Chapter 43
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
EVERETT
F ear. It’s a funny thing. The way it encapsulates you. Making it impossible to breathe, let alone think straight. I can still see him on top of her. Hunched over Stormie as she kicked her legs beneath him. Fighting. Clawing. Screaming.
Fuck, her screams.
I close my eyes and pull her closer to me, breathing in the scent of shampoo clinging to her hair. Griffin was smart enough to call the police when we were on the bus. After they arrived, we gave our statements. It only confirmed Dodger’s assumption. They’ll open an investigation, but we shouldn’t hold our breaths. It’s bullshit. It’s also the last fucking straw. I’m done. I’m done playing by the rules. Bending over backward to do this by the book when the book isn’t fucking working.
The EMT took a look at Storm’s injuries and insisted we go to the hospital. She’ll have a bruised tailbone and some cuts and bruises on her palms. She also has a bruised cheekbone from when he backhanded her, but otherwise? She should be okay…if you can call her long list of injuries the de finition of okay . Regardless, since it could’ve been worse—so much worse—the prognosis was music to my fuckin’ ears. As for me, I have a mild concussion and a nasty headache, thanks to Drake slamming a rock against my temple. They also looked at my hand, confirming what I already knew. A broken pinkie on my right hand and a few stitches from when Drake’s tooth sliced me. It’s worth it, though.
Officer McDonnell asked Raine if she wanted him to contact her parents. She agreed—surprising the shit out of me—and it took almost an hour of convincing until they finally let her out of their sight again. They wanted her to go with them instead of letting me drive her back to the cabin—to our place—but Raine wouldn’t budge, insisting all she wanted was to take a hot shower and to let me hold her. I had no problem obliging.
It’s strange. I never thought of the cabin as anything more than my childhood home. Now, though? Now, it’s different. Those walls hold more than memories of me and my sisters and my parents. Now, they hold memories of Raine, too. The firelight dancing off her bare toes and along the walls of our makeshift fort. The way she hunkers down on the couch with her notepad in her lap for hours. The pieces of dark hair clinging to the shower wall. They used to drive me fucking nuts, but now I can’t imagine a shower without them. Without finding one every time I step inside.
I tighten my arms around Raine, closing my eyes. Her hair is almost dry now. After we got home, I washed it in the shower and braided it, surprised the knowledge would come in handy. I make a mental note to text Hazel, my oldest sister, and thank her for teaching me how to do it. Honestly, I should thank all three of my sisters. And my dad. I should thank my dad, too. For teaching me how to take care of someone. How to look after and love someone. Because even though shit is far from over, my mind is clear. It’s like I was made for this. For protecting the ones I love, and despite carrying it like it’s a burden for so long, I can’t imagine how quickly tonight could’ve taken a turn for the worse if I wasn’t prepared. If I hadn’t already played out a million scenarios like I’ve done with Finley and my mom and Dylan and Miley and Hazel and Ophelia and Tatum. It makes me want to take all of them and hide them in a safe house somewhere. Away from creeps and assholes and stalkers and every other motherfucker who preys on women. Who thinks they’re owed anything for having a fucking penis instead of a vagina.
My stitches pull as I squeeze my hand into a fist while Brooklyn 99 plays on the television.
I can’t believe I almost lost her. Can’t believe the police aren’t protecting her. Can’t believe Drake could get away with this without––
“You okay?” Raine whispers.
I shake my head, causing her flyaways to tickle the underside of my jaw. “What?”
With a quiet laugh, she wiggles in my grasp, stealing a bit more room but not moving away from me completely. I don’t know if it’s for her benefit or mine, but I’m grateful nonetheless.
Peeking up at me, she smiles. “I asked if you’re okay.”
“I’ve been better,” I grunt. “How are you?”
“I’m okay, Ev. Promise.”
“Not gonna let you out of my sight.”
“Or arms, apparently,” she teases.
“Not sure how you find this funny.”
“I don’t,” she admits. “But when I have the option to laugh or cry, I’m gonna go with laugh.” She sits up a little more and cups the side of my face. “Thanks for saving me today.”
