Darren nodded, knowing full well the second reason he was here was much
better than the first. “You’re welcome,” he said, his eyes narrowing in on me.
“And I also wanted to let you know,” I began again, my heart suddenly beating
out of control. “That … I think I’m ready to leave the island.” There, I said it.
Darren’s head turned to the side a bit as he raised his brow, regarding me
carefully. The intensity of his eyes had my nerves quaking and my body heating up.
“You think?” he asked, his arms crossing over his chest.
“I am,” I said more confidently.
“Are you sure?” he asked, all too cocky. Fuck, he was so close now; I could feel
the heat radiating from his body.
“Yes,” I said, almost glaring back at him to compete with the intensity of his
gaze.
With one final step, Darren closed the distance between us and slowly brought
his hand to caress my cheek. He gently tucked my hair behind my ear before sliding
his index finger under my chin to lift my face up.
“You know what happens when we go back home.” It wasn’t necessarily a
question, though I didn’t really want him to reveal the answer. But the look in his
eyes was all the answer I needed because I immediately recognized that look
—hunger.
“I have a pretty good idea,” I breathed, my heart pounding so loud I swore he
could hear it.
With a slow torturous pace, Darren gently eased his face down to mine, his lips
barely grazing over my own while his warm minty breath tickled my skin.
“I guarantee … it pales in comparison.” And then his mouth was on mine.
The moment our lips connected, it was like gasoline on fire. I wrapped my arms
around his neck while his clung to my hips, pulling me closer to his massive body.
Darren’s tongue dove into my mouth, entangling with mine and eliciting a quiet
moan from my mouth. God, for someone so awful, he tasted so fucking good.
A few short moments later, Darren lifted me up, allowing my legs to wrap
around his hips while his hands supported my ass, squeezing and teasing. Our
mouths still interlocked in an aggressive, desperate kiss, Darren carried me over to
my bed, nearly slamming me down in a hurry. Liquid heat pooled in my core as his
hands traced down my arms, setting my skin on fire.
“I like this dress,” he said, finally breaking our kiss, his voice strained with lust.
“But I like it better on the floor.” And then he ripped the damn thing off me. For
like, the millionth time.
“Hey!” I shouted as I watched the poor garment tossed to the floor in shreds. “I
actually kind of liked that one.”
Darren just gave me his sexy shark-like grin, and his snarkiness only aggravated
me more. So I grabbed his short and forced it open, tearing it slightly and causing
the buttons to fly off.
“You’re not the only one who can rip clothing,” I sneered back.
Darren’s mouth lifted in a knowing smile. “That was a four hundred dollar
shirt,” he drawled as his lips moved closer to my mouth.
“Buy another one,” I said and grabbed his tie to yank him down to my mouth,
which he eagerly obliged.
Clutching his tie tightly in my fist, I kissed him with as much force as I could,
wanting him to know that I was there and unafraid. He kneeled over my body; both
hands on the bed on either side of me to hold up his weight, while one foot
remained on the floor and his other knee planted right between my legs. Darren’s
lips owned mine in every way until I felt a small twinge of pain as his teeth latched
down on my bottom lips, sending the jolt right to my clit.
“Is my princess trying to take control?” he breathed against me. I couldn’t tell if
it was a warning or an invitation.
“Let’s experiment,” I replied, my lips still connecting with his. “You might find
you like it.”
A barely-there chuckle rolled up his throat as he kissed me.
“Well then,” he said, grasping my hips. He then shifted his weight and pulled
me on top of him so that I straddled his lap. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
I smirked.
I brought my mouth down to claim his, pulling his shirt and jacket away while he
rolled his shoulders in compliance to remove the clothing. Tossing his tie to the
side with my tattered dress, I raked my nails down his bare chest while he gripped
my hair and jerked my head to the side, exposing my neck. Pulling me forward,
Darren feasted on my throat while his fingers dove into my slickness, causing my
skin to tingle all over while my nails dug into his muscular shoulders. He stroked
my clit back and forth, creating the most delicious friction while I bit my lip to keep
from moaning too loud.
“You’re cheating,” I breathed huskily as I worked to keep my body from shaking
from the pleasure he was giving me.
“Should I stop?” he asked against my neck as he bit down.
“Don’t you dare.”
And then he bit down harder, marking me with his teeth and causing me to cry
out. Darren then laid all the way down on the bed, pulling my hips with him to
place my aching slit over his mouth. His tongue eagerly began to lap away at my
clit, sending my blood rushing through my veins as my hands dug into his hair.
“Oh, fuck, Darren,” I moaned, unable to control it any longer. I was so close to
oblivion I could almost taste it.
Darren’s hand then smacked my ass hard enough to grab my attention as I
gasped in response at his reminder. Still no cussing.
