She was a goddess. Stretched out before like a gift I hadn't earned, I knew my mistake had been in letting her withdraw in the car. We were born for each other. Made and crafted to be the missing piece the other needed. I wasn't going to spit in a deity's face. Not again. I would lay out my cards, force her to accept them, and then we could skip, walk, dance, race each other to hell. I smirked as she glared at me. I could almost hear her shrill voice as she spat more angry words. "You know my father was an asshole." She went still beneath me. "He beat me. Beat my mother. What you don't know, is that he forced me to beat my mother." I voiced the words that condemned me to hell. "If I didn't do it, my beatings and hers were ten times worse. He became more sadistic the older I got. Seemed to think that because he could cow me into hurting her, that he was a big strong man."I looked into Willow's eyes. Saw the acceptance. The willingness to listen. To absolve. To comfort.
The predetermined knock Tali and I had set up-the same one we used in the hospital a couple weeks ago-sounded against the door. "All good, Tali. He came to his senses," I called out. She sighed again, the sound heavy even through the door. With a grating shhh noise, the key appeared on the floor on our side of the door. Tali thumped the outside of the door. "Dammit. I want to shoot someone! Why is everyone stealing my fun?" I grabbed the key, unlocked the door. Pushing it open, I looked in her eyes. "I don't know, babe. Does Foster need a good cap in his ass? I'll help get him running in the right direction."Her bottom lip sticking out, she shook her head. "No. He was actually really nice on the way over here. He called the news station." She looked at Ryker. "They didn't run a story about your mom."His fingers clenched into my waist. "Thanks, Tali."She nodded. Narrowed her eyes as she glared up at him. "Get a shirt on, for crap's sake. I don't know what happened on t
Ethan's smug face...I wanted to resurrect him just so I could kill him again. Over and over until...until my girl didn't hurt. Until she didn't shudder at night or whimper in her sleep. "You really were the best assistant I ever had, Willow. I know I didn't tell you that enough. All the good books on leadership say you should tell your team how much you appreciate them." He sighed dramatically. "I never received any such accolades for simply doing my best, but you aren't exactly on my level now are you." He waved that away. "Please consider this my last will and testament. Willow gets all of it. She knows where the bodies are buried." He winked. "And she knows how I would want all of my assets dispersed."The screen went blank again. "Hurry the fuck on, Nik. I don't think I can stomach much more of this," I demanded. She nodded, punched in another sequence of keys. "This fucker is batshit." She looked at Willow, huddled and vacant on my lap. "She's strong."I nodded. "The
I swung the door shut behind me. Looked up at the corner. The camera was not only pointed at the floor, but the blinking red light was off as well. I would have to trust that Nik turned off the listening equipment. I was done waiting. It was time to get my girl back. With me. Where she belonged. I set her down on the bed. Her eyes were wide and unseeing. Her chest barely moved with her breaths."Willow," I called. Nothing. I shook my head. Shrugged my shoulders a couple times like a fighter getting ready for the championship match up. I popped my neck from side to side as I steeled my stomach for what was to come. I'd sent her away by forcing her to watch those videos. I would bring her back. All of her. Even if it took me the rest of my life. I would find every piece of her heart and soul. Her knees were still pulled up to her chest. Even though I didn't cradle her body against mine. I tapped her cheek. "Willow, baby, it's time to come back. He's gone. He's gone an
I came back to myself slowly. Almost as if I'd been drugged again, but I knew Ryker would never allow that to happen. The fading heaviness in my limbs was a gradual aching that spoke of life. "Cupcake?" Ryker asked from behind me. His voice was so hoarse, I could barely understand him. I nodded. "W-" my throat refused to work. He jostled behind me. "Let me get some water. Jessa brought some on her last check-in." I felt the bed spring up as he got up. I heard his bare feet pad across the floor. He was back in moments. His hair was all kinds of crazy. He had bags under his eyes. His beard scruff had turned into an almost full covering. I took the glass. My hand shook as I lifted it to my mouth. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw dried blood sprinkled over my arms. I finished the water, handed the glass back to him. "What happened to me?"He flinched. "I happened to you. I tried everything to bring you back. All the blood is from me pinching you with my fingernails. Y
