Chapter Fourteen
“You’re even more tight-lipped than usual.”
They’d just gotten back to his place, and it was late in the afternoon. He had some business to attend to, but he was loathe to leave Aggie alone.
“I’ve got a lot on my mind.” Ten had to get some equipment before the auction and he was making mental lists, but he was too distracted to think straight.
Aggie hung her dress in the hall closet. She’d gotten the one he’d been admiring. It was wrapped in a long black wardrobe bag. The bag was the perfect size to move a body in, but he doubted she’d appreciate the observation.
She kept twirling a lock of her hair. Miss Delilah had dyed it a deep red and the color suited her, although he preferred Aggie’s natural shade. She’d also cut it into a chin length bob which accentuated her pretty face. Aggie would make it into the party unnoticed, especially with her black-rimmed glasses.
“Like what?”
“I’ll tell you in a minute.” Once he’d worked up his nerve.
He’d been thinking about her all day long, being alone with her, exploring her body. This time, he wanted to be in charge. Ten wanted to make her gasp and moan for him.
“How are you gonna disguise yourself?”
Ten removed the shades. “I wear these and a suit every day. I’ll leave them off for the auction, and maybe I’ll add a bit of Texas with my tuxedo.” He had a ten-gallon hat and some cowhide boots he could wear, too. In his experience, people would concentrate on his scars, not him.
“Are you ready to do this?” she asked.
“Yeah, I wanna get it over with. However it turns out. Waitin’ is the terrible part, the dread.”
“I agree. There’s no point in drawin’ this out.” Smothering a yawn, Aggie walked into his bedroom and sat on the edge of his bed.
“Tired?”
“Yeah, it’s been a long day.”
Ten agreed, and he’d been more than patient.
When he shut the bedroom door behind himself, he locked it. His business could be handled later. At this moment, there were more important things on his mind.
“Oh.” She seemed to sense his intentions because her pupils dilated, swallowing the centers. “Somethin’ you want?”
“Yes, you.” He licked his suddenly dry lips. “I need you.”
Her nostrils flared. “And do you want all of me? Not just a taste.”
“Yes.” His voice sounded gruff, even to his own ears.
Ten felt the hair stand up on his arms and then the back of his neck. He was so warm, as though flooded by heat. For years, he’d been icy, remote and separated from everyone else, and Aggie was thawing him, bringing him in from the cold.
“Thought you’d never ask.”
She made him come alive, sparked a response in him, he’d thought was dead and buried. Aggie stood, looped her arms around his neck, and he held onto her hips, rubbing her bottom. He pulled her flush against his body so she could feel his rapidly swelling cock.
Ten moaned as he bent to taste her lips once more. It was difficult—his body pushed him to go faster, further, harder, but his mind wanted to slow the pace so he could bring her more pleasure.
Their hands made short work of the clothing separating them—buttons opened, jeans unzipped, until they were both standing in their underwear. He got to know every curve, the entire shape of her, gliding his hands up and down the length of her beautiful body—the swell of her breasts, the way her waist dipped inward, the bend of her hips. She was fit and muscled, despite her small size, but undeniably female.
He loved her supple limbs, the long line of her throat. Aggie was lovely from head to toe. He traced lines up and down her arms, marveling at the goose pimples rising on her flesh.
Ten wasn’t afraid or uncomfortable. He was so hard, pressing against the cloth. His cock had a mind of its own when it came to her.
“Lay down, please.”
Aggie laid down on her stomach, glancing over her shoulder at him. He caressed her, the slope of her back, pressed a kiss to the swell of her hips.
As he explored her, she shivered.
Aggie reached behind her back and undid the clasp on her bra. He helped her out of the straps, and it tumbled to the floor, forgotten. She turned over so he could see Aggie in all of her naked glory.
He loved how comfortable she was in her own skin. She was beautiful, and she knew it. Aggie made him want to be unashamed as well. With her, he wanted to be free, unrestrained when it came to lovemaking.
With trembling hands, he reached for her. She had small breasts, barely a handful and he tucked them in his palms, treasured the softness. Her nipples were hard, and he bent to taste them. He mouthed the centers, nipping and sucking, grazed them with his teeth.
Ten adored the way she writhed beneath him. She clasped his head, holding him to her breast, fingers curling into his hair as he sucked her.
Steeling himself, Ten took his time.
Ten was very aware this might be the last chance he got to touch her, taste her, but he tried not to think about it. He didn’t want to ruin the moment with the gloom and doom lurking in his head. It was a habit of his, always bracing for impact, wondering which catastrophe would find him next.
Instead of thinking of their uncertain future, he focused on feeling.
He’d never felt so connected to another human being. They both wanted to be here, wanted each other. No, needed one another. There was no doubt in his mind, he had to have Aggie, and not merely in a sexual sense. The time he’d spent with her had been heady, a preview of something he hadn’t dared to hope for.
Her skin was so sensitive, and he admired the way she responded when he kissed his way to her abdomen.
Ten tongued her navel, and she inhaled sharply.
