Page 8

Chapter eight

Raegan

I scrunch my nose at the smell of burning food.

On the couch, I’m leaning into Jackson’s side as we stare at the news playing on the TV in the Loft, the guys’ primary residence and a full floor apartment in the Tower.

I’m not actually watching it; that’s what Aiden is occupied with from his seat at the dining table while simultaneously responding to messages on his phone.

I’m not sure how he can respond to people and listen to the news at the same time, but apparently, he’s able to do both.

“What’s burning?” I mutter when the smell only gets worse, and I don’t see Jackson or Aiden jumping up to do anything about it.

Kellan curses from the kitchen, and I crane my neck around to catch a glimpse of him popping the toaster and pinching blackened bread.

“The numbers on the dial are the number of minutes you want the bread toasted for,” Aiden remarks, his gaze still trained on his phone.

“I know that,” Kell grinds out.

“I just forgot to check which numbers they were on. Who had them turned all the way to the right?”

The plate of burned toast suddenly floats in front of me, stopping in front of Jackson.

He plucks the top piece off, holding it out to me, and I vehemently shake my head.

“No, thanks.”

He shrugs and takes a large bite, the crunch loud enough to hear.

“Food’s food,” he says with a smile, then goes for another.

“Yeah, but I like to enjoy the taste of it when I eat.” I’m mesmerized by Jack devouring the charred bread without making a face.

I think I’m waiting for him to crack, to show some sign that he doesn’t like the taste, but he just smirks wider at me for watching.

“Eggs are almost up,” Kellan announces.

“Are these ones edible?” Aiden questions dryly, but I don’t judge him for it.

It’s an honest question.

Kellan smacks the spatula against the counter.

“No complaints! Unless you want to cook while Rapunzel sleeps the day away, this is what you get. Or you could wake him up and ask if he feels like cooking.”

Turning, I prop one hand and my chin on the back of the couch.

“I’ll bring him a plate and check on him.”

“Don’t pamper him too much, beautiful, or he’ll come to expect it.” He looks at Aiden.

“He’s milking this injury a bit, don’t you think? Cassandra healed him, just like Raegan, and she woke up at the usual time like the rest of us.”

Aiden sets his phone on the table, flicking his dark brown gaze to Kellan.

“He’s not milking anything. His injuries were more severe, so Cassandra wasn’t able to heal him as thoroughly as the others. Compounding that, since the healing was more intensive, he requires more rest.”

We’d left the hospital last night, not staying more than the initial night there, and returned with the rest of the Guild to the Tower.

Aiden told me that Dane had woken a couple of times, but after relieving himself and being reassured everyone was fine, he went back to bed.

Aiden slept on the floor of Dane’s room to keep an eye on him, while I slept with Jack in his bed, and Kellan took guard duty on the couch.

I’m not sure how the sleeping arrangements will continue when there’s no bedroom for me here, but I have a feeling I won’t sleep alone for a while at least until we’re no longer on high alert.

I pull myself up from Jackson’s side, and even before I spin to look at him, I can feel his eyes on me.

“You’re not planning on following me into his room, are you?”

His dimple pierces his left cheek.

“We’ll be fine. I’ll be one wall away.”

“One wall too many.”

Sighing, I run my fingers through my hair.

“What if I…want some alone time with him?”

“For sex?” Jackson clarifies calmly, not an ounce of embarrassment or judgment in his tone.

Fuck a duck. Of course, he would call me out just like that.

And in front of the others, too.

But I’m already halfway there; why not just dive in?

“What if I do?”

Jackson shrugs.

“I can turn away if you don’t want me to watch.” I stare at him, aghast at his honesty and lack of hesitation .

No. Nope. Not doing this.

“I’m going into his room with a plate of food, and the three of you can leave us be.” Kellan cackles in the kitchen, and Aiden’s intense stare fixates on me.

Fuck knows what he’s thinking about, but I’ve had enough honesty right now than to ask for more.

Jack smirks and nods.

Why don’t I believe him?

I take a step away, waiting for him to move, too.

When he doesn’t, I release a sigh and walk to the kitchen to make Dane’s plate.

The eggs are a dark yellow.

Dry and overcooked. Opening the fridge, I scan for alternatives.

It’s bare except for condiments.

It makes sense, considering this apartment has been empty for months, but I’d hoped to have something else to offer Dane.

I grab the ketchup in case he eats it that way—or maybe he will today—and then take the plate to his door.

Knocking softly, I let myself in when there’s no answer.

Dane is fast asleep in bed, his thick, longer blond hair at the top of his head sticking every which way.

His room is tidier than I expected.

