CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
AVERY
FOR THREE HOURS, I SIT in that chair and watch her make these men pay for what they did to her. And not once did she ask me for help. Or permission. She branded them over and over, and then when she was finally done, she just stared down at the blowtorch before placing it on the table. Then she went for the knife, and she began to cut. At one point, she cried, but I’m not sure if it was from happiness or anger. I just let her do her thing.
She drops the knife to the floor, and I sit up straighter when she turns to face me. Her blue eyes heavy when they meet mine. I open my mouth to speak, but the door opens. We both look over to see Tristan walk in. He comes to a stop when he sees the guys hanging in their restraints, bleeding to death. Patches of skin cover the floor by their feet along with blood and sweat. The smell of burned flesh fills the room, and the moment it hits him, he takes a step back, placing a hand to his mouth.
Bunny walks out with her head held high and shoulders back, not saying a word.
Tristan closes the door once she leaves and places his hands in his pockets. “Damn.” He looks over the guys. “Remind me to never piss her off.” He actually smiles.
“You … are a … disgrace …” Vaughn manages to get out between breaths. “You … both … deserve death.”
I stand from the chair. “You and Preston will be the only two dying tonight.” And with that, I exit the cellar. I make my way into the formal dining room and don’t see Bunny anywhere. So I head to my bedroom. It’s empty, but I hear the shower come on in my adjoining bathroom. I enter to find her removing her bloody clothes and then stepping into the shower.
I quickly undress and join her. She faces the showerhead, her forehead resting on the tile along with her hands. Her lips are parted, and I can see her ribs through her skin expand as she breathes heavily. Blood runs down her frail body and pools at her feet before disappearing into the drain.
Walking up behind her, I softly touch her back, and she jumps, spinning around and looks up at me. I push the wet hair behind her ears, and she licks her lips. “I’m sorry—”
“Don’t ever apologize, Bunny,” I interrupt her. “You owe nothing to no one.”
Her shaking hands come up and rest on my chest. Her eyes search mine, and I press my body into hers. She rises on her tiptoes, lifting her lips to mine but not close enough to touch. She’s feeling me out. Trying to see where I stand after what she just did to her brother and mine. She should know that no matter what this woman does, I stand with her. By her side.
My hands slide into her soaked hair, and I grip it tightly, pulling her head back, and she sucks in a long breath. My cock instantly hardening at the sound. Then I lower my face to kiss her neck. Opening my mouth, I bite into her soft flesh before sucking her skin between my lips. She shudders and lets out a moan. “Avery …”
I cut her off, spinning us around and slamming her back into the wall. She cries out from the force, and I grip her left thigh and wrap it around my hip. Then my hand goes between our bodies and finds her wet cunt. “Fuck, I’ve missed you.” My voice mirrors my actions—rough and needy.
“I’ve missed you too,” she breathes, rocking her hips into mine. “Please fuck me.”
“What have I told you about begging?” I ask.
“I need you to use me.” She urges. “It’s been too long.”
I chuckle even though I smile down at her. I’m gonna have her coming so hard she’s gonna need another nap afterwards.
PRESLEIGH
The rest of the day went by like a dream. For the first time in eleven years, I was at peace with myself. With life. We all sat around Avery’s formal dining room table laughing and telling every funny story we could think of about ourselves. It wasn’t like we were trying to compensate for what everyone knew I had done. It was real. The laughs. The jokes.
It was … natural. For once, I felt normal. Avery made himself and Tristan a glass of scotch, and I told him no thanks when he offered me one. He gave me this smile that made my heart beat faster. Like he was proud of me. I hadn’t felt that in so long that it made my chest hurt. Alex ended up snatching it out of his hands and everyone laughed. I sat back and watched them all with fresh eyes. As if I had been blind for years. Burying yourself knee deep in drugs, alcohol, and men will do that to you.
I noticed the way that Tristan couldn’t keep his eyes and hands off Chloe, and how she would lean into him and get that dazed look in her eyes when he spoke to her. I saw the way Alex stared into her glass of scotch as though it held answers to questions she didn’t even know she needed to ask. I hate it for her. The unknown. The path that she ended up taking because she had no other choice. It had to have been for a reason. Maybe I’m it. I’m supposed to help her find her way back to who she was before. I’m far from being fixed, but I’m on the right road. I watched Kayn, but the man is a mystery. A dark hole closed off to the world. And then I glanced at Avery. He was already staring at me over the rim of his glass tumbler. His blue eyes watching me intently. They looked like storm clouds ready to release their madness over a city. And I smiled at him, knowing that I would take on that storm any day.
It’s funny that a month ago he had me bent over this very table. We were both full of hatred that was fueled by anger. Now we’re just two people who love one another in a way that most will never understand. It’s messy. But the most beautiful things are never just handed over to you wrapped up in a bow. It takes tears and sweat to get what you want. Even blood. And I’d bleed for this man. All he’d have to do is ask. ’Cause I know without a shadow of doubt that he would do the same for me.