by Emily Bowie
Peering down at her, she looks incredibly peaceful while she sleeps. Her silk sheets are ruffled around her hips, showing off her toned dancer-like legs. I can’t wait to have those legs wrapped around me.
Opening the nightstand, I’m stunned frozen for a second as I see the box I gave her all those years ago. Opening it up, my ring stares back at me. As I glance back at her, she looks to have a smile on her face while she sleeps. I can’t help myself; I slip my ring on her finger—its rightful place.
When she wakes up, she’ll know I’ll be coming for her.
Leaving her house, I lock up and head toward the Steele family’s ranch, hoping that for once in my life, everything goes as I have planned.
*
I watch Kellen come into the opening, making sure he’s alone and this isn’t a setup. I can make out his shape, but that’s all. The large trees that surround us make it hard to focus on any shapes I think I may see. Closing my eyes, I listen. One pair of footfalls, one other person breathing. Opening my eyes again, I step closer toward the water of the pond back here. The light from the moon reflects off the water, allowing for better viewing.
He looks around before he speaks. “I know you’re already here. Come out so I can go home faster.”
Slowly, I step out, his facial features now seen in the moonlight. He gives me a smirk—a far better greeting than I anticipated. “You made Sloan very happy tonight. Thank you.”
I nod as silence overtakes the area. Stepping closer, the darkness falls behind me. “I’m in trouble, man.”
He scoffs like this is nothing new. “No shit.”
Rubbing at my temples, I feel tired. “I need your help.” I have never said those four words to another person. They scrape against my throat as I release them, and I hate how weak I sound.
He cocks his head toward me, his eyes widening as if saying “no fucking way. I’m not in it anymore to help.” He sounds defeated. I knew this already but thought maybe he would consider pulling this one thing off to help me.
“How much happier are you now that you have Sloan?” I pose before continuing on. “I bet for the first time in your life, you feel like a normal person.” I can see how my words resonate with him. “I want that. But only you can help me.”
“I have a family to think about now, man.”
I hand him a piece of paper. “Look into it. If this still isn’t for you, we’ll pretend this conversation never happened.”
A break of a branch has both my and Kellen’s ears perking up, but neither of us miss a beat. I keep on with our conversation as the two of us search for where the sound came from.
CHAPTER 47
Kiptyn must think he’s clever. This world has made him too cocky for his own good. Coming into my house, placing his ring on my hand. Soon as Camilla said my name, I knew he would find me here. His skills have dulled. There once was a time he would have found me within seconds of me stepping foot in Three Rivers.
All my years at boarding school, he did just that. He found me at our spot within minutes. I never had to wait; I always knew he would come. Just like now, he talks as if he is invisible, as I listen in the dark woods.
Some girls believe that going to boarding schools helps you find yourself, your independence. I found Kiptyn. He saves me from myself. I started as a morbid girl who hated life and lashed out for attention. He allowed me to become comfortable in my skin and showed me love existed in the world. He’s lost his way. It shows by me being three strides ahead of him every point of the way.
I wonder why anyone in the Steele family would be talking to Kiptyn right now. I would have never suspected they would have any need to cross Kip’s path, at least from the small chunks of information Camilla told me.
The two men shake hands, leaving the dark area. With each of Kiptyn’s steps, I take one of mine. Our footsteps coincide with each other as I leave the woods.
The Steeles’ ranch is far from town; no streetlamps line the back streets. Kiptyn stays in my view until he rounds the long driveway where his bike sits. Staying back, I wait for the rev of his engine before I chance going any farther. Hearing his bike slowly fade away into the night, I begin walking up the driveway.
The night air is chilly on my hands, making me place them under my arms to keep my fingers warm. There are no sounds of frogs or crickets, just the rustle of leaves from the small gusts of wind. The silence is almost frightening. I’m not used to it. In boarding school, the pipes made weird sounds through the night. With that many girls around, someone was always up for some reason, never mind the roaming hall checks from the old ladies.
Being on tour, I had to sleep weird hours sometimes sleeping late into the day; silence never happened. Even in my own home, I have the sounds from the city below, calming me to sleep. My life has never been silent.
I keep walking, staying near the edge of the road, listening for any vehicles that might have a hard time spotting me. The only sound is my feet. I increase my pace, knowing it’s about a half-hour walk until I hit any type of light. My steps become heavier in my mind; it sounds louder than before. Turning, I’m met with blackness, matching my view in front.
Slowly, I turn around, listening for any sound I may miss while walking. I should have dropped off my car somewhere closer to here.
Two hands wrap around me, one covering my mouth, the other around my waist, holding my back flush to their front.
My head is held in place, unable to move, my scream muffled by the large hand covering it and my nose. Internally, I begin to freak out. They could smother me or snap my neck with no effort.
I’m unable to gasp for air, even as I try to will myself to do it, but it’s stuck in my throat, unmoving. “You keep moving your ass into my cock, I won’t think twice about taking you right here.”
I stop fighting, but my heart keeps pounding, trying to play catch up with my mind. Kiptyn. I would know his gruff, sexy voice anywhere.