I found myself nearly riding his face as he feasted on me like a man starved.
Every lick, every lap of his tongue drove me closer and closer until I was right on
the edge.
“Oh, God, I’m there,” I breathed. And then Darren didn’t just nudge me over the
edge, he fucking flat out shoved me.
His tongue dove deeper, harder, increasing the pressure on my clit until I was
screaming in ecstasy; my orgasm powerful enough to cloud everything else around
me. But before it was even over, Darren lifted me off him and speared me right on
to his hard waiting cock. I groaned aloud as a new wave of pleasure rolled over me. I
hadn’t even realized he had somehow managed to shimmy out of his pants while I
was on top of him.
Darren groaned as he wrapped an arm around my waist, strained lust in his eyes
as he fucked me with everything he had. My hands gripped his shoulders as I
worked my body to sustain his pace, my core squeezing his cock for more. Darren
clutched my hips in an almost painful grip, and he slid me up and down his cock,
the force almost too good to handle.
But I knew Darren wouldn’t remain in that position for long.
Before I even realized what he was doing, Darren had me on my back. He stood
over me, fucking me with such force that if he hadn’t been holding my hips, I would
have been on the other side of the bed on the floor by now. But fuck if I didn’t feel
absolutely amazing.
Gripping the sheets beneath me, I kept my legs wrapped around Darren’s waist,
feeling the rush again as the pain from his thrusts collided with my pleasure, and I
screamed out as an agonizingly amazing second o
rgasm hit me. As my core
violently contracted, it gave Darren the final push he needed to fall over the edge
with me, his groans and animalistic growls penetrating my ears as he finished
inside me. Collapsing on top of me, Darren’s mouth rested against my ear as he
held the bulk of his weight up to avoid crushing me. He was breathing heavily,
enough to cause me to smirk inside. I always gave him a run for his money.
Before he was even relaxed, Darren crooked a finger under my collar and yanked
me toward him.
“You are so. Fucking. Mine,” he growled, and a knot suddenly formed in my
stomach. His dark words of possession always scared me a little on the inside.
Sealing his words with a rough kiss, Darren lifted himself from me and picked up
his pants from the floor.
“So much for experimenting,” I murmured, sitting up.
Darren gave me an odd look before gracing me with that sexy grin. “I didn’t stop
now did I?”
“Pft, like you’d ever stop on my accord.”
Darren chuckled at me as he zipped his pants up. “You’re right. You’re too
goddamn gorgeous for me to ever stop.”
I shrugged. “It’s a curse.”
On a grin, Darren finished getting dressed, gathering his ripped clothing before
leaning over my still naked and flushed body for a long goodbye kiss.
“I’ll arrange for us to leave in a week. Right now, I have too much shit to do,” he
said getting up to leave. “I expect you to be asleep in my bed in less than twenty
minutes. Understand?”
“Yes, Darren,” I answered, trying to hide the annoyance in my voice and nearly
failing.
“Good girl,” he said and then shut the door behind him.
Once he was gone, I stood up and stretched my body, hoping to loosen my limbs
a little from the strain they’d just experienced. I then cleaned myself up, washed
my face, brushed my teeth, and changed into a little silk nightie before knocking on
my bedroom door. Blondie answered, only cracking the door enough for me to see
his face.
“I’m ready to go up to Darren’s room now.”
Blondie nodded, opening the door further so I could slip through. My bare feet
padded against the wooden floors as we walked through the halls and up the
carpeted stairs to Darren’s room. Exhaustion hit me the moment my head hit the
pillow, and I was out like a light.
Two hours later, I walked through my bedroom door, exhausted as fuck, but
everything I had just been dealing with instantly melted away the moment I saw
Jaden curled up in my bed. Her glossy red hair was splayed out all around her head
while she hugged the pillow to her chest. God, she was so fucking beautiful and so
fucking mine.
Stripping out of my clothes, I pulled the sheets down to get in beside her only to
find she was still in her little nightie. Clenching my jaw, I furrowed my brows in
irritation. Jaden knew better than this.
As carefully as I could, I pulled the nightie up her body, peeling it over her head
before she finally woke, allowing me to remove the damn thing fully.
“What are you…” she said sleepily, but I just shh’d her.
“You know the rules,” I said, tugging her thong down her legs.
“My bad.” She yawned, closing her eyes.
When she was as she should be, fully naked, I pulled her small body onto my
chest and eased into a comfortable position, pulling the sheet over her shoulders.
