by Tracey Jukes
“That side of me you saw tonight, Esme, does it make you want to run?”
I move one of my hands from the wall and guide it between us, seeking his cock. He has removed his shorts and is fully naked now. As I rub my thumb over the tip of his dick, smoothing around the bead of precum, he groans.
“Does it look like I want to run, Thunder?”
Hearing me call him by his cage name must have flicked a switch inside of him as he slams my hand back to the wall, spreads my legs apart, and then slides straight into me. He wraps my hair around his fist and starts thrusting in and out of me painfully fast. He pulls my hair, which pulls my head back, and kisses the side of my neck. It feels amazing, but then he starts to slow down, and I’m panting for more.
“Don’t stop Reid. Give me everything you have and give it to me now.”
I don’t know what’s come over me, but I can’t have him slowing down. I was just reaching a mind-blowing orgasm when he slowed. He has picked his pace back up and he’s drilling into me like a jackhammer.
“Jesus, Esme. You’re so fuckin’ amazing.”
He reaches around to my clit and starts rubbing in slow, delicious circles. He picks up the pace and then grunts. God, is it sexy. It tips me right over the edge, and I come so hard my legs give out from under me, and Reid has to hold me up.
“I got you. I got you.” He wraps his hard, warm body around mine and caresses my hair until I can feel my legs again.
We get cleaned up, and then he carries me back to the bench. That’s when I notice the gash on his cheek is bleeding again. I brush my thumb gently around it trying to clean away the blood, but there’s too much of it. He hands me a first aid pack from his bag, and I tend to his cut carefully.
“Thank you,” he says softly, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me into him to rest his head against my stomach. “We need to get out of here. They will be locking up.”
I pull back a little, and he goes to reach for me, but I’m too quick for him. I grab my clothes and rush to get them on. We need to leave. It all seems real quiet outside, so I guess everyone has gone by now, and I don’t like the idea of being locked in here. Reid starts to dress too, when someone bangs on the door, startling me, I let out a squeal.
“Thunder, we’re locking down now. Time’s up.”
“Come on, princess. Let’s get you home.”
He grabs his bag, and my hand and we head on out. We make our way down the corridor the way we came, but we stop outside an open door where a guy is stuffing money in a bag. He’s flanked by two burly-looking guys.
“Hey, Reid, great fight tonight, although….”
“Don’t say it. I know I nearly fucked up out there. I can assure you it won’t happen again. Dave.” I start to walk out of the room and leave them to it, but I’m soon pulled back.
“Not me that has to worry, dude, but I’m guessing the reason is right here. Nice to meet you...?”
Oh, he’s talking to me.
“I’m Esme. Nice to meet you, Dave.” He takes my hand and kisses it. Reid growls beside me, and I laugh. Dave gives him his cash, and then we leave.
Outside, the air is now cool and I didn’t bring a coat. As my ride has left already, I’m wondering how long before a cab comes. The neighborhood here isn’t exactly somewhere you want to be waiting around. Reid walks us toward a bike, and then he pulls out his helmet from his bag and passes it to me.
“You never been on a bike before?” he says when I hesitate to take it from him.
I shake my head at him, while lost for words. He looks hot as fuck on this bike. I have always had a fear of bikes and just stand there staring at it. He must sense my anxiety because he pulls me toward him slowly and whispers in my ear, “Trust me.”
I nod and follow his instructions.
“Put your foot on the bar and lift your right leg over the seat.” His hand is under my thigh, gently lifting my leg, and it feels so sensual. He knows what he’s doing to me. His fingertips run up and down my leg, sparking sensations. He’s then behind me, telling me to shuffle forward, but all I feel is his manhood pushing into my ass. How much longer does he think I’ll resist?
“I think I got it, now can we get going, because my restraint for you is non-existent.”
“You got it, princess.” And he’s on his bike so fast I missed it. “Get your ass up here. I need that body against mine.”
I slide forward until my front melds into his back. He sighs when I do this and then tells me how good it feels having my arms wrapped around his waist.
“Having your arms wrapped around me on my bike is the best feeling ever. It feels right.”
We finally arrive back at the apartment complex and pull into the underground garage, but we don’t park where all the other cars are. We pull into a secure area on the far side which has its own doors. I gasp when we pull in. There is one sports car, two four-wheel drives, and a Harley Davidson.
Reid turns off the bike and helps me off. “You okay there?”
I look at him, unsure of what to say. I open my mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.
“They’re not all mine. One of the trucks and the Harley is Ash’s. We share this garage.”
“Does Ash live in the apartments too?
“Yeah. We live on the same floor. There are only our two apartments on my floor, so it’s pretty quiet up there, just how we like it—unless it’s us partying, that is.”
We walk out and over to the lift, and Reid presses the button for his floor once we’re inside.
“So, we’re going to your apartment then?”
He grips my hand and lifts it to his lips, kissing it gently. “I just wanna have you near me tonight, Esme. No funny business. I just need you close. Can we do that?”
I smile and squeeze his hand. “Sure, Reid. We can have a quiet night in.”
We spend some of the night cuddling on the sofa, talking about random stuff.