“You want to cash in on my award money?” His voice is rough, his fingers easing up but still covering my mouth. I’m able to finally take a deep breath as my mind gets my body to work again. “I bet being the girl who brings me to my knees would help your record sales.”
“Oh, I’ll be the girl to bring you to your knees.” His cockiness infuriates me, thinking he knows me. He stopped knowing me the day he left me behind.
“I think you’re mistaken. I’ll be the one bringing you to your knees.”
I twist to move again at the same time he pumps his hips into me. I can feel the straining in his pants. His hard cock digging into me. He makes no effort to hide it. I can practically feel the way he smiles, even though I can’t see his face.
I scoff. “You missed your chance for that.” I stand my ground, angry at him for everything he allowed us to give up.
His hand moves wisps of hair from my face. “I liked your hair longer.” He tugs at my pixy cut. Then he sighs out loud, his voice sounding strained and tired. “I did it to save you,” he says to me, sounding like he’s smelling me.
“Save me from who? You?”
“Partially.”
Even though he can’t see, I don’t stop my eye roll. “Was your letter meant to scare me?”
I can feel him getting closer to me. “We both know you’re not scared of me. I was simply giving you a gentle reminder.”
His fingers run down my arm, slipping into my hand. I can feel his ring being twirled around my digit.
“I see you still listen well.”
“I only wore it so I can give it back to you.”
“Then why did you buy my childhood home? I have to give it to you. It was the last place I looked for you.”
“It was a good investment.”
He laughs lightly, unnerving me. “To be clear, I’m nothing to you?”
His hand leaves mine, tracing its way up my arm, over top of my heart. He can feel it pump against his skin.
“Did you cause my accident?” I have no doubt he can feel my heart accelera
te, waiting for his answer. It’s unfair. I have no way to gauge his answer. His voice has always been incredibly steady.
“Do you think I would have let you out of my sight enough for that to happen?”
“You didn’t care if I got hurt?” Why place his ring back on my hand then? Breathing out, I look up at the black sky. I can feel the pressure behind my eyes wanting to let go. “What have you gotten yourself mixed up in?”
“I’m disappointed in you. You’ve stopped listening to your gut.”
My heart has started to slow, and anger takes its place. He’s still holding me close, and I hate it. Bringing my foot up, I swing it back, hitting him in the shin. It’s just enough of a distraction he lets me go. Turning, I push him, but he doesn’t budge.
“What happened to my best friend?” I yell, finally allowing all the anger I have ignored to free itself. I practically hiss at him.
“You got new ones, remember?” he taunts. His eyes shine back at me, the darkest gold I have ever seen on him. “I don’t think ‘friends’ is the best way to describe us anymore. Tell me, do you fuck all of your best friends?”
Kiptyn has never spoken to me this way before. I hate it, but my body tingles, liking it. I hate myself for that. I’m a strong, independent woman, I repeat to myself.
“Why fight this?” He steps toward me as I step back. We mimic each other’s actions, playing this tug-of-war with each of our hearts.
“I know everything,” I spit at him. “You’re a contracted killer. You were hired to kidnap me. You never loved me. I promise you I will be your downfall.” I shrug, liking his silence. “Take me. I don’t care. Sell me, like my father already has.”
He stares down at me, his features hardly noticeable, but I can see the hard outline of his face.
“You know nothing of this life.” He hovers over me.
His movements are so fast I don’t have a chance to defend myself when he tosses me over his shoulder like I’m some rag doll.
“I’ll scream if you don’t put me down,” I tell him, hitting my fists into his back.
“No one will hear you,” he says calmly, not missing a beat. He walks along the road as I start to scream. I yell so loud my voice cracks, and I can feel it burn in my throat. No one comes to my rescue. Instead, I get slapped on the ass. “Maybe if you ate more you could fight better.”
This man is infuriating. He places me on his bike, while I pout, his body snug against mine as his legs straddle the bike, staying firmly inside my thighs.
“What’s your obsession with new bikes?” I haven’t seen this one before. He turns the bike on, ignoring me. “I thought you gave up on bikes?”
He grunts as he presses the throttle to get us going.
CHAPTER 48
Kellie adorably pouts as she stomps into the house, heading straight for the liquor cabinet. She takes out a red bottle, opening the lid to take a swig. She’s trying to provoke me. Glancing at the bottle, I see it’s sour apple pucker. The only thing it’s going to do is make her throw up before she gets drunk off of it.
She turns on music and begins to sing along with it. I take a seat on her couch, my feet planted apart as I watch her.
She pretends not to notice me, but I catch every small glance she shoots my way. She sways to the music, looking beautiful as hell. I’ve missed her sassy attitude. Everything about her makes me hard. She is still the only thing that makes my heart race.
I hate the fact that she plans to drink herself into feeling like death. Standing, I get nice and close to her. Her eyes are closed, but she can feel it. Her breath hitches, and my fingers brush over hers as I take the bottle away. I place it on the TV stand behind us, breathing her in once again. She smells like home.
“I will be marrying you,” I whisper at her ear. She shivers. I chuckle, my fingers going down the side of her face. “Don’t fight us. This is our love story.”
