“Her grandfather was Matteo Martinelli, who killed his own father Leonardo Martinelli to take over the family. If you thought Leonardo was viscious, his son was three times as viscious. And to think we actually spared that brat.” He muttered something else I couldn’t quite make out before continuing. “His daughter, Joslyn’s mother, wanted nothing to do with that life, so much so she married outside of the family to get away from that, only she didn’t stray too far from her roots. Joslyn’s father is head of a motorcycle gang. From what we’ve been able to gather, Joslyn killed them both in an attempt to gain control over both. She planned to merge the two into some sort of fucked up empire but her father figured out what she’d done. He’d been after her ever since.”
“Joslyn Martinelli,” I whispered, testing the name on my tongue. She wouldn’t have taken on her father’s name because no matter who he was, the Martinelli name carried the most weight.
“That’s right. So, I’m guessing you understand what that means. That apple hasn’t fallen far enough from the tree.”
I considered his words, but everything within me wanted to disagree with him. She was different. She had to be. I didn’t want to believe my wolf was wrong about her but with everything Shadow was saying, I couldn’t help but wonder if that were the case. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s wolf led them astray.
“So what are you going to do about this?”
“Talk to her.” It was all I could say. Until I heard her side of the story and figured out what my wolf saw in her, there was nothing else I could do. I only hoped Shadow was wrong about her. Otherwise, I was fucked.
Chapter Six
Joslyn
“Joslyn.”
I hear her call and it’s like torture to my heart. Her voice is sweet, loving and kind, everything I’m not and I want so badly to talk to her, to tell her I’m okay when I know I’m anything but. Still, I want to try, if for no other reason but to be in her presence again.
I open my eyes and I’m back in my room in my father’s home. Sunlight is peeking through the slits of my shades, shedding its warmth on me but I don’t feel it. Instead, I feel cold and empty, like some vital part of me was missing. I can feel the emptiness within me swell as I push myself up to sit, my back ramrod straight as I glance about the space. The room was as I’d left it - the walls painted a sterile white with no photos or posters to decorate it. Besides my bed, there was no other furniture in sight and I preferred it that way. Outside of sleep, I had no use for the space.
“Joslyn.”
I muttered a curse as I slid from the bed, expecting my feet to absorb the chill of the linoleum as they made contact with the floor. When they didn’t, I frowned. That cold had always given me the jolt I needed to wake up. More than that, it made me feel alive. In the world I grew up in, it was easy to imagine someone slipping into my room late at night and planting a bullet in my skull. I didn’t believe in heaven and I didn’t believe in hell either. I believed our souls walked amongst the living, never to be heard again, and that cold let me know I wasn’t a ghost.
I frowned as I stood, feeling none of the cold air that pressed into my room through the open window. Maybe I was dead, but it didn’t feel like it to me. Instead, it felt like I was outside of my body, though there was no indication that could be the case.
“Joslyn.”
“I’m coming, Momma,” I said, exiting the room and walking down a long corridor toward the sound of her voice.
No matter how long I walked, I couldn’t get anywhere near her. It was if the length of the corridor grew the more I walked. Trepidation slid through me as I quickened my steps. Something was wrong. I could feel it in the air surrounding me, like a force that kept me in place, even as I walked.
Her calls for me became more urgent and soon I was running down the corridor, desperate to get to her, until finally I was outside of her room.
“Joslyn, please,” she whined, but it sounded off.
Her voice was little more than a croak as I slid open the door to see her lying there on her bed in a pool of her own blood. She reached for me but I was frozen in place. I couldn’t go to her. My limbs wouldn’t obey my commands, but more than that, I had no desire to be closer to her death. Instead, I turned and ran from the room with her screaming behind me, calling for me to save her.
***
I jerked myself awake so violently I nearly toppled off the bed.
“Are you okay?” A masculine voice called to me, much closer than I’d expected.
Gathering myself, I sat up straight and glanced over to my side. Storm was seated in a chair beside the bed, his dark eyes piercing me with a look of concern.
I let out the breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding before responding. “I’m fine. Just a bad dream.”
He gave me a skeptical look before offering a smile. “How’s your head?”
“Better,” I responded automatically, glancing about the room. “Where am I?”
“Our home.” His response was simple, as if he’d expected it to be enough.
I cut him a questioning stare.
“Those thugs from the bar managed to knock you out and were dragging you away when I caught up to them. My wolf managed to scare them off but not before I was shot.”
“You were shot?” I said, looking him over for wounds. He seemed pretty okay for someone who’d just taken a bullet.
My eyes glanced over the skin of his bare chest and stomach, landing on a particular nasty scar just beneath his belly button that wasn’t there before.
I frowned as I looked at it. He’d taken a bullet for me, someone he knew next to nothing about and I couldn’t help the flood of emotion that enveloped me at that moment. On one hand, I was grateful to still be alive, thanks to him. On the other, I’d managed to pull him into my world, effectively putting a target on his head and for what? He didn’t owe me anything.