She went slack beneath me, but this time it didn't freak me out. I could feel the warmth pushing from her skin. Could feel her pulse begin to slow and hear her little snore. She was back. She'd come back to me.I pulled from the depths of her body. Felt a ridiculous amount of pleasure at watching our combined juice slide from her cunt. I hadn't scared her. Hadn't freaked her out.I got to my feet, went to the little sink area in the room. Wetting down a wash rag, I went back to the bed. Cleaned her up. Cleaned me up. I scrubbed the dried blood off her arms. Winced at the bruises she carried on her arms, her chest. I'd hurt her. Using all the tricks my father had taught me to hurt people. And every stroke, every strike, every piercing had flayed my heart open. I would have done better had I been forced to inflict the pain on myself instead of her. I could give her pain. But I swore I would never again hurt her. As clean as we were going to get without showers and new sh
Someone knocked on the door.I lifted my head, saw Jessa. Her concerned face smoothed out into relief. "You're okay."I nodded. My brow furrowed in confusion. "Why wouldn't I be?"She stepped into the room. Turned off the lights. She put something between the door and the jamb to provide her a little light as she made her way over to the bed. "Ryker has a delightful tush, BTW." She snickered. I rolled my eyes. "Keep your eyes to yourself, you perv. He's mine."She smiled. Her gaze turned a little clinical as she walked towards us. "You dissociated for four, almost five, hours. Do you remember anything?" she asked softly as she knelt on the other side of Ryker. She scanned every inch of me she could see. I shook my head. "No. Is that bad?"She smiled. Shook her head. "I'm sure your brain will give it back to you when it thinks you can handle it. How are you feeling?"I did a body scan. Other than the delicious pain of really vigorous sex, I was doing pretty well. "A
Hours later, I disentangled myself from Willow's sleeping form. That was honestly some of the best sleep I'd gotten in at least a decade and it had been on a twin mattress with spunky sheets. I shook my head. Would wonders never cease?I scratched my belly as I padded naked across the floor. Something near the door snagged my attention. A plate with cheese, fruit, and sliced meat was on the floor, just inside the door. A tall pitcher of water sat next to two glasses. "EAT ME!" a small card read. I recognized Jessa's handwriting. Leaning down, I stuffed the glasses under my arm. Picked up the plate. Careful to keep from dropping the food, I picked up the pitcher with my free hand. Gunshots erupted from beyond the door. Everything clattered to the floor as I darted across the room. "Willow! Wake up. We're under attack!"
I crept along the rooftop. The target was staying in the long term suites across the road. It was our first night, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders the farther we got from New Trenadie. The next moment, I crashed to the roof's floor. "Damn it." She snickered. "Still a sucky spy, Raphael." She slid her body over mine.I sucked in a breath. Nodded. Hell, I practically begged her for it. But without words. When she got that tone, my words were not necessary. She smiled. "I'm not going to beat you to death. Nor am I going to stuff you into a padded room." She bent down, flicked her tongue over my lips. "But I will tie you up, spank you, flog you, fuck you, and then make you do it all over again. My dick went to iron between her legs. Her laugh was husky. "I'm keeping you, Raphael. Do you understand me?"My heart settled. Skipped a beat. "Yes, Mistress."The end.
My phone dinged with a new incoming text message. Considering my phone had been going off since the wee hours of the morning with Willow and Ryker announcing the baby was finally coming, I was tempted to just shut it off. But it could be something important. And since Angelo and I were at home with the other babies, it fell to us to make sure we kept everything running as it should. I grabbed the phone. Unlocked the screen. A video message popped up. Raphael and his girl, Nia. Their heads mushed together to get into frame. "Momma, I have to leave. But I wanted to tell you I love you. And thank you for everything. I will let you know when I get back." Nia smiled. "I'll keep him safe, Momma. I swear it.""Bye, Momma," they said together before they ended the call.I smiled even as tears filled my eyes. Angelo looked up at me from his spot on the bed. He was restrained, a ball gag in his mouth. I held the crop up high. "Our last baby is finally happy, Angelo." I s
Two weeks later I glared at the woman on the table. "I still don't know why I have to be here. I barely know you."Willow snorted. "Because you're scarier than anyone else in my family. And I don't want those doctors trying to get all bitchyyyyyyyy." Another contraction hit her. She clamped down on my hand hard enough that I thought I was going to need surgery to remove the bones from each other. And this little firecracker had more strength inside her than her grip would show. Raphael had told me some of her story. She'd told me the rest of it. A ritual the Amatucci women apparently indulged in was something called Girls' Night. Really it was a bunch of drinking, talking about sex, and watching movies while we ate enough of Willow's confectionaries to give ourselves diabetes. Willow blew out a breath. "Ryker can't handle seeing me in this kind of pain, so he has to stay out in the lobby with the rest of them. You're second chair." She panted. Demanded some ice chips.
