Page 22 of Dark Things (Payback Duet #1)

Rebelle

M y eyes crack open, and immediately I shut them. The curtains peeled back, and the sun feels like a laser beam set to increase the pounding in my head.

I roll over and look at the clock. It’s eleven a.m. on a Friday. Since I don’t have classes today, I should really go back to sleep, but I need pain meds and food, stat.

Groaning, I get out of bed and make my way into the ensuite bathroom. The shower is already running, but Haunt doesn’t notice me. I take full advantage of the alone time and strip down. A shower will help with the headache.

He glances over as I open up the glass door and he smiles, pulling me to him and hiding his face in my neck. “Good morning, gioia mia .”

I groan, resting my forehead on his pec. “Morning, my love. ”

He chuckles, putting his hands on either side of my face before making me look into his eyes. “Hungover?” he asks.

“Yeah, too much bourbon. I think I finished the bottle at one point; I have no idea where it is, though.”

He grabs the shampoo and turns me around, washing my hair in slow, circular movements that make my scalp tingle. It feels more than amazing. I groan and lean back into the sensation.

“Want to tell me what’s bothering you? I’m getting the vibe,” he says.

I squeeze my eyes shut and wish that I didn’t have to do this, but it’s becoming a problem, and I need my ride or die. Last night when I was wallowing in my own pain, I realized I’ve never kept a secret from Haunt, and I don’t think I can start now.

“It’s going to make life harder if you know. I don’t want to put you on the spot. I can handle it.”

He rinses my hair before putting conditioner in and twisting it into a bun at the base of my neck.

I remember the first time he washed my hair and forgot to twist it up.

I hate the feeling of the slippery conditioner on my shoulders.

Since then he’s got my routine down to a perfect science.

It's one of the small reasons I love him, he always knows what I need and if he doesn’t then he learns how to make me happy.

“We’re a team,” he says, tuning me around and scanning my face. He must see the pain, because he pulls me back into a hug. “Tell me who hurt you. Just give me their name. All you have to do is hand me the match.”

He kisses my forehead before taking the loofah and putting some body wash on it. He creates slow circles, starting at my shoulders and working his way down to my stomach. There’s nothing sexual about the movements. Haunt makes me feel comforted.

“It’s about the guys. Colter, Stafford, and Brooks,” I whisper.

He looks up at me from his kneeling position as he washes my legs and feet. “Did they do something? You know I have no problem making them disappear. Or is it that you’re interested and we should have a conversation about adding to our relationship?”

I compose myself for a moment, trying to find the best way to phrase this.

We’ve always had an open policy when it comes to more men added to our relationship.

Usually it’s only for a one-night stand or a few times before we move on.

There’s not a lot we can offer in terms of a relationship, but having fun is something we both enjoy.

“They are…they’re…” I try to get it out, but the tears start to fall, and I don’t stop them in time before he sees.

He drops the loofah and stands, grabbing onto my biceps. “What did they do?” he growls.

I try to stop the tears to answer him, but I can’t get the words out. Why does this hurt so much? I thought I was over them, over the whole mess. I’m so angry, but my soul doesn’t understand what I need to do. It doesn’t understand that we can never be together again.

I exhale and place my hands on his chest. “I knew them before,” I hiccup. I try to stop the shaking, but I can’t seem to control my body.

Haunt rinses my hair quickly before he shuts off the shower and steps out. He dries off quickly and then motions for me to get out, where he wraps me in a towel and dries me off, placing kisses on my skin as he goes. Love pours into each one.

He wraps the towel around my chest and leads me back into my room, making sure the door is locked before leading me over to the bed.

He lies down and pulls me with him, then begins to finger comb my hair over my shoulder and away from my face.

I must be making him wet again, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Before juvie?” he asks. There’s a hesitation in his voice. I wish I knew what he’s thinking. There’s never been an issue before because Haunt is my person, and what we have could never be broken. He’s it for me.

“They were the boys who crushed my heart. They were…Haunt, they were my life, and when it all happened, they left me to deal with the fallout. I haven’t seen them in five years. That first day in the courtyard, I saw Colter, and it was like being punched in the chest with a sledgehammer.”

He pulls me closer, making me shift until I’m lying on his chest. He holds me for a moment before speaking.

“You should have told me. You know there is nothing in this universe that would stop me from making you happy and safe. If you need revenge, know I’m right by your side until I’m no longer breathing.

There is nothing that could happen to make me walk away.

I love you, Reb. Through everything and anything. Dimmi cosa vuoi fare, gioia mia. ”

The tears are back running down my cheeks and onto his chest. It’s making my headache worse, but I can’t move. His arms are the only place I feel like I’m not losing my mind.

“I don’t know. I want revenge. I can’t stand that they get to walk around like nothing happened, free and living their best lives.

The rage I have is like a simmering fire in my gut, always on and never going away, but then they talked to me, and it was like my heart and soul reacted like it always did. I’m fucked in the head.”

He kisses my head before rubbing my back. I know he’s not mad, but I need to see his face. Need to see what he’s feeling.

He pushes the hair off my face before cupping my cheeks. I lean into him and close my eyes. Using his thumbs, he wipes away the tears.

“I want to go over to their house and beat the living shit out of them, but I’m not sure that’s what you want. I’ll play nice until we come up with a plan. They will pay for what they did, but the severity of what I do is up to you. ”

“If they find out who I am, they’ll want answers. They’ll want to know what happened, and I can’t tell them. I don’t trust them enough to allow them in again.”

“Then we keep them at a distance, go about life as normal. I can see how they look at you, like they want to devour you, but I don’t think they recognize it’s you, right?”

I close my eyes, and tuck my hands in between us, rubbing his chest over the ‘R’ tattoo he has next to his heart. It’s blended in with the pitch black smoke surrounding it. I have a matching one on my thigh with an ‘H’.

