Page 19

Dalton

“Afterglow” - Smash Into Pieces

I was pretty sure that Annette had made me forget each day I was there. Evidently, with the “day of reckoning” upon me, she wasn’t worried about what I remembered. She’d left last night after feeding me and chaining me back to the bed, telling me she didn’t trust herself in the same bed with me.

Thank fuck for small favors.

Though I knew she was in the house because I’d never heard a car leave last night.

I still had no clue exactly what she had planned for me. Other than to “breed” with me. She had said she was a succubus. Ordinarily, I would’ve thought she was just a lunatic, but the fact that she’d been able to manipulate my mind and body? That was the true insanity.

I’d wracked my brain trying to remember anything I’d ever heard about the lore of a succubus. The thing was, most people didn’t have long, drawn-out conversations about shit like that. They made comments like, “She seduced me in the night like she was a damn succubus—I couldn’t not fuck her.” Things like that.

One thing I vaguely recalled was that supposedly they needed semen to survive. Or maybe it was that they just needed sex? Hell, I couldn’t remember. Then again, I kind of thought that I’d heard they could fuck a man and suck the very life from him.

I’d never paid much attention because it had all been bullshit—or so I’d thought.

Never in my life had I wished I’d paid more attention to folklore. I wasn’t sure if she planned on killing me or keeping me until she knew she had conceived. Either option sucked monkey balls.

Five fucking days… I glanced at the windows where the sun was lighting up the sky.

Well, now six. Tonight would be the full moon. I had no idea if I had until it was dark or until the moon made its appearance in the sky. That meant Valentine’s Day was tomorrow if I’d counted correctly. Or was it the next day?

Ryian must be going out of her mind.

That hurt more than the thought of what might happen to me. Causing her pain or sorrow practically tore me in two. The thought of being forced to fuck another woman made me nauseous. I’d not been able to bring myself to do it the entire time we’d been apart. The thought of being forced to do it against my will had fury burning in my veins.

“Good morning,” her cheerful voice said from the doorway.

My lip curled in disgust as I lifted my head to stare at her.

She was wearing a long black robe that was completely transparent. Despite the fact that many men might say she had the perfect body, she did nothing for me. To me, she was repulsive.

A knowing grin lifted the corners of her mouth before she sauntered toward me. She paused at the end of the bed, where she lightly ran her fingers over the top of my foot and under the hem of the pants I wore. Then she frowned, and I watched as her fingernails grew into talon-like claws.

Refusing to give her the satisfaction of a reaction, I pressed my lips flat and gave her a bored stare. My nostrils did flare when she used those damn nails to slice the fabric of my pant leg from the hem to the waist.

She seemed extremely pleased with herself as she flipped the destroyed fabric open to expose me. Then she untied the sheer robe and climbed onto the bed.

Panic set in. “It’s not the full moon yet!” I tried, grasping at straws to buy more time.

“Oh, I know. But I didn’t say you would get to come. I just want a little taste,” she whispered as she stared down at my cock like she was starving. When she lowered her head to lick my hip and over my groin, I bucked and fought, but that only made her laugh.

She wrapped her hand around my length. As if my head and body were on disconnect, it hardened in her hold. When she lowered her head toward it, I roared in anger.

Suddenly, the door bounced off the wall, and a voice that sounded as if it had been dragged from the depths of hell boomed, “Annette!”

Face ashen, she froze. Then she hopped up and spun toward the door.

My heart thudded in my heaving chest. All I could do was thank the heavens for whoever it was as I stared at the ceiling.

“Séamus! What are you doing here?” she finally choked out.

“Stopping you from making a mistake,” he ground out as he stalked into the room. His shoes on the hardwood floors gave away his movements.

Finally, I lifted my head slightly to see this man who had the ability to scare the shit out of Annette but also saved me. He was tall, elegantly dressed in what looked like an expensive-as-hell suit, and power seemed to radiate off of him in waves. This was a man used to getting his way and likely with good reason.

His eyes appeared almost black as they remained locked on Annette.

“This isn’t a mistake! Do you know what he is?”

“I’m aware.”

“Then why are you angry? Why wouldn’t you want me to have incredibly powerful offspring?” she demanded as she pouted. Petulantly, she crossed her arms.

“Perhaps because you can barely control your own urges. How many times have I had to clean up your messes because you accidentally killed the men you used?” he snapped as he glared at her, and she clutched her throat as if invisible hands were choking her.

“P-P-P-Please,” she choked out.

“If you were anyone else, I would’ve ended you by now,” he calmly enunciated. “Your father and I will be having a talk. Now, if you value your existence, get dressed and get out of my sight while I’m still able to honor the promise I made to your father, as he hasn’t honored his to me.”

Without another word, she scurried around him and through the group of men in the doorway. A few glanced after her appreciatively. Though Séamus had his back to them, he sighed and said, “I wouldn’t if I were you.”

That’s when I realized one of the men was Killswitch, another was my brother, and the rest wore Kings of Anarchy cuts. “Um, can someone help me out? Also, not that I’m ashamed of it, but I’d appreciate it if my dick wasn’t out for you all to see.”

With a flick of his wrist, the shackles shattered, and I quickly sat up, pulling the pant fabric over to cover my junk. Séamus then turned to the waiting men with a smirk. “I told you I wouldn’t need your help. Truthfully, you only slowed me down as I had to travel conventionally so you could follow.”

They scowled but wisely kept their tongues.

Séamus then snapped his fingers, and I was dressed in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt that felt as if they were made for me. The outfit was complete with underwear, socks, and boots. “Unless you want to ride on the back of one of their motorcycles, you’ll be riding with me,” he informed me.

I stood up and nodded.

