Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
DAMON
Leon’s outside smoking a cigarette when we get back. He spots the takeout bag and tips his chin in our direction. “Was wondering why it was so quiet inside.”
“Brought you home an egg sandwich.” I lift the bag up like an offering. “I had to get Jas out of the house. You’re next.”
He takes the bag and we head inside. While Jasper and I sit on the couch, Leon grabs an energy drink from the fridge. “I let the club fuck up get to my head. Now that I see Jasper’s up and moving, I’ll feel better about doing the same.”
“Aww, you were worried about me?” Jas teases. Leon rolls his eyes and sits on the couch with us.
“Of course, you bloody idiot. It’s my fault you almost died.” He unwraps his sandwich and takes a bite, keeping his eyes low. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself.”
“Fuck ups happen,” I say, squeezing his shoulder. “Next time we plan better, that’s all.”
“At least we have Blake now,” Jasper says. “She patched me up nice.”
That’s my woman.
“She did do a good job,” Leon says. “Everything going okay with her?” They both stare me down. It’s not like I fuck up that much. Some women haven’t loved some of my tendencies. But that just meant they weren’t the one.
“Everything’s great. She’ll be by this week to check up on Jas. I actually have a favor to ask though.” He chews a bite of his sandwich slowly while a smug grin starts to form.
“What is it? You need help setting up cameras in her house? Didn’t Jasper do that already?”
Jasper’s distracted on his phone and doesn’t hear his name mentioned. “It’s not that. I need help finding someone. I tried last night with the information that I have but came up short.”
He crosses his arms over his chest and leans back. “So what you’re saying is… you need help from the master?”
“I refuse to call you that,” I huff.
He chuckles, all arrogant and obnoxious. This is why Jasper’s my favorite. For today. Until he pisses me off too.
“I’m just messing with you. Grab my computer. I’ll find whoever it is.”
It takes Leon less than ten minutes to find our guy. I hate to admit it, but he is the master. He won’t hear it from my lips, though.
“Why did you need to find this guy?” he asks while I take down all the information on my phone. Jasper’s ears perk up too.
“He hurt Blake and I’m gonna make him regret it.” There’s no beating around the bush. That’s what it is, plain and simple. You hurt what’s mine and you face the consequences.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Leon says. “Shouldn’t you be watching the club today?”
“I forgot to tell you, I got in touch with that PI, Ray. He’s in. I gave him a brief update on the phone but told him you’d get in touch from a more secure device.”
“That’s good,” Jasper says. “I know he didn’t find much at first but maybe he’s gotten better.”
“I suppose it can’t hurt. Just try not to get too distracted. We need you.” Leon’s smug expression turns serious and I nod.
“Don’t worry, finding Bailey is still my top priority. She’s my little sister too, in every way that matters.” Saying it out loud makes a nice, fat pang of guilt grow heavy in my gut. It’s selfish to want time with Blake when I should keep my focus on Bailey. I know that. But she came out of left field and I can’t let her go. I refuse to. She’s under my skin, running through my veins, squeezing my heart until I’m weak. When I’m not near her, I physically ache. It’s not a choice anymore. I have to be with Blake. If we need to make accommodations to our plans then so be it.
Jasper stands and slowly stretches his shoulders with a groan. “So, who are we killing today?”
Lucky for me, Trevor lives a few towns north in the next county. If I had to travel far that wouldn’t be ideal, not when I had plans with Blake tonight.
“So this Trevor guy was friends with Blake’s brother when they were teenagers and he…” Jasper gestures with his hands rather than saying his thoughts out loud.
“Groomed her and assaulted her. You can say it, Jas. Letting it out will help you when we see his greasy face.” I grip the wheel like I’m pulling a trigger. “I’m gonna need you to keep me calm. You know I can get carried away.”
“Bro, you should have brought Leon. You know I’ve never been the ‘calm down’ friend. I met Blake once and that’s enough for me to want to end this piece of shit. Hell, even if Blake was a complete stranger, I’d still take pleasure in watching the light seep out of his eyes.” Jasper cracks his neck, then his knuckles one by one. He’s right, I should have made Leon come. The two of us unchecked will result in major fuckery.
