Hero (24 page)

Cataline continues to shake, even after she falls asleep. Or maybe I’m the one shaking. I’m holding her tightly. Too tightly. I force myself to loosen my grip.

A man’s eyes the moment before he dies—that’s true fear. Cataline had that look tonight, but it wasn’t for those men. It was for me. She thought I was going to hurt her for running and hurt her bad. Maybe kill her.

The security tape shows she never hesitated before fleeing. It was without a look back that she left the mansion. And me. While she’ll take any risk to get away from me, including freezing to death, I’m finding it more and more impossible to let her go.

I look down at the girl in my arms and wonder how, after these past few days, I can ever let her out of my sight. Her breathing has evened and her hair, unruly as ever, covers half her face. I brush it off her cheek and touch her forehead with the back of my hand. I ease away to give her space. Instantly she makes a noise and backs deeper into me.

“Fuck it,” I mutter under my breath and wrap her in my arms. Jasmine is the only thing on my mind as I inhale it from her hair and fall asleep.

———

Because of the dimmed lights, the room glows ethereal when I open my eyes again. Cataline’s still secure in my arms, her back sweaty and stuck to my front. Her ass moves against me in a soft, small gyration. It happens twice more, so I lift my head from the pillow. “Are you all right?”

She doesn’t respond, but opens her eyes and turns just her face to me. Her eyes are dark, sleepy blue as she looks at me almost longingly. Without thinking, I lean in until our mouths are an inch apart. When she doesn’t push me away, I press my lips to hers.

She sighs a contented, girlish moan that sends my hand up the smooth skin of her stomach. She backs even closer to me, opening her mouth to let me in. It’s warm and silky. Reminds me of how it feels to be buried inside her.

Her ass pushes into me again, more deliberate this time. I groan and deepen the kiss, taking her breast and squeezing it hard. My hand skates up to the base of her neck to pull her even closer.

I coax her shoulder so she falls onto her back, then roll on top of her without disconnecting. Her legs surrounded me instantly, and we grind against each other. She pushes her head back into the pillow, exposing a long neck that I’m unable to taste fast enough.

My dick slides under the elastic of her mesh panties, fucking between coarse fabric and the smooth hollow created by her hipbone. One hand tangles in her hair and pulls. I hover over her lips, pulsing against her lower stomach, pre-cum sticking to her skin and underwear. My kiss is aggressive, sucking need and want off her tongue before giving it right back to her. I find each of her hands with mine and lace our fingers, raising them above her head and pinning her to the mattress.

My cock is hungry, searching for her pussy with the same fiery urgency as my kiss. Her hands squeeze mine powerfully and her body writhes as I press into her wetness. “Relax,” I say.

“I can’t.”

“You can. Just let go.”

It takes a moment, but I’m patient as her thigh muscles relax, and her grip lessens. Her body slowly melts into the mattress.

“That’s it, baby,” I whisper. She gasps as I inch into her. “That’s good.”

“Calvin,” she says against my lips. “I like having you here, somewhere no one else has been.”

I grunt, my dick throbbing at her unexpectedly arousing words. I begin to slide in and out, willing myself to keep an even rhythm.

“You’re like a part of me now,” she sighs, her mouth still close to mine.

“Keep talking, Sparrow,” I say between thrusts.

Her voice is soft, barely audible. “What it’s like to have you inside, it-it’s—” She squeaks when I plunge deep. “You make me real. When you breathe into me, when you’re inside me, expanding, coming, you make me real.”

I run a thumb over her knuckles. “You make yourself real, Cataline.”

“No. I wasn’t real until I felt you inside me.”

Her words sink into me, dragging my heart down with them. I’m her own personal monster, but tonight, admitting it to myself for the first time, I want to be her hero. I want to plant myself inside her and expand like she said until we’re both real, until we’re both the same. Her moans become more insistent, threaded with tiny wisps of breath. I watch with fascination as she inhales sharply, sucking in her entire bottom lip with her teeth.

I release her hands, anchor her hips to me, and flip us over so she’s straddling me. She stills completely, a lost but endearing look on her face. When I thrust up into her, she cries out, arching her back so her long hair falls over her shoulders. It sways each time I bounce her, and her eyes fasten up on the ceiling, her breasts beckoning me. I reach up and wrap my hands easily around her slim throat, running my thumbs up the underside of her jaw. I pull her face down to mine, rake my hands into her hair, lick the sweat trickling down the side of her temple.

With her small body in my big hands, I hold her fate. I have complete control over her, the power to do anything I want. I keep fucking her, pushing up into her, making her mine, and fearing that life will never be the same after this moment.

She comes, her pussy gripping my cock over and over, her mouth right at my ear, telling me through her moans how it feels. I let go of her head and dig my fingers into her hips as she braces her hands against my pecs. I give it to her lightning fast and with everything I have, thrusting so hard I almost send her over the side of the bed. My hands secure her to me though, and when I erupt, it’s with a hoarse growl from my chest.

Everything is pulsing: my hips slowly up and down as I finish coming, our bodies with deep breaths, our silhouetted, connected shadow that low lights cast on the wall. She tucks her elbows into herself and curls up on my chest. My arms surround her, one fastening her head in the crook of my neck and the other around her waist. I drift, still deep inside her and holding her close.

———

I’m awoken by a burning in the left side of my body where the bullets are buried. Cataline is still wilted against me. Last night she looked up from her hands and knees with pure, authentic fear in her eyes, but hours ago, she gave herself to me.

She sighs deeply, blinking at me with confusion in the new morning. I search her eyes for that fear, but I get an enormous, blinding smile instead. It’s like a hammer to the chest. I’ve seen her from afar smiling that way for other people, but never for me.

“How are you feeling?” I ask.

