The Mercenary and the Mortician (The Silent Hollow #1)

Epilogue 1

Alexa, play: Addicted to you - Avicci

T hank fucking Christ, my collarbone wasn’t broken like I originally thought. My shoulder had just been dislocated.

After we left Apex, we piled into Vox’s Aston Martin. He made Ryan drive as he refused to get out of the back seat where he’d nestled Naomi next to Mr. Grumble. I offered to do it, but Ryan said until I got my arm looked at, I was stuck back in healing mode.

I fucking hated healing mode.

Hopefully, now that Damian was dead for real, this would be the last time Ryan ever felt the need to baby me like this.

Despite my annoyance, I managed not to complain about it. The second my gaze fell on Naomi, I suddenly felt light as a feather.

However, I noticed the skin around Vox’s mouth was tighter than normal, and he seemed to be having a hard time tearing his gaze away from her sleeping form.

It was such a relief to see her in one piece. The memory of being trapped in that car wreck, screaming her name, and thinking she might be dead was the stuff of fucking nightmares.

I wasn’t looking forward to adding that particular memory to my midnight collection of brain horrors. It was way worse than the dreams of Damian sexually assaulting me, which I seemed to be having more and more frequently now that the memories had been uncovered.

My therapist assured me that was normal and that when you work on overcoming trauma like this, things often got worse before they got better.

Ryan told me Vox had needed to kill a man who was in the room with Gnomes when they saved her, but neither of them would tell any of us what happened.

Vox was back to his usual uncommunicative self, and Naomi just seemed to want to leave the past behind her.

She bounced back pretty quickly after everything that went down. Vox tended to get grumpier than normal whenever one of us pressed her to open up, and she smoothly changed the subject… though maybe I was just imagining it. He seemed grumpier than normal about everything concerning Naomi. He didn’t seem to like the idea of her going away to school in the fall either, so what the fuck did I know.

Dr. Callahan informed us that her nose had been broken from the airbag, and she understandably hated having her face taped up for a few weeks. However, after that, she returned to her usual bubbly and chipper self.

The only thing that changed was her outfits. I noticed she didn’t seem to ever wear her sundresses anymore. Now, she tended to favor tight black pants and stylish long-sleeved turtlenecks.

When I asked her why she’d undergone such a drastic change in style, she just laughed and rolled her eyes.

“I’m going to art school, Callum. I need to be taken seriously. Duh. ”

I didn’t get it, but whatever. If it made her happy, it made me happy.

Theo also made a full recovery. Dr. Callahan said she was extremely lucky. Damian’s knife had missed her spleen by only a few centimeters.

Naomi asked about Theo in the group chat, and to our surprise, Cass exploded into Dr. Callahan’s office shortly after, demanding to see her.

Theo, who was still a little loopy from the drugs Damian had injected her with, gave Cass one of the smuggest smirks I had ever seen on her face.

“Worried about me, princess?” she slurred, and Cass’s entire face went beat red.

“In your dreams, muscle shirt! I’m here to check on my brother!”

Theo snickered and rolled her eyes. “Sure, baby girl. We all know you’ve got it bad for me.”

Her eyes fluttered closed, and she winced slightly as she lay back down on the surgical cot Dr. Callahan had set up for her.

Cass tried to hide it, but I saw the concern that flashed across my sister’s face as the energy seemed to fade out of Theo’s body.

Cass scowled down at Ryan’s sister in the way she sometimes scowled at me when I was doing something stupid.

“I’m going to be fucking pissed if you die, Theodora. Cal and Naomi are attached to you now, and I don’t have the time to pick up the pieces if they fall apart.”

Without opening her eyes, Theo chuckled again.

“I love it… when you say my name like that, princess.” She sighed before her breathing evened out, and she slipped into a well-deserved slumber.

I pretended not to notice when Cass slipped her fingers into Theo’s hand and squeezed.

She stayed with Theo long after we all went home.

That was two weeks ago, and now I was finally enjoying the full use of my arm again.

Dr. Callahan had come by earlier to remove my sling, and I had plans to take full advantage of my newly acquired clean bill of health.

I was waiting for Ryan to come to bed when his deep, sexy voice floated up the stairs.

“Angel! Were you able to pick up those signs for Mr. Stein’s service tomorrow?”

I chuckled. “Yes, baby. They’re set up in the viewing room. Come up here. I want to show you something!”

Ryan jogged up the stairs and appeared in the doorway, looking as hot as the day I’d met him. I couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s up?” he asked, tugging the knot of his tie loose. He stalked over to where I was sitting on the end of the bed, and I allowed my gaze to roam over him.

Fuck, he looked good.

“Check it out,” I said, holding up my sling-free hand and wiggling my fingers. “Back in action, baby.”

