The Darkest Hour (Running with the Devil Book 1)

by Jasmin Quinn

  The other option was to go back. She saw the motel sign a few blocks away. She had never done anything useful in her life, nothing risky, nothing personally gratifying. What kind of life did she have anyway? And here was this guy, kind-of godlike if he wasn’t so crude, who needed her help. His life depended on it. And she was running away from him – maybe it wouldn’t go the way she wanted. Maybe the Russians would catch up with them, but what did she have to lose – an uneventful life, a loveless relationship with her dad, and a mundane job. Nothing, then, she had nothing to lose. She felt a flicker of excitement rise in her as she stood up. She’d go back to Dean, explain why she ran, let him forgive her, touch her, kiss her.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Kelsie started walking back to the motel when she saw her SUV driving towards her. She stopped as it pulled up and braked abruptly beside her. Dean leaned over and opened the passenger door. “Get in,” he ordered grimly.

  He pulled away from the curb before she had the door fully closed, making a U-turn and heading back to the motel.

  “Dean,” Kelsie started, but Dean interrupted.

  “Shut the fuck up,” he snarled, his anger palpable. “Don’t say another fucking word.”

  Kelsie obeyed him without question, clamping her lips down on her next words. She could see his fury, it was rolling off him in waves. His face was suffused with hostility, his jaw clenched, and he was driving like a madman. She felt the fear rise in her and she tried her best to swallow it down. It wouldn’t help right now to try to placate him, explain why she ran, make sure he understood that she was coming back to him. Why didn’t that count, though, she wondered, as he pulled the SUV into the parking spot in front of their room. She was walking back, that was clearly evident. Why wouldn’t he even hear her out?

  Dean launched himself out of the SUV and slammed the door. Then he circled around the front and yanked open the passenger door, jerking Kelsie out painfully by her right arm. “Hey!” she cried as she stumbled, completely off-balance. She tried to catch herself by grabbing onto Dean, but he stepped back, out of her reach and she felt herself fall to the ground, pain shooting through her hands and knees.

  “You animal!” She seethed as Dean yanked her up roughly by the upper arm and pulled her along behind him, unlocking the door and shoving it open. He all but threw her into the room. She stumbled forward and then hit the carpet hard with her ass as she twisted around to unsuccessfully try to catch herself. She sat there for a second, then started to scramble to her feet.

  “Stay down,” Dean ordered, and his cold, deadly voice stilled her.

  Kelsie watched as he slammed the door shut, turning the bolt and putting on the chain. He shoved the chair back under the door handle, then turned to face her, fury still rolling off him. It was like he needed to box it out and Kelsie was his punching bag. Then she saw the blood on his side. “Oh my god, you’re bleeding again,” she breathed, her own anger forgotten.

  Dean strode over to her and squatted down beside her. He took a handful of her hair and yanked on it pulling her head back so she had no choice but to look up at him. “Of course, I’m bleeding again, you little bitch. What did you think would happen when you fucking kneed me in the side?”

  Realization dawned on Kelsie. “Oh god. I did this to you? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I was just… I don’t know… I was panicking, I guess.”

  “You’re a pretty fucking good actress, but I should have known. Lawyers and conmen are cut from the same cloth.”

  His face was shuttered but Kelsie could hear the hurt in his voice overshadowed by the anger. He’d trusted her and he thought she betrayed him. Maybe it was more than that. She tried to respond but he put a finger to her lips to stop her flow of words. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I’m tired of you.”

  Kelsie felt herself go cold. What was he going to do? Had she pushed him too far? Was he deciding she wasn’t worth the trouble of keeping around? She felt the blood drain from her face and she started shaking. “What are you going to do?” she whispered.

