‘Tell Howard to run guard while you watch her downstairs,’ I tell Zoe. Every minute that passes and Devon is still unconscious is fucking torture. I kneel at her side and hold her hand. Whispering in her ear, for her to come back to me.
Devon
‘Baby, please wake up and come back to me. You’re safe now, baby.’
I try to open my eyes, but I feel paralysed. I want to open my eyes, but they don’t respond. I want to speak, but my mouth remains closed. I try to lift my hand, a finger. Nothing happens. I can hear Jared. I want to go to him. I want to see his face and remember it. Then the blackness takes me again.
‘Harrison and Brad have arrived. Howard has delegated jobs, and he’s with the kitsune.’ I know that voice, but it’s evading me.
‘Thanks, Zoe,’ Jared speaks now. My heart skips at hearing him, but he sounds wrong—off. Why?
‘Jared, please get some rest—’
‘No, I’m fine,’ he interrupts.
‘I’ll stay with her. There’s a bed made up just through there for you.’ She’s pleading with him.
‘Zoe, do what you need to do with her, but I’m staying.’
Blackness.
My head hurts. I crack my eyes open and take in my surroundings. I’m still on the bed. I’m not tied though. I move my hand slightly, and pain shoots up to my shoulder, making me grit my teeth together. I’m so stiff. I feel like I have rods attached to my limbs. My hand feels so heavy and hard to lift, but I need to get out of here. Just opening my eyes fully takes so much effort. Turning my head slowly so I can assess the rest of the room, my heart stops when I see Jared, in a chair covered with a blanket, his head resting against the wall. I smile at the sight and recall jumbled conversations that I thought I’d dreamt. I need to touch him—to know that he’s real, but I can’t move enough.
‘Jared.’ Shit, I don’t even sound like me. A pathetic sound no higher than a whisper comes out, but Jared is up on his feet and in motion before he’s even opened his eyes. He kneels by me and holds my hand. My eyes fill with tears, and I can’t help but let them flow.
‘Don’t cry, baby. You’re gonna be fine. You’re healing. You’re doing so fucking good, baby. I’m so sorry this happened.’ He’s babbling at me, and I just want him to hold me. I can’t even tell him how glad I am to see him, how much I need him right now because my voice won’t work. I feel like I’ve been mowed down by a truck. I’ve never felt pain so severe and debilitating. Jared shouts for Zoe, and she comes in with Howard in tow.
‘Hey, good to see you awake. You had us worried there.’ I attempt a smile. It’s good to see her too. So fucking good. ‘Listen, I know you probably have a lot you wanna say just now, but your healing process is really slow at the minute because you were in such bad shape. So, I need you to stay where you are and try not to speak, okay?’ I lift a hand to my throat, why can’t I speak? Zoe has a sympathetic look on her face. ‘It looks like you’ve taken quite a few bad blows around the larynx, so your voice will be strained, and it’s really best that you speak as little as possible. We need to help the healing process along rather than hinder it further.’ I nod my agreement. But already questions are swirling around in my addled brain. Where were the kitsunes? How had they found me? How long have I been here? I’m so thirsty.
‘Water?’ I croak in a whisper. Jesus this is already getting lame. Zoe goes to fetch me some, and I reach out for Jared’s hand. He has stubble at least a couple of days old, and he’s wearing dirty crumpled clothes. He’s a hot mess, but a gorgeous sight to behold. God, I love this man. He sits quietly with me, just stroking my hair until Zoe comes in with a bottle of water. At the sight of it, my mouth suddenly feels like the Mojave Desert. Jared takes the bottle from her and brings it to my lips. I gulp it down greedily, and then I’m coughing and spluttering at the sudden influx of water, which sent my throat into spasm.
‘Easy, baby. You need to sip it slowly,’ he cajoles. His eyes are full of concern, but he doesn’t look so good either. When was the last time he slept or ate a meal? I want to ask him. Damn it, this is so frustrating. I try to mime it instead, pointing at him and putting my hand on my cheek, head to one side and closing my eyes. This makes him chuckle.
‘You must be getting better if you’re ordering me about already.’ I widen my eyes at him in mock shock, making him chuckle again. Howard chuckles from the corner of the room. I had forgotten he was there. And it shocked me to no end hearing him sound amused.
‘She’s right, Jared. You haven’t slept in days. Now she’s awake you should catch some zzz’s.’ I nod enthusiastically before wincing as the pain registers. This is no fucking fun.
