“Trust my dad, he speaks from lots of experience,” Dirk said dryly. Now the others laughed, along with Mitch. Dirk then turned serious. “As for your wife and boy, Mitch, they should be here, angry wife or no.”
“She won’t come,” Mitch grouched, shifting uncomfortably.
“She’ll come,” Dirk replied. His even look settled upon the man.
Mitch nodded in understanding. Failure to comply would be construed as guilt at this time. As loyal members of Dirk’s family, no one would want any to assume they were in fact hiding their loved ones in case they were indeed at fault for the limo’s problem or bomb.
“I’ll bring them when we’re through here…after I stop at the jewelry store,” Mitch said, grinning. Dirk chuckled, nodding.
“As for this being an inside job we’re not going to start pointing the finger at each other. That is why I called this meeting,” Dirk began, once more serious. “Others whom we are close to also represent our circle that we need to be wary of.”
“Others?” Tyr voiced.
“What do you mean?” Damien asked with concern.
Wolf stepped forward at that time to take his place near Dirk. “Everyone, except of course the children, are being scrutinized. Wives, lovers, housekeepers, friends, gardeners. Everyone who has any contact with us will be looked at, even if it has been only brief contact. It is perhaps best not to inform your wives, if married, what is occurring. Some may feel threatened or even frightened. Secrets from someone’s past suddenly being resurrected can be unnerving. Affairs can cause hurt. I expect all of you to come clean on any love affairs you’re having or had.”
“Are you going to tell us what you find?” a man asked.
“If it revolves around this issue, yes. I’m not a marriage counselor, Ethan. If someone’s ‘other’ is clean I won’t push it to be common knowledge,” Wolf replied.
Ethan relaxed noticeably.
“What about your wife, Wolf?” The others turned as the question was thrown out.
All regarded the young man. The man who asked the question had been loyal for five years. Not yet in his thirties, he had already made a good name for himself in the business. He was feared by many, respected by many more. His work proved to be his passion. His ability to spare innocents when taking the evil was surpassed by no other than Dirk, Wolf and Damien.
“My wife was the first, Deegan. Although like many in here I already knew who I was marrying well before I exposed Casey to anyone in the family, or she to them,” Wolf replied. The question was valid, and he looked unoffended.
Damien knew Dirk’s wife had been investigated, though it had pained Dirk terribly to do so. Never once had they had any suspicions of Candy. She was completely loyal to their family.
“Casey, Candy, and Carrie have all been cleared. Not because they are ours, but because we started with them to prove a point: all are under suspicion until ruled out. We are all at risk. Any of you could have been with Dad when the limo’s brakes failed. Any could have been in the house when the bomb exploded, any of us could be dead. As it was we lost a good friend, a trusted loyal man,” Dirk stressed. A few heads dipped in respect to their fallen comrade.
“What about Chloe, is she cleared?” Deegan persisted.
“Chloe?” Damien enquired with confusion. “Chloe lost her sight during the bomb. She fell down the stairs in her worry over Dad when the car crashed. She was almost killed twice.”
“She disappeared for six months. This whole thing started right after she showed up,” Deegan challenged. A few heads nodded in quiet agreement, though the others remained cautiously silent, waiting to see how this particular scenario would pan out.
“Chloe is family!” Damien raged.
“So are we,” Deegan declared on narrowed eyes.
“Chloe will be cleared like everyone else, Deegan, not to worry,” James said lightly.
“I do worry, James. Your family took me in when I had no one. I still have no one but you. I realize Chloe has been around a lot longer than me, but I would still feel better if we knew where she was for those six months she was in hiding from the same family she professes to love.”
“She wasn’t hiding from us, she was scared!” Damien snarled. He was on his feet, hands balled, a slight rise in color creeping up his neck at his irritation.
“Who was she scared of?” Deegan challenged.
“Now you just wait a minute,” Damien snapped, advancing on the man.
“Enough!” Dirk shouted. Damien stopped to glare at Dirk, and then everyone else in turn.
