27. Rafe
RAFE
Blood’s such a pain to get out of concrete.
I blast it with the hose. The water runs pink as it rushes to the drain. Kellan uses a broom to scrub more of it out of the cracks but it’ll take weeks to make it disappear.
“You know, all things considered, this went well.” Kellan stops to wipe his brow. “Only one person died.”
“He was probably innocent.”
He concedes with a gesture. “But maybe not?”
I look at the garage doors grimly. One guard got a little too mouthy and had to be handled a little more roughly than the others. He didn’t survive.
All the others are fine and mostly intact.
But I don’t know who the rat is.
That’s the worst part. All this work, all this pain spent, and for nothing. I’m no closer to knowing who left that photograph on my desk than I was the moment I picked it up.
“You know what’s messed up?” Kellan helps me finish cleaning up. I wrap the hose and put it away. “You seem like you’re happy for once.”
“You mean from all the beatings?”
“Don’t be a prick.”
“I am happy.” I say it simply. I don’t do emotions and feelings, especially not with my brothers, but this feels easy because it’s true.
“And I’m happy for you. God knows if anyone deserves some joy, it’s you.”
“That isn’t true.”
“Come on, Rafe.” Kellan hesitates as he wipes his hands dry on his jeans. “You saved our lives.”
“I didn’t.”
“Yes, you did. You kicked open that door. You dragged us out. If you hadn’t shown up, we would’ve burned.”
“Leanna—“
“She was already dead. Let her go.”
“I can’t.” I close my eyes and swear I can still hear the roar of the fire eating my childhood home. In my dreams, my little sister is screaming. “I should’ve been there.”
“Then we’d all be dead. But instead, you saved our lives, you stepped up, you raised us when we had nobody else.”
“I did a great job, right? Silas is a charming sociopath, Cassian’s psychotic, you and Devlin?—“
“Are perfectly well adjusted.” He shows his teeth and pounds a fist against the garage door. “You did your best. We all love you for it. You can forgive yourself for being imperfect whenever you’re ready. I know I did a long, long time ago.”
I grunt in reply, avoiding his gaze. I made so many mistakes with my brothers. I treated them too roughly, I was impatient, I was angry. I taught them killing, ruthlessness, and death. I did everything wrong, and I’m terrified I’ll do it all again with Hattie.
I became a Lord of Ash. My brothers took the pledge and tattooed it on their hands. We swore we’d burn this world before we let it hurt us again.
But do I want that life for my daughter?
I don’t, I really, really don’t.
There’s a knock and June comes in through the door.
She offers to help clean up but Kellan declines for me.
“You didn’t make the mess, you don’t have to fix it.
” He seems comfortable around my wife, which is good.
He’s a gruff one and hard to read sometimes, but he’s absolutely loyal, and I think he likes her. Which means he’d kill for her.
“I was actually thinking about your problem,” she says casually, frowning at the bloodstain near the drain. “Do I even want to know what that is?”
“Melted water-ice. Cherry flavor.” Kellan drapes an arm around her shoulders. But he quickly pulls away when he notices the look I give him.
“What problem, wife of mine?” I roll my shoulders, cracking my joints, trying to ease some of the stress.
“From what I’ve gathered, you have a traitor problem.
” She starts to pace, hands behind her back, warming up to the topic.
I marvel at the way she moves. Her body is lean and lithe, curvy where it needs to be, perfect in every way that matters.
Her hair is long and touches the space between her shoulder blades with a slight, lovely curl.
Today, she’s in jeans that hug her ass, flats, and a simple tight shirt, cut low, with sleeves to her elbows.
“Among other things,” Kellan says amiably. “But hey, who doesn’t have a few rats in their walls?”
“You need to get this company merger thing going, right? And it seems like someone inside the family wants to block it?”
“Ignazio,” I say darkly. “But he can’t be alone.”
“No, he’s got support,” Kellan agrees.
“You need to force their hand. Make them stand up and say what they think.”
I stroke my chin. “Sounds like it could easily backfire.”
“Hear me out.” June pauses beside a dark BMW parked on the far end of the four-car garage.
“You invite everyone important to a meeting. You make it clear that the meeting is about this merger. You tell them it’ll be put to a vote.
Anyone against it can put up their hands and speak their mind.
Get it out in the open. Make it clear where everyone stands. ”
“And if the majority is against?” Kellan asks, sounding amused. “I don’t know. Seems like a terrible idea. We’re not a democracy. That’s not how families like ours work.”