‘I’ll sleep properly when you can lie in a bed beside me. Until then, me and this chair have become close friends.’ He throws his thumb over his shoulder towards the crappy excuse for a chair. Howard sighs in resignation.
‘We do try, Devon, but he’s a stubborn asshole who never listens.’ I snicker as Jared turns and has the audacity to look offended. Howard is so on the button that no one can deny it. Howard ignores him and continues. ‘The sooner you get up and about the better. It’s been like trying to tame a fucking grizzly bear while you’ve been out, sweetheart.’
Sweetheart? Howard called me sweetheart? I must have taken a huge knock to the head because Howard is a mean, sullen asshole who never cracks his face. And he hates me. This is weird. I pinch myself. Just checking this isn’t all some cruel, sick dream. Nope.
The next day is better. I can speak, and I’m able to get myself up and out of bed. I wake that morning to find Jared asleep in the chair. He looks so uncomfortable, and I feel guilty that he’s stayed that way for me. I make my way over to him, and he cracks his eye slightly—a small smile at the corner of his lips—and pulls me into his lap. It was gently done which doesn’t go unnoticed.
‘I’m all better,’ I tell him with a mischievous note to my voice. He raises his eyebrows, that small smile of his growing slightly. And it wasn’t the only thing growing. I could feel his cock hardening under me as his lips found mine in a hungry kiss. I love Jared’s kisses in a morning. And Jared loves morning sex. He pulls me up and off his lap though.
‘Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here,’ he says, standing me on the floor. ‘You need to clean up before we hit the road?’ Umm, yeah. I guess I do. I’m still reeling from the rebuff. I nod, and he takes my hand, leading me into the bathroom. ‘I’ll let you get showered. I’ll go and grab some stuff for you that Zoe has spare.’ And then he just walks away. I turn on the shower, pull off my top and get in. Then the tears start. He’s rejected me. He’s never ever passed up an opportunity to fuck me. No matter where we were. And that stung. Maybe he didn’t want me anymore? Maybe all the trouble this had brought wasn’t worth it. Maybe he was finally giving in to his father’s wishes. Oh my God, I don’t think I can bear this. What if he can’t be with me anymore after what they did?
I fill Zoe in on Devon’s improvement and check on the guys to make sure we are still clear of any problems. Zoe gives me some clothes for Devon, which I set on the vanity in the bathroom. The room is full of steam and the sound of running water. The curtain is pulled across so I can’t see Devon, but I have a bad feeling, and I want to get moving as soon as possible, so I pull the curtain back slightly to tell her to wrap it up. I find her sat in the tub with her arms wrapped around her knees, sobbing. Fuck. I reach in and shut the water off, and I wrap her up in a towel and lift her from the tub. I carry her over to the chair and sit with her in my arms. Fuck. I will rip every one of those bastards apart for this. Every. Last. Fucking one. I hold her close to me and I stroke her wet hair. I feel like a total bastard too, for getting a raging hard on with her sat in my lap. Who the fuck does that in situations like this? Jesus Christ. It must be fucking mortified her after everything she’d been through. What the fuck have they done to her? I have to swallow back bile and clamp my jaw tight to hide the rage at what she must be feeling. Devon starts to shiver. I stand up
and sit her in the chair while I move to get her clothes.
‘Come on, baby. Let’s get you dressed and warmed up,’ I tell her, rubbing her arms under the towel. ‘Do you want me to get Zoe in here to give you a hand?’ I don’t want to leave her but if I’m making her uncomfortable, I will. Her eyes meet mine, and they fill again with tears. I fucking hate that she feels like this around me. It cuts deep, but I understand why. So, I go to the door and shout for Zoe to come up. When she arrives, I leave them to it. It kills me, but I do it.
Howard has questioned the female and hasn’t got much more than first names from her. I know we are missing at least two guys and I want them all, and this bitch is unaware as to what lengths I’ll go to to get them. I don’t want Devon to see any violence from me toward a female. So I will wait and do what I need to do behind closed doors. For now. Though it wouldn’t harm to talk to the kitsune. I walk in, and her head snaps up. Fear is clear in her eyes even without the stench permeating the room. It is written all over her.
‘By now you know what I want?’ I ask. She doesn’t reply. ‘I’ll take your silence as a ‘yes’.’ Her eyes follow me as I walk slowly closer and around her chair. She’s pissed herself, and it stinks. ‘I wouldn’t normally harm a female,’ I tell her and watch as she holds her breath for my next words. ‘But for you, I will make an exception. Unless you want to tell me in the next, let’s say ten seconds, what I want to know.’
