My body pulsed as I came back from oblivion, that darkness sated for a little while as Caleb pulled me against him. “I’ll always be right here.”
Right here…right here—
Snap.
The sound invaded, wrenching me from that numbed state. Panic slammed into me as I jerked my head upwards, scanned the trees, and froze. Tobias stood in the distance, watching us with a gun in his hand and a savage glare in his eyes. “Tobias?”
There was a twitch in the corner of his mouth before he surged forward. I was drawn to the glint of steel in his hand as it rose. All I could see in my head was that bloodcurdling look of betrayal in his eyes. I was frozen as Tobias charged toward us, swapped the gun to his other hand, and cocked his fist.
“You fucking took her from me!” he roared, and lashed out, catching Caleb on the jaw. “YOU PUT HER IN THAT PLACE!”
Caleb stumbled backwards with the blow and his hand rose to his jaw as he settled a chilling stare on his brother. “T—”
“You fucking broke her,” Tobias gasped. “You fucking broke HER!”
I shook my head, reaching for Tobias as he went for Caleb once more. “No! Stop this!” I screamed. “Stop this!”
But there was no holding back Tobias’s rage now that the walls were cracked, and it all spilled out. At that moment, it was brother against brother. And I was trapped in the middle.
“Fuck you, Tobias!” Caleb screamed. “You self-righteous piece of shit!”
“Self-righteous?” Tobias’s voice was stony as he stepped in front of his brother. “Self-fucking-righteous?”
Tobias’s lips curled into a sneer. Even though he had to look up at Caleb, I knew who was the deadliest here…and so did Caleb. “You’re fucking weak, C. You let your emotions get the better of you, and you put Ryth in danger.”
Caleb held that deadly stare, never once flinching. “That’s fucking rich coming from you. Your entire fucking life has been one temper tantrum after another, little brother.”
A chill raced down my spine.
My stomach clenched.
There was no stopping this.
Not now.
Not after this…
Tobias’s grip tightened on the gun and something inside me broke. I surged up and forward, yanking Tobias away, to push in between them. “No…no, this isn’t happening.”
“Oh, it’s happening,” Tobias answered, but it was Caleb he stared at. His glare was a promise of all the things he wanted to do to him. Things I’d never let happen. “It’s been a lifetime in the fucking making.”
“Caleb, leave.” My words were hoarse.
“No, Ryth, we—” he started.
But I jerked my gaze to him, imploring him without words. He met my stare and flinched. There was a second where my heart felt like it shattered in two, where it was ripped from my chest, the two halves beating and pulsing, bloody in my hands.
“You fucking leave now and this is done,” Tobias warned carefully.
Caleb held my stare for a heartbeat, as confusion mingled with desperate pain. Then he took a step backwards before he strode toward the trees.
“That’s it!” Tobias roared. “Fucking walk away, like you do all the time. That way you never have to face the consequences, right? Just like fucking Dad!”
Caleb froze with his back to us. I thought he was going to turn around and bite at Tobias’s cutting words, but he didn’t, he just took another slow step forward and left.
“That was cruel,” I whispered, turning back to the brother I loved with all my heart but hated in this moment. “And uncalled for.”
“Yeah?” He swung that savage glare my way. “You hurt for him, little mouse?”
The way he spoke hurt me, like he wanted to watch me bleed just to prove a goddamn point. “I love you,” I whispered. “But I don’t like you at this moment.”
“Looks like we’ve come full circle then, doesn’t it? Minus the love.”
He turned and walked away, striding after Caleb. But I had to stop him. I had to save him.
He didn’t get it. He didn’t see. When one of us bled, we all fucking bled, until there was no stopping the flow.
Sticks snapped as Tobias followed Caleb. He didn’t limp as bad now, fueled by cold, hard rage. “Come back here, C!”
I hurried after them, cutting through the trees to head back toward the cabin. But the closer we came, the colder Tobias became. “Come back here!”
He moved faster, lunging over a fallen tree to land on his good leg and hop until he was steady once more. “You fucking walk away! You don’t get to DO THAT!”
I raced to catch up to them as the sound of a four-wheel drive headed our way. Sunlight glinted off chrome, and there was a blur of black skidding across the loose gravel to pull up beside the silver sedan. Tobias was limping hard now, pressing the gun in his grip against his thigh.
He was in pain, and it bled out in his words. “Leave, Caleb! Keep on fucking walking. We don’t want you here, you hear me? I WANT YOU FUCKING GONE!”
