CHAPTER 21
ROMAN
Dropping my chest to Carter’s I kiss him hard, trying to pour these overwhelming emotions into him. It all feels like too much and not enough in equal measure. I want to both bury myself inside him and step back to try and catch my breath. Everything with Carter seems so much more heightened, and right now I just can't get enough. I want to fuck him harder. I want to watch as he hits that peak then falls right over the edge into absolute bliss, knowing that I took him there. That I will be the only man for the rest of his life to ever take him there.
“I love you, you’re mine.” My words come out almost aggressively as I punctuate every word with a snap of my hips. If it wasn't for the way he is mewling below me I might have been worried I was hurting him. The way his eyes roll back into his head as he begs me not to stop, tells me this is exactly the way Carter Banks wants to be fucked. Owned.
“I’m gonna fucking come, Ro.” His hand wraps around his cock as he jerks himself in time with my thrusts and the image he makes is my undoing. I watch as rope after rope of his cum splashes across his chest, hitting his chin. He looks wrecked in the best way possible and I couldn’t control my orgasm if I tried. My balls draw up tight to my body the second his ass clenches around me. Hips stuttering, I slam into him one last time before flooding my cum into him and collapsing into a sweaty heap on his chest. Panting hard I try to lift my weight back off him but he just wraps his legs and arms around me to keep us locked together, and there is nowhere else I’d rather be.
It’s terrifying sitting across from Detective Karson, even with James, Carter, and Eric with me, sitting shoulder to shoulder as we face the detective. It’s been just a little over a week since we made a statement about Terry. I have no idea which way this conversation is going to go. They could easily say they looked into it and there is no evidence to support our claims so they aren’t going to investigate it further. Or they are going to say they did find evidence of other students being manipulated by him. Either way it's terrifying and my anxiety has my knees bouncing as we sit in the meeting room waiting for him to organize the mountain of paperwork he has in front of him.
Eric has been focused on going over my case to find the gaps in the evidence that my public defender back then may have missed. Like the fact my cell phone was never recovered, but did they actually ever look for it? I mean Terry was able to find it after a week in the hospital and give it to James, so maybe the cops back then never even bothered to look. I suppose, when the victim pointed their finger at the person who assaulted them and they had an eyewitness, they figured they didn’t need to do a full search of the house.
Whatever happened, Eric is going to get to the bottom of it. Having my old cell phone now with the text messages asking me to come over, and James confessing that he not only lied but that he was the one to attack Terry, there is no way they won’t overturn my conviction. Not that I am going to get my hopes up, things always have a way of going to shit when you get too cocky about it, yet I'm quietly optimistic.
Detective Karson clears his throat, drawing me out of my thoughts and back into the room, as he links his fingers together in front of him on the desk. He looks pained almost, like he isn't happy about what he has to tell us. Which can’t be good.
“We reached out to several of Mr. Hobbs’ previous high schools over the last fifteen years, narrowing our search to students he seemed to favor more than others. We have found four past students willing to testify that they had relationships with Mr. Hobbs while underage and under his care as a teacher.” I barely have a moment's notice before my stomach revolts at the information and I make a dash to the trash can in the corner, emptying my breakfast.
It was hard enough to process the fact that I was a victim. That this man who I respected and loved was actually a predator. He continued to get involved with his students, at least four, there are probably more. I feel disgusted, and dirty, like every shower I've had in the last fifteen years is still not enough to wash off the regret and shame of what happened to me. My eyes cut to James and his hands cover his face, his shoulders are subtly shaking, giving away his silent crying. If the guilt that I am feeling is crippling, I can only imagine how much worse he must feel, knowing he could have put a stop to the whole thing but chose not to. Self-preservation is a strong instinct and clearly his kicked in and managed to keep him quiet for so long.
Carter approaches with some napkins and a bottle of water, lightly rubbing my back but not saying a thing as the detective continues.
“We arrested Terrance Hobbs this morning and he is currently down the hall in an interview room waiting for his lawyer. We have statements from all six of the victims that we know about. I just wanted to let you all know what stage we are at and ask if there was anything else you wish to add to your statements at this time?” he asks, starting to sift through a beige folder with nothing but a case number on the side. I shake my head. We went over everything several times last week. There is nothing that I left out. I sit back down at the table and look toward James to see how he’s doing.
As expected his eyes are red rimmed as he looks up at Detective Karson and shakes his head, then quickly drops his eyes back down again. I know I should hate the guy, but I don’t. I want to help him, I just have no idea how. That’s where Eric comes in.