I watch as both fear and determination cross her face. Determination to live or to die, I’m not sure yet. I count slowly. One…elephant. Two… elephant. When I get to ten, she’s squirming but still not talking. So, it appears she wants to die. ‘Listen, I get it. You don’t want to rat on your boss, alpha, or whatever you assholes call each other. But, let me give you a piece of advice. I will get the answers I want, and after what you and your gang of rapists did to my female, I will make sure that what you experience at my order will make that look like child’s play if you don’t give me what I want.’ Her lip curls up in a snarl, and she spits at my feet.
‘I will never betray my alpha.’
I lash out and slap her face so hard her head lolls forward like a rag doll, and I feel no remorse for it. If she weren’t already unconscious, I would have hit her again. I roar out my frustration and hit the wall. Harrison comes in. ‘Errr everything okay, boss?’
‘Get that fuckin bitch bound and gagged and in the back of the truck before I kill her. Make sure there’s nothing in it that she can use as a weapon or to escape. And don’t fucking leave her till I get there.’ I storm out and up the stairs to find Devon trying to brush her hair with a travel comb. Her frustration evident in the way she’s tugging at the clumps the comb won’t go through. I offer to help, but she glares at me, in a ‘don’t you fucking dare touch me’ way. So I hold my hands up in surrender and sit on the bed instead. I need to fix this but until the bastards responsible are six-feet under, I can’t make it right for her. I’m a patient man, but I can’t wait for this. It needs to be done now. I need Devon back to her carefree self. No fears and no worries. And I have to keep myself in fucking check too. No fucking early morning wood to freak her out. Jesus this is going to be hard. But fuck me, I will do anything to make sure she gets back to herself.
Devon
The ride home is exhausting, and I sleep most of the time. Jared and Zoe ride in the truck with me, while the others follow on their bikes. It’s so good to be back, despite the fact that I’d not wanted to stay at Jared’s—where Kristen was. Now I find myself not wanting to leave. I’ve always prided myself on being a strong woman. My dad always encouraged it to a degree. But right now, I feel like I need a crutch to hold me up, and my crutch is Jared, and his home. I don’t want to leave the house at all. I want to stay put and just be with Jared. He’s avoiding me though, in all ways sexual, and I’m beginning to feel like things may have changed between us.
***
I wake up to find Jared had got in the shower again, for the third morning in a row—after coming to bed late the night before. I’d know he slept with me, only because I woke in the night tucked under his chin with his arm wrapped around me. I’d gone to bed naked, in the hope that he would want me. He’s told me he loves me, which had gone some way to ease my worries, but why won’t he touch me? My mind is working overdrive, and I’m coming up with all sorts of idiotic reasons. I shake my head and get out of bed. This is ending right now. I open the bathroom and make my way over to the shower. He turns when he hears me, and the first thing I notice is his hand wrapped around his hard cock. A look crosses his face, but it’s fleeting, and I can’t make out what it is. I step in through the door and replace his hand with mine. His eyes close and he gulps hard. I let out a sigh as I move my hand up and down his solid length. His head falls back against the tiles, and he moans. I smile and get to my knees—his eyes open, and he looks down at me. I see panic for a moment, but as his eyes meet mine, it’s pure lust and need reflecting back at me. I open my mouth and slide my tongue around the head of his cock before I slide him in. I make small circles, flicking and flattening my tongue, I play and enjoy the taste of his pre-cum. By the sounds he’s eliciting, he’s definitely enjoying himself. I take him deep, flattening my tongue, sheathing my teeth with my lips and opening the back of my throat up to take him as far as possible. I squeeze his ass, prompting him to fuck my mouth just how he likes it. I close my eyes and hum, knowing the vibrations get him off, but he pulls out and has me up and in his arms in a second.
‘Shit, baby. I want to be inside you so fucking bad right now.’ He kisses me with such ferocity it’s almost violent. I pull on his hair ending the kiss and watch as his hazed look rakes over my face.
‘So fuck me already,’ I tell him, yanking on his hair. He looks relieved, then worried. And I feel myself losing him again. No. Not happening again. ‘Jared, if you do not fuck me right now so help me God I am gonna—’ I don’t get to finish the sentence before he has me up against the wall and has thrust his cock deep inside me. YES! Finally, this time my head lolls back against the tiles. I’m clinging to him like a limpet. But he doesn’t move. He’s shaking. And his head is down. No no no. What’s wrong? Shit.