“Tobias!” I skidded down the driveway after him as the four-wheel drive narrowly missed them, skidding sideways. “No!”
But Caleb stopped walking, spinning around to face his brother. That cold, brutal look settled in his stare as he lunged forward, grabbed Tobias by the arm and pulled him closer. “You want me to leave? Is that it? Leave so you and Nick can have Ryth for yourselves?”
“Yeah,” Tobias answered coldly. “I do.”
“Well, guess what, T?” Caleb stepped even closer until he towered over him. “Even if I left, she’d still follow. She needs me, brother. I give her something you can’t. I fuck her just how she needs it. So, maybe you better get used to that.”
Oh shit.
Oh shit…
Car doors opened. “What the fuck is going on?” Lucas barked as he stepped out.
But Nick was there, striding around the rear of the vehicle to move in front of him. “You don’t want to stop this, Doc.”
I glanced at Kit, who stood there with her mouth agape, watching this all unfold. I hated that this was happening in front of them, but their emotions were too high. Wounded or not, Tobias unleashed a roar and lunged, swinging his fist to catch Caleb on the jaw. The crack was sickening, freezing me to the spot. I couldn’t move, ripped open and torn down the middle watching the two men I loved go head to head.
“You fuck her right, huh?” Tobias drove his fist into his brother again.
Panic filled me as Caleb stumbled backwards and hit the ground. But Tobias wasn’t stopping. That savagery inside him only seemed to grow until he was almost unrecognizable, falling on top of Caleb.
“You wanted her there!” He grabbed Caleb’s shirt, cocked his fist, and lashed out once more. “You wanted her there for yourself!”
Crack!
“STOP!” I screamed until I tasted blood. “Stop this, NOW!”
I sucked in hard breaths, my mind splintering as that darkness waited, beckoning me toward insanity. “He did not break me.” I slowly lifted my gaze to where Tobias had Caleb’s blood-splattered shirt in his fist. A slow trickle of blood spilled from Caleb’s nose, catching the sun, and I was mesmerized by the sight, unable to look away as I slowly delved into that place. “He saved me.”
The world seemed to stop.
“He saved me the only way he knew how.” I shifted my focus upwards until I met T’s murderous stare. “You broke me, don’t you see that?”
Tobias flinched and his chest rose hard, then fell with a heavy breath. I stepped toward them, empty and hollowed and hurting. “They told us you were dead.” Closer still. “And I wanted to die too.”
His throat muscles worked as Tobias swallowed hard. “They told you I was dead?”
Pain lashed deep. I reached out, closing my hand around his clenching Caleb’s shirt. “Yes. They wanted me broken, pliable. They wanted to…”
“Ryth,” Caleb whispered.
But I couldn’t meet his stare, because if I did, then I’d fall apart.
“Maybe no more now,” Nick urged, stepping closer. He looked at me, then Tobias. “Let’s just all calm the fuck down so we don’t say shit we’ll regret later. Then tomorrow, when we’ve cooled off, we can talk about this?”
But Tobias didn’t look away, his gaze unflinching. He didn’t know. I saw that now. He had no idea what they’d told us, or what we’d had to do to survive. Or what they did to me. No one did.
I’m going to fuck you until you see stars…
My stomach clenched with the memory of those words.
“Okay, T?” Nick pushed.
“Okay,” Tobias answered.
I sucked in deep breaths, staring at him. It was too late to claw back the things that had been said. I only hoped that, somehow, we’d find a way past them, for all our sakes.
“C?” Nick turned to Caleb.
“Fine,” he said, swiping at a bead of blood that spread out from the corner of his mouth.
Tobias took one look at Caleb before he unfurled his fist from his brother’s shirt, then slowly slipped his hand away from mine. “I would never have let you let near that place,” he said carefully before turning and limping away.
I looked away.
“I’m sorry,” Kit said, coming closer. “This is all my fault.”
And something inside me snapped. I shook my head and turned to her. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. This was going to happen eventually.”
“Well,” Lucas muttered behind us. “Maybe pie might help? Nick grabbed some from Meg’s Diner and she makes the best I’ve ever had. Kit will vouch for that.”
He motioned to the car. “Help us with the groceries…Nick?”
“Sure,” Nick answered, glancing at Caleb before he turned away and headed toward the four-wheel drive once more.
Caleb followed, leaving me to turn and pull Kit into my arms. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay.”