“Between all the facial surgery, contacts, and the hair dye I’m not sure they can tell.

If they could, they’d have said something, I’m sure.

Well, at least Brooks would. He and I had the most intense relationship out of the guys, not that I could ever choose between them, but he was always attuned to me, like we shared the same soul. ”

He puffs out his cheeks and rubs my hair back on my head. “Two soulmates? Should I be jealous?” he teases, a smirk on his face.

I smile for the first time this morning and grip his neck, bringing his forehead to mine. “You are my life. The air I breathe. Nothing in this world or the next could ever pull me away from you. I love you always and until our last moment.”

He kisses me slowly and sweetly. His hands move to my shoulders and down my sides. He pulls the towel off from between us and pulls me closer. I can feel how hard he is underneath me. I moan, lifting my leg and straddling him.

The kiss turns heated and he fists his hand into the back of my hair and clamps the other on my hip before pushing up to grind into my core.

It doesn’t take much for Haunt to get me ready. I’m always wet the moment after he slips his tongue in my mouth. He rips his towel off and throws it on the floor without breaking the kiss.

I trail my hand down his abs and grasp his length in my hands, giving it an experimental tug before settling it between my legs.

I don’t push down, but I settle it between my lower lips and start to grind harder.

I’m so wet his cock slips easily between my folds, bumping my clit with each glide and making me moan into his lips.

I’m almost about to come when he stops me from moving.

“Put me inside of you. Let me love you,” he whispers into my mouth.

I sit up a bit on my knees and sink down onto his hard cock. We both react, groaning and pulling each other close but we don’t move. His tongue turns wicked in my mouth, coaxing another moan out of me. Just the connection makes my heart feel so full. I could stay here with him inside me all day.

He doesn’t try to rush, but I’m starting to get itchy with the need to move. I start slow, sliding up and down, my movements barely there. The grip on my head tightens before he breaks the kiss to stare into my eyes. All I feel is the love pouring off of him.

“You are my home, Reb. I love you so fucking much.”

He thrusts lightly into me and I start to move quicker with him. This is the moment I live for. Our quiet connection makes me feel like I’m not so broken and full of shadows.

“I love you. You feel so good inside of me,” I groan out, lifting myself up a little higher. Our motions become more. I feel every dip and thrust deep inside of me. “Ahh, yes, just like that. Fuck, love, you’re going to make me come just like this.”

He slips his hand between us and finds my clit with his expert fingers, making lazy circles until I tighten up around him and detonate. I bite his bicep to muffle my moan. When I come down from my orgasm he flips us around so my back is resting on the mattress.

“I wanted to go slow, but I don’t think I can.

I need to feel you come again and fill you up with my cum.

Fuck,” he says, his movements getting faster.

He pulls all the way out before slamming into me, moving me up the bed until he’s grabbing the headboard.

I put my hand up to prevent my head from slamming into it, creating a beautiful resistance to his powerful thrusts.

“You’re going to make me come again,” I say, biting my lip and looking down where his thick cock is entering me. It’s such an erotic sight that I nearly lose it again.

He palms my breast with his other hand, pinching and pulling at the nipple, increasing my pleasure with the small amount of pain.

“Come again, gioia mia . I don’t think I can last.”

I grab the hand on my breast and put two of his fingers in my mouth before sucking hard.

It has the exact effect I was going for, and he begins to slam into me, making my tits bounce.

The sensation whips through my body like a lightning strike, and I squeeze my walls around him before crashing into another orgasm.

“Reb,” he groans, and his cock grows thicker before I feel his release pulsing inside of me. It feels like it goes on forever before he drops down onto my chest, sinking us both into the mattress.

I know some women don’t like to be crushed, but there’s nothing that makes me feel safer than being under Haunt. It’s like all the pressure sets my mind at ease.

Running my fingers through his hair, I start to hum the song that was playing the night we first had sex, Give by Sleep Token. We were dumb kids then, but as soon as he pushed inside of me it was like something activated in my soul, and a missing puzzle piece slid into place.

He nips at my breast before lifting his head to look at me. “I have a feeling those boys are into stuff they shouldn’t be in. Let me do some recon and investigate what’s going on before we make a decision on what to do.”

My eyebrows pull together, and my eyes bounce around his face, my hands scratching his scalp. “What do you mean?”

“Brooks was at the track when you raced Black Caviar. Something about the way he was hiding doesn’t sit right. And how would he know about the race? Unless he’s into some shady shit, there was no reason for him to be there.”

I turn that around in my mind for a moment. “You’re saying they could be connected to this whole thing and not realize they’re in the middle of a shit storm.”

“I can’t say for sure. Let me take care of this part for you. Once I know something I’ll tell you. I don’t want you to worry until we have some proof.”

“Okay, I trust you. But if it gets to be too much, tell me. I may have already set up a few surprises for them.”

My smirk makes him laugh. “Of course you did. What? Was it hidden cameras? A gift?”

“You know me so well. I’ll give you access to the feeds. I haven’t been watching them too much; it’s been hard.” I swallow before continuing. “I may have also broken into their house and stabbed Colter’s mattress with the same brand hunting knife that killed Nathan.”

He laughs so hard, I’m afraid he’s going to fall off the bed. “You little minx. Those boys must have shit themselves. I like the idea of tormenting them. Maybe we can fuck with them a little more before this whole thing is over.”

“My petty pitch black heart loves that idea,” I smile, pulling him in for another kiss.

“I’ve got you, gioia mia . Let me take care of it.”

I nod before pulling him into a hug, inhaling the scent of our body wash and everything Haunt. I feel so much better that this secret is no longer standing between us, but I can’t help but fear that it could go all wrong in a moment.