Page 23 of Ravaged Saints (BloodHawks Duet #1)

Watching Ethan leave the base with Bryn, heading toward the denser side of the trees as he slaps her ass, makes me roll my eyes, annoyed with myself for fucking Bryn, but the moment I saw her naked right there, I was a goner.

“You can come down, Recon,”

Knox calls as he and Max pass by.

“Coming,”

I respond, climbing the ladder at the back wall.

Max and I haven’t talked yet, and I know Aspen’s right. I need to have that conversation with him, but I’m still trying to find the courage. Maybe it’d be easier if I just waited for him and shoved him against a wall. I know he can never resist that, but I also know that afterwards, things would probably be even worse.

“?”

She calls from behind the tree next to the wall—one of the few inside the base. Aspen stands there, looking around like she’s trying to stay hidden.

“What happened?”

I ask, getting so close I can smell the lavender in her shampoo. I get why Max is into her. Aspen has this ethereal look, like she belongs somewhere softer than this world.

“Can we talk?”

She whispers, her eyes glued to the ground, and I reach out, with my fingers tilting her face up. Her gaze locks on mine, and something dark flickers there.

“Always, Aspen.”

I lower my voice. The way she’s speaking tells me she doesn’t want the others to hear, and that makes something stir in my chest. She’s closer to Max, Dante, and Knox, but the fact that she came to me? Makes me feel something is terribly wrong…

“But you have to promise you won’t tell anyone.”

She pauses, looking around, and my heart skips a beat. “Promise,”

she presses.

I raise a hand. “I promise.”

She exhales, and my anxiety spikes. “It’s about Ethan and Bryn.”

I frown.

“Bryn said something last night that left me worried.”

I shift, leaning against the wall, glancing behind me to make sure no one’s coming. My senses are on full alert now.

“Okay,”

I nod. “Go on.”

“She said Ethan has a plan to make things better.”

She whispers so low I barely hear it.

“To make what better?”

I lean in, my pulse picking up. “Aspen, what exactly did she say?”

“She said Ethan thought this place could be better. That he had a plan that would make everyone’s lives better.”

Her breathing steadies, and when her eyes lift to mine, I see fear.

“Did she say what the plan is?”

I rub the back of my neck, tension crawling under my skin.

What the actual fuck is he planning? And does this have anything to do with whoever broke our trap?

“No. Just that she couldn’t say anything yet, but that I needed to trust that it was for the better.”

Her worried gaze searches mine.

“Aspen, we need to tell Knox.”

The second the words leave my mouth, she jolts, gripping my arm. Her hands are ice cold, her eyes pleading.

“Not yet,”

she whispers. “What if it’s nothing bad? Knox is already worried, and… I don’t want to make things worse.”

She’s begging, and fuck, I hate the way it gets to me.

“So what do you want me to do?”

Because I have no goddamn clue what I’m supposed to do with this.

“Help me find out what’s going on. What they’re planning, and once we have proof, we tell the rest of the guys.”

I search her face. These guys are my brothers; I can’t keep this from them. I’ll give her twenty-four hours, and then I’m going to Knox.

“Fine,”

I say. “But the second we find one piece of evidence, we tell Knox.”

I’m not jeopardizing everything we have here over Ethan or Bryn, and I know damn well Aspen isn’t hiding this for Ethan. She’s protecting Bryn. She knows Knox already has her on his shitlist, and she’s doing everything she can to keep it from getting worse.

“I promise.”

She smiles, taking a step forward to leave, but I grab her arm, yanking her back, and she gasps as her back meets the wall, my hand catching the back of her head before it can hit the hard surface.

“.”

Her breath hitches, hands snapping to my chest, fingers digging in, and my muscles flex beneath her cold touch, instinct kicking in.

I don’t say a word. I just lean in, closing the space between us. My grip behind her head forces her to look up, her lips parting, her gaze roaming between mine and her breath intermingling with mine, and I fucking snap.

I crush my mouth to hers, hard, and she softens instantly, her lips giving way, letting me take what I want. My tongue claims her, devouring her.

Her whimpers shoot straight to my cock, and I swallow them down, not letting her escape. With my other hand, I grip her hips, yanking her closer until there is no more space between our bodies.

Fuck, she tastes so good, but I won’t fuck her, not without talking to Max first. I’m not making that same mistake again, but I will make this kiss last.

Tilting her head, I deepen it, dragging my fingers through her hair, and she moans into my mouth, her arms winding around my neck, her leg hitching over my hip, and I grab it, grinding against her, feeling the heat of her pussy through the layers of our clothes. Fuck, if I keep this up, I’m gonna fucking unload on my jeans!

