by J. L. Beck
“Where did this all come from?” she asked pulling the sheet up as she sat up. Her dark brown eyes were anything but doe-like anymore. Everything that seemed shy and unknown had been explored. She was strong, so fucking strong, and she was mine. All mine.
“Bree. I love you. I loved you the moment I met you. I simply didn’t understand what it was that drew me to you. I fought my own men and broke all my own rules to be with you. I may have killed and been ruthless. I may have been the monster everyone makes me out to be, but I never stopped loving you.”
Her eyes welled up with huge tears. I wanted to reach out and comfort her, but for what? For being honest and for telling her how much she means to me? Fuck no. One single tear slipped from her eye and fell to her cheek where it slid down ever so slowly.
“I don’t want you to think I don’t want you or care about you because I do. I know why you killed John. I understand it was needed on your part, but it’s going to be hard for me to forget it. It doesn’t matter how evil someone is. If you loved them even the tiniest bit, you'd always remember the love, above all else.” I understood what she meant. It was similar to how she felt about me. She could always remember the good things I had done over the bad. Even when the bad outweighed the good by a million. She had a heart of gold while I had a cold, dark one.
“It just seemed like…” I said ashamedly. I had never worked through such emotions.
“Look at me, Zerro….” she said cupping my cheek to turn my face into hers. I didn’t resist her touch. “I want to be with you, I want to find out answers, too. We’re a team. We can do this together.”
“Is this your way of saying you thought everything through? I’m really sorry…” I pleaded. I hated feeling lower than dirt. I had never felt this way before.
“I’m okay. I’m not great or fabulous, but I’m capable of moving from what happened.”
I smiled, unable to hide the happiness. “I bet you I can make you feel great, maybe even fabulous?” I teased wiggling my eyebrows at her. One time, two times... hell, a million fucking times would never be enough for me. She had me wrapped around her finger and every inch of me called to her. She simply smiled, which caused my heart rate to accelerate…
“Shouldn’t you be devising some insane, off the wall, guns a blazing attack plan?” Her teeth sank into her full, pale pink lips, and I was more than ready to lose all my clothes and attack her like an animal.
Tugging at my shirt, I smiled. “Gun’s a blazing sounds fun, but fucking you until you can’t walk or talk sounds better, doesn’t it?” I growled. With my shirt off, I started to tug on my pants but was stopped by two small hands.
“Let me,” she said pulling at the button on my jeans. Her smile was a killer, making my already hard cock harder—if that were even fucking possible. Loosening the button, I watched her pull the sides of my pants down.
“Commando, huh?” She laughed as her brown eyes twinkled in the light. She was beautiful and far too fucking smart of a woman then to be caught up with me. Shimmying out of my pants, I bent down to lay claim on her. I wanted her lips, her panting breaths, and her skin against mine until the sun came up.
“What can I say? I’m always ready for you,” I teased. My teeth nipped at her bottom lip. Her eyes turned to molten lava in an instant. I had the same effect on her she had on me.
“I missed you so bad…” I practically panted as my hands drifted under her shirt. I was a thirsty man. It felt as if I hadn’t had a drink from her beauty in months. I was starved.
Her lips found mine, devouring the very small amount of space separating us. Her urgency turned into mine, and in a matter of seconds, I had pulled her shirt off and moved us to a sitting position. She was straddling me and I was ready for her.
“Are you ready for me, Mr. King?” she asked as one of her fingers reached out tracing over my bottom lip. The temptation to reach out and bite her was strong, but I wanted to go easy on her. I wanted to give her the control.
Looking down, my eyes glided over her body. Her full tits were on display for me, and I couldn’t stop myself from palming them.
“I’ve missed this, you… all of it…” She seemed to purr as she arched into my touch.
“I bet you have, baby,” I said, moving one hand from her tit to between her legs. One stroke of my finger told me she was soaked for me. My Piccolo was a very dirty girl.
“You’re ready for me already?” I asked, laying hot kisses against her chest and neck. She pushed her dark locks to the side to give me more access, and it was then I saw the bruises on her shoulder. They were small and insignificant to the naked eye, but to the King, they were anything but.
“Who did this to you?” I asked anger filling my voice. Her expression turned from lust to confusion in mere seconds as she looked down to see what I was talking about. Fear rooted itself deep in my belly. Was she only telling me a half truth?
“I… I don’t know where those came from, Zerro…” Her eyes pleaded with me to understand, and looking up at her, I knew she was telling me the truth. She wasn’t sure how she had been bruised. Had I done that to her? It could very well be possible?
“Shhhh… I’m sorry I scared you…” I whispered, laying soft kisses against the bruises. I wanted them to go away. I never wanted a single thing to blemish her beautiful skin.
From there, I trailed my kisses over her neck, and down her chest, listening to her breathe and to her heart accelerating.
“Being with you is like being on a roller coaster. The moments of fear when you don’t know what’s around the next corner. The feeling of falling, just for a fraction of a second, where you think death may finally get you. You make me feel all of it….” she said softly, her voice as smooth as silk.
Her words stirred something deep within, and I lost control. She always brought unknown emotions to the surface. My fingers delved into her skin as I traced her entrance. So wet, so fucking wet for me.
