by Charlie Hart
Even as I say the words, I know how wrong I am. He loved me in his own warped way, but he loved his research more. I’d always known that. The story I have told myself, time and time again, is that Lawson is the only enemy… the real reason I ran. But I know that isn’t the entire truth.
Who wants to believe a father wouldn’t put his child’s best interests before his own? I certainly don’t.
But my memories pierce my mind’s eye with the same pressure as the needles that broke through my coming-of-age skin all those years ago.
“I won’t let her touch you.” Sal pulls me back against his chest.
“What if your mother is right?” I relax into him and take the strength he offers because right now I need it. It’s like pieces of a twisted puzzle are coming into place. “What if he did something to me, something that will now harm me? Or what if my blood does hold a key? How can I resist giving myself over in an effort to find a cure? Not just for me, but for all women.”
Salinger sighs. “Let’s just get through the next week, okay?”
I nod, but my head is spinning, and I don’t get much time to think about the possible consequences before Sal’s phone is ringing again.
“It’s my father,” he says before answering it and putting it on speaker.
The fact that he trusts me enough to let me hear the call, stirs something in my chest.
“You have news?”
“Yes,” his father answers with a voice drained, his exhaustion evident in a single word. “Warren Thorne is going home. He’s asked for a tour of our naval base, but it doesn’t seem like he suspects his daughter is here.”
I reach for Salinger’s fingers, squeezing them tightly as if holding onto him is what’s keeping my father at bay.
“He’s not going to be a problem then?” Salinger asks with the same look of incredulity I feel.
“I didn’t say that. But whether he knows your wife is here or not, he isn’t taking any quick actions to get her back.”
“But you think he’ll still be trouble?”
“As long as that woman is on Alaskan soil, there will always be cause for concern. Unless—"
“She’s not pregnant,” Sal says quickly.
“Unfortunate.” His father gives a harsh grunt, then continues, “We have reason to believe that those responsible for torpedoing the ship weren’t acting under any specific countries’ orders.”
Sal frowns. “Then who?”
A deep sigh follows. “Someone wanting to make a point. Wanting something that we have.”
I hear the hidden words. Does he think my father had something to do with the attack? Or Lawson? I don’t even know if they have the means to do such a thing, but if they did...
Oh God, if it’s true, then it’s my fault.
I try to hold back the tears that burn my eyes and press my fist to my mouth.
“Then we fight back,” Salinger says, watching me, and I know he can read my thoughts. “It’s war now.”
“Yes, son, it’s war.”
My chest is so tight, and my throat feels like it’s closing in on itself. I can’t breathe. I stand and rush to my bathroom, splashing water on my face and trying not to hyperventilate.
Sal comes in a moment later. “This isn’t on you, Tia.”
“Then who am I supposed to blame?” I ask, looking at us both through the mirror. My eyes are puffy, my heart bruised. It’s all so much.
“The men responsible.”
“None of this would have happened if I hadn’t come here.” My fingers grip the countertop, and I wonder when the madness will stop. Will it ever?
“Maybe not now, but eventually these men would take and destroy anything or anyone else in their path. They have to be stopped.”
I know he’s right, but guilt still presses heavily on me.
“Come here,” he says, wrapping one arm around my waist, his other hand resting on my cheek. “We’ll fight this.”
“I don’t want anyone else getting hurt. I can’t...” I swallow hard. “I won’t survive if anything else happens to any of you.”
He smiles softly. “You can, and you will. Because you’re strong. Stronger than anyone I know. And we’re going to beat this. You, me, our family. We’ll fight, and we’ll win. And one day, when you’re not worrying about Giles or Emerson, or anything else, I’m going to make love to you.” He presses his lips to mine. “Ravish every inch of your body and make you mine.”
I whimper against his mouth, needing that now. Needing all the strength he can give me. Needing the connection.
“No,” I murmur, kissing him. “I need that now.”
Chapter 14
Salinger
I’m so fucking ready to make love to her and while I was willing to wait, I’m so glad she has other ideas.
Our mouths meet, our lips collide, and I run my hands up her back, drawing her near.
“Sal,” she moans as my body presses against her own.
I’m hard for her, desperate.
Just then, there is a loud boom from the living room, directly below us. I pull back, confused. Not needing another fucking thing to get between Tia and me.
“We should just check and make sure--”
I cut her off. “Of course.”
Just like that, she slips out the bathroom door and rushes down the stairs, while I trail closely behind her.
A moment later her face breaks out into a smile. On the couch Banks, Huxley, and Giles all have controllers in their hands and there is a big screen television propped up on a table. Bottles of beer and potato chips cover the coffee table.
“What the hell is this?” I ask, stepping into the room.
“Sweet, right?” Huxley grins. “I got it today.”
“A television?” Tia asks with a bemused look on her face.
“Yeah,” Giles says smiling. “And guess what? Banks is a fucking pro at this stuff.”
“It’s not stuff,” Banks says coolly, though even I can see his frown is a poorly concealed smile. “It’s called Grand Theft Auto.”
“I thought something had broken or crashed to the floor,” she says.
Banks lifts an eyebrow. “That was just a car chase, Tia. A car chase I won, I might add.”
