“You okay?” I spin her around. She cradles her hand to her chest. I pull it away and look down at it. She cut the skin open, and it’s bleeding.
“Fine.” She yanks it from my hold and backs away from me.
“What the fuck, man?” the guy cries. “Your bitch …”
I punch him right in his ribs. He throws his head back, hitting the concrete wall and bares his teeth. I hit him in the face this time, knocking his head to the side. Blood flies from his busted lip. Then I punch him in the stomach. His hands fist above his head as he fights the chain.
“Stop. Stop.” He spits out blood. “I’m sorry …”
Deke goes over to the corner of the room and rips off a piece of duct tape from the trash bag and slaps it over the guy’s mouth. Blood drips from his nose, along with a busted chin.
He begins to scream behind it as he fights his restraints.
I slap his face softly. “Have fun being an attraction tonight,” I say, throwing my arm over my wife, and she smiles up at me with pride.
Our marriage is far from normal. I may have fallen in love with Austin Lowes, but she didn’t soften me in the least. I still crave blood, and she never tries to stop me.
“Where’s Demi?” she asks, looking around.
Deke shrugs. “I thought she was with you, honestly.”
“Shit.” She sighs. “She probably knocked out a vampire, smeared his fake blood all over her, and has hijacked a coffin by now.”
He arches a brow. “Is she applying for a job or something?”
She shakes her head. “We thought you guys were here to fuck with us,” she admits. “So she wanted to scare you before you could pull one on her.”
He runs his finger across his bottom lip. “Oh, I can fuck with her all right.” Then he walks out of the room with a smile on his face.
I turn to Austin. “Where are his friends?” she asks me. “There were three of them.”
I’m very aware of how many of them there were. “Shane took care of them.” Although they made some comments I didn’t care for, they never touched any of the girls.
I watch her cradle her hand to her chest, and I know it’s time to go. I step into her and cup her gorgeous face. “Can we go home?”
She looks over at the guy who mumbles nonsense behind the tape over his mouth. Someone will find him before they close tonight. Maybe. If not, sucks to be him.
“Yeah.” She sighs. “Let’s go home.”
CHAPTER ONE
COLE
“YOU’RE LEAVING TONIGHT,” I order, running up the staircase to our master suite on the second floor.
“Oh no, I’m not.” Austin gives a humorous laugh, her heels stomping behind me.
“Staying isn’t an option.” I shove open our bedroom door and storm into our walk-in closet.
“I’m not going anywhere. Demi and I …”
“Demi is leaving too. Deke is placing her on the private jet as we speak.” We rented one a few hours ago and paid the pilot twenty thousand to take them wherever they decide to go. Not even Deke and I will know their destination, and it’s better this way. The girls aren’t safe here. Not with us. Not anymore. The game has changed.
“What?” she shrieks, entering the large space.
I don’t like repeating myself, so I ignore that and pull her Louis Vuitton luggage down I got her for Christmas last year and start shoving clothes inside.
“Cole, stop!” she orders, bending down and yanking them out.
She has some jeans folded on a shelf, and I toss them into the bag as well. Then I open the drawers and start grabbing underwear, bras, and socks.
“Cole!” she shouts. “Stop! I’m not going …”
“Yes, you are,” I growl.
“I’m not!” she screams.
I spin around and throw a wad of shirts to the floor.
She stands before me dressed in a black silk dress—it’s her wedding dress. Every time I look at her in it, it takes my breath away. She is beyond anything I could have ever dreamed of. Her wide green eyes show her concern, but her thinned lips tell me she’s angry as well. Her small hands hit my chest, trying to shove me, but I don’t budge.
“Austin …”
“No! I won’t leave you.”
“I’m not giving you a choice.”
She shakes her head back and forth quickly, and I hear her sniff. The gravity of this situation has started to set in.
My jaw tightens. “Austin …”
“You can’t make me.” Her voice cracks.
