"Where should I begin..." Nox takes a step back, admiring his handiwork. He looks so alive. I hope I'm the one making him feel this renewed vigor for life. "Yes, I think I want to hurt those pretty pink nipples first."
I stare defiantly ahead as he pinches my right nipple between two fingers, then begins slapping it.
"You love it when I hurt you," my stalker whispers in my ear. "Don't you, little bird?"
"N-No." My voice breaks. "Please, don't stop."
"That's right." Nox's eyes darken with something I'm afraid of, but deep down I know he's never going to hurt me like he did when I was young. And he doesn't.
Instead, he kneels between my legs and slaps my knees apart. He slides my panties down and I help him, wiggling out of them until I'm exposed. He stares at me, devouring me with his eyes until I blush under the burn of his gaze.
"So fucking beautiful," Nox mutters, more to himself than me. "I'm going to remember this moment for ever. That you loved my cock so much you came to beg for it in prison."
"Asshole," I hiss.
"Shut up, little bird, you fucking love it."
He dives between my thighs then, filling his mouth with my taste and groaning as I moan myself closer and closer to an orgasm.
"God-fucking-damnit, Dove," he mutters. "You taste better than ever."
Suddenly he pulls away, as if he's done playing games with me now. He strips off the jumpsuit and his cock bounces free, erect, the veins on it throbbing with desire. My mouth fills and I do my best to keep my breaths steady.
It's not like I can outrun him, anyway.
"I'm going to fuck you so hard you'll have to crawl out of here," he growls. I whimper in response, but Nox is already pushing between my legs, his cockhead urgently pressing against my entrance and demanding my submission. "Goddamn, little bird. Look how you're making my dick drip... I'm so fucking ready to be inside you again."
He leans against my head, whispering in my ear, "To knock you up again."
My breath catches but it's too late, Nox is already fucking me. His cock pushes deeper and deeper, filling me up so much my eyes roll back in pure ecstasy. My toys or any other man could never live up to him. He's a fucking God, and I was born to worship him. Nox is my religion.
He fucks me like it's the first and last time combined, and I submit to him fully, allowing him in deeper than I've ever let anyone before.
"Time's running out," I manage to whimper at some point.
"Don't worry," he grunts. "I just want to keep fucking you until the clock strikes. Come on my cock, little bird. Fucking soak me."
I can't hold back once he says that and he laughs out loud at me as I moan his name, coming for him, letting him into my heart again.
"My fucking turn," he growls after, driving himself into me harder and harder until he builds up to another orgasm for both of us. We come together this time, our bodies writhing with pure pleasure as we come down from the unbearable high of being together again. "Fuck yes, Dove. Milk my cock. It's all for you, little bird."
Afterward, I'm numb.
Nox gently unties me. He takes off his orange shirt, stripping down to a white tank underneath and puts the shirt on me, covering up how indecent I am.
He carries me to the metal table and sits me in the chair. He sits opposite and holds my hands over the tabletop.
The alarm blares that our time is over. I sit there, frozen to the spot with my makeup smudged all over my face. I'm wearing the top of Nox's orange uniform, and he's smirking at me from across the table. I'm sure it doesn't take much guessing to realize what we just did here.
The double doors leading into the room are unlocked and opened. I stare stubbornly at the silver metal of the table while Nox stands up, still keeping his hands in mine.
"Sit down, Miller," the guard barks at him.
"Hey, he didn't do anything." I keep our fingers intertwined as I glare at the guard.
"Miss, I'd advise you to shut up," his friend tells me, reaching for his holster where there's a gun. I risk a look at Nox and the pain and anger in his eyes make me think he's going to kill both of them.
But he doesn't.
Instead, he swallows his pride and never takes his eyes off mine as they rip our hands apart. I know what his silent glare means. He's doing this for me, for us, because he wants us to be together as soon as we can.
As he's led out of the small room, my heart breaks all over again as he’s dragged away. One of the guards kicks him repeatedly.
