Chapter 55
The Peace for War
Harper
The driveway to Eli’s family’s house is long. The house is set back far from the main road, and there’s nothing but woods around it. When I woke up a little while ago, the guys were lost in their own thoughts.
I played a few games on my phone, trying to keep my mind off other things. It’s hard to remember everywhere might be compromised. The hope is no one knows we’re coming here, so there’s no reason for the house to be bugged, but that doesn’t mean the cars aren’t.
Caden got a device that will detect active recording devices. A guy he knows was able to get him one last minute. Caden checked the cars before we took off. So they should be safe, but what I have to tell them needs to be told to everyone.
When both cars are in the driveway, we all step out. I climb onto the trunk of Eli’s car and sit down. Luke leans next to me with his arm draped over my thigh while Eli and Caden go into the house. Nico stays in the car until we can get him settled into a chair.
He has to stay off his leg as much as possible. When Jack comes over and leans against the car on my other side, I ruffle his hair. He catches my wrist, pressing a kiss on it.
“My dad wants to meet you.” Jack’s eyes sparkle in the sunlight.
“Yeah?” I ask warily. I haven’t had the best luck with parents in this group.
“Yeah.” He smirks. “He’s a good guy. My family is nice. We can even have all the guys over at the same time if you want.”
Luke slides his hand under my knee and rubs it, stirring something needy inside me. “You’ll like Jack’s dad. Robert’s a good guy. His mom is a little intense, but she’s driven.”
“I’d like that,” I tell Jack. His father was the first to separate himself from the others. Maybe he’s an actual good guy.
Caden and Eli come out of the house and Caden quickly scans both the cars. Just in case something was off and now it’s on.
“Anything?” Luke asks, still teasing the back of my knee. It’s an odd spot, but fuck it’s doing something.
“No. We should be safe.” Caden tosses the machine into the front seat of Jack’s car and helps get Nico out.
Eli holds his hands out to me, and I take them for him to help me down. I brush off the seat of my jeans.
“I like the skirts better, kitten.” Eli smirks and brushes a kiss over my lips before opening his trunk. We each grab our bags. I take the backpack my mom gave me.
“We have an encrypted hard drive and my father’s broken computer.” I walk beside Jack as we head for the house. My insides twist, but I ignore it. “Mom said everything we need should be on them.”
He nods and slides his hand into mine, tangling our fingers. “Are you okay?”
I glance up at his worried face and force a smile. “Better now that I’m with you guys.”
“Yeah, I feel that way too.”
Eli opens the door and nods toward the entrance. “We’ll set up in the living room. Seems like the best work area for us.”
As Jack leads me in, we pass through a massive kitchen with a huge island. I shiver, remembering Caden’s island and the cost of the tour. It seems like so long ago, but it’s only been weeks.
I exhale. My head spins a little. Weeks since I became theirs. Weeks since I tried to get away. Weeks since I gave in.
I never knew any of it would lead to this. Us working to unravel the mystery of what our fathers did. It’s hard to believe that once upon a time all our fathers were working together. Even mine.
Did my dad feel trapped by them like I did? Or did he accept his fate?
The fact that he has evidence means he probably didn’t really accept it.
Jack sets his duffle by the stairs, and we both put our backpacks down on the couch. It makes me nervous to leave it anywhere out of my sight. This is what my dad died for.
Whatever information is on that hard drive.
“Come on, sweetheart.” Jack doesn’t relinquish my hand as he grabs his overnight bag and leads me up the stairs.
“Where are we going?” I glance back to find the others carrying things into the living room. My gaze collides with Nico’s. His eyes look a little strained. He probably needs pain meds.
Eli is behind him with a glass of water and bottle. They’ll take care of him.
Everyone I love is here. Well except my mom and Kenz. But my guys are here and we’re going to have tonight to ourselves. Jack squeezes my hand, and I continue after him.
The house is old but well-kept. Everything is clean, but there’s shrouds on some of the furniture.
Jack opens a door to a huge master suite.
The bed is massive, definitely almost as big as Caden’s.
Jack releases me, and I explore the room while he puts his bag in the corner.
The bathroom is marble with gold accents.
It’s huge with a soaker tub big enough to hold at least three grown men.
The shower is also big enough for all of us to fit.
