by Sam Crescent
“Landon, come home.”
“Why the fuck did you bring her?” he asked. “Do you have any idea the danger you’ve put her in being near me? Look what happened to Sarah.”
“Sarah didn’t die because of you. She died because your father was a piece of shit who got greedy. If I could’ve saved her, I would have. You know that. Maddox and I disagreed on a lot of things, and this would have been something I would stop him on.”
“It is, is it? You would’ve stopped him?”
“I would do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I know what it’s like to love a woman with all your heart and soul, but you and I both know Sarah wasn’t really yours, was she? I bet you’re looking at Tulip right now. Seeing her makes you feel calm, doesn’t she? You can’t imagine for a single moment being out of her sight. She makes all the darkness seem light again, and what’s more, every single moment, you want to touch her. To convince yourself she’s real.”
“I’m a dead man. We both know it. She’s at risk when she’s with me.”
“Because I saw her and I had to take a chance, Landon. I’ve not had to deal with any real blood baths because you were bored. Look at us now, having a civilized conversation. You need to come home, with Tulip.”
“Not going to happen. I don’t trust you, or my brothers.”
“We had nothing to do with Sarah’s death and if you’d stopped being a stubborn little shit, you’d see it.”
“I get that, but you also want to get Tamsin home, and don’t think I don’t know what that means. I’ll never let you get to her. My time as a Denton is done.” He hung up the cell phone, pissed off and agitated.
Rick had fucked with his head. Landon couldn’t seem to help it. Whenever it came to his uncle, he had mixed feelings.
Rick had never done anything to make him doubt him, but before Rick had left to be with his woman years ago, he’d been one of the worst assholes out there. He’d been deadly. Underneath all of Rick’s calm exterior was a monster.
All he’d ever known from Rick was support. Could he trust him now? He honestly didn’t know. He wanted to.
Landon wasn’t used to being alone.
He slammed the laptop closed and stalked toward his woman. Without a word to Jade, he grabbed Tulip, pulled her against his body, and slammed his lips down on hers, silencing any protest.
He needed her more than his next breath. She was everything to him.
His fire. He wanted to be consumed by her.
Landon stopped the kiss but he wasn’t done with her. Grabbing her arm, he led her back into the house.
“Landon, what the hell are you doing? I was helping Jade. You can’t just drag me away.”
“Jade can wash clothes. She enjoys it and when I’m done, I’ll go and finish off.”
“When you’re done? Why can’t I help? Are you going to kill me?”
“No, but when I’m done fucking you, you’re not going to be able to move.” He slammed the door closed, pulled her into his arms, and began to strip the clothes from her body. He had to have her naked and pressed against him.
In a matter of seconds, he had her clothes off. They weren’t exactly hard to get off her body. She stood before him, naked and fucking glorious. Heavy tits, thick hips and thighs, and his cock hardened at the sight.
He didn’t touch her.
After removing his clothes, he stepped up to her and sank his fingers into her hair, pulling her as close as he could get. The tips of her nipples grazed his chest as he held on to her, and he didn’t want to let her go, not for a single second.
“Landon?”
“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you. I promise.” Kissing her neck, he then licked the path up to her ear and bit on her lobe.
She moaned his name, and he skimmed his fingers down her back, shaping over the curve of her buttock.
“Landon?” she asked again.
“I’m here.” He moved her back to the bed, spinning her around so that she knelt on it. Stroking his hands down her back, he went to her ass, spreading the cheeks and staring at her anus and pussy.
Grasping her hips, he flicked her over onto her back.
“Open your legs. Let me see your pussy. It belongs to me,” he said.
She didn’t argue with him, and he was glad. He just needed to sink into her flesh and feel her surround him. To calm the anger deep within him.
Kneeling on the floor, he licked at her pussy. He circled her clit with his tongue then went to her entrance, tracing over her, before going back up and sucking her nub into his mouth. She cried out his name, only this time, he didn’t bring her to orgasm.
He wasn’t going to have her come any other way than around his cock. When she was all nice and wet, he moved between her spread thighs. Taking hold of his dick, he placed it at her entrance, preparing himself.
She was a virgin. This was her first time. He knew she was going to hurt, but once he got this out of the way, he could show her so much more.
Tensing up, he plowed into her, breaking through her hymen. He slammed in balls deep, claiming her as his own.
She screamed his name as her nails sank into the flesh of his back. She didn’t try to push him away, and he held himself still within her, waiting for the pain to slowly ebb away.
Taking her wasn’t about rushing. No, he wanted to bask in every single inch of her. Feeling her tight cunt wrapped around him was all the pleasure he needed.
Staring down into her eyes, he saw tears leak out of the corners. “Please, don’t cry.” He hated to see tears.
“I’m not crying.”
“I can see them.” He cupped her face, kissing each tear as it trailed from her eyes.
“I don’t cry.”
“I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I thought it was a given.”
