by C. Lymari
I’d been denied affection all my life, and I was afraid I was going to suck it all up and leave him with nothing.
Because I wanted to fuck with him, and I got off on the fact that he reacted so easily to me that I reached out for him. My hand went to his chest, and I glided my hand down feeling the contours of his chest. His abs constricted as I made my way down them.
“Petal,” he said in a husky tone.
I didn’t say anything, just let my hand wander to his crotch where I caressed his hard dick through his jeans.
Before either one of us could say anything, the door opened. I was about to remove my hand, but Gideon grabbed my wrist before I could and held me in place.
“Well, if you two are about to fuck, I guess you’re feeling peachy,” Bas said, voice laced with humor.
Since Gideon wasn’t letting me go, and I had a feeling it had more to do with a pissing contest more than anything, I craned my neck so I could look at Bas.
“Brief me,” I said, ignoring his comment and the fact that Gideon seemed to grow under my touch. I glared at him, and he just smirked.
“Are we going to pretend like you aren’t stroking his dick?” Bas said before he jumped on the bed. The action made the bed shake and made me whimper.
Gideon let go of my wrist only to smack Bastian on the head. He then sat next to me.
“Whoever did this to you isn’t fessing up. No one has gloated about it, and I’m not sure if Damian knows, but he seems to be busy with an arrival. The only one who I’m sure knows something or was involved is Francesca.”
That didn’t shock me. Since I’d thrown it in her face that I was an original, her hate for me had grown deeper. It wasn’t just jealousy because I was better than her but because she wanted to know why Damian was so fascinated with me. Like Gideon, I was sure she had come to the wrong conclusion.
“Why do you say that?” Gideon asked.
“Because she’s been looking for Daphne all day.”
I nodded because that was so like her.
Gideon and Bas shared a look, and it was weird seeing the two of them interact like they had known each other for a long time. I’d noticed Gideon could do that with anyone, and I wondered if it was because he was used to reading people and emulating their emotions that it created a sense of ease and trust.
Mostly I wondered if all the things I read on his file were true.
“What don’t you want to tell me?” I asked.
Bas was the one who spoke while Gideon looked thoughtful. “Damian gave the announcement that we leave for our camping trip tomorrow.”
Our camping trip was more of a war zone preparation. We got divided into teams, took rubber bullets to fend off the enemy, and then we had another weapon in case we ran across wildlife.
We were one well-oiled machine.
“Get Roman in here,” I told Bas. He turned to give Gideon an “I told you so” look.
“For fuck’s sake, you’re not going into the fucking wilderness. You are in no condition to be out in the open.” There was irritation mostly but with a hint of worry.
I looked at him, and I wondered if what we were doing was even worth it? I had much to do, but I couldn’t worry about his reaction every time I stepped on his toes. He had to learn to deal with the sting of pain because he knew who I was, and he should know that he couldn’t change me.
Sighing, I moved away. It was always that first step you took after a beating that was the hardest. It seemed like the world was on your shoulders, but after taking one step and feeling the fire in your lungs, it made it all that much easier later.
“Never tell me what I can or cannot do,” I said calmly.
“Oh, but your father could? And now Damian too?”
I flinched.
“You speak of things you don’t understand. This is what happens if I stay. Me by myself in this castle, and whoever attacked me will be back, and when you come back, you’ll find my body if you’re lucky. Or I go, suck up the pain, and don’t give anyone an inch to attack me again.”
The pain spread through my chest as I forced myself to sit up. It was something I was familiar with that I got used to breathing fire. My lungs burned, but I did my best to get through these next few steps because falling was easy, but picking yourself up when you touched the ground, that was the hardest of all. Once you got going, each step was just a reminder that if you set your mind to something, you could endure it all.
Gideon got up, shaking his head pissed, his jaw taut, his eye promising retribution.
“If you’re going to do this, I’m going to be by your side at all times.”
“You can’t,” I said through gritted teeth as I took another step, the pain starting to feel numbing.
Gideon got to my side, stopping when he was right in front of me. He blocked my path so I wouldn’t be able to go further.
“Petal, by now, you should know I’d do anything to keep you at my side. I’d even sell my soul to the devil, and I have.”
I took a sharp breath, and I felt the pain spread through my lungs.
“You didn’t,” I said in disbelief. The only devil here was Damian, and for Gideon to stay here with me, he would have to have given him something in return. Damian wouldn’t have allowed any less.
“Everything,” Gideon said as he looked down at me. “I gave him every last bit of insurance I had and turned it in to him.”
He was an idiot. I didn’t know if I wanted to kiss him or kill him myself. His insurance was the only reason he has survived as long as he did, and now he’d handed it all to Damian.
“You are foolish,” I spat, looking into his eyes.
He grinned at me, and it was full of wicked madness.
“Why would I need all of that when I have you all at my back now?”
He had a point, but like hell if I would let him know.
“If I could hit you right now, I would.”
His smile got bigger, and his eyes went soft. “Come here,” he said before he gently grabbed my waist and pulled me close to his chest. Our lips were almost touching when the door opened.