“You go ahead and clear Chloe, Wolf,” Damien said on a dangerous breath. “That way all will know when my fiancée and I get married, no one is to ever question my wife again.” Damien stormed heatedly from the room, leaving an awkward silence in his wake.
“Well,” James said after a few moments into the stunned room. “I suppose while Wolf and Dirk check into this entire mess I’ll be busy helping Chloe make wedding arrangements.”
“I don’t think my brother could have chosen anyone more loyal,” Dirk said pointedly. He glared hard at Deegan, offering an undeniable challenge.
The man gazed steadily back. He knew the look for what it was and stayed wisely silent. It was best never to tread on thin ice, especially if it might be shot out from under you.
Chapter Eleven
Chloe was bored. The other women in the house were busy with their children. As much as Chloe loved the little ones, she found she was still prone to headaches when the noise became too much. When a gentle throbbing began at her temple she had wandered into the attic, knowing Dirk would not let her leave the house. No one was to come or go without his knowledge. Chloe was becoming agitated at the thought. She was missing her freedom.
The day was beautiful, but for some reason they had even been forbidden to wander the garden. Dirk had claimed in an offhand way it was under construction. To Chloe it sounded a tad suspicious; the grounds were always meticulous.
Besides, staying indoors was fine for the children. Dirk had built a massive playroom underground equipped with slides, swings, teeter totters, and sandbox. Chloe had thought he had gone too far with the indoor movie theater with popcorn maker and ice-cream bar.
There was a small, well heated area where a fountain and sprinkler operated. Brilliant and strategic lighting gave the impression of sunlight when not one corner or wall sported a window.
The entire area was climate controlled. Mystical characters peeked around lifelike Styrofoam hedges and trees. Papier-mâché boulders were situated strategically for the children to climb on. A fake grass area was placed with tiny squirrels, chipmunks and stuffed baby bears, wolves and raccoons, giving the appearance they picnicked outdoors amidst fun loving nature.
The entire area was painted an unthreatening mint green. The steel door guarding the enclosure was decorated on the inside with soft colorful felt, giving it the appearance of a huge wrapped present.
No one could enter or exit without clearance from two armed brutes who kept a critical eye on the women and children within. A metal electrical box sat poised directly beside the door. The only way the door would swing open was with an authorized hand print placed onto the screen. The information was then fed into the high-tech computer.
Chloe walked through the massive attic. She and Damien had such fun up there when they were children. There were numerous articles of clothing from different eras piled into creaky old wooden chests. They had pretended they were Rhett Butler and Scarlet O’Hara. Bonnie and Clyde, Tarzan and Jane.
Chloe chuckled as she held up the very revealing loincloth, a very old costume from a Halloween party. She often wondered who had been brave enough to wear it. Glancing around, she noticed the thick wooden rope Damien had strung from the rafters and swung from.
She still remembered his pitiful attempt to mimic the Tarzan yell; his voice would crack every time, causing her to laugh hysterically. To this day she wondered if he had done it on purpose.
> “Want me to put it on?”
Chloe looked up and smiled when she saw Damien leaning nonchalantly against an old wooden brown beam. “At least this time we wouldn’t have to wrap it around you twice and then pin it to keep it from falling off when you jump for the rope. Although I wouldn’t mind seeing it down around your ankles again.”
Damien had been seven, Chloe five. That had been their first time at innocent discovery with one another. Already a full head taller than her petite form, Chloe had found his body to be fascinating. So had he with her, claiming everything was tucked away so neatly inside, while she declared he was weird.
To his embarrassment she had wondered out loud how that tiny little thing could possibly make a real live baby. She had scratched at her head after a thorough investigation of his flaccid penis and declared his must be the type to make Smurfs.
Damien reached down for the equally revealing costume of Jane and held it up against her. “At least this time you would fill out the front a whole lot better and we wouldn’t have to use both my rolled up socks and yours.”
