Chapter Nine
When Scarlett saw Bain’s house come into view, she felt an instant sense of ease. If only the whole world could disappear, leaving just the two of them in this little piece of paradise. Bain might be used to his unorthodox lifestyle, but she was still in shock. How could she ever feel comfortable with constant death and danger?
They pulled onto the long gravel drive to the old farmhouse. It was a simple brick two-storey with unkempt lawn, but it was homey and inviting. When he turned off the ignition, silence settled in. She realized neither of them had spoken the entire drive home. Her thoughts were scattered in so many directions.
“What will happen to Michael?” she asked.
“Boss will handle everything. It’s what he does.”
She nodded. It was hard to get the vision of her ex’s dead body out of her mind, even though she felt a newfound peace knowing he was gone. The only way for her to stay sane was to convince herself Michael deserved his fate—he’d killed the innocent baby growing inside her.
“You shot your boss. Why didn’t he shoot back? There were four of them.”
“I have to remind myself that fucker is even human. Maybe he doesn’t feel pain,” said Bain, his hands squeezing the steering wheel. “I don’t like how he let me off so easy.”
“He must see your value.”
Bain took a deep breath and got out of the car. She chased after him as he entered the house.
“Who were all those men? Did you know them?” she asked. Scarlett had a feeling Bain didn’t want to talk about this, but she couldn’t just pretend nothing happened. It helped her to talk things out. She had so many questions.
“Viper was the one I told you about, the one I grew up with. He’s the only person I’d have to think twice about before killing. He wanted to make sure I didn’t do anything stupid because he was the one to put a good word in for me at Killer of Kings. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing that he showed up. When it comes to you, I seem to jump the gun.”
“He loves you. I could see it in his eyes.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” he said. “But out of the five of them, he’d be the least likely to pull the trigger.”
“What about the others?”
“I know Boss and his new right-hand man, Killian. I haven’t seen the other two before, but I’ve only met a fraction of the people working for Killer of Kings.”
He braced both hands on the kitchen counter, his back to her. She put one hand over his. “Will everything be okay?” she asked.
His mood seemed to shift, as if he realized how distant he’d become. Bain smiled as he turned around. “I’m sorry, baby.” He held her head against his chest, his other arm keeping her close. “This must be scary for you. I keep forgetting you’re not used to any of this shit.”
“I just want to be happy. I’m tired of getting the short stick in life.”
Bain tilted her chin up. “Things will be different now. You’re mine, and everyone knows it. Boss gave me the rest of the month off, so I’m all yours.”
“Really?”
“Do whatever you want to me.” He winked.
God, he had such a ruggedly handsome face. She could stare at him all day. And his body … just envisioning his ripped body made her think very X-rated thoughts.
“You said we’d spend the rest of the day … you know.”
He scooped her up into his arms without warning. She wasn’t light, but he carried her upstairs as if she weighed a hundred pounds. Bain brought her to a bathroom in the upstairs hallway. It had been renovated with a walk-in shower. He set her down and started the water.
“After every job, I like to come in here and take a long shower. It’s cleansing, you just imagine the water washing away the shit in your head.” He pulled her shirt up and off, her hair fanning down on her back. “You do the same thing, okay, Scarlett? Forget what you saw today. Let it all wash away.”
“It’s okay, Bain. You don’t have to protect me.” She slipped out of her capris until she was standing in her bra and panties. “And I don’t blame you for anything. I’m glad you did what you did.”
He cupped her cheeks and gave her one soft kiss. “I can’t stand the thought of you being a part of my world. You’re too good for this, and I don’t want to poison you.”
“I’m more broken than you think,” she said. “Maybe two halves can make a whole?”
She saw the emotion in his eyes because it reflected her own. He was nothing like the man she’d first seen at Semenov’s.
Bain groaned as he tugged off his shirt. “Tonight, we’re going to forget about everything. There’s nothing else. It’s just you and me.”
“Okay,” she whispered.
Once they were both undressed, Bain slid open the large glass door so they could step inside. The warm water flowed down from the rainfall shower heads. He was right. There was something healing about the water tracing down her hair and face, the old being washed away, replaced with hope and new beginnings.