Even with the rushed packing job they did before moving, everything is in its place, nothing on the floor.

I set everything down on his gaming desk in the corner and then crouch by his head.

“Hey,” I whisper, brushing some of the blond tufts off his forehead.

“I brought you breakfast.”

Dane stirs, stretching on a low groan, then reaches for me with his eyes still closed.

“Mmm....c’mere,” he says sleepily.

His arms wrap around my back, dragging me closer.

“Move over, then,” I tease.

He shifts, and I crawl into that space, lying beside him.

His arms slip around me again, pulling me against his chest before he tosses the blankets over me, too.

We’re quiet at first. His heart beats steadily in his chest, his breathing calm and warm above me.

Aiden told me he’d had more broken ribs, one of which resulted in him developing a chest infection that made it even more difficult for him to breathe.

I remember the feel of his body on mine when he protected me.

When he refused to let Charles kill me, even when he was just as injured as me.

When he’d been kicked hard enough that his body almost flew off me if not for his firm grip and sheer stubbornness.

Clenching the back of his shirt, I turn my face into his chest, breathing him in.

His citrusy scent, his warmth.

“Dane…”

He nuzzles my hair, inhaling deeply.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” he breathes, his voice thick with emotion.

I nod against him. “You saved me.”

“I’ve never been so scared in my life, Rae. I was terrified that my hand would slip. That he’d get to you before I could stop him.”

“But you didn’t let go.”

He swallows so hard that I can feel the drop of his Adam’s apple.

“I’m sorry I was useless,” I whisper.

“Useless!” Gordon’s voice echoes in my mind.

“Don’t apologize. That guy’s an overpowered freak.” His breath catches, probably when he remembers that said freak is my father, then adds a mumbled, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. He’s no father of mine. And he was a psycho.”

“Worthless pet…”

I squeeze my eyes shut .

Shut up.

Will I ever get rid of him?

I haven’t even asked Aiden or Jack about him yet.

Did he escape somehow?

Do I want him to be alive so I can kill him myself?

Do I just want him dead so it’s over?

Will his death free me from him, or will he linger like this, forever haunting me?

“What’s wrong?” Dane shifts back, his hand lifting my chin so he can see my face.

His dark brows are pinched, his mouth tight.

“Is it Charles?”

I latch on to his golden eyes, seeking out the flecks of green in them as an exercise to distract myself from my other thoughts.

“No,” I admit breathlessly.

“It’s…disappointing that we’re related by blood. But I didn’t get to know him well enough to care about him like that. I was caught off guard when he first revealed himself, but now…it doesn’t matter.”

“Then tell me why your body was shaking.”

I suck in and gnaw on my lower lip.

I don’t want to confess it was Gordon.

I don’t want him, or the others, to know that I’m still affected by that man.

But Dane already knows.

I had that panic attack in the elevator because of Gordon, and Dane helped me through it.

He didn’t know I was hearing Gordon’s voice in my head, though.

He didn’t ask what caused it; just left the offer to talk about it without expectation.

“Is it him?” Dane’s voice lowers, his tone deepening with lethal intent.

“Gordon?”

I pull my gaze from his, staring at his shoulder instead .

“Whatever you’re remembering, fuck him.”

My fingers fidget at the front of his shirt.

“I wish it were that easy.”

He circles my ear, pushing my hair from my face, then strokes his thumb along my jaw.

“Then let’s start with what I’ve missed while sleeping.”

“I don’t know much. Aiden wanted to wait until we were all together. I do know we were in the hospital at one point. And then Cassandra finished healing us so we could leave.”

Dane’s eyebrows rise.

“Aiden took us to a hospital?” He exhales a curse.

“He must have been pissed about that. Being there will probably come back to bite us.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think he had a choice with Cassandra down and us injured like we were.”

He hums, then cranes his neck back for a few seconds and brings it back.

“Damn. It’s already afternoon.”

“It’s fine. You needed the rest. Oh, and Kellan made you scrambled eggs.”

The last words hardly leave my mouth before he replies, “Hard pass.”

“What? Why? You need to eat.”

“Kellan made it. I’ll be better off not eating.”

“You haven’t even seen it.”

Dane laughs, his tone mocking.

“Don’t need to. I’ll make something myself. What do you want? French toast? Seafood? Steak?”

“There’s no food in the fridge.”

“Tell me what you want,” he insists.

I pause, considering.

“Pasta?”

“Pasta,” he repeats, blinking in surprise.

“What’s wrong with that? It was one of the few things I learned to cook for myself. I could buy a cheap box and some sauce, then cook enough to last me all week. And it tasted good.”

He stares in silence for a couple of heartbeats, then releases a breath, closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against mine.