“Cocky, are we?” she asks with a laugh.
He shrugs. “I have reason to be.”
Huxley cracks up. “It’s true. I’m ashamed to admit it, but Banks owns this PlayStation like a boss.”
“Meanwhile I can hardly make the controllers work,” Giles says lifting a beer.
Huxley looks up at me from the couch. “I thought it might help take everyone's mind off everything with Em and Fallon gone...”
Tia leans over and kisses him tenderly. “That was so thoughtful, Hux.”
I swallow, not really wanting video games to trump my time with Tia.
Tia stands back up, her hand finding mine. “I can’t stay and play though,” she says, a frown as fake as Banks’ on her face.
“No?” Giles asks. “You can take my turn.”
She shakes her head. “No, I already had plans for how to help Sal and I take our minds off things.”
“Yeah?” Hux asks, giving her a knowing smile. “How’s that?”
Tia’s cheeks burn, and I realize she isn’t going to let me down tonight. “We’re going for a drive is all.”
Then she tugs on my hand and pulls me from the room.
A few minutes later, we’re in my SUV and headed out of our neighborhood.
“Where exactly are we headed?” I ask the woman in charge.
She runs a hand over my thigh and my fingers dig into the steering wheel.
“You better slow down or I’ll crash this car.”
She laughs, pulling her hand away. “Fine,” she says. “I suppose I can wait a little longer.”
I look over at her, the night sky hiding her features, but her bright eyes still shine through the dark hours. God, I want her. “Left or right, wife?” I ask as we reach the fork i
n the road. “Where are we headed?”
“I want to go to the brothel.”
We’re sitting at the stop sign, no cars anywhere, so I take my time looking at my wife.
“You mean that?” I ask, my voice low and so fucking full of desire.
She reaches her hand back to my thigh but doesn’t stop there. Her hand runs over the bulge in my pants, her fingers rubbing against my growing length.
“Ever since I saw you in the shower,” she whispers. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about your cock.”
I groan, the word on her lips sounds so fucking dirty. Her hands press against my erection, she licks her lips as she squeezes me gently.
“You’re so big,” she murmurs. “And I keep thinking about those dirty romance novels Hux got me. How the women in those books loved huge cocks so much. They’d describe them in such detail. Their length. Their thickness. And when I saw you, all I could think is that you’d put those alphas to shame.”
My hands grip the steering wheel as I exhale slowly, taking in her words.
“I want you to fuck me the first time you have me,” she tells me.
I look her in the eyes, lift my foot off the brakes. “Love,” I say. “I’ll do more than that.”
“Oh?”
“I plan on fucking you every time I have you.”
I put my foot on the gas as my hand reaches for her pussy, and I run my fingers over her jeans, needing to feel her, knowing she’s already wet for me. No woman talks like that unless they are ready to be taken.
The drive to the brothel is quick. I know the way and I don’t waste time. Hell, we’ve had a setback every step of the way, leading us to this moment. The here, the now. And I’m not going to turn it over to anyone.
The only thing I plan on turning over is Tia. Running my hands over her ass, my fingers buried in her pussy. God, I’m ready to give my wife everything.
I park the car behind Hux’s shop and open the passenger door, taking her hand in mine. She lowers her head as we walk toward a back entrance where I unlock the door. Once we pass through a dark hallway, I stop, turning to face her.
“It’s a lot later here than the night we came with Hux,” I explain. “There will be women working the floor and lots of men. I don’t need anyone talking about you, so I’m taking you to my room and that’s final. I’ll get us drinks, anything you need, but you can’t come into the bar. Understand?”
She nods but I don’t know if she takes me seriously, because her hand is on the waistband of my pants and she begins to slide her fingers down.
I pull her hand back. “Listen, Tia, I know we want to let loose and have fun, but we have to be careful. You’re not just my wife, you’re five other men’s wife too. And you are precious to all of us. Precious to me.”
She looks up at me, offering me her hand and I know she’s heard me by the look in her eyes. It’s deep and true and meant for me alone. “I love you, Salinger.”
Her words hit me in a place I never knew was hollow. An empty space in my chest only she can fill.
“Because I brought you to a whore house?” I ask, tears pricking my fucking eyes.
She shakes her head. “No, because you’re more than anyone assumes. You’re a really good man.”
I blink. Wondering why her telling me this means so damn much.
“And more than that,” she says, this time her face lit up with sass. “I have a feeling you’re going be a really good fuck.”
I pick my wife up off the floor, throw her over my shoulder, and carry her to my room. The bar is loud with music and laughter and the patrons don’t pay us any mind. I toss her onto the wide chaise, pull the velvet curtains closed, and tear off my coat.
“You want to see my cock again?” I ask her, knowing how much she wants me.
“So badly.” She sits up, watching me closely. She lifts her sweater over her head, her perfect tits filling out a white lace bra. They are so round, so full. And I can’t wait to pull one into my mouth, to suck her perfect nipple and run my tongue over her ample globes.
“Then you better show me your pretty pink pussy,” I tell her. I walk toward her, gently easing her back down. I pull off her boots and tug down her jeans, her little panties caught up in the fray.