“Not sure tonight counts as saving,” I mutter. “He got away, remember?”
“They’re going to find him. ”
My muscles jump with the same fucking tension as before. “Not gonna leave this up to them.”
Pushing herself away from me, she brings her knees to her chest and rests her chin on them. “What are you saying?”
“Do you trust me, Stormie?”
She hesitates, staring fucking through me as if she has the power to read my thoughts. My intentions. My plan and everything I have in store for Drake Haitt. It’s better she doesn’t know, though. If she did, there’s not a chance in hell she’d let me out of her sight, let alone this house.
“Are you going to do something stupid, Everett?”
I don’t want to lie to her, so I kiss the top of her head again and tug her into my side. “Get some rest.”
“I don’t want to rest.”
“And what do you want?” I ask.
She sits up again, tosses her leg over my waist, and straddles me. “I want to erase…” Her fingers slide into my hair and frame both sides of my head, urging me to touch my chin to my chest. When I do, she presses her lips between my brows. “ This .”
“This?” I repeat.
Running her thumb above the bridge of my nose, she smiles. “ This .” She kisses the spot again. “The little worry wrinkle you’re sporting.” Her lips find it again. “I want to erase it.”
A gruff chuckle rumbles through my chest, and I wrap my arms around her waist. “Hate to burst your bubble, but I’m not sure it’s going anywhere. Not any time soon.”
“Not anytime soon, huh?” she challenges.
I sober and grab the outside of her thighs. “Not until I know you’re safe.”
“Well,” her pink tongue darts out between her lips, “since we’re here, and your arms are wrapped around me, and I’m straddling your very rigid cock, and there isn’t anyone here but me and you, I’d say I’m pretty safe, don’t you?” She slowly scrapes her fingertips against my scalp, massaging my head and making my dick jump at the attention. When she feels it, her mouth lifts. “I think you should kiss me now.”
Lifting my chin, I move slowly and do exactly that, melding my mouth with hers. Tasting her. Convincing myself she’s safe. She’s here. He didn’t break her. The reminder makes my hands dig into her silky skin, and I deepen the kiss. I’d give anything to erase every touch. Every minute they ever shared, knowing he didn’t deserve any of them. Not one. Single. Moment.
She drags her fingers through my hair, tugging on the roots with enough force to bring me back to the present. To me and her. Without our ghosts or our demons. Only our hands and our mouths and our bodies.
When I pull away again, I rasp, “You sure you want this, Storm? It’s been a long night. I can wait.”
“You’re not him, remember?” She slowly lowers her hands, letting them cradle my jaw instead of my temples and the back of my skull. “You’re nothing like him.” She bends forward and presses another soft kiss to me. “You call me the storm, Ev, but you? You calm my waters.” Her lips find the edge of my mouth. “You make me whole.”
I close my eyes, savoring the feel of her hands on me. Her mouth on me. Her weight pressing into my lap and the way her shampoo tickles my nostrils. The way she’s completely inserted herself into my life, down to my very clothes, and I wouldn’t change any of it. Nothing.
“I love you, Raine.”
I can feel her smile against the edge of my mouth as she shifts on my lap. It isn’t much. Just a tiny movement. But I can feel it. The heat of her core pressed against me. The stilted breathing as it fans across my face.
“I want to feel you, Ev,” she whispers .
This girl. She could ask for the moon, and I’d find a way to lasso it. She wants to feel me? I can fulfill her request in an instant. But I don’t want to pressure her. I don’t want to hurt her. I don’t want to do anything but worship her.
Opening my eyes, I lean my head against the couch and ask, “Where?”
Her smile widens, and she bites her bottom lip. “Everywhere.”
The word is a plea, and I kiss her again, pouring all of my fear and tension and regret into it. I could’ve lost her tonight. I could’ve fucking lost her. My fingers dig into her thighs again as I kiss her harder. She meets it, though. Taking everything I have to give and throwing even more passion into it until I could come in my damn sweats, and I wouldn’t even be surprised. A tiny mewl slips out of her as I drag my tongue along the seam of her lips, retreating ever so slightly, and she shifts against me again. It’s less subtle this time, and my cock hardens beneath her even more. I shift on the couch, searching for a semblance of control when all I want to do is throw her on her back and mark every inch of her perfect skin, knowing he marked it first.
