“We don’t go anywhere, not until he returns,” Kane announced, sounding pissed off. “You know that, so stop acting like a terrified child and grow the hell up.”
“And what happens when this all goes to hell?” Thomas stumbled toward his brother, his eyes filled with pain and anger. “What then, we just forget about her? We forget about our Goddamn sister? We leave now and we might have half a chance with The Hunter. We find every lead…and we…”
I’d been listening to them fight for hours, sitting on the floor, my hands cuffed over my head around the damn steel pipe for the heater. Every clang of the steel cuffs drew their gaze, but only for a second before they were back at it, bickering and fighting like…brothers.
“I’m not going to even dignify that remark with a response.” Kane glared at him, the corner of his eye twitching. “If you weren’t so hurt, I’d—”
“You gonna beat me, brother?” Thomas sneered. “You’ve never raised your hands. No, you like to guilt trip, and ridicule until you get your way. You like to—”
Click.
The external door cracked open as Riven stepped inside, glancing over his shoulder to the forest before he yanked the door closed behind him.
His face was flushed, cheeks burning bright red, and his breaths were panting, just like he’d been running.
“What is it?” Kane asked, glancing at the door.
But Riven said nothing, just strode past his brothers, grabbed a bottle of Scotch, and poured himself a drink. Kane scowled and Thomas looked nervous, even more than he was before, as Riven swallowed the drink and swiped the back of his hand across his mouth.
“We train them tomorrow.” He looked strange, focused on a spot on the floor between us, like it took all his strength not to meet my gaze as those words hit me like a blow to my stomach.
“Tomorrow?” I whispered.
Only then did he lift those dark eyes and meet mine.
There was something different about them, a kind of horror screaming inside him, one he refused to unleash.
I knew exactly what he meant by ‘train them’. He’d break them down, force them to their knees. He’d make them…make them…he’d make them take his cock. He’d fuck them, use them. They all would.
I winced, trying my best to swallow my revulsion as I glared at Kane. He stood frozen, his skin pale. One shake of his head said it all. “We can’t.”
“We don’t have a goddamn choice,” Riven answered coldly.
“We leave.” Thomas finally said the words caught in his throat. “We take our chances with the information we have.”
“Thomas,” Kane warned.
But it was too late. Rage coiled in Riven’s stare, dangerous and hungry. He jerked his gaze toward Thomas and strode toward him. “You want to leave?” He grabbed him by the shirt, and drove him toward the door, before slamming his fist against the handle and shoving it wide. Cold night air rushed in as Thomas stumbled at the doorway.
“Get the fuck out,” Riven demanded.
“Riven.” Thomas tried to fight against his hold. “Stop. I don’t want to go.”
Riven jerked him closer, glaring into his eyes. “Say it again and you’re out on your own. Get it?”
Thomas punched his hold, tearing it free before he straightened his shirt, casting me a confused and embarrassed glare. “I only meant…”
Riven turned away. “I know exactly what you meant. We’re this fucking close to a lead on the black site.” He stopped, then turned back, lifted his fingers and pinched them until they almost touched. “This close to finding Melody for good. You want to fuck it up and walk out now without knowing for sure, then by all means, go right ahead. It’s taken us almost ten fucking years to find her. There’s no way in hell we’re walking away now.”
Ten years to find their sister?
It hit me hard.
These men weren’t the monsters I’d been led to believe. They were dangerous, yes. They were even damaged and cruel. But they were here for a reason. They were here for family.
Riven cast me a careful gaze and raked his fingers through his hair. “They fucking beat them. One guard even had a Daughter on the bathroom floor, punching into her. I thought for a second,” he looked my way again. “I thought for a second it was her.”
“Mel?” Thomas whispered. “You thought it was Mel?”
Riven scowled, then shook his head. “It wasn’t.”