“Your socks smelled horrible,” Chloe said on a distasteful grimace of remembrance.
“Is that why you were always making a face? I always thought you were attempting to get into character, your worry over me fighting the killer alligators.”
“Saving you would never have been so simple; I just would have nailed them with your smelly socks!” Chloe said dryly.
Damien smiled and pulled her close.
“Ouch!” Chloe complained shifting against him. She pulled back on his jacket and stepped back when she saw the firearm strapped to his broad chest. Chloe looked up at him, feeling a touch of dread.
Damien smoothed a lock of wayward hair from her concerned eyes. “I know weapons frighten you. Dirk wants everyone armed. Even in the house. It really is for your own safety. Don’t be afraid, you know I would never hurt you.”
“I have never feared you, Damien, at least not in the way you are suggesting. Is it really that bad?”
“Both you and Dad were almost killed. I can’t lose either of you, I won’t.”
Chloe snuggled once more into his embrace, avoiding the weapon. “You’re stuck with me, remember? Or have you forgotten already?”
“Forgotten,” Damien snorted. “Dad’s already picking out china patterns and baby names.”
Chloe laughed and looked deeply into his eyes. Cheekily, she waved the costume before him. “Do you have time to play with me, handsome?”
Damien chuckled. He reached for the costume, but Chloe snatched it back and danced away from him.
“Come and get me,” she taunted, waving the garment back and forth.
Damien took up the challenge with enthusiasm. Chloe ducked and wove her way around the spacious area, jumping a few trunks and old forgotten toys, with Damien only a few feet behind.
She pretended to weave one way, then darted another, but it appeared Damien had been prepared for her tactical evasion. He captured her around the waist, lifting her high off the ground.
Chloe screamed with delight. Damien carried her easily, then pinned her amidst the large pile of heaped clothing she had been pawing through. He held her hands clasped high above her head.
“You have me,” Chloe panted.
“Not yet, but I plan on it,” Damien said with hot passion.
Chloe could hear her heart hammering inside her chest up into her ears. The smoldering look Damien cast down upon her started a flame deep within her core, flowing through her, filling her, only to intensify.
She struggled, wanting her arms around his powerful shoulders. Damien wouldn’t oblige. Her tiny wrists remained clasped within his large hand as Damien settled himself over top of her. She could feel his hard erection pressed between her thighs.
He dipped his head to kiss her. He drank from her mouth, and she moaned. Damien glided his tongue over her teeth, caressing her lips with his. His heated breath slipped down her throat into her lungs that begged for the life’s breath. He shared, mixing with hers, drawing her into him. His arousing touch began the first steps of their lovers' dance.
Chloe begged him to release her hands. Her flesh called to his. A fleeting sound, murmured whispers into his ears that her touch was needed, before they could move forwards. Damien would not relent. He was discovering every inch of her. She knew the moment her hands glided across his firm backside he would be lost to her. The feeling was intoxicating, knowing she could control and satisfy his needs.
“Damien,” Chloe whispered. Her eyes delved deeply into his, her tiny movements calling, cajoling. She could feel the heat between her thighs rise higher.
More of his weight settled onto her while she writhed beneath him, wanting him closer. Damien slipped his free hand beneath her shirt, rising higher, excruciatingly slow, trailing over her belly and rib cage.
He touched her with a gentle caress. Her trapped wrists were suddenly free as Damien reached for her shirt collar, his hand entwined within the fabric and he pulled with his powerful grip.
The buttons popped one by one and flew in his enthusiasm; they landed soundlessly amidst the large pile of clothing underneath. The sound of cloth tearing rent the air. Chloe was unconcerned; her own hands were fumbling with his belt, then zipper.
She was successful, and she enveloped Damien’s hard, thick erection in her warm grip, drawing him closer with encouragement.
“Taste me,” Damien demanded throatily. His hands tightened in her hair, drawing her to him.
