Page 10

Kiy

I drove my car to the nearby forest before. I needed space to breathe before I could contemplate the office. To process what I’d realized about her. She was my mate. To get cool air in my lungs. Once I was there, I walked for a while. Every single second, the image of her was in my mind. Like a beautiful torture. The memory of her coming around my fingers. I was hard again already. Once I was in a secluded spot, I unzipped my trousers and let my cock spring out. I let myself lean back against a tree and began stroking myself.

I started slowly and let the thought of her mouth tease me. Those plump lips that formed a little pout at every moment. I imagined how they would stretch around me. The warmth of her mouth, easing up and down. I nearly came there and then, and I’d barely gotten started. My hips rocked as I imagined fucking her mouth. Hitting the back of her throat. Could she take all of me? I hoped she’d try. My hand sped up, and I let myself think about sliding inside her. Feeling her part for me. Of hearing her little noises again. When I fucked her, would they get louder and more feral? I came with a jolt and spilled myself into the grass. Not where I wanted it to go. I wanted to fill her up with me.

Once my breathing had calmed, I zipped back up and gave myself a mental shake. I had to go to the office and report in. I dragged myself back to my car, thinking the least sexy thoughts I could.

Donkeys. Rocks. Mud. Fern covered in mud…. No. Washing dishes. Fern all wet.

I gave myself a hard punch in the dick. Pain shot through me, crunching me forward at the waist. It helped. A bit. I just had to make it through the rest of my workday.

I couldn’t help driving back past her apartment. There was no sign of her, but why would there be? She wasn’t likely to be standing at the windows the exact moment I went past. I still itched to help her. To ravish her. But I had to think about this Luke guy first.

When I arrived back at the office, one look at Gariss’s scowling face poured cold water on the remnants of my desire.

“Where the fuck have you been all day and when are you making up the hours?”

I sighed. He was in one of those moods. “Sorry boss. I’ll make them up later in the week. I just needed a bit of a walk.”

His skull angled to the side, and he looked me up and down. I winced under his scrutiny.

“What is it, boss?”

“I knew you were going to make this complicated.” He turned and stalked off, body tense and his feet impacting the floor just a little harder than they normally would. I’d pissed him off. How did he even know?

I sat at my desk and pushed the thoughts to one side. It didn’t matter. All that mattered was keeping my mate safe. I'd even brave Gariss’ moods for that. My big fingers tapped at my oversized keyboard as I pulled up all the information I could find on Luke. I didn’t know his surname, but he wasn’t hard to find. This town wasn’t huge, and I knew he’d already have a record. I wasn’t technically supposed to be poking around in the police records like this, but we’d all taken liberties from time to time.

Luke, of course, had been arrested several times across different states. Drug dealing. Theft. Aggravated assault. Assault. Assault. On and on with the assaults. He was violent, and I wondered with a building rage if he’d ever laid a finger on Fern. If he had, I’d rip it off. I’d rip every finger off and then his dick for good measure.

After a few hours of digging, I could see exactly what had happened. He was out of chances. One more arrest and he’d be in for a long time. His known associates list was even more annoying. Two other women who had been his girlfriends in the past now had records. All for the same drugs and theft stuff. They’d never mentioned his name. Refused to talk about any of it, other than to plead guilty.

Every time the police had been sniffing around him for something, suddenly a tip off led them to a woman instead. He’d lined Fern up for this. It wasn’t just about pettiness because she’d dumped him. This was his plan for her all along if things got too much.

I typed up a quick brief and emailed it to Gariss. He’d want to know what I’d found. But he didn’t check his emails often, and I didn’t want to give him a chance to lecture me on doing something stupid. Not before I’d done the something stupid. Which in this case involved going around to have a chat with Luke.

I found him at a local bar. His uncle owned it and the local police records said that they usually found him there. He clocked me the moment I walked in and smirked. He knew who I was. I’d thought I might catch him off guard. But he walked straight over and held out a hand. I glanced at it and then ignored it.

“Be like that if you like. I don’t know what she's said to you, but it's all lies.”

“I’m not sure who or what you are talking about.”

“Bro, don’t be like that. Us guys gotta stick together. I bet she’s already got you wrapped around her little finger with that doe-eyed innocent schtick. She’s manipulative.”

I glanced around as he talked. 5 guys were paying attention too closely to be casual observers. I looked back at Luke.

“So, this is your game? Charm? Lying? Seeding doubt? Well, I have a game too.”

“Oh yeah, what’s that?”

His smirk aggravated me. I thought of Fern. He’d set out to use and destroy my mate. I pulled my arm back and swung right into his gut.