Once again, I craned my neck and I could see Bas walking in, and behind him was Roman.
Roman was one of the doctors I trusted. He was tall and olive-skinned, with black hair that was pulled back in a ponytail, gauges on his earlobes, snake bites, and square glasses. He was not too muscular but also not too thin; he was a contradiction.
He looked at me and shook his head. “Must you always ignore everything I tell you?”
His voice was a little hoarse due to the time he got captured in a third-world country. The torture he received had damaged his windpipes. The vaccine he had created would have done some major damage to big pharma.
“Make me better so I can go camping,” I told him.
He shook his head and mocked me.
“You’re new,” he said as he looked at Gideon. Roman spent most of his time in the lab along with the other scientist. They had their own headquarters since their training wasn’t as rigorous and most of them liked to keep to themselves.
“I’m her man,” he said as he tried to mark his territory once more.
“He’s a new member,” I said.
Roman smiled. “Who is a man.”
I was surrounded by idiots. This was why the world should not be led by men—they weren’t very bright.
“Sit,” Roman said as he pushed Gideon aside and forced me to sit on the edge of the bed. He checked me over and then pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and thrust it in my mouth.
The taste of cannabis hit my taste buds. I pulled the lollipop out of my mouth, swallowing the flavor it had left. “How many times have I told you I don’t do drugs?”
I was about to throw the lollipop away, but Gideon snatched it out of my hold and put it in his mouth.
We all looked at him, and he just shrugged. “I don’t know how you all survive this shitshow sober.”
He had a point there. Roman checked me ou
t while Bas and Gideon talked. I was in too much pain to put together all the pieces that had been staring at me. Things didn’t make sense, but for the first time in a long time, I felt like I didn’t have to carry the burden all on my own.
The next day when I woke up, Gideon was already getting dressed. Since there was no need to hide from Damian, he had stayed with me. Sleep came easier than I would have thought after Roman brought me a sleeping tea. I was going to need all my energy today.
“Rest some more. I’m going to get our shit ready.” Gideon walked over and touched my face, his finger tracing the bruise. He crouched so we were eye level. “You going to ride bitch this time?”
I glared at him, and he smirked.
“Grab my snowmobile. It says AIRS in gold.”
He gave me a questioning look but didn’t say anything; he just nodded, kissed me briefly, and walked out.
While he was gone, I didn’t rest; instead, I got ready. I had to bring my weapons that carried less weight.
After that, I pulled my laptop open and pulled up the feed to my safe house. Cam was already up, and she was training. I had watched her come far, but also didn’t let myself get too close to her. I knew once she was strong enough, her past would come back and haunt her, and then she would be at a crossroads. She was trained as much as I let myself prepare her.
Gideon walked in, eating a bagel, and saw what I was looking at. “Ah, it’s the little psycho bitch.”
“Excuse me?” I asked him.
“She’s the girl we rescued in London; Bas was watching her the other day.”
That little dipshit.
“Yeah, she’s healing. She wants me to give her a hit, but I don’t think she’s ready.”
“I’m sure you will figure it out,” he said as he walked to get my bags and carry them out.
Once Gideon left, I grabbed my satellite phone. When I talked to Franco, I, too, had to give him something in return for his help. He wanted one of his men inside, and I had to betray what I believed for the greater good.
The phone rang, and the voice that answered was smooth and deep. “I was beginning to think you backed out.”
“I need you to do me a favor.”
He chuckled. “I think it was you who wanted a favor from us.”
Ignoring him, I spoke again. “Go to the coordinates I’m going to send you and change the servers.”
Just as I hung up on him, Bas walked in ready to go as well. He was going to have to ignore me in the wild, so I had banked on him showing up. He was already in his snow gear.
I flipped the laptop so he could look at it. His eyes grew wide, but his stare got hard.
“By the time we come back, the feed will be changed.”
He just glared.
“She’s not Katia and she doesn’t need your help.” It was harsh, but it was the truth. His nostrils flared, but he didn’t snap at me.
“Don’t die,” he said as he walked away.
My hands held on to the snowmobile handlebars as I waited for Daphne to show up. Damian passed and gave me a smirk as he walked away with Francesca. The bitch was getting on my nerves, but I had fun things planned for anyone who was involved in my petal’s attack.
Bas passed shortly afterward but didn’t say anything; he looked pissed. A part of me was starting to feel relieved when I didn’t see Daphne, thinking she must have locked herself up with Alexis while we all came back.
That was not the case.
I remember I once described Daphne as beautiful but cold, but the truth was I couldn’t have been more wrong. She wasn’t cold; she was just jaded and guarded. She hid her warmth because if she gave too much away, then she would be like everyone else. Every move was calculated, but for the good of others and not herself.
I held onto my breath as I watched her walk toward me. She was in her tight black clothes, and instantly, my dick got hard. She was putting on her fur gloves as she made her way to me. She had a headband that protected her from the cold, and I almost felt bad about cutting her hair. That’s until I got to think how many other fuckers had probably stroked it as she fucked them.
