“That was different,” he growls.
“How?” I demand. “You were running from a past you wanted to forget.”
He lets out a hard laugh. “You have no clue what I was running from.”
“Then tell me,” I demand.
“This isn’t about me,” he snaps. “This is about you having a death wish.”
“So what?” I ask lifting my arms to my side. “Why do you care what I do with my life?” I don’t let him answer. “No one has ever cared before. Why would you?” I shout. I’m so mad at him. “Why not walk out that door and let me do what I need to do for my best friend? Cricket wants me dead,” I say through gritted teeth. “I can’t stop him. My only option is to either stand and fight or run and hide.” My shoulders slump. “I’m tired of running. I’m getting nowhere.” I take a deep breath. It’s like one of those dreams where you’re running from something, but you can’t get your legs to work.
I look up at him; he’s still naked and looking better than ever. The suds are gone, but water dots his legs and his hair is still wet. His chest rises and falls just as fast as mine is. He stands there, just staring at me for a few long seconds. Then he starts to walk toward me; his jaw is tight and his eyes hard. He makes this face before he wraps his hand around my throat. And I find myself praying that he does. I pray that he feeds me the drug that I have come to depend on. The high that his hands give me that no pill could.
Instead, he lifts his right hand to my hair. He pulls my head back, and I gasp as he pushes his body into mine. His eyes soften. “Then let me carry you.”
“What?” I ask breathless, once again losing my ability to think as his hands are on me.
“I’m here for a reason, Skye. I’m here for you. I could have not helped you. I could have walked away at any time.” His other hand comes up to cup my face. “You said you’re tired of running. Let me carry you.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “You want me to leave, but I want to stay. I want to be the one person who stays. The one person who doesn’t let you down. But you’re not giving me a chance. You’re giving up before you even try.” A tear slides down my cheek at his words. “You were right. I’ve run before but our reasons are not the same.” He wipes away another tear that slides down my cheek.
“Just walk away,” I whisper as my throat tightens.
He frowns. “You want me to just pretend that I don’t care? Is that what you want?”
“It’ll be easier,” I say honestly.
“I’ve never been one to do things the easy way,” he says as his eyes search mine. “You’re not a saint, Skye, and I don’t pretend to be a savior. But I’m not going to walk away from you. I’m gonna see you through this. If in the end, you tell me to go, then I’ll go.” He then drops his hands off me and walks out of the bathroom.
I stand there staring at the shower as the water still falls. I fist my hands down by my sides as I try to ignore the feeling in my gut. He’s gonna leave me. Why did those words hurt so much? I told him to leave. But he didn’t. For once in my life, someone is standing in front of me, wanting to save me, and I’m shoving him away. Why? Why can’t I give in and let someone else worry about me for a change? Maybe because I’ve fallen for him. Maybe it’s because if I let myself depend on him, he’ll let me down. And the thought of that kills me. These men will do anything for the women they love. I remember what Taylor told me in the office at Seven Deadly Sins, and I realize I wanna be that girl. His girl. Now, I just have to let myself be that.
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
BRECKEN
It was a lie. Not the first one I’ve told her but by far the biggest. I’m not gonna walk away when this is over. I can’t. She is what I want. What I need. Jet was right—I’ve fallen for her. I can’t say it out loud, but deep down, I know I love her. And the only way I’ll let her go is if I die.
“Brecken?”
I spin around to see her standing in front of me, and my chest tightens at the look on her face. Not the bruise on her forehead or the cut on her lip. It’s the look of confusion she is giving me. So lost. I want to make her feel safe. I want to tie her to this bed behind me and keep her there until I’ve killed every last person who is out there to get her. But that approach won’t work with her. I have to be reasonable with her. She has already fought me every step of the way. I need to get her to trust me. To fall in love with me. That way when I’m done, she begs me to stay. “What, Skye?” I ask tired. I haven’t been to bed yet. I’ve got to be going on twenty-four hours with no sleep, and I’m running on fumes. I just want to go to bed. Hell, I didn’t even finish my shower. I’m pretty sure I left the water running. Thank God this is a hotel.