“Pasta, then.”

What was that about?

Frowning, I grab his wrist, tugging to remove his hand, but he resists, holding firm.

“Don’t pity me,” I bite out.

He opens his eyes, locking them with mine as he leans back to see me better.

“I don’t.” His hand slides from my jaw to my neck, to the collar of my shirt, tracing my skin along the edge of the fabric.

“I’m just thinking of all the other things I want to make for you. I’m going to spoil you with food so that no one else’s will ever be good enough. Then when you’re hungry, you’ll come running to me,” he finishes with a cocky smirk.

Oh.

A small smile touches my lips.

“I’ll run to you for more than food.”

“Oh, yeah?” Dane challenges, his smirk widening and raising a single brow.

I slip a hand under his shirt, stroking up the hard planes of his abdomen.

“Mmhmm…”

Something sparks in his eyes before they turn molten.

He cups my neck beneath my ear.

His breath is suddenly warm as he leans in, lips parted, and eyes lidded.

I tilt my face to meet him, our lips melting together when they touch.

I expect the inevitable snap between us, the break of control once we give in, but it doesn’t happen.

Dane’s tongue sinks between my lips, his kiss unhurried and languorous.

Like he has nowhere else he’d rather be than kissing me in this bed all day.

I relax into it, into him.

Eventually, I push him to roll onto his back so I straddle him, and his hard length strains against his gym shorts.

We take the seconds of fresh air to refill our oxygen before we’re kissing again.

This time with my core gyrating against his cock and too many clothes between us.

Dane groans, his hands gripping my ass as I rock against him.

“Fuuuuuck,” he gasps, breathless.

He moves a palm up my backside, sliding under my shirt until he finds the band of my bra.

He pinches it firmly, taking only two tries before it jumps free, and his hand seeks out my breasts.

The next time I break for air, he drags my shirt up, pulling gently until I drop my head and allow him to free me from it.

Next are my arms, and he directs my shirt and bra straps down either side.

Slowly. So fucking slowly that goosebumps appear in his wake.

I’ve stopped moving against him, my heart fluttering as I see the way he watches me with so much awe and appreciation that breathing becomes difficult.

“Come closer,” he directs huskily, his hand guiding a breast to his mouth.

He holds it firmly in his grip, his pink tongue flicking out to wet my nipple.

I feel it all the way down to my core.

He licks it again, circling its pert tip, then drags his teeth over it, stretching the nipple before releasing it.

I throw my head back, eyes closed, as a shudder runs through my body like an electric current.

“Do you like that?” He sucks my nipple into his mouth, then only frees it through ivory gates.

“My teeth?”

I nod emphatically.

“Yes.”

He does it more, his tongue a searing swipe of heat.

His teeth are a pinch of pain that fades to pleasure.

The action shoots a livewire of need straight to my cunt, and I writhe above him.

Dane strips my pants down to my thighs, and I help him remove them until I’m naked.

He sits up and takes off his shirt and shorts in seconds, then pulls me into his lap and returns to tease and taste my other breast.

I bury my fingers in his hair, closing and tightening them to a fierce grip that draws a guttural groan from him.

My hips rock against him again of their own accord, seeking friction where we touch.

Dane jerks his hips forward, pushing his cock against me.

My pussy is already slick, spreading my pleasure along his shaft so I glide easily from end to end.

“Jesus. Fuck,” Dane breathes before he grabs the hair at the back of my head, and we lose ourselves in a passionate kiss.

I dig my nails into his shoulders as I hang on tight, the feel of him under me and his kiss a devastating thing that has me grappling for more before I burst.

I slide too high, too far, and feel his tip prod at my entrance in an exhilarating rush.

Dane holds his breath.

I’m tempted to end the tease right there.

To take away this building ache in my lower abdomen.

The need that makes me feel flashes of heat; pleasure to pool and tighten at my core.

Not yet. I deny us both, shifting and gliding back down.

I keep moving, biting at his lower lip until I taste blood and then chase it with my tongue.

Fuck , this feels too good to stop.

And, also, not enough.

I keep going until I’m driven mindless by it.

There’s only the short, panted breaths between us, the sound of our bodies slapping and sliding together, until finally, I drive myself onto him so quickly that it takes my breath away.

Dane curses, his fingers creating indentations at my hips, and he expels a long breath.

He palms the back of my head, bringing our foreheads together.

“I don’t want to rush this, Rae. You can fuck me if you want, but you’ll take your time with it. Or else I’ll take over.”

Take my time.

Right.

His eyes find mine, and he nods as if encouraging me to give it a try.

