by Kim Jones
Luke stood before I could and was immediately pushed back down on the couch. Each goon kept a firm hand on both of his shoulders. I swallowed hard and looked at him. He was visibly shaken about something, but I didn’t know what. Charlie wouldn’t hurt me. Would he?
“Dallas.” I heard Charlie say, and I knew that if I didn’t go to him, Luke might suffer for it. I stood, wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt and walked towards him. “Are you scared, Dallas?”
“Yes,” I whispered, my body trembling in fear. Frankie was the only one that was supposed to die today, yet he had not uttered a word.
“Don’t be scared, love. You are a soldier.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. When he spoke, it was low and menacing. “Now, you take this gun, and you kill the man that ruined your life. You kill the man that took the life of your mother. This is your chance to make the world a better place, Dallas. If you want to make the ultimate sacrifice for Maddie, now you have that chance.” I stared at the gun that he had placed in my hand without me knowing. His hypnotizing words had me in such a trance that I hadn’t even felt its weight until now. Charlie straightened in front of me and nodded his head. I turned to see Luke staring at me with a look I couldn’t decipher.
“You don’t have to do this, baby. This wasn’t part of the deal,” Luke said, his voice caressing me.
“It’s mine and Dallas’s deal, Luke. It’s the price that she has to pay to spend her days without me. Everything comes with a price. You know that.” Luke ignored Charlie’s words and kept his eyes trained on me.
“I will figure something out, babe,” Luke started. Charlie cut him off before he could say anymore.
“There is no negotiating this.”
“She is not a killer, Charlie. Don’t turn her into something she isn’t. She is innocent in all of this, and you know it. I’ll do it. Just leave her out of it,” Luke pleaded. I looked at Frankie, his head hung down in front of him. Could I really take the life of this man? I thought of what he had done to me. I thought of the nightmares he had caused and the way his sickeningly sweet breath poured over my neck as he spoke to me, while I hung in a barn. I thought of how it felt when he put his hands on me, and how even now, it made me feel dirty. Then I thought of what he had done to Maddie. How he had betrayed her by running when he knew that if he did, she would be taken from him. She would be taken from Logan, leaving him to grow up without a mother or father. Frankie raised his head, his eyes pleading with me. I saw him mouth the word ‘please,’ but it was too late. I had made my decision.
Chapter 20
Luke
I sat on the love seat, assessing the situation before me. I wondered how much I would have to pay, if I managed to get away from the men that held me down and grabbed the gun from Dallas’s hand. Maybe I could kill Frankie before they had a chance to fire on me. This was Charlie’s way of owning Dallas. He knew, that for the rest of her life, she would think about this day. I thought about the men that I had killed. They were sons, brothers, fathers- and every day I saw their faces. They all deserved to die, but it didn’t make it any easier. This ‘ultimate sacrifice’ shit sounded like something out of a fucking sci-fi movie. I watched Dallas pull the hammer back on the gun. I had to do something. I couldn’t let her live with this. Frankie raised his head, I saw him mouth the word please to her, and watched as his eyes filled with tears. I looked back to Dallas, ready to make my move when her lips moved. The words she said came out loud and clear, and they sounded cold and distant.
“Too late,” She said, her mind obviously in a different place. Before I fully processed what happened, the gun went off and Frankie’s lifeless body slumped over onto the floor. I stared at his wide eyes that seemed to look straight at me. He had a round hole that was centered perfectly in the middle of his forehead. Brain matter covered the wall behind him. His mouth was slightly open and a trickle of blood ran out of it and onto the floor. I looked at Dallas, and she still had the gun pointed at the place where Frankie sat only seconds before. Her eyes were trained on the wall behind him and her small body started to shake slightly. I went to stand, prepared to fight the men beside me if they tried to hold me back. They didn’t stop me as I got up and went to Dallas, taking the gun from her hand and quickly wiping the fingerprints from it with my shirt. I tossed the gun onto the couch and turned Dallas towards me, pulling her into my arms. It took her a second to snap out of it and realize that it was me holding her. Her arms went around my back as she sobbed into my chest. Fuck, I missed this girl. I rubbed her hair, whispering that she was safe and I was here. I kissed her head over and over again, loving the feel of her hair on my lips. Just the smell of her brought me back to life. I could have stood there holding her all day, but I knew that we needed to get out of there, now.
I tucked Dallas into my side and turned to Charlie. There were so many things I wanted to say to him, but we were even. I didn’t owe him anything and neither did Dallas. This was the perfect time to keep my mouth shut. Charlie approached us, smiling like a proud papa. Sick fuck.
“May I?” he asked, gesturing towards Dallas. No fucking way was I letting her go. I just looked at him and he held his hands up in front of him in a show of surrender. I didn’t want him to get on that disrespectful kick, so I spoke to Dallas, hoping she could manage to tolerate him just a few more minutes.
“Babe, we are leaving, but Charlie has something he wants to say.” Dallas turned her face to look at him, her head still buried in my side.
“Yes, Charlie,” she whispered. I was surprised that she managed to speak.