  But he didn’t respond. Instead, he yanked her up by her hair and forced her further into the room, into the bathroom. He shut the door behind him and let go of her. “Fix this,” he demanded as he pulled off his shirt, unbuttoned his jeans and ripped the dressing off his wound, suppressing a groan. He stayed standing as he leaned against the door, forcing Kelsie down her knees to get a good angle on it. The gash was still bleeding a bit, but the area around it was pink and cool to Kelsie’s touch. It no doubt hurt when she’d gouged him, it was a deep laceration, but it was healing and by tomorrow it would be okay again. She doused a cotton ball with peroxide and touched it against the gash. Dean took a deep jagged breath and grabbed her hair with his left hand but stayed still as she dabbed at the wound. When she was finished repairing the dressing, he pulled her up, forcing her to stand in front of him, his fingers still tangled in her hair, so close to him that she could smell his sweat, salty and masculine.

  Kelsie felt her heart jump into her throat as he stood there, darkly regarding her, unmoving, unspeaking. Then he brought his other hand up to her neck, cupping the back of her neck. He caressed the hollow at the base of her throat with his thumb. She heard his breath quicken when she reached up to grab at his wrists. She didn’t dare pull or clutch at them, she just wrapped her hands around them as best she could. She needed an anchor in her fear.

  “What are you going to do?” she whispered, hearing the tremor in her voice.

  “I was thinking that you should finish what you started earlier,” he responded but without passion or desire. Instead, his words were cruel and hard. “Two can play your game and trust me, Kelsie, I am way better at this game than you are.” He let go of her hair and drew his hand down her arm, then wrapped his hand around her wrist in his tight grip. He brought it down forcing her hand to his groin. She could feel his erection, straining against his jeans. “I like you on your knees. Why don’t we do that? See if your mouth is good for anything else besides lying.”

  Kelsie stared into his stormy unyielding eyes. He was going to make her suck his cock. He was trying to humiliate her. She felt her eyes tear up and overflow, running down her face. “Please don’t make me do this,” she sobbed. “Not this way”

  Dean felt his anger dissipate slightly. He wasn’t expecting her to cry. He shook his head in exasperation. “Of all the things that’ve happened to you over the last 24 hours this is what makes you cry?”

  She sniffled and wiped at her eyes as he let her go and pushed her away from him. He rubbed tiredly at his face. “Clean yourself up. It’s late, I’m tired. And I need to figure out what the fuck to do.” He flung open the bathroom door. “You’re a fucking distraction,” he hurled at her as he stalked out.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Kelsie stayed in the bathroom for as long as she possibly could. She used the toilet, washed her hands, scrubbed at her face. She desperately wanted a shower, but that would make her too vulnerable. Standing in the shower without her clothes on. What if he came back? She was sitting on the edge of the bathtub staring at the bathroom door. Dean thought she’d gouged him deliberately, to render him helpless so that she could make a run for it. But why couldn’t he see that she just panicked, there was no intent in anything she did? That was pretty evident. If she was as cold-blooded as he accused her of being, she would have done a lot more damage than she did. And she wouldn’t have run out with just her shoes in her hand. She would have taken her purse and her car keys if she could have managed it.

  She was startled out of her thoughts by an aggressive thump on the door. “Get out here,” Dean growled. “You’ve had enough time in there.”

  Kelsie gingerly opened the bathroom door and stepped out in the room. Dean had moved over to the bed, to “his” side. “Bed time,” he grunted, “get your clothes off.”

  That threw Kelsie completely off balance. “What?”

  Dean stared her down. “Just take them
off,” he directed. “I’m too tired to fight with you. Take them off or I’ll tear them off.”

  Kelsie felt hurt and defeated. Yes, she had run, but she came back. She didn’t exactly pass his test, but she did exactly as he told her, getting back in the car, returning to the room with him. She didn’t run from him, screaming, calling the cops. And there were plenty of opportunities for her to do that.

  Fuck him, she thought as she yanked her shirt over his head. “You’re a fucking asshole.” She seethed, forgetting the last time she said this to him; forgetting his anger.

  But he didn’t rise to her bait this time. He pulled off his own shirt and dropped it on the floor, then unbuttoned his jeans and pulled them off along with his underwear, his socks and shoes. He stood there, naked, watching her as she turned her back to him, kicking off her sneakers, then pulling off her jeans. She reached back and unhooked her bra, sliding it off her shoulders and letting it fall to the floor. Then dropped her white lace panties to her ankles and stepped out of them.