Her creamy skin is heaven. When I run my hand over her thigh, her knees press together and her eyebrow lifts.
“You mind spreading those thighs, wife?”
She grins shaking her head. “Not until you’re out of those pants, husband.”
I do as she asks. I toss off my shirt, step out of my jeans, and push down my boxers. My cock is hard and stiff, all for her, and I run my hand over my length, loving the way she stares at me with such unabashed desire.
“Oh God, Sal,” she says with a hint of desperation, her breasts heaving as she speaks. Her hard nipples poke through the lace bra like tiny buttons of desire. “I don’t know if it’s going to work.”
“What do you mean?” I step toward her, my hands on her knees.
“I don’t know if you’ll fit.”
I grin, confident in one thing: I will fill my wife up tonight, nice and full.
“Then let me have a look, love, and I’ll let you know.”
I push apart her knees, my cock growing with every inch of her she shows me.
“Do you like the way I look?” she asks. There is a trace of vulnerability in her eyes that I wasn’t expecting.
“Are you insane?”
She shakes her head. “You just have a lot of… experience. Seen lots of women’s bodies.”
“Tia, first of all, you’ve been making love with five other men for months.”
She shakes her head. “Four other men. Banks and I….”
I sigh. “Tia, you are my only wife. The only woman I’ve ever loved.”
“You love me?” she asks.
“You know I do.”
“I didn’t know if you just said it because your parents were threatening me.”
“I love you, Tia.” I take her hand and press it to my cock. Her hand is warm and soft, and she exhales, feeling the length of me. “I said I was going to fuck you, but the truth is, I’ve fucked a lot of women. Tonight, you and I, we’re going to make love. And I hope I rock your goddamn world because you’ve rocked mine in ways I never thought possible.”
“God Sal, you sure you’ve never spoken like this before because you’re really good at speeches.”
“No. I’m not a politician, I’m not my father. I’m just a man. Your man.”
“Yes, Salinger, you are.” She pulls my mouth to hers, and groans against my lips. Her legs spread as I lean between them, finding my place with her bare skin against my own.
And as I thrust inside her, burying every inch of myself in her sweet pussy, nothing has ever felt better or more right. As fucking hard as it was to wait, I’m glad I did. Because this, us, now, means... everything.
Chapter 15
Tia
Salinger doesn’t hold back. He takes me hard, those brown eyes boring into me as his cock fills me so full I feel like I’m going to burst with the pleasure of it.
He’s not as tall as some of the other men, or as brawny, but his muscles are defined, and his thighs strong enough to lift me. He picks me up and I laugh with excitement, with pleasure rippling through me. He holds me against the wall, taking me there as he grips my ass and thrusts inside of me.
The first time I come, I bite his shoulder hard, tasting blood but he just chuckles, as my body goes limp around him. But he’s not done with me. He tosses me on the chaise and flips me over, smacking my ass, and demanding, “Hands and knees, sweetheart.”
I do what he says, and when he buries himself inside me from that angle, I cry out with the fullness of him.
“My God, Tia,” he says, pulling out, then thrusting back in. “You’re so fucking beautiful.”
My clit starts throbbing again and I need friction.
As if reading my mind, he pulls out and I’m flipped o
nto my back so quickly that I let out a small shriek and my breasts bounce before his face is buried in my swollen pussy. His tongue licks up my seam, before finding my clit and giving it a hard suck. My body explodes with the sensation, his tongue so hard and demanding. Relentless in getting me off.
“Sal,” I whimper, my body humming with a kind of pleasure I’ve never known before, my fingers running through his thick hair as his mouth grinds against my opening.
“I’ve been dreaming for months about what you would taste like.” His tongue sweeps inside of me. “So much better than I imagined.”
My eyes close and my back arches as Sal nuzzles deeper against me. My thighs clench as another orgasm rolls over me, sending shockwaves through my body.
“Oh God, Sal,” I whimper, as he circles my clit gently, teasing me with his mouth. He is so good at pleasing me, I don’t want it to stop. There is more inside of me needing to be released and I grab ahold of his hand, pressing it to my slickness.
He spreads my pussy lips open, his eyes hot with lust, and excitement snakes through my belly. I pant in exhilaration, not knowing exactly what he plans but seeing a thirst in his eyes that needs to be quenched.
He presses a finger inside me, then two, expertly moving in and out, and I realize this is no tease, he knows exactly what he’s doing. I feel myself grow wet, so, so wet, he kneels before me, watching as he adds a third finger to my pussy and I clench my jaw as he opens me up.
My fingers grab hold of the velvet chaise, but there isn’t enough fabric to grasp, so instead, I reach for his thick cock, knowing that is something I can wrap my hands around.
He grunts and I know he likes it when I run my hand up and down his soft yet, hard shaft. His tip releases a droplet of creamy white come and my thumb rolls over it, loving the visual of him getting so ready for me, the same way I am ready for him, all over again.
He begins to grind his hand deeper inside of me and suddenly I know this sensation is different than any I have had before.
“God, you’re coming so fucking hard,” he tells me, eyes hazy with pleasure. “You’re gushing, Tia.”