I close my eyes and give myself a moment to regain my strength. At least I got to see him. At least I got to kiss him. At least I got to be with him...
"Miss, are you coming?"
"Yes," I call out, fighting the fact that I'm on the verge of tears. I pick myself up and dust off the orange shirt I'm wearing, ignoring the gawking looks of the guards and leaving my ripped dress in the room behind me.
I walk past men who whistle and ogle me openly, out into the hot LA sun. I find my car – a Mustang Convertible in cherry red named appropriately as Cherry, because why not – and sit behind the wheel for a long time, collecting my thoughts.
Everything that's happened today in a single hour messes with my head, but I do my best to make sense of it all.
All I know is, I can't stop waiting for Nox. Not now, not ever. Nobody else could ever make me feel the electricity he does, sparking between our fingertips like fireflies. We belong together – I've never been more sure of that. And whether it takes three years or thirty, I'm going to wait for him to come back to me, and spend the rest of my life showing him how much I love him.
Chapter 46
Nox
If I thought it would be easier to move on after Dove now that I've seen her again, gotten my fill, I'd be wrong as fuck.
Her memory is fresh in my mind now, breaking me with every second that passes without her by my side.
But now I have a new mission and a new calling – to get the fuck out of here.
As opposed to the beginning, when I didn't care about ever getting out, I'm now more than eager to work on my case and prove I'm ready to return to society outside of the prison walls.
I meet with all the counselors, do volunteer work and make sure I'm on my best behavior. And by the time my parole comes up, two things shock me like a cold, hard slap to the face.
One – I've been in this hellhole for five years now.
Two – I have a real chance of getting out on parole and reuniting with Dove.
Time passes slowly in prison, but when you're waiting for the results of the jury deciding whether you get to be a free man or not, it's even more excruciating.
But then, five years and six months into my sentence, I get the word – I'm going to be a free man. I'll be on parole, I'll have to return to my job and report to my parole board officer, and I'll be wearing an anklet to ensure I don't leave the state. But nevertheless... I'll be free to be with Dove again. That is, if she's still waiting.
I anticipate the date of my release, but in the end, it ends up shocking me by creeping up on me. I wanted to contact Dove, to tell her, but I never got through when I called. So, I left a voicemail message to an automated machine, not even sure whether I still had the right number. I told her I was being released, and hoped the news wouldn't destroy her.
As I stand in front of my cell that morning, I finally allow the smallest ray of hope to shine through all the shit I put Dove through.
I paid for my crime, but I'm not done. I'm going to make sure Dove is treated like a queen every second of her life. I'm going to fucking worship the ground she walks on. If she's with someone else – even if it's Raphael – I'll keep my distance. I'll go back to the beast in the shadows, the stalker who's watching out for her. But I already know I won't be able to walk away. Not from her. I never could.
"Good luck, Miller," a guard smirks as he opens the cell door. "Welcome to the rest of your life."
His words ring true and hard with me as I walk out of there,
a free man, with the ankle bracelet snug around my leg.
There's a long walk to the end of the driveway leading up to the prison, and the sun is beating down hard. I can't see up ahead, so I cover my forehead with my hand and walk into the distance. I have fifty bucks to my name and nowhere to go. But I've been worse off, and I know I'll make it through this.
I reach the end of the road and glance up and down, trying to find another driver who could lend me a phone or give me a ride downtown.
That's when I see the approaching car. It's a cherry red Mustang, a convertible, and there's a woman driving it with chestnut hair. In the back seat, a young girl sits with two little children. One's still in a baby carrier.
The sight almost fucking kills me.
Dove pulls up in front of me, kicking up dust. I can't erase the smile off my face as Willa kisses her baby brothers' foreheads and runs up to me embracing me.
"Hi, Nox!" she says, giddy.
I hug her back, staring at the back seat where the older boy is staring at me curiously. I see something in the boy, like my own darkness. But I think he's smart enough to keep it under control.
The younger boy is a toddler, but he's smiling wide, stretching out his arms toward me.
