Graham
I drive the entire way to the resort with Casey in my lap, unwilling to let her go. Probably not smart. Definitely not safe. But I don’t care. The thought of letting her go is physically painful. I’m not sure how I will ever let her out of my sight again.
I don’t use the valet at the resort, instead opting to notify security I was on my way so they could let us in through a private entrance in the back. When the elevator opens to my suite’s floor, I barely suppress my groan.
Liam is pacing outside the door, holding an ice pack to his face as Maddox leans against the wall, watching him. It doesn’t take much to know what the ice pack is for or who is the cause, considering how they glare at each other.
I don’t blame Liam for being there, though I can guess how he was kept back. But I’m not in the mood for him, and I don’t want Casey to endure his questions.
The moment he spots us, I see every word he wants to say. I shake my head and tell him not now. All I want is to get Casey in the room, cleaned up, and in bed. She is exhausted, barely able to keep her eyes open.
I ignore him as he follows us into the room. Pretending I don’t hear him cursing as I move straight to the bedroom.
The moment the door closes behind us, I carry Casey to the bathroom and begin removing her clothes and jewelry. I start the shower, knowing she would never make it through a bath.
While the water heats, I remove the pins from her hair, raking my fingers with slow and gentle strokes through the intricate braid, massaging her scalp. She leans into my touch, softly moaning, and I remind my other head it is not the goddamn time. Even if all I want to do is get lost in her body to reassure myself she is here, she is okay… she is mine .
She shivers as I lead her into the shower. I move her so she gets the full effect of the hot spray over her body. My eyes leave no area of her body unchecked as I carefully scrub her. She will have some bruising on her face where she fell and where Krisa slapped her earlier in the night. There are scrapes all over her legs and arms and a few more bruises, but physically she seems fine.
Her eyes meet mine, red and puffy from crying and from the debris that was in them. They look sad and tortured, and I expect no less. What I didn’t expect was for her to reach for my face and bring our lips together as she pressed herself against me. When I don’t kiss her back, she pulls away from me, confusion written all over her face.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asks, her eyes filling with tears.
That’s all it takes. I’ve seen her tears all night. They streamed down her face with fear and relief as I held her in my arms because she was safe. They spilled over her lashes for a mother that didn’t deserve them.
Her tears are always my weakness.
I grab each side of her face, slanting my lips over hers, tasting her sorrow and her love. My tongue searches and explores her mouth as her arms loop around my neck. Though unrushed, the desperation is still there.
I need her, but she needs me just as much.
Slowly, I lead her backward until her back hits the tile, and fall to my knees before her. I look up, meeting her eyes through my wet lashes. Her hand reaches out, stroking softly over my face.
She is seeking comfort, but she is giving it, too.
I part her legs, hooking one over my shoulder. My eyes never leave hers as I kiss her pussy slow and deep. I want to drown in her essence as I lick and lave until her muscles quake around me. She explodes on my tongue as soft whimpers fall from her perfect mouth.
When her trembling comes to a stop, I stand, bringing our mouths together once again as I lift her from the ground. Her legs wrap around me as I line myself up with her entrance. Deep inside her feels like home. I want to stay like this forever.
I rock slowly into her body, feeling every inch of her hug every inch of me. Getting deep enough is impossible.
Leaning back just a little, I watch as I slide in and out of her body, my chest tightening with each stroke that joins us. She looks where I do, and her walls clench around me.
I continue until her cries pour from her lips again as she falls over the edge. I wait until her orgasm subsides, ensuring to draw every ounce of pleasure from her body, refusing to miss a second, then set her on the ground and pull out, releasing myself over her soft skin. Seeing her covered in me is beautiful.
My breathing is hard and heavy as I prop an arm next to her head and lean against the wall. I bury my face in her wet skin, inhaling her scent while wishing I could wrap her in a bubble.
“Are you okay?” Her sweet voice makes my chest ache as I lift from the wall to look at her.
My brows pinch as I cup her face. “Why wouldn’t I be?” She shrugs, biting her lip, looking worried for me. It is so Casey, and I love her for it while wanting to strangle her for it. “You’re here with me. I couldn’t be better. Are you okay?”
My heart clenches when a heavy sigh escapes her. Her eyes slide away from mine for a moment, and I fight my instinct to force them back, knowing I have to let her have her minute. When they meet mine again, they swim with so much it makes me dizzy. “I know I shouldn’t be,” she whispers as her fingers trailed absently over my chest. “But I am. I am because I’m with you. Does that make me awful?”
“No, baby.” I kiss her forehead and then press mine to it. “It doesn’t make you awful at all.” She nods, her eyes growing heavier by the second. “Let’s get you dried off and in bed.”
Two hours later, she’s sleeping soundly, but I couldn’t sleep if you paid me. My mind is a battlefield replaying the moment she fell to the ground on a loop. I also know Liam is probably still in the living area of my suite, waiting for answers.
I dig through my suitcase, grabbing a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I pull them on and then slip through the door as quietly as possible.
Liam sits on the sofa, knee bouncing rapidly while Maddox leans against the wall with a bottle of water in his hand. Their attention jerks to me. Liam looks ready to explode, but if he tries, he’ll have a matching bruise for the massive purple one on his jaw. If anyone wakes her, I’ll put my fist through their face.