“Jesus Christ, Aspen,”

I groan, biting her lip, sucking it between my teeth.

“We can’t, ,”

she gasps, but her hips tell another story, rolling against me, seeking the friction.

“I know,”

I rasp, but I don’t stop.

She moans louder, body tensing, breath hitching, and I know that sound.

She’s close, so I press my thigh between her legs, grinding it against her, forcing her hips to move faster, and her breath stutters, hands fisting my shirt. I slide one hand up, palming her breast, my thumb rolling over her hardened nipple through the fabric.

“Eyes on me, Aspen,”

I order, voice rough.

She does, like the beautiful submissive I already knew she was, her pupils blown wide, lips swollen, cheeks flushed.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful,”

I breathe.

Her body jerks, her head snapping back, her lips parting to let out a moan, but I slam my mouth over hers, swallowing every desperate sound. No one else gets to hear this. This is just for me.

“!”

She comes hard, her body trembling, thighs squeezing around me, but I don’t stop, dragging her orgasm out, keeping my thigh pressed tight against her core until she’s sagging against my chest, panting, her hands slip from my shoulders, body boneless.

“Jesus Christ, , what the hell?”

She chuckles, face buried in my shirt.

I smirk, tightening my hold. “Nothing sweeter than my name falling from your lips when you came.”

Bryn makes me want to ruin her and wreck her completely, but Aspen? She makes me feel something else, something different…

And my thoughts drift to both of them, the girls with me and Max.

Aspen stirs, pulling me back to the moment. “And?”

she says with amusement.

“And?”

I arch a brow.

She gestures downward, and I follow her gaze—fuck. The bulge under my zipper is impossible to ignore.

“I’ll take care of it, don’t worry,”

I say, smirking.

Aspen bites her lip, but it’s her eyes that give her away. She wants to suck my cock, but I know she won’t, not without Max.

I tilt her chin up with my thumb, my smirk turning wicked. “One day, you’re going to watch me and Max fuck, and you’re going to love every second of it and join us.”

Her breath stutters, pupils turning into black holes.

I won’t forget her reaction, and I’ll make damn sure it happens; I just need to talk to Max and make things right.

Hearing footsteps, I step away from Aspen just as Dante rounds the corner, and his eyes land on me first.

“Are you okay, Recon?”

Dante asks, brow raised.

I smirk, not answering right away, and my gaze flicks to Aspen, watching the way she straightens, trying too hard to look unaffected.

Dante follows my line of sight, and his grin widens. “I was looking for you.”

Aspen’s eyes snap to mine, wary.

Dante chuckles. “Relax. It’s not to fuck you.”

She scoffs, crossing her arms. “That’s what you all say, yet here we are.”

She tilts her chin up, defiant as ever.

I catch the way Dante’s eyes darken, his smirk sharpening like a wolf spotting prey, and I shake my head with a low chuckle.

“Oh, babe, don’t do that,”

I murmur, stepping past her. “Or I might have to yank Dante off you.”

Dante laughs, but I can see it in his eyes. He’s this close to pouncing on her, and Aspen, the damn tease that she is, smirks right back, crossing her arms over her chest, making her boobs rise. “What do you need, Dante?”

His amusement fades slightly. “Knox wants me to show you the codes for the doors and the basement.”

His tone turns serious.

I stop in my tracks. My eyes cut to him, jaw tightening.

“Oh,”

Aspen whispers, her playfulness vanishing in an instant, and she steps toward Dante, but I’m still watching him.

"Where’s Knox?" I ask, suspicion tightening my chest.

Dante shrugs. “Inside. Pressing weights.”

Fuck. That means he’s either pissed or horny, and if it’s the latter, I sure as hell can’t do anything to help.

Walking in, Knox is still at the corner of the large room where we keep the equipment to train, while Max sits on the couch, reading, “Max, can we talk?”

I ask, my tone low and my eyes locked on him. My heartbeat increasing like I’m running a fucking marathon.

He looks up from the book, his gaze colder than usual, and my heart tightens. He doesn’t say a word, just sets the book on the small table in front of him and stands.

“Can we-?”

I gesture to the stairs that lead to the floor where the bedrooms and bathroom are. Max nods and follows me, but as I walk down, I catch a shadow moving fast near Knox’s room. Aspen? No, I didn’t see her pacing with us, but right now, I don’t have the time or patience to think about it.

I enter my room and hold the door open for Max, and he steps inside, leaning against the wall next to the closet, arms crossed. His shirt pulls at the seams, the tension in his body evident in the way his veins pump along his forearms. I crack my neck; this isn’t going to be easy.