I didn’t know if I was trying to console her or myself. But she hugged me back, then followed me as I trailed the others as they went inside.
Kit cut the pies, which looked decadent and delicious, but I wasn’t hungry. Food was the last thing I wanted. Instead, I carried a piece on a plate to the bedroom we shared and stopped outside the closed door. He needed space, I knew that. But still, knowing he was right there, yet out of reach, hurt. I placed the pie on the floor outside the door and straightened. “There’s pie here for you.”
Thump, the sound of an axe came as I turned and left, meeting Lucas in the middle of the hall, carrying two plates. He handed me one and motioned to the treatment room. “Want to go over some more drugs in case you need them?”
Thump.
“Sure.” I glanced toward the window.
“Nick’s working off some frustration, I believe.” He shook his head. “You’ve found yourself some hot-tempered stepbrothers, haven’t you?”
Thump!
“You can say that again.” I placed the untouched pie on the counter.
Thump!
He started talking, pulling down vials and sliding sleeves of pills from locked drawers before he stopped. “You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?”
Thump!
“Sorry.” I gave myself a shake. “I’m listening, I am.”
He gave a small smile. “It doesn’t matter.” He glanced toward the window. “Go to him. That’s the key to survival, anyway. Find your people and hold onto them.” He reached toward his piece of pie.
I started toward the door. “I will, thanks, Doc.”
He gave a chuff and shook his head. “No problem.”
When I stepped out of the room, instinct made me glance toward the door down the hall. The pie was gone. I didn’t know why that small thing made me feel a little more secure, but it did. If he had the pie, then maybe we were okay, somehow? I held onto that hope and hurried out, leaving everything behind.
Thump!
I headed for that sound and found Nick beside a chopping block back against the trees. Sunlight shone on his hard chest, drawing my focus to the white bandage on his side before I met his gaze.
Pain and desperation mingled as he gripped the axe and sucked in hard breaths. I took in his golden brown eyes and the dark hair that had grown in the months we’d been together and was now long enough to stick to the sweat on his temples. He stood tall, his long, muscular body so fucking perfect. I’d never realized how beautiful he was until now.
“He had pie.” That’s all I said, standing there like an idiot. Pain and desperation swirled inside me as I stared at my stepbrother in an exhausted and confused haze. “At least he had some pie.”
Nick seemed to understand, glancing behind me at the open door, then at Caleb as he approached from the parked cars. There was a twitch in the corner of his eye, a blink before he looked away.
We kept busy, trying our best to avoid saying anything that would only inflame the situation. When the sun began to set, I went inside and helped prepare dinner. Steaks were cooked on the grill, with steamed vegetables and fluffy mashed potatoes.
I carried a plate to the bedroom door and knocked gently. This time, he opened it, took the plate from my hand with a sad smile, and handed me the one from before.
“Little mouse,” he started when I turned.
I stopped. “Yeah?”
“Will you sleep in here tonight?”
I turned around. “Do you want me to?”
He gave a small nod. “Yeah, yeah, I do.”
It was a start, so I gave him a smile. “Then I will.”
“Good” He gave me a smile in return and lifted the plate. “Thanks for the food.”
I nodded again. “Anytime.”
We were almost like strangers. Civil. Careful. That hurt more than anything. This man had grabbed me with both hands and dragged me into his world filled with angst, love…and desperation, yet still I craved more. But there was a sadness about Tobias. One I didn’t know how to heal.
I left to sit with the others, taking a few small bites when Nick and Caleb glared my way, then helped clean while Lucas grabbed extra bedding and Caleb started a fire. It hurt my heart to see him set up a bed on the sofa.
“Don’t worry, princess.” Caleb brushed the hair from my face. “The fire will keep me warm. You look like you could do with some sleep. So go, we’ll fix this tomorrow, okay?”
I hated leaving him, but I did, nodding before I followed Nick into the room we shared with Tobias. He was lying in the dark, waiting for us, watching as I stepped into the bathroom, wound my hair on top of my head, and stepped into the shower. I wanted the banter, the ridicule even, not this…the quiet was too cruel.
After Nick stepped in, I dried and dressed in one of his t-shirts before climbing into bed. Tobias lifted the comforter for me, then rolled over and gave me his back. I snuggled against him for a moment, then leaned forward to kiss his shoulder.
“Sleep, Ryth,” he urged. “We both need it.”
