by Heather Long
Liam stood in the doorway, staring at both of us. To be honest, my hand still hurt from where I’d punched him. Not that it appeared I’d done any damage. His faint smirk and shake of his head seemed more aimed at his brother than me. In fact, they were both just staring at each other, and yeah, that was my clue to get out of the way.
The last place I needed to be was trapped between them. If they told Jasper I was gone, then they told him. I’d deal with that fallout.
Freddie was sitting alone and miserable, while Doc and Jasper were locked in a hushed if intense conversation. Pale and wan, Freddie’s sad condition tugged at my heart as I perched on the sofa next him. With care, I traded him the bucket for the ice chips.
“Oh, Boo-Boo,” he said with a rough groan. “You’re a goddess.”
“Uh huh.” I nudged his chin to face away from me so I could wipe his brow and then his cheeks. “Don’t breathe on me. You reek.”
He grimaced. “I’m a mess.”
“Apparently,” I said, agreeing with him. At least he’d gotten most of the vomit into the bucket and not on his clothes. “Did you have to dumpster dive while you were at it?”
He let out a weak chuckle before he tucked his head against my shoulder. Ice dribbled from the corner of his mouth toward the round neck of my leotard. I hadn’t really changed since I’d put on the dance clothes and used them to disguise my intentions earlier.
Despite my earlier success, I was right back here and no closer to answers than I’d been when I left. Except that it was my choice to be here now.
“I wanted to get you food, then I thought, you know, a little bit wouldn’t hurt.”
“They always say the first taste is free,” I told him, carefully wiping around his face and then looking at his hands. “Suck on the ice. That will help with the dry throat.”
He let out an indelicate belch, and thankfully, I hadn’t tried to do more than breathe through my mouth yet. “I know better,” he mumbled, and if he weren’t talking into my shoulder, I probably wouldn’t have heard it. “Hawk’s gonna kick my ass. Supposed to stay clean. Then I go wandering after pussy into 19D, know better than that, but she was at Mama’s and I figured I could get you ribs.”
The groan he let out was such a pained sound, and it jerked both Doc and Jasper’s attention toward us. Slate-gray eyes locked on mine. The last time I’d seen Jasper, he’d kissed me. My lips tingled at the memory. Then he’d snarled and stormed out.
With a sigh, I dragged my gaze away from him back toward Freddie. He really did smell like a distillery rolled around in a trash can outside a fast-food strip joint.
I could use a shower already, so I kept that complaint to myself. “It’s fine,” I told him.
“But I never got you food. I was supposed to get you food and keep you safe while they dealt with the 19Ds, and instead, I wander off and leave you alone in…” He didn’t really finish the thought as another bout of retching took him, and I angled his head over the bucket.
He wasn’t the first person’s head I had to keep up while they puked their guts out. The door slammed, the only precursor to Vaughn and Kestrel returning.
I swore my whole body shivered when I locked eyes with Vaughn. He was shirtless, which left all that gorgeous, colorful skin on display. His tattoos rippled and flexed as he moved, and it took monumental effort to push my gaze back up to his. Particularly now that I knew what those muscles felt like under my hands, my thighs, my ass…
“I hate my life,” Freddie moaned, and I rubbed his back. The last thing he needed was platitudes and laughing at him probably wasn’t fair, but he was kind of cute, even if he was a mess.
“It could be so much worse,” I promised him, and he answered with another violent hurl.
“Careful, Dove,” Vaughn cautioned me, and I tightened my thighs and tried to suppress my smile. Two words. Two words in that beautiful voice, and liquid heat pooled in my belly. Didn’t matter that Liam surveyed all of us like he was a cop in an interrogation or Rome leaned against the wall like he was the only thing keeping it up. It didn’t matter that Freddie emptied his stomach or that Jasper studied us both like he wanted to find an answer.
To be honest, the look on Jasper’s face was probably the kindest I’d seen on him around Doc since I’d arrived. As for Doc, I’d avoided his troubled eyes as much as possible. While I didn’t care if Jasper and the rest figured out I’d gotten away, I didn’t want Jasper targeting his ire at Doc.
That thought sobered my lust right up.