“Sweetheart …” I reach out for her, but she pulls away.
“No!” She throws down the clothes she had pulled from the bag. “I’m not fucking leaving! You can’t make me!”
Reaching out, I grab her arm, then yank her to me. I shove her wild, dark hair from her face and watch the tears falling down her cheek. She doesn’t cry to get her way because she knows her tears have the opposite effect on me.
“Please?” she begs, her hands fisting my shirt, and my chest tightens at her words. Austin isn’t the kind of woman who begs for anything. “You promised me.” She lifts her left hand, shoving her ruby wedding ring into my face. “You promised to never leave me.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Can’t she see we have no other choice?
“Neither am I.” She lifts her chin in challenge. She’s so stubborn. It’s one of the things I love about her. But she needs to understand I’m in charge here. If I say she goes, she goes.
I lean forward and press my lips to her wet ones. I kiss her slowly. Passionately. Burning her taste and feel of her to my memory because I’m not sure when I’ll see her again. If ever.
My tongue enters her mouth, and I grip her hair, making her whine in the sweetest way. My cock instantly goes hard. She does this to me every fucking time. And that’s exactly why she has to go. Austin has always been my weakness. She clouds my vision, and I can’t take that chance. I won’t survive sitting on a kitchen floor, holding her dead body in my arms again.
She’s panting when I pull away with a small smile on her face. She thinks she won.
I take a deep breath and break her heart like I did the morning after prom. When I pushed her away, not sure if I’d ever get her back. “You will leave tonight.” Her face falls. “This is not up for discussion. And there are no other options.”
A small gasp escapes her lips. I feel the need to explain myself and make her understand that I won’t risk her life. Not even for myself. “Because I love you, sweetheart. And you’re not safe.” Admitting I can’t protect her is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to accept. I can’t fail her. Not again.
She yanks away from me, green eyes burning into mine. Another reason I fell in love with her is because her hatred can match mine any day.
“I love you—”
“Fuck you, Cole!” she snaps. “You want me out?” She reaches down and shoves the things on the floor into her bag. “I’m out.”
“Austin …”
She looks up at me from her knees with streaks running down her gorgeous face from her eyeliner. “Just don’t expect me to come running when you call me to come back.” Then she exits the closet, leaving me to eat my own words.
My chest aches at her absence. The sudden silence almost deafening. Her perfume lingers in the large space, but my eyes scan over the empty shelves. Hangers litter the floor. Might as well be my soul in pieces because she owns it, and I just forced her to leave me. Who knows if she’ll ever forgive me.
I jerk at the sound of the front door slamming shut.
I have to remind myself this is for the best. I’ve always been selfish when it comes to her, but I can’t afford it this time. The cost is too much.
I walk into our bedroom and see my keys lying on the end of the bed. Picking them up, I follow her.
Fifteen minutes later, I pull my car to a stop and get out. I lean up against the hood as I face the private jet that sits on the tarmac in the night. Shoving my hands in my pockets,
I look it over, hoping she can see me. That she knows this hurts me just as much as it does her.
I watch Deke exit the plane and walk down the steps. They close right behind him, and it begins to pull away.
“What are you doing here?” he asks, coming over to me.
“I had to make sure she got on the plane,” I answer, unable to take my eyes from it.
“She was pissed.” He sighs. “So was Demi. She hates me.” He hangs his head.
“At least they’ll be alive to do so.” It’s the only thing I can keep telling myself. This will keep her breathing. Too many times she has been close to death just since I met her.
“We’ll see them again,” he assures.
“Maybe.” They may be getting away to a safe place, but that doesn’t assure our safety. I’d die for her without a thought. I’ll make sure we all die as long as it means we get our guy.
“Come on.” He slaps my shoulder. “Come over to my place, and we’ll talk strategy.”
I turn my back to the plane as it picks up speed at the end of the runway and pull on my door handle when a loud boom has us both ducking.