I walk to the minibar, grabbing the bottle of Macallan I ordered for the room when I made the reservation. I don’t even fuck around for a glass, putting the bottle straight to my mouth.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you not in a suit,” Maddox comments as he waves his bottle over my form. “At least not since high school. Nice tattoo.” He grins. I think he’s trying to lighten the mood. Though it’s possible he’s stirring shit given the one he’s pointing at.
I extend my arm, revealing the sunflower decorating my inner bicep, and nod. “One of my favorites,” I admit, then turn my eyes toward Liam who fumes. “You may as well see this one, too,” I say, knowing, in this shirt, it peeks from the collar, so we may as well get it over with. I tug it away so he can see where her name stretches from my collarbone to the tip of my shoulder. “Get it out of your system. But I warn you, if your voice rises above fifty decibels, I will shut you up. I want her to sleep.”
His eyes dart to the room I just came out of, then back to me. Whatever momentary anger he had vanishes, replaced with concern. “Is she okay?”
I turn the bottle of Scotch to my lips once again, take another large swig, and nod. “Better than you would expect under the circumstances.”
A relieved exhale falls from his lips as he scrubs his face with a nod. “Can someone just tell me what the fuck happened? Please.”
I look at Maddox, surprised he said nothing. He shrugs. “I didn’t know enough to tell. I only got the shorthand version when I interrupted a conversation between Will, Christian, and Bastian. I was eavesdropping because I want to know why the fuck Bastian has been in town.”
“He’s your brother. Doesn’t he visit?”
“Not without his wife.”
A knock at the door interrupts us. Maddox walks to it and pulls it open. Henry walks in with Will and Bastian. “Missing someone?” Maddox asks.
Bastian shakes his head. “Christian is in the room stitching his leg up.” He looks at me and nods toward my arm. “Don’t you need a patch job?”
I look at the nasty graze across my left arm. “Probably.”
“Probably my ass,” Will huffs. “I’ll be back. Don’t go anywhere.”
This is why I can’t fire him. He gives me shit, but he watches my back, too.
“Can someone please just tell me what the fuck happened? That was my daughter you all stormed after and kept me from.” He glares at Henry and Maddox.
“You would’ve been in the way,” Maddox tells him. “If you would’ve listened, I wouldn’t have knocked your ass out.”
“With a fucking beer bottle?” He throws his hands up.
“Should’ve gone down after I hit you. I didn’t have time to fight you and make sure the girls didn’t ask questions.”
“I could’ve made sure you stayed,” Sebastian says with a grin as he lifts a drink of something I didn’t know I had to his lips. It looks like tequila.
“Leave him alone, Bastian,” Maddox groans.
“Why? I don’t like him. He knows this.”
“For the last time, I apologized,” Liam huffs.
“Apologies don’t mean a lot to me, stronzo. ”
Watching them—all of them—and their interactions tonight, I realize taking this job was probably the second-best decision I’ve ever made; Casey was the first. If this had happened any other time, things could’ve ended differently. I’ve always been on my own in the dark and dirty parts of my life. These guys… I didn’t even have to ask. They were just there. No questions asked.
It’s an odd feeling that will take some getting used to.
There’s another tapping at the door. It opens and Will walks in with Jagger. It looks like everyone is here, which means the story only needs to be told once.
While Will stitches my arm, I tell them everything, starting with Krista’s threat until the moment I pulled her off Casey. Liam leans forward, his head in his hands. He shakes his head and then meets my eyes. “I knew she had issues. She always did. I just thought… Honestly, I thought the problem was me. I wish I’d known what she was doing years ago. I would’ve… Touching Casey was my line. The one thing that kept me in line, but also the one line she knew not to cross with me. If I’d known, I would’ve fucking killed her. She knew that. Why the fuck didn’t I see she was hiding it?”
“But Liam, the guilt of that would’ve eaten you alive,” Henry says. I believe them. I have no doubt Liam would do anything for his daughter, but he can’t compartmentalize. It would’ve destroyed him.
“I knew what she was doing to Casey,” Jagger says softly from a spot in the corner. My head snaps up, meeting my little brother’s eyes. “It’s why…” He breathes deeply, his head dropping forward. “It’s why I let her…” He chokes again. “If I didn’t, she was going to take it out on her. I don’t know how, but I didn’t want to find out.” He doesn’t divulge what he means, but it doesn’t matter. He’s talking to me. No one else needs to know his story until he’s ready.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because what could you have done?”
I could’ve been there. I would’ve been there.
But it’s too late now. And for the first time, I wonder if my outlook on secrets needs to change.
They all linger in my room for a few more minutes. Bastian reassures everyone no one will come looking for Krista or Lambert. I ask about the men who got away, and he waves me off, telling me that’s a different business.
Then silence takes over. One by one they leave the room until only Liam and Henry remain. I nod toward the door. “You both have girls that have questions. You need to go be with them.”
“I want to be here when Casey wakes up,” Liam demands.
And, once again, I get it, but… “Not happening. When she’s ready, she will come to you. Don’t push her.”
He wants to argue. It’s written in his furrowed brow and downturned mouth, but he finally concedes, and they leave.
Once they’re gone, I deadbolt the door and return to the bedroom. I pull the sheets back and climb in behind Casey. My arm wraps around her, pulling her to my side where I keep her close and watch her until the sun comes up.