Then we exited the room. As we left the house, I got a look around. It was an old plantation-style home that, other than the added modern conveniences, looked like it had been plucked straight from its heyday. I had been right; whoever owned it had some serious money.

Out front, there were several bikes parked behind a blacked-out Porsche. I wondered how neither Annette nor I had heard them pull up.

“Because I couldn’t have her hear me coming. That might’ve ruined the rescue. Don’t you think?” he matter-of-factly replied as if I’d asked the question aloud.

Shit, maybe I had. My brain seemed to be still catching up.

“Get in,” he instructed. “I have a lot to fill you in on during the drive.”

The things he told me as we made the nearly two-hour drive back to the KOAMC’s clubhouse left me reeling and my brain wondering if I was losing my mind.

“Definitely not losing your mind. Yet your life could’ve been very different if your father hadn’t been murdered,” Séamus replied to my thought.

That was getting creepy.

He chuckled.

“But my father wasn’t murdered. He was killed in a motorcycle accident on his way to the hospital the day I was born,” I explained, realizing he may not know the full story.

He glanced over at me for what seemed a bit too long for my comfort as he was driving. “You do remember me telling you that your father was one of the first fallen angels, right? Do you really think he would be that easy to kill? His death was definitely no accident, though someone went to great lengths to make it appear so.”

We turned into the driveway for the clubhouse, and he stopped the vehicle.

“Regardless of why you did it, I thank you for rescuing me.”

“Of course. But don’t worry, I will be compensated,” he airily replied as I climbed out of the sleek sports car.

I didn’t like the sound of that.

“Tell them I will be back after I deal with Annette’s father.”

“Okay.”

I watched as he drove off.

The bikes had pulled in and parked. Most of the guys had gone inside. Killswitch, Dallas, and Mako waited outside for me. I approached, and Killswitch held out a hand, which I shook.

“Thank you for finding me,” I told them.

“That was on Séamus,” Killswitch admitted with a shrug.

“Well, you still came with. I’m sorry I missed a bunch of appointments at the shop. I’ll find a way to make it up,” I promised. “But I’d really like to see my family. Séamus said they were here?”

“They are, and don’t worry about the appointments, they’ve been rescheduled, and no one had an issue,” Killswitch assured me as he shook my hand.

Dallas gave me a huge hug as Killswitch and Mako went inside the clubhouse. “I was worried about you, little brother,” he said. “I couldn’t find a trail on you, and we were stumped. Thankfully, Séamus came through.”

We both went inside, and a grin lifted my lips as I saw Ryian lift her head hopefully. In what seemed like slow motion, she got to her feet and ran to me. I caught her as she launched herself into my arms.

“Hey, baby,” I softly murmured as I held her tightly in my trembling arms.

“Hey,” she whispered back, though it was followed by a sniffle, and I knew she was probably crying.

“Happy almost Valentine’s Day,” I teased in an attempt to make her laugh.

It worked because she chuckled as she extricated herself from my hold and wiped her face. Then she cradled my cheeks in her hands and looked up at me. “You’re… okay?”

“I’m fine, I promise.”

Then she hugged me again.

***

We had decided to take the club up on their offer to let us crash there for the night. I had been informed that the club had Ryian, her mom, and Anson staying there, as no one knew why I had disappeared or what it meant for their safety. I was eternally grateful to them.

Anson and I had spent most of the day together outside, and Ryian and I had just tucked him into bed. We were sitting out in the common area with everyone having a few drinks.

“What I don’t understand is that if my father was a fallen angel, then who was the woman that we thought was his mother and left me her house?” I asked.

Dallas snorted. “According to what Séamus found out today, she was a crotchety old woman who he used to take care of because she let him live in the lower level of her house when he first arrived in New Orleans. He developed a grudging affinity for the grouchy woman for some reason, which is why he took her last name, spelled differently, for his identity here.”

“I’m sure there was more to it,” Séamus added before easing his glass to his lips.

Ryian got up and hugged her uncle, then each of the members who had gone with to save me. I still couldn’t believe I’d been abducted by a woman. It hurt my manhood to know I’d been taken by a small woman, despite knowing the details I now knew.

She threw her arms around Séamus last. He appeared momentarily startled by the act of affection, but he finally gave her a brief hug back. When he did, he pushed her back almost immediately and plucked her drink from her hand. “No more of this for you.”

“What? Hey! Give that back!” she snapped playfully as she reached for the drink he held out of her reach.

Séamus scowled. “You shouldn’t be drinking in your condition.”

“My condition?” Ryian drew out as her head reared back.

Séamus motioned toward her abdomen. “That little spawn you have growing in there. Alcohol is terrible for it.”

Ryian’s jaw dropped before her palm instinctively went to her belly. “I’m not pregnant!” she insisted.

Everyone in hearing distance stared—including Killswitch and Amy. While Amy appeared thrilled, Killswitch cocked a brow and stared pointedly at me.

“I beg to differ,” Séamus shot back. He then turned to me after glancing at his watch. “I have somewhere to be. I’ll be in touch. There are several things you need to be trained to handle. Don’t take that amulet off until we do.”

He finished off Ryian’s drink, set the glass on the table, and walked out as if he hadn’t just dropped an atomic bomb.

I gently laced my fingers with Ryian’s. Still in shock and with her one hand still on her belly, she looked up at me. Love exploded through my chest as I stared into her beautiful hazel eyes. “I love you, Ryian. We’ve got this.”

She blinked, but she finally nodded and goofily smiled.

The conversation and activity around the room had gone back to normal, but we seemed cocooned in our own little world.

Well, it appeared that my Valentine’s Day present was going to need to be modified. I made note to pull the bottles of wine out of the basket to hide until after the baby was born.

“I love you too,” she softly replied and hugged me tightly.

As I returned the hug, I knew I would never take another thing for granted again.