“My card is in the bags along with your things that I bought you. They are in the back seat of Luke’s truck. If ever you need me, I am just a phone call away. I give my word,” he looked at me letting me know that the next words he spoke were just as good as chiseled in stone, “that the next favor you ask of me, comes with no strings attached. It’s on the house.” Charlie using metaphors? What the fuck?
Dallas nodded her head at him then looked to me. “I want to go home.”
I drove us out of the state of Texas. I couldn’t put miles between us and Charlie fast enough. Dallas had started off riding in the passenger seat. I held her hand in mine as we rode silently down the interstate. After about thirty minutes, she unbuckled her seat belt, lifted the console and slid next to me. I wrapped my arm around her, as she curled her body next to mine. Fuck, she fit perfectly in my arms. Thirty minutes after that, I guess she felt like she wasn’t close enough to me. She crawled in my lap, straddling my waist and laid her head on my shoulder. I adjusted the seat and steering wheel, so we could get more comfortable-not that I needed comfort. I could sit in the most awkward position, for hours, as long as she was on top of me. Her hands rubbed the back of my neck and I swear that she was sniffing me. Just the feel of her hands on me had my cock standing at attention. I knew I was a prick for thinking of sex at a time like this, but fuck, I had missed her. Once we crossed into Louisiana, I started looking for a hotel. I didn’t care what it was, as long as it had a bed and a shower. I found a Best Western just off the interstate in Lake Charles, LA and pulled in. It was almost ten and I knew we couldn’t make the four hour journey home without some sleep. I just wanted to find a bed and hold my girl. Hell, we could just sleep in the truck for all I cared, but Dallas needed something a little more comfortable than a truck.
“Babe, we gotta check in,” I said, moving the hair from her face and looking down at her. Fuck, she was gorgeous. I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to feel those perfect lips against mine. I wanted to feel her mouth on me everywhere, and I wanted to taste every inch of her. She wanted the same thing. I could tell by the look in her eyes that she needed me. If I kissed her now, we would never leave the truck.
“You go ahead,” she said, her voice throaty and sexy as hell. Must have been from the crying. I shook my head. No fucking way was I letting her out of my sights.
“You are going in with me. I can carry you or you can walk, but you are going.” M
y tone was kind of harsh and I mentally kicked myself for being such a dick. She just smiled at me. Damn that smile. I was at her mercy when she looked at me like this. I would crawl through hell with gasoline tanks on my back, just to see her smile.
“I’ll walk,” she said, sitting up and sliding off of me. Her skirt rose, giving me a sneak peak at the black, lacy panties that covered her sweet pussy. My cock hurt at the sight of them. I got out of the truck, holding her hand as she slid off the seat and stood, straightening her skirt and reaching back to grab her shoes. Her perfectly shaped ass was right in front of me, and it took everything I had not to rip her skirt off and fuck her right there. I adjusted myself while she wasn’t looking, giving my cock a squeeze, trying to find some relief. It didn’t fucking work. Once her shoes were on, we walked hand in hand inside the lobby and I booked us a room, on the bottom floor, for the night. The closer we were to the truck, the better. I parked in front of our room, and once we were inside and the door was closed, she attacked me. Her arms went around my neck and her lips found mine. I didn’t even have time to process what was happening before her soft, wet tongue invaded my mouth. She let out little moans as I covered my mouth with hers, massaging her tongue with my own. She had me pushed up against the door, and in that instant I knew that we both needed me to be inside her. I controlled myself and slowly unzipped her skirt, building the anticipation. It had been a long time since I had made love to my girl, and it was going to be perfect.
Dallas
I couldn’t get enough of Luke. The ride here almost killed me. I wanted nothing more than to smell him, taste him and touch him. He didn’t seem to mind that I curled up in his lap. I could feel his hardness pushing against me and it took everything I had to not dry hump him. I figured we had come too far to die in a car wreck because we couldn’t control ourselves. Now here I was, with him, in a hotel and I couldn’t get his clothes off fast enough. Luke’s patience was almost annoying. He took his time, unzipping my skirt and even slowed down our kiss. I wanted him to rip it off of me and kiss me so hard he made my lips swell. I didn’t want to think about anything but him. I wouldn’t. “Please,” I begged, knowing he knew what I wanted.
“Calm down, baby. It’s been a while. I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered against my lips.
“Hurt me. I don’t care,” I said, plunging my tongue back into his mouth. He chuckled and released my skirt, letting it fall to the floor. Immediately I starting climbing him, and he had no choice but to grab the backs of my thighs and lift me. I almost came as his hard cock brushed against me. Even through his jeans, he felt long and thick. He carried me to the bed and laid me down gently, covering my body with his own.