“Simmer down, killer. I know you’ve been cooped up but we need to be smart. We’re going into a high school, can’t just fucking murder a guy there.”
“What if Leon jams the security cameras? Then can we?” He sounds like a little kid asking for a cookie.
I massage my aching temple and groan. “Christ, I don’t know… maybe? Call him and see if he’s free to help.”
How did I suddenly become the responsible one in this situation?
We pull up to Blake’s old high school. Turns out the Trevor I found during my own search—Mr. Janitor Of The Year— is the guy I was looking for. Interesting that he’s still sticking around fourteen year old girls.
“We should wait until dark,” I say. It looks like there’s still some students and faculty lingering for after school activities. “Can’t take unnecessary risks.”
Jasper nods and takes out his phone to scroll videos. While we wait, I picture a young, impressionable Blake getting off the school bus everyday, walking those front steps, and going through the motions after her innocence was shattered. Did anyone know? The fact that she lost her mother and brother was common knowledge I got from a quick search on the internet, but she was older than fourteen when they passed. Were they there to comfort her?
With each passing minute I grow more and more enraged. I assume Jasper feels the same, as he’s gone quiet since we parked. On one hand, sitting here for all this time let me work on a plan.
Leon: I did what I could with the cameras. I wouldn’t do anything stupid though.
Me: Thanks, man.
Jasper closes out his YouTube video and puts his phone in his pocket. “Do we have a game plan?”
“I think so, just one second. I want to text Blake.” Jasper grins and grabs his mask from the backseat.
Me: If you could say one thing to Trevor, what would it be?
She’s going to know I’m up to something, but it’s too late for her to try and stop me. I heard the vulnerability in her voice last night, saw her tears. What happened to her affected her in every aspect of her life since then. I only wish she were here with me to get revenge herself.
Blake: What are you doing? Where are you?
My phone rings immediately and Blake’s name flashes on my screen. I hit the red button. “Let’s go.”
I nod to Jasper and we get out of the car and start walking toward the maintenance entrance. “What’s Blake saying?”
Me: Answer the question, baby.
Blake: Fine… I’d tell him that he ruined me. That I still see his stupid chest tattoo sometimes when I close my eyes. That he never deserved Bryan’s love.
That right there is exactly what I need to hear. I can’t wait to hold Blake in my arms tonight and bring her the gift of closure. Or better yet, I’ll save it as a special birthday gift.
After dropping Jasper back at the apartment, I drive straight to Blake’s house. I’m exhausted and oddly emotional about getting this closure for her. Normally this kind of thing would get me fired up, but tonight all I want is to comfort Blake. Maybe spank her gorgeous ass too, but in a caring way. Hell, she’s making me soft.
I don’t bother to park around the corner or case the property this time. I’m laser focused on being as close to her as I can in the shortest amount of time. Out of habit, I start to cross the yard but something pinned to the door catches my attention.
It’s a note, stuck onto the weathered wood with some kind of putty.
Stalker,
I thought I’d make your life easier and leave the door unlocked. You know, maybe save these old windows from all the abuse they’ve been getting lately.
See you inside.
If I wasn’t so paranoid about her leaving the door unlocked, I’d laugh. It’s a cute note, but tradition is tradition. I pull it off the door, pocket it and go directly to her bedroom window.
She’s lying prone on her bed with her feet in the air and two different colored highlighters in her hand. Music drifts through the glass panes, a female singer I don’t recognize. I watch her flip through a spiral-bound notebook, underlining hand written notes. Times like this, when she’s in the zone studying, is when she looks most comfortable. Her dark eyes bounce around the page, soaking up information. Her nose scrunches when she reads over something tricky. Sometimes she’ll even narrow her brows and bite her lip. My brilliant, sexy doctor. I could watch her like this all night. But I’d rather do more than that.
