Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Bane
Pulling through the gates back at the compound, I drive straight to the barn and cut the engine at the foot of the stairs to the loft. The closer to the door, the better, considering I’m flying by the seat of my pants here.
I hadn’t planned on making my move yet, but when I saw the U-Haul parked in the driveway at Frankie’s father’s estate, I knew I had to act.
My baby had been busy, and was making moves I had to put a stop to.
I suck in a deep breath. Fuck. Just the thought of her leaving is like a kick to the balls.
Training my ears on her breathing in the back seat, I wonder what’s going on in that head of hers.
She hasn’t said a word since I told her I can’t wait for her to do her worst.
I glance in the rearview mirror. “I can practically feel you hating me back there.”
“That’s because I do,” she growls.
“Ouch.” I press a hand over my heart and chuckle. “That’s cold, babe.”
Truth is, I don’t give a fuck if she’s mad. Anger is good. Anger means she still cares, and that I can work with.
There’s a thin line between love and hate, and I’m determined to bring her back over to my side.
“Fuck off.”
Grinning like the lovesick fool I am, I shove open my door and climb out. Peter and Pepper lift their heads from their spot at the foot of the steps. Peter’s ears perk up like he knows I’m not alone.
“Momma’s home.”
Moving to the rear vehicle door, I pull it open and plant my hands on my hips. Madder than a fucking hornet, my woman is lying on her side, her hands tied behind her back, her blonde hair a mess around her flushed face. She looks like a pissed-off angel, and my dick hardens instantly.
“Come on, Troublemaker,” I say, dropping my hands and reaching in to help her out.
She twists away from my touch. “Don’t touch me.”
I sigh, running a hand through my hair. “You didn’t leave me much choice, babe.”
If it’s possible, that seems to piss her off even more. Her eyes flash with fury, and her jaw clenches.
“Untie me, Bane. Right fucking now!”
Reaching in, I help her into a sitting position on the bench seat. “Sorry, baby. That ain’t happening.”
Hearing their Momma’s voice, Peter and Pepper squeeze past me into the back of the truck, jumping around all over Frankie. Peter’s licking her face like he hasn’t seen her in months, and Pepper’s whole body is wiggling and vibrating like Frankie just got home from war.
“Hi, babies,” she sighs, trying not to smile and failing. Relief floods through me when I catch sight of it.
Thank the Gods for my dogs.
“They missed you as much as I did,” I admit, watching my baby’s face soften as she nuzzles into Pepper’s fur.
Sadly, the moment is over the second both dogs jump out of the truck and head back towards the barn.
Frankie uses her shoulder to brush her hair out of her face. “So what’s your plan, genius? You can’t keep me tied up. At some point, I’ll have to use the toilet.”
I shrug. “I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.”
And just like that, she’s shooting daggers at me again.
Shaking my head, I help her out of the truck and put my shoulder to her belly, hoisting her over my shoulder again.
“Put me down!” she shrieks, pounding her fists against my back.
I ignore her protests and carry her up the stairs into the loft, the dogs trailing behind us. Once inside, I kick the door shut and set her on her feet.
“If I cut those off,” I say, dipping my hands to her wrists tied behind her back, “are you going to fight me to leave?”
“What do you think, asshole?”
Groaning, I pull out the knife in my boot and cut off the zip ties. The second her hands are free, she lunges for the door.
I catch her around the waist and toss her onto the bed. She fights me, all nails, teeth and fury, but I manage to get the handcuff on one of her wrists and the other end attached to my headboard.
Out of breath, I jump back. “Fuck, you’re strong.”
She doesn’t move or say anything, just lies there with her back to me, her shoulders shaking.
“Frankie?”
That’s when I hear it. A soft sob that turns into a deep gut-wrenching howl.
“Baby?” I whisper as pain like I’ve never felt before cuts right to my fucking soul.
Fuck me. This is my fault. I did this to her.
My heart drops into the bottom of my stomach. I move back over to the bed and drop down on the mattress beside her. “Please don’t cry, babe. I’ll do anything,” I rasp, pulling her into my arms.
Frankie curls up in my lap as best she can with her hand cuffed to the bed and continues to cry. Her whole body shakes with the force of her grief, and I hold her tighter, pressing my face into her hair.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I’m so fucking sorry, baby. Tell me how to make it right. I’ll do anything to fix this.”
She only cries harder, her tears soaking through my shirt.
I rock her gently, one hand stroking her hair while the other rubs circles on her back. “I should have told you the truth from the beginning. About your father, about everything. I was a fucking coward, and you deserved better.”
Her sobs start to quiet, but she doesn’t pull away.
“I was scared,” I admit, the words tasting like ash in my mouth. “Never been more scared of anything. Scared that if you knew the truth, you’d hate me. That you’d leave, and I couldn’t fucking handle that because somewhere along the way, you became everything to me.”
I’m not sure how long we sit there, her crying in my arms, me whispering apologies and promises into her hair.
Eventually her tears slow, and she wipes her nose on my shirt, looking up at me with red-rimmed eyes.
My eyes trace across her face, and I lift a hand, brushing the hair out of her face. “Even red-nosed and snotty, you’re still the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry for everything. I love you, Frankie. I love you so fucking much.”
She whispers, “I love you too.”
A spark of hope blooms in my chest.
“But it’s not enough. Too much has happened. It’s too late.”
The air in my lungs stills. Her words are a shot right through my black fucking heart. I fucked everything up. I’m too late.