“Fuck my finger…” I demanded gritting my teeth, as I watched her eyes light up like a fireworks show. With one hand wrapped around her chin to keep her eyes on mine, I slammed my finger into her over and over again until she found her own rhythm.
“I need more…” Panting, she pleaded with me to give her what she wanted.
“Beg for it… Show me what that sweet pussy of yours wants,” I said nipping at her lip. A frustrated sigh erupted from within her, and her movements became jerky.
“Beg for it, and I’ll give you what you crave. You know my cock only wants you…” I murmured on the verge of coming myself. She was a goddess, and her body worked in so many fucking mysterious ways. I know I said I wanted her to do the pace and to be in control, but that was before she said what she said.
“Please, Zerro…” she cried out… begging, pleading, and giving me exactly what I wanted.
“Please what? You want me to fuck that dirty cunt of yours? You want my cum to fill you to the brim? Do you?” I smirked adjusting myself for her entrance the moment the words escaped her lips.
“Please, fuck me… Fuck me NOW!” She all but screamed impatiently.
“Now, now. Don’t make demands, my greedy girl…” I growled at her and withdrew my finger before sliding deep into her pussy. One swift movement was all it took to get her mouth to shut. My body shuddered with the need to slam into her repeatedly, but I stood my ground, relishing every jerk and clench of her body.
Our bodies were connected, and as she slid over my cock slowly, I took the time to explore her body, leaving a path of fiery kisses over every inch of her body.
“Ahhh… Ahh…” she exclaimed, her hips moving in motion with mine as I lay back slowly to watch her work her magic.
“Fuck, yeah…” I hissed out, my hands moving to her hips. Our flesh was smacking against one another as she fucked me into oblivion. Her walls clamped onto my cock like a vise as I continued to push into her deeper than I ever had before.
“Never enough… Never enough…” I said breathlessly as
my cum hit the back of her pussy and my toes curled. They literally fucking curled.
Bree’s body lay against mine as we both came down from our highs listening to one another’s hearts beat.
One of my hands moved of its own accord as if it had been doing this for years. I pushed the hair off her shoulder and rubbed small circles into her back. She was mine. She was all fucking mine, and I was the luckiest man in the world. It didn’t matter I had lost everything to my name or I could be killed at this very moment—because I had found my home in her arms.
“Promise me, through all of this, even if Mack wins, you’ll run. You’ll push on for something more because both you and I know someone’s going to die. Death is inevitable in the world we live in, and even if I die, I just want to know you will find your peace.”
If all else failed, peace was what I wanted her to have. I wanted her to be able to move on without me.
“If I promise this to you, then you have to promise the same to me. It’s not just your life on the line but both of ours.” She was right, but she didn’t realize I would do everything in my power to make sure she made it out, even if it meant giving up my own life for hers.
“I promise…” I lied. I couldn’t promise something like that. Hopefully, it never came down to the moment where time stood still between us. If I had to, I would take the bullet for her.
“Good,” she mumbled into my chest, and as much as I wanted to whisper those three little words, I knew she knew without me even having to say a thing.
Chapter Eight
Bree
I was wrapped in a casing of warmth. My body shuddered against another, and for one single moment, I forgot where I was. Memories swirled in my mind resurfacing in an instant. None of it was a dream. It was all a big huge reality. I didn’t lie when I said I was okay—I was. But would I ever be back to the person I was before all of this? No. There was no going back to the lie that was my life.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness, and as I peered out the window, I took in the fact it was still dark. What time was it?
“The sun hasn’t risen yet,” Zerro said softly, his voice full of sleep. He placed a kiss on my shoulder, and I swear to God, I melted. We had made love last night, not the kinky kind, not the fuck me against the wall kind, but the slow and sensual kind. The kind that made you not two separate people, but one whole.
“What time is it?” I asked rolling over from my stomach to face him. Today would be one of the hardest days ever. I had come to terms with what Zerro had done to John. I realized he was the bad man in all of this, but somehow, I felt as if I were sleeping with the enemy.
“My phone says four-thirty a.m.” He yawned, apparently still very much tired. I rolled my eyes, even the king of Mafia had a weakness—sleep.
Laughing, I slipped the sheet from my body and pulled myself out of his warm embrace. There was no way I could sleep another minute.
“What’s going on inside of that head of yours?” he asked. He had been asking a lot lately as if he thought I was unstable or something…
“Just absorbing things and wondering where I go from here.” It was an honest answer. I knew I would have to talk to Jared’s dad, my dad… soon. I would have to fill in the missing pieces somehow.
“James will have some answers for you I hope. I’m not sure where he got all his information, but I guess your mom had told him before she passed away.” The air in my chest sat suspended for a second. Talking about my mom’s passing hurt more than anything. Even more so now since I had no way of getting answers to the questions I desperately needed.
“I miss her…” I said aloud. I didn’t mean to, but apparently, my conscious slipped.
“I know you do, and I miss mine, too.” He sounded in pain, so I turned around to see his face. In his eyes, I could see the terror that was always hidden. In the place of the man I loved was the fragile, small boy hiding in a closet. I had been told the story by Mack while he kept me hostage.