Three days laterWalking into my parents house when they didn't know I was alive was a risky thing. A multitude of crappy things could happen. Not the least of which was Momma killing me for real this time. Or Papa crying. Or either of them fainting."Go on," Nia said as she shoved me forward gently. "You're already here. Just go into the kitchen. Nik said she told them to wait for her in the kitchen."I nodded, felt my palms go clammy as my breath backed up in my lungs. This could go terribly wrong. So fucking horribly wrong. Man up, Si, that no longer too small voice said inside me. Since I'd been actively listening to it more, he wasn't so easy to shut up. Even when I wanted to. Thankfully, the nasty bitch who lived inside me was getting fainter. Although he could still throw a temper tantrum to beat a two year old. "I'm right here. And I'll be right here the whole time. They've waited long enough, Raphael." She nudged me again. Even as bile rushed up the back o
We all stood in the kitchen, guzzling water by the gallon. I hadn't been this dehydrated since the last time I got in trouble at Petter Manor. But at least this time it was due to happy tears and reunification. Raphael sat and watched it all. Just absorbed it. But he never got so far away I couldn't touch him. That I even needed to touch him still blew my mind. But I wasn't going to question it. He helped steady me when it felt like everything inside me and around me was bending and flexing too fast for me to catch up. "What are your plans for tomorrow?" Liam asked as he finished his third glass of water. "Tomorrow is the gala. I'm going to string Anders up-the guy who had you kidnapped again. I'm going to tell everyone the Petters have been blackmailing and abusing and paying off that the Petters are dead and gone. That they're all on watch." I studied Liam and Lilly. It blew my mind that they had gone into the government side of this dirty world. That they willingly put t
Nia came over to me while I was helping drag some bodies away. "Hey Raphael, can you come with me, please?"Foster grunted at me as we got the body up on the catering cart. "Go. I've got this." I nodded, turned back to Nia. "Sure, Nia." She took my hand and we walked from the room. Her hand was trembling in mine. It was only the slightest degree, but it might as well have registered on the seismic scale. "You good?" I asked her softly as we walked down a set of stairs. She said nothing, made no movements except to keep walking. I pulled her to a stop. Made her look at me. "Are you good?" I asked again. Her eyes were wide, as if she were trying to stave off the tears. "Amelie and Anton..." she blew out a breath. "They're t-""The only two people you love in this world." I smiled sadly. "I know, Nia."Her eyelids fluttered shut as a tear escaped down her cheek. Her breath was shaky as she exhaled. "I got them away from here. Put them in with a good woman with a hu
Day before the gala "Charlie team in position," the man's voice came through the little earbud I wore in my right ear. I kept a tight hold on my fear. My relief. My heart. All of the planning, all of the tears, all of the arguments. It all came down to this. "Delta team in position," Raphael said through my ear. "Foxtrot team in position," another voice said. I still wasn't quite sure who was who by their voice, but I'd done an okayish job of remembering names and faces. The fact that I had a team full of women with me made me like the Amatuccis even more. They didn't discriminate. If someone had the skill and the drive to join the security teams, they were given a position. "Estrogen team in position," I said. A series of clicks came through the earbud. I'd made a single joke about Echo team being full of vaginas. They called us the Estro team now. Since we were collectively badass, I didn't really care what they called us as long as it wasn't disrespectful. "A
Her babies? She had kids? I shook my head. Knew there had to be a different story, but I needed to get her back with me to learn it. I set her down on the chair. Pushed her head down between her knees. "Breathe, Nia." I made my voice hard. As hard as I dared when all I wanted to do was cuddle her up and carry her away. Nowhere was my fierce and strong Dominant. Right now, she was a broken, hurting woman. I would hold her together until she could find herself again. Ivan came rushing into the room, his gun drawn. He lifted it to the ceiling when he saw what was going on. One of his brows rose in question.I gave him a brief rundown of what I knew. Which was damn little. I shrugged when I was out of information to share. Mas came hopping in behind Ivan. He didn't have a weapon, but he did have concern etched on his face. "Who the hell are you?" a voice said from behind me. I whirled around, putting Nia behind my body as I faced the threat that shouldn't be there. A
After rushing through the shower and the delicious meal that Raphael put together for breakfast, I walked into the space Ivan and Klara had set up for me. Everything was as I left it, but that didn't mean a whole lot. Especially in a place I didn't control one hundred percent. Brushing the weird vibe away, I walked to the computer. Booted everything up. Once it was up and running, I went through my process of accessing my cloud accounts. Jasper had set some up for me that weren't the typical commercial kind. Luckily, I'd memorized the process, or I'd be up a creek with zero paddle at the moment. A ReadMe file was highlighted when I got all the way into my account. I right clicked, read through the metadata how Jasper showed me. Recognizing his signature, I opened the file. Ms. Flower~I've attached all of the information I could find re Cucumber Butt and Pretty Mean. You'll find them in the associated files.I snickered at Jasper's sense of humor. That kid was a genius and