“Like that, Giselle?”
“No, I love it.”
“Then maybe I’ll give you more.”
Ten cherished the control she gave him. She was his for the taking—it was a new sensation, this need to dominate. Before, he’d always been reticent, afraid he’d hurt someone, but they trusted one another.
Eventually, she spread her thighs for him and looped her legs over his shoulders, and he kissed the tender skin before he nuzzled his nose against her cotton-covered core. He’d sucked plenty of cock, and it had been disgusting.
Yet the scent of her drove him wild—a sweet musky wetness, which was all female. It was so different from his own hardness, and he ached to plunge his dick into her.
“I’ve never had my mouth on a woman before.”
“Do you want to try it?” She balanced on her elbows looking down at him, cradled between her thighs.
He nodded.
Ten dragged the scrap of cotton from her thighs and tossed it over one shoulder and then went mouth to mouth with her nether lips. They were a glossy pink, and she was shaved bare.
He couldn’t tear himself from the beauty of her sex—the ivory skin, the pretty pink folds within, Aggie was delicate, a sweet ballerina over a steel shell and he wanted to know every square inch of her.
He kissed her then, lightly on the lips and she gasped. Ten enjoyed kissing her sex as much as he did kissing her mouth. It was a chance to penetrate her, be inside her.
Ten fluttered his tongue against her clit, making her moan. He wanted to give her as much pleasure as she’d given him.
The taste of her was a revelation, the beginning of a new obsession. She tasted better than he ever could’ve imagined. He lapped at her swollen sex, loving the slickness beneath his tongue, the briny sweetness of her. She was like salted caramel.
Ten buried his face in her luscious sex, licking and sucking, gripping her hips, pulling her closer to his mouth. She moaned, falling back against the pillows and he relentlessly licked her, grazing her clit with his tongue, pushing it all the way inside her. With a sigh, Aggie splayed her thighs even wider for him.
And then he laid waste to her.
Ten worked her with his mouth, while she gasped, rocking against him with half-formed breathless sighs. Then he used his fingers, dipping them into her pussy. Ten imagined his cock inside her again, moving harder, harsher. She was so tight, sucking his fingers in.
“I have to…” Ten grunted.
“Have to what?”
“Get inside you.” The bed squeaked as he thrust into her.
She was slick and tight and wonderful, and he plunged into her so easily, her slickness hugged his prick, holding it. Ten pressed his forehead to hers, then leaned down to taste her mouth again.
She whispered his name, like a benediction.
Ten penetrated her deep, fucking her for all it was worth. Gasping, Ten lunged into her again and again.
He closed his eyes because it was more than he could bear. Like the world had narrowed to this moment, to this connection. Aggie was the only thing he gave a damn about, the center of the universe as far as Ten was concerned.
“Ten, I’m almost…I need…” She was as lost as he was.
“Are you gonna come with me?”
“Yes, I’m so close.”
“I need you, Aggie, I need you.”
With a breathless moan, she convulsed beneath him, and he watched the pleasure bloom on her face. It was exquisite. He’d done that, Ten had made her come.
And then he couldn’t think anymore as a haze of need bore down on him, and he thrust again and again, until he finally came, shooting inside of her.
Ten dragged himself off of Aggie before he crushed her and fell back against the pillows. He felt light-headed, dizzy, and utterly satisfied. Aggie nestled in beside him, laying her head on his chest and he stroked her hair.
They laid like that for a long time, simply being with one another.
“What happens after we rescue the girls from Santiago?” Ten couldn’t wait any longer.
“You’re awful confident we’ll save them.”
“It’s best to be confident. In the military, they told us to always assume we’d win. If you go into a situation thinkin’ you’re gonna lose, you might prove yourself right.”
“So you wanna have that relationship talk, huh?” Aggie glanced up at him.
“Want to? No, but I think we need to.” Ten didn’t have a fucking clue where to begin, or what to say, or even what he wanted out of this situation.
“I don’t see the point in gettin’ attached, Ten, I’m dyin’.”
He closed his eyes. “Not today you aren’t. You’ve got years left.”
“How do you know?”
“I looked it up.” Vick wasn’t the only one who could do an internet search.
“Just because you’ve glanced at Wikipedia, doesn’t mean you know what’s gonna happen. Years before I die, I’ll have symptoms. It’s gonna be a slow, awful decline. By the time I go, I won’t know my own name. If we’re still together then, I might not know who you are either.”
“I’m sorry for what you went through with your mom.” Although, Ten got the impression she was trying to scare him, push him away. “And what you might face in the future.”
“I appreciate it, and I’m only tryin’ to protect you. You shouldn’t get attached to me.”
“Who said I am?”
She squinted at him as though she could read his every thought and he shifted uncomfortably.
“It’ll hurt when this ends, especially if I don’t walk away from you and you’re there for those last few years.”
“What if I’m the one who goes for a walk?”
“I don’t think you will be.”
Yeah, I don’t think so either.
