by Sam Crescent
“Touch me, Noelle.”
Glancing down at his cock, she saw he was swollen, the hard tip already leaking pre-cum.
Reaching down, she wrapped her fingers around the length and heard his growl, followed by his hiss.
“You’re playing with fire,” he said.
“So are you.”
He pinched her clit, and she cried out as the pleasure intensified. Suddenly, he pulled his hands from her body, grabbed her hips, and moved her so she was bent over his desk.
Within the next second, his cock slid inside her, and she cried out his name.
“Oh, fuck, Noelle. You’ve got the nicest, tightest pussy.” He pulled out and slammed back inside her.
She gripped the edge of his desk, completely out of her mind as he drove inside her over and over again.
“Touch your pussy. Make yourself come.”
She slid her fingers between her thighs and started to stroke her pussy, teasing through her slit, playing with herself.
“I can feel how much you like that. You’re gripping my cock like a tight fucking fist. It’s so good. Don’t stop. Keep touching. Keep playing. Keep doing it. I want to feel you come.”
Hearing the pleasure all around her and with his cock inside her, she couldn’t contain her arousal for another moment. She came, screaming his name as he pounded away inside her, shocking her to the core as he finally released all of his pent-up desire within her.
She felt him come, the sudden jerk and kick of his cock as he filled her with wave upon wave of his release.
Once he finished, he didn’t let her go.
He pulled out of her, wrapped his arms around her, and carried her to his sofa. He kissed the top of her head, stroking her body, loving her. “I love you, Noelle. So damn much.”
Closing her eyes, she smiled. Resting her head against his chest, she felt safe, warm, comforted.
“I love you too.”
****
Two weeks later
Jaxson stared at the rings on display. They were all engagement rings, and he couldn’t see one that stood out to him, that he knew would look good on Noelle’s finger.
“You know you’re crazy, right?” Dane asked.
“You’re here with me.”
“Because, I don’t know what the hell to say or do for you to see that this is completely…”
He looked up from the rings to see Dane searching for the right word. “Completely what?”
“Don’t you think you’re moving too fast?”
“Not fast enough. I love Noelle. I know you struggle to hear it, but I do.”
“She’s my sister, and I’ve known you a long time. You better not hurt her.”
Jaxson stared at his friend. “You’ve changed your mind?”
“Of course I’ve changed my mind. I’m not going to live without my sister. Yes, I think she can do way better, but I’ve seen the way you look at her. I know if anything was to happen to me, you’d be the one to take care of her.”
“Always. I want to make a life with her, Dane.”
“I trust you. Anyway, I’ve got to go and see a girl about some trouble she’s causing.”
“Trouble?”
“Yeah, remember the crack-whore I fucked? Well, she called me. She misses me already.”
“You want me to come with you?”
“No. I want you to pick out the ring. I wonder if my sister will say yes.”
“Of course she will.”
Dane laughed. “Have fun.”
He watched his best friend go. For the next hour, he tried to pick out the right ring. Finally, when a simple silver ring with a small diamond in the center caught his eye, he had the women take it out for him. Placing it in a box, he had it neatly wrapped up. It was perfect as far as he was concerned.
On his way out of the store, his cell phone started to ring.
Seeing it was Noelle calling him, he answered immediately.
“Hello, baby, I’ve been thinking about you.”
“Well, isn’t that nice.”
He tensed up at the man’s voice on the other end.
“Who is this?”
“Well, you see, I’ve got a problem. My suppliers have been turning up dead or badly beaten. You think I wasn’t going to find out what you were doing? You think I didn’t already have a plan in place?”
He heard a scream and knew it was Noelle.
“You let your woman out of your sight and all manner of shit is going to go down. You stupid fuck.”
“You piece of shit. You let her go. She’s not part of this.”
“Come on. She’s the sister of Dane and your woman.” The man on the other line cackled.
“Then let’s settle this.”
“Let’s. Walk to the end of the street. I’ve got eyes on you. Don’t fucking fight, and I’ll see you when you get here. Don’t call Dane. I’ve already got a plan for him.”
The line disconnected.
He needed to call Dane to warn him, but what would happen to Noelle?
He couldn’t risk it.
Pocketing his cell phone, he walked across the parking lot and waited. Sure enough, three men approached him. He didn’t recognize any of them, and as they grabbed him, he felt the needle enter his skin.
“Fucking pussy.”
Slowly, the world went dark.
Chapter Eleven
Jaxson gasped as water was thrown on him. He tried to cover his face, to clear the water, but his hands were chained behind his back. He tugged at the cuffs, and as he came to, she saw Noelle, gagged and bound to a chair. Glancing around him, he saw he was in a barn. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a bloody dead body hanging from a hook, and he knew they were at the ranch house where they kept Ronald. It was supposed to be secure, and now Ronald was dead.
This was the old shed that was out back.
“Ah, I see you’re with us. Let me introduce myself. The name’s Dusty.” Dusty held out his hand even though he couldn’t take it.
In the next instant, Dusty punched him in the face.
