Chapter 24
The warehouse was eerily quiet as both Justice and Jasper watched Nicholas’ blood, brains, and gore decorate the floor of the warehouse.
He had twitched for a few seconds and then there had been nothing, a blissful nothing.
They both stepped back when the crimson, sticky mess inched its way toward their feet.
Nicholas would never touch either of them again.
Jasper dropped the gun and tilted his head toward the door.
“They’re here.”
“Dude, you blew his fucking balls off! I did not know you were going to do that!” Justice accused.
“It was awesome. Did you see the look on his face? Priceless!”
Jasper smiled.
“Now, that would be a video I could enjoy watching over and over again!” He wrapped an arm around Justice’s neck and started hauling him toward the door.
He’d been afraid he might feel ashamed when he killed Nicholas…
when he had taken another life, but it felt fucking wonderful!
“You realize we are total badasses, right?” Justice said with a smirk.
“Yea, we are badasses. Here’s the problem, badass. Your Dom is going to whip your badass so badassery that you won’t be able to sit down for a month. He soooo does not like anyone to not follow his orders, much less put themsleves in danger when they belong to him. You are going to be crying like a girl before this is all over,” Jasper promised with a snarky smile.
“What about you? I doubt Susannah is a lightweight when she’s pissed.”
Jasper swung the door open and stepped out into the parking lot.
Four Jericho vehicles were lined up and their inhabitants were headed their way…
Susannah ahead of everybody at a dead run.
He turned and looked at Justice, a naughty smile on his face and said, “I’m a switch, pretty boy. We have different rules.”
Justice watched as Jasper caught Susannah mid-air and hugged her tight against him, whispering words of love and apologies (which he didn’t mean) in between kisses.
“Bastard,” Justice grumbled as he passed them.
Jasper had been right, Malachi would be furious with him for disobeying and leaving the safety of the castle grounds.
It didn’t matter, he’d take whatever punishment the man dished out to him.
It might take Malachi another year or it might take him five more years, but the stubborn bastard would learn to love him as much as he loved Megan…
and Justice would be waiting.
If all Malachi could give him right now was him being a fuckingly awesome Dom, then he would take it.
He looked up to see Malachi walking toward him, an angry and terrified look on his face.
His entire body was rigid with fury.
Yep, Jasper was right, his ass was going to pay the price for his disobedience.
He looked forward to it.
At the last minute, right before Malachi reached him, he dropped to his knees and assumed his waiting position, legs spread, back straight, and hands laced tightly behind his head.
His head was bowed submissively.
This is what he was made for.
The rest would come in time and if it didn’t, he’d enjoy what he had.
Malachi stopped right in front of him, Justice could see the tips of his converse tennis shoes only inches away.
“He’s dead, sir. We killed him for you.” Converse tennis shoes?
Since when did Malachi wear Converse tennis shoes?
Malachi couldn’t breathe, hadn’t been able to breathe since the moment they had realized Justice and Jasper had went after Nicholas without any backup or help.
His heart was pounding in his chest, threatening to burst out with each thundering wham, wham, wham.
He’d lived an ugly life…
seen ugly things…
participated in ugly things.
He’d known fear, he’d let fear control him, own him like a bitch.
That fear, as ugly and controlling as it was, wasn’t anything compared to the fear he’d felt when he thought Nicholas might get his boy before he could get there to save him.
If Justice wasn’t in his life…
well, his life wouldn’t be complete.
He fell to his knees in front of his submissive, grabbed Justice on either side of his face and held him firmly in place as his lips descended to those of his pet.
He kissed Justice with every ounce of passion and love flowing through his blood.
He dominated him…
he loved him with his lips.
The sensation of claiming those full lips made him dizzy with desire and made him feel fucking powerful.
He’d thought loving made him weak, but he’d been wrong…
so, so wrong.
With Megan and Justice at his side, he was the best man he could ever hope to be.
“I love you, pet,” he whispered huskily against Justice’s parted lips and then dove straight in for another tongue teaser.
After a few minutes of erotic tongue fucking and several fake coughs from their friends, he pulled away and told him again, looking straight into his beautiful eyes, “I love you so much.”
“You don’t have to say that, Malachi. I’m okay. I’m not going to push you…”
Lips slammed against his again, this kiss even hungrier…
more brutal than the last one.
“Shut the fuck up, Justice. I. Love. You. I’ve loved you since the time you made me manhandle you in the restroom of the airport. I know I didn’t do right by you…didn’t show you how much I loved you, but I’m ready to now. Whether Nicholas is dead or alive, he doesn’t own me anymore. You own me. You and Megan own me.”
Justice knew the giant-sized grin on his face had to make him look the fool, but he could care less.
He was loved.
He’d fought for it and he’d won…
and he knew it would be worth every battle scar he’d earned in the fight.
“It’s about damned time, old man.”
The second the jet leveled and they were given the signal that seat belts could be unfastened, Malachi grabbed Justice by the wrist and tugged him to his feet.
It could have been interpreted as rough but it was more of a rushed intense necessity.