She’d suddenly shown up, danced into his path and he hadn’t been able to think about anything else since. It was maddening, infuriating, and yet he only wanted more—more time, more of her, just more.
He turned over to face her. “Aggie, I think maybe I’m—”
“No.” Aggie held up a warning finger.
“What?”
“I know what you’re going to say.”
“You couldn’t.” Because I don’t.
Ten wasn’t sure what might pop out of his mouth. And he couldn’t quite articulate the exact words, although they were in the back of his throat, threatening to burst out.
“I’ve got an idea.” She grinned.
“Tell me.”
“Let’s talk about this later, if we survive the auction. I want to enjoy tonight, don’t you?”
“Are you sayin’ that to shut me up again?” Because this was the second time, she’d postponed the talk. “You’re kickin’ this old rusty can down the road, prayin’ I’ll forget about it.”
“No.”
“I think you mean yes.” He stared up at the ceiling. “This is confusin’. No, you’re confusin’.”
Her words shoved him away, and her body welcomed him, and the mixed messages screwed with his head. He’d always prided himself on having a maniacal sort of calm. Not with her.
I’m so screwed.
“Right back at you.”
“Fine, we’ll do this later.”
Aggie snuggled up against him.
“I want you to know somethin’.”
“What’s that?”
“I know we’ve already discussed this, but what you’re doin’ for Luna and Maria is important. And no, I don’t think it’s some karmic way of payin’ it forward. Sure you’ve committed your share of sins, but you’re a good person, Ten, no matter what you tell yourself.”
“I’m really not.” He swallowed the lump in his throat.
“Nothin’ you can say will convince me otherwise.”
“Anyone who’d lived through what I did, would pony up the cash in a heartbeat. I don’t know what kind of people Santiago might sell them to, but I can guess.” Ten pulled her closer. “Pedophiles tell themselves that they love children, but they hurt them instead. I was unlucky enough to deal with a man who was a sadist as well as a pedophile.”
“Paul.”
“Yeah, Paul liked control and pain. He loved demeanin’ me, defilin’ me. Makin’ me feel like dirt, built him up somehow.” Ten tried to shake off the memories. “He must’ve had a fraction of an ego if he needed to terrorize a boy to feel better about himself.”
“Some people are just twisted.”
“To him, I was an object, a possession he could do whatever he wanted with. Paul kept me locked up in the basement, like some animal. He only came downstairs to use me and take his anger out on me. I’m not sure how long I lived like that, but it felt like an eternity.”
Aggie said nothing, just squeezed him tighter. And suddenly, Ten couldn’t keep it in any longer, he had to share this with Aggie, excise all of the pain, by letting it go.
He shuddered. “I can still smell the basement sometimes, like the scent is a part of me now, I can feel it cloggin’ my throat and my nostrils.” He clutched at his neck. “It was dark and dank and musty. It smelled like death.” He’d always thought being placed in a coffin would give him the same sensation, a cold enclosed space, buried deep in the ground. “I spent most of my time alone, trapped with my own mind.”
“I’m so sorry.” Aggie clutched him, her face buried against his chest, and he could feel the moisture from her tears. “What happened to the men who hurt you? Were they ever brought to justice?”
“In a manner of speakin’.”
Ten had seen to it personally after he’d gotten out of the military, but he’d fantasized about it for years, planning the attacks down to the tiniest details.
“You took care of them?”
“Yeah, the men who hurt me are no longer alive, I made sure of it.”
He’d thought by punishing them, he’d find some peace. Ten had been sure that he’d be able to sleep at night and get past all his fears and trauma, but he’d only lost even more of himself in the process.
Aggie glanced up. “How’d you do it?” Her expression was sober, concerned, but he didn’t see any disgust. Again, he marveled at her acceptance.
“Over the period of a year, I hunted the ones I could remember down and killed them.”
Ten had no memory of the first man who’d held him captive or the things he’d done to him. He didn’t know what kind of sick individual would be attracted to a toddler, anyway. When he’d tortured the other men for information, none of them had given his first captor up.
“Believe me, they didn’t go gently into that good night, except for one.” He’d shown one of them mercy. The rest had gone with blood and screaming, and it had blackened his spirit, filling Ten with a dark sort of glee he couldn’t control.
“What about the last one? The man who was kind?”
“I came back for him too, but I made it quick.” He’d smothered Frank with a pillow while he’d been asleep, he’d struggled at first, but then he’d fallen back to the bed, passive once more.
Ten had almost pardoned him until he’d spied the teenage boy sleeping down the hall, and he couldn’t let it go. Not with Frank’s twisted sense of right and wrong. Leaving the boy in Frank’s clutches was unthinkable, so Ten had intervened, the only way he knew how.
He wasn’t sure why he was telling her all of this. Was he trying to drive her away, too? Or see if she could accept the murkiest parts of him? All that ugliness.
Instead of shunning him, pushing him away, Aggie comforted him, pressing kisses to his face, brushing away the tears he hadn’t realized were leaking from his scarred eyes.
And he just knew they were meant to be together, even if she couldn’t see it yet.