I spin around to see the very plane our wives were on engulfed in flames and plummeting to the ground. “AUSTIN …”
COLE
Sitting straight up, I gasp for air. My heart pounds, and I’m soaking wet. It’s dark. Pitch black. I blink, hoping my eyes will adjust, but they don’t.
I reach over and search for my cell. I knock it off, hearing it hit the floor. I find the lamp and switch the light on.
I’m back at home. In bed. Our bed. “Austin?” I reach over to find her asleep beside me.
I run my hands through my wet hair. It was a dream. A nightmare.
Sucking in a deep breath, I try to calm my racing heart. It felt so real. The argument we had. She was wearing her wedding dress. The drive to the airport to make sure she left. The explosion. There was no way the girls would have survived that.
I get out of bed and pick up my cell. I go to call Deke but pause. It’s a little after three in the morning, so he’s not going to be awake. He needs his sleep, unlike me. I place it back and exit our room. I make my way downstairs and open Lilly’s door to check on her. Why wasn’t she in my dream? Where was she? Had we already lost her? Was my main focus Austin? Maybe it’s because Lilly is so innocent to the world we live in. To the things that the sharks and I have done? Austin knows everything—most everything—and she still loves me.
Entering her room, I kiss her on her forehead and pull her covers up to her neck before quietly exiting. I stop by the kitchen to grab a drink of water, then return upstairs. I go straight to the bathroom, needing a shower. A second to think and calm my nerves.
My heart pounds, and my pulse still races.
The nightmares have returned. They had gone away, but for some reason, they’ve crept back into my mind. Either I’m losing it or they’re a warning.
Getting undressed, I step into the shower and get under the sprayer. I keep the water cold to help wake me up.
“AUSTIN!” I scream, running toward the flames of what’s left of the plane, but they seem to appear farther and farther away.
I shake my head, growling to myself. “Stop!”
I close my eyes, and the time she lay dead in my arms in her father’s kitchen returns.
“Cole, what happened? Did you shoot this woman?” His eyes fall to my gun that sits in the pool of her blood … “Cole!” Derek growls my name, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me back.
This time when my eyes meet his, they narrow. “I love her. I was trying to save her.”
I fist my hands and place my head under the sprayer. Opening my mouth, I try to breathe. This isn’t happening. Not again. Things have been going well. I think about what happened to her daily. When Kellan shot her, and then again when I found her tied up in her bedroom because of Becky. Those aren’t memories. Life events that I witnessed, and she lived through. But the plane? What significance does it hold? What the fuck does it mean?
I finish in the shower and get out. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I walk into the bedroom. But I stop when I see she has moved from where I left her. She’s lying in our bed, facing away from me. The covers kicked down to the footboard. She wears an oversized white tank top with black boy shorts, and that’s it. Her dark hair fans over the red pillowcase.
“Austin!” I can hear the popping of the fire. The flames heat my skin, but I’m not getting any closer. Blood rushes in my ears, and I’m gasping for breath.
Crawling onto our bed, I roll onto my side and run my hand down her back and into her underwear. I squeeze her ass.
She rolls over onto her back. One hand rests above her head, the other on her chest. I slide my hand to the front of her underwear and run my fingers over her smooth pussy.
I want her. I need to see her eyes as reassurance she’s alive.
I spread her pussy with my fingers and run them over her clit.
“Cole.” She moans quietly.
“Wake up, sweetheart,” I say and kiss her parted lips. “I need you.”
“Cole, it’s late,” she mumbles.
Getting up, I situate myself between her legs. I slide my hands under her shirt and push it up her stomach and chest. Placing my hand on her chest, I feel the slow rhythm of her heart thumping.
I let out a long breath. My eyes go to the scar from the gunshot wound. We never talk about it. She never brings it up, but I know she catches me looking. To her, Kellan is dead, so all is well. But I’m not.
