by Roxie Rivera
As I tumbled back toward the ground, I could hear people yelling and coming closer. Kyle seemed to finally realize he had lost the element of surprise. He was out in the open now, and everyone would know his secrets.
He turned to run—and slammed right into Hagen’s powerful fist. Breathing hard, jaw tensed, his suit jacket missing, Hagen gripped the front of Kyle’s shirt and hauled him up off the ground. Kyle’s feet dangled as Hagen shook him like a ragdoll before backhanding him and throwing him down in a bloodied, dazed heap.
Stepping away from Kyle who cried pathetically, Hagen strode toward me. He crouched down and cupped my face, surveying me for injuries. His thumbs traced the apples of my cheeks. “Are you okay? Did that piece of shit hurt you?”
“I’m okay.” I grasped his thick wrists and held on tight. “How did you find me so fast?”
“Kostya called me. He told me he found something terrible and that I needed to get to you as fast as possible.” He glanced back and scowled at Kyle who was now surrounded and detained by my fellow students. “I knew you were supposed to be at the research lab with Taylor. I ran here as fast as I could.”
“John,” I exhaled his name with relief and closed my eyes.
He kissed my forehead. “Can you stand?”
“Help me?”
He gently guided me to my feet and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, drawing me in close to his side. The campus police had arrived on the scene and were hauling Kyle to his feet as the onlookers excitedly described what they had witnessed. Kyle’s face oozed blood, and as I stared at him, I tried to figure out how I had been so blind as to what a monster he was. The memory of Taylor comparing him to Ted Bundy filtered through, and I realized how right she was.
“Cass! What the hell happened?” Taylor rushed toward me and grabbed my hand. She looked at Kyle and then back at me. Triumphantly smug, she smirked. “What did I say? Fucking Ted Bundy, huh?”
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. She seemed to know I was overwhelmed, and she hugged me tightly. “God, I was so worried! You weren’t in the hallway, and I panicked. Kunal is on his way, too. I sent him a message to see if you had been in class.”
Right as one of the police officers came forward to question me, Kunal appeared, panting and sweating from his mad dash across campus. With Hagen’s hand on my lower back and Taylor and Kunal at my side, I inhaled a steadying a breath and prepared to tell the police everything.
Chapter Fourteen
The most wonderful sensation woke me. I stretched my arms overhead and smiled at the ticklish touch of Hagen’s lips on my inner thigh. Of all the ways to be woken up by the man I loved, this was right at the top of the list.
The fireplace cast a soft glow around his bedroom. The heavy drapes were still pulled tightly together, blocking out the chill of a wintry morning and the too bright sun. His hands moved over my outer thighs and along my hips before sliding to my lower belly. He nuzzled closer and closer to where I wanted him most, taking his time and dragging out the anticipation.
“Hagen,” I pleaded, my voice rough with sleep.
He decided to be merciful and dragged his tongue through my folds. I arched off the bed at the decadent contact and let my legs fall open even wider. He started slow and easy, exploring me with his tongue while his hands stroked my belly and breasts. When he drew my clit between his lips, he lightly pinched my nipple, and I gasped at the incredible burst of sharp pleasure and quicksilver pain. Knowing I would come apart, he worked his tongue against me while continuing to tug my nipples and knead my breasts.
Unable to do anything but feel, I gripped the sheets in both hands and rocked my hips, pressing my pussy against his mouth for even more stimulation. I lifted my head and watched him feast on me. He made little pleasurable sounds, and when he opened his eyes to meet my gaze, I lost it. I came hard on a sharply inhaled breath. My thighs quivered as my hips undulated in time with the stroke of his tongue. “John!”
When my orgasm faded away, I dropped down to the bed, relaxed and panting. Hagen slid two of his fingers against my lips before dipping them into my mouth. I answered his silent command and licked them until they were wet and slick. Even knowing what was coming, I still moaned and shuddered when he thrust them into me. I cried out and fought the urge to close my legs against the onslaught of sensual torture that was sure to follow.
