Reed (Protection #1)

10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Ali

The longer Reed is gone, the more ridiculous the idea of staying here becomes to me. Without him here, my brain reminds me of all the bad things in my past until I can’t trust my instincts. Plus, there is the fact that I’m lying to him, and once he finds out everything, there is no way he will want to be with someone like me. Someone with all the baggage I’m carrying around. He might think I’m attractive, but he will ask me to leave once he sees the darkness inside me.

There is no way we can stay here. While the boys don’t have too many toys at home, here they have nothing, and watching TV only keeps them occupied for a little while. I feel uncomfortable walking around Reed’s house, but I have to do it to see if I can find anything the boys can play with. The first floor holds the living room, a dining room, the kitchen, a library, and a gym. Nothing for two-year-old boys to play with. With the boys on my hips, I check upstairs. I find three bedrooms, two bathrooms, an office, and a master bedroom. Once Jacob starts crying for Mr. Dog, his stuffed animal, I know we have to go home. Reed and I live in two different worlds. This will never work.

So I call the only person I know who will come to get us, Grandmama. I find the address to Reed’s house from a piece of mail in the office. The gate needs a code, and I don’t have it. For that reason, I tell her to call when she gets to the gate, which she does. By the time we get to her car, Jacob is a mess. We all are cold, frustrated, and exhausted. We get the boys settled in the car seats Grandmama has for them.

I lie and tell her that my Jeep wouldn’t start, and a friend from college brought me to their house, but they had to work. She lets it go even though I can tell she doesn’t believe me. Was I terrified to go back to the apartment? Yes, but what else could I do? I just had to pray that whoever trashed my car doesn’t know where I live. Grandmama helps me get the boys out, but I refuse to let her come inside. I give the boys cereal for supper, help them into their pajamas, and make them a warm cup of milk. My phone died hours ago, and I haven’t had a free second to plug it in to charge.

It takes the boys less than five minutes to fall asleep. While I want to stay in bed beside them and sleep, I can’t. I need to figure some things out. Slipping out of the room, I leave the door cracked in case one of them wakes up. Then I head out to the living room. After hours of processing what happened, Dennis is the only person who makes sense. It can’t be the guys who killed my family because they don’t know I’m alive or that I even know who they are. No one knows what I know, and I plan to take that secret to the grave with me.

Would I love to see justice done to the guys who ripped my family away from me? Yes, but will it ever happen? No, because they aren’t the kind of people I want on my radar. I don’t want to deal with Dennis either, but he is a lot less scary out of the two. The only thing that he can do is try to take my kids away from me, but I don’t think he will. Maybe it was someone who had seen me with Reed and was jealous. Old me would run from this. I would pack our things and skip town to start over somewhere else.

I could pick up my phone, and with one call, we would be far away from this place, but I love this little town, and I don’t want my boys living a life in fear, always looking over their shoulders. I promised them the day I found out I was pregnant that I would protect them with my life, and I don’t plan on breaking that promise. So it’s time to stand tall and face whatever this is head-on.

I pull out my keys from my pocket and pick up the metal box from the small bookshelf under the only window in the living room. After unlocking it, I pull out the one big purchase I made when I turned eighteen, a Diamondback DB9. It’s small enough to hide but also powerful enough to protect us if I need it. I usually keep it locked up, and over the years, I never once thought about getting rid of it, no matter how much I needed money. I need the security it provides over anything else.

I tuck the pistol in my back pocket and head into the kitchen to make something to eat. I pull out a can of vegetable soup and dump it in a pot on the stove. After it’s bubbling away, I grab a spoon and inhale the bland, watery mixture while it’s still hot. I’d prefer a sandwich or frozen nuggets, but I always leave that for the boys. I double-check the lock on the front door, making sure it’s engaged, place a chair under the handle, and turn off the lights. I change into my sleep shirt and crawl into bed with the pistol. When we got home, I moved the mattress so I could sit with my back pressed against the wall and face the door. I pull the boys closer to me, one on each side, and place the pistol on my lap. If someone is coming for me, I won’t be caught by surprise, and they will be dead before they lay a finger on us.

I read the book I grabbed from the library to pass the time and keep myself awake. I’m thankful the boys learned to sleep with a light on because I can’t stand the darkness tonight. I must have dozed off because I’m jerked awake when the floorboard in the hallway creaks with added weight that shouldn’t be there. Slowly, I lay the book down and pull the boys’ covers over their heads. With steady hands, I raise the pistol up, pointing it toward the door, and place my finger over the trigger. When I bought the gun, I had extensive training from a friend on how to use it properly. So, I hold it as I was taught and keep my breathing calm even though my heart is racing.

I know the hallway and the creaks by heart. When whoever is walking down gets right outside the door, the floor will sound again. That’s when I will give my warning, and if they take another step, they will meet their fucking maker.