“It doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He stroked his hand down her body, kissing a trail to her tits, sucking on each bud before going back to her lips to kiss her. He couldn’t get enough of her. “Tell me when you want me to move.”
“I want you to move.”
He pulled back to look into her eyes.
“I mean it, Landon. The pain is gone.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You already did and I’ve gotten over it. I can take it.” She stroked the base of his back and he nodded.
Pulling out of her until only the tip of him remained, he started to rock within her, going deeper and deeper.
He heard the change in her breathing, the way it seemed to catch a little. He drew back to play with her pussy. There was no way he was going to find an orgasm without her. He wanted to feel her cunt squeeze him. Her cum soaked his dick.
Stroking her clit, he watched and felt as her orgasm started to build. He didn’t stop until she came with his name echoing around the room. He would never get tired of this.
He took hold of her hands, pressing them against the bed and holding her in place as he took her. He didn’t fuck her. For their first time, he tried to make love to her, showing her with his body how much he craved and loved her.
When he came, he filled her with his cum since having anything between them just wasn’t possible.
You need to protect her.
His thoughts turned to Rick Denton. His uncle. He … he knew he had to trust his uncle even as he hated him. He hated all things attached to the Denton name, but he honestly didn’t know how he was going to keep protecting his woman, not with a bounty that just wouldn’t go away.
****
“I thought you said this girl would help us get him home. Now he’s off doing God knows what?” Jacob asked, throwing his arm wide. “We don’t have time for this shit.”
Rick watched his nephew as he lost control.
Since Maddox’s death, it would seem Gabriel was the one who was able to think more logically.
“We know he’s gone far away now,” Gabriel said. “We also know he’s not going with hotels or any other place with luxury.”
“You’re not going to be able to get Landon to agree to give up Tamsin’s location. Not with the marriage agreement still in place,” Rick said.
“Dad organized that,” Jacob said.
“Your father was a prick,” Rick said. “Look at the mess he caused by taking matters that didn’t concern him into his own hands. You need to stop thinking like my brother told you to and start thinking for yourself, for this family.”
He didn’t like the way Jacob was acting. The Dentons didn’t need another Maddox. They needed someone fresh, someone willing to start a war if needed.
Rick was growing tired of keeping this shitshow together. Landon’s warning wasn’t news to him. He knew the danger Mandy was in the longer he stayed away. The only real person he trusted with his wife’s protection was himself. As far as he was concerned, he was the only one who could protect her. No one else had what it took to keep her safe.
Running his fingers through his hair, he saw a message had popped up in his email. Clicking on it, he saw an image of Landon, as clear as day.
He was in the store, and it was taken yesterday.
Opening up his laptop, he typed in the location of the store. After doing a quick search, he smiled.
He knew exactly where Landon was, and this time, he wasn’t going to let his nephew get away. He’d capture the little bastard and the girl then lock them up to keep them safe.
“Get the men. We’re going hunting,” Rick said. He was done listening to Jacob’s whining.
He had a horrible feeling he was going to have no choice but take control of the Denton empire.
****
Later that night, Tulip smiled as Landon stroked her naked back. Jade had made them all sandwiches and excused herself to her own bedroom. Landon had made love to her again, and even though she wanted to hate his touch, she found it hard to push him away.
“You’re not too sore?”
“No, I’m fine.”
She was sore but not enough to stop him.
“Your scars, who caused them?” he asked.
She told him the same story she told Rick. It was the truth, but it was a moment in her life she didn’t like to relive. “I survived. People see them and think I did it to myself. I didn’t. It sucks but it’s how the world works, you know? There’s nothing that could be done. A lot of stuff happens, and we can’t control it.”
“I wish I could give you a better life,” he said.
“I don’t mind the life I’m living. Now I know it’s in no way compared to your life of luxury, but I’m still here, and I’m surviving.” She touched his body. Ink and scars covered him. “We both tell a story with our body.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “I can’t believe I’m in bed with you.” She laughed and lifted up, taking one of the blankets and wrapping it around her body.
“Why not?”
“You and my sister. I guess it’s odd. Sometimes I get to think you’re all mine.”
He took hold of her hand, kissing the inside of her wrist. “I am all yours, forever.”
“But if Sarah was still alive, you’d still be with her,” she said. She didn’t know why she was spoiling a perfectly good moment between the two of them. Today, she’d lost her virginity and now she was thinking about how she was second best.
After climbing off the bed, she walked over to the window. One of the floorboards had a hole in it, and she avoided that one.
“Don’t pull away from me,” Landon said.
“It’s kind of hard to do.” She tensed up as he stepped up behind her, wrapping his arms around her. “Don’t,” she said.
“Don’t what, don’t hold you? Don’t try to take the pain away that you’re clearly feeling?”
“I don’t know if I can do this with you. I don’t know if I can allow myself to even be here with you. This is all messed up.” She shook her head but he wouldn’t let her go.
“I’m not going to stop holding you, Tulip.”
