13. Von
D octor I was not, but I’ve had to deal with plenty of injuries between Bear and myself. As I waited for Erik to deem himself drunk enough for me to start plucking glass out of his leg, I used a different bottle of vodka to clean the wound on my arm. I had to agree with Erik, the alcohol burned like a sonofabitch, but better for it to hurt now than get infected later.
“Come here, you little minx,” Erik slurred as he reached out to me. “I need your arm.”
I raised a brow. “Why, you’re in no shape to do anything with it.”
“Phff, you have no idea what I can do while drunk. It’s the best time to deep-throat a dick because your gag reflex is shut off,” Erik informed me. “Gimmy, arm, now.”
With a sigh, I walked to the head of the bed and sat so my injured arm was closest to him. Erik wrapped one arm around my wrist and used the hold to twist my arm this way and that. After getting a good look at the graze, he used his other hand to gently feel the skin around the wound. It had stopped bleeding, but once I’d doused it with vodka, blood started to weep out of the raw flesh.
“Good news,” Erik proclaimed with a wide grin. “No stitches for you, little siren.”
“What a relief,” I muttered. “Can I have my arm back now since you’ve seen with your own eyes I’ll be fine?”
Erik’s brows furrowed. “Not until you promise me something.” He paused to look behind me where Bear was sitting in an old wooden rocking chair. “Bear, you’re my witness.”
I chuckled. “Why would you need a witness to this conversation?”
“Two reasons,” Erik answered, holding up three fingers. “One, because I’m not sure I’ll remember this as clearly as I’d like to later on. Second, I don’t trust you to hold up your end of the deal since I’m drunk and might forget.”
“Those are basically the same reason said differently,” I pointed out.
Erik waved a finger in my face. “No, bad siren, you don't get to use your voodoo way of thinking to twist what I’m saying. You hate when people want to take care of you, so it’s safer to hide it when you’re hurt.”
Sitting up a little more, Erik fumbled a bit as he grabbed both my hands and held them tightly as if worried I’d run away. “Von… I-I don’t understand it, but when you’re hurt it hurts me, right here,” he said, pointing to his chest. “So I need you to promise me no matter what happens between us that you’ll never lie or hide an injury. You ripped me from my life because you needed me, so it’s time to step up and take responsibility for, Clifford, your big red dog.”
Before I even had the chance to say anything, Erik slumped against the pillows and passed out. Unsure what to do, I shifted my attention to Bear. “What the hell was he babbling about?”
“ Do you really need me to spell it out for you, goddess? ” Bear retorted.
“Fuck you,” I grumbled as I extracted my hands from Erik’s strong grip.
Just as I was going to stand, hands grasped my hips, holding me still as Bear pressed his chest to my back. The heat of his breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine. Fuck, this man was like a drug I could never get enough of.
Bear used his hold to lift me off the bed and placed me on my feet. He wasn’t finished with me yet as I spun around to face my dark shadow. “ What is your answer? Will you do as he’s asked or does the request need to come from me for you to take it seriously? ”
Shit, Bear was taking Erik’s side on this, which meant I couldn’t brush off the question like I’d planned to.
“Do I have to answer now?” I questioned, turning to look back at Erik.
A tattooed hand cupped my chin and brought me back so I was trapped in Bear’s obsidian gaze. “ Are you asking because you truly want time to think about your answer, or is it your hope the matter gets forgotten so you never have to give us an answer? ”
If I’d ever doubted how well Bear knew me, it only took moments like this to become glaringly obvious. “I just need time. A lot is going on, and I don’t have the bandwidth to go soul-searching for the answer.”
Bear searched my gaze as if he could see straight into my soul. “ Then you can have time, but know this isn’t a matter I’ll forget about. ”
“I’m well aware of the mind vault you use to tuck away topics I don’t want to deal with,” I said, taking a step back out of Bear’s hold. “All right, now it’s time to torture Big Red and see how drunk he really is.”
Bear grunted but didn’t stop me as I gathered the few things I needed and climbed back onto the bed. Needing better light, I looked around the room, but Bear was two steps ahead of me as he held a flashlight directed at Erik’s knee. Dousing the wound with vodka to clear away the blood, I started to remove all the green glass I could find. Thank fuck it wasn’t brown or clear which would have made it nearly impossible to be sure I got it all.