Wrapping my arms around her soft skin, Jaden settled into me quickly without
protest, her cheek resting on my shoulder while her tiny hand flattened on my
chest. Placing my hand over hers, I focused on obtaining that inner peace that she
brought me when she was quiet and cute like this. It was moments like these that I
craved—moments when my world finally came to a standstill because Jaden’s slow
rhythmic breathing was the only thing that had my attention. Moments when I was
deep inside her, and she was screaming my name while she erupted around me, and
I could get lost in all her pleasure. Moments when I could burn myself in the hateful
fire of her amber eyes and relish in the pain. Because it was her. Because she was
mine. And no one would jeopardize that. Ever. Anyone who tried to stand between
her and me would meet an end so brutal it would take days to clean up.
And I could feel that jeopardy rising. I still hadn’t located my snitch, and it was
aggravating the shit out of me. Another warehouse had been hit, and the moment I
found the little fucker, I was going to tear him apart. Slowly. I knew it wasn’t
Weldimer or his little gang. I hadn’t heard a peep from those fucks, and according
to Ronald, the transaction had gone through very smoothly. This warehouse was in
Chicago, and though the attackers were easily killed, they left no indication of who
they worked for. The protocol was to keep one of them alive for questioning, and
obviously, that hadn’t happened, so there was no one to retaliate against. I had no
leads. Nothing. Their guns had been purchased illegally with no serial number for
tracking. No wallets, no form of identification, not even a single tattoo to reveal
their loyalties.
Scouts had already been planted among my ranks and all over my warehouses to
sniff out the little fuck divulging information that didn’t belong to them. Sooner or
later, I always found them. It wasn’t the first time someone thought it was a good
idea to betray me, but I’d make damn sure it was the last.
Jaden released a quiet sleepy moan, her eyes wincing as she fidgeted. Bringing
me back to reality, I realized I had been squeezing her hand a little too tightly.
Instantly loosening my grip, Jaden relaxed against me, exhaling deeply through her
feeling the silky strands between my fingers and appreciating how beautiful her
angelic face was when she slept.
Closing my eyes, I eased myself back into the pillows and allowed myself to bask
in the comfort of knowing Jaden was safe and peacefully asleep in my arms.
Sometimes, it was the littlest of things that allowed me to sleep at night. Jaden was
one of them.
18
BAIT
F or the next few days, I continued my usual routine with Holly and the occasional
Scott, proving every day that I was beyond over this shit. I wanted off this
godforsaken island even though I knew my situation wouldn’t be much better when
I returned to the mainland. If I thought I was isolated on the island before, I was in
for a real treat when we got back to the estate. But I had to keep telling myself to
bite the bullet and deal with it. I had earned those consequences, and they were still
fucking worth it knowing Jason and my mom and brothers were out of Darren’s
clutches.
“Come on, Jaden, just one more,” Holly said, almost sounding bored. I furrowed
my brows as I finished my last one-arm push-up and stood on my feet.
“You okay?” I asked as I tried to catch my breath.
“Fine,” she replied dismissively.
I looked at her and cocked an eyebrow, knowing full well something was up.
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Let’s go for
a run.”
“Okay,” I said a little taken aback by her tone.
I followed her out of the gym, Blondie and Hank in tow as we made our way to
the beach. Leaving our shoes on the grass, we took off at an easy jog. I couldn’t help
but glance at Holly every now and then as we kept an even pace along the shore.
She was acting completely out of character. She was quiet, which was completely
unusual, and her eyes kept gazing off as if she were deep in thought about
something.
“Holly, what’s wrong? Are you upset we’re leaving the island soon?”
She shook her head. “No, Jaden. Just something Mr. Davis said to me this
morning.”
I stopped in my tracks, grabbing her arm to halt her to a stop as well. With Hank
and Blondie a good twenty feet behind us, we could conceal the conversation with
how loud the damn waves were.
“What did he say?”
Holly shook her head. Looking down at the ground, she locked her lips together
to keep from spilling what she so obviously desperately wanted to.
“Holly,” I warned, narrowing my eyes at her.
She sighed, dropping her shoulders as she looked on to the ocean.
“He thanked me for my services, said I’d done wonders with you, and that … he
couldn’t wait … for your mother to see how much you’ve improved.”
I felt my heart stop as Holly regarded me closely.
What. The. Actual. Fuck.
Darren had told her my mother had died in the “car accident” I was supposed to
have been in, explaining the cause of my injuries. Why would he fuck up his own
lie? It wasn’t like him to contradict himself, and I doubt he forgot what he had told
her.
Holly’s eyes remained on me as she stared me down like she had more to reveal.
“So, as you can imagine, that left me very confused because after I had left his
office, I remembered being told your mother had perished in that car accident you
were in and was to never bring it up since it was too traumatic for you to talk
about.”
My stomach twisted in knots as Holly’s eyes grew angry.
“So I did a little digging and went through your medical records, which
happened to be very easy for me to access, by the way. There was no mention of a
car accident nor was there any mention of other injuries that would coincide with a