"Hello." I turn my attention to Dove now, my vision in black, except she let her hair go back to its natural color since I last saw her. She looks so fucking stunning. It takes me a moment to realize she has a scar. But then I remember my own, self-consciously touching my fingertips to my cheek.
"Dove," I breathe. My voice is ragged and pained, but her name still feels good on my lips. "You came."
"We all did!" Willa exclaims and I laugh as Dove embraces me, too.
Fuck. This is emotional beyond anything I could've ever imagined. I thought I couldn't feel anything, not after what my father did to me. But Dove and my new family have shown me my full range of emotions, and for the first time in my fucking life, I'm happy.
And I deserve it.
I sit in the front with Dove while Willa watches out for her brothers behind us. Dove slowly drives down a road I know, leading back to the house where she used to live all those years ago. I have to force myself not to keep glancing at the back seat, but I also can't tear my eyes off Dove. She looks fucking stunning. Irresistible. Sexy. Like everything I've ever dreamed of sent here to haunt me. But now I can finally have her. Now she can finally be mine.
I'm still staring when we pull up in front of her house. It looks just like it used to, except there are more plants, and toys scattered around the yard. I get out of the car and help Dove out too before turning my attention to the kids. The older one, Kellan, takes my hand trustingly and smirks at me. I'm gonna have to be careful around him, because so far, he seems exactly like me.
"What's your brother's name?" I ask Kellan as he helps me unstrap his brother.
"Zane," he says, and I grin. Dove picked cute names. I'm trying not to get too emotional but I already know it's no use fighting these emotions.
I help the younger kids to the house while Willa and Dove follow. Inside, it's chaos, but the kind of chaos I've been dreaming of while I was locked up. The boys run to their toys, and Willa, Dove and I sit down at the dining room table.
"How hard was it to find Willa after I left?" I ask Dove, still not quite able to believe I finally get to ask all the questions I've carried in my heart the past five years.
"I had help from her friend," Dove smiles, squeezing Willa's hand. The two look nothing alike, with Dove's darker hair and Dove's light locks and freckles. But I can tell their relationship is like mother and daughter. Dove adores my friend – my daughter – and Willa is looking up at my woman with pure adoration in her eyes. "After that, since her stepfather disappeared, it was easy to get custody. Too easy, almost."
"And what about Zane?"
"I realized I was going to have a baby a few weeks into getting custody of Willa," Dove smiles affectionately.
"Yeah, we went through it all together," Willa nods. I'm still marveling at the sight of her and how much she has changed since the last time I saw her. She's a young girl now, no longer a little kid. And I can tell her heart hasn't changed in the slightest. "Zane was a healthy baby and we were really happy."
"Even though he screamed all night for the first year." Dove winces, making me laugh. This feels like home. "But it was a learning curve. We get along better now."
"What about Zane?" I ask.
"He's two," Dove nods. "We just celebrated his birthday. He fell face-forward into his cake..."
She and Willa convulse into giggles and I smile along though deep down, I feel like I've missed out massively. But I put on a brave face, because I owe it to my family, and regardless of the past, I'm blessed to be here with them.
"Don't worry." Dove squeezes my hand. "There will be plenty more birthdays, especially with four of us."
"And I already know what I want for my next one!" Willa says in a sing-song voice.
"You're so not getting a phone." Dove narrows her eyes at me.
"Mercy has one!"
"So?" Dove sticks her tongue out at her and then Willa flips her off.
Before I can react, Dove flips her off right back. I'm about to scold them both when I realize it's an inside joke for them, and they giggle along. I've walked in on something here, something special and magical. This is what a family is supposed to feel like. This easy, breezy confidence that makes me feel comfortable, like I can share anything in the world with the people in this house.
Kellan and Zane come through to the dining room, each of them wailing for Mommy. It's so strange seeing Dove in this new role, but I shouldn't be surprised by how at home she feels in it. She wipes Kellan's scrape and bandages it up while simultaneously grabbing an ice lolly for our younger son. Satisfied, the kids retreat to the living room to watch TV, and this time, Willa goes with them, offering us some privacy.
