Chapter 15 #2
“How would they know that?”
“Faceless are guests in La Maison Rouge, too.” Vail and Lee stared each other down for another long, silent minute before finally, Vail shrugged and relaxed in his seat.
Lee did, too, looking relieved and his stiff posture eased back into his chair.
I had no idea what just happened, but the tension between them was gone now.
“I’m gonna be talking to Maverick tomorrow about backup.
He feels like shit for what happened to us at St. Lawrence-”
“As he should,” Shaw muttered.
“They’ve been there for us when we went to La Maison,” he pointed out, casting Shaw a warning look. “He’s got our backs. I trust him completely.”
“Why do you trust him?”
“How do you think we afford this place?” he said, brows raised. “We help each other. That’s what you do when you find an ally. You hold the fuck onto them and keep them going, so that you aren’t left alone when the big bads come knocking on your door.”
“You’re sleeping where tonight?” Vail was leaning with his hands on the doorframe to the washroom, watching as I brushed my teeth.
It was late, and he’d hovered around me for the remainder of the day as I cleaned up the place, put things away, and made supper for everyone, which was spaghetti and garlic toast. Now, at bedtime, I announced I was going to sleep in Shaw’s room, and he wasn’t taking it too well.
“I’m exhausted,” I said after I rinsed out my mouth and started brushing out my hair.
I knew that the moment I stepped foot in Vail’s room, he'd either want to pick a fight or pounce on me. I was guessing the latter, but I’m not in the mood to find out.
I could have said that I was going to sleep with Lee, but I knew that wouldn’t go over well.
Shaw was the safest bet and most likely to just let me rest. Shaw was standing to the side, brushing his own teeth, and had been ignoring Vail completely, unbothered by his leader’s obvious animosity.
“Your room is that one!” Vail seethed, pointing at his master suite across the hall. “It’s where you should be sleeping!”
“Well, tonight I’m having a sleepover with Shaw.
” I started plaiting my hair into two french braids.
I was already in my pajamas, a pair of cotton sleep pants and tank top, having snuck up to change before Vail could corner me in his room.
Lee, however, had already disappeared into his room, and I could hear him putting stuff away, cleaning it up from our sex-fest.
“Shaw got to snuggle with you all day,” he said, like he’d been tallying points or something.
“So?”
“So, it’s my turn now.”
I almost laughed, but at the same time, it was so damn sweet that I also found this vulnerable side of Vail so endearing.
I tied off my braids and turned to face him.
He was still glowering, hanging onto the frame yet leaning forward like an angry predator ready to pounce.
I reached up, cupping his face with my hands, and squished his cheeks so that his lips were smushed together.
“Shaw needs me tonight. I’ll give you all day tomorrow, okay? ”
His hazel eyes flickered over my shoulder to Shaw for a moment before his shoulders relaxed, and I loosened my hands so that I cupped his face instead, my thumbs stroking the hollows beneath his cheekbones, skimming a little over his whisker.
“I’m holding you to your promise, Cooper,” he said, his voice dropping as he looked back to me.
I giggled and reached up to reach his mouth, and gave them a little kiss.
“I wouldn’t expect anything different from you, St. James,” I whispered against his lips.
His hands slid around my waist to my lower back before sliding down where he grabbed my ass in both hands, and I squealed, giving his shoulder a little slap.
“Brace yourself for tomorrow, darling,” he murmured in my ear. “I’m giving you the day off.” He leaned in and lightly bit on my bottom lip, pulling it a little before letting me go. He glanced over my shoulder again to Shaw, nodded, and stalked into his bedroom, shutting the door with a snap.
Shaw’s room was much like it was last night, with his bed of pillows and blankets, his books, the display of weapons close by and at his disposal.
As I passed his dresser, I glanced at a few of the titles, noticing he has a few Ann Rule true crime books, some Stephen King, and a book called, The Works of Oscar Wilde.
I smiled a little at that, but followed him over to the bed, letting him have the side with the best view of the doorway, which was also closest to his knives.
