by C. M. Allen
Watching Sloane’s parents both break down in front of me at the news of her condition was my final breaking point. “Can we see her?” Her mother questioned.
“As soon as she's in the ICU and we’re finished with the initial exams we need to do, you will be allowed to see her, but only two at a time, okay? I'll send a nurse out to get you as soon as we have her checked out and settled in.”
We all thanked him and then he was gone, and so was I. Heading down the hall without a word, I finally made my way through the maze of hallways and to a backdoor that led into a quiet alley. “Fuck!” I shouted out as I hit my fists against the wall, finally able to release all these bottled up emotions that had been strangling me for release. Crouching down against a wall, I dropped my head into my battered, and probably broken hands, and bawled like a fucking baby. Hearing a door slam shut, I looked up to see Dalton, Slade, and Riker, walking towards me. “None of that bullshit man, we’re here for you, however you need us, you know that,” Dalton said, pulling me up off of the ground and into a hug.
As all of them gave me words of encouragement, we were interpreted by the door slamming again a few minutes later. “Archer, you can go see her now.” Reyna informed me.
Like someone had just told me my life sentence in this jail of hell was over, I bolted past everyone and practically ran to her.
Walking into the ICU, I spotted her parents just coming out. “How is she?”
“She's resting comfortably. Talk to her, let her know you’re here for her, Archer.” Sloane’s mother said, wiping away her own tears as she patted my cheek before kissing it.
“I will.” I assured them as they walked away and I stood frozen, just staring at her fragile form lying in the bed. She looks so small and innocent.
“Let her hear your voice.” A nurse said, jolting me out of my stunned state. “It helps when they know the one’s they love are around them.”
“Thank you.” I walked into the glass room, kissing her on the forehead before I took the seat beside her. Taking her hand in mine, I kissed it as well. “Baby, you can't leave me here all alone. I can't live without you here with me, in my arms, and by my side where you belong.” I breathed in a heavy breath. “I'll never forgive myself for letting him come into your life and trying to steal it, never. If I had just pulled my head out of my ass and treated you like the heaven-sent woman you are, then none of this would have happened to you. I swear to you right here and right now that if God gives you a second chance in this life and you come back to me, I will never go a day without you knowing just how much I love and treasure you, never, not one day, I promise you, baby. Just come back to me. Give me the chance to show you how much I’ll love you for the rest of your life. Please, I'm begging you.” I bent down, putting my forehead in her hand, just to be able to feel her touch on my skin.
CHAPTER
38
Sloane
Running in the cold darkness is all I seemed to be doing on repeat. Who was I running from, or to? Then I heard his voice.
Archer.
But where? Where was he and why couldn't I see him. He sounded like he was in pain and all I wanted to do was make him feel better, but how could I when I couldn't find him in all this darkness. “Archer!” I cried out in hopes that he’d call out and tell me where he was, but nothing came. Then suddenly a blinding light shined in my eyes. “Archer, is that you?” I asked tentatively, walking towards the beautiful bright light that felt so warm on my skin. “Archer?”
“Don't leave me baby. Please, you can't leave me.”
I turned around and faced the direction his voice was coming from. “I'm not leaving you Archer; I can't find you! Help me find you!” I yelled back in hopes that he’d somehow appear before me, but he didn't, and I couldn't hear his voice anymore. I was back in the cold pit of darkness once again, a prisoner in a place I couldn’t see. Again, a beautiful warm light shined down on me and I waited to hear his voice again, but I don't. I heard another man's voice telling me not to give up and fight, fight for my life. My life? I thought to myself, confused
Am I dead?
But, how?
I needed Archer. I needed him to tell me that this was all just a nightmare and we were in his bed with his arms tightly around me. Where was he? Where did he go? And then the light disappeared once again. “Sloane, baby, I need you to come back to me.” I heard him say again, and I felt relieved to hear his voice again, and even more determined to find him this time.
