Chapter 24 Wylder
WYLDER
My temper rises as I open the door to the Hospitality Suite to be greeted by three dead bodies. “Seriously?”
“Don’t worry,” Samson says, wiping his liberally blood-covered face with a rag. Cade is in a similar state but isn’t bothering to wipe it off. “Mark here spilled all the beans.”
I draw up next to tiny-eyed guy. At least, I assume it’s him. Hard to tell with no face, but this is the table he was strapped to. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” Matthias answers. There’s not a drop of blood on him, but I don’t like the shade of pale he’s turned.
Good thing Wyatt is just upstairs. Nothing brings my brother back to life like Wyatt Malone.
Well, Wyatt Buckingham now. “We have the name and location of the boss, plus information about his security detail. They fucked up when they sent these three here.”
“See? We can handle it,” Dalton says pointedly. Like Samson and Cade, he too is covered in blood. Probably caused a lot of it, if I’m being honest. “We don’t need you babysitting.”
I stiffen. “No one said you did.”
“Come on.” Cade slaps a hand on my shoulder. “We all know you think we’d fall apart without you, and okay, we would, but you don’t have to shoulder so much of the responsibility. It’s not all on you. We have told you this before. We meant it then, and we mean it now.”
My eyes narrow. “Wait, has Neo said something?”
The awkward silence that follows tells me that Neo has, indeed, been interfering.
I can’t decide whether I want to throttle or kiss him for it.
Who am I kidding? It’s the latter. Even if my feelings toward Neo hadn’t changed, I’d still feel…touched. How could I not?
It’s been a long time since I’ve had someone try to look after me. Someone who goes out of their way to do so.
Suddenly, I need to be back with him, to take him away from this mess and hold him for a little while. “Can I leave you to finish up here?”
I struggle to get every word past my lips, my father’s voice ringing in my ears, berating me for even daring to think of leaving them to it.
But there’s another voice that’s louder, encouraging me to put myself first, to be a little selfish.
A voice that sounds an awful lot like a certain blue-haired brat.
There’s a beat of stunned silence before Samson nods. “Yeah. We’ve got this. Go see your man. We can meet after breakfast.”
“A late breakfast,” Cade adds. “There are still a few hours until dawn, and I need to shower and fuck Ansel before I can get more sleep.”
Samson smirks. “You know, you only need to do one of those things.”
“You’d think that, but Ansel complains if I get into bed covered in blood.” He winks before nodding his head at the door. “Go, Brother. We’ve got this.”
Neo is sitting at the kitchen table with Harley, Ansel, Wyatt, and Jackson. Despite the darkness outside, Jules is at the stove, scrambling eggs.
I consider telling him Cade is planning a late breakfast, but decide against it. No food will go to waste, not in this house.
And definitely not if it’s been cooked by Jules. Even if his meals weren’t heaven-sent, Harley would break out some torture of his own if we left it uneaten.
It’s funny; Harley isn’t really one for torture generally. Don’t get me wrong, he sometimes joins in, and with enthusiasm, but more often than not, he’s happy to let the rest of us take the lead. In fact, he’s the most laid-back of all of us.
Except where Jules is concerned.
God forbid anything ever happens to that man. I’m not sure what I’d have to do to keep Harley under control.
I don’t think I’d be able to.
Neo blinks up at me with owlish eyes. “That was fast.”
I stop beside his chair, my hand finding its way to his nape automatically. “The others have got it from here.”
Neo’s grin moves slowly across his face. “You’re letting them handle it?”
“They’re more than capable,” I say stiffly. “As they keep reminding me.”
My arms are suddenly full of Neo. He pushes his face close to my ear, whispering quietly, “Fucking proud of you, darling.”
I pull back so I can see his face. “You didn’t call me dude.”
“Didn’t feel right. Can’t call you tiny-dick man either, not now that I know it’s not true.”
Harley wrinkles his nose. “Fuck no. Could’ve lived without knowing that about my brother, but thanks.”
I’m too focused on what Neo said to respond. The words he used. I open my mouth to ask him, but suddenly I’m aware of the many listening ears. Bending, I lift Neo over my shoulder and stride from the room. I don’t stop until I’m in my bedroom, the door firmly locked behind us.
Neo’s a little breathless as I steady him on his feet. “What was all that about?”
“Needed to get you alone.”
“Really…” His fingers drag down my chest, finding the straps for the vest and beginning to undo them. “For something fun, I hope?”
“What did you mean?” I blurt out, unable to hold back the question any longer.
Neo is still unstrapping the vest. “Hmm?”
“What you said before,” I say, impatiently shoving the vest over my head and letting it fall to the floor. An earlier version of me would care about the mess, but this version? He only cares about hearing Neo’s answer. “About calling me dude not feeling right.”
He gives me a quizzical look. “Are you okay? Did one of those fuckers get up and knock you in the head or something?”