All I want is to get my hands on Dove, but there's a quiet patience about it. I'll have her later, when the kids are asleep. For now, I'm happy watching light and shadow bouncing through the windows and off her beautiful face.
"Did Hodge send you money?" I ask her.
"Every month," she nods. "But we saved most of it. I spent some on the kids, and I paid off the debt on this property, so it's ours now."
"This is our home?"
She grins. "Yes, as long as you're happy staying here. The house is big enough."
"We might have to move if the family keeps expanding."
"Oh?" She raises her brows at me. "Planning something there, are you?"
"Not at all," I smirk. "First, I want you to myself for a few years. I'm not letting you leave my side."
"You sound so..." Dove leans against the counter, avoiding my gaze.
"What?"
"I don't know." She shrugs. "Different. Yet the same."
"I am different," I mutter. "Because I paid my debt to you, Dove. Not in full, never in full. But I want you to know how deeply sorry I am for everything I've put you through with Robin. Neither of you deserved what I did to you and I will be sorry for the rest of my life."
"Nox..."
"Wait." I hold a hand up. "There's something else. I started another trust fund for the kids and you. I'm hoping we can run a foundation with it, one that will benefit homeless youths."
"That's wonderful, Nox." She reaches for my hand, intertwining my fingers. "Because of Sam?"
"Of course, but I want to remember him in different ways, too," I grin. "I heard his granddaughter goes to the school Willa used to go to."
"Really?" Dove's eyes widen. "Wow. It would be so strange meeting her."
"Or her mother," I nod. "But we should try and find her."
"Yes," Dove nods. "That's a good plan."
We sit in silence for a while, the sun setting outside and coloring the dining room in its warm, golden rays of light.
"Dove..."
"Yes?" She looks at me right away, eager for me to speak.
&n
bsp; "Can I..." I swallow my pride and force myself to get the words out. "Can I stay here?"
She stares at me before bursting out in a laugh. She pulls me up and embraces me, her lips an inch away from mine as she whispers, "You're never leaving me again. And this time, you don't have to stay in the shadows..."
Epilogue
Dove
3 years later
It's the day of Willa's sixteenth birthday and her brothers are driving me crazy.
Kellan and Zane have been bouncing off the walls since early morning when Willa opened some of her gifts. We haven't given her the main one yet, though. That'll be a surprise for tonight.
"Kellan!" My son stops with a smile frozen on his face. He's such a mischievous little boy, but it makes my heart sing to see him so happy. He's truly come into his own since Nox came back to live with us. And he certainly takes after his daddy. "Can you ask your brother to stop stomping, you're going to break the ceiling! The buyers will kill us."
He nods and disappears back into the living room, making airplane noises.
Tonight is another special night, because it's the last one in our old house. We've finally outgrown the home I bought for myself such a long time ago, and we're moving into a gorgeous villa in a safer, more family-friendly neighborhood. Willa says it's ritzy, and I almost want to agree with her. God knows the prices were outrageous, but I'm glad we made the investment.
Nervously, I wrap my fingers around the aluminum foil wrapped around a front strand of my hair.
"Willa!" I yell up the stairs. "You promised you'd help!"
"Coming!" she drawls out the world and I can picture her rolling her eyes. She rushes down the stairs. Every day I see her now, I'm amazed at how beautiful she's grown up to be. She was a striking but painfully thin child, and now she's a beauty that's as unmissable as she is unforgettable. "Oh God. How long did you leave it in for?"
"It's been about ten minutes," I admit sheepishly.
"Don't panic."
"Don't lead with that!" I yelp as she drags me into the downstairs bathroom, just as Nox opens the front door, balancing a huge cardboard box. "Nox! Don't let Willa see that, you know it's part of the surprise."
Tyrant Stalker: A Dark Forbidden Romance (Tyrant Dynasty Book 2) Page 29
