Chapter Twenty-Six
AVA
C ato had told me to just wait. To be patient. Hadn’t I spent all of my life waiting? What were a few more days, weeks, months? I could do it. I would do it—for him.
While I waited, I didn't know what to do with myself. There was no way I was going to reach out to Tiffany, and I wasn’t ready to talk to Orla yet. There was still so much hurt there, trust that had splintered, and I didn’t know if I’d ever get past it.
That’s how I’d found myself back at SixTen, drinking coffee and eating cake with a mafia queen. After two days of moping, Rosie had invited me over for a baking session, which comprised of getting baked with Cato and making chocolate brownies.
We laughed until we cried, and not just because we were high.
We laughed because Rosie was wearing a chocolate smeared T-shirt that said ‘Baking—because murder is wrong’ while she recounted a story about a Cartel member who tried to attack her in her own diner a few weeks ago. She’d cut his nose off for the impertinence of it.
We laughed because Cato talked about trying to expand Nicco’s horizons, which led to them being caught semi-naked in the confessional booth of The Family church. Nicco’s mama had prayed extra hard for them that day.
We laughed because Julian told me about the time Rosie throat-punched Creed over a croissant. And how Eli had then tried to shave her head in retaliation.
We laughed, because otherwise I’d cry.
This was the real WunderLnd, The Family I was now part of, but that didn’t mean I can forget my actual family.
Sleep was a thing of the past, as my conflicted feelings would hit me in waves. Laying in the dark, I’d remember something good from my childhood or a time where I thought I was happy and the guilt would weigh on me. It was like a heaviness in the pit of my stomach, threatening to bring me to my knees.
They were my blood. My brother and father. The people who were supposed to love and protect me, but instead they’d crushed me. Without my mother to protect me, they’d worn me down. Family dinners just made me feel sick and tired of being on the outside looking in, especially when everything started collapsing. But they were still my family.
Creed might want to kill them.
That’s how they dealt with things, and I needed to work through how I felt about that. Do I just stay silent and keep out of it? Should I plead for leniency? Do I ask to be kept in the dark and pretend that I’m ignorant of their fates?
It was getting too much, and I had no idea what was in store. Cato texted me daily, checking in and reminding me I just needed to hold out a little longer. Julian promised me that Eli would be released soon, but soon is such a vague concept.
That’s what had driven me to go for a run this morning, another one of Cato’s texts triggering my need to scream and pound my frustration out on the trail along the docks. Running until my chest hurt and my legs ached, I’d finally found my way back to my apartment.
The florist who rents the ground floor from me, Lyra, comes out to greet me as I go past the front door.
“Morning, Ava.” She smiles warmly. A young boy with golden cherub curls and large mossy green eyes peeks out from behind her flowy shirt shyly. “Jesse saw you leave for your run and wanted to give you this.”
She nudges the five-year-old forward, and he hands me a bunch of daisies, mixed with white chrysanthemums and gypsophila, tied up with a yellow ribbon.
“Thank you, they’re beautiful.” Holding them to my chest, I inhale the summery scent. When was the last time someone bought me flowers? Waving to them as I round the building to my door, I say, “Have a nice day both.”
Letting myself into my apartment, I kick off my trainers and head straight for my kitchen cabinets to dig out a vase for my pretty flowers. Placing them on my windowsill, it isn’t until I catch something in the reflection of my microwave that I realize there’s someone sitting on my couch.
Spinning on my heel, I almost scream until my brain registers the man sitting there, smirking with his legs spread and his arms draped over the back of my sofa like he owns the place.
“Jesus Christ! You almost gave me a heart attack…” I half-shriek, placing a hand over my chest, feeling the galloping beat beneath my palm. “How did you even get in here? No…don’t tell me.”
I lift my hand to silence him when his lips part and his eyes flash. I know I won’t like whatever he says, so there’s no point in having an answer. Creed would always find a way in.
“You’re supposed to be in Ogmore.” Taking a few tentative steps forward, I stop near the end of the couch. “Did you break out? No. Don’t tell me that either.”
He laughs, and there are butterflies in my stomach. I’d never seen him in his normal clothes, only in prison garments. Obviously, when I’d been doing my research on him, I’d come across plenty of pictures of him at events like charity galas where he wore suits, but this was different.
There’s a black motorcycle helmet placed on my coffee table like some sort of centerpiece and his leather jacket is draped over my armchair. He’d made himself very much at home. The white T-shirt he’s rocking is practically molded to his body, clinging to his muscular frame. Faded black jeans with rips in the knee, hug his thick thighs and the combat boots just finish the whole look. Add in the tattoos and the eyebrow scar and if I wasn’t already in love with him, I would definitely be halfway there now.
Shit.
My mind rewinds to replays that thought.
There it is.
I’m in love with Elijah Creed.
“The charges were overturned. The case was always weak but then evidence magically emerged that proved there was corruption in the system.” He snorts and reaches for my hand, pulling me to stand between his legs. “It turns out that the warden had also been taking bribes. Shocking behavior.”