“Archer!” I called out once again, feeling a pain I'd never felt before run through my body before my eyes began to sting with a different light shining in them this time. It wasn’t warm like the last one, just bright. “Archer?” I called out, hearing that my voice had now become scratchy sounding.
“Oh my God! Yes, that's it’s baby, come back to me. Open your eyes and see me, Sloane. Come on baby you can do it.” I heard him say as I tried opening my eyes again. “That's it, there she is,” he said, kissing my forehead and hand. “You came back to me thank God you came back.” He chanted, and I could feel his wet tears on my skin.
“Trying to talk, I finally got out. “W-what happened to m-me Archer?”
Kissing my hand again, he leaned over, pushing a button on my side. “I'll tell you soon, but we need the doctor to come in and make sure that you're okay right now.”
Just as he finished saying that, the door opened and in came an older gray-haired man in a doctor's coat. “Well, there she is, glad you could join us again, Sloane. I'm Dr. Sullivan.” As he talked to me, his voice registered as familiar to me. “How are you feeling?” He asked, picking up a chart at the foot of my bed.
“L-like I've been hit by a M-Mack truck. What happened to me?”
Holding a cup of ice chips, he lifted a spoon full to my mouth. “Let them melt in your mouth, it will help with your throat.” Handing the cup to Archer’s outstretched hand, they shared a look of concern. “What's the last thing you remember, Sloane?”
Thinking hard, Janessa’s lifeless body popped into my head. “Oh God, Janessa. Is she... is she okay?” I asked, looking back and forth between Archer and the doctor.
“I'm so sorry baby, but she didn't make it.”
Tears welled up in my eyes and fell over at the thought of my friend dead. “No.” I said as I started to cry.
Wrapping me up in his arms as best as he could with all these wires, they had hooked up to me, Archer did what he could to comfort me. “Shh, I'm so sorry Sloane, so sorry.”
The doctor interrupting us asked. “Do you remember what happened to you, Sloane?”
Thinking again for a moment. “I remembered that Jared was there, and I remembered being very scared and then it was as if all my fear just simply disappeared.”
“I'm afraid he slit your wrists and injected you with the drug, ecstasy.” Archer said, drawing wide eyes from me.
Looking down at both wrists, that were wrapped in gauze, I asked. “What? Oh my God. Is he? Did you catch him?”
“He's gone, Sloane. He killed himself the same way he tried to kill you and take you with him.” Archer informed me. But there was a look in his eyes that said that there was more to the story than what he’d told me.
Suddenly a memory slammed into me. “It... it was Logan, and Margo they were the ones killing those women. Jared said they made snuff films... oh God!” I said with a gasp, covering my mouth.
Stroking my hair, Archer asked. “What is it baby, what were you going to say?”
“I remember him telling me that they wanted to do that w-with Janessa and I. That was the real reason he had asked me out.” I looked up at Archer. “He said he had saved me from them because he loved me too much to let them kill me.” I sobbed. “He did it too, he killed like they did, he told me that he had.”
Suddenly a beeping noise sounded in the room. “Okay, I think that's enough of this talk, your heart rate is getting way too high, so I'm going to give you a light sedative to calm you down. We just got you
back, we don't want to lose you again.” The doctor said before he injected a needle into my IV, causing me to become more relaxed.
“Just take it easy baby, and concentrate on getting better, okay. I love you.” Hearing a knock on the glass door, we all looked to see my parents on the other side. “I'm going to step out and give you a moment with your parents.” Archer said, kissing my forehead before disappearing down the hall.
“My, little girl. How are you feeling?” My mom asked as she leaned down and kissed my cheek.
“You sure scared the hell out of us, baby girl.” My dad added, kissing my forehead.
“I'm feeling okay, but like I got the crap kicked out of me.”
“Well, I know that young man who just left the room is as relieved as we are that you're awake and talking. He never left your side for the past three days, honey.” My mom informed me.
“I’ve been here three days?” I asked in disbelief.
