chapter thirty-eight
Wren
The street is empty and quiet as we return home after three days at Dad’s penthouse. A whirlwind of interviews and appearances occupied our time from before sunrise to after sunset and there are more scheduled for the coming weeks. But tonight, we’re finished through the rest of the week and weekend.
I can see a few neighbors peek out their front windows as we get out of the car. I don’t blame them one bit. In fact, I wouldn’t blame them for running over here and smacking me. I had hidden my identity from them and made them feel unsafe in their own homes. Only for them to find out my dad is basically one of the richest men in the country. I owe them all trampolines, at least.
A golden evening light has settled over the homes and the goodnight calls from the birds surround us as we enter the house. It’s so quiet compared to the chaos we’d been involved with in the city. I sigh with relief as we shut the door behind us and we both remove our shoes in the entryway. The quiet is only interrupted by Angelica squawking at a Crow, who is positioned in the house as security. As we approach the living room, I see the Crow arguing with Angelica over his dinner leftovers.
“Hey, you two,” the Crow says. He’s unmasked, young, and has short, brown hair.
“Hello,” I say, looking at Angelica, who is frozen, holding on to a French fry in her talon. “Angelica, put that down right now.”
“Ugly,” Angelica says, dropping the fry and flying to land on Colton’s shoulder.
“That’s Jay,” I explain, trying not to laugh.
She makes a blue jay sound.
“Yeah, Blue Jay.”
“No.”
“Yes,” Colton interjects. “It’s me.”
“Naked?” she questions and knocks her beak against his cheek.
“Naked face,” he acknowledges with a nod.
“Ugly Big Bitch,” she says and flies back to the plate of fries.
“You have a new name,” I say to Colton.
He grunts and then turns to the Crow. “Hey man, how are you?”
They shake hands. “Wren, this is Fallon. He’s been a Crow for some time now.”
“I was a Blue Jay once upon a time, too,” he says as we shake hands.
“Oh yeah? How’d I get you to quit?” I ask with a grin.
He shifts uncomfortably. “Well, the final straw was when you made me hold the basket while you shopped for sex toys. I was afraid you’d hit me with a sexual assault case.”
“How evil did you think I was? I would have done nothing to get any of you in actual trouble. You just perceived the trouble,” I explain.
“I couldn’t risk it. I need the job,” he says with a shrug.
For the very first time, I feel bad about the way I treated previous Jays. Here I thought I was playing harmless pranks on them and making them mildly uncomfortable and they were fearing legal repercussions and losing their livelihoods.
“Oh,” I murmur. “I’m sorry. I never wanted… wow, I’m an asshole.”
Fallon and Colton both snort out laughs.
“Well, we all knew why you were doing what you were doing,” Fallon says. “We really only hated your guts when we were the ones in the Blue Jay position. We had a weekly email at Safe House recounting your antics. You did a real number on the guys, and we were… equally impressed and scared.”
“Oh god,” I groan and cover my face.
Colton laughs again and rubs my shoulders.
“Some of the guys you got to quit your post have been high-ranking service members, long time body guards, and some seriously experienced armed forces members. We often joked that your skills were wasted in hiding,” Fallon adds.
“How? All I did was tell people you butt chug your morning coffee!” I exclaim.
Colton and Fallon exchange glances. “The knitted balaclava is a torture implement,” Colton says. “The sex shop escapades, not to mention the BDSM club on mask night, the coffee thing, Angelica’s general existence….”
“You used to crash your car on purpose,” Fallon adds. “At least three times you staged fake kidnappings. Your karate instructor would make us fight you and then you’d cry about sore muscles to your dad.”
“To be fair, that is all the instructor and not Wren,” Colton says.
“Well, the complaining to anyone who would listen that we beat her up was not fun. She also once had a Blue Jay on a diet of only tuna casserole for an entire week.”
“That’s disgusting, Wren.” Colton scolds me, but I grin.
“He had scoffed at my dinner, so I made him eat it every day to gain some empathy,” I explain.
“Said like a true sociopath,” Colton mumbles.
I elbow him.
“Well, Fallon, thank you for being here while I was away. I appreciate you.”
“Of course. There’s been no incidents in the neighborhood. A few neighbors stopped by, mostly the kids looking to play with the ninja.” Fallon shrugs. “A Crow, I think Weller, will be stationed outside all night, just in case. He won’t come in unless he’s needed.”
