Chapter Sixteen
Jade
I couldn’t stop shaking. The security footage played on a loop in my head.
Even here, in a place I’d never felt safer and more cared for and just…
at home, he found ways to reach me. Mia went quiet beside me as Knight showed us the recordings, her face pale and as angry as I felt.
Oktober had stood behind her chair, one hand on her shoulder, his expression murderous.
I hadn’t spoken a word since the footage ended.
What could I say? Eric thought he’d found a way in.
And all I could think was exactly what came out of my mouth.
“I’m so fucking tired of being afraid of his fucking bullshit. ”
Mia stood first, her eyes meeting mine briefly before she looked away. “I need some air,” she said. “Before I get a gun and shoot that motherfucker myself.”
Oktober nodded, his hand still firm on her shoulder. “Let’s go home, K?tzchen.” He glanced at Knight, then Rip. Some unspoken message passed between them. “Keep me updated. You tell me where to go and what to do and I’m there.”
Rip nodded once. “We will. Thanks, man.”
I watched them leave, Mia’s shoulders stiff under Oktober’s protective arm. The door closed behind them with a soft click.
Knight tapped a few keys, freezing the screen on Eric’s face. That Goddamn smirk. I wanted to claw it off him with my bare hands. Knight’s expression said he did too. He turned to Rip. “I’ll go brief the others. Church in an hour.”
“Yeah,” Rip said, his voice low and steady. “We’ll be there.”
Knight left us alone in the security office, shutting the door behind him. It locked automatically. The room felt smaller now, the air heavy with tension and anger. Rip stayed seated in the chair by the monitors, watching me with dark, careful eyes.
I rose from my chair, needing to move. The stillness felt suffocating. I paced the short length of the room. My skin buzzed with a strange, restless energy I struggled to contain. Anger and fear twisted together in my gut until I couldn’t separate them anymore.
“He’s always there,” I said finally, the words bursting out of me.
“Even when he’s not physically present, he’s still in my head.
Every decision I make, every move, every thought.
I’m always wondering what he’ll do, how he’ll react.
” I raked my fingers through my hair, tugging at the strands in frustration.
“I finally start to feel safe here, like maybe I have friends and protection and people I care about who genuinely like me -- it’s like he can smell when I’m starting to heal, and he shows up to rip the scabs off. ”
Rip remained still, his eyes never leaving me. “I know.”
“Do you?” I whirled toward him. “Do you know what it’s like to have someone living in your brain?
To never fully own your thoughts because he’s contaminated everything?
” My voice cracked. “To finally think you’re getting free and then --” I gestured helplessly at the frozen image on the screen, tears threatening even as I fought them back.
“No,” he said simply. “You’re right. I don’t. Poor choice of words, honey.”
His honesty deflated some of my anger. I stopped pacing and stood in the middle of the room, suddenly exhausted.
“I’m so tired, Rip. I’m tired of letting him control what I do.
What I feel.” I looked down at my hands, still trembling slightly.
“Even now, standing here with you, he’s trying to control me.
” Rip said nothing, but his gaze held steady, offering silent support without demanding anything from me.
“I don’t want to be afraid anymore.” The words came out softer than I intended.
Rip’s expression softened. He nodded once, a barely perceptible movement.
“I know. And I swear to you, I’ll help you take all that back.
Knight was all for taking care of the problem permanently, but I wanted you to have at least some kind of choice.
You deserve to be kept in the loop and have some say in the decision making.
But if this is too much, if you need me to advocate for you, I can take over.
You’ll never have to deal with him again. ”
I stared at him sitting there, so solid and real and present.
Rip, who never pushed. Who always asked.
Who treated my choices like they mattered.
Apparently, he’d even insisted on giving me a choice when even his brothers thought they should just take care of the problem and be done with it.
The contrast between him and Eric struck me with sudden clarity.
I crossed the room in four quick strides and climbed onto his lap, my knees on either side of his thighs.
He moved his hands to settle gently on my thighs before sliding to my hips over my loose skirt.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he didn’t say anything.
I took his face in both my hands and kissed him hard, thrusting my tongue into his mouth when his lips parted.
For a heartbeat, he remained still. Then he met my tongue with a wicked thrust of his own, responding but not taking over.
I pressed closer, sliding my fingers through his hair to grip the short strands.
The kiss turned hungry, desperate. I bit his bottom lip and felt his hands twitch on my hips just before he slid them around to grip my ass.
“Touch me,” I demanded against his mouth.
“Here.” I grabbed his wrists and placed his hands on the hem of my shirt, arching into his touch.
His fingers flexed against the bare skin at my sides around my rib cage, warm and callused.
“Higher.” I reached behind me to fumble with the back clasp of my bra.
He groaned, his eyes darkening as he watched my face. “Jade -- Jesus!”
“I need this.” I ground my hips down against him, feeling him hardening beneath me. “I need to choose this. To take this for myself. I need… you, Rip.”
Understanding dawned in his expression. He nodded once. “Tell me what you want me to do.”
“Everything.” I kissed him again, less frantic now but no less intense. “But I’m in control.”
His lips curved against mine. “Yes, ma’am.”
I reached between us, my fingers finding his belt. The buckle gave way under my determined hands. I unfastened the button on his jeans, drawing down the zipper with deliberate slowness. Rip’s breath hitched, his gaze never leaving my face.
My hand slipped inside his boxers, wrapping around his cock. He was fully hard now, hot and thick in my palm. His hips jerked involuntarily at my touch.