“Tell me, princess, what’s your job like?” I never expected this type of conversation from him.
“I love my job. Ruby is real good to me and very understanding. You’d like her.”
He kisses my head. “That’s good to hear. So, have you traveled far in your job?
“No, not really. I always turned it down because my parents disagreed with my job choice. I think they wanted me to be a doctor or something.”
We both chuckled at that thought.
“What about you? What was your dream job?”
“It’s never crossed my mind to do any other job. Being at the gym is somewhere I have been since I was fifteen, so I thought, why not work there too?”
The conversation continues, and we find out more about one another before we fall into bed at about two a.m.
I give up trying to sleep for more than an hour at a time eventually. Seven a.m. So much for having a Sunday sleep in.
I go to make some coffee, but Reid doesn’t have any, and damn, I need a coffee fix first thing in the morning. I know I don’t have any at my apartment as I need to get groceries, so I run out to the coffee shop. I look at Reid from the bedroom door and decide to leave him a note if he does wake. Previous incidents have proved exactly how he will react if he can’t find me, and it doesn’t bear thinking about.
The early morning air is warm, and it’s starting to look like it might be a beautiful day. I find myself daydreaming about what we can do together today, when I slam into someone.
“Dumb bitch. Look where you’re fucking going.”
I’m floored. I mean, jeez, it was an accident, and who the hell is he to speak to me like that? I look at the guy in question and realize there are three of them: two young guys and a young girl. None of them can be older than nineteen or twenty. They start to walk away, but I seem to have gained some courage lately, and I let them have it.
“Really? Do you always speak to people with such disgust? It was an accident. Get over yourself.”
They all stop and turn, and the taller of the two
guys walks back toward me. The look on his face has me thinking what the hell have I done? I’m alone, and there are three of them. He walks right up to me, and it’s then I notice a nasty scar on his face. He gets right in my face and says, “Listen, bitch, look where you’re going in future and keep your trashy mouth shut, you hear me?”
I’m too scared to speak. The situation feels really wrong. The three of them have now gone, but my head is having some sort of party of its own, and my chest has gone real tight. I think I’m having a panic attack again. There is so much going on, and I feel like it’s going to burst. I know this is something to do with those guys, but why?
I manage to calm myself down and my head returns to normal. I’m outside the coffee shop, so I take a breath and go inside to order my usual vanilla latte and an Americano for Reid. I sit down while I’m waiting. I must have slipped into a daze or something because I’m being nudged by the barista, Lucy, who hands me the coffees.
“Thanks,” I mumble, before taking them back over to the apartment. But the whole way, my head is still not right. I try to shake it off as just some jumped-up kids, but it’s like my brain wants to tell me something, and it’s stuck.
Reid is sitting on the sofa when I get back, in just his pants. I can’t help but lean against the door frame and take in the sight before me. He has the most perfectly sculpted body, with muscles men would die for. I have to pinch myself that it’s all mine.
“Hey, handsome. I thought you would still be in bed.” I sit down beside him and pass him the coffee.
“I couldn’t sleep when I felt a cold spot next to me. I thought you’d left until I saw your note. I take it I’ve run out of coffee again?”
I snuggle up to him and relish in his warmth, and the feeling of security being near him gives me.
“You okay?” He knows when something is wrong. Don’t ask me how he knows, but he does.
“I’m fine. What are your plans for today?”
“I have a few lessons, but after that, I’m all yours. What do you feel like doing?”
“I’d like some extra defense lessons.”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
When he leaves for work, I go back to my apartment, clean up, then grab a good book for some me-time. I’m sitting in my snuggle seat in my window, a smoothie and a book in hand, when I happen to look up out the window. I see those guys again from earlier, minus the girl this time, and they head into the gym. My head is doing the same thing again and is buzzing with something. It’s like a mixture of voices and noises, but it’s all muffled. It’s like whatever wants to be heard can’t get out. Curiosity gets the better of me and I throw on my gym clothes, and head over there.
It’s manic when I enter. I slip past the reception area and go work on the treadmill for a while. But as I walk across the gym, I see Reid talking to the two guys I bumped into outside the coffee shop. He obviously knows them, and they are all laughing, so they must be friends. I don’t want a confrontation in front of him, so I walk away, but he spots me and calls me over.
Damn it, my nerves really can’t cope with this. I pretend I haven’t heard him, and keep walking.
I get to the treadmill, put my earphones on, and get to it. I keep my gaze down, but as I’m working up a sweat, my eyes drift, and the guys are still talking. One of them looks my way. I don’t like the way he looks at me. It’s a look I can feel in the pit of my stomach. I start to feel dizzy, so I hop off and make quick work of heading to the ladies locker rooms. I sit on the benches, and grab my water, and eventually everything starts to ease, but when the door opens, my skin prickles. I feel someone standing behind me, but I can’t bring myself to turn around. I know it’s the guy from the cafe incident earlier, and also the one who looked at me while talking to Reid. He bends down to my ear and starts talking.
“So, you’re my bro’s new piece then. I must say, you’re not his usual type, but he never was fussy, to be honest.”