“And the cameras?” I ask.
“Only external and inside the panic rooms,” Fallon says with a nod. “Hawk had us turn the other ones off.”
As Colton walks Fallon out, I’m mostly preoccupied by the lack of cameras in the house. I would have to make sure the curtains are closed before I jump Colton’s bones, but that is a small price to pay.
“Big Ugly Bitch,” Angelica squawks as she sits on Colton’s shoulder as he pulls out a drink from the fridge.
“That’s not very nice, bird,” Colton says as he pops the top of his soda.
“Peachy ass,” Angelica croons and looks over his shoulder.
“You taught her to say that,” Colton accuses me.
“Angelica has a mind of her own,” I say as I open the pastry box to see the damage left by the Crows.
“Yeah right. How many potato sweeties did it take?”
“Only three,” I say and flutter my lashes at him.
“You better run,” he threatens with a shine of excitement in his eyes.
I squeak and run upstairs to my room. With a quick pull, the curtains close. The room is dark save the little peeks of gold light around the curtains. Colton stands at my dresser and slowly removes his weapons from their holsters. I sprawl on my bed on my belly and watch him as he places each weapon carefully on the wood surface. He moves my bottles of lotions and perfumes over, making space for his guns.
“I want a shower,” he says as he unbuckles his belt.
“Oh?” I ask, shocked by his change of pace. He chased me up here and now he’s wanting to slow down.
“Yeah,” he says as he strips off his henley. In the soft light I see his body revealed and marvel at the sight. A deep inhale of his scent mixed with the bundle of garden grown lavender on my dresser has me realizing he is right to slow us down. His body isn’t new to me, but this is the first time we’ve been alone since he’s been unmasked. This is a moment to savor and treat with reverence.
I sit up on the bed and watch him strip down to nothing. Deep, calming breaths and silence. He smirks, and I am thankful I get to see it. Those plush lips and the curl at the corner as he smiles has my heart skipping a beat.
Mine .
“Would you like to join me?” he asks, his voice cutting through the silence.
“Sure,” I whisper and slide off the bed. Maintaining eye contact, I slowly take off my clothes.
Only when I’m fully naked does he look over my body. I shiver, but not from the temperature of the room. My nipples tighten as he approaches me, and I stand up tall to better reach him.
He kisses me like it feels like coming home to him. It’s exactly how I feel, so I return the kiss and match him. Home isn’t my dad’s penthouse anymore, despite living there my entire life. Home isn’t closure on my mom’s death. Home isn’t the crowds of the city. And home certainly isn’t the media swarms and interview requests.
Home is here. On the quiet, treelined cul-de-sac, with Colton. With birds chirping their goodnights, the golden glow of a summer evening, the scent of lavender and him .
His hand slips into mine and he leads me to the bathroom. He turns on the water and I put out two clean towels. I set the lights to a dim glow, wanting the calm ambiance of my bedroom to follow us here.
In the shower, we remain silent. I lather my hair with shampoo and Colton moves my hands away to massage my scalp. A soft moan escapes me and I close my eyes. His fingertips massage my scalp in firm circles.
“Is it disrespectful to say coming home from the media frenzy feels like coming home from war?” I ask quietly.
He chuckles softly and kisses my soapy forehead. “It was very stressful. One minor slip up could have cost you your reputation and your dad’s livelihood.”
“Perilous work,” I say sarcastically.
“But you did great.”
I hum as he tilts my head to rinse my hair.
We finish washing ourselves and I slip out of the shower while he’s rinsing off. I braid my hair back to keep it off of my skin while he steps out and towels off. His eyes are on me and I watch him in the mirror as I bend over the sink to get closer to the mirror, feigning looking at my lashes and brows. His eyes zero in on my ass and he bites into his lower lip, his lashes fluttering.
“Dry off and get on the bed,” I whisper.
He roughly towels his hair, making the short, blond strands stand on end before dropping the towel on the floor. He doesn’t quite listen to my demand this time, and stops to lift me into his arms. Quickly, he strides to the bed and throws me on the covers. I barely have time to squeal at the movement before I’m bouncing on the mattress. His body covers mine and the damp heat still clinging to his skin has the scent of the soap overpowering the lavender in the room.