Bain’s large frame towered over her. He braced one hand on the shower wall, the other settling on the small of her back. He brought her close until there was only a breath between them. “You’re beautiful, Scarlett. More than I deserve.”
“Don’t say that,” she said. “You’re a good man.”
He chuckled. “You won’t think so after tonight.” Bain kissed her on the mouth, the water rushing down around them. Her need that had been put on the back burner returned with a vengeance. His hard, tattooed body kept coming closer until she was pressed to the tiled wall. She could feel his desire, his masculine energy surrounding her. Scarlett rested a hand on each of Bain’s biceps, savoring the feel of his muscles flexing. She closed her eyes as he kissed her neck, his tongue tracing patterns along her erogenous zones.
“That feels so good,” she said.
“I can’t get enough of you.” He returned to her lips, devouring, tasting, claiming. The roughness of his stubble scratched her cheeks, but she didn’t care. His strength aroused her. He could snap her in two or put a bullet in her head, but Bain loved her, wanted her. It was addicting to tame such a beast.
They managed to dry off a bit and make their way to his bedroom. Unlike the night before, the sun hadn’t set so there would be no hiding their nudity. Normally she’d be a bit uncomfortable, but she’d passed that point of no return in the shower. All she wanted was to feel Bain filling her, taking her again and again. She’d had other men, and it only confirmed that he was beyond average, any woman’s fantasy, and all hers.
She wanted to give him something more, to wrap her lips around his big dick. They both needed an escape, to give up complete control in exchange for new, wicked pleasures. Scarlett bent over, kissing her way down his hard abs on her way to his erect cock. Her mouth salivated with her desire to taste him, to feel him between her tongue and pallet. She wrapped her hand around the base and licked the smooth tip.
“No, Scarlett, don’t.” He pulled away, sitting on the bed. “Let me make love to you.”
Was she doing it wrong? He had such a beautiful cock, perfect actually, like the rest of him. Didn’t men like their woman to go down on them? She desperately wanted to pleasure him at the same time as she craved to explore his body.
When she looked at him, she realized his chest was rising and falling rapidly, as if he’d just been frightened or run a few laps. “Are you okay? What’s wrong with you?”
He shook his head. “Nothing. Come here, baby. Let me make you feel good.”
Something didn’t feel right. She didn’t want to just take and never give back. It wasn’t fair. Scarlett stood between his parted legs, and he cupped her ass in his palms, taking her areola into his mouth. She moaned, her pussy pulsing in response. Bain was so damn good at what he did. He almost made her forget everything.
“No.” She moved away. “Why won’t you let me go down on you?”
“You don’t want to do that,” he said.
“Really? You’re wrong, Bain. I want to. Did I do it wrong? You can teach me the way you like it.”
He tried to reach for her, but she wouldn’t let him.
“Scarlett, it’s just something I can’t handle. It makes me fucking anxious. Even sex, it took me a long time before I could get any pleasure from it. With you, things are different. But—”
“How is it different from sex?”
Bain wouldn’t look her in the eyes. He patted his lap, and she willingly sat down, wrapping an arm around him. She couldn’t stop kissing and touching him.
“When I was younger, I was forced to let women use me. My captors would hurt me if I did anything wrong, and the punishment didn’t stop until I was perfect. They did a lot of wicked shit to me, Scarlett. I didn’t enjoy what I did, I hated it. Ever since that fucking chapter of my life closed, there are certain things that I can’t really get over. You know what I mean?”
He’d been forced, so it was no different than rape. No wonder he had issues with his sexuality. Her love for him grew, as did her need to heal him.
“I’m different, Bain. I’d never hurt you.”
He kissed her shoulder, and she held his head against her chest. Scarlett could only imagine the horrors he’d been through. She couldn’t stand to see him so broken, unable to trust or put the pieces of himself back together. It wasn’t much different than her take on life. They were so different, but also so much alike.
“It’s not so simple,” he said. “Not when the past fucks with your head.”
If she wanted him to trust her, she had to do the same. “Remember I told you about Michael and the secrets I kept? Well, I was going to have a baby.” Tears filled her eyes before she could finish. The pain was still fresh, as if it happened yesterday, not over a year ago. “I lost it before it was born. Because of Michael’s abuse.”
