Chapter 25 #2
"Firm grip. Start slow. And baby, whatever you do with your mouth will be perfect."
She leans down, her tongue darting out to lick the head. I nearly lose my mind at the sight. Those dark eyes looking up at me while her tongue swirls around the tip.
"Fuck, Aurora..."
She takes me in her mouth, and I have to grip the edge of the platform to keep from thrusting. She's not experienced, moving cautiously, but there's something incredibly hot about watching her learn.
"Just like that. Use your hand on what you can't take."
She does, her hand working the base while her mouth takes the top half. She's finding a rhythm now, her tongue doing things that make my hips jerk.
"You're doing so good, baby. So fucking good."
She moans around me, and the vibration nearly ends me right there. I thread my fingers through her hair gently, not pushing, just touching. Connecting.
"A little deeper. That's it. Perfect."
She takes me deeper, and I feel the back of her throat. She gags slightly and pulls back, but then she's trying again, determined.
"Easy. Don't push yourself. This isn't a race."
But she wants to. I can see the determination in her eyes. She takes me deep again, swallowing around me, and this time she doesn't gag.
"Holy fuck. Aurora, I'm not going to last if you keep doing that."
She does it again. And again. Her hand working the base, her mouth taking the rest, her tongue doing incredible things.
"Baby, I'm close. You need to pull off if you don't want..."
She doesn't pull off. Just looks up at me with those eyes and takes me deeper.
"Aurora, I'm... fuck... I'm coming..."
The orgasm rips through me. She swallows, her throat working around me, taking everything. When I'm finally done, she releases me slowly, looking incredibly pleased with herself.
"How was that?"
"Fucking incredible. Come here."
I pull her up, kiss her thoroughly, tasting myself on her tongue. We lie there on the platform as the sun sets, wrapped in each other.
And that's when it hits me. The truth I've been dancing around for days.
I'm in love with her.
Not just want. Not just need. Love. The kind that rewrites your entire life. The kind that makes you want to be better than you are.
The realization should terrify me. Instead, it feels right. Inevitable.
But I don't say it. Not yet. She's not ready to hear it, and I need to make sure we're safe first. Need to eliminate the threats circling us.
"What are you thinking?" Aurora asks, tracing patterns on my chest.
"About the future. About our life together. About teaching our kid to swim in this cove."
"That's a nice thought."
"It's more than a thought. It's a plan."
We stay until the sun is almost gone, then reluctantly get dressed. The drive back is quiet but comfortable. Aurora falls asleep with her head against the window, and I spend the whole ride thinking about how to keep this. How to protect what we're building.
Because I'm not losing this. Not losing her.
Whatever it takes, whoever I have to eliminate, I'm keeping her safe.
We get back to the estate around nine PM. Aurora's exhausted, already half-asleep as I carry her upstairs.
"I can walk," she mumbles.
"I know. Let me anyway."
I tuck her into bed, kiss her forehead. She's asleep before I leave the room.
I find Viktor in the security office.
"Any issues while we were gone?"
"Quiet day. Almost too quiet."
"What does that mean?"
"Just a feeling. Like we're in the eye of the storm." He pulls up camera feeds. "Look at this. South perimeter. Three times today, the motion sensors triggered but showed nothing."
"Malfunction?"
"Maybe. Or someone testing our response times."
"I want everyone on high alert tonight. Double the guards. Random patrols. No patterns they can predict."
"You think something's coming?"
"I think we need to be ready for anything."
Viktor nods, starts making calls. I head to my own room, but I don't sleep. Can't shake the feeling that something's wrong.
At 2:17 AM, the alarms scream to life.
I'm up and armed in seconds, grabbing the pistol from my nightstand and a rifle from the closet. Aurora appears in my doorway, eyes wide with terror.
"Axel..."
"Bedroom. Now. Lock yourself in the bathroom." I'm already moving, checking the clip in my weapon. "There's a panic button behind the mirror. You press it, reinforcements come. Do not open the door for anyone except me or Viktor. Understand?"
"What's happening?"
"I don't know yet. But I need you safe. Please, Aurora. Do this for me."
She nods, retreating. I hear the bathroom door lock, and then I'm running.
Viktor meets me on the stairs. "South perimeter. At least six men. They breached the outer fence."
"How?"
"Cut through like it was paper. These aren't amateurs, boss. They've got military-grade equipment."
We reach the security center. Sergei's already there, coordinating on three different radio channels. The screens show chaos. Men in black tactical gear moving through my property like ghosts.
"They got past the motion sensors," Sergei says. "Used some kind of dampening tech. We didn't see them until they hit the inner fence."
"Where are they now?"