“Yes. I've never seen a man so wracked with worry. I'd say you saved that man's life by waking up. He wouldn't leave your side for nothing. Luckily, he's got some good friends who brought him food and a change of clothes every day. He's a good man, baby girl.” My dad told me.
“I know he is.”
The doctor spoke up as a nurse entered the room. “All right, we need to run a few tests on her, so I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room for a little while. If everything comes back clear on the toxicology report, we’ll be moving her downstairs into a private room, where you can all see her again. I should have those answers for you in about an hour.”
Kissing my forehead again, my parents left.
After all my tests came back clean, I was moved down a few floors into a regular room. Brooke, Reyna, and McKenzie came in first and chatted with me about how worried they all were about me and how relieved they were that I was going to be okay. Once they had left the room, my next visitor was, Gage, who profusely apologized over and over again until he was blue in the face for not being there to stop Logan from taking me; to which I assured him that it was not his fault and that Logan had fooled us all into thinking he was a good guy. After my parents came and went, the one man I had wanted to see the most finally came in with Dalton, Slade, and Riker. I thanked Dalton for being the one to know what to do in order to save my life. Thanks to him being a medic in the military he knew exactly what to do to stop the bleeding and give me a fighting chance at living. After Dalton, Slade, and Riker left, it was just the two of us. Kissing me on the lips, Archer said, “I love you so much, you know that?”
“I do. My parents told me how you never left my side for a minute. I can't tell you how much that means to me.”
“No other place I belonged. I only felt alive when I was with you. You are the air that keeps me breathing, Sloane.” Pausing for a moment, he glanced down, then back up with glassy eyes. “I don’t know what I would have done if I never felt your skin on mine again. Or seen your beautiful smile or heard your infectious laugh. Feel the way your body moves with mine when we make love.”
Placing my finger over his lips, I moved my hands to his cheeks, pulling him in for a kiss. “You're never going to have to worry about that because I'm here with you now, and I'm not going anywhere. I love you too Archer, so very much.” I told him as I kissed him again.
IT HAD BEEN TWO WEEKS now since I was released from the hospital and Archer still acted as though I was just released yesterday. He had moved me in with him and would hear no arguments about it. He was by my side when we had to go to Janessa’s funeral, comforting me the best he could. And he was moving full steam ahead with our lives together and I couldn't say that I didn't love every second of this new leaf he had turned over with our relationship. But he'd been denying me every night since, saying I needed time to heal before we could make love again. But I’d been fully healed now for days, and him denying me was going to stop tonight. Especially when he saw what I had planned for him. The poor bastard, he won't be able to help himself. After getting everything set, I just waited for him to get home. Hearing the elevator doors open and shut, I knew he was here. “Baby!” He called out, but I stayed silent and waited. “Sloane!”
Finally putting the worry I heard in his voice to rest, I called out. “In the bedroom!”
Hearing him approach, the door opened with him wearing a shocked expression on his face. “What the fucking hell are you wearing, woman?”
Standing in a room full of lit candles, wearing a black lace bra that cupped my breasts (not covered them) so they were propped up and waiting for his mouth. Black laced see through crotch-less panties with a black lace garter belt attached to black stockings that trailed down to the four-inch black fuck me heels I was wearing. My make-up and hair were done to perfection and his favorite vanilla scent was sprayed on all his favorite parts of my body; he wasn’t turning me down tonight by the look in his eyes. “Welcome home, sweetie,” I said as I approached him with a sway in my hips that I knew would hypnotize him to take me... hard, just like I wanted and needed him to. “How was your day?”
“Well, I can tell you that it just got a whole hell of a lot better now, that's for sure. You look... you look like a fucking wet dream, you're beautiful, baby, but...”
Closing in on him before he could finish the sentence I didn't want to hear, I pressed a finger to his lips, silencing him. “No more denying me, Archer. I'm fine. I need this, and I know you do, too. Can you really resist what's sitting on a silver platter right in front of you, just waiting for you to take it?”