Once I hear that creak right outside the door, I open my mouth and say calmly but loud enough that they hear me, “You picked the wrong person and the wrong apartment. Take that final step, and you will be dead before you hit the floor. I don’t care who you are or what you want; I will empty this clip into your chest before you have time to reach for a weapon.” My voice is even, steady, unwavering, and full of authority. Caleb shifts closer when he hears my voice, and I pray my boys sleep through this. Whatever happens, I will always protect them, but I don’t want them to be jarred awake by their mother killing someone. But if whoever is out there doesn’t leave, I won’t have a choice.

A chuckle comes from the darkness, but it doesn’t cause fear to race through me. Instead, in its wake, my heart rate starts to slow down and the coldness that had settled over me lifts. “Little One, I’m going to step into the light. Please don’t shoot me. I don’t want to die before I have a chance to taste all of you.” Reed’s voice floats through the night and settles in the apex of my thighs.

I don’t lower the gun, but I do say, “I won’t shoot you. For now.”

Reed slowly steps out of the darkness and into the light with his hands raised in the air. His eyes sweep the little room, and I don’t miss the way they narrow and darken at what he is seeing. It’s not messy, so he isn’t seeing piles of trash or clothes. No, his eyes are taking in the stained carpet that was once white but is now almost brown. The walls have multiple holes from the previous tenant and the mice. He then looks up to the corner of the ceiling, where there is a massive brown stain from when it rains. If you pull up the carpet or pull back the wallpaper, I’m sure you will find mold and a lot of it.

“Little One, can you please lower the gun so I can come in and finally be able to breathe?” Reed asks, focusing all his attention on me once again.

“Why can’t you breathe?” Reed doesn’t come off as someone who scares easily, but I’ve been wrong about people before. Therefore, I still don’t lower my gun. If he is having a medical episode, he better convince me quickly that me and my boys are safe. I know I’m contradicting myself but right now I have to hear it again.

“I haven’t been able to take a fucking breath since I returned home to find you and the boys gone. I really, really need to hold you right now, but I don’t want to get a bullet wound trying to get to you. I also don’t want to have to overpower you and take that gun from you. I want you to trust me enough to put it down and allow me to come in. I will say this again and continue to say it as often as you need to hear it. You. Are. Safe. With. Me.”

Now, I’m having difficulty breathing, and that ache is back. “Really?” I lower the gun, and Reed moves with determination and speed. I’m pulled from the mattress and slammed against his hard chest. My arms circle his neck, and Reed lifts me easily. I wrap my legs around his stomach. His hands are keeping me close to him by my ass.

Reed backs out of the bedroom and walks to the living room to deposit me on the couch before leaving. I glance at the front door and notice that the chair is still there, and the lock is still engaged. How did he get in? A warm breeze blows through the window a second later, catching my attention. He came through the fucking window. I thought they were all painted shut. I listen to Reed’s footsteps as he heads back this way.

“While the sight of you holding a gun kind of turns me on, I would feel better if you placed it on the table,” he says. I do as he asks and place the pistol on the small coffee table. He walks over and steps in between my spread legs.

It’s dark, with only the moonlight coming through the window behind him. So I can’t see anything until he leans over and turns on the lamp beside me. I kind of wish he had left it off because now I can see the anger in his eyes. Eyes that have turned ice blue and are pinned on me. Reed lowers his big self between me and the table, which moves backward. “I should put you over my knee and turn your ass a nice shade of red for leaving like that,” he growls, sinking his hands into my hair and pulling the hair band out. My hair cascades down over my shoulders.

“We couldn’t stay,” I say. My heart is pounding, but a fire erupts in my lower stomach at his closeness.

“The fuck you couldn’t. You chose not to.” His grip tightens, pulling my head back and elongating my neck. He leans forward and runs his tongue up the outside of it, ending at my ear. “Tell me why,” Reed demands.

My hands go to his shoulders to pull him closer to me. My breath catches in my throat and my panties dampen with need for him. “The boys were wanting their toys. They needed to eat and sleep. And…” I whisper with quivering breaths.

“And what?”

I swallow, not sure if I can bear my soul to this man right now. “Nothing,” I say, praying he will let it go.

“Tell me,” Reed says, his tone stern.

“I was afraid you won’t want me when you know—”

“Nothing you could tell me would make me want you any less. I don’t fucking care about your past or anything else you think is important. As for the boys, they could have done all that at my house. Where you are safe. Not here in this death trap of an apartment,” Reed growls, biting my ear. A small moan escapes my lips. He starts kissing down my jaw and up to the other ear. “Was I not clear enough back at the house about where I want you?”

“You were Reed. You were.” The way he alternates between kissing my neck and biting it is making me ache for him. Ache in a way that I have never ached before. I try to shut my thighs but forget that he is between them. My clit pulses as if to remind me how desperate I am for this man to ravish me.