Jaxson grunted as pain exploded inside his head. He heard Noelle whimper, and he tried not to look at her.
“What do you want? Money? I can get you money.”
“I don’t want money. What I want is for the notorious Pierce and Hunt to fucking leave. You think you’re the only ones that can kill people? You see, your little scientist, he was pissing himself before I even took my knife to him.” Dusty got to his feet and moved toward Noelle.
“If you touch her, I’ll fucking kill you. No one will ever be able to identify your corpse. I will make you pay.” Jaxson couldn’t believe it had come to this. He’d taken his eyes off the ball for one minute. To buy her a ring. That was all.
He tugged on the cuff that kept him chained to the wall, watching as Dusty ran a hand down Noelle’s body. When he got out of these cuffs, he was going to fucking cut off those fingers one at a time. He didn’t stop pulling at the cuffs that bound him.
The sound of her whimper echoing around the room would stay with him forever.
Dusty pinched her tit and groaned. “You know, I was going to kill her fast, but I think it would be better if I take my time. I wonder how he’ll cope when you’re screaming for help as I fuck you, babe. I bet her pussy is so fucking tight.”
Dusty laughed.
He licked her cheek, and Jaxson forced himself to keep on watching. For her to look at him and know he was going to get them the fuck out of here.
There was no way he could allow anything to happen to her.
He’d taken a vow to protect her. To love her. To be there when she needed it most, and no one would ever make him break a vow. No one fucking ever.
Gritting his teeth, he knew things were about to get fucking worse, but he couldn’t do anything.
Tears spilled down her face, and Jaxson for the first time in his life, prayed for a miracle to get them both out of this shitstorm. He didn’t know what to do. For the first time in his life
, he was helpless.
Seeing Dusty run his hands over her, hearing his threats, it sickened him. No amount of him throwing out warnings seemed to stop him.
Dusty gripped the knife in his hand, and Jaxson watched as he imbedded it into Noelle’s thigh.
Her scream was muffled by the tape across her lips.
Dusty pulled the tape off at the same time he removed the blade. She screamed as he did the same with the second leg.
“I wonder how many times I can stab you before you bleed to death,” Dusty said. “You know, I don’t care if a woman is breathing or not as to how I use her. I kind of like them dead or just about dying. They don’t complain as much.”
“Fuck you,” Noelle said.
She cried out as Dusty slapped her.
Jaxson couldn’t handle this, no fucking way. He tugged on the cuffs, feeling his skin begin to split. He wasn’t going to let Noelle suffer.
Dusty stabbed her again, this time in the shoulder. Her screams would stay with him for the rest of his life.
Just as Dusty was about to stab her again, bullets rang out, one connecting with Dusty’s hand and the other inside his guard’s head. One after the other, they went down.
Jaxson looked around the shed, and then he saw Dane drop down into the center of the room.
“You know, before you decide to take my sister and keep her and my best friend hostage, a word of advice, check to make sure all access points are clear.” With that Dane slammed his foot into Dusty’s crotch.
Jaxson watched as Dane put the gun he used in Noelle’s lap and then went to grab some rope.
“You killed Ronald. You took my sister. You took my best friend, and you tried to take my city. Now let’s see how you handle this.” Dane wrapped the rope around Dusty’s neck, tightening it.
Once he had it tight enough, he walked to Jaxson.
“Get Noelle out of here,” Dane said.
He unlocked the cuffs, and Jaxson got to his feet. He went to Noelle, tearing at his shirt to wrap around her legs to try to stop the bleeding.
“I need to call Ryan,” he said.
“Do it. I’ll take care of this piece of shit.”
Jaxson looked at Dusty. The knife he’d used on Noelle lay at Jaxson’s feet. Picking it up, he walked to Dusty and plunged the knife into his dick. Hearing his screams, Jaxson knew Dane would take care of it.
Picking Noelle up in his arms, he carried her out. “He attacked me at the bakery. In the back.”
“It’s fine. I’ll talk to Bethany.”
She leaned her head against him. “Don’t leave me.”
“Just relax, I’ll get you home.”
He climbed into the spare car that already had keys inside. Starting up the engine, he didn’t stop until he got to his apartment building and Ryan was already there, waiting.
Picking Noelle up, they took the back elevator, which had no cameras.
Carrying her through to their apartment, he laid her on the bed and stepped away as Ryan got to work.
“A knife?”
“Yes.”
“How bad?”
“I don’t know. You’ve got to do your job.” His hands were covered in blood, and when Noelle whimpered, he moved to her side, holding her hands. “I’ve got you.”
“Don’t leave,” she said.
“I won’t. I promise.”
“No major arteries were severed. Most of the cuts look to be surface wounds. I’ll treat them all and use stitches on the deeper cuts,” Ryan said. “She’s going to need to rest afterward.”
“Do what you need to do.”
Ryan gave her a mild sedative to help ease her pain and finished treating her. As Ryan finished up, Dane entered the apartment.
One look and Jaxson knew there was nothing left of Dusty or the shed, or even the house.
“My bill remains the same,” Ryan said.
He handed Jaxson some pain medication and sterile wipes with instructions on what to do.