Ryan’s smile was so gorgeous; I was sure someone more talented than me could write a whole fucking song about it.

Though… the thought of someone writing a song about him made me fucking homicidal. So much so that I needed to shake the thought away and remind myself it wasn’t real.

No one was actually trying to write songs about him. He was mine. He would always be mine.

“ Amazing .” He beamed, pulling my hand up to his mouth and leaving a gentle kiss on the tip of each finger.

“You know what that means?” I grinned, and he raised an eyebrow.

“Tell me.”

“It means we need to test it out. Make sure everything’s working properly.”

His gaze immediately darkened, and I felt my cock throb between my legs at the sight.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.”

He swallowed, and I stood up, steering him around to take my place on the edge of the bed.

“Take your pants off, beautiful. Let me see that big, sexy cock.”

I helped Ryan undress and had him lie on his back in my favorite position... With his legs bent and his ass fully exposed.

Ryan struggled with negative self-esteem because of all the bullying he had endured as a child, and I’d been working on building him up in our day-to-day. It seemed to have been helping, but I loved forcing him to build himself up during sex.

Pushing him out of his comfort zone and using his pleasure as a reward for complimenting himself was one of my new favorite games since that time I fucked him in front of the mirror in IKEA.

It was uncomfortable for him to do, which satisfied my sadistic needs while also forcing my man to see himself the way I did.

Crawling onto the bed and looking down at him, I took a moment to appreciate the way his chest was already rapidly rising and falling as he panted in anticipation.

“You look so pretty like this, all spread open and waiting.”

“Cal…”

It’d been a few days since we’d last fucked, and it was clear he needed to come. He wasn’t allowed to come anymore without my permission. I’d told him that when he tried to tell me we wouldn’t be fucking again until my arm healed.

Once I took masturbation off the table, his resolve evaporated fairly quickly. We still toned it down from the daily pounding I would have loved to subject him to, but still. I’d take what I could get.

He didn’t seem to have any qualms at all now that I was back to full health. His dick was hard as stone and lying all plump and delicious on his chiseled abs, making my mouth water.

“Use your words, baby. What do you want?” I purred, crawling over him but not allowing our bodies to touch at all.

“I want you to… touch me.”

“Touch you where?”

“My cock… I want you to touch my cock.”

I looked down between us just as his dick surged. His glossy, fat head brushed against the crotch of my jeans, and he shuddered.

Using my newly healed arm, I gently brushed my fingers against his shaft. Just enough for him to feel it but not enough to give him any real satisfaction.

“Like this, gorgeous?”

He shook his head. “ No, Cal. More… ” he whimpered. “ I need more.”

I chuckled, brushing my lips gently against his.

“What do we say?”

“ Please.”

Fuck. I loved it when he begged.

“Good boy, Ryan,” I purred before sliding down his body, putting my face directly in front of his cock.

“Do you want me to lick it?” I asked, meeting his gaze through his bent legs. His grip on his knees was so tight that his fingertips had turned white.

“Please, I’ll do anything,” he whined, and I smiled.

“Anything?”

He nodded frantically, and my smile widened.

“Tell me you’re beautiful.”

He was much quicker now, with all the practice. He barely hesitated before the words tumbled out of his mouth.

“I’m beautiful,” he repeated, and my cock thumped between my legs in response. Something about hearing him be kind to himself just fucking did it for me.

“Yes, you are, gorgeous boy. You’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. You have no idea,” I cooed before rewarding him by sucking his fat, wet tip into my mouth.

“Fuuccckk, fuck, fuck, fuuuccck…” He groaned, rolling his hips in an attempt to shove his cock deeper.

I hollowed out my cheeks and sucked hard, loving the way he whimpered and leaked all over my tongue in response.

Wrapping my hand around the base of his dick, I popped off, leisurely stroking him as I licked the tip like it was a lollipop.

“Cal, fuck… that’s so good. You make me feel so good .”

“I know, baby,” I cooed before sitting up and pulling my shirt off. “Come here, help me out of these jeans,” I ordered.

He immediately scrambled to do as I said. I watched him unbuckle my pants and slide them down my legs.

Slithering out of them, I pressed him back into the bed, grinding my dick into his as I moved.

“You want me to fuck your tight little hole, don’t you?” I growled, biting and sucking on his ear as I continued to rub my dick against his.

It felt so fucking good. His velvety, hard shaft rubbed against mine and started a slow, burning ache deep in my balls. Soon, I began to feel my own cock leaking for him.

“Yes, Cal. Yes, please.”

Reaching for the ever-present bottle of Astroglide on our end table, I kissed him deeply.

He moaned into my mouth, and I sucked on his bottom lip first, then the top, nipping and biting him until he was all swollen, wet, and puffy.