“I don’t know …” She runs her hand through her hair. “I don’t know what to do.” She sighs. “I don’t know what to say.” Her eyes fill with fresh tears, and I want to wipe them away. “I know I need your help.” She swallows, and I know those words were hard for her to say. “But what if he kills you?” she asks. “Too many people have died because of me,” she says, and her bottom lip starts to quiver.
I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her. I inhale her scent as I run my hand down her hair. I was telling her the truth when I said I could have walked away at any time. I tempt people every day with drugs and alcohol. I set them up to bring them down. I’m their giver and their taker. I never understood just what that meant until Skye came into my life. If you crave anything too much, it can kill you. There is no hope for those who live in a world full of damnation. Eventually, we all burn for our sins. I’ve doused myself in gasoline, and she has lit the match.
“Don’t worry about me, baby,” I tell her, but it’s just another lie. I may die. But I’m willing to take that chance to save her. She deserves a life without having to run. She deserves to feel free. I’ll pay the ultimate price for her to have that.
Her nails dig into my chest, and I hiss in a breath. “How can you say that?” she asks as she sniffs. “You’re all I have, Brecken. I don’t want to lose you.”
Her words make me weak in the knees. Not the fact I’m this poor girl’s only hope, but the fact she doesn’t want to lose me. She lifts her head to look up at me, and I see the fresh tears in her eyes. I wish I could tell her how I feel. That I finally found the woman who makes me realize what true love really is, but I can’t. She’ll run. Not because she’ll be afraid of what I feel, but because she’ll want to save me. She’ll go straight to Cricket before I have a chance.
So instead of talking, I lean down, and I kiss her. My lips hit hers, and her arms come up to wrap around my neck. My hands move to her ass, and I lift her up. I’m walking and then we’re falling onto the bed. She pulls away and laughs. It’s the best sound I’ve ever heard.
“You’re beautiful,” I say as I look down at her still laughing.
Her laughter fades, and she looks up at me. She licks her lips nervously and whispers, “You need to stop.”
“Stop what?” I ask as my brows pull together.
“Stop pretending this isn’t going to end badly,” she says with all seriousness.
“What makes you think it will?”
“Because nothing in my life has ever ended well.”
I smile as I lean down placing my lips closer to hers. “You’ve never had me to handle things.”
“You sound pretty sure of yourself,” she says, a small smile back on her lips.
“Baby, I’ve never been more confident.” Then my lips are on hers again. Her hands land on my chest, and she pushes me to sit. Just as I pull away from her lips to question what she’s doing, she reaches down and pulls her shirt up and over her head, exposing her breasts. My cock hardens.
I jump off the bed, and she looks up at me frowning. “We can’t,” I say shaking my head.
“Brecken …” She sighs.
I reach my hand out to her, and she looks at it for a long second before she finally grabs it. I pull her to me. “Doc is going to come see you today. If he says everything checks
out, then you are all mine,” I say, fighting my urge to bend her over the bed and fuck her right now in the ass with one hand around her neck and the other in her hair. Or push her to her knees as I fuck her mouth. I wanna punish this beautiful woman for all the fear she has caused me. And I plan to do exactly that, but she just needs some time.
“Okay,” she whispers licking her lips. Then she sighs. “I need a shower anyway.”
I chuckle. “I’ll join you,” I offer, and she smiles up at me.
We walk back into the bathroom, but before she goes to get in, I grab her hand. I look down at her white bandage on her wrist. She goes to pull it away, but I don’t let go. “How do you feel?” I ask her.
“Better than when I woke up here yesterday,” she admits.
I let go of her hand and slowly undo the bandage. My chest tightens when I see the cut across my wrists. “It’s not as bad as I imagined,” she says.
I nod. “It didn’t require stitches,” I say as I examine it. “They put glue on it. It doubles as a second skin to help it heal.” She was lucky. He didn’t cut it too deep, and he cut it horizontal, not vertical. I’m sure it was awful for her to go through, but the situation could have been much worse.
