KATE: MADISON KATE #4

by James Tate

He did the complete fucking opposite of what I wanted and slowed to a stop. At least he’d stopped when he was buried balls deep and not teasing me with just the tip.

  "I'm listening," he all but fucking purred. Damn him to hell, he knew exactly what was on my mind.

  I groaned, craning my neck so that I could look him in the eye. "I love you, Kodiak Jones," I told him in a husky whisper.

  A wide grin spread over his face, and he crushed his lips to mine in a hard kiss. "Good," he murmured after he'd kissed me breathless, "because I love you too, Madison Kate."

  The rush of oxytocin hit my brain in a dizzying wave, and I hummed a happy noise. "Will you please make me come now?" I asked sweetly, peppering more kisses against his lips.

  His lips were still curved in a grin. "Say it again," he ordered me.

  I huffed a laugh, but obliged. "I love you."

  He groaned, then thoroughly delivered. Kody fucked me so hard the bed slammed against the wall and cracked the paint. We came simultaneously with whispered curses and confessions of love. It was magical as fuck.

  When Kody went to rinse off in my shower, I just lay there in the middle of my bed like a well-fucked starfish. My thighs were wet and sticky with his cum and my face raw from stubble rash, but I needed to take a moment to store that feeling into my mental lockbox of awesome memories.

  "That..." Steele's voice startled me out of my haze, "is way too fucking tempting."

  I raised my head slightly and found him leaning his shoulder against my doorframe. From my spread-eagle position, he'd have a prime view of my everything. Feeling evil, I simply parted my legs even further, offering a silent invitation.

  His eyes raked all over me, lingering on my swollen core, then he muttered a curse. "I'm saving this as an IOU for later, Hellcat," he told me, "because Arch just got the results from the pathology lab."

  I gasped as I sat bolt upright, staring at him in anticipation. "And?"

  "And it was a positive match. James is your biological parent."

  All the air whooshed out of my lungs, and the room spun. Fuck me, was I about to pass out? No, I could handle this news. I'd dealt with more shocking stuff. It still took me a moment or two to force my lungs to work again, though, in which time Steele crossed the room and crouched beside the bed. His hand rubbed soothing circles on my back until I nodded and assured him I was fine.

  "Okay," I breathed. "Okay. Good. That explains a few things, right?" I met Steele's concerned gaze, and he nodded. "Does James know? Did we get in touch with him already?"

  Steele grimaced. "Yeah, we found him." He sighed. "He's at the hospital. Someone apparently mugged him last night outside his apartment. He fought them off and they ran, but he took a knife to the ribs for his efforts."

  My jaw dropped. "What the fuck? Is he okay?"

  Steele nodded. "Should be fine. The mugger only got that far thanks to the element of surprise. James sounds like he's in a foul mood but will be released soon. He's coming by after he gets done filing police reports."

  I snorted a bitter laugh. "For all the good that will do. This can't be a coincidence."

  "Agreed." Steele stood up from his crouch and tipped his head towards my bathroom. "Go shower before I change my mind and take that invitation now." He left my room before I could tell him that I was all for a little more stress relief, so I made my way into my bathroom.

  Luckily, Kody was still under the hot spray, all soaped-up and gorgeous.

  Who the fuck needed therapy when you could maintain good mental health through copious orgasms, right?

  28

  The following morning, James tagged along to the gun range with us. The conversation we'd had when he finally arrived at the house—just in time for dinner—had been awkward at best. But then, what else was to be expected? I was nearly nineteen, and he'd never known he had a child. More than that, my mom hadn't been some great love of his life. She'd been a two-week romance that ended poorly.

  It was weird; I was more than willing to admit that much.

  But when Steele suggested James come to the shooting range with us, I was cautiously optimistic. Maybe we just needed to spend some time together and find some common ground?

  To my relief, it was an enjoyable day. James's almost twenty-year career in the marines had afforded him a wealth of knowledge in weapons, and it took no time at all for him to relax. Before long, he and Steele were engaged in friendly banter about guns, and I was left with Archer overseeing my lesson.

