Chapter 16
SAMAIRA
I woke up to the thoughts of stormy eyes and a sharp jaw, eyes that reflected a similar darkness and violence that I saw in the mirror. Four drinks didn’t give me a hangover, but last night’s dry spell definitely had me waking up with an excruciating need pushing through my veins. Need for one man.
I stayed in bed, completely naked, relishing the soft sheets against my back and the cozy comforter enveloping me.
Visions of Dominic were on a constant loop in my mind, every inch of my body still feeling the sweet and sharp burn of his gaze from last night.
My pussy throbbed with bone-deep need and excruciating emptiness, my thighs soaking wet with arousal.
My body was an inferno of longing, desperate to feel his large hands on my throat, holding my choker and feeding me his cock.
My pussy pulsed with sharp arousal, soaking the sheets beneath me.
My nipples were pebbled to the point of pain, my entire body thrumming with the need to be filled.
I’d never felt this desperate, this hungry for a man before.
With a broken moan, I turned on my stomach, got on my knees, and grabbed the dildo from my nightstand.
With a wild edge that had me clutching my pillow in a deadly grip, I dragged the thick cock-like vibrator between the drenched lips of my pussy, causing a million sparks of pleasure to rush through my veins.
My hips arched up with the agonizing need to be filled, to feel Dominic’s hands holding me down and thrusting deep inside me, fucking me into the mattress, taking complete control of my body.
My ears strained to hear good girl from his lips as he grabbed my hair, pulling me up on my knees so his massive chest brushed my back.
His sweat soaked my skin, his heat setting me on fire as I screamed his name, all the while coming on his cock.
My mind flashed to the moment when I’d walked out of the torture room soaked in a man’s blood, to the way he’d looked at me with so much pride, so much lust, so much wonder.
It was those eyes—those dark, sinful, wild eyes—that had my body pulsing and pleasure rushing through my veins, electrifying every nerve in my body, paralyzing me as a blinding-white orgasm raced through me.
I dropped onto my back, panting as thoughts of Dominic swirled around in my mind, and the sensible part of my brain tried to put a stop to it all.
There was no future with Dominic. He had his own empire to rule, a life in the public eye, and a family who loved him. My life was riddled with murders, torture, and violence.
While a part of me was thrilled that he found my torturous, gruesome, murderous ways attractive, the question was, for how long? I was a Wildcat. Wildcat was me. I had dedicated my entire existence, my whole purpose of living, to giving women justice. I wouldn’t quit for anything or anybody.
I was also completely aware that a day would come when we’d be caught. We’d be punished, put behind bars, or worse. It was a choice all five of us had made very consciously, very happily. But I couldn’t put that cross to bear on Dominic. On anyone .
Once all my morbid thoughts had successfully wiped away all that glorious post-orgasm bliss, I got up with a tired sigh and jumped into the shower.
I got dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie since I was staying home till my evening shift at the Thunder Claw.
For now, I planned to listen to the recordings from Thomas’s and Brian’s offices from the comfort of my cozy two-bedroom apartment.
I was in the middle of preparing chai, one of the few routines I had from my earlier life, when the doorbell rang. Only four people in the world knew my address. So when I looked into the peephole, I wasn’t surprised to find the girls.
I loved my ladies, but showing up on my doorstep without warning should be all kinds of illegal. There was only one person on the other side of the door for whom I was opening the door with a smile. “Oh, hello there, little Callum. How are you, kiddo?”
“Auntie Sami,” the little guy, Lena’s five-year-old son, shouted and lunged into my arms.
I instantly scooped him up, twirling him in my arms as my four best friends and one big dog burst into the apartment. They swept through it like a hurricane, filling the place with commotion before collapsing onto the couch with a flourish.
My living room, kitchen, and dining area shared an open-plan layout. While I held Callum, Tara and Shadow claimed a spot on the floor near the coffee table, whereas Sloane and Naomi made themselves comfortable on the couch, promptly turning on the TV.
I looked at the little man in my arms. “What brings you here, little man? You want some pancakes?”
“Yes, please. Will you put chocolate chips in them?” he asked, holding my face in both his hands .
