Chapter Thirty-Five
S lade
There were yells in the background, screams. Someone was telling me to stop, but I couldn’t. I was in a rage. Elijah’s face was bloodied and bruising, but I couldn’t stop. His eyes were closed shut, and his lips were bleeding.
But I couldn’t stop, not until I heard a voice in the background, a gentle hand on my shoulder, pulling me back. “Slade, you need to stop.” It was her.
I shrugged her hand off, pulled my fist back, and got off of him. Then a whole new rage took over, all directed at her.
“This was another secret you’re keeping from me?” Despite my anger, she managed to stay calm. She was too calm. Something was off with her, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
She looked down at Elijah and winced. “Yes.”
“Why are you keeping so much from me? I should’ve known about this years ago. Then I would’ve thrown him out on his ass, like the trash he is.”
“This is exactly why I didn’t. I’m not stupid, Slade. He’s your best friend. I’m not getting in the way of a friendship that has been alive for years. He’s loyal to you. Maybe not in that moment, but for the most part he has been loyal to you. He didn’t get far. Markus was able to stop him. I’ve learned to cope with it. I’ve even learned to forgive him. I’ve suffered through far worse and managed to live through it. If you want to continue to pummel him to a pulp, that’s on you. But I guarantee that you will not only lose him, you’ll lose the others around here who have become your family. If you want to take down my father, then you need to put your pain aside and suck it up. You need him, and you need everyone else here.” After she said her two cents, she walked out of the compound like she had never been here in the first place.
Something was off with her, and I would find out. I controlled my breathing and turned back to Elijah, a crowd brewing around us. “If you want to remain my friend , you won’t go near her again. I’m serious this time. I’ve handled your smart ass comments about her, but I won’t put up with you putting your hands on her. Even if it was years ago. She’s suffered through enough at the hands of men. Keep your fucking distance.”
I met the eyes of each one of my family members. “If any of you so much as think about talking shit to her, I’ll kick your ass out on the street. I’m about to make my move and take back what is mine. Throne and all. If you want to remain loyal then back the fuck off.”
I left Elijah bleeding on the floor, letting a few of our friends flock him and help him up. After everything I’ve done for him— getting him off the street when his parents kicked him out, bonding him out after getting cracked up on coke, to being a friend, a brother— I thought I could trust him with my life.
I meant what I said. I’ll stay his friend, but the trust I had given him, the trust he earned, is gone. He’d been lying to me for years. She has been lying to me for years.
I was fucking over it. She won’t keep a secret like that and get away with it. This time, she was going to be punished.
RAVEN
Fucking Elijah.
I had to give him credit, I never thought he would have the balls to come out and say what he did. I’d learned to let go and forgive a long time ago. While what he did was wrong, it was something I was able to overcome quickly. Everything else in my life; the things with Father and Zeke were unforgivable.
I got back to my room, pissed and flustered. I was trying to handle everything here. Trying to prepare for my life to take an even more drastic turn. Then Lewis called me and told me Slade had gone ballistic, so I dropped everything and took off to the compound.
When I’d showed up, there was a crowd gathered around them, and he had Elijah on his back, being pummeled to a bloody pulp. Slade wasn’t someone you pissed off. I knew that once he found out, if he ever did, he would lose his shit. And that’s exactly what happened. What I didn’t expect to happen was for Slade to believe me. That rarely ever happened in those situations.
I turned on the light and released a small scream when Slade’s angry gaze met mine. I quickly shut my door and locked it. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
His gaze hardened on mine, and I gulped. I did not want his anger directed at me, but I knew it would happen eventually, especially with what I had planned for Saturday. His knuckles were still bloody and clenched into fists.
He took a step forward. His gaze never wavered; those silver eyes were full of anger, wanting to take it out on me. Something was urging me to run for the hills, to not let him get his hands on me, but the other part of me, the irrational part, wanted him to take control.
Another step forward.
I moved, and my back hit the door.
Another step towards me.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” He enunciated each word, shooting daggers in my direction. If he got his hands on me, it was over.
“If I would’ve told you right then, when it happened, would you have believed me?”
That was the hundred dollar question, and I was scared to death of his answer. “Yes.”
Another step.
I didn’t have anything to say; I just stood there waiting for him to make his move. I already knew what was on his mind. He wanted to punish me for keeping that secret for so many years. I wished I could pick his brain and figure out what he was thinking. He was pissed, sure, but he was silent, barely saying a word.