“You’re in charge, Jade. If you say stop, I do. But I can’t sit here passively. I need you as much as you need me.”
“Good,” I murmured, stroking him slowly. “That sounds just about perfect.”
His jaw clenched, the muscles in his neck bunching as I continued to work his cock. I watched the play of emotions across his face and reveled in my ability to affect him like this.
I stood up just long enough to remove my panties under my skirt. Rip’s eyes followed the movement, his pupils blown wide with wanting. I stepped out of them and climbed back onto his lap, my skirt bunched around my waist.
“Condom,” he managed, his voice rough.
I reached into his pocket where I knew he kept one and pulled out the foil packet. I tore it open, my eyes locked on his. He slid his hands to my breasts and squeezed and kneaded gently as I rolled the condom down his length, taking my time.
I positioned myself over him, the tip of his cock pressing against my entrance. My pussy pulsed and quivered as the head of his dick kissed my slick entrance.
I sank down slowly, taking him inch by inch. The stretch was exquisite, bordering on too much, but I found I loved the burn. Rip’s head fell back against the chair, a strangled groan escaping his throat. I didn’t stop until he was fully seated inside me, my body gripping him tight.
“Fuck,” he breathed, his eyes flying open to meet mine. “You’re fuckin’ amazing, Jade.”
I braced my hands on his shoulders and began to move. Slowly at first, finding my rhythm. Rip held me to him, his arms pulling me so I rested against his chest. I set the pace, rocking my hips until just the tip of him remained inside me, then sinking back down. Each time I took him deeper, harder.
“That’s it,” he encouraged, his voice strained. “Take what you need.”
I gripped his hair, tugging his head back to expose his throat.
I pressed my mouth to the strong column of his neck, tasting salt on his skin from the light sheen of sweat.
His pulse raced under my tongue. I bit down, not hard but enough to leave a bruise later. He cursed, his hips bucking up into me.
“Fuckin’ Christ, do that again, Jade! Fuckin’ mark me so no other woman has any doubt I belong to you.”
I smiled, feeling powerful in a way I hadn’t in years. I moved my hips in a slow circle, taking him deep. His hands slid down to my ass, gripping and kneading the fleshy globes, but not guiding my movements.
I leaned back, whipping my shirt over my head.
“My tits,” I whimpered. “Suck my nipples.”
Rip immediately looped one arm around my back while the other hand cupped my breast before he dipped his head and sucked.
I cried out, rocking against him harder, faster, my thighs trembling with the effort.
Every thrust sent pleasure spiraling through me, building toward something I desperately needed.
I took his hand from my breast and guided it between my legs.
“Here,” I gasped, showing him exactly how I wanted to be touched. “My clit.”
His fingers circled the little bud with the perfect amount of pressure, matching the rhythm I set. Tension coiled tighter inside me. My movements grew more frantic. Rip watched me with naked adoration, his own pleasure clearly secondary to mine.
“You’re so fuckin’ beautiful,” he said, his voice raw. “Taking your pleasure. Taking control.”
His words pushed me higher, closer to the edge. I chased something just out of reach, my hips moving faster, more urgently of their own volition. He worked his fingers between my legs as his cock hit the perfect spot inside me with every downward thrust of my hips.
“That’s it,” he urged. “Come on my cock, baby. Let go. Show me how beautiful you are when you come.”
I felt the first tremors of my orgasm building, my inner walls clenching around him. My head fell back, my eyes closing as the sensation grew overwhelming. I was right there, right at the precipice --
The lights went out. The sudden hit of adrenaline pushed me over the edge, and I came with a brutal scream. Rip shouted with me, his cock pulsing inside my pussy as he followed me.
For a disorienting moment, we were plunged into total darkness.
Then the emergency lights kicked in, bathing the room in an eerie red glow.
Rip’s arms tightened around me, protective rather than passionate now.
The shift in his posture was immediate, from lover to guardian in less than a heartbeat.
His pulse raced, and his breathing seemed to saw in and out of his lungs.
“Shit,” he muttered, his body suddenly tense beneath mine.
I lifted myself off him, my legs unsteady. He steadied me with firm hands as he pulled the condom off and quickly tucked himself back into his jeans.
“Here,” he said, picking up my discarded panties. I put them on while he found my shirt and helped me into it. I didn’t bother with my bra.
Rip’s phone rang. He answered immediately. “Yeah.”
Knight’s voice came through, tinny but clear enough for me to hear. “Power’s out across the compound. Probably nothing, but I’m not taking chances. Sending more men your way. Move the women and children to the panic room, just in case.”
“On it,” Rip said tersely. “You think this is him?”
A pause. “Too convenient to be coincidence. Could be nothing. Could be a distraction. Just get everyone secured.”
The call ended. Rip looked at me, his expression grim in the red emergency lighting. “Knight wants everyone in the panic room.”
I headed for the door. The fear was still there, humming beneath my skin, but something else burned alongside it now.
Determination. Anger. A fierce protectiveness toward everyone sheltering in Haven and the women of Kiss of Death.
Somehow, over the time I’d been here, the people in this place had all become my family.
I genuinely liked every single person I’d met.
Everyone had their quirks, but the men and women alike were all good people.
I wanted more with Rip. I could admit to being half in love with him already. Given my past, I knew he’d never ask for more. Not because he didn’t want a relationship with me, but because he’d be afraid of pushing me too far too fast.
Well. I had begun reclaiming myself piece by piece. And once everyone was safe, I intended to let Rip know exactly what I wanted from him.