Still, I tried not to smile as I glanced at Kestrel. My heart fisted as he let out a breath, and just like earlier with Jasper, Kestrel trapped me in his gaze. There was so much going on behind his eyes, but I didn’t speak whatever language it was in. As hungry as I was to know more, it wasn’t a good idea.
Though to be honest, I wasn’t sure what was a good idea and what wasn’t.
Not anymore.
“I want to die,” Freddie moaned, and Doc let out an aggrieved sigh, then almost as one, he and Jasper stalked over to where I was sheltering him. The looks on their faces worried me.
“He’s coming down,” I told them. “And sobering up. It’s a miserable place to be.”
“We know, Little Bit,” Doc assured me. “Don’t worry. We’re not going to hurt him.”
“Of course we’re not going to hurt him.” Jasper snarled the words out like they were stuck between his teeth and he needed to bite them off. With a harsh exhale, he shook his head, then ran a hand over his face. “I’m tired. He’s tired. It’s been a long day and night. Let us take him, clean him up, and Doc can put him on IV fluids. I don’t suppose you can stick around and keep an eye on him?”
The actual niceness in Jasper’s tone caught me flatfooted. And I wasn’t alone. Kestrel’s brows raised, but Vaughn looked more amused than surprised. He rubbed his thumb against his lower lip, and it took effort to not track the motion.
“Well, after that sweet talk, how can I resist?” Doc said almost lightly and shot me a grin. I couldn’t help it—a smile escaped with another laugh hot on its heels. This was probably one of the most bizarre situations I’d ever been in.
One of… No, the most bizarre. Period.
I licked my lips and shifted so that Jasper could haul Freddie up. Doc rescued the bucket and handed it off to Liam, who just took it and carried it into the kitchen. The dynamics present were as foreign to me as the thoughts Kestrel kept hidden away or the mumbled ravings that Freddie spilled.
“You know, I told them about the playground and the sandbox,” he was saying to Jasper, patting his chest as Jasper all but carried him. The size differential between them seemed even more exaggerated. “They just don’t get why tag was important, or why I was always safe when you were it because you always got the others first… Wait!”
Jasper slowed.
“Someone feed Boo-Boo,” Freddie ordered, trying to swing around to look at me. “I put her in Vaughn’s room so she could watch TV—Oh, hey, Boo-Boo! You’re not supposed to be down here, Jasper said keep you out of the way so you were safe.”
The lines of Jasper’s back had gone stiff as a board. “Leave it, Freddie. C’mon.”
“Fuck, I screwed up again, Hawk. Didn’t I? I didn’t get pinched. I promise. I wouldn’t even have followed that pussy, except she said they had better ribs at the pig and poke place down in the Bowery. Besides, the prettiest pussy is right here, so I don’t need to follow pussy.”
“Freddie,” Jasper growled. “Shut up. It’s fine. Let’s get you upstairs…”
I didn’t get the rest of it, but Freddie hadn’t shut up as Jasper hauled him out. Doc let out a sigh. “Someone grab my med kit and bag from the truck?”
Kestrel held out his hand for the keys that Doc tossed, then he nodded to me before he headed up the stairs. Kestrel spun on one heel and stalked back out. Then it was me, Vaughn, Rome, and Liam.
“Come on, Dove,” Vaughn said, holding out a hand. “Let’s get you cleaned up, then
we’ll get food.”
“I’ll get food,” Rome said, and I looked over at him. He’d said so little. “What do you want?”
His gaze was on me, not them.
“I’ll get it,” Liam cut in. “And she can eat whatever the hell we get her.”
Rome flipped him off but didn’t look away from me. “You want ribs?”
“Is it safe to go out?” It was the only question that came to mind. Because even as I wiped my damp hands against my leggings, Liam’s earlier words and Freddie’s ramblings collided. There was blood on Vaughn too. He’d narrowed the distance to where I sat, and I had little choice but to take his hand.
Not that I minded. The warmth of his skin sliding over mine sent another shudder through my system. Today had been…a lot. On so many levels.
“It’ll be fine. I’m fast,” Rome told me. “What do you want, Starling?”
