As much as Cap thought Cantrell might deserve an ass kicking to bring him off his rich high horse, this was overkill.
“Jason,” Honey said, getting to her feet. “You need to calm down.”
Keeping quiet, Jax moved to flank Cantrell. Cap didn’t say anything, because the wild look in the kid’s eyes made him wonder exactly what the hell he’d missed.
“Screw you!” Cantrell reached behind him, pulling a gun out from the back of his pants.
Jax simultaneously drew his personal weapon, aiming it at Cantrell. There was hesitation in his eyes, but Cap knew he’d pull the trigger if he had to. No one wanted that, but Cap didn’t want anyone getting hurt because the kid couldn’t control himself.
“Whoah, whoah!” Honey held up a hand to both of them. “Everyone, just calm down!”
“It’s all your damn fault!” Cantrell screamed, waving his gun toward Cap.
Instead of moving out of the way, Cap moved toward Honey, attempting to shield her with his body. The last thing he needed was this half-out-of-his-mind kid to aim for Cap but hit Honey instead. Then he really would die.
“What’s my fault?” Cap asked.
Asking Cantrell to lower his gun wasn’t going to do anything. Cap knew when a man was in pain and this kid was filled to the brim.
Jax held his gun to Cantrell, finger resting on the trigger. Cap knew it wouldn’t be there if the youngest Crow wasn’t ready to take the shot. He gave a subtle shake of his head to Jax, a tell that he didn’t want him to go that route unless it was necessary and then he definitely didn’t want it to be a kill shot. Something was off. This was not the same kid who had been smarmy, elite, and holier than thou the last time Cap had seen him.
“This!” Cantrell gestured to his face. “He found out because of you and your stupid marina!”
“Found out what?” Cap asked in a soft voice.
Cantrell stumbled again, and for a moment, Cap thought he might pass out. It would have been for the better. It also surprised him the cops hadn’t pulled up—they were probably off licking their wounds, or maybe they’d fallen asleep. Either way, they would be here soon, so they needed to get into the Nest where the cops had no jurisdiction. The last thing he wanted was a trigger-happy son of a bitch drawing on Cantrell.
“That I’m gay!” He practically choked on it. “After you sent the files of my father’s…side business, he started having me followed. I didn’t know it though. He wanted to make sure I wasn’t causing any more trouble.”
A slow burn of anger started in Cap’s belly. He could see where this was going. Cantrell wouldn’t be the first kid to act out or overcompensate trying to prove they were something they weren’t so society—or their parents, would still accept them. It explained some of Cantrell’s attitude in the past, but not all.
“And he found out you have a boyfriend,” Honey said in a soft, sympathetic tone.
She still stood behind Cap. Trying to move would only agitate things. Honey wasn’t just the sexiest woman he’d ever known, but also the smartest.
Instead of answering, Cantrell’s voice broke, his shoulders shaking. Seeing his opportunity, Cap stepped in and jerked the gun from the kid’s hand. Cantrell didn’t fight him, didn’t even argue. Jax lowered his gun, a deep frown on his face. Yeah, none of them liked Jason Cantrell a few months ago, but there was no way the kid was going back to his father.
“It’s all right.” Cap reached out, putting a tentative hand on Cantrell’s shoulder.
Even in the dark he could see the swollen, red eyes behind the bruises. No doubt there more damage beneath his clothes. As he thought it, Cantrell grabbed Cap’s shirt, balling it in his fists. The wild look was one Cap had seen in the mirror once upon a time.
“If I go back, he’ll kill me. He nearly killed Mitch.”
The slow burn became a hot fire, pulsing through Cap’s veins. “You’re not going back.”
Cantrell just lowered his head and sobbed. Yeah, the kid might have been a dick, but he sure as hell didn’t deserve this.
Honey came over and slid a hand around his waist. “Come on, Jason. Let’s get you settled.”
Releasing Cap, he clutched onto her. Between the booze and the emotions, the kid was going to have one hell of a hangover tomorrow. But at least he’d be safe.
