Unleashed (24 page)

Last night was the final straw when
Ezra refused to allow us to kiss his cheek good night. After a string of swear words on my part, he spilled the beans. Ezra is angry that Cort and I kept a secret from him and that we believed him capable of loving Adelaide. He said we didn’t know him or trust him if we could believe what we saw.

Cortez had
had enough at that point, and actually punched Ezra in the arm, yelling for him to snap out of it. He finally got it through to Ezra that we saw and heard him make love to Adelaide. In the end, we agreed to disagree and went to sleep angry- me in Cortez’s arms while Ezra clung to the side of the bed. I waited for Ezra to fall asleep and curled myself around him.

Ezra
woke in a better mood today with both Cort and me wrapped around him like giant teddy bears. He still isn’t his usual self, but its progress. Plus, I’m sure that Ray and his minion are on his mind.

Ezra
wouldn’t allow anyone to come to the party that has access to both ShadowHaven and Edge, unless they were family members. He didn’t want Ray’s accomplice in our home. I don’t blame him for that.

“Oh, they printed that today,” Ezra says as he sits at the table. He lifts the article and reads. I make a few more favors while I wait.
I nosh on a few butter mints avoiding the Jordan almonds. Yuck- this favor bullshit is so twenty years ago. What we endure for friends. I sigh.

“Well, everything was quoted correctly, but they spun
it when it came to Adelaide.” Ezra folds the paper in two, hiding his cover story.

“Adelaide
had three years to fix it. So if it bites her in the ass, it’s her problem for procrastinating. But I doubt that’s the reason. I think she thought she could change your mind, and that you wouldn’t go through with it.”

“Where is everyone?” Ezra
changes the topic because he knows I’m right. I don’t trust Adelaide. A woman who puts in over six years into a relationship, especially one with a billionaire, doesn’t walk away easily.

“Aaron and Kayla took Ava to a movie. They should be back any second. Cortez is deep into a manuscript. He was very intent wh
en I checked on him. I bet it’s a masterpiece.”

“So, we’re alone then?” Ezra
looks at me in a way I haven’t seen in over a week. It boils my blood and flushes my face. I straddle Ezra’s legs and sit in his lap. I pull his face to mine and deeply kiss him, drawing his tongue into my mouth, sucking on the flesh. I show him, rather than tell him, how much I’ve missed him. My hands rove over his shoulders and back, luxuriating in the feel of him beneath my fingertips.

I’
m so caught up in the kiss that I let out a girlish meep when teeth bite the side of my neck. Ezra laughs against my mouth as Cortez snickers against my throat.

“It’s a good thing we aren’t in enemy territory or I’d be
as good as dead about now. You distract me to no end,” I admit, but it’s directed at both the Ezes.

“In your defense, Cort
did creep in,” Ezra says against my lips.

“You saw him?” I worry that my appeal isn’t as strong as I
’d hoped.

“Nah,” he chuckles. “I was nibbled first. I think Cort has sexy time radar. You must have pinged him when you slid into my lap.”

“Or perhaps you both were moaning so loudly it broke into my concentration. I thought I’d join the fun.” Cort abruptly pulls my hair, causing me to gasp. He wrenches my head to the side, exposing my neck to his pleasure. He bites me hard enough to break skin. It should hurt, and it does, but not in a way that makes me flinch. My entire body turns lax as I mew like a cat.

My eyes seek out Ezra. He stares back at me with a drugged expression on his face. His eyes are dilated and glazed over. He captures my gaze as Cort sucks on my throat
, bruising me, marking me. I pant, whimper, and moan as my body fills with pressure. No one is touching my sexually. I sit on Ezra’s thighs near his knees. He isn’t touching me in any other manner, just holding my gaze. Cort’s hand is yanking my hair, but not touching skin. Only his mouth is making contact with my body.

I’
m so close to release that I start to beg. “Please…” I don’t even know what I am begging for or why I’m saying please.

