always refused. He deserved better, so I nodded.

  “I started having nightmares shortly after Taj was killed. Charley and I didn’t move here until about three months after that night. I had been having them nearly every single night for those three months. Shortly after we moved here they stopped. I’m not sure if I felt a bit safer being away from Ventura or not, but I didn’t dwell on it either way. I was simply relieved they stopped.”

  I paused a moment, taking in a breath before I continued, “The night after I first met you at Lou’s on Charley’s birthday they started again.”

  I felt his body tense, “That was over two months ago, Emme.”

  I hadn’t really paid attention, but I guess he was right. “Yeah,” I agreed.

  “Sweetheart, I can’t believe you’ve been dealing with these for that long. Please tell me they weren’t frequent,” he said.

  “I wish I could. I’ve had them regularly, several times a week.”

  “Fuck,” he mumbled under his breath. “Tell me about the nightmares.”

  “They started off relatively tame and have gotten progressively worse each night. It’s always the same scene. I’m out of breath as I’m running down a dark, narrow alley. I can’t see anything, but I do know that I need to keep running to get away. I know that I’m scared out of my mind. I eventually see a ligh
t off in the distance and I try to keep pushing myself to get there. There is a rut in the pavement and every single time, even though I know it’s coming and I try to avoid it, my ankle twists in the rut and I go crashing down to the ground. I use my hands to stop me and they get all scraped up. I try to get up, but I can’t walk because my ankle is injured. And within seconds of me falling, he’s there. He tells me how I can keep running, but that he’ll always find me. He insists that I belong to him and nobody else.”

  After taking a deep breath I continued, “I was waking up shortly after this, but now they are worse. The morning Nikki and Monroe called you was the worst they had been to that point. He had beaten me, badly. It was brutal and the only reason I woke up from that one was because after he insisted that I was his and couldn’t continue running from him or he’d kill you, he pulled out a gun. I remember waking after that nightmare and all I could think about was you. I was so scared for you. After the girls called you the pain kicked in. It was like I could feel everything he had done to my body. I’m sure it was because I was so tense as I was asleep, but the pain is very real.”

  “Em,” Zane gently whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

  “There was eventually one nightmare where I had been running down the alley and I saw a shadow step out in front of me as I approached the lighted area. It was you. I tried to get to you, but I ended up twisting my ankle as I did every other time and falling. You kept telling me to come to you and that you’d keep me safe, but I couldn’t get up. I couldn’t get to you, and you…you never came to me.”

  “Emme…” he trailed off. “Know this, sweetheart. If anything ever happened and you needed me I will always come for you. I will do whatever I need to just to get to you. I’m sorry you are having these nightmares, but please know that what’s happening in them is not what will happen in real life. I love you, Em. You need me, I’ll always get to you. I promise you.”

  And I knew he always would. The nightmares were horrific, there was no denying that. But with every moment I spent in Zane’s arms I felt more and more protected than ever. I still feared for his safety, but I had to trust that he and his brothers knew what they were doing. On that thought, I snuggled into him and settled into the peace he gave me.

  Chapter 21

  Emme

  Cunningham Security. I was currently sitting in Zane’s truck, which was now parked outside the private investigation and security firm’s building in downtown Windsor, Rising Sun’s neighboring city. It was a couple hours after I had woken from my nightmare and even though Zane had managed to soothe and console me that morning, I was now feeling very tense.

  “What are you thinking about?” Zane’s voice filtered into my head.

  “This makes it real, Zane. I go in there and I’m admitting that he still exists.”

  “Sweetheart, he doesn’t exist the way that he used to for you. You going in there is only about keeping you safe from him. The fact is, he is out there. I’m not taking chances with you. I’m ok with you not going in if you are uncomfortable being around that many men right now, but I’m not ok with you not going in because you don’t want to admit that you need to be protected until that asshole is caught.”

  I swallowed hard and nodded. I knew Zane’s number one concern was my safety, but the reality is that I was more concerned for him. I didn’t trust that Seth wouldn’t follow through on what he said in his note. Zane’s life was too important and I wasn’t willing to risk it. Having Levi’s team around would not only keep me safe, but Zane as well.

  “Ok, we can go in.”

  “You sure?” Zane asked.

  “Yes,” I answered, firmly.

  With that, Zane exited the truck, walked around to my door to help me out, and held my hand as he led me to the front door. I took in the building’s exterior as we approached. Modern day architectural designs, a matte black stucco facade with dark gray accents, and lots of dark tinted windows all added to the sleek look of the building. When we arrived at the front door Zane punched a code in to the key pad at the side of the door and I heard the lock click. He opened the door and ushered me in ahead of him.

  As we entered the building I stepped into the reception area. It was a well-lit space with modern furnishings that consisted of two crisp white couches in the left hand front corner of the room, an espresso colored end table separating them. There were an additional two chairs off the side of one of the couches along with an espresso colored coffee table that sat in front of the seating. Directly in front of where we stood was a reception desk that had a woman, who looked to be in her forties sitting at it.

  “Good morning, Zane,” the woman said. “Haven’t seen you here in a while.”