Just as the last words left my mouth, I found myself swinging around and pinned up against the door with Archer’s mouth crushed to mine in a feverish kiss that neither one of us could get enough of. “Is this what you need, baby? My mouth on you? My cock inside of you, making you come over and over again until I say you've had enough. Is that what you want?”
“Yes. God, yes.” I said on a moan as his mouth kissed and bit my neck as he trailed his mouth down over my aching breast, pulling each one into his mouth and sucking them until it was almost painful. “Yes! More. I need more of you, Archer.”
Standing up, he towered over me, and by the dark look in his eyes, my Dom had come back; just like I needed him to tonight. Flipping me around so my face was against the door, Archer grabbed a handful of my hair and tugged my head back and to the side, and it caused shivers of pain to run over my scalp from his rough touch.
Just the way I love it, and he knows it.
“Are you telling me how to please you, my pet?” He questioned me with a hard slap to my ass.
“N-no.”
“That's good because I'm the only one who knows what your body needs and how to give it to you, right?” He breathed into my ear before biting it and slapping me hard on my ass again, causing me to moan on a gasp.
“Y-yes.”
“Spread those sexy legs of yours, baby.” He ordered me as he pulled my hips towards him, causing me to lean on the wall more for support. Spreading them wide like I knew he liked them, I felt his fingers slide through my slick folds. “God, I love how you're always so wet for me. And crotch-less panties? You're tempting the beast inside of me Sloane, and I won't be able to contain him.
“I don't want you to Archer, I want you to give me everything that’s inside of you tonight.”
Hearing him growl, he asked. “Are you sure about this, Sloane?”
I moved my head in his grip so he could see my face when I told him my answer. “Yes.”
Quickly releasing my hair, he stepped back. “Turn around.” Doing as he'd ordered, he said, “Go lay in the center of my bed and spread your legs open wide and place your hands above your head.” After I’d gone to the room as he'd told me to, moments later he secured my hands and feet before standing at the foot of the bed, just staring at my body with desire dancing in his dark gaze. Walking up the side of the bed, he glided his finger up my body; just missing all the parts he knew craved his touch. “This outfit you've worn for me is beautiful,
but I'm afraid it still hides too much of what's mine from me.” Reaching into his nightstand, he pulled out an excessively large, shiny knife. “Do you trust me, Sloane?”
I nodded my head. “Yes, I do.”
Slipping the knife between my breasts, he cut my bra off with a flick of his wrist. Using the tip of the knife, he circled it around both nipples before skating it down over my body, reaching my panties. With two quick cuts, they too disappeared. Looking down at me, he said, “The garter belt can stay, I love how it frames my pussy too much to destroy it.” Before I even knew what's happening, Archer had buried his face between my legs as he sucked and bit his way to giving me my first of what I expected would be many orgasms tonight. As he continued to suck on my bundle of nerves, I cried out his name as I came. After he drew out two more orgasms from me, he finally came up for air. “That feel good, baby?”
“God, yes.” I answered between panting breaths. Reaching up, he took both of my nipples between his fingers and began to squeeze them hard enough to cause pain, but not hard enough that I didn't feel the pleasure it caused straight to my core. “Oh, yes!” I cried out, as somehow, I came again from him simply playing with my nipples. That's definitely a new one for me. I thought to myself.
“I'm going to fuck you so hard now, Sloane.” He warned me as he untied my legs, kissing the inside of each one before kissing my heated center and running his tongue over it once again, causing my body to jump in response. “So fucking responsive to my touch. I can't tell you how hard that gets me every time, but I can tell you that you're about to feel it,” he informed me only seconds before he filled me to the hilt and began pounding in and out of me at a relenting pace that set me on edge for another orgasm. Pulling out, he flipped me over and moved under me, releasing my wrists. “Ride me, baby.” Lining him up with my opening, I sunk down onto his shaft as it filled and stretched me once again.