"Spreading out. Three heading for the south entrance. Two circling toward the garage. One..." He points at a screen. "That one's planting something at the foundation."
"Explosives?"
"Has to be."
I grab the radio. "All units, this is not a drill. Shoot to kill. I want bodies on the ground, not questions."
The response is immediate. My men pour out of the house, weapons raised. I can hear gunfire erupting from multiple directions.
"With me," I tell Viktor and Sergei.
We move through the south wing, weapons ready. Through the windows, I see muzzle flashes in the darkness. One of my men goes down. Then another.
"They're better trained than us," Viktor mutters.
"Then we fight smarter. Sergei, take the west approach. Flank them. Viktor, with me."
We split up. Viktor and I move through the darkened hallways, using our knowledge of the house to our advantage. Through a side door, into the garden.
Two of the intruders are there, working on something at the foundation. C4, from the look of it. Enough to take out the entire south wing.
Where Aurora slept until a week ago.
Rage floods through me. I signal Viktor. He nods.
We move as one. I take the one on the left, Viktor the right. My first shot takes the man in the shoulder. He spins, weapon rising, but I'm faster. Second shot to the chest. He drops.
Viktor's target is down too.
But gunfire erupts from the tree line. They have backup positioned. Bullets tear through the garden, shredding plants and ricocheting off stone.
"Cover!" Viktor shouts.
We dive behind a fountain. Return fire. I see shapes moving in the darkness, count at least four more.
"This is a full tactical team," I shout over the gunfire. "Someone sent professionals."
"No shit!"
More of my men arrive, creating a crossfire. The battle intensifies. The air fills with the smell of gunpowder and blood.
I see one of the intruders moving toward the house. Toward the south entrance. Toward the stairs that lead to Aurora.
"Viktor, that one!"
But he's pinned down, can't get a clear shot.
I break cover, running low and fast. Bullets chase me, one so close I feel the air displacement. I don't stop. Can't stop.
The intruder reaches the door. I'm twenty feet away. Fifteen. Ten.
He turns, sees me. Raises his weapon.
I fire first. Three shots. Center mass. He stumbles backward, crashes through the door, doesn't get up.
But his death scream brings two more. They're on me before I can reload. One kicks my weapon away. The other swings a rifle at my head.
I duck, catch the rifle, use his momentum to throw him into his partner. They tangle, and I'm on them. Fists, elbows, knees. Fighting dirty because this isn't about honor. It's about survival.
I break one's arm. The crack is audible even over the continued gunfire. He screams. His partner gets a knife out, slashes at me. I feel it bite into my side, hot and sharp.
Adrenaline keeps me moving. I grab his wrist, twist until he drops the knife. Then I've got it, and I'm driving it up under his ribs. Once. Twice. He goes down gurgling.
The one with the broken arm is trying to crawl away. I put a bullet in his head.
"Boss!" Sergei's voice on the radio. "West side is clear. Four down."
"South entrance is clear," I respond, pressing a hand to my bleeding side. "What's the count?"
"Eight hostiles down. Two wounded, in custody. We lost three of ours. Five wounded."
Eight attackers. A coordinated assault team. This wasn't a probe. This was an assassination attempt.
I make my way back through the house, leaving bloody footprints. Viktor intercepts me, takes one look at my side.
"You're hit."
"Barely. Flesh wound." It's not, but I don't have time for medical attention. "The explosives?"
"Disarmed. They were going to take out the south wing and half the garden. If they'd succeeded..." He doesn't finish. Doesn't need to.
Aurora would have been in that wing until I moved her to my room. They would have killed her.
The rage that thought brings is ice cold and absolutely focused.
"I want the two we captured alive," I say. "Get them to the interrogation room. No one touches them until I get there."
"Boss, you need stitches."
"After. First, I need to know who sent them."
I find Aurora in my bathroom, huddled in the corner with her arms wrapped around her knees. She looks up when I enter, and her eyes go wide.
"Oh my God, you're bleeding!"
"I'm fine. It's not as bad as it looks."
"You're lying. Axel, you're..." She's up, hands reaching for me, then stopping. "We need to get you to a hospital."
"I have a doctor here. He's probably already setting up." I cup her face with my non-bloody hand. "Are you okay?"
"Am I okay? You're the one bleeding!"
"I need to know you're safe. That's all that matters."
"I'm safe. I'm fine. But you..." Tears are streaming down her face now. "You could have been killed."
"But I wasn't. I'm here. We're both here."
I pull her into my arms, and she clings to me despite the blood. We stand like that for a long moment, both of us shaking.
"This has to end," she whispers. "This can't keep happening."
"It won't. Because I'm ending it."
I have no idea how, but I’ll end this very soon.