We climbed in together, and the moment I lay down and the light was out, I felt him reach for me.
I went limp, letting Shaw move around me in a way that worked best for him, knowing how much he needed this.
He settled by throwing a leg over both of mine, his arms wrapped around my waist to hug me into his stomach, and buried his face into my hair.
I hug him back, running my nails through his soft hair, earning a little groan from him, and trace pictures over his back.
Beneath my touch, through the fabric of his shirt, I could feel the bumps from the scars left behind from his father, and I held him tighter.
Shaw melted into me, and I knew he felt safe.
It was like how it was when we were kids…
I was the only one who could hold him like this.
If anyone else tried to touch or grab him, he’d fly into panic mode, cringing as though contact with another human being physically pained him.
This was all he needed from me, and I was more than happy to be that safety net for him.
We drifted, lulled into sleep by distant sirens, that I now found the sound to be more familiar. Comfortable. I could feel my eyes growing heavy from fatigue, and soon, I was dead to the world.
I could feel something smooth and soft gliding around my ankles, almost like a snake.
If snakes bothered me, I would have been yelling at myself to wake up now, but they didn’t.
So I kept lying where I was cuz I was comfy as hell.
When the snake tightened a little too hard, though, I tried to roll over, but then I realized it was two snakes, and the little bastards had suddenly yanked my legs apart.
I tried to close them, but the hold was firm.
I felt two more loops around my wrists, and soon they were spreading up over my head, too.
“What the fuck?” I muttered under my breath, squeezing my eyes tight before blearily opening them.
Sunlight was streaming through the corner of the blinds, which were drawn, keeping the room dim, but I could still see clearly, and the first thing I realized was that I was no longer in Shaw’s room.
I was in Vail’s. And the dirty bastard was literally tying me to his goddamn bed!
“Oh, you motherf-” I stopped myself, seething when I yanked on the white silk ties that were holding me down.
I could swing them a little, but the harder I pulled, the tighter they became.
And wouldn’t you know, the cocky prick was standing at the foot of the bed, staring right at me, arms crossed, his expression only the slightest bit smug.
I was naked, the door was shut, and I didn't hear the others.
“What the hell are you doing, you psycho?” I yelled at him, furious that he was calling the shots. “You undressed me, you creep?”
“You pissed me off last night, Casey,” he said casually, reaching down to check the tie on my right ankle. He’d looped them through the pulls to the drawers around the base of the bed, and all were completely secured. I know. I checked. “You were being a brat.”
“And you were being a domineering dick!” I hated how he was still in a pair of light grey sweats while I had been completely nude. He would set that up. Power move. Typical, annoying Vail.
His lips twitched, fighting a smile as he straightened and moved a little closer to the edge of the bed where I was so embarrassingly on display for him.
But I wouldn’t let him see that being so exposed actually made me uncomfortable.
I refused to give him the satisfaction. So I held his hazel eyes, hoping that I appeared like the enraged, dangerous creature that I thought I was, and not like a cute, pissy kitten.
I knew it was the latter when he swung his hand and slapped my naked breast. Not hard, but enough that I let out a little yelp.
“Oh, darling,” he said, his lips spreading to reveal his white smile.
“You haven’t seen domineering yet, but you’re about to. ”
“Are you certifiable?” I snapped at him. “Do you really think I’m going to let you fuck me after your temper tantrum last night and now this? Where are the others? Lee! Shaw!” I shouted, hoping that if they were still asleep, they'd wake up and come to my rescue.
“It’s funny that you think I need your permission,” he said, his hand sliding down the valley between my breasts and lightly stroking at the soft skin over my stomach.
“Yeah, you fucking do, or else it’s rape, asshole.”
“Casey.” He shook his head, his laugh light and breathy, barely there.
“You have wanted me between your legs since the beginning. We were just too young to understand.” His hand skimmed along the curve of my hips, sliding down towards my center.
“It’s inevitable that we would end up here.
We were always meant to end up together. ”