“I don’t care. I don’t even know why I brought it up.” She shouldn’t feel anything for this guy. He was supposed to belong to her, but not really her, no, her sister. There was no way it should cause her any kind of pain, and yet, the pressure in her chest increased.
She felt tears in her eyes once again and didn’t cry. This was all messed up.
“I don’t love Sarah,” he said.
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I know what my uncle told you and as much as it kills me to say this, he’s right.”
She frowned and turned in his arms. “He’s right. Right about what?”
“About the way I feel about you. I can’t help it. I can’t stop. I don’t want to. This feeling, it was there with Sarah, but it wasn’t this strong. I didn’t feel this pull. I cared about her, and I felt something, but you’re not second best.” He touched her cheek.
“I … I … no, I’m not going to do this.”
“Do you accept me for who I am?” Landon asked.
“Here’s the thing, Landon. I don’t know who you are. I don’t know who I am. I’m a twin. I’m someone.” She gritted her teeth. “Do you know … I want them to hurt?”
“Them?”
“Sarah’s parents. I want them to hurt. They got rid of me,” she said. “I didn’t matter to them. You want me to accept you but can you accept me?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Yeah, you do. Could you kill them?” she asked. “Could you hurt Sarah’s parents because they hurt me?” Even as she said the words, she didn’t want to take them back. Biting her lip, she felt the tears fall. “I don’t want to cry.”
Landon stepped up toward her and she tilted her head back.
“How can you even look at me right now?”
“Because without even realizing it, Tulip,” he said, “you accept me, and if you want me to kill your parents, ask, and I will do it.”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and opened it again. Before she got a chance to say a word, a scream filled the air.
The bedroom door was thrown open and men filled the room. Tulip panicked.
Within seconds, she was grabbed roughly. Her arms were pushed to her sides and she watched as Rick Denton entered the room. Three men had controlled Landon, shoving him to the ground.
“Get the fuck off me, you piece of shit,” Jade said, screaming.
“I’m not going to deny this, Landon. I’m proud of you, and this is clever, but you should’ve come home.”
“You let them go,” Landon said.
“Let your woman and the Castillo daughter go? Not a chance,” Rick said. “You left me no choice here, son.”
“Stop it,” Tulip said. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
Rick stood up and stepped toward her. “Don’t worry, Tulip, you and Landon will never be parted again.”
She felt the prick of the needle. “I’ll kill you one day.”
“Not today.”
Everything went black, a-fucking-gain.
Chapter Ten
The tranquilizer always made Landon feel woozy.
He’d been taken back home and he’d recognized the basement anywhere. In the cages, Tulip and Jade were there as well.
“How the fuck did they get past our traps?” Jade said. “We know how to take care of ourselves, Landon.”
“They were better. Rick knows how to deal with shit. I’m sorry,” he said. He’d failed these two women and it was all his fault. “They won’t hurt you.”
“No, they’re going to send me back to my family, Landon. You know what that means.”
“I’ll talk with them. I’ll negotiate. You know I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said.
“You can’t stop them. You and I both know that. We’re fucked. I’m fucked.” Jade sobbed.
“Look, they haven’t sent you back to your parents, at least not yet. Don’t give up hope.”
“It’s kind of hard not to. They can kill me whenever they want,” Jade said. “Landon, you promised.”
“I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Son, you’re not in any position to make deals,” Rick said as he entered the basement and walked down the steps. He switched the light on.
Tulip was still in the bedsheet. There was no heating down here. Rick didn’t have a warm bone in his body, so he wouldn’t care if she got sick. He’d done this on purpose to have him at his mercy, and he fucking hated him for it.
Gritting his teeth, he watched his uncle, who looked like he didn’t have a care in the world. “What do you want?”
“What do I want?” Rick laughed. “I want to go back to a year ago when you’d come to me rather than fucking kill your father. I can deal with a lot of shit, Landon. This is bigger than you think.”
“I don’t give a fuck. He had to die. The deals he was doing, even you know it was fucked up for a Denton to even consider aligning himself with any other family.” Landon spat the words out.
“You and I both agree on something. I’ll give you that, but it doesn’t change what happened.” Rick dragged a chair across the basement.
Landon looked toward his woman and saw her lips were blue. “She’ll die if you don’t get her somewhere warm.”
“Well, that’s all up to you, isn’t it, Landon?” Rick said. “I have to say I was surprised to see the Castillo girl alive and well, and what’s more, a part of your little group.”
“Have you told her family?”
“No. I know I’m going to need some information first on what the fuck is going on. I’m not an idiot and I don’t make deals, not without all the answers. She’s your fiancée, Landon. Tell me what deal you made with her.”
“No, you get them into the warmth before I make any deals with you.”
He expected the blow to the face and took it. Jade cried out. “You leave him alone. We didn’t need your help.”
“You think it wouldn’t have taken people long to figure out where you were?” Rick asked. “It didn’t take me long and I’m family. Your family, Jade, would have made an example out of you and Landon. You can’t go off thinking you’re the shit when you don’t know what you’re getting into.”