32. Chapter 28
Eli
“Don’t stop,” Zoe whimpers in my ear.
“Not even in a million years, Raven,” I reply, thrusting into her even harder.
The bed in her bedroom creaks, and I make a mental note to replace it. If this keeps up, we’ll eventually have to do it. So, I might as well get us one made of the hardest steel right away. Or stone. That would be something.
Lifting myself up, I grab first one of her legs, then the other, and place them on my shoulders. This allows for even deeper penetration. She rewards me with louder moans.
Her pussy is deliciously soft and warm. So slick with her juices. It couldn’t be more perfect. If I could, I would slip all the way inside her and stay there forever.
“You’re so sexy when you writhe beneath me,” I say in a deep voice. We both know what that voice does to her.
She gasps my name, throwing her head back.
My fingers brush her hair off her forehead. “Jesus, that feels so good. You have no idea what you’re doing to me, Raven. You’re a siren who’s summoned me to be her servant.”
“More…”
And I give her more. Everything I have.
The sound of flesh slapping flesh fills the room.
“Can you hear that, sweetheart? Hear how insatiable I am for you. Feel how hard I am because of you. For you. Every drop of sweat is proof that I need your pleasure. Touch me.”
Zoe’s nails dig into my shoulders, bringing comfort. It’s not pain. It’s relief in its purest form.
“Eli, please…”
“I know. Just a little longer. Let me have my fill. You’re so close, I can feel it. You’re clinging to me like you want to strangle me. Choke my cock.”
The tingling in my balls grows alarmingly fast. I can already see the climax we’re heading toward.
Creak… Creak…
This bed won’t last much longer either.
I reach down with my hand between her thighs. Running between the lips of her pussy, I smear the evidence of her arousal all over.
“You’re so fucking wet for me.”
My thumb presses against her clit.
“Oh my God! Oh my God!”
“Look at me. I want to see you come.” Zoe’s eyes surrender to my will, hazy, filled with desire, with need.
It takes just three circles of that one finger on her little button, and a scream bursts from Zoe’s throat.
She calls out my name. It’s the most beautiful melody I’ve ever heard in my life.
But I don’t stop. I keep massaging her, even as she clenches around my cock even tighter. My thrusts keep going.
The sight of my woman in ecstasy is enough to make me lose control. And I let go.
The current surging through me makes my toes curl. I thought only women could experience this, but I was wrong. My insides explode and my brain stops functioning. I thrust into her one last time and freeze in that position with a drawn-out moan on my lips.
Jesus fucking Christ!
I let the orgasm tear me apart and then put me back together again.
Every time I have sex with Zoe is different; every time, it brings something new to our relationship. But what happened today, right now, is sheer insanity.
My lips collide greedily with hers, and it feels like my last breath. Perhaps that’s precisely it.
As the last waves of orgasm wash over me, I pull out of her. Even though I don’t want to. Not at all.
Her firm breasts heave with the same intensity as just a moment ago. Zoe is gasping for breath, her skin glistening with sweat. The sight alone gives me as much satisfaction as giving her another orgasm.
I force myself to get out of bed. The urge to take care of my woman is stronger, so I bring a damp towel from the bathroom to clean her up. However, the thought of her walking around all day with my cum oozing from her pussy down those luscious thighs is hot.
“Did you hear that?” Zoe asks as I rub the towel over her labia.
“No. What is it?”
“I think someone’s knocking.”
“I’ll go get it.” I start to get up, but she stops me.
“What if it’s Ash? I’ll go.”
Not to ruin the mood, but I couldn’t care less if it’s Ash. Or Ryker. Or anyone else. It’s about time everyone found out.
But it’s already too late. Zoe throws on a long sweatshirt before she opens the bedroom door.
I throw on a T-shirt too, pull on my pants, and follow her.
“Who is it?” I ask from the hallway.
“No one. They left a package outside.”
Before I can say a word, Zoe is standing at the kitchen island, a box on the counter, pulling on a red ribbon.
Damien immediately comes to mind. This guy has to go.
Zoe lifts the lid of the box and peeks inside. She gasps loudly, her hands flying to her mouth.
It doesn’t look good. Quite the opposite. She’s terrified. Still, she can’t take her eyes off whatever’s inside.
“Zoe?” I rush over to her, peek inside, and turn her to face me. My arms wrap around her in a hug so she won’t look.
Inside, on fancy paper, lies…
Zoe takes a step back. Her fingers tremble.
It isn’t breathing… Severed. Bloodied. The head of a little kitten.
Next to it lies a piece of paper folded in half.
A package similar to the one with Ortega’s head.
