Craving (Steel Brothers Saga Book 1) (14 page)

P
eter O’Keefe was an idiot
. What had Marj been thinking, sending him? He sat across from me, drenching me with saliva every time he spoke. He asked me a bunch of questions about that asshole Colin, and I answered them truthfully.

“So I’m pretty sure we can get this down to reckless endangerment, maybe get some community service. Shouldn’t be a big deal.”

“Jade says she thought she could get the guy to drop the charges.”

“We can’t count on that. But it would be great if she could.”

“Whatever. I don’t care if I stay here. I really don’t.” Fucking lie that was. I couldn’t bear the thought of being locked up. My nerves were a jumble of jelly. But I would take care of it and I would do it if it meant no one else would be destroyed because of me. I belonged somewhere where I couldn’t hurt anyone. Even if the walls caved in on me. I could do it. I’d lived through it before.

“Mr. Steel, you’re talking nonsense. Once you get out of here, you’ll see that.” O’Keefe took a card out of his wallet and slid it across the table to me. “I’m going to ignore your guilty plea because you aren’t in a position to make a plea at this time. The charges haven’t even officially been filed.”

“I don’t care.”

“Well, start caring. I’ll be in touch.”

O’Keefe stood, but before he could open the door, it opened from the other side and a uniformed officer entered.

“Steel,” he said, “your bail’s been posted. You’re free to go.”

Great. Free to go. Free as the birds in the sky. Free to enjoy life.

What a fucking crock. I would never be free.

I followed the officer to a locker room.

He handed me a paper bag. “Here are your personals. Go ahead and get changed. I’ll meet you up front, and we’ll process you on out of here.”

I took the bag without saying a word. What was there to say? Thank you? He didn’t stay to watch me dress this time. I threw the bag down on the bench and sat, the white concrete walls beating in time with my heart.

The walls advanced again…

Won’t go there. Can’t go there.

But the monstrous walls lurched forward. The floor tilted, and I slid off the bench, my skin clammy, my heart thundering. I stared at the stark ceiling, the fluorescent lights blinding me. My bowels churned, and bile inched up my throat.

Needed to breathe. Couldn’t…fucking…breathe…

Help!
The words stuck in my throat. I climbed back to the bench, back to safety.
Breathe, Talon. Breathe. If you lose consciousness again, they’ll never leave you alone.

T
he boy’s
voice had grown hoarse from screaming. His fingernails were filed down and his fingertips scabbed over from clawing at the concrete walls.

After a while, he no longer screamed, and eventually his voice repaired itself and his fingers healed. He sat, his arms around his legs, his chin resting in the indent formed by his two knees.

He had gotten used to his circumstances. A bucket sat in the corner of the room where he took care of his needs. His captors only changed it when they came for him. The days grew together. Had they been there yesterday? Or had it been longer? Sometimes he got three meals a day. Sometimes he got nothing. His stomach had long ago stopped growling for food. Sometimes they brought him water. More often they taunted him with the full icy glass.

The nights were the worst. The concrete floor was often chilly, even though it was summer. Was it still summer? The days had rolled together. How long had he been here? At first, he’d kept track of each time they came to him, but he stopped doing that. He didn’t want to think about those times.

The door to the small room opened, and one of them came down the stairs, wearing a mask, of course. They always wore masks.

He didn’t speak to the boy, just set out a tray of food. The boy didn’t dare move until the man had ascended and closed and locked the door. Then he scrambled to the tray and gobbled up every bit of tasteless food. Maybe it was poisoned.

I
stood abruptly
when the officer walked back in. The walls flew back to their normal places.

“Ready, Mr. Steel?”

I nodded. I was okay. Everything was okay. Needed to get home. Needed to see Jade. She’d make it all right.

Marjorie and Jade sat in the waiting area. Marj ran up to me and flew into my arms.

“Talon. I was so worried. Are you okay?”

I couldn’t tell her I’d just had a panic attack. “I’m fine.”

Jade said nothing, but she stood, her blue-gray eyes piercing into me like two spears.

“Let’s get you home,” Marj said.