“I missed you, baby. I just want to taste you. I want to feel you. I need to know that you are really here with me.” I moaned at his words as he slid to the floor, on his knees between my legs. He removed my heels from my feet and kissed his way up my leg. Grabbing my panties, he slid them off my legs and opened me up before him. He kissed the insides of my thighs, teasing me. When his tongue finally glided between the lips of my pussy, I threw my head back and screamed. My fingers fisted in his hair, as I pushed his mouth further into me. I bucked my hips, riding his face, holding nothing back. His tongue rubbed slow circles around my clit until I exploded in an orgasm that left my whole body jerking. The patience Luke had was now gone as he climbed over me and pulled me up to a sitting position. He removed my shirt and bra, then gently pushed me back on the bed while he removed his own clothes. He took my breasts in his hands and pinched my nipples roughly. Pleasure shot through me as he rolled them between his fingers. His mouth replaced his hands and he sucked gently on my nipples, soothing them with each stroke of his tongue. His cock was pressed against my opening and I pushed against it, crying out from pleasure when the tip of it slid inside.
“Fuck, baby. You are so wet,” he said, surprised at how easily he had slipped inside of me.
“More,” I begged against his lips. I ran my tongue across them, tasting myself. He pushed deeper, filling me completely and it took my breath away. I arched my back, urging him to go deeper and he consented. He moved in and out of me slowly, all the while keeping his forehead pressed against mine and looking into my eyes. The love we made was beautiful. Just feeling him inside me, tasting his lips, breathing in the scent of him-was enough to complete me. There was no way I could ever want anything more than what I had in this very moment. My hands moved to his back, feeling his muscles flex each time he drove deep inside me. He could tell by the clenching of my muscles and the stiffness of my body, that I was close. He moved harder and faster, bringing me to that point of ecstasy that only he could. We came together, both of us drowning in a wave of pleasure. It was different this time, more intense. Maybe it was because we had been apart from one another for so long. Maybe it was because we felt like we had taken advantage of the time we had with one another. Whatever it was, made me realize that if I had one more day, or one hundred years left on this planet, they would amount to nothing if they weren’t with Luke.
Luke and I took a shower together. One that will go down in history. It started out with me washing him, then him washing me, then me on my knees, then me against the wall while he pounded into me. It was epic. Now I lay beside him, running circles over his chest with my fingers. His abdomen was covered in purple and blue bruises, but Luke had the strength of a bull. Not once did he give the slightest hint that he was in pain. He told me that he had some broken ribs, but by the way he just fucked me against the shower wall, I didn’t believe him.
“Does it hurt?” I asked, my hand brushing softly over his sides.
“Like hell,” he responded smiling at me, twirling a lock of my hair in his hand.
“But in the shower…” I started, unsure of how to finish the sentence.
“Babe, when I am inside you, you are all I feel. There is no room for pain, where you’re concerned,” he said, wearing his sexy smirk. Damn, I loved this man.
“Should I feel bad for killing Frankie?” My question caught him off guard, and for the first time, Luke didn’t know what to say. “I mean, maybe it just hasn’t sank in, but all I could think when I looked at him was of all the horrible things he had done to me and the hell he had put Maddie through. Didn’t he deserve to die?” I asked, my eyes searching his for judgment.
“He deserved to die. There is no doubt about that. As far as you feeling bad, I think that is something you are just going to have to deal with on your own. I can’t help you with it.” Luke’s words were ones I needed to hear. He didn’t judge me, and he didn’t give me any false hope about it getting easier.
“Have you ever killed anyone?” I asked, keeping my eyes trained on his chest. It wasn’t fair of me to ask him to share such secrets, but I needed to know. He stayed silent for a while and when he finally spoke, I knew I had unlocked a dark place in Luke’s life.
“I have. Not a day goes by that I don’t think about them or see their faces. They deserved to die too, but it wasn’t my place to take their lives. I did what I had to do though, just as you did. Instead of dwelling on the negative, think of the positive. It doesn’t make it right, but it makes it easier. There is not another woman who will be harmed at the hands of Frankie the Cutter, and they have you to thank for that.” He kissed my head and pulled me to him. I let his words sink in. The problem was that the only thing that I felt bad about was having to tell Maddie that it was me who pulled the trigger.
I woke up rested and in the arms of Luke. There was no way this day could get any better. I laid there a long time, enjoying the way his breath tickled my ear. One of his legs was thrown over mine and his left arm was wrapped around my stomach. My head lay on his arm and each of my hands held his. I sighed out loud and the little moan that slipped out was enough to wake Luke from his slumber. He tightened his grip on me and leaned up to place his chin on my shoulder. I turned to him and smiled. His sleepy, sexy face reminding me of how lucky I was, once again.
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“Good morning, beautiful. Sleep well?” he asked, raining kisses on my face.
“Mmmm,” I replied, words to describe my night failed me.
“Ready to go home?” Just the thought of seeing the faces of the ones I loved, especially Maddie, caused a rush of excitement to pass through me. I rolled Luke to his back and climbed on top of him, making sure to keep my weight off of his torso. Luke didn’t seem to mind or have the slightest worry about his injuries. I felt him growing hard beneath me and the thoughts of seeing my family went to the back of my mind. Right now, I just needed him inside me. I slid back and forth, gliding my wetness across him.