Damien slipped his hips higher onto Chloe’s chest. Eagerly she took the tip of his penis into her mouth. Her tongue laved around his head, drawing him into her mouth, then deeper within her throat. Her teeth grazed him ever so gently, and he groaned.
Chloe was filled with delight; she wanted his thoughts solely on her, his mind enveloped with her scent alone. He would move only for her purpose. Chloe teased and licked at him while her hands ran the engorged length of him, playing with his full, round globes.
The first time he had ever coaxed her into oral sex she had been apprehensive. His penis was so thick and long she was certain she would choke. Damien had been very cautious of her fears. He had moved over her with caution, telling her he would be careful.
He had been; he had been more than satisfied with her innocent attempts to please him. She had done what he asked out of love. Now that he was inside her she reveled in his taste, no longer afraid but willing, drawing him deeper, knowing his thoughts were on her alone and the sensations she caused were so satisfying and pleasing. Damien was always certain to keep his weight from pinning her. She knew he didn’t want her to feel trapped, but eager. She was.
While he rode her mouth slowly, Damien removed his shirt. He unstrapped his holster, setting it aside, though it remained within his reach. Chloe closed her eyes while he handled the weapon. Damien had been right when he expressed her concern over the gun. His hands, now empty, stroked her cheeks. His thumbs ran over her eyelids.
“Chloe, look at me,” Damien said.
When Chloe’s eyes opened she knew he could see her fear, see her struggling to concentrate on him, but from this position she was unable to. Damien removed himself from her mouth and slid down the slender length of her shivering body. Once more he captured her wrists high above her head.
“Who is more powerful than me?” he demanded.
“No one,” she responded dutifully in a tiny voice.
“I will keep you safe.”
“Love me, Damien.”
Damien dipped his head to claim her mouth. He began the dance anew. He trailed his lips down her throat to one high nipple. He drew her into his mouth with expertise. When the nipple hardened, he stroked his thumbnail across the tip, watching her shiver with renewed excitement.
He slipped his other hand lower, teasing. His fingers reached their ultimate goal and parted her, roaming first the outside of her soft warm folds, then dipped within. Chloe shivered at his tentative dip and withdrawal.
Two large fingers coaxed their way deeper; filling her while he mouthed a gentle trail down her taut belly.
Chloe thought she would expire when finally, finally his tongue flicked to her bud, then suckled. She moaned, calling to him, desperate for more. Damien eagerly obliged.
He drew her into his mouth, demanding more of her heat while she writhed beneath him, crying her need. She begged him to rise and enter her, pulling at him. Instead, he used both tongue and fingers.
He told her this time he wanted to glide within her, as though he were a wave of satin riding hot moist air into a liquid sky. He was ignoring her voiced verbal pleas and concentrated on her body’s whispered words, words he had told her were meant for him alone. Her body arched suddenly, unexpectedly. Only when she felt her heated liquid meet his tongue, did he rise over her.
Chloe cried out his name. His engorged length slipped into her. She could feel her tightness pleasantly slick with a wetness that welcomed him. She lapped and laved at his chest, tasting him, driving him to flip her onto himself. He gripped her waist, almost spanning it.
Chloe’s head fell back as she allowed him the control he sought. He lifted her easily, pumping himself wildly into her. Their breath was expelled together as one, sharply with each thrust.
Chloe could take no more; he was so incredibly powerful, demanding, while she was still recovering. She battled her exhaustion and lost, slumping forward onto him, whimpering for him to hurry as her bones turned to jelly.
Once more she felt herself turned abruptly in his steel grip and Damien was on top of her; he pinned her hands high above her head as he led the dance for them both. She gave him the lead. The clothing beneath them became saturated with their sweat.
Again Chloe cried out. Her body arched, shuddered, and went still. Damien howled in victory. They were one. His arms closed around her possessively, both refusing to part with the feeling. He nuzzled her cheek. He remained buried deeply within her, moving slowly. His breath felt hot against the side of her flushed face. She could hear his body questioning, coaxing.
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