“Zerro…” I tried to stop him from heading down memory lane, but it didn’t work. We were two very different people living similar lives. Our pasts matched perfectly—we both had more questions than we had answers.
“People thought I just liked to kill others like it was part of the act. They didn’t know why though. They didn’t know it was my own personal hell or how every drop of blood that touched my skin soothed the monster inside of me. I killed because I had to. It was the only thing I knew.” His voice was rising, and I could tell he wasn’t with me in the room anymore. At least, not in his mind.
“I’m sorry we both have to deal with this,” I said remorsefully. I was more than sorry.
“Never be sorry, Piccolo… the people who have made us suffer the most will soon be the ones suffering.” A seductive smirk pulled at his lips. It had reminded me of a lion right before it sank its teeth into its prey.
“Good,” I simply said. I slipped into a pair of sweats and one of Zerro’s shirts I had found on the ground. I needed coffee and something greasy, like, now.
The house was quiet as I tiptoed out into the living room and headed for the kitchen. I looked at the coffee pot sitting on the counter and smelled the air as the sweet aroma of coffee hit my nose. Turning around, I saw Jared leaning against the wall casually as he smirked at me.
“Good morning, I presume?” Jared asked. I ignored him for the time being as I grabbed a coffee cup from the cabinet above my head. I poured myself coffee, and then headed toward the table where I noticed a cup of cream and sugar.
“You know ignoring me right now doesn’t make it better. It sure as hell doesn’t change things.” I mixed all the ingredients in the cup and waited until I took the first sip to respond to him. I pulled the cup to my lips and sucked in a small taste, savoring the sweetness of the cream and sugar on my lips.
“I’m not ignoring you, Jared. I’m just dealing with everything. I’m absorbing it all, simply because there isn’t any fucking thing else that can be done.”
“Our father is coming today. He says he has something for you and it might bring you more closure.” Taking another sip of the coffee goodness before responding again, I wanted to laugh. More closure? As If I had been given closure to begin with.
“Technically he is YOUR father, Jared. Not mine. As far as family is concerned, I have no one. I know you’re my half-brother and by blood, he is my father. Those things don’t change what has happened, though.”
He snorted. His eyes looked wild. “You think I don’t know that, Bree. How do you think all of this makes us feel? I mean, seriously? We’re in the middle of a full out war and we find this out.”
“I know what we’re up against, Jared. You forget I have been—” In a moment’s time, he crossed the room and came to stand right in front of me.
“I didn’t forget what you looked like when I picked you and Zerro up on the side of the road. I didn’t forget I had lost so much, and I didn’t forget my mom had died. None of those things have changed—even though God continues to throw more shit my way.”
When the words ‘death’ and ‘mom’ fell from his lips, I looked up into a face I thought I knew. It was very apparent to me, though we all seemed to be doing okay on the outside, we were truthfully each fighting our own demons. There might have been a war raging between families, but there were bigger wars waging within each of us.
“I’m so—”
“Don’t even say it. We both know we’ve heard the words I’m sorry a million times. It doesn’t help heal the pain. I’m just telling you this because our father hasn’t had anything truthfully to live for in years. He didn’t even know where you were. He knew about you but had no idea where you were.” Jared sounded tortured, and my heart started to ache.
“I didn’t… I had…”
“We know you didn’t know. We never expected you to have a clue. I know you have been through so much, Bree. I know everything has been thrown at you at once, but I’m begging you to see things for more than they are.�
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“I’ll talk to him, Jared. I never said I wouldn’t. It just breaks my heart how my mom isn’t here to answer my questions. It hurts me to know my life was a lie and there’s not a damn thing to fall back on.”
“Well, buck up, Princess, because it’s about to get ten times harder,” Jared said. There was no emotion in his voice, but I knew my words had made him feel better.
“Thanks, asshole,” I said before taking another sip from my cup. I was getting anxious. I wanted answers, but I was also afraid. I wanted to run. To hide.
“Anytime. How are things with you and Zerro?” Jared asked nonchalantly as if he didn’t know we were hooking up.
“We’re fine. I understand his need for revenge. There wasn’t anything I could do anyway. I need to be strong, and I’ll hold onto my strength until I can’t anymore.”
He smiled, rubbing a hand over his face. He still had stubble, and the bags under his eyes said he was stressing over something at night instead of sleeping.
“Yeah, you sounded fine, last night…” he teased. My cheeks reddened. I wasn’t a prude, but with Jared considered family, it was quite strange to know he heard us having sex.
“Ahh, don’t be shy about it. Not like Zerro ever was,” he joked. I turned my face away from him and out toward the rising sun. I wasn’t even sure where we were anymore. All I knew was we were forty miles from my father’s house. North, East, South, or West, I wasn’t sure.
“Ha. Good to know, I guess.” I tried to joke as well, easing all the tension from the room.
“I’m going to make breakfast. You hungry?” he asked.
“Fuck, yeah, I am,” Zerro chimed in his voice causing a cascade of goose bumps to form over my body.
Jared shook his head, causing dark locks to fall to his forehead. “I bet you are. I heard you last night…”