Headlights bounced against the glass panes of the front door. The towering mountain loomed dark and ominous behind the house I’d come to find familiar. As familiar as any other place we’d lived in. Only, this house had purpose…and a future. I turned my head, finding the moonlight caressing the perfect planes of her face. A future with the woman we’d all fallen for…Helene.
The four-wheel drive pulled up hard, the tires skidding on the loose gravel, and as the towering fence closed behind us, Hunter killed the engine and we all climbed out.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud
Thud.
One by one the doors closed. Hunter was the first to move, his gun aimed by his side as he moved toward the house and pressed the buttons to unlock the doors before moving in. We were taking no chances, not anymore. Hale was getting desperate, sending his army of honed killers after us, desperate to take out as many of us as he could.
Because that’s just what pathetic, weak, vile men like him did. But he wouldn’t win…not now…not anymore. We were gathering an army of our own, one that had a lot more at stake.
Hunter disappeared inside. Riven followed, his own weapon raised and ready, leaving Kane, Helene, and me outside. I didn’t like it. Not standing here waiting for someone else to protect and control. I was tired of being a passenger, tired of being the one to be protected instead of the one protecting. I gripped the heavy cross in my hand. The one I’d taken from my room as a reminder of the kind of man I was…the one I now used as a weapon as I headed for the door of the house.
“Thom.” Kane called my name as I pushed the door wider and stepped inside.
But I didn’t answer, just headed deeper into the darkness. My senses were more alive than they’ve ever been in my entire life. There was no panic now, no anxiety. No constant drone of the repetitive words and phrases in my head, beating me into submission. There was just action now, the breath filling my lungs, the heavy weight of the cross…and that hunger that burned white hot inside me.
This was who I was, the man who stepped into the house, listening to the weight of Hunter’s steps above him, and felt the undeniable thirst of rage.
“Brother.” Riven called in the dark. “Everything okay?”
I met his dark, empty stare and stilled. For a long time, I’d seen Riven as damaged, corrupt, and ruined from that fateful night our sister had been taken. But now, standing in front of him in the murky gloom, I saw him more clearly than I ever had in my entire life. He wasn’t corrupt, or damaged. He was…selfless.
A memory resurrected. That day at The Order when Coulter’s man had found Helene and tried to rape her. I’d fought as hard as I could, but I was hurt and weak, spiritually more than physically. I’d had a distorted sense of right and wrong and through that lens, I’d seen my brother as he attacked with savage ferocity, wrapped his arm around the guard’s neck, and choked the life from him without a second of hesitation.
“Thank you,” I answered. “I don’t think I’ve ever said that.”
Lights came on overhead, and the sound of footsteps from the others grew closer. I didn’t have to turn around to know they were all there listening.
“For what?” Riven shook his head slowly. “You’ve got nothing to thank me for. In fact, you should hate me for the things I’ve put you through.”
The brutal hand of London St. James.
The attack of the Sons.
The neverending fight…for survival.
I stepped closer and grabbed his shoulder. “And yet, here we still stand.”
He scowled, pain flaring behind his unmerciful stare of anger.
“Here we still stand,” Hunter echoed.
“Here we stand,” Kane followed.
“Here…we stand,” Helene murmured, moving closer. She curled her hand around my arm, then ran her other along Riven’s.
Need rose inside me, seething and aching. My balls tightened as I looked from her to him. Her breath caught as she met my gaze and then turned to him, slid her hand around the back of his neck, and pulled him close. The kiss took me by surprise, not because he grabbed her and pushed her backwards until she pressed against the wall. But because I was suddenly aroused by the intensity of them, by the way he gently gripped her throat, forcing her head backward by the pressure of his thumb under her jaw, and the way she released a moan, giving herself completely into him.
I moved before I realized it, tugging her shirt upwards until it dragged over the swell of her breast. I couldn’t stop myself as I yanked down the cup of her bra and lowered my head. Warmth brushed across my lips as I opened them, drawing her nipple inside my mouth.
“Oh…God,” She moaned.
Then Kane was there, moving to her other side, reaching around Riven to turn her mouth to his. He kissed her, taking her completely.
“Maybe we should,” Hunter moaned, “take this upstairs.”
I licked her nipple, feeling the soft flesh tighten and pucker.
“You want that, Trouble?” Riven urged.
“Yes.” Her answer was a rush. “Yes, I want that.”
Riven lifted her, allowing her to wrap those long legs around his waist as he carried her back through the house and up the stairs. The thud, thud, thud of his boots echoed before the rest of us turned and followed.
With each step, we moved faster, until we were taking the stairs two at a time, until we all stopped at the entrance to Riven’s room. Helene pulled her shirt over her head, then reached around and unhooked her bra.
I was captured by the light bouncing off her body and the sheer beauty of her. The red scar line from her attack was still angry and raised. But it was healing. Just like her…she was healing.
I headed inside the room, kicked my boots off, and dropped the cross, letting it hit the floor with a bang. They all flinched and glanced down at the bloodied weapon. But they said nothing as Riven jerked his shirt over his head and unbuckled the belt on his pants.