“Even authoritarian states run better when their people are bought in.” June keeps going. “I can set it up for you. Same venue where we got married. Everyone at a big table, make them say it out loud, force their hand?—“
“And then what?” I feel a slight rumble in my chest. “Kellan’s right.”
“You convince them.”
“If I can’t?”
She gives me a withering look. “Then you shouldn’t be Don.”
Kellan bursts out laughing. “Holy shit, bro! There’s no way she just said that.”
June raises her chin defiantly. I glare at her, a storm in my body. “Kellan, would you mind giving me a moment with my wife?”
“Sure, but, uh, if I hear screaming, I’m coming back.”
I cast him a look. “I would never touch my wife that way. Now get out.”
“Whatever you say.” He beams at June. “I’m a fan of you right now.”
“Glad you’re coming around.” She keeps her eyes on me as Kellan exits. I hesitate a moment, seething. “Come on, say what you really want to say.”
“I don’t feel confident I can win that vote.”
The words deflate me slightly. I didn’t want Kellan to hear my uncertainty, but now that he’s gone, I can be honest with her. June nods like that’s what she expected.
“When politicians go vote on a new law or whatever, they don’t go into that room unless there’s zero doubt about which way everyone’s headed. So you do what they do.”
“Which is bicker endlessly and waste time and money?”
“No, you whip the fucking vote.” She shows me teeth. “Come on, big man, I thought you were smart.”
“Careful.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know, you’re scary. Rafe, this is how you root them out. Make them realize the tides are turning. Make them reckless. Put everyone in a room and force their hand.”
I approach her slowly, heart thudding. “I don’t hate it.”
“That’s because you’re much brighter than you let on.”
“But you shouldn’t say these sorts of things in front of my brothers.” I close the distance between us. “You’re going to make them talk.”
“I bet they already do.”
“About me. About you. They’ll think I’m weak.”
“Rafe,” she says, sounding exasperated. “You don’t have to be perfect for them all the time.”
I know she’s right. All my life I’ve tried to set an example. But my brothers are men now, adults in their own right, grown past my influence.
I stop in front of her. She leans back against the car, staring at me with a small, wicked smile. I put my hands on her hips. She doesn’t fight it.
“Say we do this.” My voice is soft as I dip down to kiss her ear.
She wraps her arms around my neck. “Yeah?”
“You stay away.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re a liability.”
“Rafe—“
I bite her earlobe. “Listen to me for once, damn you.”
“Ouch!”
I nibble her neck to make up for it. “I’m serious. No more risks.”
“I can plan it. I don’t have to be there.”
“Famous last words.”
She tugs back and looks into my face. “Hey. Listen. You want to be partners, don’t you?”
“Yes. I do.”
“Then being partners means letting each other in.”
“But this is my business.”
“I know that, and I defer to your judgement, but you can trust me. You can lean on me too.”
I believe her. Only I want to be her pillar, not the other way around.
I press my lips to hers lightly. It’s meant to be barely more than a brush, but that quickly turns to more. Her mouth opens, our tongues touch, and a flare brightens in my core.
I fist her hair and devour her.
“It has been a stressful day,” I snarl in her ear as I roughly unbutton her jeans. I shove my hand down the front, cupping her pussy. “And if you want to be partners, you can start by helping me relieve some stress.”
“How do you propose I do that?”
“I’m fairly sure you’ve figured it out already.” I click my tongue and bite her chin. “You’re dripping into my palm, you filthy girl.”
“Rafe!”
I smile at the outrage in her voice.
But it’s true. She’s soaking wet. “You’re drenched, you dirty girl. What did it for you? Was it the blood on the floor?”
“No!”
“Oh, baby, are you a sick, twisted girl?”
“Rafe—“
I grab her pussy tighter. She gasps in surprise. “Tell me you’re fucked up, June.”
“Oh god,” she moans. “Please.”
“Say it, you dirty girl. Tell me you’re fucked up. Tell me you like it when my big dick rips into you, spreads you open, and ruins your lovely pussy.”
“That’s too much… can’t remember…” She moans as I grind the heel of my palm into her clit.
“Then just say this. Tell me you’re fucked up.”
“I’m fucked up,” she moans. “Now don’t tease me too much.”
I kiss her hard, hungry and growling as I get her jeans down. I stroke her pussy with my fingers, gliding them inside, grinding them in deep. They slip in like it’s nothing. She’s drenched, so much it’s running down her inner thighs. Fuck, it’s beautiful and I can’t help myself.