“I’m sorry,” I murmured, lowering my gaze to my lap.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll heal. But I do have some questions for you.”
Of course he did. I only hoped they were questions I could answer without putting him and his pack in even more danger.
“Ash had one of his guys look you up. He discovered some very interesting things.”
“Like what?” I asked, perhaps a bit too hostile.
He raised his hands in the air in mock surrender. “I’m not sure how true any of it is but apparently you’re some sort of mafia princess with a father whose equally connected with his motorcycle club. That’s a strange combination if you ask me, but a dangerous one. My brother’s contact seems to believe you killed your mother and grandfather before taking off.”
Of course. My father made sure he wouldn’t be implicated in their deaths by framing me, though it did surprise me just how much he’d been willing to divulge. Normally, my father was a very private man, one who liked to take care of things on his own. But with me, he wouldn’t take any chances. As far as he was concerned, anyone who could return my dead body back to him would be properly rewarded.
I wondered briefly if I should correct him. Not that it mattered. He didn’t know me well enough to know if I’d be telling the truth or simply telling him what I wanted him to hear. But the fact he’d taken a bullet for me had me giving my side of the story anyway.
He listened intently as I explained everything I knew - from my father’s brutal treatment of my mother to his multiple affairs. I left nothing out, including my own brush ins with the law and the men I’d buried around Alamogordo.
By the time I was finished, tears were streaming from my eyes, but I didn’t move to wipe them away. Instead, I kept my gaze focused on my lap, waiting for him to say something, anything, even if that meant him sending me away.
He stood from his seat and stepped toward me before sitting beside me. Without a word, he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him as I cried, letting out every emotion I’d held on to for so long.
I must’ve
fallen asleep in his arms because I woke up some time later surrounded by heat. His arms were wrapped around my shoulders and my head was on his chest. I could feel the gentle rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek as he slumbered. Soft snores left his lips with each breath, not loud enough to be a nuisance but enough I knew he was in a deep sleep.
I looked up at him. His face was peaceful, serene, and it made him look even more devilishly handsome from the curve of his strong nose to his full lips. I licked my lips, thinking back on the kiss we’d shared at the parlor and instantly regretted it when almost immediately I felt heat pooling between my thighs. After what I’d just been through, sex should have been the furthest thing from my mind but laying there with him, I couldn’t think of anything but.
I allowed my hand to glance across the smooth surface of his chest, using my fingertips to trace the intricate lines and swirls of the tattoo there. His muscles rippled and tensed beneath my touch and I could tell he must have sensed my arousal when he grumbled sleepily before rolling me over onto my back. Before I could react, he’d pulled himself on top of me, settling himself between my legs and his lips captured mine in a kiss so incredibly hot it stole my breath.
Chapter Seven
Storm
Kissing Joslyn felt natural to me, like it was something I was made to do. Even as I thought it, my wolf grumbled his approval, spurring me to deepen the kiss. Our mouth moved in unison as I settle myself between her thighs, allowing my hardness to rub up against her core. When she opened her mouth to let out a groan of pleasure, I took full advantage, slipping my tongue between her parted lips. And the moment I did, the taste of her exploded on my tongue, sending every nerve ending in my body into overdrive. I hooked his arm around her legs, opening her up and grinding my erection into her core as I kissed her, taking everything she offered.
She whimpered, soft and vulnerable, compliant. And I loved every second of it. This strong woman who’d managed to put a beating on two large men before being knocked unconscious had no problem letting me lead, letting me take control and it had my wolf reveling in her submission. She fit me perfectly, her body molding into mine as she arched her hips forward trying to keep pressure on a part of her that came to life beneath my assault. She was fire, burning every part of me as she returned the kiss with the same amount of want and need I felt at that moment and it was too much, yet not enough.
I slid my hand down to palm her breast. Her nipple pebbled beneath my touch and she moaned, a sound that was music to my ears, as I continued to slide my palm against the tender bud over the thin fabric of her shirt. She moaned against my lips. Fuck she was responsive. She tensed and relaxed against me, her body demanding the sweet torture while she searched for release.
I tore my mouth away from hers and peppered kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and along her shoulders. Once I’d met the meaty part of her should, I sucked in the tender flesh, hard enough to create a bruise, but tender enough she melted, shivering as sensation rippled through her.
I slid my hand beneath her pants, seeking the prize beneath it and I wasn’t disappointed. As I’d expected, she was hot, wet, and ready to take anything I would give her but I wanted her pleasure first. I wanted her writhing against me, demanding her pleasure and she didn’t’ disappoint. She reached down, guiding my hand toward her center, telling me how to pleasure her with her actions. And I obliged, parting her flesh and allowing my fingers to draw circles around her clit. I increased the pressure with every stroke until she was whimpering, bucking her hips upward until her whimpers turned into full-blown moans. Pride swelled within me and I couldn’t imagine a more perfect sound. That was until seconds later, her trembling turned into something far more violent as she screamed her release.