“Fuck, Cassie, I could eat your pussy all day and night and still want it again the next day.” His growled filthy words made my stomach wobble. As if to prove he meant it, he used his thumb and finger to hold my labia apart, baring my clit to his attention. He was relentless as he traced and suckled the little pearl. His fingers thrust into me, searching and seeking until they found that spongy area along the front wall that made me scream.
“John!” I was shaking now, my whole body revving up for an orgasm that was going to leave me dizzy and breathless. There was a moment of fear as the pleasurable feelings built higher and higher. His tongue swirled, and his fingers stroked in just the right way. I came with a scream, and he went wild, using his shoulders to keep my legs open while he did wicked things with mouth, forcing me into a third climax that left me so sensitive I desperately tried to escape him while pleading for mercy. “John! Please. No, no, no.”
He eased off with gentle kisses all around my vulva and carefully pulled his fingers free. As I tried to catch my breath, he rested his head on my belly. I combed my fingers through is hair, scratching his scalp the way he loved best and tugged him up to my mouth for the kiss I craved. My taste and scent were all around us as our tongues tangled together.
The hard length of him pressed against my thigh, and I wiggled my bottom until we were finally in line. Clutching his shoulders, I urged him into me, lifting my hips and rubbing my slick heat along his shaft. He groaned and grabbed my ass, pulling me right where he wanted before sliding into me on a deliberate thrust.
There was nothing rushed or hurried about our lovemaking this morning. We took our time, moving together lazily. We stopped to kiss and caress, all while sharing secret smiles and soft words of love. Wrung out from the pleasure Hagen had given me with his mouth, I wasn’t going to be able to come with him, but neither of us minded. It was enough for me to feel him like this, to hold onto his strong shoulders and take every stroke and thrust he gave me.
More than anything, I wanted to feel him let loose. I wanted to watch him fall apart, to take his pleasure from my body and feel the same joy he had given me. He didn’t make me wait too long. His thrusts came faster and harder, and I grasped his ass, pulling him deeper into me while begging him to wreck me. He didn’t even try to hold back. He slammed into me and rocked jerkily against me, his cock throbbing inside me.
Forehead to forehead, we stayed like that, exchanging kisses and smiling. When he finally pulled away from me, we both groaned and sought each other’s warmth. I curled up next to him and kissed his chest. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he murmured and stroked my back. “There should be another word for what I feel. Something stronger, more serious.”
“There probably is in another language.” I drew my initials on his chest. “We could look it up later.”
He smiled tenderly and kissed me. “Sure, baby.”
The alarm on his bedside clock began to chime, and we both sighed at the intrusion of reality into our love nest. When he reached for it, I asked, “Are you working today?”
“No, it’s a reminder.”
“To tell me what an incredible girlfriend I am?” I teased and made him laugh.
“I don’t need a reminder for that, Cass, but just in case you’ve forgotten, you are incredible.” He captured and kissed my hand. His expression turned serious, and he rolled on his side to better hold my gaze. “You are incredible, Cassie. Everything you’ve survived this year. Everything you’ve overcome. You’re amazing. You’re the strongest person I know.”
“John,” I whispered, a little embarrassed by his praise.
They hadn’t stopped me, but they had tried. Sometimes I couldn’t believe what I had gone through during the last few months. Even now, curled up in bed with Hagen, it was shocking to think that a few weeks ago, I couldn’t even read a whiteboard or recall lectures. Hell, I had even managed to beat Perfection just after Thanksgiving!
I had made so much progress, but I would still continue seeing my therapists and exercising my brain, eyes and hands. Some of the deficits, especially my peripheral vision on the left side, would never be fully recovered, but I had high hopes about everything else. Maybe my life wasn’t going to be as easy as it was before the attack, but I was ready for the challenges ahead of me.
