Chapter 48
CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT
KNOX
G riffin’s head pulls back as I frown at Raven’s confession. “What’re you talking about, Darlin’?”
Raven’s voice drops to a whisper. “The judge issued a court order that sent me to Mystic River Psychiatric Hospital.”
I knew Raven had secrets. We all do. But I didn’t expect this. She’s gone through more than anyone should ever have to, and she’s still fighting.
My mouth remains agape, unsure of what to say.
“So, that’s how you knew Seth and Alice,” Griffin deduces.
“Yeah,” Raven confirms. “We weren’t best friends or anything, but I knew them. They never would have done anything like this on their own.”
Raven’s eyes are distant. “I wasn’t there long, but it was long enough. Dr. Whitlock…he…he’s evil. After a couple of weeks, he brought me to his office, and he injected me with something. It made my whole body feel heavy. I couldn’t move.”
I don’t like where this is going…
“That was the first time he forced himself on me. I could feel everything, but I couldn’t push him away or even talk.
It became a regular thing. He’d call me his ‘Blackbird.’ One time, he saw me fighting with an orderly, so the next time I was in his office, he didn’t drug me. He seemed to get off on my struggle.”
My jaw tenses, but I force myself to relax so I can speak. “Do you think it’s him that’s behind all of this? Does he know you’re in town?”
Griffin and I have hated Lewis for years. Then he became more of an inconvenience with the pills, but now…now, he’s a dead man. He’s living on borrowed time.
“I’ve run into him a few times. Once at the grocery store and once in the library, but I don’t think he recognized me.”
We all sit with that for a moment, debating if Lewis is out for revenge. He has a reason to hate each of us. Griffin and me for the death of Scarlett, and Raven for leaving, even though she was actually kidnapped. But there’s nothing to indicate he’s aware of that fact.
“What happened next?” I prompt her.
“I just wanted it to stop,” Raven cries. “But I couldn’t make Dr. Whitlock stop. Eventually, it felt like there was only one way out.”
My stomach turns as my shoulders tighten.
Raven continues her story, which is quickly becoming my worst nightmare. “I was able to snag a pair of scissors and sneak them back into my room.”
Griffin’s breathing increases, causing his chest to push Raven further toward me. A sense of dread creeps up my shoulders to my neck.
“I cut my wrist once, but it wasn’t very deep. That’s all I was able to do before an orderly found me.” Raven licks her lips as shame swathes her in a tight embrace.
I know how the story goes. I know her attempt wasn’t completed because she’s here, which is what I have to remind myself of, like a broken record.
Keeping her hands on my chest, I slide one of my own to her chest. I lay my palm flat over the left side of her chest because I need to make sure it’s working.
Raven is here. She’s in my house. She’s in my arms. She’s alive.
Griffin props himself up on his elbow so he can see Raven’s face better. “I know it’s not what you wanted at the time, but I’m happy you were caught. It’s selfish but fuck it. I’ll be selfish. I need you here. I need your smile, your sassy attitude, and your sweet, sweet body.”
I chime in, adding to Griffin’s reasoning, “I need you to argue with me. I need the space you hold for me so I can unleash all my bottled-up feelings. I need to hold you at the end of every day as we fall asleep together.”
Raven gulps and gives us what we’re desperate for. “I need you too. Both of you.” Her gaze flips back and forth between Griffin and me.
She clears her throat and finishes her story.
“Then one night, I was taken from my bed. That’s when I was kidnapped and taken to New York.
Over the years, I was able to gather that my parents were trying to sell my brother.
I think Noah found out somehow, and that’s why they fought.
Anthony Cole and Pierce Murphy were angry when Noah was murdered, so they took me instead. ”
My vision blurs, and my body feels cold. I never thought a single person could go through so much, but she has. She’s leaped over every hurdle, knocked down every wall. She’s so strong, so beautiful.
Mystified, Griffin asks, “Why come back?”
“I couldn’t let him get away with it. I know I wasn’t the only one. I came back to figure out how to shut down the hospital.”
Leaning forward, I ask a question of my own. “Why not just go to the police or the press? You could’ve told your story.”