Draped across her shoulders and down to her back was an M24 sniper. I had to remind myself that I couldn’t fuck her—but I could sure as hell kiss the shit out of her. Stepping on the gas, I made my way to her.
“Hop on, gorgeous,” I said, patting the back seat.
She rolled her eyes, waiting for me to hand over the helmet.
“Don’t get used to leading, handsome,” she said as she took a step closer.
“I like you riding bitch,” I told her, throwing her words back in her face.
Her eyes went icy and she smiled at me. I fucking shivered at the malice dripping from her lips. She leaned into me, her lips brushing my ear.
“I’m so wet right now,” she said in a purr, and I gripped the handlebars.
She chuckled, then put on her helmet. I did the same but didn’t miss her hiss as she straddled the snowmobile. There was only so much I could do because she was proud, and if I kept pushing her, she would lock me out.
I waited until I felt her arms wrap around my waist before I took off.
The scenery was beautiful, but the terrain was dangerous. I came to a halt when I saw everyone had stopped in front of a clearing. Damian was without his helmet, standing on top of his snowmobile.
“Black team, you take the left side; White, the right… The rules are simple: whoever infiltrates and gets the enemy’s flag wins. Don’t freeze to death, and don’t get killed by wildlife.”
He then grinned and let out a howl, and everyone else followed except for me and Daphne.
We were on the black team, so I just followed the people who had a black flag. This shit was supposed to be a bonding experience for these crazy fucks. I didn’t know how I felt about the cold temperature, but they were the best for a reason.
After an hour, our team stopped at a clearing between a forest. They parked the snowmobiles in a line, and everyone started to get off. Daphne took off her helmet and then opened the under compartment of where we were seated and stored it there.
“Put yours in there,” she said as she pulled out two masks for our faces and some goggles.
“Now what?” I asked.
“We go hunting,” she said.
I grabbed our gear and handed her one of the vests we were required to have. It was designed to recognize the trackers in the rubber bullets.
Our team leader grabbed a flag and unrolled it, revealing a white S like the one Daphne had on her wrist, but this one had a crown at the top.
“Why aren’t you leading?” I asked as Daphne started to walk away in the opposite direction.
“Because then Damian would be warier of me. I try not to take leadership roles so he doesn’t get suspicious that I am coming after him. I’d rather let his paranoia fuck with him.”
I guess it made sense.
We strolled into the forest, and I followed Daphne since she knew the terrain. Her steps were slow and unhurried for the moment, but I wondered how much pain she was in.
“Say the word, Petal, and I’ll carry you.”
She turned to look at me, giving me a leisurely once-over. “Save your strength. We’re going to get altitude.”
We walked for about three hours, something that would have taken us half the time if Daphne wasn’t in pain. She walked a little more, and then we started to curve with the path. It was a good thing there wasn’t a lot of snow because this would have been a different experience.
When Daphne stopped, I noticed that we were on top of a cliff, and then there was a drop.
“Let me set up the sniper rifle, and then I will help you set up camp.”
“I got this, Petal.”
She turned to look at me as I took the shit out of the bag and gave me a smirk but didn’t say more. I took out a bunch of stuff that Bas said I would need. I’d never camped in the snow, but how hard could it be to figure this out?
Instead
of figuring it out, I watched as Daphne dropped a black tarp on the snow, and then sitting down, she started to assemble her sniper.
Once that was done, she put it on the ground and lay down as she scanned the area from our view.
My dick was hard again.
Being a decent guy was bullshit.
“If you’re wondering, I’m even more turned on now,” she said when she noticed I was staring at her. She raised a brow at the mess I had laid before me. I hadn’t done shit.
When she started to get up, I held up a hand to stop her. “Just tell me what to do.”
My pride could take a hit if it meant she wasn’t overdoing it by trying to prove she was strong.
“You’re going to want to grab the tarp first, and with your foot take out the excess snow. Once that is done, lay it down, grab the tent, and put it over the tarp.”
Easy enough. I worked fast as Daphne kept resting, but I felt her eyes on me, and fuck did I like that. The tent looked like a caterpillar; to be honest, the material was strong enough to break wind.
“How cold will it get?” I asked as I started to work on our beds.
“Twenty negative.”
“Fuck, only you pompous arses would think this is some training bullshit exercise.”
She shrugged. “It tests a lot of skills.”
Our beds were supposed to inflate a bit so we weren’t lying on the ground. I looked around, but I didn’t find any sort of pump, so I started blowing on it. Twenty minutes later, one bed was fully inflated, and I regretted being a gentleman.
Sighing, I was about to grab the other bed when I felt her next to me. She grabbed what I thought was a pillowcase. She brought it down fast, letting it gather air, holding it like she would an unknotted balloon. Daphne inserted one of the covers to the bed, squeezing the air out.
“What the fuck, Petal? You sat back and let me breathe my life into this shitty bed!”
When she started to laugh, I knew I would fucking die blowing those damn beds if it meant I get that reaction.