  His eyes drank her up like an alcoholic with a whiskey in front of him. Her beautiful blond hair curled over her shoulders and down her unbelievably sexy back, which tapered to her slim waist then flared again at her hips and her full, round ass. He was standing at attention now in more ways than one and he knew how this was going to end. It had to end. He needed her like he had never needed anyone before in his life. Every fibre of his being demanded he possess her. She couldn’t say no now. He wouldn’t take no for an answer.

  Kelsie felt herself flush as she stood with her back to him, completely naked. She was going to have to turn around and walk over to the bed. He’d seen her naked before so she was struggling to understand why she felt so shy and vulnerable. “Turn the light off,” she said softly and then added, “please.”

  Kelsie suddenly sensed Dean’s presence behind her, felt his hands on her shoulders, large and rough against her soft skin. He spun her around to face him, pulling her wrists behind her back and holding them with his hand. Then he pulled her hard against him with his free arm, crushing his lips to hers. She struggled at first, tried to pull her wrists out of his grasp, mouth unyielding, but he drew his hand up her back to cradle her neck, leaving her no room for resistance. His lips were on hers, bruising and unrelenting, forcing open her mouth; his tongue, searching and demanding, tasting her, possessing her. And she, responding, letting him in. Her body flooding with desire.

  Dean pulled her over to the bed. He let her hands go, pushing her down on the mattress and standing over her. She leaned back on her elbows and gazed up at him, chest heaving, her firm, round breasts rising and falling in concert. He moved forward toward her and she scrambled back a few feet, but then stopped as he dropped down beside her, his hand on her belly, holding her in place. He slid his fingers up her rib cage, cupping her breast and brushing her nipple with his thumb. “Kelsie,” he said hoarsely, feeling the blood pulsing in his cock, his balls tightening in anticipation, the passion flooding through his body. “If you want me stop, say it now. Because there’s no going back after this. No stopping, no running away.” She took a deep breath and shivered as he ran his hand down her belly, resting it on her thigh, his fingers brushing the soft curls framing her pussy. “Kelsie,” he repeated gruffly, “tell me what you want.”

  Kelsie knew what she wanted. She wanted to feel the heat that this man radiated from every fibre of his being, she wanted to know his cock in her, hard, unleashed and raw. She wanted him to possess her, to take her, to make her tremble and moan and beg. She never wanted this to stop. “I want you,” she whispered, her lips trembling. “I just want you.”

  That’s all Dean was waiting for, all he needed to hear as he pushed her down and loomed over her. He drew her arms up over her head and held her wrists in place with one of his hands. With the other he pulled her closer to him, dropping his head down and kissing her neck, trailing his lips up to her ear and then down to her mouth. He lingered there for a minute, kissing her softly at first and then more urgently as he felt her respond. She arched her back and tried to pull her hands out of his grip. “No,” he commanded as he came up for air. “No touching me. Not this time. Keep your hands over your head or I’ll tie them there.”

  She stopped struggling then, letting him have his way. He dipped his mouth back down to her lips, forcing them open with his tongue, pulling her tongue into his mouth, tasting it. As he kissed her, his free hand trailed down to her breasts, he touched each of them in turn, fingering her nipples, which were obediently standing at attention. He pinched her right nipple, between his thumb and his forefinger, rolling it just a little bit. He felt himself harden more if that was even possible as he heard Kelsie gasp in pleasure and pain. She moaned as he dropped his head to her nipple, taking it between his lips and sucking it hard. He used his teeth to pull at it and felt her jerk a little bit. Then he moved to her other nipple. Each deserved equal attention, he thought, breathing heavily. Beautiful little twins, and his to savour.

  Kelsie moaned as she felt his lips on her breasts, on her nipples. She couldn’t stop herself from arching her back and trying to get him to take more of her in his mouth, it felt amazing and at the same time, not enough. “Please,” she cried out as he kept his mouth on her nipples, but his hand trailed softly down her belly. He ran his fingers through the triangle of curls that framed her pussy, teasing her as he moved closer to her clitoris and then retreating. Her labia were swollen, she knew she was wet and ready for him. All she wanted was for him to enter her, take her, possess her. But he seemed impervious to her begging.