I’m about to pull the window open when luck strikes and she leaves the room. I work quickly to climb through the window, kick off my boots, and settle myself on her bed.
“Shit,” I say, rubbing a spot of blood I missed on the edge of my shirt. This is one of my favorite shirts too. I’m so engrossed in what I’m doing that I don’t notice Blake coming into the room until she gasps and spews a barrage of curses.
“Where the hell did you come from?” My eyes zero in on the way her hand clutches her chest.
“Here and there. We moved around a lot when I was a kid.” I lean back casually and grin.
“You know that’s not what I mean.”
I nod my head toward the window and say, “I’m a creature of habit, plus an unlocked door… too easy. Come here.”
She climbs next to me, making a point of brushing her body against mine as she moves her notebooks aside. “Creature of habit? Try creature of the night.”
“Your creature of the night.” This makes her laugh and I instantly relax. “You know that, right?”
“What?”
I pull her against my chest. “That I’m yours. All jokes aside, I know I’ve been busy and I’ll let you in on more of that soon, but I’ll be around now. Every day. I made some changes so we can spend more time together.”
She traces lines across my chest with her fingers. Her touch feels incredible, just simple things like the scrape of her nails against my T-shirt, that’s all it takes for me to melt. She’s thinking hard, her nose scrunched. I hope I’m not coming on too strong, although that is kind of my thing.
“Look—I’d rather be honest with you from the start about who I am and what I do. I?—”
Her finger brushes my lips. “Shh. I don’t need to know about what you do. The less I know the better, I’m sure. But yes, I’d like that. Spending more time together, I mean. It’s been an interesting start to whatever this is… but as much as it pains me to admit it, I’m drawn to you. You’re absolutely unhinged and a little scary and… Anyway, I know you won’t hurt me.”
As she pulls her hand away I circle her wrist and kiss her palm. “I’m fucking infatuated with you, Blake. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
Her palm rests on my cheek while our eyes lock. I look my fill, not that I’ll ever tire of her gorgeous face. Her smooth skin dotted with freckles, her short, rounded nose, her plump lips. Perfection. My chest aches and a physical need to be inside her takes over. Before I realize what I’m doing, I grip either side of her face and devour her lips with an intensity I’ve never felt before.
When her lips part and she slides her tongue against mine, I’m done for. Fuck, she tastes amazing. A moan slips out of her mouth and I can’t help but smile as we kiss.
I bring my hand lower and gently wrap it around her throat, giving a small amount of pressure as I suck her lower lip and bite down. She’s so responsive to every kiss, every touch. The way she arches toward me, her chest heaving like she’s just as desperate for me as I am for her. I need to bury myself inside her more than I need air to breathe.
I pull back and sit up on my knees. “Blake, I need you to give me permission to do what I want with you.”
She’s breathless as she scoots back onto the bed. Seconds go by where I feel like I’ll combust. Finally, she nods.
“I need you to tell me, baby. Tell me I can have every inch of you.” I drag my hands over the curve of her breasts, stopping when I reach her tight nipple. She gasps and it’s music to my ears. “These tits that I’ve been dying to fuck.”
“Damon, please.”
Dragging my hand lower, I watch her eyes glaze over as I reach her pussy. “This mouthwatering cunt that was made to take me.”
She opens her mouth to speak but I grip her hips and flip her over. Her nightshirt rides up and I have the perfect view of her round ass. I slap it, not too hard, but hard enough that a pretty little red mark shows up and her breath hitches. “This ass too, Blake. I’ll fuck you here and you’ll love it.”
Wrapping my fist in her hair, I lean in and crash my lips against hers. Our tongues tangle as she angles her ass against me. “This mouth, so warm and perfect and all mine. Give me permission, Blake, because once I’m inside you, I’m going to be a changed man. A man who’s lost all control. Once I can take every inch of you, I’ll never stop.”
She rocks against my crotch, and I grip her hips to halt her movement. “God, just?—”
“You want my cock, Angel? Say it. Say, Damon, fuck me.”