Climbing into his lap, I bury my face against his neck, inhaling the musky, rich scent of him. Needing more, I bite down lightly, nibbling the curve where his neck meets his shoulder. I love this man, and it will never be enough. I’ll never get enough of him.
Stroking my hair, he makes a small humming noise as he tilts his head back to give me more access. “You’re nuzzling a free man, Rabbit.”
For now. Until the next time something like this happens…I suck on his skin, angry with myself for needing him so much. He couldn’t leave me. Not now. Not ever.
“C’mere, Rabbit.” As if sensing my desperate mood and the way my body has tensed, Eli nudges me up so that he can cup my face. His thumbs brush against my cheeks softly as he peppers my face with tender little kisses. “I missed you.”
“You saw me a few days ago.” I say as he kisses the tip of my nose.
Another kiss lands just above my eyebrow. “It was too long.”
“I missed you too.”
“How much?”
Sliding off his legs and down onto the floor, I grin. “Let me show you.”
“Hmmmm, I like where this is going Rabbit, but I’m also going to need to see those tits of yours. Now.”
Grateful I wore my zip front sports bra this morning, I worked quickly to tear it off and toss it aside, leaving me in only my running shorts and socks.
“C’mon Rabbit. Those too.” Eli whines as he practically rips off his own clothes as if they were burning his skin.
Laughing and giggling, I pull off my socks and shimmy my way out of my shorts and underwear, sitting back on the floor with my legs spread to give him something to look at while he works his jeans down.
Elijah was the stuff of dark fantasies, muscular and covered in ink, alluring and filthy. He definitely wasn’t the man you brought home for dinner. No, he was the one who chased you through the woods to fuck you in the dirt, telling you to take it like a good girl. Especially with his thick, fat cock slapping against his stomach when he moves.
When he’s just as naked as I am, I crawl back between his spread thighs. Trailing my fingers over his body, I get a closer look at the ink on his legs. It was like the pages of a mythology book. A goddess seemed to be wound around the top of his thigh, while demons and creatures intertwined the design to his ankle. The terrifyingly striking design continues on his other leg, with gods and what appeared to be a Viking warrior.
“I love your ink,” I admit, placing a kiss just above his knee.
“This one right here is my favorite.” On his chest, near his heart, he points out a tattoo of…a rabbit. It’s almost geometric in design, but there’s no questioning exactly what it is.
“When? Who? How?” Full sentences seem beyond me right now.
Eli leans forward and claims my mouth in a kiss, invading my senses, and he hungrily takes what he wants from me. “A scrawny Russian named Pascha did it in exchange for half a bottle of vodka and some porn.”
Pushing him back against the couch cushions, I wrap a hand around his hard shaft and angle the head of his cock towards me. I had planned to drag it out, to drive him insane with lust and need, but seeing that tattoo had me feral and desperate for him in any way I could get him.
Lowering my face, I watch as a bead of pre-cum forms on the tip of his flushed dick. It throbs, hot and heavy in my hand and I know my warm breath just glancing over his skin is driving him wild as he tosses his head back with a groan and scrubs his face with his hands.
“Is it possible to come just because you looked at my cock a certain way, Rabbit? Because I feel like if you don’t do something soon, that will be the case.”
Grinning coyly, I lean in and flick my tongue over his slit, lapping up pre-cum and making the mushroom tip glisten with my spit.
“Bunny…” he warns, as I continue teasing him with tiny kittenish licks. I can see him counting in his head, trying to exercise patience, but after a few minutes of me gently tasting him, he fists his hands in my hair.
“You asked for it, Rabbit.” He growls, guiding me onto his cock, pushing past my lips and lodging himself inside my mouth. “Now you’re going to take my dick like a good girl.”
Pulling out slowly, he lets his heavy cock drag over my tongue before he pushes back inside. He does this slow, taunting push and pull until I reach up and massage his balls.
“Fuck, you’re doing such a good job, Ava. You’re going to make me come if you keep that up, baby.” He rolls his hips faster, picking up the tempo as I swallow back a gag.
Slurping and sucking, I know I’m making a mess as he continues to thrust, fucking my face and taking what he needs.
“You’re so perfect for me. Such a good little bunny.” He thrusts into me mercilessly, spit trickling from the corners of my mouth as I try to relax my jaw to accommodate him.
“Fuck, I wanna come on your face Rabbit.” He grunts, pulling out and taking his cock in hand. “Need to mark you up.”
It only takes a few pumps before hot ropes of cum shoot from his dick, landing across my cheek and mouth. As he teases out the last weak spurts of his orgasm, he moves the slick, sticky tip of his cock over my face before pushing back between my lips, letting me taste the salty tang of him.
“I’m not done with you yet,” Eli promises as he helps me to my feet and lifts me. Wrapping my legs around his waist, I let him carry me into the bedroom.
A fter fucking me for hours last night, we had ordered some takeout and then I had ridden his cock on my sofa before we crawled back into my bed. Covered in fresh hickeys, dried cum and sweat, I’ve never been so thoroughly satisfied while also being a little sore and worn out.
