The Cities

by K. A Knight

  I rip myself away from him and stomp into the living room. I hear him silently following me and spin to see him, outraged. “You think you are replaceable? You aren’t to me!” I almost yell. “I can’t do this without you! Don’t you see losing any one of you, losing you, would kill me? You would die to protect me? Well, it goes both ways!” I do shout this time, I hear the others’ snoring cut off, awake now, but I don’t care. Let them hear.

  “Mi Alma,” Maxen says, but I turn away from him, pacing the room, staying away from his grabbing hands.

  “You all say I’m this big fucking deal, that I’m the one the world needs, but I’m nothing without all of you. I was fucking surviving, that’s it, kept fucking moving, and you-you came in and made me live again. Forced me to feel, made me love you, and now you are saying you will die.” I stop then, my fists clenched at my sides and my chest heaving. “You can’t, you can’t die on me, Maxen, I won’t allow it.”

  He walks towards me, watching me closely like I’m a wild animal, then he cups my fists. “Okay.”

  “Okay?” I repeat.

  “Okay, how about we promise each other something else instead. We promise each other to fight, to love each other always. Promise that no matter what, we never give up on each other, even when we don’t see eye to eye,” he says softly, staring into my eyes as I search his for the answers to this. “Promise me, Mi Alma, promise me you will always love me.”

  “I promise,” I reply raggedly.

  “I promise too, I’ll never leave your back, that’s where I belong. Protecting it for the rest of our days,” he vows, placing his forehead to mine, and I close my eyes, the fear of losing him subsiding.

  “I love you,” I whisper. That’s where this all stems from. Love, I love him, and it would be so easy to walk away right now, to stop the pain that would come if I lost him, but that would be the weak woman’s way out, and I have never been weak or a coward. It takes a strong person to love someone, and an even stronger one to stay when it gets hard and the future is uncertain.

  Arms wrap around us both then, silently promising us too, and we stay in our huddle. All our fears are on display, yet we choose to stay together through them all until a knock at the door interrupts us. I grab a shirt, slip it on, and palm a knife as Maxen opens the door, peeking out before it’s pushed open and a guard strides in. He ignores the men who are now surrounding him, ready to attack, and looks at me.

  “I have a present from Strand,” is all he says and then steps back, revealing a man in a cape waiting there. I can’t make out much of his face or body because of the frumpy material so I frown, looking between him and the guard, until the man throws back the cape and I gasp.

  “I thought he was lying to me, Angel, but you’re here. You are really here.”

  I can’t seem to move, and my breath is caught in my throat as I stare into those grey eyes. Ones I missed so much it hurts. It feels like I’m whole again, my heart exploding in my chest, and before I know it, we are both moving towards each other. We clash hard, his hands fisting in my hair and yanking me to him as I smash my lips to his. I bite hard on his lower lip in punishment and he groans, our kiss turning harsh as I wrench him to me, but he comes willingly. His hands traces down my back and cups my ass, bringing me flush against him as our teeth clash.

  He groans into my mouth and I swallow it down, yanking on his hair, pulling his head back, and breaking our kiss. I stretch his neck at an awkward angle, making it hurt and his eyes dilate as his lips part. He does not fighting me as I hold him there. Jax’s demons come out in his eyes as he watches me, waiting for whatever else I want to do to him. “Angel,” he begs, wanting more, but I jerk his head back more and he hisses.

  “What the fuck were you thinking?” I snap.

  “Babe—” Drax starts, but I snap my eyes up to him, glaring at him and he shuts up, miming zipping his mouth.

  I look back at Jax to see him smiling at me, loving the pain I give him like always. “Had to make sure it was safe for you,” he offers, and I narrow my eyes on him, twisting my hand in his hair, tugging on the strands and he licks at his lip, panting. “I knew you would come, I wanted to make sure you could get to us.”

  Bending my head to his, I whisper against his lips, “You do shit like that again and I will strap you to my bed and leave you there, then I will make you watch as I fuck everyone but you, and still I will leave you there, not even touching you,” I purr, ensuring he hears the fucking warning, because I had been terrified when I didn’t see my damaged man waiting for me. My poor, silent demon.

  He lets out a moan, pulling against my hand to tug on his hair, always ready for more from me, taking whatever I give out. Whereas me and Dray fight a constant battle, Jax takes it all without reservation or judgement and begs for me. I could cut him open and pull out his heart, and he would let me with a smile on his face and my name on his lips. “I’d do it for you,” he replies, begging me with his eyes for more, for me to touch him.

  “I know you would,” I murmur, kissing him softly, making him chase after my lips. Jax is all mine, his body yearning for me, for my touch. I love teaching him new things and being in charge with him, so I let go of his hair and step back and he frowns, moving closer again, not knowing how to tell me what he wants. He doesn’t speak much, always silent from his upbringing. I love to hear him speak so I wait, not letting him get away with not speaking now.

  “How are you here?” I question eventually and he sighs.

  “Dray and some man named Strand found me. I had been working some of our contacts from back when we lived here and getting them riled up. They heard and found me. Dray explained everything and they snuck me back in to help piss off the government and prove your power. Dray and Strand will carry on with the rest of the plan, I’ll be by your side,” he explains, stepping closer again, his eyes not moving from mine.

