Then and now (Edge Of Retaliation, #3)

by Jewel, Bella

  Do I make up a story, or do I just tell him the damn truth? Just rip it all open and tell him exactly what was going on? I’m tired of drowning in lies and betrayal, in pain and anguish. I just want to feel free, to feel better, to breathe again and to do that in full honesty.

  So, I tell him the truth.

  “Patrick and I broke up, but that’s not why I’m crying. In fact, the need to cry over that hasn’t even arisen which makes me feel like I’m a damned monster because I’ve spent most of my adult life with him. Still, I don’t seem to care that we’re over. If anything, I’m relieved. I’m so damned relieved. He didn’t even care when I got back, looking like I look, he didn’t react or freak out. He was just accusing me of having an affair ...”

  Tatum’s hand tightens around his beer, in frustration, no doubt, but he doesn’t say anything. He just continues to listen.

  “Anyway, he seems to think he can prove I was having an affair because he saw you leaving my apartment, but I honestly don’t care because I haven’t done a single thing with you, and ...”

  “And what?” his voice comes out husky, and thick, and it makes me ache in places I haven’t ached in for a good long time.

  “And I want to,” I say, my voice soft and hesitant.

  I look into his eyes and continue, “I want to, Tatum. I have so many emotions when it comes to you. Frustrated, disappointment, a little anger and hurt, but mostly I have this feeling when I’m around you that I can’t shake. A feeling that hits me deeper than any emotion I’ve ever had, and I can’t get it to stop.”

  He closes his eyes for a moment, exhaling deeply before opening them and saying, “There is not a single thing in this world I want more than you, Joanne.”

  Holy shit.

  I make a gasping sound, and then without thought, my beer lands on the coffee table and his follows quickly behind it. Then he’s reaching for me, and everything in my body is thrumming with anticipation of the feeling I’ve craved for so long with him.

  His big hands curl around my waist and he lifts me as if I weigh absolutely nothing and pulls me onto his lap. I adjust myself so my knees are either side of his hips, and I look down at him. His hands move up to tuck my hair behind my ears as he holds my eyes, the intense feeling between us something I didn’t even know was possible.

  “You’re so fuckin’ beautiful, do you know that?” he murmurs, running his finger down my cheek.

  “I was scared, Tatum,” I whisper, the truth spilling out of me. “When we were in that basement, I was so fucking scared. I didn’t know what to think or feel. But, I was glad you were with me. I didn’t want anyone else there but you.”

  “I would have died before I let that fucker hurt you, and that still stands, do you understand me? I won’t let them get their hands on you.”

  I swallow, and reach up, cupping his cheek. He’s got a few days growth on his chin, and he is still battered and bruised in the face, but he’s without a doubt the most incredible looking man I’ve ever seen. I lean down and brush my lips across his, an electric jolt running through my body upon contact.

  It feels better than I ever imagined it would.

  I want to remain here for the rest of my days, feeling this exact feeling.

  He deepens the kiss, sliding his hand around to the back of my head and pulling me closer with a fistful of my hair. My heart leaps and my stomach feels like it’s filled with a thousand little butterflies. Our tongues dance and our mouths move in perfect sync, the best damned kiss I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing in my life.

  I whimper against his mouth and our movements go from deep, to frantic, like suddenly we can’t get to each other quick enough. His hands move to my hips and slide up my top, running along my skin with such careful precision, it feels amazing, and my skin prickles in response.

  I’m not wholeheartedly sure we should be doing this, but I do know I can’t stop myself. Everything inside me wants this man. Even past the guilt over the fact that I only just left my husband and I’m already seeking another. I can’t seem to make myself feel like that’s a good enough reason to stop.

  Patrick doesn’t want me; he wants the status.

  I’m convenience for him. I’m what makes him picture perfect on the outside.

  If only they knew what he was really like, beneath it all. Cold and insensitive, caring only about himself and his money.