“What happened?” he asked, once he and Dane were alone.
“You know the crack-whore?”
“Yeah.”
“She was a diversion, only she was a really bad actress. When I found out she was working for Dusty and she’d been put in my line of sight to find out everything about me, I knew Noelle was in trouble. I shouldn’t have taken her on that date with you two.”
“The woman?” Jaxson asked.
“Dead. I got her to tell me what Dusty’s plan was. The moment I injected her ass with enough coke to send her to hell, I came to you.” Dane glanced over at his sister. “I was too late though.”
“No, you weren’t too late. I shouldn’t have left the bakery.” Jaxson gripped the back of his neck. “This is the life we live, right? The life we decided for each other. She shouldn’t have had to deal with that.”
“Jaxson, I’ve been trying to keep her safe for a long time. This could have happened whether you were dating her or not.”
“But it happened now. I can’t—I don’t want to think about this.”
“Before you make any decisions, wait until Noelle wakes up. You want to marry her, and I give you my blessing. You and Noelle, you have what’s real, and I’m not going to come between that. I need a fucking drink. Shit, poor Ronald. He didn’t deserve to die.”
“We’ll deal with it. We always do.”
****
Noelle opened her eyes, and she felt the pain in the next second, in her shoulder and her thighs. Glancing down, she remembered everything.
“Jaxson,” she said.
He was beside her bed, and he moved in close. He took hold of her hand. “I’m here. You’re awake and safe, and I’m here.”
“I thought something bad had happened.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”
“Dane took care of it. Nothing is going to happen to you.”
She stared into his eyes, and something was off. “Jaxson?”
“You were hurt because of me.”
“What? What are you saying?”
“Dane always told me that we had to protect you. My life. What I do. I failed you.”
She knew what was happening. The look in his eyes, guilt.
Yes, she’d been scared yesterday, but even as they chained Jaxson to the wall, she had hope that Dane would save them. That someone else would be there.
Lifting up, she went to touch his cheek, but Jaxson pulled away. It was the first time he’d ever done that.
Her heart raced, and she felt her world start to shatter.
As she licked her dry lips, her mind scrambled for options.
“Marry me.”
Silence met her words.
“What?”
“I want to marry you, Jaxson Pierce.”
“Noelle, you were taken and stabbed repeatedly. You could have died.”
“I’m alive. I know I’m alive. I can feel the pain.” Tears filled her eyes.
“I can’t be the one to put you at risk.”
“Don’t you get it? I’ll always be at risk. Wherever you and Dane are around, I will always be at risk.” She took his hands, holding him tightly. “I don’t care. I love you, Jaxson. I have for a long time, and I don’t want to lose you. You’re my entire world. The past couple of months have been scary and exhilarating, and knowing Dane’s not going to kill you, I don’t want to lose you. I love you, and I’m not going to let that … asshole ruin what we’ve got.” She stared at him. “I love you more than anything else in the world. No matter what happens, you own my heart. Please, you’re the first guy I’ve ever asked to marry me.”
“You shouldn’t be the one to ask me that. I’m the one that is supposed to ask you.”
She shrugged. “So, we got it the wrong way around. I don’t care. Please, Jaxson, say yes. I want to be your wife. Please.”
“Damn it, man, stop making my sister beg and fucking accept it. Give her the fucking ring you paid for.”
Dane stood inside the doorwa
y, and she turned to Jaxson.
“Ring?”
“I was going to ask you tonight.” Jaxson pulled out of his pocket a velvet box. “I want to marry you, Noelle. You’re the woman I love. My soul. The love of my life and there’s no one else I’d ever want.”
With that, he gripped the back of her neck, kissing her.
“Ugh, still gross,” Dane said.
She heard him leave.
“I need some painkillers now. It really hurts.”
“I’ll take care of you, Noelle.”
“I know you will.”
She wasn’t going to let one man scare her away from the man she knew she loved more than anything, not when she finally had him all to herself. The happiness she’d experienced with him was just the beginning. They had an entire life to lead, and she was going to enjoy every single second of it.
Epilogue
Three years later
“He’s so perfect,” Noelle said, staring down at her baby boy.
Jaxson stood behind her, one of his hands in her hair, the other holding their baby boy’s hand.
“This is the only one we’re ever having,” Jaxson said.
She looked up at him and smiled. “No, he’s going to need a brother or sister.”
“Not happening. I can’t go through that again. Seeing you in pain is not something I enjoy.”
“I’ll be the judge of that.”
“Noelle, I mean it.”
“And look at what we made together. You and me, this is our baby boy. I bet Dane is going crazy. He’ll want to see his nephew.”
They’d been married for three glorious years. They had ups and downs. Another crew had tried to take over Jaxson and Dane’s turf, but she knew they had fought to keep the city they owned. They were both so strong, and even as Jaxson worried, she stayed strong by his side. He didn’t need to worry about her.
Maybe another woman would have left him. For Noelle, being taken against her will, hurt, it had only made her realize what she had to lose. She loved Jaxson and would never leave him. They were a family now.