“Of course. I’ll also add some strawberries on top. How does that sound?”
“I love it. Will you teach Mom how to make your pancakes?”
Lena, who’d been standing at the kitchen counter listening to our conversation, scoffed. “Callum, don’t you like my pancakes, baby?” She put her hands on her chest and pretended to be hurt.
His tiny little mouth dropped into an O, and his eyes widened with worry. He wiggled down from my arms and hugged Lena’s legs. “I love your pancakes, Mommy.”
This little guy was Lena’s little protector and her entire world.
A family she protected with the ruthlessness of a lioness.
She gave him a little kiss on the head and ruffled his hair.
“Go play with Shadow and keep an eye on your other three aunties while I help out Auntie Sami with preparing your pancakes. Okay, baby?”
He gave her a little soldier salute. “Okay, Mommy.” Then he ran off, calling Shadow.
Shadow’s loud barks, Callum’s squeals, and the Wildcats’ chatter made my little house come alive. Made it feel like a home, a place where family came together.
“You’re moping, Sami,” Lena said, cracking twelve eggs in a big bowl.
I put a pot of coffee on for the ladies as I poured my chai in a cup with a sigh. “It’s one of those days.”
She stood beside me as she prepared the batter for pancakes.
“Sami, you have been with me more than anyone here. You’ve seen me at my worst. You’re here with me as I’m living my worst. But do you know what makes my life worth living?
My little boy. You. Tara. Sloane. Naomi. My parents. You all are my family.”
I clutched her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug, resting my head against hers. Given the kind of work we did and our past, we didn’t have many people around us to make new friends. These women were my everything—my sisters, my best friends, my family. “You all are my family too.”
“You need to get back in touch with your parents, Sami. They need you. They need to see their daughter.”
A sharp breath escaped my chest. “You know I can’t, Lena.”
“I would do anything, anything , to see my daughter. Trust me, your mother, your father, your siblings, they would want to see you.”
Five years ago, Lena’s daughter was kidnapped.
She was the one person we hadn’t been able to find.
For that entire year, all we did was look for her.
Sadly, Tara wasn’t a Wildcat back then. She would’ve been able to use her hacking and technology superpowers to find Ava.
The four of us had searched through every corner of New York, followed every minor lead we had, beat up a hundred people to get them to talk, but nothing.
We still had searches for her running. We still had our eyes and ears open for just a sign.
Tara had constant facial recognition running through her satellite system, but that had only been set up a year after her kidnapping.
Most of us were losing hope of ever finding Ava.
She was only nine years old at the time. A kid.
I pulled Lena into a hug as I felt the eyes of the rest of the girls on us.
Besides Lena, none of the other girls kept in touch with their families.
We all knew the consequences of having a family around.
“I know they would want to see me, Lena. I’m staying away to protect them.
They can’t get involved in our world. You have no idea the harassment they faced thirteen years ago.
I can’t pull them into my lifestyle and make them always worry about my siblings’ lives.
You, of all people, know how dangerous it can be to have a liability. To have someone you care about.”
She gave a quiet nod, easing out of the hug. As she started preparing pancakes, I began chopping some fresh strawberries. “ Is that why you’re keeping your distance from Dominic?”
That one word had Sloane jumping up from her seat and dragging Naomi with her to perch on the barstool right across from us. “We heard Dominic.”
I popped a piece of strawberry into my mouth, focusing on chopping them into perfect little slices. “He’s a complication.”
“He’s hot,” Sloane declared.
“And rich,” Naomi piped in.
“And seems like a nice guy,” Lena chimed in, not wanting to be left out.
“And makes you act like a fool,” Tara shouted from the floor where she lay beside Shadow.
“Tara’s not wrong,” I admitted, sighing.
“He does make me act like an idiot. You all see it, don’t you?
He’s affecting my work, making me act on impulse, making me reckless.
And he’s a client . A fifty-million-dollar client who not only knows about our den but also our safe house location because I revealed it all.
What if he went to the cops? We’d be locked up and charged as serial killers. ”
Sloane flicked her hair dismissively. “Are we serial killers if we’re vigilantes?”