When I first looked at the wound, I didn’t think it was all that bad. However, I changed my mind once I pulled out an almost inch-long piece of glass. “Shit, that was fucking deep,” I muttered, dropping the shard into a bowl next to me.
Once I felt fairly confident I’d gotten everything, I used my bare fingers to double check, knowing I’d be able to tell the difference between flesh and glass. With a hiss, I pulled my hand back having indeed found a sliver I’d missed. Not to worry though, since the glass was now sticking out of my finger instead of being buried in Erik’s leg.
Bear growled as he grabbed my wrist, then pulled the tweezers out of my other hand to pluck the glass from my finger. I started to argue but the glare I received had me giving in. I was too tired to argue, and my headache was back with a vengeance. Bear poured vodka over my finger then took some gauze and paper tape and turned my finger into a mummy.
“Little overkill, don’t you think?” I teased, but he was not amused.
“ Go lay down in the other room, I’ll finish up dealing with Red, ” Bear instructed. “ Don’t forget you have a concussion so I’ll have to wake you up from time to time. ”
Groaning, I rolled off the end of the bed, landed on my feet, and shuffled out of the room. Tiredness washed over me like a tidal wave as all my adrenaline from the day drained out of me. When I reached the room with two twin beds, I didn’t even bother to pull back the covers, instead, I landed face first with a grunt, then everything went black as I instantly fell asleep.
Soft lips kissed along my neck as a hand splayed over my bare stomach, pressing my body closer to his. There was no mistaking it was a he with the tell-tale rock hard cock rubbing against my ass. Unwilling to fully wake up, I kept my eyes closed and shifted so I was mostly on my back.
“Not dead yet,” I mumbled as I felt a hand as it urged me to lift my arms and then my legs. “Satisfied yet? I moved all my limbs and can speak coherently. Which means I’m fine, so don’t you fucking dare wake me up again.”
A chuckle and a kiss to my forehead were the only responses I remembered as I drifted back to sleep.
I’d been worried I wouldn’t sleep well on my own and it would prove to the guys I needed them in my bed. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted them in my bed, buck ass naked and making me scream their names. If we happened to fall asleep after several orgasms, then fine. I’d been sleeping alone for most of my life and didn’t see the point in changing what wasn’t broken.
I yawned, stretched, and cracked open my eyes to take in the room. However, the sight of Apollo in silky boxers, blindfolded, gagged, and tied to the second bed in the room had me jerking upright. A lightweight blanket fell off me to reveal I was only in my sports bra and undies. When did I get undressed?
Just as I was going to search for my clothes, I heard the bedroom door open. I went for the knife I always kept under my pillow, only to remember I wasn’t at home. My shoulders sagged as Bear entered the room holding a large steaming mug of coffee, which he offered to me.
“You, my grumpy Bear, have earned yourself a blowjob. I’ll even put my hair in pigtails so you can use them as handlebars,” I gushed as I wrapped both hands around the mug.
Upon hearing me, Apollo twitched and tossed his head, followed by muffled sounds as he tried to talk. Ignoring the trussed-up man, I took two large gulps of coffee not caring that it was scalding hot. If I was forced to deal with whatever got our darling Pollyanna turned into some BDSM pinata, coffee was a must.
“Do I even want to know?” I asked, jerking a thumb in the direction of the second bed.
“ The snake decided to sneak in here, undress you, and join you in bed ,” Bear answered.
My jaw actually fell open as I looked between Bear and Apollo, stunned. “He’s still alive.”
“ A fact I’m glaringly aware of, my goddess ,” Bear retorted.
I slipped off the bed and padded over to my grumpy Bear who looked like he hadn’t slept. The moment I was close enough, Bear scooped me up with one arm and lifted me so I could wrap my legs around his waist. Instantly, his lips were on mine and I groaned when I discovered he still tasted like the coffee he’d just had. Bear still didn’t like it when I brushed my tongue against what remained of his, but he didn’t jerk away and shut me down, which was progress.