“Can I ask if you are going to be seeking charges against Mr. Chesterfield for the assault on Terrance Hobbs back in 2008, or for the perjury committed during Mr. Hilson's trial in 2009?” He has his serious lawyer face on, as Carter calls it, and I have to admit the guy can be a little intimidating.
“That is up to the DA. It is a serious charge for perjury alone, and I would assume given your minor status and the extenuating circumstances around the actual assault, that it would be dropped from a felony charge but I can’t guarantee anything.” He speaks directly to James even though it was Eric who asked the question and that just makes me like the guy even more. This is James' life, all answers should be directed to him. He deserves that much at least.
“Thank you for your time, Detective Karson. Please keep us in the loop with how the case proceeds as it pertains to Mr. Chesterfield’s potential charges and to Mr. Hilson's prior conviction.” Eric stands to shake hands with the detective and we follow his lead. Muttering my own thanks to him, I step up beside James and watch as Carter moves to his other side with that big playful grin on his face making my heart melt. I can see what he's doing. He's going to do his very best to put a smile back on James’ face even if it is just for one day.
CARTER
Swinging my arm around James’ shoulder I wink over at Roman and usher them both toward the door. “Hey Jamesy, ever gotten a tattoo?” I ask, pretty sure I already know the answer but figuring I should check just to make sure. He shakes his head, looking at me with so much uncertainty in his gaze that I put my hand to my chest and fake offense.
“What, don’t you trust me? Come on, Jamesy, let me give you your first tattoo and I will let you sit in while I tattoo my name on Roman’s dick.” I try to say that last bit in a whisper, but clearly I suck at whispers because the man in question overhears me and chokes on the mouthful of water he just took. I rush over to pat his back as he coughs and splutters trying to suck in a full breath.
“Why are you always trying to die, Roman, I’m too young to be a widower.” He doesn’t appreciate my concern, if the death glare he is giving me is anything to go by. You would almost think he blames me for his sporadic coughing fits. I wait until he's standing upright again before linking my arm with James and directing him out to my car, shooting a text to Pete to let him know we are on our way in and I need a private room for the afternoon. Also, that donuts would cheer Ro up immensely. I don’t bother to wait for a reply. Slipping my phone into my pocket I jump into the driver’s seat just in time to hear my beloved telling James that he will handle me. My eyes widen in mock shock as I turn to him. “We are outside the police station, Muscles. You absolutely will not be handling me… until we get to the shop.” He can roll his pretty eyes all he wants but I will not be getting in any more trouble, even for a car handy.
Pete does not let me down. He not only had coffee and donuts for us, but he also had a platter of sandwiches delivered with some of Asher's incredible cupcakes. Having a friend in the group who not only bakes but owns a bakery and sandwich shop is super awesome.
Poor James looks overwhelmed with the amount of people squeezed into this small room. There must not be any appointments right now, what good timing. James hasn’t seen these guys since that night at the police station, so he has no idea what they think or know about him and I can see how nervous he is.
He doesn’t need to worry though, these guys are family and I don’t just mean Ryan. They are all family to Roman and I, which means when we essentially adopt somebody, they adopt them too. So James just needs to get used to us because he and Roman are bonded now. He’s like an Alpha gathering his pack. I stand with my back pressed against Roman’s chest watching as Pete pulls James over to the break room table, making sure he gets introduced to everybody and has a plate of food. I really do have the best friends.
Even Ryan is making time for James. Roman sat him down a few days ago and told him what was happening. He was pretty angry at first, naturally. He couldn’t believe that Roman would forgive James so easily, but once Ro explained how he understood what sixteen-year-old James was going through and how he doesn’t want to hold onto any anger or resentment, Ryan had no choice but to follow his brother’s lead. This is his chance to start his life over and he wants to do it with a clean slate. Nobody can argue with that.
So, there is Ryan showing James pictures of his dogs, most likely dressed in Pete's designs. Seeing James physically relax around everyone gives me the opportunity to slip my hand into Roman’s and pull him out of the break room and over to the private enclosed workstation that Pete has set up for me.
“I know you said no, but hear me out.” I direct him to sit on my pre-wrapped bench. He already looks skeptical but I’m prepared for that. Moving between his legs, I rest my hands on his thighs. “The thought of branding my name on your beautiful cock makes me so fucking hard. You are it for me, Ro. There is no going back and this belongs to me,” I whisper, dropping my lips to his as I cup his cock, feeling it twitch under my palm. His answering groan has me pushing my tongue further into his mouth.
“I want you to bite my neck, so I can have Gavin tattoo it on me,” I whisper against his lips, then reluctantly pull away to grab the sketches I made to show him.