  Tatum’s hands bring me back to now when they left my shirt up and over my head. He tosses the shirt, his lips finding mine again, and I melt into him, coming back to the moment we’re in and relishing in every damn second of it. His lips move away from mine and slide down my neck while his fingers undo my bra.

  His cock is hard beneath me, and with one slow twist of my hips I can feel the impressive length of it against my pussy. It’s big, it’s thick, and it’s ready. My heart does a little flip flop when my bra goes flying and I’m sitting on him in only a pair of shorts. He stops trailing kisses down my neck and leans back, taking me in.

  My cheeks redden.

  “You’re so fuckin’ gorgeous,” he murmurs, his voice husky. “I’ve been thinkin’ about this moment for so fuckin’ long.”

  Oh.

  Lord.

  “Me, too,” I whisper.

  Tatum lowers his head, capturing my nipple in his mouth. He sucks slowly, swirling his tongue around the hard nub. Everything inside me feels like it’s going to explode upon contact, and I have to force myself to refrain from crying out in pure joy. Joy because I haven’t felt pleasure in ... God, such a long damned time.

  I start a slow rotation of my hips against his cock, rubbing my pussy up and down the hard length as he devours my nipple. His pleasured growl lets me know he’s enjoying every second of it. A warm feeling starts to build in my core as I rock my body against his, and with every slide I get closer and closer to orgasm.

  His sucking becomes frantic on my nipple, and he changes between nipping and sucking, until I can’t hold it back any longer. I cry out his name as an orgasm rocks my core, my body trembling in his arms. It feels so fucking good. I bury my face in his neck when he pulls away from my nipple, inhaling his masculine scent and loving every second of how he smells and how warm his skin is.

  “Fuck,” he rasps into my ear, “that was fuckin’ hot.”

  “I want more,” I murmur into his neck, pressing my lips against the skin and kissing the soft spot there.

  “That wasn’t even the warm-up, honey.”

  He moves me quickly, flipping me so I’m on my back on the sofa. Without warning, he takes my shorts and has them and my panties down my legs before I can even gasp. He tosses them aside, leaving me completely naked beneath him. I look up at him and watch as his eyes slowly travel down my body, taking in every inch of me.

  “Your pussy is wet,” he growls. “Fuck, I can’t wait a second more to taste you.”

  He moves down, positioning himself between my legs and bringing them up over his shoulders, then his mouth is on me, hot and soft all at the same time. His tongue glides up the length of my pussy, taking in all my arousal. He lets out a pleased groan and his tongue gets to work, making my entire body come alive in a way I didn’t know it could.

  My moans turn into desperate whimpers as the incredible pleasure begins to build, making my legs tremble and my back arch. I can’t take a single second longer with his tongue doing what it’s doing, swirling and flicking. His lips sucking. His hands holding me down.

  I can’t.

  I can’t take it.

  I scream out his name as an orgasm rips through my body, the second one so much more powerful than the first. I rasp his name and relish in the feeling of his arms flexing and tightening around me as he licks out every single shudder from my body. Only when he’s making me squirm and plead for him to stop licking because I can’t take the intense pleasure a second longer does he come back up for air.

  He pushes up to his hands, looking down at me. “I need to fuck you so damned bad I can’t th
ink straight.”

  “Then do it,” I say, my voice soft and satisfied.

  He stands, his jeans straining against the thick, hard cock that is more than ready to come out. He goes to unbutton them when a knock sounds out at the door. His eyes, which were relaxed and happy, turn wild and angry. He looks at the door like he could set it alight with his very glare.

  “Who. The. Fuck,” he growls.

  I sit up quickly, hurrying around for my clothes as the knocking becomes more frantic. Whoever it is wants to talk to him and they want to do it now. As soon as I’m dressed and he’s turned away, breathing deeply and calming his cock down, he walks over to the door with clenched fists, swinging it open to find Chase, bloodied and battered, standing there.

  I gasp and rush over just as Tatum asks, “What the fuck happened?”

  “Celia’s dad happened.”

  Oh, shit.

  I guess they found out the truth.

  “SIT STILL,” I MURMUR, dabbing at Chase’s eye with a warm cloth filled with salty water.

