Chapter 27
Failed Again
Dylan
I stand in the parking lot of the hospital feeling like a small child as my brother intercepts me by my rental car. We’ve been out here for about ten minutes now as he goes in on me for my mistake.
I already feel like shit, but each word he says feels like tiny blades cutting me over and over again. I fucked up. This one is on me. John should have gone home and I should have stayed put.
“I asked ya to do one thing for me. One. Why would ya bring Ciara here knowing ya would be distracted from yer task?” Brooklyn shouts at me.
I can’t call him Cole right now. He’s so angry with me, I don’t know if he sees me as his brother. Bailey is missing.
If I were here, this wouldn’t have happened. I think I understand the hurt and anger in his eyes. This isn’t about Bailey.
This is about Raven and Shauna. He’s seeing Raven dying in his arms again. I think that knowledge sours my stomach even more.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to leave her alone back in New York. I thought it best if she were with me. At least until Vega and the others were back,” I try.
“Bullshit. That’s total bullshit and ya fucking know it. Taegan, Book, Aidan … fuck, any one of our guys back home could have stepped in. Yer not a kid anymore, Dyl. Ya have real responsibilities. Ya can’t drop the ball like this.”
He gets right up in my face as his nostrils flare. Right now, it doesn’t seem like he has to look up at me or that I’m looking down at him; his anger is so palpable and overshadows everything around him.
He lowers his voice to continue. “Do ya understand what’s going on around ya? Have ya forgotten who ya are, what we do? Ya can’t afford to be slipping, we can’t afford it, not with what’s coming.
“Not after what I’ve set in motion. Bailey could have been one of ours. We should have treated her like one of ours.
“Ya were supposed to help John, not leave him with his dick in his hands. Fuck, Dylan. If we can’t protect her, how am I supposed to trust bringing them home? I expected so much more from ya.”
“I fucked up, Cole. I’m sorry. I’m here now. I’ll help find her and get her back. Maybe she just went home for a nap.”
Brooklyn spins away from me and walks a few paces away. “Are you fucking kidding me? I told ya, she never made it home. If she’s taking a nap, it’s the kind that says we failed … again.
“Get the fuck out of my face, Dylan. Take yer ass back to New York where yer head is. I’ll let ya know if we find her,” he growls and storms off.
Ciara
I was exhausted by the time Book got me home to the apartment. He carried my bags upstairs for me and took off once he knew I was inside, safe and sound. I was surprised not to receive a reply from Dylan after I got his voicemail when I called.
He hasn’t returned my texts either. I fell asleep waiting for his text after I showered and talked to Ciarán. My brother is having a ball while getting spoiled. Daliah sounds like she’s having a great time as well.
I owe her and Vega for this. My brain starts to come awake with that thought. That’s when I register the sound of someone else in the apartment. I jump up and go for the gun I know Dylan keeps locked away on his side of the bed.
My fingerprint unlocks the box, and I pull the gun out and hop up out of bed to see who the fuck is in here. I should be the only one in the apartment until Ciarán gets back home in two days.
I move through the hallway as quietly as I can. As the fog clears from my brain, I realize there is music playing low in the gym at the end of the hall. Dylan usually lifts weights in there when he’s home.
I wasn’t in there before I fell out, so I’m not the one who turned the music on. Maybe Taegan came by? I shake that thought off because she would have let me know first.
Sound from downstairs catches my ear and I head down that way, still moving as soundlessly as possible. When I get downstairs, there’s movement in the kitchen. I turn the corner and find Dylan’s big ass standing there, dripping in sweat as he downs a glass of water.
“What the fuck?” I breathe as I place the gun on safety.
Dylan looks to me and his eyes go wide. “Shit, did I wake you?”
“Well, duh. What are you doing here?”
A frown comes to his face. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
I move closer and place the gun on the countertop. Placing my hands on his bare torso, I look up into his eyes. He looks frustrated, angry, and … hurt.
“Babe, talk to me. What’s going on? Why are you here? Did something happen?”
Tears begin to swim in his eyes. He looks up at the ceiling to try to hide them from me. I cup the sides of his face.
“Hey, hey, what’s going on? Talk to me.”
“He’s not wrong. I fucked up. I had one job, and I fucked it up,” he chokes out.
“Dylan. You’re scaring me. Are you all right? Is everything okay? Is Cole okay?”
“He’s fine. He’s pissed as fuck at me, but he’s fine.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“No, I’ve had enough time on the flight to think about what I did. I just want to clear my head and think of anything else. You should go back to sleep. I plan to work out some more before I hit the shower and go to bed.”
“Dylan, please don’t shut me out. I want to help.”
“Talking isn’t going to help me right now, baby.”
“Then what will? I’m here. Tell me what you need.”
His eyes darken and he backs me toward the other side of the kitchen, where the wall of cabinets is. When my back hits the hard surface behind me, he reaches around me and grasps ahold of my butt. It dawns on me that I had fallen asleep in my boy short panties and lace bralette.
He looks me deep in the eyes. “I need you. I need to ground myself in the knowledge that you’re real and you’re here, safe, where I need you,” he breathes against my lips before he kisses me.
I moan into his mouth as I run my hands up his sweaty torso.
My palms glide over his smooth skin and hard muscles.
My head falls back as he starts to kiss his way down my neck and then my body.
I whimper as he pulls down the cups of my bralette and sucks my nipple into his mouth before releasing it with a pop.
He continues to move downward with open-mouthed kisses as he peels my panties down my legs. He tosses them aside then spreads my legs and buries his face in my core. Wedging his big shoulders between my thighs, he tosses my legs over his shoulders and stands with me in his hold.
I startle and yelp, trying to find something to hold on to. Dylan grasps my ass in a firm grip and settles me in place without missing a beat as he hums into me. I can do nothing but moan and lock my fingers into his hair.