Ezra slowly leans in, his smoky eyes getting closer and closer. I await his kiss. My lips a
che and throb for his kiss. Ezra’s lips connect with my neck instead of my mouth. His teeth sharply pinch my skin. I feel both men kiss each other as they lick and nibble my neck. The thought alone has me writhing in Ezra’s lap.

My body painfully tightens
. A prickling sensation starts in my toes and my scalp, tightening my skin as my blood rises to the surface. The storm gathers as the sensation travels from my toes and scalp to meet in the center of my body. My body unleashes a release that is just as much mental as sexual. I writhe from the strength, so much stronger than if I were brought by touch alone.

I lay
completely boneless. I would’ve fallen if Cort hadn’t pulled my back to his chest. His cheek slowly caresses mine as he murmured his approval against my skin.

Ezra gently kisses me
on the lips, as if knowing that anything stronger than a brush of a touch would be too much sensation. I close my eyes and revel in the feel of both men- my Ezes.

I feel them kiss near my ear. The vibra
tions cause my body to tremor. “Ah- I think we better let Kitten rest.” I can hear the amusement in Cort’s voice. Ezra murmurs his agreement. I visualize him doing so against Cort’s lips and experience a full body spasm.

Cort picks me up and places me back in my dining chair. He kisses me
, and says against my lips, “I think she likes us touching just as much as we do.”

“Thank God,” Ezra says
, relieved. I crack my lids and look at him through the slit. I don’t have the energy to open my eyes fully. I draw in a huge breath and sigh it back out.

“Well, let’s make a few of these thingies while she recuperates. Ava will have a fit if she doesn’t get these favors.”
Cortez reaches in front of me and uses his forearm to drag all the supplies to his side of the table. “Kitten’s gonna be wicked pissed when she looks in the mirror,” Cort says as he fills a round of tulle with snacks and ties the bundle with a ribbon. I watch in fascination as a big man crafts favors. He proudly stares at the bundle.

“I think that’s the whole point.” Ezra’s reply swings my gaze back to him. He is silently laughing. I stare him down
, wondering what’s funny and why I’ll be pissed when I look in the mirror. Ezra only laughs harder when he sees my expression. His chest quakes from suppressed laughter.

I muster up enough strength to ask when Ava and the happy couple come in, effectively cutting off all conversation. Ava dominates all the attention when she sees the
pile of goodies on the table.

“Oh! These are awesome. I’ve never been to a wedding be
fore. I have so many ideas.” Ava rambles on as my mind wanders. I realize that this is Ava’s first real experience with any of this stuff. It’s mine as well, but I’m not an excited eleven-year-old. I feel bad for silently bitching as I made the favors. This is about Kayla, and by extension, Ava- all of us.

“Animal attack? Vampire?
Lost control of the vacuum cleaner?” I catch the end of what Aaron is asking. I look a
huh?
at him as he wickedly laughs, drawing all the attention to me.

I notice Kayla’s blush as she covers her mouth with
the back of her hand. I haven’t regained enough energy to move. I roll my head on the back of my chair taking in everyone’s expressions. Cort and Ez look smug. Kayla and Aaron embarrassingly cover their mouths. Ava looks at me in horror. I squint at my daughter.

“What happened to your
neck? Did someone hurt you?” Ava’s voice is aghast. She studies my neck, and a second later she blushes bright red and stares at her Dad, and then Cort. “That was not nice. Mom won’t be able to cover that up for the party tomorrow.” She scolds the pair.

“That wa
s the point,” her father smugly replies.

“What?” My voice sounds drowsy and slow. I reach up an
d feel the side of my neck. It’s incredibly sore. “You guys didn’t. Please, tell me you didn’t?”

“We didn’t,” Ezra lies
and flashes me a cocky smirk.

“Are you feeling okay, M
om? You look exhausted?” I weakly smile and the group snickers.

“Yeah, just give me a couple minutes. I’m going to take a cold shower.”
I rush into my bathroom and stare in shock at my reflection in the mirror. If I wasn’t so relaxed, steam would billow out of my ears at how pissed I should be.