  He wasn’t in shape to get into another fight after the beating he got when we were locked away. I insisted we go to the hospital, but he refused, and Tatum said to just let him be. He doesn’t want to push him right now, considering everything he’s going through. Chase got himself into this mess, but I do feel for him because it wouldn’t be easy, facing your darkest hour.

  “I don’t need you to clean me up, Jo,” Chase mutters, trying to pull his face away from my hand.

  “No, you don’t, but if you don’t want to go to the hospital, you’re going to stop complaining about it.”

  He huffs but doesn’t move.

  “Goin’ to tell us what happened?” Tatum asks, walking into the room with a beer and handing him one.

  I glance at Tatum and he gives me a look that makes my whole body come alive. It’s a look that says he’s thinking about what we got so close to doing as much as I am. I haven’t stopped thinking about it, or the way he got so broody and angry when Chase came, which shows me just how much he wanted it.

  “What’s there to tell?” Chase growls, his voice low. “I got what you all wanted me to get. I’m sure there’s more to come.”

  “Nobody wanted to get you hurt, bro, they want you to face up to what you did.”

  Chase gives Tatum a look so angry, I pause for a moment and my eyes widen. “What I did?” Chase laughs bitterly. “I didn’t act alone, Tatum. You want me to face up to it now, but you were quick to help me when I told you what happened back then.”

  “I was younger and a lot more fuckin’ stupid back then. You’re my little brother, I thought I was doin’ the right thing. Callie meant nothin' to me, I didn’t know her. It’s different now.”

  “Oh,” he growls, “so you know her and now you want different things?”

  “Yeah, exactly. You want to get angry, you can get angry, but it wasn’t me who got you into that mess back then. Own up to it, Chase. Face what you fuckin’ did and wear it.”

  Chase makes an angry muttering sound under his breath and stands, jerking away from me. “Don’t need my family to be against me too.”

  Tatum walks over, his face tight, and takes Chase by the shirt, pushing him backward until he slams against a nearby wall, his face scrunching in a wince. “Listen to me, little brother,” Tatum hisses, his voice hard, “I am your family. I helped you at a time when you should have taken yourself to the cops. You ran from a situation and I let you do it. Did it because I love you, and I’m doin’ this now because I fuckin’ love you. I’m not always goin’ to bail you out of things, I’m goin’ to make you face them too, because that’s what family does. It isn’t always rainbows; sometimes we face storms together too. You gotta own up to this and you gotta stop blamin’ everyone else for bein’ here right now.”

  Chase grits his teeth and growls, “Let me go.”

  Tatum lets him go and he turns, disappearing out the front door. I know he’s angry, but Tatum is right, he can’t blame the rest of the world for this one. No. This one is on him, and he knows it, he just doesn’t want to face it.

  “I should go, too,” I say my voice soft. “Callie is probably going to want to talk by the sounds of it.”

  Tatum nods, and turns to me, walking over and cupping my jaw, bringing his lips down to mine. “When all this is said and done, we’ll finish what we started tonight. Don’t you doubt it.”

  “Sounds good to me,” I say, accepting another kiss.

  “Night, honey,” he murmurs, letting me go.

  “Night, Tatum.”

  I walk out the front door, closing it behind me and look back at the house with a small smile on my face. I came here not expecting to leave feeling the way I feel right now. I feel as if I’m walking on water, like I’m light as a feather. It’s a nice feeling, after all the pain we’ve experienced in the last month or so.

  It feels good.

  Real.

  “I knew it.”

  I spin around at the sound of a familiar voice, and see Patrick standing by my car out the front of the house. A car I really, really shouldn’t have driven over here, considering I had a few drinks beforehand. I, more than anyone, should know better than that.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Patrick?” I say, rushing over to the car. “If Tatum sees you here, it’ll end badly, you know that, right?”

  “I knew you’d be here. I went to your house and no one was there, I found out where your little boyfriend lives and found my way over here, and sure enough, here you are.”

  “First of all, how in the hell did you find out where he lives?”