He leans further into me so his front is pushing against my back and moves my hair to the side. I’m frozen to the bench and praying someone walks in.
“Now, there’s something about you that’s niggling at me, sweetheart, and I just can’t seem to put my finger on it. But rest assured, I will find that something out, and I will come find you when I do, I promise.”
I look down to where his hands are pressed against the bench on either side of me, and I see his wrist. My breathing becomes labored. I try to stand, but all I can hear are screams and gunshots. I try to make my way to the door, but I have no idea where the guy has gone, or if he is still here. My head can’t take what’s happening.
I see my parents lying in a pool of blood, a man trying to rape me. I hear voices, screams. Everything is happening at the same time, then in the midst of it all, I hear Ash’s voice, but I don’t know how. It’s like he’s in the distance, but I can hear him telling me it’s okay.
“It’s okay, Esme. I got you. Shhhh.” He has me cocooned in his arms on the floor of the ladies’ locker room and the sobs are slowly subsiding.
“Where’s the guy that was just here with me?” I ask. Ash looks around the locker room, shaking his head.
“There was no one in here when I came in. I heard you screaming and crying from outside.”
“I don’t understand. There was a guy in here with me just now. How did you not see him?”
I push away from Ash once I’ve calmed down, and we sit back on the benches. From the look he’s giving me, I know he knows about my past.
“I guess Nyla told you about my parents, then?”
“She told me briefly, and for what it’s worth, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“Ash, there was a guy in here before you came in. He said he was Reid’s brother.”
“I didn’t see anyone, but his brother was in the gym talking to him earlier. His name is Declan. He likes to be called Dec, though. Has him being here got something to do with you having that attack just then?”
God, I don’t know. My head is spinning all over the place. Could it be true? That tattoo on his wrist was the same as on the guy in my parents’ apartment the night they were killed. Surely, this cannot be a coincidence. Their voices outside the coffee shop were so familiar. It would explain why I freaked out. But I can’t be one hundred percent sure. Also, how is Reid going to react when I tell him I think his brother may have killed my family?
“No, it was nothing to do with him. I just remember someone coming in and introducing himself as Reid’s brother, and then I had my meltdown. I wondered if he had seen me, but he must have left before.”
I think Ash buys my story, but for how long, I don’t know. I need to speak with Nyla and fast. I have no idea what to do, but this situation could turn nasty if it is them, and they realize who I am.
“Ash, would you mind letting me out the back door, please? I just need some fresh air.”
“Yeah, sure. You want me to wait with you?”
“No, you go back inside. I just need a few minutes to myself.”
“Okay. Make sure you close the door when you come back in.”
“Will do.”
And then I’m alone. I make my escape quickly, and once I’m back in my apartment, I call Nyla and tell her I’m on my way over.
Chapter Eleven
Me: Gone out with Nyla. See you later x
I turn my phone off as I arrive at Nyla’s because I know Reid will be blowing it up looking for me, but I just need some time to work out what’s going on. My head is all fuzzy, and I can’t seem to place everything that’s running through it since this morning’s encounter with Reid’s brother and his friends. And then the gym incident.
“Es, talk to me. You haven’t said a word in the last hour since you arrived, and you’re as white as a sheet. This isn’t like you.” She wraps her arms around me and pulls me down, so my head is laid in her lap.
“This morning, I ran into some guys and a girl outside the coffee shop, and it got a bit heated. B
ut there was something about their voices that made my head hurt, and it scared me.”
“It’s probably just some thugs. Stop overthinking.”
But then I tell her I decided to go to the gym.
“The guys were chatting and laughing with Reid in the gym. So I walked straight on by. But later, in the locker room, there was a guy behind me. I didn’t hear him come in.”
She tenses. “What happened?”
I sit up and take in her worried expression. “He said there’s something about me that’s bothering him, and he will find that something out, then come find me.”
“Ny.” My voice is shaking with fear now. “He had a snake tattoo on his wrist.”
Nyla’s eyes are wide, which tells me what I already knew deep down. Declan, Reid’s brother, murdered my family. Nyla’s phone starts ringing, and I automatically assume it’s him, but it’s Ash. He knew something was wrong at the gym.
“Listen, firecracker, Reid is going nuts wanting to know where she is. Tell me where you both are so we can come check on you, okay?”
“Oh, no. She doesn’t need him here right now. Her head is a mess.”
“Why? Has this got something to do with her meltdown in the locker room?”
“I can’t say. Please leave it, okay?”
“Listen, I cannot unsee what I saw from Esme earlier. She looked tortured, and no one should feel like that. If I can help, let me, please.”
“Fine, but only if you promise to come alone and don’t tell Reid. Not yet, anyway.” I nod in agreement. I could use his help.
“Dammit, woman. You’re asking me to lie to my brother. My best friend.” He sighs.
“I’ll explain why. Trust me, you’ll understand.”
“Okay, I will come alone. Give me the address.”
Twenty minutes later, there’s loud thumping at the door, just how Reid knocks. I knew he’d tell him.
“I knew we shouldn’t have trusted Ash.” Nyla goes to look through the peep-hole when a voice booms through the door.