We did. I lay there, waiting for sleep to come, and listened as Tobias’s breaths turned deep and steady. The bathroom light flicked off and Nick climbed in on my other side.
“Can’t sleep?”
“No,” I whispered, my voice husky with emotion.
He lifted his arm, letting me curl against him as he pulled the comforter over us.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered. “Tell me what I did wrong?”
“Nothing, baby. You did nothing wrong.”
“Then why does it feel like I did?”
He had no answer, other than to tighten his hold around me. I pressed closer, needing his strength as well as his warmth. The slow caress on my arm moved higher, his touch warmer, charged with more. I lifted my head, meeting his stare.
“I missed you,” he whispered, and I realized that somehow, he’d been shoved aside.
It was Caleb, and Tobias, that had consumed my attention, and all the while Nick had waited for me to notice him. My Nick. “I missed you, too.”
He leaned forward, lowered his head, and kissed me. Warmth spread out from my mouth. I closed my eyes, relishing the quiet carefulness. He deepened the kiss as he pushed me back against the pillows, and I was reminded of how it was with them.
Each of them demanding, in their own perfect ways.
My body and my heart.
I slid my arms around his waist as he rose above me on the bed. “Are you still sore?” I asked as I brushed my hand across the bandage.
“No, Ryth,” he murmured.
A drop of water dripped from his hair to plop on my cheek before he dipped low, slid his hand over my thigh to burrow under his t-shirt, and push it higher. I was bare underneath, shivering as he palmed my breast and dragged his thumb across my nipple.
“Fuck, I missed you,” he murmured, lowering his head.
His tongue danced around my nipple, over and over again, until I shivered. Even in my pain, Nick found me, the only way he knew how. He sucked gently, drawing me deeper into his mouth as that ravenous stare pinned me to the bed.
But it didn’t need to—I let out a moan, my back arching, driving my nipple deeper into his mouth—because I wasn’t going anywhere.
“Missed you so fucking much.” His husky words sank into me as he moved lower. “How about I show you just how much?”
I watched him as he sank lower, kissing my stomach and my hips. Freezing when he reached the tattoo, then grazing his lips across the raised red flesh. “Ours,” he whispered, meeting my gaze. “Always ours, princess.”
He sank further, sliding his hand under the back of my thigh to lift my leg.
There was no stopping Nick, no taking control.
He was the rush of the tide, coming, claiming, no matter what.
I could only let him happen.
He widened my legs, then moved in to lick, finding the part of me that pulsed, and drew it into his mouth.
“Oh, God,” I moaned. “Oh, Nick.”
“Mhmm?” He didn’t stop, just kept dipping, caressing, parting my body to claim me with his mouth.
The rush was instant, like lightning tearing through me. My body wasn’t mine when Nick was in control. No, every cell, every quiver…every climax belonged to him.
“You’re all I want,” he growled, sliding his tongue in deeper. “All I fucking need, princess.” He slid his finger along my slit and pushed in, fucking me and ramming those words home. “There will never be a moment without me, you understand that? Never again. I don’t care if I have to chain you to my bed, Ryth. You belong to us.” Deeper. “And you are never leaving us again.”
I shivered as I rocked my hips against him and closed my eyes. “Never,” I croaked, my hips thrusting against his touch. “Never.”
He slowly slid out, kissing that tattoo once more before he rose. Our gazes connected as he surged his hips forward and drove his cock inside. My breath caught. I stiffened with the shock as my body adjusted. He was so big…and hard.
“Ours.” He punched his hips forward, driving me hard against the mattress, making me bounce. “Ours…ours…ours.”
I grabbed his shoulders, pulling him against me as my body gave over. Every thrust, every grunt from him stroked the flare higher. I wound my arms around his powerful shoulders and hung on. “Oh, Nick,” I groaned as the end rushed over me.
And with his next savage thrust, I came apart underneath him.
My body pulsed and quivered.
“Such a good fucking girl,” Nick growled. “A good little sister.”
With a growl, he came hard, driving deep inside me.
Warmth spilled, filling me.
In the rush of hard breaths, I floated. Nick rolled, falling to the other side. His heavy arm wrapped around me, pulling me hard against him. “Sleep, princess,” he murmured, already closing his eyes. “You’re gonna need it.”
My body quivered, pulsing, but still, I felt myself crashing hard. He sat up swiftly, grabbed the end of the comforter, and pulled it over us.
In the warmth of his body, I finally gave myself over and fell…even harder than I had before.
In the darkness…and in love.