  "Princess," Arch murmured in my ear as he adjusted my stance with his hands on my hips. "Are you okay with this?"

  I wriggled my hips under his fingers. "With this?"

  Archer huffed a laugh. "No, with this, James being here."

  I glanced over at our new addition, my biological dad. He and Steele laughed together, and the scene touched something inside me.

  "I am," I admitted, "but I still can't shake the paranoia that we shouldn't let anyone into our circle right now."

  Archer murmured a sound of agreement. "Good."

  I turned my face to meet his gaze. "Good?"

  He jerked a nod. "I want you to be happy, Kate. I want you to know what it's like to have a family, to know your real father. But right now..."

  I nodded. "I agree. Right now isn't the time. If he really means us no harm, then I think he should understand that."

  Archer's hands moved from my hips, his arms tightening around me in a hug as he kissed my hair. "I'll take care of it when we get home. Keep shooting, Princess; you're getting good."

  With that pep talk, he sauntered away and left me alone with my thoughts and my target for a while. I threw myself into it, mentally talking myself through all the instructions I'd been given by Steele and peppering my paper target full of holes.

  Despite the chat Archer and I had just had, all three boys seemed to genuinely enjoy his company. Like minds and all that. I watched them from the corner of my eye as they chatted comfortably, and I wondered if this was what it was like for other girls when their boyfriends met their dad for the first time.

  Obviously not because, for one thing, it wasn't even close to the first time they'd met. For another, most girls didn't have three boyfriends.

  But they should. It was the fucking best.

  "Hey babe," Kody called out when I tugged my earmuffs off and placed my gun down. "We're going to go to the rifle range. Wanna see who's the best shot long range?" His eyes sparkled with excitement, and his smile was wide.

  James scoffed a laugh. "Kid, you don't stand a damn chance. I'll cream you."

  Steele shrugged. "I'm game."

  Archer and Kody both chuckled, knowing full damn well that Steele would win, regardless of how good James might be.

  "Go set it up," Steele told them. "I just want to run through some feedback with Hellcat while it's fresh in my mind."

  Kody, Archer, and James all headed outside to the rifle range, and Steele moved across the room toward me with a predatory expression on his face.

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "You have feedback for me, huh?"

  His lips tugged in a smirk. "You're damn right I do." He moved past me, flipped the lock on the door, then turned back. "Put your hands on the table, Hellcat."

  I arched a brow, but did as I was told. Steele moved to stand behind me, his hands lightly on my hips as I bent forward.

  "My feedback, beautiful," he murmured as he reached around to unbutton my jeans, then pull them down over my ass, "is that watching you with a gun in your hands is one of the biggest turn-ons I've ever goddamn seen."

  I gasped as he impaled me on his studded dick, not even taking a second to warm up. He didn't need to when he was already hard as granite.

  "Shhh," Steele murmured when I cried out, "we only have a couple of minutes before one of them comes looking. I want you back out there with my cum soaking your jeans before anyone notices."

  I groaned, then bit my lip. Fucking hell, just picturing that was turning me the hell on. Not to mention
the way his dick piercings were rubbing me in all the right ways from this angle.

  "Christ," I muttered when he started fucking me hard and fast. "You're gonna need to gag me to keep me quiet, Max."

  He snickered but obliged. When I came a few minutes later, the sounds of my screams were muffled by his hand clamped over my mouth.

  Two minutes later, I found myself uncomfortably trying to focus on shooting a rifle while trying to ignore how soaked my panties and jeans were.

  Still, oxytocin had to be hands down the best antidepressant known to man, because I was on cloud fucking nine the rest of our day at the shooting range.

  * * *

  As the next few days passed, my anxiety kept building to the point that not even multiple orgasms could shake it for long. Come midweek, I was near my breaking point.

  "Alright, spill," Archer growled, tucking his dick back into his shorts after a mid-workout fuck that I'd lured him into. "You're more keyed up than usual," he told me accusingly. "What's on your mind that you're not talking about?"

  I pulled my yoga pants back on and searched for my crop top. It was hanging off the chin-up bar... however the fuck that had happened.