My insides heat and I brush my fingers over my lips. Not long ago I would have been horrified to be trapped on an estate in the middle of nowhere with the horsemen. Now anticipation floods my belly. Even though I know we have other things to do. I want to show each of them my love.
Jack steps up behind me. I lift my gaze to his in the mirror over the counter. He wraps his arms around my waist and lowers his face into my hair, inhaling deeply. His heat surrounds me.
“I love the way you smell.” He kisses my head. “Every inch of you was made to be loved, sweetheart.”
My heart feels too big for my chest. I cover his hands with my own. “I love you, Jack. You’ve let me lead when the others take over. I don’t know if you realize how much I needed that from you.”
“We come on like the end times. Fast and overwhelming.” He smirks. “We’re a lot. I didn’t know how all this would work out, but I’m glad you were our last, Harper. I give them brotherly love, but you give them something I can’t. They need your love so fucking much.”
I turn in his arms and search his vivid blue eyes. I wish we had more time, but we need to get busy with work. There’s so much I have to tell them about. “We should get back downstairs. They’re probably waiting for us.”
He smirks and steps back, closing and locking the door. “Let them wait a little, sweetheart.”
My skin tightens and my pulse races as he picks me up and sets me on the counter. He rests his hands on either side of my hips and lowers his head so we’re perfectly aligned: eye to eye, mouth to mouth.
“I love you, Harper. You make this work. You bring us closer together without tearing us apart. I would want you even if it was just the two of us. No one else compares to you.”
I cup his jaw and breathe in his crisp apple scent.
“You take care of me and make it so fucking easy to love you, Jack. Without you, we’d all be stumbling in the dark, afraid to make the next move.
You say I’m the one who makes this work, but you do too.
You hold us together when we want to fall apart. I love you.”
I lean in and take his lips with mine. It’s a soft dance of tongues and lips.
I tug at his sweatshirt and he slips it off while I take off my shirt.
Urgency flows through me. I need him. I need to feel his skin against mine.
His cock buried deep inside me, connecting us, making us one.
He reaches behind me and releases my bra.
It joins the rest of the clothes on the floor as our lips collide again. He draws me in tight against him, and I gasp at the feel of his warm skin brushing against mine. My nipples pebble against his chest.
Out of my guys, Jack is probably the easiest to love and the easiest to overlook, but he’s also the softest. He knows how to love and gives it freely.
He grabs my hips and pulls me in tight, so his hard cock presses against my pussy through two layers of jeans. It’s all I can do not to demand he take everything off.
Instead, I push him back, and he lets me slide off the counter. He cups my breasts as he reclaims my lips. I whimper at the flow of heat within me, threatening to consume me.
I work on his fly as he glides his hands down my ribs, sending shivers through me. I’m so ready for him that my hands shake. He finds my buttons and works on releasing them. We push each other’s jeans down as far as we can.
He slides his hand between my legs and presses against my clit through my panties. I suck in a harsh breath as I slide my hand into his boxers and stroke his cock.
“You were the first cock I saw.” I tip my chin up as he kisses my neck. His hand slides beneath my panties and strokes my clit, keying me up. “It was so hot to watch you jerk off to me.”
“Fuck, sweetheart. I’m lucky I didn’t blow when you dropped that towel.
You were the hottest thing I’ve ever seen.
” He pushes his fingers inside me, and I tremble against him, slipping my thumb over the tip of his cock.
“Always so fucking wet for me. Every time I fuck my fist, I think of your pink cheeks. The way your pink lips parted and your tongue darted out like you wanted to taste me. Your nipples were so fucking hard and ready to be touched, loved, sucked.”
His words are driving me even higher as he works his fingers in and out of me, teasing me, playing with my clit before thrusting back inside.
I draw in a breath, needing to tell him.
“I wanted you in that moment. I wanted all of you. I didn’t understand what that meant or how it would happen, but I knew in that moment you had me. It was only a matter of time.” I gasp as he nibbles on my collarbone.
“If we had more time now, I’d spend all night making love to you, sweetheart.
” He lifts his head and our gazes collide.
I arch an eyebrow and shove his boxers down.
I grab the sides of my panties and sweep them to my knees.
Both of us have our jeans still wrapped around our knees. But I don’t give a fuck.
“I want you inside me. Fuck me hard and fast, Jack. Make me see stars.”
He turns me to face the mirror and pushes my body down. I put my hands on the counter to stabilize myself as he lines his cock up with my entrance.