I drop her hand and look down at her. “Come on.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispers.
I place my hands on either side of her face. “Me too. Just promise me that you’re done with your crazy ideas. That you won’t run off without me.”
“I promise,” she says, and I seal the promise with a kiss.
***
I wake to a phone ringing. I open my eyes and look around the dark room. Skye lets out a moan as she turns onto her side facing away from me. And my cock instantly hardens at that sound. After we had showered, we ordered room service and just laid in bed watching TV. I fell asleep and then woke up when Doc came by to check on her. He said everything looked great and re-bandaged her wrist. After he had left, we ordered dinner and then went back to bed.
It rings again, and I realize that it’s the hotel phone. “Hello?” I ask answering it.
“You have to get your phone back from the office,” Jet growls.
I roll my eyes as I lie down. “What do you want, Jet?”
“First of all, I want a thank you.”
“For what?”
“Well, for starters, I took your trash out.” My brows pull together as I run a hand through my hair. Trash? What is he … oh, he took out the trash bag that had my bloody clothes.
I chuckle. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he says happily. “Have you spoken to Case or Jones?” he asks.
“No,” I say through a yawn.
“Well, Oscar is dead.”
I sit back up. “You sure?”
“Yep. Jones told us earlier this morning at our meeting. And he knows that you killed Robert.”
I sigh. “Well, I’ll make sure to call and apologize,” I growl sarcastically.
He laughs. “No need. But I would stay away from him for a while. He is pretty pissed at you.”
“He’ll get over it. Or he can fire me,” I say honestly. “Why did you call to tell me this, Jet? It could wait until tomorrow.”
“It could, but I got a call from James.”
“And?” That piques my interest.
“He wants to talk to me,” he says sounding skeptic. “I’m on my way over to Throb now.”
“Are you taking backup?” I ask. “It sounds awfully fishy to me. Especially after Oscar is dead.”
“It does, but I’m riding solo. They tend to keep secrets when someone is there they don’t know.”
I look over at Skye and sigh. “Want me to come with you?”
“No, no. Stay with Skye. Plus, you’re not a cop as far as he knows. It will look fishy if you’re there with me.”
I watch Skye as she sleeps peacefully, and I remember what Jet told me about his wife. How they had fought and then she died at the hand of a careless person. It pulls at my heart to even think of losing her. Or the fact that I may die trying to save her. I don’t want to leave her. For once, since Nicole, I think I want a wife and kids. A future. I want Skye to give me those things. In order to do that, I have to get rid of all those who are trying to destroy her, and James is one of those people. “I’m coming with you,” I say. “I will just hang out at the bar. We can act like we don’t even know one another,” I say, and he sighs.
“Okay. Did Case ever get your Range Rover from impound?”
I frown. “I’m not sure. I haven’t spoken to him since I kicked him out of my hotel.”
“Get ready. I’ll swing by and pick you up.”
I hang up the phone and lean over to snuggle up to her back. “Skye?” I run my hand up her back just feeling her soft skin. It’s flawless; I lean down to kiss it. It’s warm against my lips, and I find myself unable to stop. I slowly kiss my way down her back to the top of her ass. “Baby,” I say louder as I shove the covers off her legs.
I position myself behind her, and I smack her ass. She moans as she starts to move. “Come on, Skye. Wake up for me.” I slap it again, and she whimpers. I slap it again and then kiss it. She wiggles it, and I sink my teeth into it. She gasps. “That’s it, baby. Wake up. I wanna fuck you.”
“Brecken.” She sighs as she places her ass higher up in the air.
I smile as my hand goes between her legs and feels her pussy. It’s wet, but nothing to be proud of. I want her dripping. I push a finger into her, and she sucks in a deep breath as she pulls her legs up to where she’s on her knees.