  Instead, he touched her clitoris, softly and gently, sending waves of desire through her. “Don’t do that,” she gasped. “Unless you want me to... you know… right now.” She heard him laugh wickedly, but he obeyed, moving his hand lower, exploring her wet vagina with a finger, then two. Pushing into her, gently at first, and then as she started pumping her hips, withdrawing his fingers, teasing her, making her cry out in frustration, then re-entering, rubbing inside of her, searching for her point of pleasure. As he withdrew his fingers, she raised her head, looking at him with glazed eyes. “Don’t stop,” she said thickly.

  “I’m not stopping,” he murmured as he let got of her hands and dropped his body down lower between her thighs. He touched her with his mouth, drawing his tongue up the hollow in her labia, and then touching it to her clit, gently at first, whisper light, then more intensely, using his fingers to open her up to him, exposing her clit, raw and sensitive. He drew his tongue hard across her, savouring her taste, relishing her tremors.

  “Oh my god,” Kelsie, groaned shuddering in ecstasy. She reached down forgetting his orders to keep her hands off him. She grabbed his head, lacing her fingers through his hair, drawing him up toward her. He let her pull him up on top of her, let her clutch at his head and draw his lips to her. She tasted herself on his lips then, and felt something release in her, something she’d been holding in her entire life. “Please,” she moaned. “Please just fuck me.”

  And he did. He slid his cock between her legs, and into her vagina. She could feel his carefulness, making sure she was ready. But she had no patience for tenderness, she wanted him hard in her. She thrust up to meet him, wrapped her legs around him, pulling him deeper into her. He was big, it even hurt a little, but like his teeth on her nipples, it only served to arouse her further. “This won’t take long,” he grunted feeling her buck wildly under him.

  “No, it won’t,” she panted as she met his urgent thrusting, his cock deep within her. She could feel the heat start to rise in her, a prickling sensation, an omen of things to come and then she peaked, feeling her vagina fold in on itself, grabbing his cock and pumping at it as wave after wave crashed down. Her orgasm spread through her body like an earthquake, she could feel it flood down into her toes and up into her fingers. And it rocked her from her vagina to her ass to her nipples.

  And then Dean came too. He felt her orgasm, as it shuddered through her. He could hea
r her gasping, could feel her arms tighten around his neck, her pelvis arching up to meet his thrusts and then a sudden stillness as the sweet heat flowed through her. And then he let go himself. And fuck if it didn’t hit him like a truckload of bricks. If he had been on his feet, it would have knocked him on his ass. The power of it was as unexpected as it was earth-shattering. His body and mind went numb for a few seconds; it was like a gunshot, the steel vibrating through his body, the kickback of the gun knocking him over and then the sheer and utter release.

  He collapsed on top of her, his heart beating wildly, the blood pulsing in him, his eyes closed, his cock still deep inside her. He could stay like this forever, he thought. Kelsie lay there too, feeling his weight on top of her; he was heavy, but it was a good, strong weight. She felt secure and at peace. She let her legs fall to either side of him, splayed out as she felt her breath and his start to settle into a regular, natural rhythm.

  He rolled off her then and lay next to her, his head resting on a pillow, one forearm resting on his forehead as he inhaled deeply. Kelsie waited for him to say something, wasn’t quite sure what to say herself. She knew with a sudden clarity that her life had just taken a 180-degree turn; and it was good, something she wanted to embrace, something she had no desire to return from.

  But she also knew it was complicated. And she understood that she might not have the same effect on him as he was having on her. He made her feel something that she’d never felt before in her entire life. He made her feel safe, and wanted and cared for. And, oh my god, he fucked her. She suddenly understood the difference between truly being fucked and being made love too. He cared that she got what she needed out of this. He did what he needed to do to make sure that he wasn’t the only one having sex. It was magnificent, and she wanted more. She smiled to herself then, as she shifted onto her side to look at him. You’re not overthinking this at all, Kelsie, she thought ruefully.