I
poke at the bruised skin on the side of my throat. It’s so tender that I wince. Two sets of intersecting bite marks, which are deep enough that they are crusted with blood, adorn my neck. A good inch or two around the bites are suck marks and bruising. I’m pretty sure that it’s going to scar. I smile at myself in the mirror. No, I shouldn’t be so proud to wear their marks. And that is exactly what they were up to. They wanted their
mine
stamp on me before we have a house full of people.

Katya, you are completely fucked in the head.

Chapter Nineteen

I return from my shower wearing comfy clothes
and prepared to tackle more wedding planning party preparations. I’m in a good mood until I feel the fury emanating from the dining room.

“How could you
let this happen, Aaron? Ava is my daughter for Christ’s sake.” Ezra is leaning over the table, eyes blazing in fury, rabidly bitching at Aaron, who is cowering in his seat. Kayla’s chair is overturned and she is comforting said daughter.

“Whoa…” I put my hands out in a stop position. “What is going on?”
Ezra swings Master Ez’s furious gaze in my direction. I don’t wilt from the pressure. I just get pissed. I give it right back at him. “Calm the hell down and don’t look at me that way. Everyone sit in their seats like good boys and girls.”

Ezra blows his breath out as if he is literally blowing off steam
, and then retakes his seat. Everyone else follows suit when Ezra is seated.

“Cort, talk to me.” He
is the only one who is calm. I figure he’d be best for information.

“We were chatting about the movie they went to see. Ava said she met a man and didn’t get to finish
her sentence since Ezra went batshit crazy on us.”

“
What man?” I ask in confusion.

“The MAN.” Cort
gives me a look that says he is trying to keep everyone calm. I breathe in deeply, knowing what he is up to.

“Alright, there is no sense in worrying the girls.
Ava, everything is fine. Why don’t you tell me what happened from the beginning.” I clasp my hands on the tabletop and calmly smile, when inside my mind is a shit-storm of fury and unadulterated terror.

“I went to get a refill of
fruit punch, and a man was standing in line behind me. He just wanted to chat. He said he knew my parents. He asked how you guys were, even asked about Cort and Aaron. He knew you guys enough to ask if…” Ava’s voice trails off and she flushes a bright crimson. “He was curious to know if Dad and Cort are both with Mom.”

“What di
d you tell him?” I flatly ask, as if it’s not important.

“The truth, I told him you guys are together. I mean, I’m not blind. He actually looked happy about
that. He said that he was glad, and that he wanted you to be happy. He asked if Aaron was alright. He had a weird look on his face when he said it. I told him about the wedding, and he looked happy about that, too. He said I look like Grandma Diane, but he could tell that I act like Dad and Mom. He wanted to give you a message. He wants to talk to Dad. That was the message. He said it was important that he talks to Dad. I asked who he is. He said to call him Ray, and that he is proud of us all.” Ava finishes with a confused look on her face and a shrug.

“Thanks, baby girl
.” I smile at Ava like nothing’s wrong. I don’t like how Ezra let his emotions run wild in front of Ava and Kayla. They don’t need to be involved, except to be kept safe. I don’t need them worrying. Ezra will just make two hysterical females.

“I don’t feel like making dinner tonight since I have so much to prepare for the party tomorrow. Aaron, can you help the girls pick something for us from the delivery menus?”

Aaron looks at me with eyes filled with hurt. I watch as comprehension dawns. No, I am not closing him out, it’s just that the girls would think something was up if he wasn’t included with them. I give his a reassuring smile and pat his hand.

“Calm, you need to be calm, Ezra.” I say when
I’m positive the girls and Aaron are safely tucked into the office. Aaron was smart enough to shut the office door for added privacy.

“I can’t believe this shit. You are my fami
ly, and I can’t even protect you,” Ezra moans in misery. He pulls the martyr card, so I pull out my bitch shield in defense.