Chapter 64 #2
His black eyes are focused as he works, allowing me the chance to really appreciate how fucking handsome he is.
The rough stubble across his jaw scratched against my most intimate parts.
His narrowed eyes are the darkest shade of brown, but when the light hits them just right there are flecks of honey, copper, and warm milk chocolate mixed within their depths.
There’s a small scar on the underside of his chin, one across his eyelid, and another that intersects his collarbone.
I wonder what caused them. A fresh, angry welt mars his inner wrist. A near perfect circle. A burn.
Slowly and carefully, he clips through the x’s crisscrossed over my lips.
He smells like blood, like violence, like protection. And I breathe it deeply into my lungs, his expensive cologne muddled in with the scent calms my thundering heart.
“Stop looking at me like that,” he says, flicking his eyes to mine.
I hum a “why?”
“It’s distracting.”
My lips pull against the remaining bindings in a smile.
“Stop smiling,” he grumbles.
My lips fall, and I mumble mockingly.
“Fuck, I can’t wait to get this shit off you.” The clipping stops, and I fight the smile this time as he starts to pull the bloody pieces of cotton covered wire from my skin.
“Stay still, this piece is sharp and tucked behind your lip.”
I bet my breath is fucking atrocious, I think.
I hold the air in my lungs as he pulls my bottom lip down, cutting the wire two more times, then removing the jagged pieces from my mouth.
He exhales a heavy breath, fingers running over the holes in my skin. “Any more pieces?”
I shake my head.
“You can talk now, you know.”
I shrug.
“Rose…” he growls and I smile.
He throws himself at me, pressing his lips into mine.
A twinge of pain shoots through my lips and a small sound escapes. He pulls away like I’ve burned him, but I’m faster. Curling my fingers into the back of his shirt, I stop him from escaping. “I shouldn’t have left,” he whispers.
“No, you shouldn’t have. But that’s only because I missed you, not because I blame you. This isn’t your fault.”
He scoffs in disagreement. “So, your voice does work.”
I smirk. There’s something about getting under his skin that just lights me up in the best way.
“Boss?” a male voice hollers from a distance, somewhere by the lobby, I assume.
“Ripley!” a deeper, more masculine voice calls out, closer than the other.
“Where are you, motherfucker?” the first one yells, less thick with concern this time.
My brows furrow in worry as the two male voices echo down the hall, advancing on us.
“Yeah, you grumpy fuck, where are you?”
Ripley’s head hangs, huffing. “I really wanted you to be wearing pants for this.”
“Whaaaaat the fuck is happening?” I ask warily.
“You’re about to meet Kyle and Bucky. My second-in-command and my tech genius.”
“We’re more than that asshole,” the one with glasses and an auburn mullet says from one side of the doorway.
“Yeah, we’re loverrrrsssssss,” another man says, poking his head of shaggy brown hair through the door.
“Hold me back, flower, before I kill them.”
“You wouldn’t!” The brunette objects comically as he moves into the room. “Hmmm, interesting…” he murmurs, observing us. “Bucky, are you seeing what I’m seeing?”
“I am. Interesting indeed.”
“You’re both fired,” Ripley grumbles.
“Yeah fucking right,” the red head chortles.
“Umm… Which one is which?” I ask quietly.
“I’m Kyle,” the brunette pipes up before Ripley can respond.
“I used to be better looking, but then I had to wear this asshole’s face to make the plan work.
Just know, when you’re sitting on his face, it used to look like mine.
” He extends his hand for a shake, but Ripley bats it away with the hand that isn’t cradling my body against his.
Kyle winks, knowing he’s pissing off his boss. Ripley narrows his chilling gaze on him, and he blows a fucking kiss at Rip in return before darting out of reach.
“That’s Bucky.” Kyle juts his thumb in the direction of the other guy. “He likes computers, poker, marsupials, and loose women.”
“Jesus fucking Christ, Kyle,” Bucky complains, face blushing fast as he rubs the back of his neck.
“You get a look at the system?” Rip asks, ignoring their wild ribbing.
“Not yet, wanted to check in first.”
“You’ll need to go retrieve Maximus’s hand for the bio-analysis.”
Bucky’s eyes widen as all the colour drains from his face. “You…you didn’t do that yet?”
“Been a little busy, bud. You don’t mind the art project, do you?”
“N-no.”
I pipe up, “Stop being cruel, Ripley. He’s got a lot of work ahead of him.”
“Yea, Ripley,” Kyle parrots, “stop being so mean to poor ol’ Buckster. You know he doesn’t like blood.”
“We can go get Maximus’s body and bring it to them.
They can manage from there, right?” I cast my sight between the two men who nod in shocked agreement.
Who the fuck am I? Why am I speaking at all?
These three clearly have years of friendship between them, they’re definitely more than just colleagues.
Ripley leans close, talking low. “I don’t want you to have to go back in that room.”
“Oh, I’ll be okay.”
He pulls back just enough to lock my gaze, something passing between us that goes unsaid. I can see the torment on his face. He doesn’t want to go back down there, past all the carnage he wrought to get me out.
“Okay,” I whisper. “Let’s get out of here, they can handle it.”
Relief smooths over his face as he straightens. “Find the other members of the team, they’ll show you where the bodies are. Maximus is the one with a face full of lead…” he looks to me, smirking coyly, “not the one missing a dick.”