“ Fuck , you’re so perfect.” I breathed against his lips, and he whimpered into my mouth.

“Get your hole nice and wet for me, gorgeous,” I said, passing him the lube.

I rolled off of him and lay on my back, stroking my cock as I watched him prep himself for me.

He squeezed a line of lube on his fingers, then reached behind himself to apply it to his hole.

“Fuck, Ryan. You look so good touching yourself like that. Look how hard your cock is for me. Does my baby boy want to get fucked?”

“Yes, Callum. Please.”

“Mmmm. I think today I want you to ride me,” I said, and his eyes widened. We’d never done it with him on top before, and I saw a flash of insecurity dance across his face.

“Come here, baby. You’re going to do so well. Don’t be shy,” I encouraged him, gesturing for him to straddle me.

“O-okay.” His cheeks were bright red, and I watched him tentatively get into position.

“Lube up my cock. Make it all slippery so you can slide it easily into that tight little hole,” I ordered, leaning back and cradling my hands behind my head so I could enjoy the show.

Ryan bit down on his swollen lip as he rushed to do what he was told.

My little ginger snap. Always so eager to please.

Fuck, I loved him so much.

He squirted out a generous amount of lube, and I shuddered as he used a firm hand to massage it into my dick.

“Mmmm, yeah. That’s it, baby. Get it nice and wet,” I commanded, thrusting my hips up into his hand.

He rolled his thumb over my piercing, coating that with lube too, before turning his adorably wide eyes on me.

“Good job, sweet thing. Now straddle it. I want you to get it in there all by yourself, okay?”

He nodded and scooted up higher, reaching behind himself to guide my cockhead up to his hole. He struggled for a minute, and it took everything for me to keep still and allow him the time he needed to slip the tip in.

He was so fucking cute.

A wave of cute aggression rolled through me while I watched him fumble around with my cock. I had to grind my teeth together to keep myself from slamming his hips down. I wanted to fuck him so hard he would taste my dick in the back of his fucking throat…

Somehow, I managed to restrain myself.

Finally, he managed it, and we both groaned as his tight, greedy hole swallowed the tip of my dick.

“Mmmm… Fuck, yes, baby, you’re doing so good.” I groaned as he slowly lowered himself down onto me, inch by scorching inch.

He was moving so fucking slowly that I thought I might die.

“Baby, fuck, you’re so perfect; you’re taking me so well,” I praised as he whined, holding himself up with two flat palms on my chest.

Sweat began to bead on his brow, and his ass was so hot wrapped around my dick that I thought I might lose my mind.

“This angle is deep…” He groaned, and I rested my hands gently on his hips, holding him steady as he worked his way down.

“I know, baby, I know. But you’re doing so good for me.”

My balls were so tight; they had their own heartbeat.

“Cal… I, I think I’m?—”

He tensed, choking my cock with his ass as my piercing dragged across his prostate.

Ryan’s eyes grew impossibly large.

He gasped and clenched down even tighter, and then suddenly… he was exploding.

“Cal…I-I-I’m… coming!” he cried out in shock, and I felt the first hot spurt of cum hit my chin.

I reached between his legs and wrapped my hand around his cock, kneading his release out of him as he came.

God, he looked so beautiful falling apart on top of me.

“Fuck yes, Ryan. Good boy . You’re coming so fucking good for me. Look at you. You love my cock in your ass so much you couldn’t even wait one more second, could you, sweet boy?”

“Mmmm, ughhh, fuckkkkkkk,” Ryan moaned, and I started to move, fucking up into him as his dick continued to spasm in my hand.

“You look so good coming for me like that, baby; I’m going to fill this tight ass up as a reward. Do you want that?” I released his cock, which was still erupting with random spurts of cum.

“Yes, Cal! Yes! Fuckmefuckmefuckmeeee!”

I grabbed his hips and slammed up into him, relishing in every shout of pleasure I was able to work out of my man before my own release began to build. The heat started out low and slow, but then it caught and spread like wildfire.

“Baby, I’m gonna come inside you. Tell me you love me, baby,” I ordered, fucking into him faster and faster as my need for release became more and more urgent.

“I love you!” He sobbed. “I love you so fucking much!”

“Fuck, Ryan… I’m coming…I’m fucking coming!” My voice cracked as I forced him farther down on my cock, fucking him so hard I thought I might split him in two.

But he took each thrust I gave him and begged for more.

He was everything.

“You’re perfect,” I hissed, grabbing him by the jaw and yanking him down so I could kiss him again. I nipped and sucked on his lips as I floated down from my high, telling him over and over again how much I loved him.

And the beautiful thing was… Every time I told him I loved him, he told me that he loved me too.