He kisses me somewhere between reverent and harsh. His lips pull at mine and his tongue reaches farther into my mouth. Like he can’t get enough. His breath saws from him and his arms shake on either side of me.
With a smile, I push at his chest, and he rolls to his back. I climb over him and straddle his waist, his hard length resting against my ass. His hands grip my hips and my heart jumps in my chest at seeing him below me. His eyes dilated and lips parted, the look of desperation creeping in.
My hands press into his pectorals as I lift myself over his erection and settle so his cock is resting against my pussy. I slide over his cock, using my arousal and his pre-cum as lubricant as I recreate what we did that first night. Though, this time we’re naked and this is far from dry humping.
He moans deep in his throat and cranes his neck to watch his cock slide between my labia in a slippery movement. I could come from this, but my core clenches with wanting more. I want him inside me more than I’ve wanted anything before. His shaking hands on my hips suggest he feels the same.
A pink flush has crept up on his cheeks and neck and I haven’t even taken him into my body yet. His lips are full and wet and I want to bite them. I lean down to do just that and he whimpers against me. “Fuck.”
I giggle and pull back from him to look into his eyes. His pupils entirely encompassed the electric blue in the dim light of the room. The only light now comes from the bathroom as the sun has officially set on the neighborhood. I stare into his eyes and my heart thrums, knowing this man loves me. And I love him.
He’s seen me at my worst. I was rotten to him and he stayed. He watched rejection after rejection and didn’t leave. He watched my world be upended, and he adapted with me. He was willing to risk his life for me. He suffered through his term as Blue Jay to fight for a space in my life as Colton.
“I love you,” I say to him as I finally slide him into my body. Finally bringing him home.
He opens his mouth to speak, but his eyes flutter shut and he moans. When I’m seated on his length, he can speak again. “You’re so beautiful like this and I love you, too.”
I giggle at the clumsiness of his words as I lift and lower myself back onto him and swirl my hips. This time, we both moan. I swirl my hips again and he lifts me up and pushes me back down.
The corded muscles in his neck and arms quiver with the effort of holding himself back. He’s trying to go slow. To be gentle. I swirl my hips again, trying to get used to the stretch of his cock in me before I let him loose. While I know he would never hurt me intentionally, I don’t want him to even have to think about my comfort when he fucks me.
He pushes up to catch my lips with his. It’s clumsy and our teeth knock, but I love it. His breath fills my lungs as he moans and whimpers. I pull back to see his face as I fuck him slowly. Torturously. I’d wanted to see his face so badly while we were fucking and now I can.
He’s fucking beautiful like this. Pink cheeks. Fluttering lashes. Bitten lips. His jaw clenches as he tries to bite down on a moan. Mine. He’s mine.
“Colton,” I moan as I settle into a seated position on his cock.
“Princess,” he answers.
“I want you to fuck me.”
“What would you call what I’m doing?” He raises an eyebrow and gives two quick bouncing thrusts of his hips.
“Making love.”
He smiles and settles back into the pillows. He lightly traces his fingertips over my thighs and hips. “Yeah, it is making love, isn’t it?”
“I love it. But…”
“You are ready for fast and hard?”
I nod.
A mischievous curl of his lip accompanies his grin. He gives me less than a second before I’m literally flying through the air. He bucked his hips so hard I’m off his cock and in the air. Just before I land back on the mattress with a squeak, he swings one of his legs out from under me. I bounce once and land on my knees and elbows and his cock is thrust back into me from behind.
The thrust is so forceful I fall forward onto my face in the pillows. I want to laugh, but the air is stolen from my lungs as he grips my hips and slams into me a second time. The only sound that leaves my mouth is a high-pitched whine as he growls and fucks into me.
I slide toward the headboard with the force of his thrusts and I grip the sheets in my fist to keep myself in place. He wraps a hand around my throat to keep me in place and snarls in my ear. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
I can’t reply to him. His grip on my throat is so tight I can’t speak. I can’t breathe. My pussy clenches around him. I instinctively try to suck in air. He has control over my entire body right now, and I trust him. He will not hurt me.
A loud crack sounds in the room and a searing sting blooms on my left ass cheek.
Okay, so he will not hurt me in a way I don’t like.
“Fuck, this ass is so perfect,” he growls as he squeezes the stinging muscle.