As our kiss ended, I didn’t want this moment to end quite yet, so I kissed along the scar I found sexy as hell. Slowly, I moved from his mouth to the corner of his eye and followed it to where it disappeared into his hair. A body littered with scars was one thing Bear and I shared, but neither of us seemed to notice them as our bodies collided in carnal pleasure.
A sharp nip over the pulse point in my neck had me rearing back so I could see Bear’s face. Ever so slowly, he slid me down his body until I was on my feet once more. He tucked some hair behind my ear when it fell into my eyes.
“ You don’t have to do that, my goddess ,” Bear said, and I knew he was referring to me kissing his scar. “ Unlike my tongue, I earned all these scars fighting to survive long enough for you to find me. They are a source of pride I wear for all to see. The few times I began to doubt that truth, all I had to do was meet your gaze and I was reminded. A wolf as strong as you would never allow weakness to stay by her side .”
I tossed my head back and laughed. “Bear, the last thing I would ever call you is weak. But I’m glad to know how you view your scars, so I don’t feel bad finding them hella sexy.”
Apollo thrashed in his binding and tried to scream as loud as he could.
“I think someone's trying to get our attention,” I commented as I grabbed a shirt I found folded on the bench at the end of the bed.
It was oversized and comfortable, which was exactly what I needed. There was also a pair of black butter-soft biker shorts yanked on before ambling my way over to Apollo. With a flourish, I plucked off the eye mask and grinned at the flames of fury that flickered in his gaze.
“Good morning, sunshine, did you sleep well? I only ask because you look a little tied up at the moment,” I pointed out.
Apollo narrowed his eyes as he yanked at the ropes as muffled rage spilled out of his mouth.
“So sorry, I couldn’t understand a word you were saying,” I said, leaning closer. “Try saying it again.”
“Fuuuk yoo,” Apollo managed to say.
“You know, little siren, it might help if you took the wadded-up sock out of his mouth,” Erik interjected from where he was leaning against the bedroom door.
For a man who drank roughly half a bottle of hundred-proof vodka, he was looking rather well rested. Erik still wasn’t putting much weight on his left leg, but the wrinkles around his eyes from pain were gone.
I flashed Erik a bright smile. “Who said I wanted to be helpful? The way I hear it, Polly deserves to be tied up for thinking he could sneak into my bed last night.”
“He what?” Erik demanded, then turned his attention to Bear. “Why the fuck is he still alive?”
“ Because my goddess would be furious if I took the kill from her. I learned a long time ago that if someone crosses the line when it comes to her body, Von is the only one who can decide what’s a fitting punishment, ” Bear answered.
Erik looked like he wanted to argue but sighed and met my gaze. “While I’m not sure I could offer the same restraint, I see his point. Just know, little siren, if anyone dares to disrespect you in front of me I’m taking action.”
“Be still my dark and twisted heart,” I gushed, waving a hand as if to cool myself off. “If I hadn’t already kidnapped you, that kind of talk would have made me do it all over again.”
The proud grin on Erik’s face caused my heart to flutter oddly as if his words truly meant something to me. What the fuck is happening? Am I feeling shit?
Shaking my head, I brushed those worries away and rested a hand on my hip as I looked down at Apollo. “I’m going to remove the gag, but do yourself a favor and don’t scream. If you do, then I’ll just have to break your jaw to keep you quiet.”
We held each other's gaze for what felt like hours, but in reality was probably seconds. I’m sure he was checking to see if I was bluffing, but as people quickly found out, I don’t bluff. Slowly, without breaking eye contact, Apollo nodded and relaxed against the bed.
Bear had made damn sure the man couldn’t simply spit out the gag by tying a necktie around his head, holding it in place. It took a second for me to loosen the knot enough to pull the tie down around Apollo’s neck. The gag hadn’t been a pair of socks but good old tidy whites. My guess was they had to be Beppe’s, since I knew Bear didn’t wear any, and Erik used some fancy type of compression shit to keep Big Red where he belonged.
Using two fingers, I pinched the fabric, pulled the soggy underwear out of his mouth, and then glanced at Bear. “Please tell me these were clean, and I’m not touching shit-stained underwear of the man I consider to be a surrogate grandfather.”
Bear didn’t answer, instead, he grinned like a cat who caught the canary, and I promptly dropped the fabric where it landed on the floor.