My eyes roll back and my stomach caves as he continues to devour me. My back hits the cabinets behind me and I try to grab ahold of them, but that’s useless. Dylan reaches for one of my breasts as he shoves his tongue in and out of me.
“Fuck, Dylan. Holy shit, baby. Yes, yes, yes. So good. I’m about to come.”
He begins to bob his head more vigorously as he inhales deeply, as if breathing me in. I gush all over his face. He laps up my juices and turns his head to suck on my inner thigh.
He then allows my body to slide down his front and places me on my feet. I drop to my knees and peel his sweat shorts down his hips until I get them to his ankles and his heavy erection springs free.
I bite my lip as I stare at his length. Dylan has a dick that’s as gorgeous as he is. The sight beckons me in for a taste, causing my mouth to water.
I’ve only gone down on him once with his patient guidance. I wasn’t great at it, but he took his time to tell me what he liked and what he wanted. I promised myself I’d learn and do better next time.
I take a deep breath as I get ready to test that theory. Wrapping my hands around him, I lean forward and take him between my lips. He groans and reaches to scoop my hair into his hands, away from my face.
Looking up through my lashes, I find him watching me with unrestrained lust in his expression. His lip is trapped between his teeth, and his brows are threaded as he clenches his jaw. It’s hard not to look at him and be turned on.
I begin to work my hands with my mouth, but he has other plans. Reaching for my hands, he laces our fingers together and pins my arms up above my head against the cabinets behind me. He then begins to pump his hips into my face.
Without control, I have to breathe through my nose and take whatever he’s giving. Drool starts to slide from the sides of my mouth and down my chin. He pulls out to allow me to gasp for air.
Saliva drips down onto my breasts as I gulp down as much air as I can. Dylan releases his hold on my hands to place both my wrists in one of his palms. He then takes his dick and guides it back into my mouth.
“Open up and stick your tongue out,” he commands.
I do as he says while looking up into his eyes. He taps his tip on my tongue a few times and then shoves his way back into my mouth. He’s entering my mouth at an angle that’s causing him to hit my cheek with each thrust.
Reaching for my hair with his free hand, he grasps ahold of the back and holds my head in place as he widens his stance and fucks my face. I start to choke and he backs off for a beat before he starts to thrust into my mouth again.
“Shit, baby. That’s so fucking good. This is why you’re all that’s on my mind. You’re all I want,” he hisses out through his teeth.
I hum around him as my eyes begin to water. I start to bob my head as he releases my hair. He begins to get harder in my mouth. Suddenly, he pulls out and grasps a tight hold of my face before he bends to kiss me hungrily.
Without breaking the kiss, he lifts me to my feet. Once I’m standing, he reaches to squeeze one of my breasts as he begins to turn me to face away from him. Grasping my waist, he moves me to bend over the countertop in front of him.
I cry out as he enters me. We decided weeks ago to stop using condoms. It was my suggestion. I’m on birth control and neither of us has ever slept with anyone else.
I claw at the counter as he rocks into me fast and hard. My eyes roll back in my head. He palms my breasts as he fucks the shit out of me.
“Is that too much, baby? Can you take this?”
“Yes, yes, I’m fine. I can take you, babe. I was made to take you, Dylan.”
“Fuck yeah, baby. Tell me who you belong to. Whose pussy is this, Ciara?”
“Yours, Dyl. It’s so yours. Fuck me. Fuck me harder. Please.”
I whimper when he pulls out. To my surprise, he lifts my leg up and out and thrusts back in. He then unfolds my leg and lifts it until I’m stretched in a split with my leg pinned to his chest.
He begins to rock into me like this, and I lose my fucking mind. Thank God my brother isn’t home. I’m crying out so loud it’s echoing around the space.
“What are you doing to me?”
“Fucking you like you want me to,” he groans.
Dylan
I keep fucking Ciara like I can chase my demons down inside her pussy. As I pin her leg to my body and hold her open in a split, I thrust into her sexy body.
“Fuck, that’s my good girl. Take it all, baby,” I groan.
I drop my gaze down to her ass and bite my lip to hold in a growl. Her ass looks so good as I hold her spread open for me. She’s creaming all over me.
I lick my lips as I watch my cock slip in and out of her. With my free hand, I reach to squeeze her ass cheek as I pound her pussy out. She looks up at me as if she’s in awe.
“You feel how hard you make me? I’d protect you with my life. You mean everything to me. Do you know that? Tell me you understand that.”
“Yes, Dylan. I know, I understand.”
Leaning in, I kiss her hard. I have her on her tiptoes as I tear this juice-ass pussy up. This is exactly what I needed.
Cole wasn’t wrong. I should have been there and focused on Bailey. We can’t afford not to do our part.
Not now, not ever. If I had failed one of my brothers or cousins, I wouldn’t be able to live with that. I’ve been praying they find Bailey.
I can’t imagine how Mark will feel to wake and find out she’s gone. I would be destroyed if that were me and this woman in my arms. My heart aches with the thought of losing her.
So much so, I start to fuck her harder. I had come in to find her sleeping. The plan was to allow her to sleep no matter how much I needed her.
Now I’m so happy she woke. I needed this connection. I was so hurt by Cole’s words, but they hurt because I know how right they were. I’m not a kid anymore and this world we’re in doesn’t have time for me to half-ass shit.
I growl at my thoughts and start to chase down my release. It tingles throughout my body. I roar her name as she comes and rips my climax from my body with hers.
“That was exactly what I needed,” I pant as I release her leg and pull out.
“Happy to help,” she says breathlessly.
I kiss the top of her head and snort. I’ll do better. I know I can with Ciara in my life. I have no choice but to.