I feel his smile on my neck. “Is my Little One getting turned on right now?” He pulls back to look at my face, which allows me to make my move. I sink my hands into his hair. I pull him closer while I pull my head up, pulling out my own hair in the process, but I don’t feel the pain. I need his lips on mine, and I’m going to get it no matter what.

Reed sees what I’m trying to do and makes it easy for me to move his head. His lips slam into mine, pushing my head back against the back of the couch. I waste no time opening up for him. In a split second, I’m pulled off the couch and find myself sitting on his lap with him in the spot I was previously in. His hard dick is pressed into my aching core, and my hips move against it, searching out the friction I’m in desperate need of.

“Fuck,” I say into Reed’s mouth as I rub myself over his bulge. I need more.

“What do you need, Little One?” Reed growls, removing his lips from mine.

I miss the contact and yank at his hair. “More… everything… fuck. You,” I say, grinding on him as hard as possible. His hands leave my hair. They move down my sides, and I feel like I’m on fire everywhere he touches. He doesn’t stop until his hands are under my shirt, gripping the sides of my boy short-style panties.

“Tell me to stop, Ali. Or I’m about to rip these panties off of you and fuck you until you can feel me for days,” Reed says, his fingers digging into my hips.

I throw my head back and moan. His words turned makes the fire inside me rage and I feel myself growing wetter. I feel like I’m going to die if he doesn’t touch me. “Do it.”

Reed doesn’t waste a second, gripping my underwear and pulling with all his strength. The sound of the material ripping is quiet compared to our breathing. “Lean up,” he demands, and I listen. The torn material falls away from my body. The sound of Reed’s zipper being lowered causes goosebumps to erupt all over my body. I lower my gaze to him and, for the first time, see the lust that has taken over him. His eyes are hooded, and his pupils are black as night with a small ring of blue around them. “I’m clean,” he says.

“Me too.” Without another word being spoken, I lower myself down on him. He is so much bigger than the only other dick that has ever been inside of me. So, while I want to sink down, taking him in one slide of my hips, I have to take my time. The stretch stings, but I welcome it because I need this man right now.

“Fuck, Little One. You’re so damn tight, and I’m not even fully inside you yet,” Reed moans.

“Shit, you are going to wreck me,” I say. I feel myself dripping down on him. Breathing through my nose, I take the last bit of him. Finally, my ass is pressed against his legs, and I feel so fucking full.

Reed lays his forehead against mine. “You fucking know I am baby.” He starts to kiss me, and it’s not the desperate kisses we have shared. This one is slow and full of promises. It’s too much for my little brain. I need this to be rough, fast, and hard.

“Please, Reed, fuck me,” I beg. He growls against my lips and starts lifting me up off him, only to slam me back down at the same time that he thrusts up hard into me. I try to control the scream that rips through me, but I can’t.

“Although I love the sound of you screaming. If you keep it up, we will have to cut this short, Little One.”

Reed reminds me that we aren’t alone. Although he doesn’t stop pounding into me. I bite my lip to try to keep quiet. His hands are gripping me so hard I’m going to be bruised. My ass burns from the impact of his thighs hitting them so hard. He is so deep in me that I swear I feel him in my stomach, even though I know that’s not possible. “Fuck Ali. You’re going to kill me. The way your pussy is squeezing me is addictive.”

A scream is building inside me with each hard thrust, and that fire he started is consuming me. I won’t be able to hold it in, so I lean down and sink my teeth against Reed’s shoulder. My muscles tighten, and then I let go. Allowing the fire to burn me up. “Fuck,” I scream against his skin and bite. My pussy tightens around Reed’s dick, but it doesn’t stop him from slamming into me.

“Shit,” Reed groans a second later as I feel him expand before his release is coating the inside of me. I slump against him, and he starts to rub my back. I can feel his heart pounding in his chest and its fast beat matches mine. I pull my teeth away and notice a wet spot on his shirt. I hope I marked him because I sure as shit feel marked by him. Both of our chests are heaving. The more he rubs my back, the harder it is for me to stay awake.

“Reed,” I say quietly, resting my head against his chest.

“Yes, Little One.” He presses a kiss to my head.

“We didn’t use protection.” I’m not on the pill and should have demanded he use a condom, but I didn’t think about that. “I swear I’m clean, but–”

“I believe you. Does the thought of you getting pregnant again scare you?” He asks, sounding as tired as I am.

“A little. I want more kids, but not right now,” I admit.

“I’ll take care of it.” He lifts me up, which causes a groan to fall from his lips and a moan to come from my own. I can’t hold my eyes open any longer. Right before I fall asleep, I hear him speaking to someone. “Go to Walmart and grab me a Plan B pill. Bring it to Ali’s. Also, bring some moving boxes for my girl and my boys.”