He brings the hand from my ass around to rub my clit and I see stars. Not only from my lack of oxygen, but from my orgasm. He lets go of my neck as I come, and the flood of oxygen is an amazing accompaniment to my climax. It’s like I’m breathing him in as I come. The breath I take pulls him into my lungs and accepts him as part of me. Not just a part of my heart. But a part of my very existence.
I open my eyes and I’m now looking up at him. He must have flipped me over as I came, because he’s thrusting back into me and moving my braid off my face.
“There you are,” he says in a breathless but soothing voice. “I want to see your face as you soak the sheets around my dick.”
I reach up, desperate to touch him. Any part of him. My fingers reach his chest, the skin warm and sweaty. That flush spread to his chest and the skin below his blond hair is just as pink as his cheeks. He grips my thighs in his hands as he pounds into me with even, deep strokes.
My breath is still labored but I’m able to whimper his name.
“Come on, baby. Let me see you come again,” he rasps.
I keep one hand on his flexing chest and snake the other to my clit. I’m strung so high it’s going to take extra stimulation to get me over the edge. He continues his thrusts, and I circle my clit fast and hard.
“That’s it, beautiful. Let me see you. Oh, fuck, you’re amazing.”
As my toes curl against the sheets and my orgasm peaks, I attempt to keep my eyes from squeezing shut. I want to see him watch me. I want to see his face as I come. His eyes roll back moisture gathers beneath me and between our joined bodies.
I can’t help it. My eyes close and my back arches off the bed.
“That’s a good girl. Keep going. Don’t stop touching your clit. Good job, baby. Oh, that’s a good fucking girl,” he says through clenched teeth, his voice cracking with effort.
I’m immobilized, frozen at the peak of my orgasm. My core is clenched so tight and hard my muscles are feeling fatigued. I’m overstimulated, but he’s just about to come. A breathy whimper against my skin accompanies every thrust as he falls forward. His snapping hips drive into me in a clumsy, desperate pattern.
I place a kiss on his sweaty neck and collarbone, the only parts I can reach. He turns his head and kisses me breathlessly. He moans into my mouth before saying, “I’m coming!”
The need to see him come undone outweighs my desire to kiss him. I pull back to watch his face. His mouth falls open on a moan and his eyes flutter and roll, his brows drawing together. If I was less overstimulated, I could come again just at the sight of this man emptying himself into my pussy. I feel spurt after spurt of his release and his moan ends in a growl. I watch as his abs clench and unclench and his arms shake with the power of his orgasm.
He gives one last jerking thrust before he pulls out of me and lands next to me on the bed. He kisses my sweaty shoulder and I shiver at the sudden lack of stimulation. My legs tremble and I giggle, looking down at my vibrating flesh.
His eyes follow my gaze and he smiles smugly. He grips my thigh in his hand and bites his bottom lip. “Hell yeah.”
“I’m not going to be able to walk tomorrow,” I giggle and snuggle into his chest.
“It’s alright. I’ll get you one of those garden scooters we saw at the greenhouse a couple of weeks ago.”
“You say that like I’m never going to walk again,” I tease.
“Not if I have anything to say about it.” His response is gravelly and deep. “I plan on being deep inside this pussy every night. Fucking you until you can’t breathe, let alone walk.”
Despite the overstimulation of not five minutes ago, my pussy clenches with arousal again. I scoff at him and give two dramatic sighing breaths. “Seems like I can breathe just fine.”
“Brat,” he chuckles and has my knees pressed into the mattress next to my head before I can think of another taunt. I’m folded in half and each breath I take is shortened and not enough air.
He licks from my ass to my clit before sucking hard. His eyes are lit with a grin as he bites lightly on my oversensitive clit. I want to scream, but I can’t breathe enough to do it. Instead, I grip his hair tight in my fist and wheeze out “Asshole!”
Colton sucks and massages me to one last orgasm before carrying me to a hot bath with lavender, chamomile, and aloe vera from the garden. He lowers himself into the steaming water behind me and I lay back against his chest. He’s almost obscenely too big for my clawfoot tub, but with one leg draped over the edge, and my body resting on top of his submerged leg, we make it work for a while.
In the soft lighting of my bathroom, wrapped in the arms of the man I love, I feel entirely safe and at home.