I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Get real, Sloane. Just because we’re cleaning house doesn’t mean we wouldn’t be put behind bars if we got caught. How could I put the Wildcats at such risk?”
Lena finished preparing the pancakes and started plating Callum’s.
“Sami, just because we’re Wildcats doesn’t mean we don’t have the right to lead a normal life.
I never intended for that to be the case when I agreed to let you join me.
When I asked you all to join me. You’re allowed to put your trust in people.
You’re allowed to fall in love. You’re allowed to bring in new people. ”
Tara mock-coughed, muttering, “Dominic,” under her breath. Obviously, I threw a piece of strawberry at her.
We put the coffee pot, pancakes, strawberries, maple syrup, and chocolate chips on the coffee table as each of us grabbed a plate and prepared our pancakes.
I played around with the food on my plate as my mind drifted to the possibility of crossing that professional boundary with the only man who’s made me so irrational and impulsive.
“You know,” I said, garnering everyone’s attention.
“When I went to his parents’ place, I was talking to Sophie, and he touched my shoulder from behind. ”
All of them cringed—knowing it was my trigger—as I continued, “Yeah. It went as you would expect. I slammed him on his back and told him that I hadn’t given him permission to touch me.”
“Good for you, Sami. No harm in setting those boundaries,” Naomi said, biting into her food.
I turned to all of them and whispered, “He promised he wouldn’t touch me again without my permission. And he hasn’t ever since. Not even accidentally. Not even a graze of our shoulders. Not even a handshake.”
“Are we supposed to be happy or sad about it?” Sloane asked, looking around at each one of us.
Lena hid her smile behind her fork. “We’re supposed to be happy. The man knows the meaning of boundaries. I think.”
“But…” Naomi waggled her eyebrows.
“She wants him to touch her so bad. Sami is hard up for Dominic,” Tara finished her sentence.
Lena coughed loudly, but it was too late. Callum’s little ears were entirely focused on our conversation, even though he was sitting a little farther away from us, near Shadow, eating his pancakes. “What’s hard up?”
I threw my couch cushion at Tara’s face, making her shriek and causing Shadow to rush to her. Callum all but forgot his question as he jumped to get Shadow back .
I put my face in my hands, giving up. “He didn’t even get scared of me when he saw me yesterday.”
“I thought that man was going to drop on his knee right there.” Naomi’s words had my heart rattling against my rib cage, as if ready to jump into Dominic’s palm.
I quickly gulped my chai to try to stop that ridiculous smile threatening to cross my face.
What was it about Dominic that had my entire being so wholly focused on him?
Why was I so overly trusting of all our secrets?
And why the fuck did he make my chest tighten all the damn time?
It was irritating and inconvenient, and it made me want to grab him by the shirt and slam my lips on his.
Lena looked at where Callum was feeding Shadow some strawberries and turned to us. “You know,” she said softly so only the four of us could hear. “You can just play with him.” She mouthed, “ Fuck him. ”
I rolled my eyes. “Glad to have your permission, boss.”
“You’re very welcome, Sami. You know we all want the best for you.”
I had no words. And thankfully, the four of them stopped talking about Dominic for a while as we ate in peace.
Once they all left, my fingers twitched with the need to text Dominic.
I had absolutely nothing to say to him—and I would never ever admit it out loud—but I wanted to hear his voice.
Wanted to know what he was up to, figure out what made him laugh aside from being beaten to a pulp by me.
I wanted to figure out every little thing that made him the man he is, gather every little morsel of his life and hoard it all in my heart.
With each passing moment, I stopped thinking about why I was so affected by a man.
I’d always relied on my instincts. They had never let me down.
And my instincts were screaming at me to trust Dominic, to grab him by his suit and kiss him, to drop to my knees for him and own him.
Mark him. Take him. Claim him for myself.
My heart screamed that he wouldn’t let me down.
Because as much as I seemed to need him closer to me, a tiny part inside me believed that he needed me just as much as I needed him, if not more.
The faster I found something on those culprits, the faster I could ask him to meet me. I got my laptop out and started going through the recordings, determined to find those rapists.