  "That's what I've been trying to work out," I admitted sheepishly. "But... I think I know what it is." I wrestled my tits back into my bra, then sat down on the padded mat to stretch out my hamstrings. Archer had done this thing where he put my ankle on his shoulder while he fucked me, and it'd made me realize I needed to work on my flexibility.

  "The suspense is killing me," he commented, grabbing a sweat towel to dry his face and chest off. No one could say he wasn't working on his cardio during our somewhat unconventional training sessions.

  I grimaced. "Samuel," I admitted. "I'm worried about what's going to happen when he gets back on Friday."

  Archer sat on the mat and handed me a water bottle. "He won't hurt you, Kate. I won't let him."

  I gave him a dry glare. "No shit. And I wasn't worried about that... more about whether I would be able to actually go through with it. You know?"

  Archer gave me a considering look. "With killing him?" I jerked a nod, and he tilted his head to the side. "If you don't want to—"

  "No," I snapped, cutting off the offer he was about to make. "No, this is personal. I need to deal with him myself. He sold me, Archer. He possibly had my mom murdered, he tried to have me committed several times, and fuck only knows what he did to my memories to erase them all so thoroughly. But most importantly... he fucking sold me. He didn't care if I died some horribly painful death, so I owe him the same courtesy."

  Archer just stared at me with an unreadable expression for a long moment, then the corners of his mouth tweaked with a grim smile. "Sounds like you're resolute on what needs to happen."

  I nodded, finding that I was. I just needed to make my peace with my decision.

  "Yeah," I said softly. "Yeah, Samuel Danvers dies on Friday. No matter what."

  Archer's smile spread wider, and he scooped me up off the floor, then tossed me over his shoulder. "Fuck training," he muttered, carrying me out of the gym. "Let's go break my bed."

  * * *

  Friday morning I woke up with my stomach in a million knots from anxiety. The next day would be my wedding with Archer, but tonight... tonight I'd put a bullet in Samuel Danvers forehead.

  Or that was the intention. We'd already learned the hard way that plans rarely went smoothly, so a handful of contingency plans were also in place.

  Samuel and Cherry were due to land in the afternoon, then meet us at the fancy restaurant we'd rented out for our "intimate family dinner" that would end in bloodshed. But before any of that, I had something else to do.

  I rushed through my shower, then hurried to get dressed before Steele woke up. Kody and Archer were already in the gym, and I knew I was going to have a hard time getting them to approve my request. But... too fucking bad. I wasn't a prisoner, so they ultimately couldn't tell me no.

  I hoped.

  They both gave me suspicious glances as I entered the gym and perched on the edge of a weight bench to watch them spar.

  "We going somewhere today, babe?" Kody asked as he dodged a kick from Archer and circled out of the way. "You're wearing pants."

  I arched a brow at him and folded my arms. "You say that like I don't normally wear pants."

  Both boys gave me a look at that statement, and my cheeks heated. They had a point... The last few days I'd spent more naked than not. But I was stressed, okay?

  "Well, whatever," I grumbled. But still, I felt rather called out. "I actually have an appointment this morning."

  "I'll take you," Archer offered. He stepped away from his fight with Kody and started to unstrap his gloves. I shook my head, though.

  "Sweet of you to offer, but this is an appointment you can't come to." I shifted my gaze to Kody before he could offer. "Or you. I arranged alternative security for the day, if that's cool with you guys?"

  They both frowned at me in confusion.

  "What appointment do you have that we can't come to?" Kody mused out loud.

  Archer's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Are you getting that IUD removed?"

  My jaw dropped. "What?" My voice was a strangled squeak. "No! What the fuck, Arch? We discussed this. No, I'm not getting my fucking IUD removed, and no, I won't even remotely consider it."

  Kody's brows shot up so hard they almost hit his hairline. "You discussed this? When? Where the fuck was I?"

  My cheeks burned, and Archer gave me a smug smile. Motherfucker was going to find my foot buried up his ass if he kept that shit up.