“Are you sure you want to attend the sentencing in January?” Hagen brushed his fingers through my hair. “You don’t have to go.”
“I do.” I didn’t want to see Kyle ever again, but now, knowing the full extent of his crimes from the plea deal he had signed, I wanted to see him accept his punishment for the horrific things he had done.
After he was taken into custody on campus, the whole horrible truth had been revealed. Kyle had been the one who beat Travis to death in an attempt to frame Hagen, and he had been the one who murdered Janine after she confronted him about Travis’s attack. A police raid on Kyle’s apartment had uncovered shoes with Travis and Janine’s blood on the laces and in the grooves of the soles. A baseball bat that he had attempted to clean still had the tiniest traces of brain matter embedded in the wood grain. The DNA tests had come confirmed it belonged to Travis.
But the horror hadn’t ended there. The police discovered terabytes of hidden camera footage from bathrooms around campus as well as violent pornography and snuff films. There had been additional footage from my apartment, but Kostya had gotten his hands on it and destroyed it. Whatever Kyle had captured of my private life would never be seen by anyone else.
Kyle’s sick need to keep small trinkets from his victims had been his downfall. The bracelet he had given me was just one of many treasures he had hoarded in a macabre shrine dedicated to all the girls and women he had hurt. And there were so many.
His criminal history went all the way back to his childhood including an incident in first grade where he had hurt a kindergartner in a way that made my skin crawl. When he was in his early teens, he had gotten into trouble for masturbating in public places and peeping in windows. Once he was in high school, he had learned to hide his crimes and had discovered an entire disgusting and demented online world offering all the terrible films he could ever want. It had fueled something dark and broken inside him until he couldn’t stop himself from acting on those compulsions.
All of those records had been sealed, allowing him to attend college without anyone knowing how dangerous he was. The first girl he had stalked and raped had been a classmate during his undergrad years. She hadn’t been able to see his face, and there wasn’t any DNA evidence so he had gotten away with it. The crime sated his unnatural desires for a while, but as he neared his graduation, the memories weren’t enough to sustain him. He had struck again, choosing a naïve freshman who was easy to manipulate into drinking cocktails he had spiked with date rape drugs.
As a cover, he had perfected the art of being the nice guy. He was friendly and kind, protective and sweet. He had sought the volunteer position at the counseling center to learn how to work vulnerable or inexperienced young women. He learned how to choose the easiest victims, how to gain their trust until they were caught up in his web and completely at his mercy.
Kyle had confessed to kidnapping and killing all of the missing students. The death of the first one, Anna, the girl who had owned the bracelet, had been a mistake. While he was assaulting her, she had broken free of the gag he had shoved in her mouth and tried to scream. He had panicked and strangled her.
From that moment forward, he couldn’t stop thinking about killing other women. He had used the counseling center as a hunting ground. He didn’t bother with alcohol or drugs to make his victims pliable because he wanted them to fight back. He needed their fear. He craved it.
Even now, all these weeks later, I still shuddered when I thought about how close I had been to becoming another victim. That night in the park could have ended so badly. I didn’t even want to think about where he would have thrown my body when he was done. In the gulf like some of his victims? In an abandoned tank battery like the others?
“He can’t hurt anyone else ever again,” Hagen said, as if reading my mind. “He’s done. He’s going to be locked up for the rest of his life. No parole. He’ll be in prison until he dies of old age or someone shanks him in a shower.”
“Hagen, you aren’t…?” I couldn’t even bring myself to say the words. He was connected to the underworld. How easy would it be for him to hire someone to kill Kyle inside prison?
“I don’t have to,” he answered matter-of-factly. “That girl? Anna? The Russian?”
I finally understood what he meant. “Oh.”
“Yeah.”
“Was she…? Was her family connected to people like Kostya?”
He shook his head. “No, but it doesn’t matter. She was one of them. You can’t kill a Russian in this city without ending up in the morgue.”