  “Morning, Deb,” Zane started. “Been busy training, so there hasn’t been a whole lot of free time. Deb, this is my girlfriend, Emme. Emme, this is Deb.”

  I took in Deb. She was a beautiful woman with medium auburn colored hair styled in a pixie cut. She had a pleasant demeanor and kind, pale-blue eyes with specks of gold in them.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you Emme.”

  “Thank you. And the same to you,” I quietly answered.

  “Oh Zane,” she said as she directed her attention to him. “She’s too sweet. You better take good care of this one.”

  “I fully intend to,” he replied as he pulled me tighter into his body. “Speaking of which, I assume Levi and Cruz are here?”

  She nodded. “Already in the conference room. The rest of the guys are there as well, except for Tyson and Gunner. Tyson is on a case that’s not exactly local and Gunner is on security detail for another client. You can head on in; they’re expecting you.”

  “Thanks, Deb.”

  Zane walked with me toward the conference room which was located at the front of the building directly across from the reception area. Zane turned the handle on the door and pushed it open. I had my head down as I took two steps into the room, but quickly realized I should have been paying attention as I bumped into a solid wall of man and big, strong hands gripped my biceps to steady me.

  “You alright there?” I heard a deep voice say.

  My eyes traveled up from the abdomen that my eyes were currently focused on up to the chest, neck, and finally the face of a huge man standing in front of me and rounded at the sight. I couldn’t say anything. I had no words. I had never seen a man so large in my entire life. I felt Zane’s arm wrap around my waist and his fingers put a little pressure on my side. I slowly nodded to the man in front of me in response to his question. He pulled his hands from my arms, stuck a hand out toward Zane, and said, “Zane, brother, how’s it going? Congrats on the win at the Games, man.”

  Zane stuck his hand out to shake the man’s hand and said, “Thanks, Dom. Appreciate it. This is Emme who, apparently, has lost the ability to speak. Emme, this is Dominick, better known as Dom.”

  Nice to meet you, Dom.

  That’s right. I responded in my head since I couldn’t actually speak. As a result, I nodded again. Dom gave me a grin. Wow.

  At that moment, I saw movement to my right so I managed to peel my eyes from the sight in front of me to find Levi was now standing next to me.

  “Hey, Em. Good to see you. I want to introduce you to the rest of the guys before we start talking strategy. Come on in and have a seat,” he said.

  “Ok,” I said as I turned my head back to find that Dom was no longer blocking my view to the rest of the room. I stopped dead in my tracks.

  Holy. Fuck.

  A couple weeks ago Charley and I had the pleasure of staying in a beautiful home that Wes rented while we were out in Aspen for the X Games. Charley and I deemed it real estate heaven, even though I still had a special place in my heart for Zane’s house, particularly his kitchen. Then, a few days ago I told Zane I was in sex heaven. Somehow, I managed to look away from the men surrounding the table in front of me and turned to Zane.

  With my brows drawn together I asked, “Did he already kill me?”


  Confusion marred Zane’s face. “Sweetheart, what are you talking about?”

  I leaned slightly into Zane before I said, not as quietly as I had thought, “I’m pretty sure I’m dead and have currently taken up residence in Hot Guy Heaven.”

  While his jaw clenched, there was still a brightness in his eyes. They were smiling.

  “And baby, I think you’re their leader here.”

  I heard a few chuckles from the room and Zane leaned in to press a kiss to my temple. “Sorry, Em. This is real life. You are very much alive.”

  “And we intend to keep it that way, beautiful,” Cruz said as he pulled my attention from Zane.

  “Fuck, Cruz. Her name is Emme.”

  “Already know that Zane. You going to tell me that I’m wrong for calling her beautiful?” Cruz challenged him.

  Zane narrowed his eyes at Cruz. Cruz wasn’t the least bit affected.

  “Relax, bro, she thinks you are the leader of Hot Guy Heaven here. I’m pretty sure you don’t have anything to worry about.”

  I looked down at the ground, suddenly wishing I had kept my thoughts to myself.

  “Alright, guys, let’s take it easy here and focus on the task at hand,” Levi chimed in. I was grateful for his redirection of the situation.

  With his hand at the small of my back Zane guided me toward a seat, pulled out the chair for me, and then sat down next to me.

  “Emme, you’ve already met Dom,” he began as he pointed to Dom who was sitting off to his left. He then began pointing at each man sitting at the table and said, “This is Trent, that’s Pierce, Holden is over on this side, and next to him is Lorenzo. I’ve got two more guys that are part of the team, Tyson and Gunner, but both are on jobs now that they couldn’t be here today. You’ll meet them before they’d ever cover you, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

  My eyes had followed Levi’s introductions. Dom was a big man, no doubt about it, but when Levi got to Lorenzo I realized that he was now the largest man I’d ever laid my eyes on. Trent, Holden, and Pierce were certainly built, but where they were lean muscle, Dom and Lorenzo had a whole lot more weight on both of them. It was all rock-solid muscle. I was still in shock. How was it possible that every single one of these guys was gorgeous?