Ma’s words whisper in the recesses of my mind.
Don’t take no for an answer, son. Get your queen back.
No. I shake my head. Fuck that. Frankie belongs to me.
Growling, I fist her hair and crash my lips on hers. She shoves at my chest, but I don’t stop. I can’t. Not now. Not ever. I’ll remind her that she’s mine, and I’m hers. I’ll prove to her that she’s my queen.
I flick my tongue across the seam of her lips, and by the grace of the Gods she opens for me, melting into the kiss. Our tongues duel for power, and I twist my body, shifting her beneath me on the bed as I drink from her mouth like a man dying of thirst.
Frankie puts up a fight for half a second before finally submitting. Thank fuck.
For the first time since she walked out, I feel a ray of hope that I can get us back to good.
She fists my hair and tugs hard, making me growl.
Fuck me, I love her.
Frankie rips her mouth from mine, and her eyes narrow. “You fucked her!”
Guilty, I look away. I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.
“Get off me!” She shoves at my chest, and I pin her free hand above her head.
“I’ll do anything you ask but that.”
“How could you?”
“You left me, Frankie.” I sigh, meeting her eyes again. “I was drunk and fucking destroyed, and I made a mistake.”
“So you jump into bed with the first whore who drops her panties?”
I drop my head against her shoulder. “I fucked up, baby. It won’t ever happen again.”
“How do I know the next time we have a fight, you won’t find someone else again?”
I hear the fear beneath the anger, and I lift my head to look at her. “Because you’re it for me. There’s no one else. There will never be anyone else.”
“I can’t trust you.”
“Yes, you can.” I release her hand and cup her face. “I love you, Frankie. It won’t fucking happen ever again. I swear on my life.”
Her eyes search mine, looking for a lie, but she won’t find one. I’ll never hurt her again.
“If you ever lie to me again,” she says, her voice shaking, “I’ll leave Odin and never come back.”
“I won’t. I promise, I won’t lie to you ever again.”
I can tell the second her decision to stay is made. The tension in her body eases, and she reaches up, pulling my face down to hers.
I kiss her again, pouring everything I have into it. This woman owns me, body and soul, and I need her to know it.
Her free hand slides under my shirt, her nails scraping across my abs, and I groan into her mouth.
Breaking the kiss, I pull the key out of my pocket and unlock the handcuff, freeing her wrist. She rubs at the red mark left behind, and guilt floods through me.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur, pressing kisses to the irritated skin.
“Shut up and kiss me,” she demands, pulling me back down.
I obey, claiming her mouth again as my hands roam over her body. I need to feel her, need to know she’s real and here and mine.
Frankie arches into my touch, her hands fisting in my hair as I trail kisses down her neck. I bite down on the sensitive spot where her neck meets her shoulder, and she gasps.
“You better never leave me again,” I growl against her skin.
“I won’t,” she breathes.
I pull back, stripping her shirt over her head and tossing it aside. Her bra follows, and I palm her breasts, my thumbs brushing over her nipples.
“Bane,” she whimpers.
“I’m going to make you my old lady,” I vow, lowering my head to take one nipple into my mouth. “My wife. The mother of my children. My Queen.”
She moans, her back arching off the bed.
I move to her other breast, sucking and licking until she’s writhing beneath me. My hands move to her jeans, unfastening them and shoving them down her legs along with her panties.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” I rasp, drinking in the sight of her spread out on my bed, flushed and wanting.
I strip out of my own clothes, my cock hard and aching. Settling between her thighs, I drag my fingers through her wetness.
“You’re soaking wet for me, baby.”
“Please,” she begs.
I slide two fingers inside her and she cries out, her hips bucking against my hand.
“Please what?” I ask, curling my fingers and finding that spot that makes her come apart.
“Make me come,” she begs.
“Not yet.” I slow my movements, edging her, dragging it out so she knows who owns her orgasm.
“Bane, please!”
“Who do you belong to?” I demand, my thumb finding her swollen nub.
“You,” she pants, lifting her hips, needing more.
“That’s right. You’re mine, Frankie. This pussy is mine. This body is mine. Your heart is mine.”
I pull my fingers free and position myself at her entrance. With one hard thrust, I bury myself inside her.
We both groan at the sensation.
“Fuck, you feel good,” I grunt.
Frankie’s legs wrap around my waist, pulling me deeper. “Harder,” she demands.
My lips twitch. My baby’s hungry and I give her what she needs, pounding into her with everything I have. The sound of skin meeting skin fills the room, mixed with the sounds of our pleasure.
“I’m going to fill you with my cum,” I rumble in her ear. “Gonna knock you up, troublemaker.” Fuck. I can see it now; my woman’s belly fat with my baby growing inside her. By the gods in heaven, I’ll fuck her every day until it’s a reality.
“Yes,” she cries, her nails digging into my shoulders.
Her cunt squeezes me tight, and I know she’s getting close. Slipping a hand between us, I find her swollen nub and start to swirl my fingers over it.
“Yes! Yes!”
“Give it to me, baby.”
Frankie screams my name as she shatters, her pussy clamping down on me like a vice.
“Fuck!” I roar, burying myself deep as I spill inside her.
Hearts racing and breathing heavy, we stay locked together. “I love you,” I whisper, pressing my sweaty forehead against hers.
“I love you too,” she says between labored breaths.
My eyes close—my soul finally at peace. Those four words are all I’ll ever need.
Thank the Gods.
My Queen is back where she belongs.
The End.