“Who would believe me? I’d be labeled a crazy person, just like they’re doing to Seth and Alice. No one believes someone with a mental health disorder.” Raven shakes her head and looks down at her hands, avoiding eye contact. “So, now you know.”
My eyebrows scrunch together. “Know what?”
“I’m a monster.”
It’s the final blow to my chest. Everything Raven has been through was done to her.
She was reacting just like any other person would.
And I’m man enough to admit that she has handled it all with more resilience than I ever could.
Raven has more fortitude in her entire body than I have in my left pinky.
And she thinks that makes her a monster? Impossible.
“You’re amazing. I must’ve done something right in a previous life because there’s no way any deity would bring you into my life otherwise,” I whisper reverently. “I love you.”
Raven gasps.
Griffin uses his hand to sweep Raven’s hair out of the way. “I don’t deserve you, but I’m not letting you go. I know that makes me an asshole, but I don’t care. I love you.”
Raven’s eyes widen, and her hand covers her mouth.
“But you both know everything now. How can you look at me and?—”
Griffin grips Raven’s shoulder and rolls her onto her back. “If you’re a monster, then consider this my offering.”
He lifts her shirt, revealing her lack of panties, and propels himself forward, digging his face in her pussy.
Raven gasps, her hands diving into Griffin’s hair. She throws her head back, thrashing about from the onslaught of pleasure.
I sit her up and slide behind her. My back rests against the headboard as Raven lies on my chest. Her legs are spread wide, accommodating Griffin’s broad shoulders.
Taking hold of the hem of her shirt, I lift it over her head. The cool air of the bedroom brushes across the tips of her breasts, causing them to pebble.
Raven moans as I slide my hands to her stomach and drag them up to her tits. Holding one in each hand, I stroke my thumbs over her tender peaks.
I create a path with my lip, exploring her shoulder and neck with my mouth. A shiver travels up her spine when I find her sensitive spot and give it extra attention.
Raven’s breaths speed up, and she squirms as she gets closer to the pinnacle of her pleasure.
Griffin lifts his head, pulling her back from the brink of her release. “Tell me a secret, Raven. Tell me the secret I want to hear.”
Outraged by her denial, Raven sends Griffin a withering stare. “What!”
Griffin drags a finger down her slit, flicking her clit. “Tell me and I’ll let you come.”
Raven bites her lip and clears her throat excessively. Her hesitancy is clear on her face. She squeezes her eyes closed, inhaling and exhaling, and when they open again, her anxiety is gone.
Raven sits forward and tilts Griffin’s chin up. She brushes her lips against his and gazes into his eyes. “I love you.” Griffin rests his forehead against hers, savoring Raven’s words.
When they part, Raven reclines back, lying on me again, and cranes her neck to look at me. She places her hand on my face, guiding my mouth to hers. She coaxes my mouth open, her sweet honey exploding over my tongue.
Raven breaks our kiss, her ocean-blue eyes peering into mine. With three little words, she gives me the most precious gift.
“I love you.”
I attack her mouth, shoving my tongue inside. My fingers resume playing and teasing her nipples. She moans into my mouth as the slopping sounds of Griffin eating Raven’s pussy reverberate in the room.
We quickly bring Raven to her peak. She curls her toes, arching her neck as she shatters into a million pieces.
When Raven’s body relaxes, she reaches for my cock, but I stop her, grabbing her wrist. She whines, “I want to return the favor.”
“I don’t want reciprocation.”
“But—”
Griffin cuts Raven off, “This wasn’t about us, Sunshine. This was for you. Just you.”
The confusion on her face is a stab to my chest. She’s never had sex where it was for her or about her.
Griffin and I look at each other, the same thought circulating between us. Our nod is a vow. A promise to do stuff like this more often.
I extricate myself from Raven and grab a wet cloth from the adjoining bathroom. When I come back, Griffin has slipped the shirt back over her head. I push her knees apart and wipe away her glistening arousal.
I toss the cloth into the bathroom and lie back down in bed. Positioning Raven on her side, I pull her close, and Griffin wraps himself around her.
Raven rests her hand on my chest, and I envelop it with my own. I press my lips to her fingers, savoring the rapture of her afterglow.
A feeling settles in my chest, making everything feel right. With this feeling comes a truth that I believe with every fiber of my being.
Raven is our forever.