Slowly, her bright blue eyes open, and I’m transported back to the day I first met her. She looked lost, like she needed purpose, much like she does now.
“I kidnapped you to protect you. Then I killed him as soon as I could to eliminate the threat. Noah has used this so-called looming threat to stay close to you. Did you know that they both take money from you?”
“I pay them.”
“On top of what you pay them. Not only that, they have been paying Van to keep tabs on you, to influence you when they need it.” I pause, taking in a deep breath. “Rich already promised you to Noah, before I even had a chance to get to him. I never bought you, like you were led to believe. He set me up instead. That’s why I couldn’t come back to you. I wanted to; God, I wanted to. He had you under surveillance, and he’s had a price on my head. The risk of you getting hurt because of me was too much.”
“Why now then?”
My hand moves through her short hair before I glide my fingers down her neck to her shoulders.
“Because I would rather die than see you engaged to another man.”
I watch her take in my words. They shouldn’t be a shock to her. I have always done what I have said I would.
“I also had nothing to do with your accident,” I finally tell her, hating she would even question that I did. “Noah needed a reason to coax you into marrying him.” I can see her opening her mouth to argue, but I keep going. “You kept his ring on after it all. He also was playing your safety against me. He allowed the Fallen Saints to know where you were, to blackmail me with your safety.”
Her eyes fall to the ground as everything I’m saying makes sense. “I have always been honest with you, Kellie,” I remind her. “I have two options here. One, I get to keep you; the other, I have to say goodbye.”
“I thought you would rather die than see me with someone else?”
I don’t hide my feelings or vulnerability from her, so she knows fully what I’m meaning here. My two plans are very different from each other; I have no intent on surviving if she won’t have me.
Her eyes widen, taking in my unsaid meaning. Her ocean blues go from side to side, evaluating my every word.
“Kiss me,” I whisper. “Even if it’s only for tonight. Let me have this as our goodbye story. Something worth clinging to in the end.”
She opens her mouth to say something, but I place my finger there to silence her. “Give us our proper goodbye, the one we never had but should have had years ago.”
She’s staring at me, and I start to think maybe our ending will always be anticlimactic. Maybe we were never meant to be, and that’s why.
Just as I start to take a step back, she rushes onto her tiptoes and places her soft cherry lips onto mine, and I stop breathing. The house’s silence surrounds us, holding me in place as her lips begin to work mine. I hold her but barely touch her, wanting this to be her decision.
Her hands reach up to both sides of my face, and I start to give in, opening for her, before I start controlling the kiss. Her small body warms me from my soul outward, heating the cold darkness of my heart.
We’re both hanging on by a thread. I can feel it the way her body shivers and the way my skin begins to ignite by the smallest touch of hers.
Each second she kisses me back, I know I cannot survive without her. I’m tired of trying.
*
His hands finally start to move across my body, the anticipation killing me. I can feel his erection poking into me. His fingers trace the small section of skin exposed above my pants from being on my toes to reach his lips. They play with the small piece of fabric that acts as panties. They lightly trace their outline before dipping under but can’t get too far because of my pants.
I don’t care anymore. I want to feel good, and Kiptyn has always made me forget that I don’t. His touches make me enjoy the moment, make me feel loved. I won’t be telling him no, needing what he gives me.
My breaths become more labored as all I can start to think about is how I want his touch on my body. On my nipples, on my clit, how his dick is meant for my pussy. The ant
icipation of it all is making me wet.
I can feel Kiptyn shift, his breath becoming more ragged. His arms are tense around me, and I know he’s feeling this too. I know Kiptyn better in these intimate moments than he knows himself. I wait for him to give me an easy way out before he has no control left. I’ve always liked him when he threw caution to the wind.
Like clockwork, he pulls away. “I think it’s time for you to go to bed,” he demands of me. His eyes are hooded, and he has this look about him that tells me he plans to fuck me until I can’t move anymore.
When I don’t move or say anything, he undoes his jeans, enough to spring his dick free. If his plan was to scare me, I’m only more tempted. His cock is beautifully smooth, its ridges calling for my fingers. He takes my hand, wrapping it around him, and uses it to slowly jerk him off. I can feel his eyes watching me as I keep mine on our hands working together.
When I don’t make any attempt to leave, he pushes his pants down, ridding himself of them. My body begins to hum with heat. I don’t stop moving my hand up and down his shaft. I can’t help myself; I lick my lips, starting to wonder if he tastes the same from all those years ago.
Glancing up at him, he’s watching my every move. I can feel the slickness between my legs build, as I want him to be the one touching me.
His hands pull up the hem of my shirt, tossing it to the side. My breasts heave up and down as I take him all in. He skillfully unclasps my bra, allowing the material to fall away. The sudden cold air makes my nipples perk right up. I watch in fascination as he takes one into his mouth. I focus on the feeling of his tongue twirling and the way his mouth sucks on it before I feel the sharp sensation of his teeth nipping.
His hand unbuttons my pants and dips in the front, his finger sliding up and down smoothly on my already wet panties. He dances on the edge as he runs down my folds, teasing my skin as flesh meets flesh before I feel him circling my panties again.