“Stay with me,” she begs. “I need you.”
“You need me, baby?” I challenge.
She nods and burrows her head into my neck, kissing my throat and grinding against me shamelessly. My arms are like steel as I wrap them around her slender waist. Then I stand, lay her on the couch, and kneel on the ground beside her. She’s wearing my clothes. And fuck me, she’s never looked prettier like this. Laid out before me. My white t-shirt riding up and showcasing her black, lacy underwear. Slowly, I draw a line along the black scrap of cloth, then press my hand right above her pubic bone and smile.
“What?” she asks.
“My fingers can reach both your hipbones. ”
“And that’s amusing?”
My attention shifts from where I’m touching her to her pinched brows, and I laugh. Bending down again, I kiss the crook of her neck. “Just a reminder of how well we fit, I guess.”
“Mm-hmm.” She wraps her arms around my neck, refusing to let me leave now that I’m close to her again.
“Don’t worry, Stormie. I’m not goin’ anywhere.” I breathe against her and drag my fingers along the waistband of lace again. Teasing her. Knowing exactly where she wants me and damn, if I don’t want to be there, too.
With a slow exhale, she lets her legs fall open and murmurs, “Careful. If you keep teasing me, I might have to take matters into my own hands.”
“Now, that’s something I’d like to see one of these days.” I kiss her neck again, then drag my lips down her throat and push her shirt up until her breasts are exposed. She isn’t wearing a bra. The girl hates them and never wears one when we’re home. The reminder makes me smile against her silky skin as I take a nipple into my mouth and draw a circle around the tiny bud. When it hardens against my lips, I suck it deeper into my mouth, and she gasps.
“Ev,” she breathes.
Tangling her fingers in the hair at the nape of my neck, she holds me against her, squirming on the couch as I slowly move my hands down the outside of her thighs before finding her center. The fabric of her underwear is soaked, and I bite back my groan, playing with her folds through the lacy material.
“Finally,” she whimpers. “I love you so much.”
I’ll never get used to it. Those words. Or my response to them. My chest tightens. I push her underwear to the side, then dip my finger into her. The girl’s like silk. Wet. Hot. Silk .
Resting my head against her sternum, I look down, watching my fingers disappear inside of her as my cock weeps with need. “So fucking wet,” I rasp. “You’re so fucking?—”
She tugs me up to her and kisses me, sucking my tongue into her mouth as she rides my hand. Fuck, I love her like this. Wild and carefree and desperate for me. Crooking my finger, I feel for the little rough patch of skin inside her channel, and she bucks against me, proving I hit the spot I was searching for.
“Need you,” she breathes out. “Need you inside me.”
“Patience,” I whisper.
“I’m not patient.” She laughs and shakes her head back and forth. “Not tonight.”
I start to pull my hand away from her, but she closes her thighs, refusing to let me leave her soaking heat, and I laugh a little more.
“Gonna need my hand if you want me to undo my pants,” I remind her.
Her bottom lip juts out, but I bend forward and suck the plump flesh into my mouth as her thighs fall open again and let me free. Hurrying, I shove my sweats down to my knees. She blindly reaches for my cock. It only feeds my need more. My need for her. To be inside her. To feel her. To know she’s here and she’s okay and she’s safe. As she rubs me up and down, I grab her hips again and tug her to the edge of the couch, realizing her shirt is bunched beneath her armpits. Bruises from tonight pepper her sides. The reminder makes me see red, and when I hesitate, she shakes her head back and forth.
“Not tonight,” she begs. “I’ll deal with it tomorrow. Tonight, I want you.”
Ripping my eyes away from the mottled purple and blue, I hold Raine’s gaze, line myself up with her entrance, and move over her. On reflex, she wraps her legs around my waist while I stay kneeling in front of her, watching the way her breasts heave with every needy breath as she waits for me to push myself inside her. To stretch her and shove us both over the edge the way we both need. I could tease her more, and if it were another time, I would. But she isn’t the only one craving this. This moment. This opportunity to prove we’re okay. To take a mental picture and keep it with me forever.