She felt Bain’s hold on her grow tighter. “That’s not a secret, Scarlett. It wasn’t your fault.”
“I should have left him,” she cried, the tears flowing freely. She shook her head, still so angry with herself. “If I’d had a backbone I would have left, and I’d be a mother today. But I’m not. I’m nothing. I have nothing. And I can never forgive myself.” She felt so stupid being naked and crying. She was a hot mess.
“I know what being abused can do to a person. You become a shadow of yourself, unable to distinguish between reality and the fucked-up shit they want you to believe. It’s not your fault, sweetheart.” He’d raised his voice to express his point, and it surprised her that this man could care so much about her suffering when he originally planned on killing her. She hadn’t told anyone her shameful secret and wouldn’t have believed anyone’s sympathy regardless. Bain was different. She knew only Bain could understand how her head had been so messed up when she’d been with Michael. He’d devastated her confidence until she was a shell of a woman, and the abuse stole all her strength.
“How do you go on?”
He smirked and looked up at her. “You do like me. You survive, you exist. I killed to quiet the demons inside me. It wasn’t until you came into my life that I realized there could be more.”
She smiled, more tears flowing, but they weren’t from self-pity. “I want to be happy with you,” she said.
****
Bain knew all about Scarlett’s miscarriage from the hospital records, but refused to bring it up. It was her choice whether she shared that with him or not. The fact she’d opened up to him, releasing all that pent-up pain and tension, made him feel closer to her.
“I need you,” he said.
The vulnerable moment shifted to more passion than he’d ever known. He wanted to own Scarlett, to claim her, to keep her for himself. The thought of any man coming between them seriously pissed him off.
They dropped down on the bed, intertwined, not able to get enough of each other. His cock was heavy and stiff. He couldn’t wait to slide deep inside Scarlett’s pretty little cunt, marking her as his again and again. With her, sex was exactly how it should be, and the only time he was grateful for his training in the bedroom.
“Oh God, Bain. I want you.”
He kissed his way down her neck, flipping her to her back so he could play with her big tits. Bain rubbed his face in her cleavage, then took her nipple in his mouth, teasing her until she arched her back.
When her little hand wrapped about his cock, his eyes lolled back in his head. “I want to taste you, Bain. Please…”
Those bitches had ruined him for sex, hurting him in inhumane ways. His captors were hell-bent on creating a killing machine made for fucking. He knew he could trust Scarlett, she was sweet and caring, but he couldn’t get over his own damn insecurities. Bain hated having a weakness, and he didn’t want it to rule his life forever.
“You don’t have to do that,” he said.
“I want to. I love you.”
Those words felt unreal, and his instincts expected deception. He usually killed when he felt pushed against the wall, but for Scarlett he seemed ready to take on the world.
She crawled along his body, her nails gently dragging down his torso. When she reached his cock, Bain cringed, but he forced himself to stop living in the past. He ran his hand through her silky hair, focusing on how much he wanted this one woman.
Her mouth was warm and wet as it covered his swollen head. She moved slowly, cautiously, her free hand wrapped firmly around the root of his dick. Bain closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her lips taking him deeper, her tongue tracing the sensitive vein with each upstroke. Scarlett wouldn’t hurt him, and this was his choice. With each passing minute, he began to relax and truly enjoy the gift she gave him.
He watched her head bobbing up and down over his cock, bringing him closer to coming down her throat. But he wanted to be inside her, fucking her until she screamed his name.
“That’s enough, baby. Let me have some fun with you,” he said. Bain sat up, pulling Scarlett over his lap so she straddled him. “Put it in. Put my cock inside that hot little pussy.”
She struggled, her chest heaving as she forced his erection inside her. As soon as he entered her, she sat down hard, moaning and grabbing his shoulders for support. She was so tight, so perfect.
“Oh yeah, that’s a good girl.” He watched her tits bounce as she began to fuck him, rising up and slamming down, over and over. The sounds she made spurred him on, his balls pulling up tight. “Make me come. I want to feel you milking my cock.”
After nearly bringing him to the edge, she came down heavily, her breathing erratic. “I can’t. I’m too tired,” she said.