“I’m using your cabin, Dante,” Malachi growled, referring to the small bedroom that had been added to the jet to make joining and becoming a life-long member of the mile-high club more comfortable.
“Of course,” Dante answered in a bored voice but his eyes were glowing with mischief.
“Just remember the walls are fairly thin.”
“I don’t give a fuck.” Malachi literally drug Justice down the aisle way.
When they reached where Megan was sitting, Justice dug his heels in and reached out a hand to his other lover, beckoning her to join them.
“Not this time, baby. You’re all his,” she purred with a wink and then followed it up with a love tap to his ass.
Inside the cabin, Malachi quickly ordered, “Take off your clothes and get on the bed.”
It was definitely his Dom voice, Justice realized.
Punishment already?
Excitement bubbled inside of him as he obediently started stripping, his hungry eyes never blinking or turning away from his master.
Malachi’s hands, always sure and steady, trembled slightly as he jerked off his own clothes.
Justice eased his body onto the bed, laying on his stomach but wondering if he should be on his hands and knees.
He was suddenly very conscience of the bruises and sweat staining his nakedness.
Hell, Nicholas’ blood and brains were probably splattered here and there as well.
“Turn over,” Malachi demanded.
“That ass is one of my favorite things in the world, but I’ve got something else in mind right now.”
Justice frowned but followed orders.
Malachi climbed on the bed and paused long enough to admire his pet’s lithe and lean gorgeous body.
He was magnificently perfect and he was his .
Gripping Justice’s trim hips, he lifted him off the bed enough that his ass rested in Malachi’s lap.
With a push, he spread his pet’s thighs as wide as comfortably possible.
“There’s so much I need to say to you, Justice, so many apologies that need to be made,” he said in a gravelly voice.
Justice tilted his head, unsure of what direction they were headed in.
Terror started to gnaw at him.
Had he done something wrong?
“It wasn’t your fault…what they did to me. We’ve already talked about that.” He suddenly felt the urge to cover himself up.
Malachi felt tears threaten to fall as he soaked up the beauty, fear, and love on the face of his lover.
The boy had succeeded in turning his world upside down and damn near changing how he felt about most everything.
Dark circles that would be bruises by morning decorated the spot beneath both eyes.
There was a cut on his pouty lips that might have needed a stitch.
Mussed hair, wild and untamed just like Justice, was standing out in every direction.
Pale blue eyes, terrified but hopeful, were wide and unblinking as the boy fought to understand what was happening.
Because of his disorder, he was probably trying to find a way to blame himself when he was the very last person that needed blaming.
“I am sorry that I brought you into that world… my world , but I’m so fucking greedy that I wouldn’t change it if I had the chance. I couldn’t risk not having you in my life. I will hunt down and kill any fuckers that might dare to lay a hand on you because of your connection to me, but I can’t let you go, not even to protect you.”
Malachi traced a finger along the side of Justice’s face, gently caressing the warm flesh like he was touching him for the first time.
A silky blonde curl found its way between his fingers, and he relished the soft texture, toying with it before tucking it behind an ear.
“I’m sorry because I allowed my father to keep controlling my life…even after he was supposed to be out of it. Because I was terrified that his darkness might dwell inside of me somewhere, I held back.” He took a deep breath.
“I held back parts of me from you, parts that you deserve and that I so desperately want to give you.”
Justice felt his throat tighten.
He knew he couldn’t cry, hadn’t been able to cry since he was nine years old, but still…
“You were right, Justice. It wasn’t you and it wasn’t one of your triggers.” He bent over and placed a soft kiss on the spot under his eye that would be bruised in the morning and felt long lashes tickle his lips.
“I was a coward and I wouldn’t give you everything.” He kissed the spot under the other eye.
“Hell, baby, I swear I didn’t even know I was doing it. There’s a million excuses I could make, I was doing it to protect you or was doing it to protect me…none of them really matter though. The fact is I was a fucking coward.”
“You don’t have to say…”
“Shhh. Yes, I do,” Malachi argued softly.
“We have to set some ground rules between us…if this is going to work.” He paused and then added, “And this is going to work.”
“I struggle with rules,” Justice admitted.
“Because of my…” He shrugged, hating to admit his weakness out loud.
“RAD. Because of your RAD,” Malachi inserted.
“I’m not fucking afraid of your RAD and I don’t want you to be afraid of mine, either.”
Justice snorted.
“Megan talked to me about what she thought, Malachi. You don’t have RAD.” He felt his face blush, the way it always did when his disorder was shoved out into the open for everybody to see.
Malachi laughed softly.
“You have such a sassy mouth, kid. I absolutely love it.” To prove his point, he leaned in and traced the outline of the sassy mouth with his tongue.
“No, I haven’t been diagnosed…because I would never allow any of Dante’s doctors to come within ten feet of me. I thought I was too strong, too much of a bastard to deserve any type of help. I didn’t need anybody, I could fucking do it on my own. Blah. Blah. Blah. A coward,” he stressed.