That doesn’t stop Elijah from gently parting my thighs and sliding inside me before I’ve even come round fully. Glancing at my bedside clock, and seeing that it’s not yet even seven AM, I groan. His mouth seals over mine, swallowing my grumbles as he fucks me slowly, taking his time to turn my sleepy complaints into moans of ‘more!’
Rocking into my body lazily, he reaches down between us and teases light circles over my clit. Given how abused and over-stimulated my nerve endings had been for the last twenty-four hours, it takes barely no time at all for my orgasm to wash over me. My body clenches, and squirming around Eli’s cock, until he lets out a small grunt and a wet heat floods me. When he eventually pulls out, Eli settles between my legs and uses his fingers to keep his cum stuffed inside me.
“I’m going to need to do that twice a day from now on.” He slaps me lightly on my ass before biting down on my thigh, leaving yet another mark.
“Twice?” I say, almost slurring as tiredness hits me and I pull the sheets around me like a cocoon. “You should be so lucky.”
“C’mon, we need to shower.” His warm hands move over my skin as he tries to gently shake me, but I curl up tighter into the bedsheets, my eyes fluttering closed.
“Mmmmm, you go first. I’m just going to stay in bed a little longer.”
“Ava…” I feel his finger trace over my cheek.
“Mm?” His chuckle as he enters the bathroom and turns the water makes me smile sleepily. As the door clicks shut, I drift to sleep, feeling more content than I have in a while.
Sharp pain in my scalp wakes me as I’m dragged from my bed by my hair and thrown onto the floor. Someone kicks me in the stomach, forcing me to curl up on myself while another kick to my ribs makes me cry out.
What the hell was going on? Where was Elijah?
“Keep your fucking mouth shut, Ava.” My brother’s voice is low, as he grabs my hair again and yanks my head up. He slaps me across the face so hard I feel like my eyes rolled back in my head. The smell of alcohol rolls off him as he kicks my leg. “You’ve already ruined everything, so now you’re going to help me fix it.”
My body is on fire and I can’t help the sob that escapes me. “Why’re you doing this?”
He snorts and drags me from the bedroom, pushing me into the living room. Forcing me to my knees, he snatches up my throw from the back of the sofa and tosses it at me so I can cover up.
“Why did I start working for the mafia? Why did I frame Creed? Ask father,” he spits as he takes a glug from an open bottle on my coffee table and looks away. How long had he been in my apartment just waiting for an opportunity? Had he been listening to us have sex? How long had he been drinking? “Men like Creed, like his boss, don't deserve the lives they live.”
His pupils are huge, and I realize he’s taken something as he fists his own hair, yanking and pulling before slapping his cheek, over and over. “It’s all ruined now anyway...they’re going to kill us.”
I’ve never seen him like this before. He’s switching between angry, frightened and upset and I’m struggling to keep up.
“Princess Ava, untouchable, innocent Ava.” He laughs, but it’s hollow as he pulls something out from the waistband of his jeans. Pressing the barrel of the gun against my temple, the cold metal making me flinch as he leans in and hisses by my ear. “You know father didn’t want you involved because he didn’t think you had the balls for it. That’s ironic isn’t it, little snitch?”
A moment later, Eli’s voice calls out. “Ava? Rabbit? Where’ve you gone?”
“Fuck, he showered quicker than I thought he would,” Andrew slurs with a grin. The man is unhinged.
A moment later, Eli appears in my bedroom door. His dark eyes seem to blaze and he looks at me, kneeling on the floor wrapped in a throw, my face swollen.
“Don’t come any closer, Left Hand.” Eli lifts his hand in surrender, but listens, not taking another step forward. Andrew laughs, cocking the gun. “Looks like we found your weakness Creed, my whore of a sister.”
“Andrew…”
“Shut it, bitch!” He strikes me again, this time with the butt of the gun. The copper tang in my mouth tells me he’s split my lip.
My whole-body tenses as Eli moves into the room, looking bored.
“Stay the fuck back!” Andrew screeches, shifting his body so that he’s still facing Elijah. “I’m warning you!”
“You know why your little scheme with daddy was always going to fail, Bass?” Eli, standing near my window, plays with my blinds, tapping them as if he’s finding the whole situation tedious.
“Why?”
“Because men like you are weak. You don’t have what it takes to lead.” Pulling on the cord for the blind, Eli lets the morning light flood my apartment. “Pathetic, really.”
“Weak?” Andrew bellows, his face red. “I could kill you, both of you.”
“But you’re not going to. Because I won’t let that happen.”
“You can’t stop me.”
Leaning back so that he’s half perched on my window ledge, Eli crosses his arms. “I can and I will. So, choose, Bass.”
Andrew scoffs and pushes his gun back against my head. “Fuck yo?—”
There’s a muffled bang as the window shatters and Andrew falls to the floor with a hole in his head. Blood oozes out, spreading into a puddle on the hardwood flood.
“Rabbit, are you okay?” he asks as he rushes forward and pulls me into a tight hug. “Talk to me, Ava.”
“No,” I breathe into his neck, my fingers digging into his back as I hold on tight. Bursting into tears, I choke out, “I’m not alright.”
Eli rocks us gently. “Shhhh. I’ve got you. He can’t hurt you now.”