CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Victoria
I shouldn't have liked it. Watching Joey bludgeon a man with golf clubs shouldn't have caused my core to throb with need. Seeing him slit the man's throat only served to heighten my desire. Something about the feral edge to the man who had treated me so sweetly begged me to step into the dark and explore further. Craig's arms wrapped around my waist were the only obstacle between me and him. A barrier that would soon be removed if the way Joey's eyes roved over me was any indication.
He stood from where he'd been squatting next to the body and stalked toward me. My nostrils flared as he approached. The distinct sensation that I was now prey sent a shiver of anticipation up my spine.
"Have someone clean up this mess." Rich's baritone washed over me, adding another layer to my desperate need. "Let's get back to the manor and get some rest. We'll figure out how to proceed with this information tomorrow."
The drive back to the manor was a blur. My awareness extended no further than the press of Joey's side against mine in the backseat of the Impala. He'd pulled me to him with a vicious snarl when we'd settled into the car. If Craig had protested, I hadn't noticed. My mind devolved into wild scenarios this new, savage side of my sweet protector might bring.
The car was barely stopped before Joey dragged me out of the back seat. I yipped in surprise, catching a glimpse of Craig as I stumbled through the exit. He had a sly smirk on his face and gave me a wink. I heard the other guys talking as the garage door slammed shut behind us, but I didn't catch what they said.
He pulled me past the house, around the side of the garden, and toward the path towards the copse of trees left on the back mile of the manor property. Once we were alone, his pace slowed, and his grip softened, and we fell into an almost leisurely stroll once our feet found the path into the woods.
"Joey?" I asked hesitantly. My heart was pounding in my chest at the ferocity I'd witnessed, and the sudden change of pace had me grasping at straws. He grunted his acknowledgment but didn't directly answer me. "Where are you taking me?"
He whirled me around and pressed my back into a tree at the edge of the woods. His pupils were blown out, his eyes hooded, and his gaze was wild as he searched my face. His lips found mine in a crushing kiss that stole my breath. It was desperate, hungry, and animalistic as his tongue and mouth explored mine. Not at all the soft and gentle kisses I'd imagined from him. When he pulled back, I gasped for air and felt lightheaded.
"Do you trust me, Pet?" His voice was strained, his fingertips gripping my hips harshly as he closed the distance between us.
"You know I do," I whispered.
"Good girl," he crooned. The way he stretched out the vowels made my stomach flip, and my heart flutter. I definitely needed to hear that again. "You're always safe with me. But right now… I need you. I want to do something, and I need…" His voice was straining as he struggled to find the words. I could see the impatience on his face, and I couldn't help but melt inside. Even in all his feral need, he was making sure I was okay.
"What do you need? What can I do for you?" I still couldn't bring my voice above a whisper, somehow fearing that it would end the moment.
"Yellow if it gets too much, and you want to take a break. Red if you want to stop. Yell it so I can hear if you need to use them, and I promise I won't be upset if you do." His stare was intense; a low growl seemed to underscore his words.
"Wha–"
"Say it back to me, Pet," he demanded.
"Yellow for a break. Red if I want to stop. Yell it loud enough that you can hear."
"And?"
"You won't be mad."
"That's my good girl. Now, one last thing…" his voice trailed off as he traced his fingers under the hem of my shirt across my stomach.
"What's that?" I asked, my voice airy as I enjoyed the feeling of his touch across my skin. He stepped back and pulled me away from the tree before gently pushing me towards the woods. An animalistic grin spread slowly across his face as he watched me stumble slightly.
"You're going to get a short head start. On the count of three, you're going to take off into those woods." As realization dawned, my eyes widened, and a wave of nervous excitement slammed into me. He didn't miss it, and his grin seemed to get wider. "You're getting it now."
I nodded. "Yes."
"Good. Three…" He rolled his shoulders and took a step forward. I shifted and took a step back.
"Two…" I turned to face the darkened woods, trying to remember the last time I'd run through them in a game of hide and seek. My heart hammered so loud I just knew it would give me away.
" Run. " The word was a growl that seemed like his lips were directly behind my ear. I didn't look back but bolted into the woods like I was running for my life. Fear-tinged excitement tore through my veins as I turned off the path and wove through the trees. I lept over fallen limbs and raised roots.
It wasn't long before I heard his voice in the distance as my hunter entered the woods behind me.
"Ready or not, Pet. Here I come." He spoke deliberately loudly, and I tracked his progress by the sound of him talking.
"This was always my favorite game as a kid, y'know? Since I was smaller than the other kids, I was always the best at hiding. So they stopped letting me do it after a while…" He kept talking as he made his way through the woods.
It was thrilling in a way I'd never experienced before. I slowed to a creep and pressed my back against a partially fallen tree. His voice was behind me. I clasped my hand over my mouth to stifle the sounds of my breathing. We'd only just started, but I could already feel hot adrenaline pumping through my veins.
"So I had to be the seeker after that… all the way up until they stopped being able to hide from me." He laughed, the sound dark and deep. "Just like you're not going to be able to hide from me, Pet. I will find you."