A coincidence?
Reaching out, I pull it out.
“I know what you did, kitty. An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth. Your head for Owen’s.”
“Fuck!” An agonizing chill pierces my body.
No, it’s not the same person. Someone else…
“What’s wrong, Eli?”
Someone has found her. Someone has marked her.
And somebody has just signed their own death warrant.
“We need to meet with Ryker. Right now. We’re not the only ones who know about Owen.”
My mind won’t stop racing. Who could have sent Zoe that shit? Who knows?
Ryker opens the door as soon as we step out of the elevator.
Zoe’s hand lands in mine, and I squeeze it, trying to reassure her. This won’t be an easy meeting, but it’s necessary.
“Hi, Ryker,” she greets him.
“Hi, Zoe. Come in. We’re all here.”
That means Theo got here before us. That’s good.
The sisters greet each other, but there’s tension in the air. Ash glances out of the corner of her eye at our clasped hands, saying nothing for now.
Theo is Theo—spare with his words and manner.
We sit down, and I get straight to the point. “We’re in trouble. Someone wants Zoe dead.”
“What?” Ash blurts out first, her hands closing into fists. Her eyes are wide.
Ryker and Theo exchange a look, instantly suspecting Veirix and Damien. I reassure them, “It’s not that. It’s something else.”
“What do you mean, ‘it’s not that’?” Ash presses, still looking at each of us.
Here we go.
Ry takes a deep breath. “Little Killer, I have to tell you something. Last time we were all here, we agreed we needed a mole. Zoe had met Damien earlier and came to me with a proposal.”
Ash’s furious gaze falls on Zoe, who merely raises her head defiantly. Then Ryker’s wife bursts into a laugh that makes my blood run cold.
“Let me clarify,” she speaks slowly. “My sister, my only family, came to you to enter a nest of fucking vipers, killers, drug dealers, mobsters… And you agreed to it?”
Ryker nods. I have to admit, the guy’s got balls not to flinch under her freezing gaze. I’m almost certain if she had a knife within reach, she wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
“And in all these weeks, you didn’t find a chance to tell me about this?”
“We have everything under control,” Zoe interjects. “I always have a bug, an SOS transmitter, a tracker.”
“That doesn’t make the situation safe,” her sister replies.
Zoe snorts. “That’s exactly why you didn’t know. Because you’d do everything in your power to stop it.”
“You can bet I would have.” Then she turns back to her husband, pointing an accusing finger. “You didn’t tell me.”
“I admit it was a shitty move. You should have known, But we all knew how you’d react.” Ryker’s words do nothing to calm her.
“Theo. I heard you have a funeral home on speed dial. Is that true?” Ash changes the subject.
“Sure. Why do you ask?”
“Because I’ll be a widow by the end of the night,” she snaps. “I’ll kill you, Jackal. I give you my word that this time you’ll end up with my knife in your throat, and it won’t be just another foreplay.”
The desire etched on Ryker’s face is obvious to everyone. It turns him on…
“We’ll come back to this, Shadow,” he says to his wife. “The subject is closed. Tomorrow is Zoe’s last date.”
“What the fuck?” My eyes dart from my brother to my woman. “Abso-fucking-lutely not.”
“Calm down. We’ve been through this before, Eli,” Zoe says.
“But back then you didn’t have a target on your head.” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them.
Zoe flinches. “This is the last time. I promise.”
Theo’s question is direct and sharp. His eyes are appraising. “I just don’t get why. What will this last time give us that the others didn’t?”
Thanks, bro! At least someone besides me is thinking about this.
Zoe isn’t giving up, though. “I said this is my last date with Damien.”
My gut tells me something’s off here. And judging by Theo’s expression, he senses it in the air too.
Ash can’t take it anymore. “Apparently, no one in this room cares what I have to say, but I’m against it too. If it’s not Damien, then who? Are you finally going to tell us what’s going on?”
I pull my phone out of my pocket, select a photo, and toss the device onto the table. Ryker grabs it first, then Theo, and Ash last.
A deathly silence fills the apartment.
“Someone delivered this to Zoe’s apartment this morning.” The person who delivered it already knew the address, her identity, and the truth.
“Who is Owen?” Ry asks.
Zoe’s heavy sigh begins her confession. To everyone’s astonishment, she tells the story of her childhood, her tormentors, and the horror of the foster home.
Ash first turns as white as a sheet, and then, with every word her sister speaks, her eyes well up.
Tears stream down her face, but she doesn’t stop; she doesn’t say a word, only clenches her jaw and fists.
Ryker moves closer to her. Putting his arm around her, he offers silent support, and she accepts it.