I drop to my knees and lick her up.
“Rafe, fuck,” she says, shuddering. I shove her shirt over her lovely tits and squeeze her chest as my mouth sucks her pussy, licking and lapping. I love her taste, her moans, the way her body reacts to every motion.
“You are a twisted, sick girl, baby, and you love it when I ruin you.”
“God, yes, I do,” she gasps, grabbing my hair and grinding against my face. “Fuuuuuck, that’s so good.”
“Selfish—fucking—girl—“ I stand before she can come on my mouth. I kiss her, making her taste her pussy before turning her around, yanking down her jeans the rest of the way, and shoving her panties aside.
“Fuck, if this is my punishment?—“
I grab her hair. She arches her back, thinking I’m about to sink inside.
Instead, I spank her ass raw.
Thwack!
“Fuck!” She jerks in shock. “Rafe!”
I spank her two more times. Thwack, thwack. “There you go, you fucked-up girl, you sick, dirty slut, tell me you love that.”
“Fuck.” She shudders, shoulders curling in. “Rafe?—“
I graze my cock down her slit. She whimpers, grinding into it, trying to get my tip inside.
I slap her ass again, hard. She cries out in desperation. “Fuck me! Please!”
“You greedy girl. You’re so messy and wet. Look at you, with your ass all pink from getting slapped. You like it, don’t you? Being all wet and needy?”
“I love it,” she groans, looking over her shoulder, hands splayed out on the hood in front of her. “I fucking love it so much.” Her eyes are glassy and she’s not lying. She’s in heaven right now.
It’s too much for me to handle. I can tease for only so long. I grab her hips, taking my prize, my woman and my wife, and I sink my big dick deep into her pussy.
I’m not slow this time. Fuck letting her get used to me.
I want her. I need her. And I’m taking her now.
My cock grinds deep inside. She cries out. It’s not the first scream in here, but it’s the sweetest. She takes me, every inch, and I glide back before slamming in deep. Thrust. Thwack. Thrust. Thwack. The sound of me smashing into her ass is the best noise imaginable.
“You—Are—All—Mine—“ I grind out words as I fuck her into oblivion. I’m rough with her, squeezing her tits and shoving fingers in her mouth, making her suck them. “You are my fucked-up girl. My filthy fucking slut. You are my messy, needy, desperate?—“
“Oh fuck,” she moans, head thrown back. “Oh my fucking god.”
Her orgasm hits hard and fast. I’m shocked at the intensity of it.
She breaks, and as she crumbles, I swear it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
She loses all control and there’s nothing left in her mind but pure pleasure.
I grind into her, fucking her until she’s a puddle, until she’s wrecked and beyond thought, and seeing her like that, sprawled on the hood of the BMW, gasping for air, skin flushed and pink?—
My handprints in black and blue on her ass?—
I come so hard I nearly black out.
I explode deep in her pussy. I fill her to the brim, pumping and pumping until I finally can’t take it anymore.
My knees nearly give out. I gasp for air, sweat dribbling down both our bodies.
I pull her into me, sinking to the floor, and force her to cuddle into my lap.
My cock lies heavy and slick against her ass.
She grinds and smiles sweetly, her eyes heavy-lidded.
“So is this what you’ve been doing all day?”
“Don’t joke. My brother was here.”
“Okay, good point.” She leans her head against my chest. “God, can you warn me next time? I don’t think I’m going to walk right for a week.”
“If you need better communication, I’m happy to provide it.”
“I’m kidding. I like the surprise spanking.”
“If you say so. Mostly I like sinking deep between your legs and watching you break.”
She smiles, blushing. “I don’t look weird? Like goofy?”
“No, baby. You look perfect.” I brush her sweaty hair from her face, and I mean it.
Everything about her is right, and that scared me at first. The idea that I could want her more than anything else, that she could take priority over my family, over the Corvinos, over everything else.
Except for maybe Hattie. It freaked me out, the thought of loving her.
That doesn’t scare me anymore.
“I’ll talk to my brothers about your idea,” I say after we’ve sat together in comfortable silence for a few minutes, catching our breath.
“They’re smart guys. They’ll see the wisdom.”
“For now, let’s go spend some time with our daughter.”
“Yeah?” She perks up and touches my cheek. “You mean that?”
“Absolutely I do.”