I sit up and lean over her; I wrap her hair around my hand and pull on it. She sits up as she cries out. I keep hold of it as my free hand comes around and slips between her thighs. “Wake up,” I whisper against her neck.
“I’m awake.” She pants.
“I couldn’t help it,” I tell her. “You’re just too tempting.”
She swallows as I pull her head back by her hair. “Take it,” she says as her hands come up to cup her own breasts, and I moan.
“You like it when I take you?” I ask already knowing the answer.
“Yes,” she says as she rocks her hips back and forth as I slide two fingers into her.
“Why do you let me take it?” I ask as my thumb runs over her clit.
She shudders. “Because it’s yours.”
“Fucking right, it is,” I growl. I remove my fingers from her pussy, and I shove her head down to the comforter. I position myself behind her and shove my cock into her wet pussy not even bothering with foreplay. We don’t have a lot of time since Jet is on his way. This is gonna have to be a quickie.
I thrust in and out of her in an animalistic manner. I pull out long enough to get my fingers wet, and I’m back inside her. Fucking her. My fingers run over her ass, and she let out a cry of pleasure when I slide my thumb into her ass.
I’ve taken her ass several times since that first time, and she likes it more every time. Her body adjusts quicker, and she even rides me. Fucks me. It turns me on so much, and I wish I could take it right now, but I’ll hold off for that until I get back.
She falls down onto the bed, panting and satisfied as she comes down from her second orgasm. I fall over onto my side as I lie on the bed. My heart pounds in my chest; I’m breathing heavy and covered with a light layer of sweat.
“I’m leaving,” I tell her as I try to catch my breath.
She turns her head to look over at me. “What? Where are you going?” She looks outside and sees the sun still isn’t up.
“Jet called me. I gotta go with him to Throb.” I slap her ass as I push myself up. I stand on the side of the bed and look down at her. She turns over onto her back and looks up at me, her eyes heavy from me waking her up. I lean down, place my hand on her face, and kiss her. A deep yet soft kiss. “Go back to sleep,” I say as I pull away.
I go to walk away, but she speaks. “Be careful.”
I smile. “I will. I’ll be right back.” Then
I head to the bathroom. In the five minutes it takes me to get ready, I walk out of the bathroom, and she’s already back to sleep.
I walk out the front door of the hotel to find Jet’s little black car parked right out front. I open the passenger door and jump in. “I’ve been waiting,” he growls.
“I had something to take care of,” I say with a smile.
He snorts. “I bet you did.” And then he pulls away from the curb.
CASE
I’m sitting up in the office of Seven Deadly Sins closing up as the door opens. Jet and Brecken walk in. “What are you guys up to?” I ask, looking back at my computer. I haven’t spoken to Brecken since we found out the woman he is fucking is Cricket’s niece.
“We just came from Throb,” Jet says as he plops down on the couch.
Brecken comes over behind the desk beside me and opens the bottom drawer. He grabs his phone and then shuts the door. “It’s dead,” he says with a frown.
“What do you expect?” Jet laughs. “You haven’t had it in like three days.” Brecken shrugs and then walks around the desk and sits down in one of the chairs in front of me.
“What did you guys do at Throb?” I ask.
“I met with James. Brecken just sat at the bar and drank. I think he’s drunk,” he adds.
Brecken snorts. “I’m not drunk. Nowhere near it.”
I turn to look at Jet. “What did you find out?” I ignore Brecken.
“Nothing.” He sighs. “He wanted to see me about a new case.” He slides his eyes over to Brecken. “Seems his business partner has been brutally murdered. And he wants to find the guy who did it.”
“I wish I could kill that fucker again,” Brecken growls.
“Where’s Skye?” I ask, just noticing that she isn’t here with them.
“She is back at the hotel,” Brecken says flatly, obviously still pissed at me. Then he stands. “We should probably be getting back there.” He looks at Jet and then back at me. “Jones called Jet while we were at Throb and all charges have been dropped against Skye in the death of Tiffany.”
Obsession (Seven Deadly Sins Book 2) Page 36