He smiled, knowing he was capable of fucking her all night long, every night. Bain grabbed her hips, twisting them around until he dominated, his cock still deep inside her. He kissed her lips, licking and nipping as he brushed the moistened hairs from her face. “You’re mine, Scarlett. I’ll do anything for you, fuck you any time you ask, kill anyone who hurts you.”
“Yes,” she murmured, writhing beneath him. “Make me yours.”
Her confirmation satisfied the beast within him. He began to fuck her, all his energy expelled as he pistoned his hips like a machine, making sure to satisfy his woman completely.
When her pussy began to spasm around him, he knew she was moments away. “Come for me. Let it all go, baby.”
As soon as she cried out, her nails digging into his back, he relaxed enough to let go, spilling his seed inside her. It was a raw moment. This was the first day he hadn’t lied to himself, hadn’t convinced himself he was a worthless bastard not deserving of love.
They were both spent, lying next to each other as they caught their breath. When he heard someone knocking on his front door, the hollow sound echoed through the old house, he bolted out of the bed. “Stay here,” he said, his breathing still rapid.
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know. Nobody comes here.” He tugged on a pair of sweatpants and grabbed a Glock from the bedside table. “Don’t leave this room.”
Bain rushed down the stairs. Whoever was at his door was lucky they hadn’t interrupted him a few minutes earlier or he’d really be pissed off. His barriers came down for Scarlett only, and he still didn’t give a shit about anyone else.
He yanked open the door, ready for anything, even Boss, but it was Killian. Bain looked around, and saw no one else with him and only one vehicle parked in his driveway.
“Why the fuck are you here? And how’d you get my address?”
Had Boss sent him to clean up loose ends, to kill him dead? He could try.
“Consider it a courtesy call. A friendly warning.”
This fucker was Boss’s personal bodyguard, so there was no way Bain trusted a word he said. Everyone who worked for Killer of Kings was loyal to the cause, including Viper.
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t like to see innocent women getting messed up in our shit, but Boss, he doesn’t have the same idea.” Killian ran a hand through his dark blond hair. The sides were shaved, the top long and pushed back. The scar through his upper lip always made him look like he was snarling. A damn pretty boy straight up from hell.
“If you have something to fucking say, say it.”
Killian smirked. “Did you think you’d get away with shooting Boss?”
“It was a clean shot to the shoulder. He didn’t look too upset,” said Bain.
“You fucking shot him, Bain. That doesn’t go unpunished. He plans to get his revenge on the girl.”
Bain frowned. That piece of shit had said he wouldn’t kill Scarlett, even gave him the rest of the month off. He knew joining Killer of Kings was a mistake. He’d never had these problems working solo contracts. “He lied to me then.”
“He’s not going to kill her. You know the game. An eye for an eye.”
“I won’t let him shoot her, either. For fuck’s sake, I won’t let him near her.” Bain had watched Boss shoot Viper’s woman without a hint of emotion in his cold, dead eyes. There was no way he could allow that to happen to Scarlett.
Killian pulled out a pack of smokes, hitting the pack until one came out. He lit up and took a long drag. “Can’t say I’m crazy about it. That’s why I’m here, eh?”
He’d heard rumors about Boss’s Irish hitman, the one who had a soft spot for women. Until right now, he’d thought he was a waste of breath.
“You know, this house call isn’t much help. Boss can find us anywhere we go. If he’s set on hurting Scarlett, he won’t stop until he gets his way.”
“A man can be convinced of anything. Look at you—”
“What about me?” Bain asked.
“Boss has had a hard-on to sign you up for years, said you were the devil himself. But look at you now, falling for a woman you’ve known for a few days.” Killian blew out a cloud of smoke, a wicked smile on his fucked up lips.
“Thanks for the heads-up, but you can fuck off now. If Boss gives the order, tell him I’ll kill him before I let him near my woman.”
Killian shrugged. “Have a nice night, bud.” He stomped out his cigarette and got into his car, driving away without another word. Bain watched the billow of dust until the car disappeared from distance down the country road. He really needed to invest in a front gate.
Bain spat before closing the door. It figured that as soon as he found something worth living for, fate was ready to fuck with him again. Boss and Killian, and the whole damn world, might think he’d gone soft because of Scarlett. They were wrong.