Mine. She’s fucking mine.
“I could worship you forever,” I confide.
A sheen hits her eyes as she looks up at me and bites her bottom lip, sprawled out beneath me. “I think I’d be okay with that.”
Reaching for the base of my cock, I drag the head against her wet folds, then slowly push into her, letting her tiny whimpers set the pace as her fingers slip under my shirt, creating sharp tiny crescents along my lower back. Sweat clings to my hairline, and I dive in for another kiss, leaning over her on the couch. When she arches into me, rubbing her bare chest against my shirt, I rip the thing off, desperate to feel her skin against mine. To shed the last of our barriers until there’s nothing between us. Nothing but me and her. Forever. My shirt hits the ground at my feet, and, like a monkey, she loops her arms around my neck, bringing us chest to chest. Her heart pounds, matching my own racing rhythm, as I stand and carry her to the closest wall. Pressing her against it, I thrust into her over and over again. And I know she can take it. Know she’s stronger than anyone gives her credit for. I also know she’s hoping if we make love long enough, I’ll forget about what happened tonight. I’ll let it go and be grateful for what I have. That’s the thing, though. I can’t let this go because I'm grateful. I can’t leave this to anyone else .
“You’re mine,” I growl.
“I’m yours.”
“I love you.”
She smiles, taking my cock like a good fucking girl. “I love you, too.”
“Gonna marry you one day.”
Her laugh cuts into a moan. “Just tell me where to be, and I’m there.”
I keep one hand tucked under her ass and slip the other between our bodies, pressing my finger against her clit as my balls tighten. I’m close. Fuck, I’m close. Pressure builds at the base of my spine, and I’m not sure how much longer I can last. Drawing small circles against her sensitive bud, I press my forehead to hers and keep my rhythm steady.
“Come for me, Storm,” I order.
Her jaw drops, and she tightens around me, milking my cock as I spurt into her.
Stars. Fucking stars.
We pant, resting our foreheads together and letting our heart rates find a slower pace.
“I trust you,” she whispers. “I didn’t say it before, but I do.”
“I know you do.” I kiss her forehead, pull out of her, and lower her feet to the ground. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”
It takes a while. For her breathing to steady, but once I know she’s asleep, I lift my arm from around her on the couch and unlock my cell, dialing someone I never thought I would.
“What?” Dodger answers after the first ring.
Stepping closer to the window beside the kitchen table, I watch the snow fall to the ground and ask, “Do you have access to a car with four-wheel drive?”
“Why?”
“Answer the question,” I push.
“Yeah,” he confirms. “Yeah, I can borrow my buddy’s truck.”
I glance at a sleeping Raine on the couch, the firelight flickering over her curves and highlighting her barely parted lips. “Gonna send you an address. Be here in thirty.”
“Why?”
“I need you to watch Raine while I’m gone.”
“And where are you going?” Dodge challenges.
After I met Dodger at SeaBird, I did some digging. Well…I asked Finley to do some digging. The man’s into more shady shit than his sister knows. But even if he wasn’t, there’s something about being a big brother. The need to protect. To defend. To look after. And as I stared at him tonight, I saw myself. Saw exactly how far he’d go to keep his little sister safe. It doesn’t matter how dirty his hands get or if he has to spend the rest of his life in prison. He’ll do what needs to be done. And so will I. Which is why I already know he’s aware of my intentions, even if I refuse to voice them out loud. Besides, the less anyone knows, the better. What I need from him is to keep Raine safe while I’m away. I’ll handle the rest.
Growing impatient, I demand, “Are you coming or not?”
A long pause follows. “I’ll be there in twenty.”
I hang up the call, then dial Griff. I debated on whether or not to involve him in this. To involve any of them in this. But if the roles were reversed, I’d want to be there. I’d want to have their backs. And if I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that doing shit alone isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
The call rings twice before he picks up. “Hello?”
“Tell the guys we’re going hunting in an hour. I’ll meet you at the house.”
Then, I click “end.”