Home. Where was home, anyway? I hadn’t felt like I’d been home for twenty-five years. We walked out together. Marj’s car was parked nearby on the street. Jade still hadn’t said anything.

“Are you hungry?” Marj asked. “We can stop and get something. Jade and I already ate.”

I shook my head. No, I wasn’t hungry. I was rarely hungry. I ate for sustenance. Fuck. I’d missed Marj’s steak dinner last night. I’d have to apologize. God… I hated hurting my sister. Hated hurting my brothers.

“I’m so sorry all this happened, Talon.” Marj’s eyes misted up.

I could stand anything but her tears. So many tears had been shed over me during my life. I was damned sick of it.

After that, Marj stopped talking, and we were all silent during the half-hour ride out to the ranch. I sat in the front seat next to Marj, and Jade sat in the back. I couldn’t see her, but her presence surrounded me, enveloped me, permeated me. She was inside me, and I was being pulled in different directions. One part of me wanted her more than anything, but the other part pushed her away. I couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her, and if she stayed near me, she would get hurt. I was a mess—a mess she, or anyone else, shouldn’t have to deal with.

We pulled into the ranch, and Jade went into her room without another word. I watched her walk down the hallway. Only she could make a navy-blue conservative suit look hotter than hell. I wanted to rip that tweed off of her and fuck her good right there.

But that would have to wait. Marj was coddling me, fawning all over me. Guilt raced through me. I’d missed her dinner, but she didn’t mention it. Instead, she made me a pot of tea and told me to go to my room and rest. Rest was the last thing I needed. Yes, I was perpetually tired, but right now, my body was agitated. I needed to keep moving, needed to work off some steam. Needed to release…

And I knew just where I could find one. How to get past Marj was the problem.

After I had waited a while, I sneaked out of my bedroom and down the hallway toward Jade’s room. I knocked lightly on the door.

“Come in.”

She had changed out of her stuffy suit, and she sat on her bed in a pair of denim cutoffs and a hot-pink tank top. My cock reacted at the sight. On the bed was a manila folder, and several documents were splayed out.

She looked up at me. “Hey, I was just looking over your case file.”

“So you’re really going to prosecute me, huh?”

She shook her head. “Not if I can help it. But I need you to cooperate.”

“You think you can get pretty boy to drop the charges?”

“I will try. Even if he doesn’t, you have a great chance to get a good plea bargain. But honestly, we’re putting the cart before the horse. Formal charges haven’t even come in yet.”

“Well, you’re the city attorney. You file the charges, right?”

She shook her head. “Larry does that, I’m afraid. But I will certainly recommend to him that we go lenient on this.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” I said. “The good folks of Snow Creek like to stick it to the Steels.”

She arched her eyebrows. “Why would you say that?”

I wasn’t sure why I had said that, to be truthful. As far as I knew, no one had anything against us in town. “I don’t know. Because we’re the rich ranchers. We own half the damn town.”

She nodded. “I see.” She paused a moment. “So where were you last night, anyway? Marj worked her butt off cooking that great dinner for all of us. She was really hurt when you didn’t show up.”

I gulped. What could I say? Turned out I didn’t need to say anything, because Jade kept talking.

“And then that cop comes around looking for you, saying he has an arrest warrant. Do you have any idea what you put all of us through? I was worried sick. But never mind me. What about Marj and your brothers? None of us got any sleep last night.”

I let out a guffaw. “Join the fucking club.”

“No way. Don’t turn this around. I get that you have trouble sleeping, and I’m sorry. But that doesn’t negate what you did last night. And you have sleeping pills now. Why aren’t you taking them?”

I didn’t know what to say. She kept talking.

“You owe your sister an apology. And for God’s sake, where were you last night? People here care about you, you know. You can’t just take off like that when your sister is expecting you for dinner, and then have some cop come along—”

“Hey, I didn’t know Steve was coming around. It’s not my fault that jerk ex of yours had me arrested.”

“Not your fault? Do you listen to the words that come out of your mouth, Talon?” She shook her head.

I looked down. I don’t know why I’d said it wasn’t my fault. But he’d been kissing her, touching her… “I told you I’d plead guilty.”

“And back to that again.” Jade sighed. “You really are determined to fuck up your life, aren’t you?”