“Unless you’re another Russian,” I guessed quietly.
He made a grunting sound of agreement. “They play by different rules. The crime families in the city,” he added. “They have a different moral code, but it works.”
Not wanting to talk about Kyle or the mafia any longer, I let Hagen tug me out of bed and into the shower. His soapy hands on my body grounded me in the here and now. All the horrible things that had happened were in the past. Today was a new and beautiful day.
“What’s on the schedule?” Hagen plucked a dark blue Henley from his neatly organized drawer.
“I’m baking pies for tomorrow. You’re brining the turkey and fireproofing the backyard since you’re determined to use that fryer.” I shot him an annoyed look and picked out a comfy oversized plaid shirt to go with my black camisole and leggings. He was so excited to drop a turkey in blazing hot peanut oil. I had seen too many YouTube videos of exploding turkeys and boiling oil fires to share his excitement.
“It will be fine,” he promised, giving my bottom a little smack. “What else do we need to prep? Any side dishes?”
“Taylor and Danny are bringing the stuffing and the sweet potato casserole. I don’t know what Kunal is bringing but whatever it is will be delicious.”
Hagen handed me a pair of festive red and green fluffy socks with nonslip grips on the bottom. Even though my double vision had mostly resolved itself as my brain healed, I still had issues with my peripheral and had moments where my balance wasn’t so great. With all the marble and hardwood in his place, he wasn’t taking any chances that I would fall and had stocked up on barre and yoga socks for me.
“His mom should open a restaurant. I’d invest in it.”
It was an interesting idea, and one I thought Kunal might find worth considering. He was still planning to attend medical school, but it might ease the burden he felt if his mother had a business of her own that could support her and his younger siblings. Then again, restaurants were notoriously hard to run and had high rates of failure.
Hagen sat next to me on the bed. He exchanged the socks in my hand for a poinsettia red envelope sealed with a gold star. Wondering where he had been hiding it, I frowned at him. “I thought we were waiting to exchange gifts until tomorrow morning.”
“We are.” He shifted and hauled my feet onto his lap. “This isn’t a Christmas gift.”
“A really early birthday gift?”
“No.” He slid a sock onto my left foot. “Not an early anniversary gift either.”
Curious, I peeled up the sticker sealing the envelope and wit
hdrew the glossy pamphlets and plane tickets. When my gaze settled on the unmistakable green glow of the aurora borealis over the gorgeous Icelandic countryside, I gasped. “John!”
He grinned as he slipped the other sock on my right foot. “I wanted to give you enough time to shop and pack.”
I looked at the date on our plane tickets. “We’re leaving in four days?”
“Surprise.” He leaned forward and kissed me. “You. Me. Iceland. The Northern Lights. New Year’s Eve.”
“John,” I whispered, overcome with emotion. I threw my arms around him and kissed him like my life depended on it. “You are so wonderfully perfect.”
“No, I’m not, but every day I’m with you, I promise I’ll try to be as close to perfect as I can.” He dragged me onto his lap and slid his hand under my camisole to rub the bare skin of my back. Right before he kissed me again, the doorbell rang. He sighed and pressed his forehead to mine. “About that reminder that went off earlier…”
“Yeah?”
“It’s your brother and his girlfriend.”
I blinked. “Ronnie is here?”
“Yes.”
“Downstairs?” Excitement rippled through me. It had been so long since I had last seen my brother and the thought of spending Christmas with him and his girlfriend brought tears to my eyes. “Hagen, you give the best presents.”
He brushed his lips across mine. His hand stroked my back, and he admitted, “Right now, I’m wishing I had put them on a later flight. I want to keep you like this for a little bit longer. Preferably naked,” he added as his hand drifted to my bottom and gave it a squeeze.
“Later,” I promised as I kissed his cheek and wiggled on his lap, feeling the hard outline of his desire against my thigh.
“I might keep you in bed the entire time we’re in Iceland.”