  “They are okay?” I ask, and he nods.

  “The leaders have started raids on some of the lower houses and camps, but they are turning up empty, they don’t know who is behind the bombs.” He smiles then. “Least of all that she is under their roof.”

  “Good, let’s keep it like that. We are meeting with Regina in the morning. We will pretend like nothing has happened and not give an explanation for why you are here. It will annoy her that it happened right under her nose.” I smirk then, winking back at Drax as he laughs. When he catches my eye, he winks and looks to his brother with a pleading look, and I nod.

  “Right, let’s leave the love birds to catch up,” he suggests, grabbing Maxen and Thorn.

  Thorn frowns, looking to me and Drax nudges him. “We let you fuck her into a wall within two minutes of seeing her,” he reminds him, and laughs as Thorn grins at the memory. They all head into the bedroom, presumably going back to bed and sleep, leaving Jaz and me alone in the living room. He watches me from meters away, not even blinking, waiting for me to make the first move. Stepping around him, I walk into the kitchenette and hop up on the counter, parting my legs and beckoning him closer.

  He’s in front of me in a minute, pressing between them, with his hands resting on the counter next to me. Not touching, but so close I can feel his heat. I wonder how far I can push him, making that other side I know of Jax come out. The one who knows exactly what he wants and takes it. “On your knees,” I order, and he drops to them instantly, his head level with my crotch and my bare pussy—I did only slip on a shirt, after all. His eyes light up with hunger as he licks his lips, his fingers digging into the counter to hold himself still.

  “Angel, please,” he begs, rolling his eyes up to mine.

  “Please what?” I ask, leaning back casually, spreading my legs wider.

  “I need to taste you, I need you,” he rushes out, his hands grabbing my thighs and digging in as he looks at my pussy.

  I’m just as needy as him, wanting to feel him inside of me, missing my Jax, but this is our dance. Each of us pushes the other to the breaking point and then further, l
osing ourselves in each other. “Then taste me,” I purr.

  He grabs my thighs, yanking me to the edge of the counter, and covers my pussy with his mouth. He’s a quick learner. The first time he did this was under the stars, and I still remember his talented fucking tongue and he reminds me of it now, flicking it across my clit in harsh little taps before dipping it into my pussy and spreading my wetness everywhere. Tasting me, leaving no spot untouched as he declares battle on me. His fingers dig deeper into my legs, no doubt leaving bruises, always leaving his mark. Tilting back on my arms, I press my pussy to his face, wordlessly begging him for more as I stare at the darkened ceiling, thinking of his brother and my other men feet away, able to hear us.

  Without me telling him, he presses a finger to my opening, just teasing me as he nips at my clit, making me gasp and raise my hips to rock against his face. Reaching between my legs, I grab his hair, twining my hands in the short strands and yank him closer, making him hum against my pussy and dip that finger inside, but it’s not enough. I rock against him, frustrated as he teases me, until I nearly rip his hair out and he adds another finger, his thumb pressing on my other hole, just holding there.

  Sands below.

  Closing my eyes, I ride his face and fingers, pushing them deeper, and his thumb slips inside of me, making me moan. He twists his fingers inside me, lashing me again and again with his tongue, and I come apart on that clever tongue, shaking with the force of it, biting on my lip to keep quiet as I clamp down on his fingers. He doesn’t stop licking me though, instead pushing me through it and straight into another, and a squeak escapes as I thrash against his face. He pulls back, panting, his chin sparkling with my cream and his eyes alight with satisfaction. He pulls his fingers from my pussy and flicks open his jeans, palming his cock and stroking himself as I watch.

  “Jax,” I snap, and he grins at me as he carries on stroking, thrusting into his own hand as he takes in my prone body, my pussy still on display for him.

  “You told me you wouldn’t touch me. I’m making sure you don’t.” He grins and I narrow my eyes, that little bastard I never—fuck.

  I almost groan as he stands up and leans back against the island and spread his legs, watching me as he fucks his own fist. He looks at my pussy again and then back to me. “Touch yourself.”

  I raise my eyebrow and yank off my top, baring my breasts and he groans, staring at them as I twist and flick my nipples, playing him at his own game, wanting him to break and fuck me. I run hands across my body, slipping one over my pussy and the other at my breasts, fucking myself for him as he stares.

  Watching his hand, his cock, my eyes drag over his body as I imagine my hands are his. Bringing up a leg, I bend my knee and place my foot on the counter so I can get a better angle and show him everything. He moans, his eyes wide and desperate, and when I see him trying to hold back, I smirk. He steps closer, almost touching me.

  “Come,” I demand, and he does like a good boy.

  He comes with a groan, his head falling back as he shoots across my flushed chest, and I come on my own fingers. He stumbles into me, leaning next to me on the counter as we both catch our breaths. He didn’t fuck me. I narrow my eyes and he smiles softly at me, before standing enough to give me a soft kiss. “The way I see it, you punished me now,” he whispers, before throwing me over his shoulder and striding into the bathroom. I would fight him, but honestly, I can’t be bothered to. I’ve been well used today, and my pussy is sore and aching, and my brain is almost mush from the whiplash, so I let him clean me up and then he tucks me into bed, next to a snoring Drax.