I didn’t have to fuck up my life. It was already fucked up beyond recognition. “Fine. What should I do? Will he drop the charges?”

She looked back down at the files on her bed, shaking her head again. “All right, we’ll talk about your case, since whenever something personal comes up, you clam up.” She cleared her throat. “Honestly, I don’t think you have a lot to worry about. I tried calling Colin and left a voice mail. When he calls back, I’ll get this taken care of. After all, he owes me a lot more than this.”

“Why does he owe you anything?” The thought of him owing her made my teeth rattle.

“Hello? He left me at the altar and humiliated me beyond repair. He did come back here to apologize and try to make things right, though. I’ll just tell him that he can make things right by dropping the charges.”

“You don’t have to use your favors on me.”

Jade gathered the papers together and stuck them back in the file, slid the file into a slim briefcase, and set it by the side of her bed. Then she looked up at me, her eyes slightly misty. “Why are you resisting my help? I’m here and willing to help. I care about you.”

Pinpricks covered my body. “No, I don’t want you to care about me.”

She scooted to the edge of her bed and stood, facing me. “I don’t understand you, Talon. We’ve had some amazing times together, and don’t tell me you haven’t felt the connection. I know you have.”

I said nothing. I couldn’t deny it. I felt the connection, and it scared the hell out of me. As much as I wanted to disconnect from it, I couldn’t stay away from her.

“Look, you made it perfectly clear where you stood when this first started. You’re not going to fall in love with me. Fine, I can deal with that. But for God’s sake, I can help you here. Please, let me.” Her red lips trembled.

All thought fled from my head. I grabbed her, pulled her to me, and kissed her.

As usual, she responded right away, opening, sliding her silky tongue against mine. She tasted of strawberries and sweetness, and I was hungry, hungry for the flavor that was her.

She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her breasts into me. When I needed to take a breath, I broke the kiss. “My God, what have you done to me?” I said into her neck.

She didn’t reply. She just pressed tiny kisses to the top of my chest that was exposed. Her touch, I hungered for it. Something about her… Being with her…

I almost felt whole.

I pushed her slightly way. “Take off your clothes,” I commanded.

I turned and walked back to her door, locking it. When I returned, she stood before me, naked and inviting. So beautiful. I trailed a finger down her cheek to her chin, down her neck, over the plump swell of her breasts, and flicked a nipple. She moaned and jerked.

“Now undress me,” I said.

She pushed me down until I was sitting on the bed, and then she knelt before me, pulling off my boots and socks. She slid up, unbuckled my belt, and unzipped my jeans.

My cock was straining. I wanted her so much. I ached to have her beneath me, obeying me.

She stood and pulled me into a standing position. She brushed my boxers and jeans over my legs, and I stepped out of them. Then she worked at my shirt, unbuttoning it and pushing it off my shoulders until I was as naked as she was.

“Lie down on the bed,” I said, “facedown.”

She gazed at me with those steely blue eyes and then did as I bid. I could take her now, have her any way I wanted her. She would let me. She gave me that power. She trusted me. Unworthy as I was, she trusted me.

I grabbed my jeans off the floor and pulled the blue bandanna out of my pocket. Quickly I bound her hands together behind her back.

She tensed but said nothing.

“Okay?” I asked.

She moved her head in what I thought was a nod, but because her head was on the bed, I wasn’t quite sure.

“You have to answer me. Verbally.”

“Okay,” she said.

I trailed my finger over the globes of her beautiful ass and then between the crease. She shuddered.

“Close your eyes,” I said.

She complied.

“I’m going to do what I want to do to you, blue eyes,” I said. “If you want me to stop, you tell me to stop. Okay?”

Again, she attempted a nod.

“Verbally,” I said.

“Okay,” she said, her voice shaking a bit.

Was she truly ready for this? I didn’t know, but she would stop me if she needed to.

Starting at her toes, I grazed my fingers all the way up her smooth legs to her ass, up her back to her shoulders. No millimeter of skin went untouched by me. When I trailed back down and touched her between her legs, she was dripping wet. Oh, God. No woman had ever responded to me quite like Jade did.