Chapter Fourteen
A few hours later they were back at the boathouse with the cops none the wiser about where they’d been. When they’d gone to leave, Honey’d put out another nearby distress call that the black and white units would have to respond to. She’d also informed Miguel about Cantrell—and he had not been expecting that. The Crows helped a lot of people, but the kid who tried to have his father sue them a few months ago? Yeah, that one surprised Miguel.
Cassidy stepped onto the deck and went inside without saying anything to him. Miguel followed and grabbed her elbow with a firm, but gentle grip.
“Hey,” he said. “Not so fast. I want to talk to you about whatever my sister said.”
Maricela didn’t know how to contain some things. Even though Miguel had asked her not to say anything, seemed she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. Cassidy faced down powerful Russian men, but whatever Maricela had said, made her try to run, to pull away from him, and Miguel didn’t want that.
“Like I said. She only told me the truth.” Cassidy pulled away from him.
“This is repetitive, Sirena.” He crossed his arms over his chest and squared his shoulders. “The party is over. Nothing to ruin.”
Her tongue flicked across her lower lip and she shuffled from foot to foot before rubbing her nose. With a sigh she sat down on the edge of the breakfast bench. “I’m going to get you killed.”
That shouldn’t surprise him, but it did. Since he’d been home, Maricela threatened anyone she thought might hurt him but she’d never out right accused someone of it. Though with everything going on in the news, and the mention of Ivanov, it shouldn’t really have been a surprise. Maricela was going to do what she thought was right to protect him. Saying that to Cassidy, considering the guilt she carried for her little sister, well that hit home.
“Sirena, I don’t do anything I don’t want to do. Without me, you’re likely to get yourself killed, but with me, you stand a chance at finding out what happened to Meredith.”
Her cheeks flamed and she pressed her lips together. “Don’t pull Meredith into this, and don’t think I can’t take care of myself. I almost killed him once.”
Miguel gave a slow nod and leaned against the stove. “Oh yeah? And look where that got you. You threw yourself overboard, nearly drowned, and now you’re wanted by the police.”
He hadn’t meant for it to come out so sarcastic, but it rolled off his tongue with ease. Cassidy might be privileged, and in some ways naive, but she wasn’t stupid.
“Kendra died because of this. You’ve been shot at multiple times. I can’t take you away from your family—not when they thought they lost you once.” She averted her gaze, her thumb picking at the edge of the linoleum covered table.
Now it made sense. Whatever Maricela had told him, it seemed that what is Mama had told him got to Cassidy more.
“What do you know?” He wanted to make sure other things weren’t said while she mingled around the party.
She shrugged a bit. “They said you were missing in action, and I’ve seen the scars. I can imagine.”
“No.” His tone darkened as memories tried to push their way to the surface. Dark, dank caves, sand everywhere, being strung up like a side of beef in a butcher shop. That had been the darkest time of his life and coming back hadn’t been easy. In a way he hadn’t. The darkness from those times had molded him into something else. While he had some semblance of his former self, Miguel had discovered a darkness in his own being. One that he no longer ran from.
“You can’t, and I would never want you to.”
He lost track of the days, the weeks, the months. The day he’d been rescued, Miguel had been relieved, but
he’d also been begging for death everyday up until that point—and he’d asked the soldiers to put him out of his misery. Though emaciated and near death, they ignored his request and got him the hell out of there. One soldier told Miguel how impressed he’d been—that Miguel had managed to kill his captors. It had been lucky, it had been violent—and it had been pure instinct once he started. None of which Cassidy needed a vivid description of.
She looked at him then, her deep blue eyes searching for some truth of what he’d gone through. Miguel might tell her one day, but they did not need more demons to face right now.
“I’m not going to be responsible for putting your family through that pain. I know what it did to my family, and yours is…well, they’re much closer than mine has ever been.” Guilt washed through her words and he wondered just how long she could hold onto it—or if she just planned to let it consume her.