  Thorn and Maxen are behind him, both asleep. Jax slips in next to me, even though it’s a tight squeeze. He basically lies on top of me with his head on my chest, no doubt hearing my still racing heart, and we just hold each other, both of our eyes locked, communicating silently. We don’t need words to tell each other how much we love each other, how much we missed each other, and in this moment, everything is how it should be.

  Even in the middle of enemy territory, I found happiness.

  I wake up hot, really hot, with a body against my back and lying on top of me. Blinking, I turn my head into the pillow to see Thorn and Drax still asleep, now cuddling each other, and I can hear the shower running in the other room—must be Maxen. I’m just about to go back to sleep when fingers push my legs apart, wiggling between them and stroking my still sore pussy, so softly that it doesn’t hurt.

  Shit, now I’m wide awake. I crane my head and spot Jax draped across my back, watching me. “I figured my punishment was over.”

  I find myself rocking against his hand, needing to come again even after all the releases I had yesterday. These guys have made me insatiable, and when he pulls his hand away, I groan, but he replaces it with his cock. The angle isn’t right, so he grabs my hips and yanks my ass into the air, pressing my face farther into the pillow, and slips inside of me slowly, being gentle. He drapes himself back over me, kissing my shoulders as he fucks me slowly, lovingly…until I start pushing back on him, begging him for more as noises leave my lips when he picks up speed.

  He bites my shoulder and I let out a breathy moan. He moves behind me, kneeling, and starts to fuck me in earnest, his balls slapping against my skin as I twist the sheets in my hands, needing more.

  “Will you two keep it down?” Drax mumbles, turning over and cracking open an eye, but when he sees me, he opens them fully and a smirk covers his face. “Well, fucking good morning to you too.”

  My face is pressed to the bedspread as Jax hammers between my legs, pain and pleasure mixing together. I need more and Drax eyes my mouth, no doubt thinking about his words yesterday. He moves up, pressing his back to the headboard, and Jax pushes me over to him, where his cock is already hard and waiting. I don’t wait, I suck him down deep and he yells, thrusting deeper into my mouth, waking Thorn who I can see watching us out of the corner of my eye. I don’t know why the thought of him watching makes me moan, but it does, around Drax’s cock who gasps and pushes deeper, forcing me to take his length. I pull back and suck him down again, catching my teeth on his length. Him and his brother find a rhythm, when Jax pulls out, Drax thrusts in, until they are holding me between them, fucking me, but I know I have all the power here. I clench my pussy on Jax who roars, and then suck all of Dax down who yells, spilling in my throat, and when I lick him clean and look over at Thorn, I see he has his hand wrapped around his cock, his chest covered in his release.

  We all slump back to the bed, spent. “Shit, I missed all the fun,” Maxen complains from the door and we all laugh. I didn’t even hear the door open, but it doesn’t matter. I’m just glad they are all here.

  What a way to start a day, especially when I will find out today if we have to fight our way out of the Cities. The thought sobers me, and I kiss them all good morning before heading to the bathroom to clean up. Group sex is fun, but afterwards there is one hell of a mess.

  The Dead Man

  Once we are all dressed, we sit in the living room, waiting for them to come and collect us to meet with Regina again. Two explosions went off during the night and another one sounds now. It comforts me, letting me know Dray is still out there, and by now I’m betting Regina is plenty annoyed. She keeps us waiting and I am starting to get annoyed also when the door finally opens.

  “She is waiting for you,” the guard announces, and I stand up slowly, checking over my golden holster before stretching, taking my time. She kept us waiting, so I will keep her waiting as well.

  The guys fall in behind me as we are led to the elevator and back up to the meeting room we started in yesterday. Regina is in there when we arrive. She takes me in, frowning when she realises I’m not in the dress, and when she sees the golden holster with a knife, her eyes flash in displeasure. I grin and then almost laugh when I step in, revealing Jax behind me. Her eyes go wide, looking from me to him, but she doesn’t call us out, since that would make her look weak and it’s not just her in here today.
All the other men are back, and there are a few more who she introduces as parliament as I head to the seat at the head of the table and sit again, watching while she glares as I take her chair once more.

  “Have you come to an agreement?” I inquire straight away, cutting through the bullshit.

  “No yet, we are meeting to discuss that today. We had other matters which occupied us yesterday. Ones I thought you might like to be part of.” She stands then, smoothing out her skirt. “We were investigating the bombs, if you would follow me,” she calls, and I stand as we all file out of the room. She falls in next to me as she leads us to an open area of the office space.

  “We found someone inciting the outers and brought him here. He was tortured for information and then killed of course.” She dabs her mouth then, like the thought is distasteful, but my heart freezes.

  Strand? No, she would have known he was one of hers...Dray? No, it can’t be.

  “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?” she asks.

  “Me? Don’t blame your mess on me,” I snap. Playing cool and calm when I am anything but, with my heart clawing at my insides and banging against my ribs to get out as my head screams at me, is the hardest thing I have ever done.