He stood right in front of me, his chest brushing against mine. His hardened gaze looked down on me, void of any emotion, and all I could do was stand there and wait. I wasn’t going to fight him. If he wanted to get his anger out on me, then fine. I could use him for that, too. Because I was still angry at him. Making me go through with this all so he could get back the crown, was fucking crazy.
He bent down, lifted me over his shoulders, turned the shower on and placed me in there, clothes and all. A scream escaped my lips because the water was ice fucking cold. I quickly turned the water to scalding hot, and then glared at him. A huge grin came onto his face as if he was proud of himself. Motherfucker.
He took off his shirt, the grin fading slowly from his lips and turning into something more devious, passionate. He unbuckled his belt, taking it off and hanging it on the shower rod. Next were shoes, socks, jeans and underwear. He was standing completely naked in front of me and my breath caught.
Slade was such a gorgeous man. The man underneath the clothes was slim and glistening with sweat, his straight hair clung to his forehead, his silver eyes watching me closely. Tattoos covered his body, mostly on his arms and back, with a skull covering his heart.
My fingers itched to reach out and touch him. I didn’t bother trying to take off my clothes, they were stuck to me like honey stuck to everything. My core was aching for him, my lips were starving for his, and I just wanted him to touch me. All over. But I had a feeling he had other plans.
He stepped into the shower, just staring at me like I was a picture he would never grow tired of.
I moved further into the water; the warmth cascading over me like a blanket on a cold winter’s night. His fingers brushed against my skin when he helped me get the shirt over my head. He threw it on the white, marble floor and it landed with a loud thump. I unclasped my bra, and it went next, along with my slip on shoes, pants and underwear.
We were both standing there, silently waiting on the other to make a move. But this was his show, and I was just wanting him to take complete control. If I was to go through with the wedding like I planned, my time with Slade was winding to a close. So I was going to take full advantage of the moment.
He reached for the belt and turned me so I was facing the faucet. The leather looped around my neck, and he tightened it in a chokehold. One hand was on the belt, holding it in place and pulling it if I got out of line. The other hand trailed down my middle, going to my favorite spot.
Without warning, his finger entered me, moving in deeply, a moan escaping my lips. The bathroom was getting warm because of the steam from the shower, and it made me that much more susceptible to his desires.
His finger came up and pinched my nipple, hard, and a groan escaped my lips. “Are you going to keep a secret from me again?”
If I get this kind of reward for it... Definitely.
The hand that held the belt tightened on the end as he pulled my head so it rested on his chest. The water came down on us as he had spread my legs apart and shoved inside. His fist grabbed my hair and pulled as he went harder and faster.
The feeling was incredible. Our bodies were moving in sync, and I didn’t even care that he was taking full advantage of me. Suddenly he pulled out, turned me to face him and kissed me like his last breath depended on it. His tongue sought entrance, and I opened for him. He entered me once again, and I was gone. I couldn’t take it anymore, and neither could he. We came together and rode off the high we were on. Then his touch became gentle as he removed the leather from my neck. His gaze went from hardened and menacing to an emotion I hadn't quite seen from him in a long time.
Love.
He removed the imaginary mask from his face and let me see everything. The wall came down and he just let me have it. “You should have told me. You should’ve trusted me enough to tell me what happened. Elijah can be a dick, but he went too far. He should’ve never touched what was mine, and I’ll never forgive him for that.”
I closed my eyes and just listened. I was getting tired of fighting everything and everyone around me. My body was so heavy from all the stress that was placed upon me. I didn’t want to marry Zeke. I wanted so badly to be with Slade. I wanted a future for us; to be able to raise Julianna together as a family. Not this separated monstrosity and fear of whether or not I would get to keep my daughter.
“Open your eyes, Rav.”
I opened them, and he cupped my jaw. “I need you to go through with this wedding.”
I tried to pull back, but he didn’t let me. “Hear me. I need you to go through with this wedding. All the way up until you’re about to say I do.”
I held my breath...
”And then I’ll make my move.”
There were so many questions I had for him, but I just nodded.
“You saw everything in that file I gave you, but I don’t think you truly understood what you were looking at.”
I thought back to that moment, the moment he had handed me the file. My mind was going crazy, trying to think of how I could be free, that I never processed the DNA results.
And then it hit me...
Father wasn’t my biological father.
He was Slade’s.
My mind started racing, and I collapsed against him.