“But it could’ve been,” Kane added. “It could’ve been, and that scared you more than anything. All this time we’ve been chasing a ghost. But at that moment, she wasn’t a ghost any longer. She was real.” He moved closer and grabbed Riven by the arm. “She was more real than the memory we have of her.”
An ache plunged through my chest. I knew what that feeling felt like. That desperation, that isolation. No wonder they were cold.
“Then we stay,” Thomas croaked. “And we see this through.”
Riven met his stare. “We have no choice.”
“Then all of us need to sleep,” Thomas added, and stumbled toward his bedroom. “I have a feeling we’re going to need it.”
Riven gave a nod. Thomas glanced my way. I could see he wanted to say something…or do something.
“I’ll take care of her.” Riven’s tone sounded possessive.
Kane just gave a nod and turned away. “You know where I am if you need me.”
But Riven didn’t even glance his way. He didn’t need him. Not when he had something else to occupy his thoughts…and his savage desperation. He took a slow step closer, moving soundlessly until he stopped at the high cupboard, sliding the key for the cuffs free. I looked up at him as he bent over and unlocked the clasp, letting my aching arms drop with small thumps.
“You’re with me, Trouble.”
I waited, staring up at him, trying my best to pinpoint exactly what had changed between us. There was a desperation now, a need that was far removed from the demanding, possessive, cruel way he’d been before. He lifted his hand, that vulnerable hunger burning in his eyes.
Please.
That’s what it said.
I hated him.
Deep down, there was a part of me that wanted him dead, him and his brothers. Still, I found my hand rising, taking his as he helped me to stand. An ache spread throughout my back, making me wince. But there was no time to care as he tugged my hand, leading me through the apartment and to his room.
Soundless.
That’s what we were as I stepped inside, leaving him to close the door behind us and switch on the light. I’d been in this room before. The thought of being in his space had scared me then, but standing here beside him now as he turned and pushed me against the wall, I was downright terrified.
He reached down and slid those bloodstained fingers between my thighs. I shook my head as he held my stare. I didn’t want him. I didn’t want this. I couldn’t. Still, those fingers pushed in deeper, rubbing me through my jeans.
“Open your legs, Helene King,” he murmured. “Let me see just how much you still despise me.”
My body reacted on its own and my thighs trembled as they parted. I closed my eyes, hating him more now than ever before. Only now I hated myself just as much.
That slow rub along the crease of my jeans made me weak. Heat bloomed with every graze of his thumb until he pulled away and worked the button before sliding the zipper down. I opened my eyes, finding that hollowed out desperation in his stare as he slowly dropped to his knees.
No words were spoken, just the graze of denim as he tugged my jeans down. I lifted each foot, allowing him to slide them away. I shivered under that stare, the same haunting need consuming me as it did him. I slid my fingers through his hair, clenching hard enough for him to lift his gaze to mine.
“Don’t,” he whispered, his voice thick and husky. “You need to hate me, Helene. You need to recoil every fucking time I touch you. Because, if you don’t…” His chest heaved with a breath. “If you don’t, then I’m more dangerous to you than I was before. I don’t want that.”
My pulse sped and thrashed in my head.
He looked away, but his fingers trembled as they tugged my panties down. Panties he’d bought me. Panties he wanted me to wear. Because he felt something for me. I’d seen it before when he’d cooked for me. I’d seen it again tonight when he said they were training the Daughters.
I clenched my grip, fisted his hair, and jerked harder, forcing his gaze to mine once more. “Will you fuck them?” I whispered. “Those Daughters? Will you get on your knees just like you’re on them now?”
Pain slashed across his face. “No. I won’t get on my knees for them.”
“But you will for me.”
It wasn’t a question. I knew by now how Riven Cruz worked. If there wasn’t a direct response required, he avoided answering.
“Yes.” That scowl deepened. “I will for you.”
A lump grew in the back of my throat. I wanted to say more, but I couldn’t. I just eased my hold around his hair, leaving him to slide my panties all the way down until they hit the floor. Warmth brushed along my skin as he leaned closer and kissed my thigh.