“Fine,” she rasps and touches her throat. “I’m a little sore, but that’s all. I guess there was no fever after all.”

I smile and run my palm over her hair. “Good.”

“You slept with me.”

“You were shivering.”

Her eyebrows rise slowly, and she giggles. “I warmed up quickly.”

“Yes, you did.”

Her laughter fades. “You’re hurt. They shot you.”

“I was wearing a bulletproof vest.”

“But—”

“See for yourself,” I say.

She draws back to examine my chest with a feather-light touch. There’s minimal bruising and marring where the wound is mostly closed. She lowers her cheek to my pec and rubs against it. “I guess I was a little delirious.”

“A little? Your screams cleared the forest of wildlife.”

“I thought I’d escaped,” she says after a moment of silence. “I have so many questions, Calvin . . .”

Tension tightens my muscles. She removes her cheek, but I quickly blink away before she can make eye contact. “Don’t mistake my lack of punishment for yesterday’s mess as letting it go. You defied me, and like I warned, almost got yourself killed. Once again, I was there, coming to your rescue.”

Fuck
. Before I can cover my statement, her eyebrows meet in the middle. “Once again? When have you
ever
come to my—”

“Cataline,” I say, heavy with caution. “What have I told you about questions?”

“But, last night—”

“No,” I cut her off. “Our arrangement remains the same. You behave, and we can keep things civil. Where in that do you think you get to do as you please?”

She’s forced to peel herself from me as I rise off the bed. “I’ll send Norman up to check your temperature.”

“Where are you going?” she asks as I pull on my pants.

“Where do you think? Work. If you’re going to risk a question, at least make sure it’s worth it.”

I just catch her surprised expression before I leave the room.

The adrenaline current she’s inspired serves to dull the pain in my shoulder. Norman is waiting for me outside the office with his toolbox of medical supplies. “Master Parish, we must remove those bullets.”

“Why do you think I’m here? And get Carter.”

“Yes, sir.”

I focus on my anger as Norman makes the call and then as he prepares his supplies.

“How is she?”

I glance at him from the corner of my eye. “Fine.”

“I trust she had a good night’s sleep? Rest is crucial for her full recovery.”

“You’ve made your concerns clear, Norman, but let me remind you of your place. You can help by checking on her when you’re finished here, and reporting her condition to me every few hours until I return tonight. That’s it.”

“Yes, sir. Anesthesia?”

“No. It only slows me down.” I recline against the back of the chair while he coats my shoulder with iodine.

“The reward for information has gone up. Police Chief Strong is once again calling for your surrender.”

“Over my dead body.”

“So you keep reminding me. Just please be careful. The reward is considerable, and these are desperate times. Perhaps consider lying low for a bit.”

“You know I can’t. Come in,” I call when there’s a knock at the door.

The only man in the house bigger than me enters and comes directly to the middle of the room. I’ve considered sharing my injections with Carter because together, we’d make a powerful duo. But I’ve never truly entertained the thought. “Carter,” I say with a nod. “What happened?”

“There’s no excuse.”

“You have one job. Secure the premises. Nobody comes, nobody goes, without my permission. How the fuck did the girl walk right off the property? And on top of that,” I glance up at Norman, “she’s gone for hours without anyone noticing?”

“This is a big property, sir. I could use a second pair of eyes.”

“I’ve told you before, there’s no one else. As it is, too many people know too much. Everyone on this staff is paid handsomely for their services and their discretion.” I pause, gritting my teeth as Norman makes his incision, slicing the scalpel deeply and quickly. “I can’t bring anyone else on board without knowing their allegiances are impenetrable.”

“You’re right. It won’t happen again.”

I push myself out of the chair with some effort.

“Sir, your wound—”

The burning in my shoulder is acute, but I ignore Norman and walk to meet Carter so we’re standing face to face. “When I hired you, you were at the top of your field. Is that no longer the case?”

“No, sir.”

“Because replacing you is a project I don’t have time to take on. And you know too much for me to just let you go. Understand?”

He swallows but holds my gaze. “Yes, sir.”

“If I can’t trust you, we have a problem.”

“You can, sir.”

“Don’t let this happen again. You’re dismissed.”

I turn my back to him and by the time I’m reseated, he’s gone. I grip the arms of the chair as Norman tears the skin open wider to extract the bullets.

I’m much calmer by dinner, and maybe even slightly remorseful for snapping at Cataline earlier. I find her in the dining room, seated and patiently waiting per Norman’s instructions. “Good evening,” I say.

She glances up from her lap. Her bottom lip is between her teeth, but then she smiles. “Good evening.”

I take my spot at the head of the table and gesture next to me. “You can sit here tonight.”

Her eyes dart between the chair and me. “Really?”

I sigh. “Do I need to repeat myself?”

She stands slowly.

“How are you feeling?” I ask, noting her limp.

“Better.”

Once she’s beside me, Norman arrives to recite the evening’s meal. She watches him with the same attention somebody would give a blockbuster show while her hands remain folded in her lap. When he finishes, dishes are set in front of us and wine is poured.

As I eat, I notice Cataline seems distant, her eyes far off, and her lips curled at the edges as though she meant to smile but forgot. She looks open, innocent, and beautiful, and I can’t resist. “What are you thinking about?”

“You.”

I attempt to hide my surprise. “What about me?”

“I was thinking about the first time I saw you at the office. You looked so serious, but also very . . . handsome.”

I grin. “You thought I was hot.”

She laughs and pushes my shoulder. I’m thankful my pain is completely gone, because I like when she does that. “Yes, I thought you were hot.” She sets down her fork soundlessly, and her smile falters. “I still do, Calvin.”

I inhale deeply and shake my head. “That’s a dangerous admission.”