Kane and Hunter moved deeper into the room and kicked off their boots, undressing until we all stood there naked and unmoving. The silence spoke volumes between us. We didn’t want to break the spell, and didn’t want to go back to our reality.
The reality that this could be our last night together…forever. One of us might be killed in the upcoming battle. In fact, there was a high probability we’d all be killed. As much as we didn’t want to think about it, it still hung heavy in the air.
“Trouble,” Riven started, his voice husky.
“Don’t,” she whispered, shaking her head. “I don’t want to talk. I just want to love…so love me.”
Riven’s pants and boxers hit the floor as I unbuttoned my cargos and pushed them free. Kane and Hunter moved together, both now naked and desperate. There was blood smeared all over Riven’s side, one rectangular dressing on his ribs and one on his shoulder. His injuries were the worst of ours. Stabbed and beaten. None of us were unscathed, but right now, we didn’t care.
Riven pushed Helene backwards, holding her steady, and eased her down onto the bed. He kissed her, and so did Kane as he grasped her hand and kneeled on the bed, then lowered his head to kiss her breast. My breath caught, knowing exactly how she tasted to him, how warm she felt, and how desperate he was.
Hunter lowered himself to her thigh, wrapping one massive arm around her leg.
“Thomas,” she called my name. I jerked my head upwards to meet her stare. “Come to me.”
I rounded the other side of the bed and climbed on. There was blood on my chest, a heavy smear I hadn’t seen before, and when I reached for her, there was still blood on my hands…images slammed into me. That was Ben’s blood. Ben’s…blood.
I closed my eyes and felt the room sway.
“It’s okay,” She murmured. “We’re all damaged here, all bloodied and broken. There’s no need to hide between us.”
Her words forced my eyes open. My brothers all looked at me, but it wasn’t out of horror. It was comfort.
“We’re all in this together, brother,” Riven added. “All of us.”
Kane gave a nod. “There’s no hiding, no pulling away. No one else will understand you better than us, and no one will love you more than her.”
He was right. I knew he was right. I might feel alone in my anger and pain, but I wasn’t…because I had them.
“Kiss me.” She urged, drawing my gaze. “Love me and let me love you. Take what you need from me. All of you, I want you to take what you need, anytime you need it. My body and my heart are yours.”
I’d never known the kind of selflessness like her before.
Even after all she’d been through.
She still gave and gave and gave.
Which only made me love her more.
My pulse boomed as I lowered my head and my eyes closed as our lips touched. So warm, so giving. Her mouth parted for me, letting me take all I wanted to take. In a rush of desperation and desire, that wall inside me came crumbling down. I pounced on her, my bloodied fingers gripping her jaw as I rose above her, taking more, moving deeper, plunging my tongue into her mouth.
Movement came from the corner of my eyes. My brothers slowly eased away, allowing me to move on top of her. My hands gently gripped her face, my mouth claimed hers until her breath rushed from her nose, leaving me to tear away and move down.
Her fingers slipped through my hair as I kissed her breasts, moving from one to the other, licking her nipples until I sucked the smooth flesh taut.
“Oh, God,” She moaned, opening her legs for me.
I wanted it all, every inch, every second. But that ravenous hunger inside me wouldn’t wait. I reached down, sliding my fingers along her slit and plunged inside. Her hips bucked with the invasion. I lifted my gaze, staring into her eyes. “This is what I want.”
“Yes,” She groaned. “Yes.”
I lifted my knee, climbing in between her legs, then lowered my hips. My hand went to my cock, gripping the rigid length. I was so ready for her…achingly ready. There was no need for handcuffs this time, no binding or shift of control. We could play with that later. Right now, there was just this. I lowered my body against hers, aiming myself to slide into her warmth.
Her beautiful, consuming warmth.
It was like coming home as I pushed in. To a place I’d always dreamed of and never had.
A slow thrust and I drove all the way inside her. Her hands gripped my shoulders, pulling herself upwards. “Fuck me, Priest. Fuck me like your life depends on it.”
I held her stare, bucking my hips until I drove in harder. All that tension. All that pain, it all melted away. There was just her, the way her breath caught with every violent push. The way her eyes shone with hunger. The way her lips met mine as she lifted herself higher to kiss me.
“That’s it, baby,” She urged, then bit her lower lip.
The sight of that did something feral inside me. I lowered my hands, gripped her hips and slammed against her. The rush collided with the feel of her body as slick sounds came between us. It was all I could do to hold on and even as my balls tightened, I knew it was a lost cause.
Sparks ignited behind my eyes. I clenched my jaw, driving in one last time as the rush exploded, leaving me to drop my head and bury my face against her neck. Her scent enveloped me and it was all I needed…all I wanted. “I love you.” I gasped. “I fucking love you.”
Her fingers moved deeper through my hair, her hold around my shoulders pulled me closer against her. “I love you too. I love you more than anything. Nothing can touch us here, at this moment…nothing can touch us.”
“Except us.” Riven urged. “Only us.”
I lifted my head, finding the warmth and the hunger in her eyes. There was us…always us and as I kissed her, then slowly pulled free, I realized I couldn’t be prouder.