“Listen,”

I start, rubbing the back of my neck, trying to release some of this damn tension. “What happened with Bryn was stupid. I know that.”

I meet his eyes, but Max is a trained British Special Forces and when he puts on that mask, no one can read him, and that shit annoys the hell out of me.

“Yeah,”

he says cold as an iceberg.

I take a deep breath. “I wanted her, Bryn, you know that, and you wanted Aspen. I never thought she would just…”

I swallow hard. “She showed up in my shower, and I just…”

I shake my head. “I didn’t think—”

“I know that.”

His tone sharpens. “Listen, , I’m not pissed that you fucked Bryn. I’m pissed that it takes me three sacrifices to the gods, a prayer to the devil, and God knows what else to fuck you even after all these years, while with Bryn, it was just that easy.”

His words come quieter, weighed down by something raw. Pain flashes in his eyes. Fuck, I’ve never seen him like this.

“No, Max. Look.”

I step closer. “Since we met, you were it for me, you know that, but you were—”

My breath hitches at the thought of losing him. “You are mine and I’m yours. I just don’t feel as comfortable with it as you do, but I will never want anyone the way I want you.”

His eyes lock on mine. “When she said she wanted to fuck you with Ethan, you nodded.”

His voice is louder, more pissed.

I shiver at the pain in his eyes, “Fuck! Listen, Max, I didn’t even listen to her. I heard some type of question and nodded. That was it.”

I pull my hair back, “Do you really think out of all the guys here I would do it with shitty Ethan?!”

I laugh, and it’s more dark and maniacal than I intended.

“I would rather fuck a grater and have any type of body contact with him!” I snarl.

Max stares at me, and I see a hint of a smirk, and I take my chance.

“Let’s be honest, you love handling me, pinning me down.”

Another step, and he shakes his head.

“.”

It’s a warning, and one I know too fucking well.

“Me, you, and Aspen,”

I murmur. “I want that.”

His pupils blow wide, his chest rising and falling, hands clenching at his sides.

“Fuck, .”

He rolls his shoulders.

I smirk, knowing exactly which buttons to push next to make him lose it.

I move closer, my lips brushing his neck. “You wanna fuck me, Max?”

I whisper. “Then you’re gonna have to pin me for that.”

With that, the last thread of his control snaps.

He shoves me, and I stumble back, and for a second, panic flares. Is he refusing me? Still pissed? Please, tell me he’s not—

Max strides toward me, fast and controlled. His leg sweeps behind my knees before I can react, and he pulls down, making me crash onto the floor, the breath knocked out of me, his hands pinning my chest down.

“Fuck, Max!” I grunt.

He grins. “You told me to pin.”

The fucker chuckles.

My hands drop to his jeans, unbuckling them, but his eyes stay locked on me, both hands pressing my shoulders down.

I yank his jeans down as far as I can, then strip out of my own.

“Second drawer,” I grunt.

Max smirks, lets me go, and reaches up, pulling out the lube.

He frees his cock, thick, hard, and piercing, glinting in the dim light, and my breath catches. Fuck, I missed him.

I spread my legs as he settles between them, his slick fingers pressing inside me, stretching, teasing, and my body relaxes under his touch, my hands sliding up to cup his face, pulling him down for a hard, desperate kiss.

I need to devour him. I need him like I need air to breathe. He’s my fucking everything.

But my brain is working overtime, and I pull back, panting, our lips inches apart.

“I kissed Aspen,”

I blurt, regretting it immediately. Fuck. I’m dumb. Why the hell did I say that now?

Max chuckles, unbothered. “Was it good?”

Amusement laces his voice.

I search his face, but his fucking mask is unreadable.

“I didn’t fuck her,”

I say quickly. “I pressed my thigh against her and made her come.”

He laughs, dark and low. “Fuck, .”

“When I fuck Aspen, I want it to be with you. Just the three of us.”

I cup his face, letting him see the truth in my eyes.

His jaw tightens. Then he nods.

“That’s a deal, Ryk.”

His lips crash into mine, his tongue claiming, consuming as his hand moves down, lifting my hips, positioning me as he presses at the entrance slowly, making his way in, and I groan. The stretch is perfect; my hand wraps around my cock, stroking in time with his thrusts.

The feeling of him inside me sends a shiver down my spine, and we move together, breath syncing, bodies locked in rhythm. His muscles tense, his thrusts quicken, losing control, and I love how I can make him lose control completely.

“Max,”

I groan, my orgasm slamming into me, spilling between us, and with two more thrusts he loses control, a rough sound ripping from his throat as he fills me, heat spreading inside.

He collapses against me, breath ragged.

“I missed you, ,”

he murmurs against my neck.

I tighten my hold on him.