‘Jared?’ He looks up and fear flashes in his eyes. ‘What’s wrong?’ I ask, desperate to know, and desperate for him to carry on. I need this so badly. He’s still solid inside of me, so he does want this, and he’s told me he loves me. He shakes his head before he speaks, ‘Baby tell me this is okay? This is what you want? That you’re not just doing this for me. Because I can wait. I need you to be ready.’
‘Jared, you’ve been hands off ever since you found me and quite honestly it’s pissing me off.’ He’s taken aback by that I can tell. I shove at his chest. He pulls out and lets me down. But as I try to walk away he holds me against the wall of the cubicle.
‘Devon, I never meant to piss you off. Fuck, I’ve been taking care of business every morning like this because I’ve had a permanent hard on for you. I always fucking do.’
‘So why with the games, Jared? Why are you keeping me at arm’s length all the time?’
‘Because I don’t know what to fucking do! I didn’t want to drag all that shit up for you or hurt you, and I wanted to respect you and wait till you were ready!’ He’s pissed now.
‘Ready for what, Jared? Have you forgotten we fucked like rabbits before?’ I’m shouting now. This was not how I wanted this to go.
‘Of course I haven’t fucking forgotten! Jesus, it’s on my fucking mind every damn minute of every day, but that was before they—’ he falters, and he makes a little hiccup sound as he chokes back his words. ‘I don’t want it to bring shit up for you. I want you to be with me one hundred fucking percent when we make love. I can’t bear the thought of you hating being with me because of what they did. It scares the shit out of me.’
Whoa. Back the hell up a minute. ‘Jared I wasn’t raped.’ His eyes meet mine for a second, and then he sags in my arms. The relief I see there is
virtually tangible it almost takes on an entity of its own.
‘I was sure they had because you were naked and he…and you were so badly hurt, but I couldn’t ask you. I didn’t want you to relive any of it.’
I take his hand, and we leave the bathroom. I put on a towelling robe, and he wraps himself in a towel, and we lay on his bed.
‘I’m not going to lie to you, Jared, they did try, but I fought back.’ And I didn’t feel like I’d been raped. ‘They beat the shit out of me until I blacked out, the next thing I remember was you.’ A small sympathetic smile crosses his face.
Jared
‘You don’t have to worry about that motherfucker. I put him in the ground myself.’ And thank fuck I got there when I did because unconscious or not, it was obvious what he was trying to do. Bastard.
I can smell bacon from the kitchen, and I’m so fucking hungry right now, but I need to make love to my female, and I’m not going to keep her waiting a minute longer. Just as she’s about to speak, I devour her mouth, and I let go. I’ve been holding everything back for days, and I want to make up for all that lost time. I pull the robe tie and push it aside, revealing her gorgeous pert tits. Treating each one equally, I grope and flatten my tongue across both nipples, sucking and nibbling at each one, making her groan. I fucking love the little squeaks and moans she makes when she’s turned on and loving what my mouth does to her body. So. Fucking. HOT. Swirling my tongue up the side of her throat, I kiss across her jaw, reaching her mouth as I suck on her tongue. Bliss. As I kiss her like a dying man, I find her pussy with my fingers and dip into the sweetest wetness, and her body arches into mine. I finger fuck her for all I’m worth until she’s coming apart in my arms, and the way she kisses me almost has me coming before I even get inside her. When her jaw clamps shut and she cries out her pleasure, I push inside her and feel her walls contract around my dick. I have to recite in my head all the old ladies names in my pack to stop me from blowing my load in the first ten seconds. When I regain my composure, and I get her through her orgasm, I fuck her like our lives depend on it. It’s hard, fast, and fucking amazing. I can’t manage slow. I can’t speak as my balls slap against her ass and her shouts of ‘yes’ get louder and wilder. Her nails dig into my arms as she holds on, and I fucking love it. I pull her legs up and put them on either side of my head, bending her so I can go even deeper. She’s building again, and I’m almost there, panting with every thrust. As she screams out my name, I come. It hits me so fucking hard that I rock on my knees and an explosion of white lights set off a display behind my eyelids. Euphoria. It’s a few seconds before I regain the ability to move. Sex with Devon is fucking awesome every damn time. Whether it’s hard and fast, slow and sensual, a quickie, or hours in the sack. We were made for each other. The fact that she’s prepared to get down and dirty with me any time or place does wonders for a male’s ego. I’ve never had better, and I knew from the minute I saw her, she was it. Thank fuck she’s finally agreed. We lay there until my stomach rumbling breaks the silence, making her giggle.
Forbidden Love (Stone Pack Book 1) Page 22