  "This is off the topic," I growled, giving Archer a hard glare. "Point is, I have something to do today and you're not invited. End of story. I came in here to do you the courtesy of keeping you informed when I could well have just crept out without you knowing. Don't make me regret that choice."

  Archer folded his arms over his chest. "Who did you arrange as security?"

  I let out a small breath, relieved he wasn't sparking the whole kids argument again. "Sampson is coming with me," I told him, "and Cass." I checked my watch. "Actually, Cass will be here any second now. He insisted on escorting me from here instead of meeting me there."

  Both Archer and Kody scowled at me.

  "Cass?" Archer repeated. "Why Cass?"

  I cocked a brow at him. "Can you think of anyone else with skills close to yours who seems to care enough about my well-being to both keep me alive and not try to hit on me? I'd have thought you'd approve of Cass being my bodyguard."

  Archer's brow furrowed in a scowl. "I do, except for the fact that he's still Zane's second."

  I snorted a laugh. "Yeah, for how long? Even an idiot can see that Cass is the real leader of the Reapers. You said it yourself, Zane has outlived his usefulness."

  Archer tipped his head, acknowledging my point.

  "Wait, hold the fuck up," Kody interjected. Poor darling looked confused as all hell. "Why am I just now finding out that there's been a conversation about MK's birth control? Are kids an option here?"

  "No."

  "Yes."

  Archer and I glared at each other, having answered the question at the same time.

  "Well," Kody murmured, his gaze bouncing between the two of us, "this just got serious."

  Archer rolled his eyes and moved away from us to grab his water bottle. "Like it wasn't already, bro."

  "Okay, that's my cue to leave," I muttered. I hurried out of the gym and flipped Archer off when he yelled my name out after me.

  The front doorbell rang as I was stuffing my feet into ballet flats, and I opened the door to greet the giant, tattoo-covered gangster as Archer and Kody emerged from the gym.

  "Take a damn gun, Princess," Archer snapped. In no time at all, he had one out of a hiding place and lifted my shirt to tuck it in my waistband. "You better not be on your bike, Cass."

  The big grump just scowled. "What do you fucking take me for, Arch?" He jerked his head over his should
er, indicating to the vintage Pontiac parked at the bottom of the steps. "I'll bring your girl back in one piece."

  "Let's go," I told Cass as I hurried him down to the car before Archer or Kody changed their minds. "Sampson will follow in his own car."

  Both boys stood on the front steps, staring after us with their arms folded as I slid into Cass's car. I closed my door and buckled my seat belt, so I didn't hear whatever the Reapers’ 2iC said to my guys before getting into the car. The way he huffed a raspy laugh, though, told me he'd been taunting them.

  "Troublemaker," I scolded him as we drove down the long driveway to the front gates.

  He just gave a one-shouldered shrug. "They make it too easy." He glanced over at me as we passed through the front gates and gave the guard a small wave. "You ready for this, kid?"

  I grinned with excitement. "Shit, yes."

  Even though my wedding was a sham, I still wanted to mark the occasion. I wanted to do something to show my guys just how serious I was about this thing between us. Because it was forever.

  29

  My appointment ran late, so rather than go home and risk the boys finding out what I'd been up to all day, I went to a salon to get my hair and makeup done. Then I ducked into a boutique nearby to get a dress to wear.

  After I was ready, Cass dropped me off at the restaurant around fifteen minutes late. He tried to walk me in, but I assured him we had it handled. After all, the whole restaurant had been booked out, and we sure as fuck weren't here for the steak.

  At least... not beef steak and sure as fuck not to eat. I wasn't adverse to cutting strips from Samuel Danvers, depending on how badly he pissed us off.

  I thanked Cass for his help, then threw on my thickest skin before pushing open the door to Osso.

  Sampson had been tailing me, and I paused a moment inside the restaurant to listen as he locked the door from the outside with his set of keys. We, of course, had our own set too. But we would be taking the staff exit when we left.

  "Oh, here she is," a crawlingly familiar voice jeered. "My darling daughter, the blushing bride, fashionably late as always. Did you get lost in your own reflection, dear?"