“Damn it, Cassidy,” his native accent swirled into the words. “Not everything is your fault. What happened to Meredith was because of the choices she made, Kendra knew what she was walking into when she agreed to help, and so do I.”
She puffed out her cheeks, and Miguel knew he was pissing her off, but someone had to give the woman a damn reality check before she drowned herself with a burden that wasn’t hers to bear.
“I have no plans on dying, but if, and let me tell you just how much of a big ‘if’ that is, I do, then it’s on Ivanov and his bastards. Not on you.”
Tears welled up in her eyes, making the blue glisten like sapphires. “I just want Ivanov to pay—and I don’t want anyone else to die because of him.”
His chest eased, the anger flooding out of him. “I know, Sirena.”
Pain radiated off her slender form, and he stepped over as she began to tremble, pulling her up from the seat and into his arms. “We’re going to get him. I promise.”
She sobbed softly against his chest, gripping the fabric in her slender fingers. He rubbed her back soothingly and kissed the top of her head, letting her get it out of her system.
When it reduced to soft hiccups, she pulled back enough to look at him. Even after crying he found her utterly adorable. Her nose was red, her lips slightly swollen, and tears glistened on her cheeks. He leaned in, kissing them away before his lips found hers. She gasped, and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. She slid her hands down his chest and under his shirt, fingers digging into the sides of his waist. His shorts tightened against his growing cock.
“Do you want me?” he asked, pressing against her.
A soft sound escaped her. The kind that drove him wild and made him want to thrust deep inside of her just so he could hear it again.
“Yes.” Her voice had lowered, deep with need. “Please.”
“Anything you want.” He kissed her again before making quick work of her clothes and disposing of them on the ground. She stood against the back drop of the boat, naked and perfect. He wouldn’t change one thing about her.
He cupped her breasts, kneading and massaging. She leaned against the edge of the table, her hands grasping the edge, legs spreading for him. He let one hand trail down her stomach and over her mound. Heat radiated into his palm and he groaned.
“Damn, Sirena. So fucking hot.”
“I shouldn’t be the only one naked.” She gripped the hem of his shirt, lifting it over his head. Then moved to his shorts.
Something had shifted from the last time they’d had sex. She seemed emboldened as her hands undid the button and slid the zipper down. Miguel didn’t move. If she wanted to take control, she could. Maybe she needed it—and he was glad to let her have it.
She slid to her knees in front of him and he sucked in a breath as she raked her nails over his ass. Her tongue flicked over the tip of his hard cock and he groaned, the sweet sensation teasing.
“Holy shit, Cassidy.”
She grinned up at him as he leaned against the stove, his hands digging through her hair. Her lips slid over the tip, and then down his shaft, until her forehead nearly bumped his stomach. The heat from her mouth damn near made him lose it right then. It was so fucking sexy, watching her move back and forth. She clasped his shaft in her palm, simultaneously pumping and sucking, so her lips and her fingers met.
“Fuck! Babe!” His hands tightened in her hair as she picked up the tempo.
His bashful, sexy Cassidy—the sight of her on her knees in front of him, naked with her breasts bouncing as she took him even deeper—it was going to drive him over the edge—but not like this. No, he wanted to be deep inside her, having made her scream his name first.
As much as it pained him, he pulled back and released her hair. Her lips were swollen as they came off his cock. He took her hands, pulling her up and kissing her, tasting himself on her.
“You are the hottest mermaid to have ever come from the water.” He ground his cock against her pussy. She was so wet, so ready for him that all Miguel had to do was slide right in. “Tell me how you want me to fuck you.”
She blushed and that sweet shyness was back, but he knew she craved something—needed something more.
“If you want me inside you,” he said in a gruff voice, letting his hands caress her breasts. “Tell me how to fuck you.”
He nibbled along her neck and for a moment, he thought she wouldn’t, even as he let his shaft rub against her swollen mound.