His voice was closer now. How did he know which way to go? I moved slowly away from the tree, weaving through the downed branches and around a few more large trunks to put more distance between us.
"Come out, come out, wherever you are…" He sang, still sounding like he was closing in.
I hazarded a quicker pace, moving again to keep him from stumbling onto me. The sound of a twig snapping under my foot made me freeze as I dropped into a crouch. His taunting laughter floated around me. I could feel sweat forming on my brow, the savagery in his voice causing my fear to override my logic until a part of my brain wasn't sure if this was pretend.
"Oh, Pet. You're too loud for someone who doesn't want to be found. Do you want me to tell you what I'm going to do to you once I find you? Or maybe you want to be caught so I can just show you."
His voice was much closer than I expected, his taunts so assured as he laughed. My thighs were soaked, my breathing was ragged, and I was having difficulty sitting still in my hiding place. My head felt like I was floating on a high from the adrenaline pumping through my veins as anticipation lit up my nerves.
"I can hear you breathing. Closer now… I could be right. Behind. You."
The logical part of my brain knew there was no way he could see me. Something about the firm, dark confidence in his voice made the primal part of my brain light up, and I bolted from my new hiding place. I threw a glance over my shoulder as I ran. I groaned when I saw him, his lithe, agile form moving swiftly through the trees.
"Running from me now, Pet? Perfect. This is the best fucking part," he called out from behind me. His footsteps were hard against the ground as he broke into a run behind me.
Sweat started to pool between my breasts, in my hair, and along my back as I ran, lept, and wove my way through the trees. It didn't seem to matter what turns I made or where I went. Now that he was on me, I couldn't shake him.
"Come on, baby. Can't you go faster than that? Or are you giving up?" He was so close to me. Fuck. I pushed to move faster. My lungs felt on fire, but I couldn't stop. "I'm gaining on you, Pet. What are you going to do now?"
I couldn't stop the squeal that escaped my throat as I lept over another log, stumbled, and felt his arms circle around my waist. It split between a giggle and a scream.
"Got you!" We tumbled over each other as we hit the ground, and I squirmed to free myself from his grip. "Oh, no you don't. Come here."
He grabbed my hips roughly and pulled me underneath him, gripping my wrists and holding them above my head.
"Oh, poor thing. Struggle if you want now; you're not going anywhere." He grinned down at me, and I couldn't stop the moan that escaped me at how he looked at me. "You look so good like this, baby. Eyes wide, breathing hard, that wild look on your face."
He closed the distance between our lips in another kiss that felt like he sought to mark his claim through it. I parted my lips in invitation, the heat from the chase giving way to a wholly different kind as it spread through my body.
When he pulled away, he trailed those same scorching kisses down my jaw and neck. When he reached the nape, I felt the scrape of his teeth. Pain mingled with the tingling anticipation, and I cried out. It hurt, but I didn't want him to stop. I couldn't help the way my back arched into him.
"Good girl…" He whispered against my skin as he moved down to the exposed part of my shoulder. Another kiss, another bite.
"Fuck…" I groaned, rolling my hips into him. I could feel his hard length pressing against me, and suddenly, my clothes were too tight, too restricting. I wriggled beneath him, needing to do away with the barriers between us.
"Needy thing," he chuckled as he leaned back. He released my wrists and pulled my shirt upward. It snagged on something beneath me; I heard the fabric tear as he pulled it over my head and tossed it away.
I pushed at his shirt, fingertips trailing across the skin beneath in a silent plea to have him remove it. I couldn't form the question. My voice wasn't cooperating anymore. It didn't take him long to oblige me and toss his shirt away without care for where it fell. The rest of our clothes went similarly once the undressing started. It was a frantic grasping at buttons and zippers to remove pants, tugging at undergarments. My shirt wasn't the only thing that was ripped in the process, but I couldn't find it in me to care.
"Good god, look at you. You're fucking perfect, Pet." I almost didn't hear the words as he said them, breathing them out in an awestruck tone. Then he was on me, his hands tracing patterns over my skin that his mouth followed.
Every trailing touch had me whimpering, his nails and teeth scraping over my skin as he explored. I tangled my fingers in his hair, wriggling as the building pressure between my thighs demanded attention. Finally, he reached my center, his fingers dipping between my slick folds as he kissed along my thigh.
He chuckled darkly at the state I was already in. "Already so wet for me, Pet. I have to know if you taste as good as you look…" He bit into my thigh hard as he slipped two fingers inside me. The yelp became a cry before he attacked my core with his tongue.
"Oh… fuck…" My voice was strangled as I rolled my hips in time with his fingers, grinding against his mouth.
The anticipation already had me hanging over the edge of my climax. It wouldn't take long. I drug my nails across his shoulders before returning my hands to his hair. This Joey was not gentle, and fuck if I didn't love how it felt like he was devouring me as his fingers worked me at a demanding pace.
Tension started to wind through my body as I was thrust closer to orgasm with every stroke. He lifted one of my legs by the knee and held it up and away from my body, further opening me up for him. The shift in position was all it took to throw me over the edge. I fell apart in his hands, gripping his hair tightly as I screamed his name. His pace didn't slow as I rode the waves of my climax, causing starbursts in my vision as I came harder than I'd ever remembered doing.