Liam rolled his eyes. But I hadn’t missed the way his mouth tightened or the fact he flexed his fists. More, the temperature in the room shifted as Vaughn tucked me behind him and Rome put himself between us and Liam.
“Is there a place that does grilled cheese and fries?” Honestly, it sounded like the best thing ever. Way too many carbs, but I didn’t care.
Liam and Rome glanced at each other.
“There’s a diner on 86th and Grand,” Vaughn said. “It’s safe.”
“What about everyone else?” Okay, I should have just let it go and not pushed, but I wasn’t the only one here. The corners of Rome’s mouth curved, and he gave me a shrug.
“Don’t worry, Hellspawn. They’re not so fucking delicate in their choices.”
Rome thumped his brother, and Liam, the ass, laughed.
“We’ll get pizza,” was all Rome said, and then he shoved at his brother and it was just me and Vaughn.
With my hand in his, Vaughn led the way upstairs, and I shouldn’t have been surprised that he took me straight to his room or that I followed him inside without an argument. Three steps in, and then Vaughn invaded my space. One finger under my chin, he tilted my head back, then his mouth was on mine.
I forgot how to breathe or object or the dozen other thoughts that had tangled in my head not thirty seconds earlier. Despite smelling like he’d been in a dessert flavored smoke factory with hints of copper sticking to him, Vaughn tasted like heat, sin, and escape.
Falling wasn’t hard when he was lifting me up before I could even land.
Chapter 6
Emersyn
Words formed, burst, then tried to reform as Vaughn stroked them right out of my mouth. A thousand things I could say, and none of them made it past the gatekeeper of his lips. Sliding my hands into his hair, I fisted the softness of it as he continued to hold my mouth captive.
Thick, powerful fingers dug into my ass as he lifted me. Drunk on the taste of him, I groaned as he began to move. The rasp of his denim against my leggings reminded me of how thin they were, and I swore I soaked right through them.
Three steps, and we were in the bathroom. I barely recognized myself in the mirror as he cut on the lights and shoved the door closed without letting go of me once. I’d worked with plenty of dancers not even half that coordinated.
The press of his mouth to my chin then down my throat let me suck in a ragged breath. His skin was so damn hot under my fingers. The raw demand to lose myself in him communicated beautifully. I wanted out of my clothes so I could writhe against him. Somewhere along the way, I’d hooked my thighs to his hips, and he maneuvered us in the bathroom, turning on the water, all the while still kissing me and massaging my ass. We never lost contact as I rolled my hips to grind against the very present erection.
I forced my eyes open, determined to see and savor him rather than just drown in sensation. The colorful pattern of art on his skin rippled as he moved, and I dug my fingers into the bunched muscle of his shoulder and…
“Vaughn,” I groaned, then jerked away from his lips as I ran my fingers over his shoulder.
“Hmm, Dove?”
“You’re bleeding.”
He stilled for a moment, then twisted, still holding me as steam began to billow from the shower. The red speckles on his back couldn’t be anything else. If I hadn’t been so intent on consuming him, I’d probably have noticed the coppery odor. There were streaks on his back, almost like it had…
I wiggled, more to get down than to turn either of us on, even if the thickness of his erection reminded me of just how good he’d felt moving inside of me. Reminded me of the sexy piercing gliding against my inner walls and lighting me up.
But he was bleeding.
And Freddie had been a mess…
“The 19Ds. Freddie said something about them.” I wasn’t even sure what a 19D was other than a poorly numbered bralette of some kind.
“Dove.” Vaughn’s low growl caught me off guard, even as he set me on my feet. He slid a hand up to my chin, capturing it and effectively fixing my gaze on him. “They’re no one who will be allowed near you. The ones who hurt Freddie have been dealt with. He’s safe. So are you.”
“I’m not worried about me.” I frowned at him. “My problems are…” I ground my teeth together, but instead of pushing me, Vaughn focused those dangerous for my good sense green eyes on me. Their influence demanded I listen and beckoned me to choose. “My problems aren’t whatever the 19D are. They’re different.”