Neo turns toward the door, as if he’s about to march down to the basement and demand answers. I catch his wrist before he can take a step.
“No.” I sigh in frustration. It’s times like these when I wish it were easier to express myself. “You said calling me dude doesn’t feel right. But darling does?”
Understanding dawns in his eyes, followed quickly by a flush over his cheekbones. “I didn’t mean… It’s just…”
His gaze darts over his shoulder like he’s planning an escape. I grab both his shoulders firmly. “Hey, did it feel right when you called me darling?”
“Yes, okay? Jesus. Torture it out of me. Fine, it did.” He folds his arms over his chest mutinously. “I’m not saying I’m in love with you or anything, so there’s no need to freak out.”
“Neo…” I catch his chin with my hand, my mouth lowering to hover over his. “Do I look like I’m freaking out?”
“No, but you rarely do. You’re like a fucking fortress sometimes. Stone walling everyone while no one knows what’s happening inside.”
“That’s not true. You do.”
He opens his mouth to argue, but I swoop in to kiss him. I take his mouth aggressively, my tongue erasing the words he was about to say. My lips are assuring him he’s not the only one in this. With each movement, I tell him the words I want to say out loud.
It’s surprisingly easy.
Neo pulls away and gives me a wry smile. “I’m guessing you prefer ‘darling’ to ‘dude,’ then?”
I growl, backing him up against the wall. “You’re fucking right I do.”
My mouth finds his again as I pin him to the hard surface. It’s not enough. He’s not close enough.
Impatient, I reach down without breaking our kiss and grab his legs. I lift him until he’s at my height. His legs wrap around my waist, pulling us flush.
There. That’s better.
“Wylder,” he moans against my lips. “We have things to do. We should—”
“No.” I cut him off, nipping along his jaw. “Everything can wait.”
Neo’s mouth pops open. “But there’s work to be done. Important work. I know your brothers are taking care of the…guests, but we need to plan. You have the name and location, right? God, please tell me you got those before Samson—”
Once again, I interrupt him with a kiss. I kiss him until he’s breathless and rocking against me. Only then do I pull back and speak. “Everything can wait, Neo. Right now, there’s nothing more important to me than you.”
His Adam’s apple bobs. “Me?”
“You,” I whisper, my hands palming his taut cheeks. “You could’ve been taken from me tonight. If you’d been in your room, if you hadn’t set the traps, if the alarm hadn’t gone off…”
“Ssh, love.” His hands cup my face. “None of that happened.”
“But it could’ve.” My monster is furious that they made it so far onto the grounds, let alone to Neo’s window.
“I’m here,” Neo croons, stroking my stubble. “Don’t worry. Not anymore. Right now, just remind us both that we’re safe.”
Yes. Now that’s an idea both my monster and I are on board with.
I can’t stop kissing him. Devouring him. Eventually though, Neo breaks away. “Please, Wylder. Please don’t make me wait.”
“Say it. Call me it again.”
He meets my gaze. “Darling. Darling. Darling.”
Every time he calls me that, I become a little more untethered. No, that’s not right. I’m becoming more tethered.
But instead of being attached to myself, I’m attached to Neo.
I find I like it.
I turn and drop him onto the bed, quickly stripping him of his clothes.
Kneeling between his legs, I bring his cock into my mouth.
I suck on him fast and hard as my finger slips down and swirls around his hole, pressing against it.
He’s leaning back on the bed, arching his hips up, begging for more, for me to fuck him.
But I want to give him this.
I want to take it all, swallow it down, consume it.
One of his hands slides into my hair, and he tugs, moving my head just the way he wants it. And I let him, let him take control.
His moans are desperate little things, needy and loud.
He comes with my name on his lips, and this time I don’t pull off.
I drink him down, swallowing his essence, feeling him inside of me as I wring him dry.
It’s only when he pulls a trembling hand from my hair that he utters, “I’m dead.”
“Don’t die. I need you alive.”
He groans, his body going limp, his arm thrown over his face.
I tap him gently on the hip. “I need to get up and get to work. So do you.”
He pops an eye open. “Did you come?”
I adjust myself, and my tongue peeks out, wetting my lips. “No.”
“Come on, then. Give it to me so you can focus.”
“No,” I reply. “That’s my motivation. To get this taken care of so I can fuck you again.”
“Oh my god, so dramatic.” But I see the smile he wears. He likes the idea. “All right, but let’s get some sleep first though. I suspect we’re going to need all the rest we can get with what’s ahead.”
He pulls me in for a long kiss and then tugs the covers over us. I wrap my arms around him, my clothed body flush against his naked one, my nose in his hair, breathing him in.
I almost take him right then. It would be so easy to slot my cock between his cheeks. But I decide against it.
I wasn’t kidding. I want this Umbra situation dealt with, and then I can fucking relax. And I will.
With Neo.