A gasp escaped her. “From behind!”
“My pleasure, Sirena.”
Miguel grabbed her hips and spun her around so that she was facing the table. Heat burned Cassidy’s cheeks as she gripped the edge. She couldn’t believe she’d said—or done that. Bravery had never been her forte when it came to sex. She always thought the guys would judge her, think her a slut or a whore for wanting to be dominated.
She shivered in anticipation as she heard the foil rip. Then he was at her entrance, slowly sliding in, stretching her filling her to the brim—but she didn’t want slow. She wanted to feel, to let the rest of the world wash away, and just get lost in this moment with Miguel. Being with him, it made everything better. It wasn’t just the sex either. It was being with him in every moment—sharing the mornings with him and having him more than just want her—but need her the way she needed him.
A moan escaped her, and she pushed back until she was flush against him, before wiggling her hips.
Miguel hissed. “God damn it, Sirena, you keep doing that and I won’t have any control left.”
She flushed again, the sound of his voice cascading over her like velvet. His words consumed her and knowing that she had that power over him—the ability to make him lose control, it made her brave.
“Harder.” It came out guttural, heavy with need, and for a moment she hadn’t recognized her own voice.
“If you say that again, I won’t hold back.”
Her belly tightened. She didn’t want him to hold back. Feeling him so deep inside of her, buried to the hilt, she wanted more. She wanted all of him, and that meant letting him lose control too.
“Harder,” she said again.
He grunted a sound of approval and moved his hand across her back. She bent forward, resting her elbows on the table, and looked over her shoulder at him. There was something so erotic about him standing behind her, his eyes darkened with lust, mouth half parted. Every muscle rippled across his body and just as he caught her looking, Miguel turned those sexy lips up in a grin. He pulled back and thrust back into her with enough force it made Cassidy gasp in surprise. Her elbows slid a fraction of an inch across the table. She planted her feet so the next thrust wouldn’t send her toppling over.
Miguel didn’t disappoint. He didn’t pick up the pace. He took his time, slowly moving in and out, but each thrust made their skin slap together. The pleasure built between her legs, but it wasn’t enough. She needed more than just hard. She needed fast, unrelenting, and raw.
“Please,” she all but whimpered. “Miguel…”
“What?” He still slammed into her, each thru
st hard, but agonizingly slow.
She couldn’t say it. Lips parted, she wiggled her hips, hoping to use body language to convey her need.
“Tell me.” He gripped her hips, slamming deep inside, holding himself there.
A cry escaped her as she tossed her head back, her hair cascading over her back. He was going to make her ask. He wanted her to say it. She didn’t understand why, but if he didn’t drive her over the edge, she was going to lose her mind.
“Please. Faster. More. Don’t hold back!”
He leaned over, still inside of her, her legs quivering from need as the heat grew between them. His hot lips found her shoulders, pressing a soft kiss there.
“Anything for you.”
Then he was standing, his hands gripping her hips and he pounded into her, relentless and without mercy. She felt each stroke pressing deep inside her, the friction making her grow hotter, wetter, and the world faded away as she held onto the table, the boat rocking beneath them.
“Yes! More, Miguel.”
His hand came down on her backside and she gasped, eyes flying open. The light pain startled her. Less so than before, and a soft moan escaped her.
“Did you like that?”
She whimpered. “Yes.”
He did it again, never slowing his thrusts, and they became so hard the mix of pain added to the sensations. It was everything Cassidy had never had and wanted more of. The slap of skin, the deep penetration—the sensations climbed and washed over her as she held onto the table. Her hips went back, meeting him thrust for thrust. The ecstasy built and Miguel seemed to be able to read her body. Her moans grew louder. She was close, so close. Miguel leaned over her, his hand sliding under her belly as he pounded into her.
“Tell me what you want,” he said in a low tone.
His fingers brushed just above her swollen clit. She jerked against him and moaned.
Overboard (A Crow's Nest Novel Book 2) Page 11