My pulse skipped.
Oh fuck.
Oh…fuck.
The brush of his lips moved over. Those fingers pushed in, sliding over the sensitive nub. He gripped the back of one leg, easing it over his shoulder, and moved in, then the warm slide of his tongue took over and cast me into oblivion.
It had all been for their sister.
Every cruel, terrible thing they’d ever done.
I wanted to hate them for it, but the truth was, I’d done worse for mine.
I’d killed. I’d tortured.
I’d detonated bombs and razed buildings.
I’d done a thousand things to innocent people I could never take back.
And I’d do it all again…to protect those I loved.
A moan tore free. I looked down to where his head was buried between my thighs and I did something I’d never expected to do. I caressed his cheek, drawing his desperate stare upward. Gone was the savagery. Gone was the unfeeling demeanor. Gone was the man who’d tied me to a chair and fucked me with his fingers until I’d drenched his sofa. Although, some sick part of me hoped that that man hadn’t left entirely.
“Take me to bed, Riven,” I urged. “And fuck the hell out of me.”
He eased my leg from his shoulder and rose swiftly. Strong hands gripped my waist and lifted, letting my legs wrap around his waist. He carried me to the bed and gently laid me down before he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled it over his head.
His shoes were kicked off before he fumbled with his belt, unbuckled his trousers, and slid them down. He came to me naked, sliding his hand under my thigh to cup my asscheeks. Heavy breaths brushed like a caress along the insides of my thighs.
With a guttural moan, he plunged his tongue deep inside me. I arched my back, releasing a cry. My toes curled as he sucked, driving his fingers deep inside. He cradled me in his palm, my body, my desire while he devoured the center of me.
“Riven,” I cried.
He lifted his head, his powerful grasp wrapping around my throat, as though he knew exactly what my body needed. “Beg for me,” he demanded. “Beg me to let you come.”
Tears sprang to my eyes, shimmering his face. “Please,” I whispered. “Please, let me come.”
He rose upward, settled his body between my thighs, and plunged his cock in deep. “You look so pretty when you beg, Helene. So pretty while I choke and fuck you.”
The brutal slam of his hips sent me over the edge.
I couldn’t get my knees wide enough, desperate for every inch of him.
His hold clenched as I thrashed my head. Slick sounds came from between us.
“Look at you, coming while I fuck you. Look into my eyes, Helene. Look at your tormentor.”
I forced my gaze to his, fisting the bedding beside me as my climax barrelled through me.
I cried out, giving myself to him. That dangerous look of pride and predator filled him.
Mine. That’s what it said. You are now mine.
He gave a cold, calculating smile, then pulled out, unfinished, grasped me around the waist and flipped me over. He manhandled me, lifting my hips until I was on my knees, and plunged back in, thrusting so hard he lifted my body and pulled me back.
My pulsing core clenched as he stretched me. His hand in the middle of my lower back rocked me as his hard thrusts sent me over the edge again.
“Ruin me,” I pleaded. “Please, just fucking ruin me.”
He forced himself deeper, causing me to grasp onto the sheets as my climax surged even higher. A low, guttural moan sounded and he lifted his hips upward, driving me facefirst into the mattress. He was a beast, driving inside me with frantic thrusts until he stilled, buried to the hilt, and moaned. “Fuck me.”
Warmth spilled. I pushed back against him, desperate for him to fill me.
“I don’t want to touch them,” he groaned, sucking in a hard breath. “I don’t want to even look at them. But they’re not giving me a choice here…” He brushed my hair to the side, desperate to see me. “All I want is you, Helene King…all I want is you.”
Agony ripped through me as he pulled away. I collapsed onto the bed, unable to move or think.
But I felt.
Oh, fuck, I felt as an unseen dagger ripped open my chest and hacked out my heart.
Tears welled as the words rose inside my head, I want you too.