I leaned back against the wall, exhausted all of a sudden, as if that confession pulled it out of me. All afternoon while I’d sat upstairs in Doc’s clinic and even after he’d moved me down to his office, I hadn’t been able to sort an easy solution to my problem.
There’d never been one.
“I want to tell you,” I admitted. “Even if you’re not asking. Maybe because you aren’t asking. But I don’t know how much I want to confide in you is because I like riding your dick and how much of it is because I want to trust you.”
The corners of his mouth dipped a fraction, and I swore his gaze grew heavier where it rested on me. The breath backed up in my lungs. I hadn’t lied about wanting to confess. Maybe telling someone would help. Or maybe it was another fool’s errand. Every other time…
This wasn’t other times. I’d never had another time like this. Kidnappers that I returned to of my own volition, even after I’d escaped. Doc had stared at me for a long moment when I asked him to bring me back. His silence had gone on so long, I’d finally said we could call Liam if that would be easier for him.
Then, as now, I hadn’t wanted to confront the questions in his eyes, even if I’d wanted to explain myself, and I wasn’t sure I had the words. Vaughn… Everything about him beckoned to me, and maybe I just needed to get laid but that wasn’t fair to either of us.
Fuck me.
Why did life have to be so goddamn complicated?
“You like my dick,” Vaughn said finally, the darkness in his gaze retreating for a twinkle. Relief sagged through me and I almost hated myself for it, but he was letting me off the hook.
“I do,” I told him, and then I dropped down to my knees as I tugged his zipper down and then helped him peel out of the denim. He paused me only long enough to toe off his shoes, blood spattered across them as well. I glanced up to find Vaughn watching me.
I could ask.
But he’d said the blood wasn’t his.
He could ask me.
But I’d said I wasn’t sure I was ready to tell.
We let each other off the hook. Not letting go of his gaze, I leaned forward to nuzzle a kiss to his navel. I could study the tattoo there. Hell, I could study any of the tattoos decorating his beautiful body. But I’d rather taste him.
The heat of his skin scorched my fingertips as I shoved the pants down. The shower kept running, and we were probably using up all the hot water. I didn’t think Vaughn cared.
I didn’t.
His cock bumped against his stomach as I freed it, red and thick just like I remembered it. The piercing fascinated me, I wasn’t
going to lie. I half forgot to finish yanking his jeans down as I wrapped a hand around his engorged length and stroked up the satiny skin, even as I teased one of the silvery knobs with my tongue.
Eyelids half lowered, Vaughn stared down at me and rubbed a thumb against his lower lip as I explored the piercing with my tongue. Everything outside of the room faded away as I opened my mouth and slowly swallowed against the tip. His jaw clenched, but he didn’t thrust forward. In fact, the muscles along his chest and arms rippled as though he held himself back.
Sucking against the tip, I rolled my tongue over the saltiness of the pre-cum already beading along his slit. I hadn’t really gotten to play with his dick as much as I might have wanted. With every stroke, I took him deeper into my mouth.
Slow, even strokes pushed him against my throat, and I could get him only so far before I had to swallow around the gag. Each time I pulled him out, I nibbled and sucked on the piercings before rolling my tongue over the head. His dick grew hotter in my palms, and his eyes were so laser focused on me, I swore my cunt tingled for the moment he took off the leash.
All at once, I wanted to push him. I wanted to see how far I could go before he would demand more. I alternated between thrusting him deep and swallowing around him and double fisting his cock so I could stroke it away from my lips.
Each time I pushed him, he held himself in check. He let me play. This sexy beast of a man seemed intent on letting me do whatever the fuck I wanted. Then he growled, “Dove.”
Everything in me clenched.
Yes. Please.
I pulled off his cock and licked my lips. “Yes, Vaughn?”
“Get naked, or I’m going to rip those pants open so I can fuck you with them on.”
He did not have to tell me twice. My soaked panties had long since disintegrated, and I didn’t take my gaze off him as I stripped down and dropped the clothes where they landed.
It wasn’t until I’d stripped that everything about him seemed to arrest. Nipples peaked and aching while I rubbed my thighs together, as if that would alleviate the need to feel his cock pounding into me again, I almost held my breath waiting for him to move.