I raise my hips slow and steady, then drop almost all the way down before returning to the tip.

Dane smirks and grabs my hips, seating me fully on his cock.

He guides me to move in a circle, forward and back, undulating so his dick moves within me, rubbing rather than stroking my inner walls.

It feels fucking amazing, and the flame I’d stoked, which had been ready to explode moments ago, sinks down, growing once again, but from a bigger flame than before.

My hips take over from his direction once I know what he’s looking for, and he releases me.

His finger lifts my chin, leading my face back to his, and his heated gaze expresses so much emotion that he’s overflowing with it.

It’s so…intimate. Personal.

I try to look away to focus on the pleasure instead, but he draws me back to him.

“No. Look at me. I want to see you, and I want you to see me. Feel me. In this moment, it’s only you and me.”

He doesn’t rush me, and eventually, I drag my gaze back to his and start moving again, rebuilding that pleasure that has my body buzzing with need from all the edging.

Dane licks his lips, watching me like a man enthralled by a temptress.

He kisses me again. Like he can’t help himself but take another taste of a forbidden fruit.

It’s long and desperate, telling me through it that he’s just as affected as I am, needing me more than ever but denying himself the instant gratification for something greater.

His thumb rubs where we meet, finding my slick and spreading it to my clit.

I jolt against his kiss at the contact, the desire so strong that I grind greedily against him once he starts moving his thumb.

It’s a double-win because of where his cock rubs inside me, and a wanton moan breaks from my lips unbidden.

He keeps his pace steady, and it takes every-fucking-thing in me to match it with my hips.

Pressure coils tighter and tighter in me, almost to an uncomfortable feeling that demands it snap and be released.

“Dane,” I pant, on the brink of begging.

“Okay,” he concedes.

“Just a little.” Like before, he guides me where he wants me at the speed he expects.

This time, I’m brought to his tip and then curve my hips on the way back down.

But still at a torturous speed.

It doesn’t matter, though, because each time I’m fully seated, and his dick hits me deep, a burst of pleasure sparks through me.

Again. And again.

Dane’s panting, letting me control my movements, while he watches me with such raw affection that it makes my chest burn.

He doesn’t let me hide behind the pleasure or actions.

It’s like he’s stripped me bare to my soul, and for this time that we’re together, our souls are exposed and joining together.

This feeling, it’s unlike anything I’ve felt before, and it warms and fills my body in a rush of heat.

And then the coil breaks, my orgasm rupturing through me, hard and ruthless.

My muscles contract, freezing me in place where I can do nothing but let it consume me.

I’m faintly aware of Dane moving, of him thrusting into my tightened pussy, and— oh, fuck —it’s too much.

His hips slam against mine one last time as he releases a long, low groan.

I collapse, boneless, into him.

He guides us back to the bed, then holds me tight to turn us until he’s on top.

Dane kisses my collarbone.

My chest. My shoulder.

My neck. My lips.

I let him take what he wants because I still can’t move.

He somehow has the energy to pull himself out to his tip and then slowly push back in.

Another shudder of pleasure rocks through me like an aftershock, and he smirks, lowering himself to press a kiss to my cheek before freeing himself and rolling to his side .

“Here,” he says softly, opening his arm and shifting me onto it and his chest. He holds me close, catching his breath, while I bask in the post-coital afterglow that has me feeling whole and sated.

We stay like that for a while, neither of us needing to say or do anything.

Finally, I speak up when I begin to feel guilty that there are still things to do.

“The others are waiting,” I murmur softly.

“We should get out there.”

He’s quiet for a moment, and I wonder what he’s thinking.

Eventually, he speaks, “And I owe you pasta. I’ll check with Aiden to see if he can add the things I need to the grocery order, assuming he hasn’t already placed it.” He kisses my head.

“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

He carefully slides his arm free and then makes his way to his ensuite bathroom.

I’m not sure how anyone lives without those now.

I can’t imagine having to walk across the hall to a shared bathroom in front of everyone to go clean up.

He returns with a washcloth and wipes away the mess between my thighs.

When he leaves again with the used cloth, I dress in my clothes.

He returns in a fresh set of clothes, his hair fixed, wearing a dangerous smirk.

“I’m surprised you waited.”

Shrugging, I don’t bother telling him that the others already knew this was a high likelihood.

Hopefully, no one will say anything, and he’ll be none the wiser.

Opening the door for us, I tell him over my shoulder, “Grab the plate and ketchup if you—Wah!” My foot kicks something hard, and I pitch forward.

Something pushes me back to my feet, and I glare down at Jackson, casually sitting in front of the door.

His face is slanted my way, a smirk curling his lips. For fuck’s sake.