“Fine, you can have her tonight, Warren, but that’s only because we have to get back,” August states, placing a quick peck on my forehead. He and Shay snark at each other until the guys reach the doorway, stopping to survey me one last time before winking and exiting the room.
“Seriously, now, tell me everything. I need to know who I have to kill, and I don’t want to miss a single person,” she implores.
I walk toward my bed, crawling back under the covers, preparing to divulge everything to her.
“Okay, have a seat. This is going to be a complete shit show.”
LIAM
I scrub my skin, trying to wash away the frustration at my lack of control. How can the Council continue to allow us to walk in absolutely blind? There are so many threats lurking- waiting for their opportunity to strike, and all of them want her.
The thought of Emma makes my dick harden- the quick-witted, intelligent force of nature with a mouth that can flay you, all wrapped in the body of divine femininity- a fucking worthy adversary and an even more worthy partner.
I missed everything that was right in front of me. She’s been trapped in a game bigger than all of us, and we almost lost her.
That shit can’t happen again.
Groaning, I ignore the throbbing between my legs. I don’t deserve relief, not after everything I did to her. The way I disparaged her- shit, my final words to her before she was taken.
I don’t get to come- not until she forgives me. The look of utter shock in her gray eyes when I spoke to her in front of the ambulance was worse than her punching my nuts. She didn’t expect me to care or worry about her being taken.
How the fuck do I fix this?
My hand grazes the scar on my shoulder, a constant reminder of what I had to do in order to get Karl help. The angry line creeps from the tip of my shoulder to my elbow.
When I dove from the car, I landed on a sharp piece of gravel that cut into my skin as I rolled across the road. I had to get over fifty stitches to close the wound. The road rash healed, but the scar welted up, leaving me with raised skin that I couldn’t stand the sight of- a constant reminder of my failure to get Karl out in time before what those animals did to him.
Once I was old enough, I covered it with a chest and half-sleeve tattoo.
I can still feel the phantom grip of the man’s hands on me as he dragged me to the car- like a shadow touch causing me to always be on alert, ready to jump at impending attacks. It’s why I blacked out when Emma grabbed me that day by my locker.
Water pours over my body as I stand under the shower’s spray, trying to figure out how to possibly right this wrong and do it without her thinking that it’s only because she went missing.
Was it the catalyst? Sure, but sometimes you have to be slapped with a stupid stick to recognize your idiocy. Her being taken, the Council’s secrets, and the realization that I was fighting my attraction to her are among the many reasons I see my mistake for what it is- dumb.
Sighing, I rub my hands down my face, frustrated at myself and the almost permanent hard on I’ve had since I finally allowed myself to want the minx. The thought of her plush lips sassing me when I told her to leave makes my dick jump and my full sack tighten. I grunt and look down at the engorged head of my cock, the veins pulsating and angry that relief isn’t coming. I moan at my level of control over myself, imagining how it would be to have Emma under my control, tied up with her pussy spread open like a gift at Christmas time. The idea of how pretty she would look with the rope’s fibers against her golden skin as her hair is fanned out above her waiting to be pulled as my tongue buries itself so deep that it could spell my name on her cervix.
The idea has precum leak from my tip, washed away by water. I want so badly to grip my shaft and jerk, imagining it’s her mouth. Instead, I turn off the faucet, reach for my towel, and step out of the shower.
Wrapping the towel around my waist, I make my way over to the sink and grab my Waterpik, flossing before picking up my toothbrush and holding it up to my mouth once I’ve added the toothpaste. I begin my regimen, two minutes on the bottom-brushing the stress of the day away. I look up to see the dark shadows sitting like overstuffed luggage, waiting for someone to claim them from baggage claim under my eyes. My usual, closely shaven face is now thick with hair. I shut my eyes and listen to the sound of the swishing of the bristles against my teeth.
It will all be fine. I work to make my thoughts a reality. I hear my alarm sound, and my notification system sounds.
“Sir, it appears that Rowaniel Calloway and Sebastian Grant have arrived and will be parking a 2022 Bentley Mulliner Batur in the driveway in one minute and nineteen seconds. Would you like for me to open the door?” Geoffrey, my AI, informs.
Didn’t we talk enough?
I move on to brushing the top row of teeth and answer, “Yes, and let them know I’ll be down in five.”
Moving to my closet, I grab a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, annoyed that my routine has been interrupted. As my sweats pull over my ass and the fabric glides over my raging hard-on, I bite my lip, relishing in the throbbing- it’s the perfect punishment for my foolish treatment of Emma.
Pulling on my hoodie, I head for the stairs to see what these two could possibly want to discuss further. As my bare feet hit the heated marble, I see neither Rowan nor Sebastian went to wait in the spot we usually meet in. Instead, they stand in the entryway.
I run my hands through my still damp hair, fanning it out over my shoulders. I really should get a cut.
“Why are you two standing here?” I start, but once I see the look on their face, I ask, “What’s going on?”
Sebastian meets my gaze, the angular set of his jaw flexing, “We’ve discovered more information, and we need you to look into this without the Council knowing.”
I look between the two of them, trying to determine if they’re serious about this. We’ve done many things but never once have we actively subverted the Council.
“Is there a reason this has to be kept from them, and where are Wy and O?” I probe. Something of this magnitude shouldn’t be done unless we all agree.
As I finish my sentence, Geoffrey notifies me that Karl’s truck is pulling into the driveways, and August is with him.
Rowan smirks, reaching up to pat my shoulder, “You didn’t think we would do this without all of us present, did you? I’d never unilaterally do anything that could have profound repercussions on us unless absolutely warranted.”
Cocky prick.
The cherrywood front door opens, and the looming forms of Karl and August step through, both dressed in lounge pants, sneakers, and an LWU hoodie.
I look at August, “Did you get the new chip in Emma?”
“Of course I did. Did you forget who I am?” he jests.
He’s joking now, but when that minx finds out he- no, we chipped her not once but twice, we’re all going to get dick or throat punched- and we’d all deserve it.
“So what’s so urgent that you made us leave watching Emma?” Karl asks.
Sebastian gives him a puzzled look, narrowing his blue eyes at Karl’s words. “I thought you said Shay was over and kicked you two out?”
Karl rolls his eyes like the idea that they would leave is asinine. “We weren’t leaving until we made sure she was truly good.”
“It’s Shay, though. She’s not-,” Rowan begins to state, but Karl interjects.
“Shay is amazing, but with what Emma went through, we just couldn’t leave until we knew. We didn’t listen to anything they spoke about. That’s her story to tell.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.