“When I started reading about RAD so I would understand your needs and be the Dom you deserved, it didn’t take me long at all to realize that I was pretty much reading about myself…about my childhood and how it affected me as an adult. The only difference is that you, my pretty, are dis-inhibited and I am inhibited. Where you love so easily, I refuse to love at all. Where you give everything, I avoid giving no more than what is necessary to get what I want. Where you love giving up control, I cling to it like a fucking lifeline.”
“That can’t be true,” Justice argued.
Malachi was perfect.
Megan was perfect.
He was…
not close to perfect.
“I’m afraid so, kiddo. What? You don’t want me anymore?”
“You know how bad I want you…both of you.”
Malachi smiled.
“Good, because we both want you,” he declared greedily.
His fingers traced Justice’s lips again.
“These lips, all plump and pouty, they belong to me.” He captured his mouth in a hungry kiss but then quickly backed away.
His fingers dipped lower and then pinched both nipples hard enough to make his pet squirm enough that their cocks bumped against each other.
“These nipples, always begging to be pinched or clamped, yea, they’re mine, too.” His lips brushed against each one, kissing and teasing before finishing with a whisper of warm breath against each.
“Fuck, baby. This sexy V right here,” his fingers traced the line of his hipbones.
“It’s mine, too.”
Justice squirmed again, his cock rigidly hard and begging to be added to the list.
“Yea, that’s mine, for sure,” Malachi assured him with a wicked smile as his hand gripped the tip and slid down to handle the entire throbbing shaft.
He tugged his length, up and down, and then placed a kiss on the tip, licking away the pre come with a greedy lap of his tongue.
A huge smile spread across his face and he winked down at the boy he loved.
“And you know this ass is mine, right?” He gripped both perfectly shaped globes, kneading the flesh just enough to set his boy on fire.
A finger nudged at the puckered hole.
“That, baby, is definitely all mine. Tell me it is,” he ordered.
“I’m yours,” Justice answered without hesitation.
Malachi’s hand crept back up, teasing the flat stomach and chiseled pecs until it rested right above Justice’s pounding heart.
“But most of all, pet, I want this to be mine, too. I want it all because I’m going to give it all.”
Justice blinked and a tear slipped out of the corner of his eye and slide down the side of his face.
Before it could escape completely away, Malachi caught it with the tip of his finger and brought it to his lips, tasting the salty declaration of love.
“I love you, Justice. With all the heart I’ve got, I love you.”
“You’re mine ,” Justice finally found words.
“Love you.” Fuck, he’d said the words hundreds of times to other people, but at this moment, he knew…
finally knew what the words really meant.
It wasn’t his disorder making him crave affection and force love when it wasn’t really there.
This was really it, what he’d been searching for.
The submission was calming to his soul.
The punishment was exciting.
This was love, though.
The sound of someone clearing their throat should have ruined the moment…
but it didn’t, only brought it closer to their imperfectly perfect reality.
“I assume both you bad asses meant ‘ours’?” Her eyes twinkled with pure love as she soaked up the beauty of both her men…
her stubborn but fuckingly awesome men.
“Definitely,” they both answered immediately.
“Excellent,” she purred.
“Now, are you going to fuck him or play with him? I’m ready for my turn!”
After their declarations of love, followed by a playful romp in the sack, they had ventured back out and taken their seats with the rest of their family.
Looking around, Justice couldn’t help but notice the differences in each of their relationships…
or at least how they viewed dominance and submission.
There was no questioning the love they all felt, it was just demonstrated in much different ways.
Susannah was plunked in Jasper’s lap, oohing and aahing all over him like she had to keep touching his face to ensure he was safe and sound and right in front of her.
Dante and Travis were huddled together at the back of the plane, listening to music or watching a DVD or, knowing those two, probably watching porn.
He knelt on the floor, in between Megan and Malachi, because that is exactly where he wanted to be.
There was no doubting he could have sat next to them in the seat or had Megan comfortably nestled in his lap, but this is how they did it, what was good for them.
“Justice!” Susannah yelled across the plane.
“How did you and Jasper convince Emilio to give you Nicholas’ address? Jasper won’t tell me.” She pouted prettily.
Her question seemed to grab the attention of everyone.
Even Dante and Travis interrupted their porn session to await his reply.
“Yes, pet. However did the two of you convince that bastard to give you what you wanted?” Malachi asked.
Justice looked up at Jasper, a glint in his pale blue eyes as he looked at the boy younger than him, but so much older in wisdom and experience.
Jasper shrugged lazily, indicating Justice could handle it anyway he wanted to.
“Emilio isn’t like the others, he’s not so bad. He knew how badly we needed the information and he gave it to us. No biggie.”
Jasper snorted.
“Puleeze, we bartered for it. We had raunchy, dirty sex on video.” So much for never speaking of it again.
Bastard Goldilocks.
Silence, a deathly silence hung over the cabin of the plane as everybody’s minds sorted through the statement and then hustled straight to…
“Holy shit, that’s something I’d like to see,” Travis said from his comfy seat next to Dante.
“Hells to the yea,” Susannah and Megan agreed with wicked smiles.
“Hells to the not gonna happen again,” Justice and Jasper said…
with wicked smiles of their own.