I continued to stroke her, wanting to milk every last bit of pleasure from her until she fell slack on the bed, her body still trembling as I reached for the button of my jeans. There was nothing I wanted more than to be inside this woman but when I looked into her eyes, I saw something there I hadn’t expected. She was afraid. Of what? I wasn’t certain, but whatever it was had her biting her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood.
With a heavy breath, I rolled off of her, pulling her toward me to hold her.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered against my chest, but there was nothing for her to be sorry about. I was the issue. I should never have allowed my wolf to control the situation and that thought pained me more than anything. If I’d hurt her, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.
Before I could say anything to her, someone knocked on the door. By the scent, I could tell it was Ash.
“I’ll be right there,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t just walk in. Returning my attention to Joslyn, I placed a kiss on her forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
Out in the living room, Shadow was pacing the room as he normally did when he was anxious about something and I knew whatever it was couldn’t be good. I claimed my normal seat on the recliner next to the sofa and propped my feet upon the coffee table. I expected Shadow to tear into me the moment I was seated, but he didn’t even look at me. Instead, it was Ash who began speaking.
“Did you talk to her about…”
“I did,” I responded, already knowing what he was asking. “And she didn’t do it. Her father killed them and framed her for their murders. That’s why there is a huge bounty on her head.”
Ash seemed to consider this for a moment before he said, “It makes sense. As it stands, she’s probably the only one who knows what truly happened which would make her a liability.”
“If she’s telling the truth,” Shadow interjected coldly.
I cut him a stare that was both menacing and threatening and he met my gaze with equal intensity. He wouldn’t back down and I expected no less from him. Still, I wished he’d at least consider giving her the benefit of the doubt.
“I believe her,” I said, leaning back in my chair and folding my hands behind my head.
“Of course you do,” he spat out. “And anyone with half a fucking brain can see why.”
I scoffed at the implication but didn’t give him the satisfaction of a response. Instead, I returned my attention to Ash. “Is that all you called me out here for?”
Ash shook his head, “Actually, I called you out here because the vamps need our help. They’re having an issue dealing with one of their own.”
“And what the fuck do they think we can do about it?” Fucking vampers. As if I didn’t have enough to deal with on my own, I had to be pulled into their internal battles. “Why would we help them?”
“Because we need the fucking truce,” Shadow bellowed, this time coming to a halt before me. His aggressive stance was triggering my wolf to fight but I tampered that down. I didn’t need a fight with my brother added to the chaos that already seemed to surround us. “How long do you think it would take HU to discover there are wolves in the area? How long before they come busting down our doors. Without the help of other supernaturals, our pack is lost.”
I wanted to argue with him, but he was right. As it stood, we’d already lost a large chunk of our pack over the years and if we continued to be targeted, there would be none of us left. I thought about the broken families surrounding us, depending on us to keep them safe. They’d lost everything they had in the last battle and we still haven’t recovered from it. Throwing them into another battle unprepared would completely wipe us out and I couldn’t allow that to happen, especially when there were women and children depending on us for their safety.
“What’s going on with them?” I asked.
“I’ll explain on our way out,” Shadow said, collecting the keys to his SUV from the coffee table. “Ash, you stay here and keep an eye on that girl.”
I stood from my seat and followed Shadow toward the front door. “And don’t let her leave,” I tossed out before exiting the home.
Chapter Eight
Ash
Babysitting hadn’t been part of my plans for the day but w
ith Storm and Shadow taking off to help the vampires, I was left with no choice. Besides, it would give me enough to time to sort through the conflicting stories I’d heard in the past twenty-four hours.
I walked up to her room and knocked on the door. At first, she didn’t respond, but after a few more knocks, she opened the door and I was immediately met with a sight I hadn’t expected. The first time I laid eyes on her, she was unconscious with a large knot on her head. I hadn’t really thought to pay much attention to her in that condition. But now, as I looked at her, fresh out of the shower in a thin cotton shirt that clung to her dampened skin, and dark, pink-streaked hair that flowed in damp waves down her back, I could see why Storm’s wolf was calling to her. Hell, I could feel my own wolf sliding against my skin, wanting to be closer to her as she stared at me with those big brown eyes.
“Did you want something?” she asked, amused, her lips curling into a gentle smirk.
Suddenly embarrassed, I took a step away from the door and ran my fingers through my hair. “I was just wondering if I could speak to you for a moment.”
“Sure. Just let me put some pants on and I’ll be right out.”
She closed the door and I could hear her fumbling around on the opposite side of the door. Moments later she returned in the same pair of blue jeans she’d worn the day we brought her here.
“Do you mind if we go for a walk? I’ve been couped up in this house all day and could use some fresh air,” she said, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her.
I thought about that for a moment. Knowing Storm as I did, I knew he wouldn’t be comfortable with me taking her out of the house but a walk around the property wouldn’t hurt anything. If I were honest, I was beginning to feel the effects of being couped up in the house myself and I could tell my wolf was feeling the same way. He perked up at the idea of getting outside and I was certain that wasn’t the only thing that excited him.
Save Me Page 4