I pull her underwear down her legs and toss them to the floor before dropping my hand once again between them. I lower my face to her neck and kiss her soft skin while I slide a finger into her. She’s not nearly wet enough, but I’ll get her there. She’ll be soaking wet and begging for it.
I pull my finger out and kneel between her legs. I open her up and run my tongue over her pussy, tasting her. Closing my eyes, I do it again. And then again. My hands grip her thighs tightly, and I yank her closer toward me.
I begin to fuck her with my tongue, and her hips start to move with me.
“Cole.” I hear her say my name before her hand finds its way to my hair, and she grips it tightly. “Oh, God, Cole.” She arches her back.
I don’t let up. I continue, trying to fill my mind with her voice. Her panting and her pleas. I’ve always loved the water because of the silence it offers. Austin is my ocean. I want to drown in her.
I pull away and lick my wet lips. She lies on the bed, panting with her eyes closed. I take my hard cock in my hand and press into her, throwing her right leg over my shoulder.
“Cole.” She cries out, still sensitive.
I press my hand over her mouth, silencing her. Lilly is a light sleeper, and I don’t plan on stopping for any reason.
Her heavy, green eyes stare up into mine, and I start to move. Fucking her like it’s her fault I had a dream about her dying. Again. She places her hands above her head, flat on the headboard to keep her head from hitting it.
“Fuck!” I growl, feeling her pussy tighten around me. She’s going to come again.
She breathes heavily through her nose. Her eyes fall closed, and she arches her back. My hand is still over her mouth, quieting her this time.
I slow down, and watch my slick dick slide in and out, covered in her cum. “Fuck, sweetheart,” I say, breathing hard. My eyes look back up at her. Her arms have fallen to the sides of her head, and her eyes are still closed.
I remove my hand from her mouth. “Austin?” I cup her face. “You okay?” My fingers go to her neck and feel her rapid pulse. “Austin?” I tap her face.
“Cole …” She mumbles my name and tilts her head the other way, not bothering to open her eyes. “It’s late.” She yawns. “I’m tired.”
And just like that, she falls back asleep.
I sit up and run my hands through my hair. Then get off the bed, grab my towel, and wipe between her legs before I fall down beside h
er, not even bothering to put any boxers on.
CHAPTER TWO
COLE
I OPEN MY eyes and reach out my right hand, feeling around the empty space. Clarifying what I already know.
I’m alone.
Rolling onto my back, I pick up my phone off the nightstand. It’s eight o’clock, and my battery life reads forty-five percent. I forgot to charge it last night. I turn off my alarm since it’s scheduled to go off in thirty minutes anyway before throwing off the covers. I make my way to our en suite bathroom. Turning on the shower, I step inside and stand under the sprayer, needing another shower since I didn’t take one after we had sex. Closing my eyes, I throw my head back and let it soak my face.
I’m tired.
Exhausted.
I haven’t gotten much sleep lately. After we returned from Collins, things slowed down, and we fell into a routine. I never thought I’d like the whole boring marriage life as much as I do. But something is off. My nightmare proved that.
I have this feeling like the other shoe is about to drop. And I can’t figure out what it is.
I turn around, place my hands on the tile, and bow my head. Fisting my hands, I hit the wall gently a few times, closing my eyes and letting out a long breath.
So much has happened. I wanted Texas to be a fresh start and a new beginning, but it’s not. Everything seems to follow us, no matter where we go, and I have to be one step ahead of it at all times.
Finishing up in the shower, I exit and dry off. I shave my face and brush my teeth before walking into the closet and getting dressed in a pair of jeans and a white T-shirt, then head downstairs.
“Good morning, Cole,” Lilly says as she passes me in the hall with a piece of bacon in one hand and her cell in the other.
“Morning,” I call out just before I hear her bedroom door shut.
I enter the kitchen and see Austin standing in front of the stove. She’s moving bacon from the skillet to a plate. “Lilly, you have ten minutes!” she yells.
DARE SERIES COLLECTION Page 92