  “I’m a powerful man, it doesn’t take much for me to find the information I need, Joanne.”

  “There’s something wrong with you, you know that, right?”

  “The only thing that’s wrong with me is that my wife is cheating on me. You smell of sex, how stupid do you think I am?”

  “We’re separated, last time I checked.”

  “We’re still legally married, you think that doesn’t count?”

  God. He has probably found a way to make it count.

  “What do you want from me, Patrick?”

  “I want you to sign a document, stating you’ll only take what I agree to give you. Then I’ll happily proceed to divorcing you, as requested.”

  “If the document is fair, I’ll happily sign it. If it’s not, I won’t. I’ve been good to you, Patrick. I’ve worked hard, too. I don’t deserve to walk away with nothing.”

  He leans in close, growling, “Everything you have is because of me, Joanne. Everything.”

  “Wrong,” I say, stepping backward. “Everything I have is because I’ve worked hard, too. If the document is fair, I’ll sign it. End of story.”

  “Fuck,” he growls, clenching his fists. “As if you’re not already putting me through enough, now this. What more do you want from me, Joanne? You’ve cheated on me, you’re going to make me look like a fool in the media when you start getting around with your little boyfriend, the least you can do is sign a fucking document.”

  “I said, if it’s fair, I will sign it. I’m not going over this with you, Patrick,” I say calmly.

  Angrily, he steps toward me, fists still clenched.

  “You take another step toward her, I’ll flatten you, fucker.”

  We both look over to see Tatum walking down the path, still shirtless, looking so damned good I’m actually kind of glad Patrick gets to see him like this, in all his glory, looking so fucking good it’s hard to see anything else. I shouldn’t be so spiteful, but hell, I’m tired of being nice to a man that wants nothing but the worst for me.

  “Who the hell are you? Is this your fucking boyfriend, Joanne?” Patrick snaps, but he steps away from me.

  Even he has to know Tatum would literally flatten him if he wanted to.

  He’s far bigger, far stronger.

  “Don’t matter who I am, what matters is that you’re threatening her on my front lawn.
You leave, or I’ll make you fuckin’ leave.”

  “This is how it’s going to be now, is it?” Patrick scoffs to me. “You’re going to get him to fight all your battles?”

  “Just leave, Patrick,” I say, my voice calm even though inside I’m buzzing from the events.

  “I won’t be pushed around, Joanne, by you or him. Sign the document if you know what’s good for you,” Patrick says, glaring at me.

  “You got three seconds to get lost, before I start comin’ a whole lot closer to you,” Tatum says, his voice an angry whip.

  Patrick glares at him. “You’re playing with fire.”

  “One,” Tatum starts counting, his fists clenched.

  “Seriously, Joanne?” Patrick says to me, his face horrified.

  “Two,” Tatum continues.

  “He’s not joking, Patrick, I’d leave,” I warn.

  Patrick gives me another look that screams vengeance, and then turns and storms off down the street. I exhale when he’s out of sight. I’m glad Tatum is defending me, but I won’t lie, the idea of him beating Patrick after the night we’ve had isn’t something I was looking forward to.

  “You good?” Tatum asks.

  Am I good?

  God only knows.

  10

  CALLIE

  “I looked up and she was on the side of the road, she met my eyes, and then she just stepped out. I couldn’t stop, even if I was watching, I wouldn’t have seen it coming. She wanted me to hit her,” I say to Mr. and Mrs. Yates, my hands clasped in front of me, my heart racing a million miles an hour. “I wasn’t drinking, and I wasn’t driving recklessly, I did look away, yes, but only for a second.”

  Tanner gives me an encouraging nod, and I go on.

  “When I was locked away, I made it my mission to find out what really happened to Celia, so when I got out, I started looking into it. I found out about Chase and thought it strange he disappeared. I dug deeper and found out that he was behind it all, but I didn’t know how. We managed to get him to confess and have brought him home to tell the truth,” I go on, not daring to tell them I broke into their house and stole Celia’s laptop to get that information.