I hadn't floated back down yet before he shifted, leaning back and pulling me toward him. Hooking his other hand under my knee, he pushed my legs toward my chest and slammed inside me without preamble. I screamed again, digging my nails into his wrists as my hands scrambled to hold on to something.
His moans and grunts mingled with my cries as he fucked me in the underbrush of the woods, floating on the air around us in a lewd symphony of pleasure. His pace was frantic, desperate, and hard as he moved his hands to my hips to hold me in place. My eyes rolled back as he pistoned into me and filled me so completely.
Leaning back, he wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled me off the ground, so I sat in his lap. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss, and he held me close as he continued his assault on my pussy from beneath.
"Fucking… perfect…" He groaned out as he kissed across my chest, leaving more love bites in his wake. My head rolled back, feeling another climax mounting as my body wound tight again.
"Please…" I whimpered, helpless in his hands. My nerves felt like they were all lighting up at once as I started pleading for him to not stop. His name fell from my lips like it was the only word I knew. I clawed my nails into his shoulders, and he showed no signs of slowing or stopping.
"That's it, Pet. Come for me again. Let me hear that pretty scream." His hand snaked between us, fingers furiously circling my clit as he slammed into me. I screamed my climax as I peaked, feeling the rush explode out of me like a bomb. It was so dizzying I'm reasonably sure I lost consciousness for a moment.
He only stopped long enough to flip me over to my knees before entering me again, just as urgently. He grabbed my hips and angled them towards himself. I heard the pop of his hand on flesh before I felt the sting. I cried out, but it wasn't from the pain.
"Yes!" He slapped my ass hard as he thrust into me and massaged the spot as he pulled out. The rhythm of pain and pleasure built another orgasm so fast it felt almost unfair.
"Yes! Fuck!" I couldn't talk; I could only force the words out in a scream.
He leaned forward and left a trail of love bites along my sides, his hand coming down brutally on my ass as he pounded into me. I don't know how long this continued; my head spun as sensations blended into a high.
I clenched around him hard as I felt him lose himself to orgasm when I found my fourth release. He might have yelled, but I couldn't hear over the ringing in my ears. He gripped my hips so hard I was confident there would be bruises. He didn't stop thrusting until our orgasms were over.
My head spun as he pulled out of me, and I collapsed on the ground momentarily as my limbs gave out. He gathered me to him and rolled us so he was on his back with me lying atop him. We just lay there for a while, breathing in gasps as we floated back to earth. I could tell I would be sore the next day, and the thought made me smile.
A low chuckle rumbled through Joey's chest, and he brushed some stray curls away from my face.
"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," he said. He sounded like himself again and felt like himself. The desperate animal energy faded back to the Joey I knew.
"Was it everything you'd hoped?" I asked. My voice was hoarse from screaming, but my breathing had returned to normal.
"Oh, Sweetheart, it was better than I'd been able to imagine…" He trailed off, and I turned my face so I could see him. His brows were furrowed as some thought crossed his mind. "I'm… sorry."
"For what?" I shifted and sat up to see him better, wondering what about that was something to apologize for.
"I didn't… I didn't ask if I could finish inside you. It just, sorta, got away from me. I should have thought about that. It was irresponsible of me." He sat up, searching my face with his gaze. I exhaled my relief and chuckled softly, shaking my head.
"You probably should have, yeah. But it's fine. I'm on the shot and not due for another one yet, so we're okay. But… for the future, maybe keep a condom on you just in case." I leaned in, gave him a reassuring kiss, and stroked my fingertips over the worry lines on his forehead.
The smile he gave me was enough to melt my heart. With Joey, it was so easy to go with the feelings he stirred up inside me. And seeing this side of him had me even more intrigued than I had been before. He stood and helped me up to my feet. I wobbled a little, but he was there to steady me. He gathered up our clothes and looked at me sheepishly when he held mine out to me.
"Uhm… I'm not sure these are any good anymore."
The back of my shirt was torn almost completely down the middle, and the side seams of my panties were hanging on by a few stretched threads. I shook my head in amusement as I slid my clothes on. The shirt was hanging loose in the front, but I held it in place with my upper arms as we walked back toward the house.
Sliding my hand into his, the walk out of the woods was pleasant. We were both basking in the afterglow and little happy bubbles were bursting in my chest. I laughed as I considered how different his sides were.
"Something funny, Sweetheart?"
"It's just… You're like a completely different man leaving these woods than the one who stalked me through them. It's mostly deeply interesting, but it's almost funny." I considered the thought for a second. "It almost feels weird to call that version of you 'Joey'. Because you're Joey."
"Yeah? Well… what would you call me when I'm like that, then?" He asked.
"What about something like… Alpha? It seems fitting," I offered contemplatively. He pulled me to a stop and turned me to face him.
"Say it again?" His tone was dark again, and a shiver skittered up my spine.
"Alpha," I whispered. His breath hitched slightly, and he stepped toward me before he shook his head. "You don't like it?"
"Oh, no I like it. Just, if you call me that again, we're not going to make it out of these woods before I take you again and make you scream it." The dark promise in his tone made me shiver.