The Gilded Cage (19 page)

“True. For the younger brother, you’re wise,” Fenn laughed.

“Only recently. Before I met Sophie, I was a fool.”

Both of them shared another laugh.

“I’ve got to go check on Hayden. Wes or I will call you with the details of when we plan to arrive.” Fenn started walking back toward the house.

“Thanks. Mom and Dad will be so excited to see you.”

A lump formed in his throat. “I’m nervous about meeting them.”

“Don’t be,” Emery replied softly. “We’ll talk tomorrow, brother.”

“Tomorrow,” he agreed, and they both hung up.

F
lames licked along the metal trailer, consuming, melting, destroying. Hayden lay helpless, unable to move, to scream. The black-masked man stood above her, eyes cold but not evil. How were they not evil? She couldn’t understand. Thick gray smoke curled around her prone body, covering her up until she was surrounded by gray, suffocating clouds.

“Help!” The cry left her lips on silent wings, to vanish unheard.

“Hayden.” A deep, familiar voice and a gentle shake jolted her out of the nightmare that had felt only too real.

“Fenn?” She rolled in the tangled sheets and threw herself at him, seeking the comfort she hoped he would provide. He eased down onto the bed beside her and she noticed he was still dressed. Did he only just come into the room? Had her screams been loud enough to hear outside the bedroom?

“Easy, honey.” He curled his arms around her body and she molded herself to him. “What’s the matter?”

Her tongue felt thick, and for a moment she was caught back in that awful world of smoke and pain. Why did he always have to see her at her weakest?

“Just a nightmare.” She attempted to sound casual, but didn’t release her hold on him.

He patted her back. “Just a nightmare? You’re squeezing me pretty hard for some silly dream.”

He wasn’t calling her a coward or making fun of her, but his comment seemed to encourage her to speak up about what she was feeling. She didn’t want to talk about it. She wanted him to hold her.

“Please, just hold me,” she said in a tiny whisper.

“Sure, honey, anything you need,” he murmured. Whenever he held her, the world seemed to shrink until he was all she saw.

She raised her head and her gaze was riveted on him. “Anything?” Her voice was low and husky. There was definitely one thing that was guaranteed to distract her.

“Name it.” His eyes were liquid fire, the kind that burned her soul to dust and then rejuvenated it like a phoenix from the ashes.

“Make love to me.”

When his lips parted and she saw a glint of resistance in his face, she placed her fingers against his mouth.

“I got shot and hit in the head with a gun. I need this. I need you.”

She swept a hand through his hair, loving the way it felt against her skin, thick and silky, and the way it looked, like an enchanting shade of gold. She wished she could have seen him as a younger man; she knew he would have been a heartbreaker just like Emery. Now he was a man hardened by time and grief, only the ghost of innocence there in his features. Somehow it made him more beautiful, to be able to see that strength and the sense of survival still there.

“One of these days you and I are going to sit down and talk about who’s really in charge in this bedroom.”

“Maybe I need a reminder.” She winked and flashed him a cheeky smile.

His eyes darkened, the cinnamon pools churning with his need to dominate her, and she wanted him to.

Please, make me yours, only yours for tonight
. She hoped he could hear her silent plea.

“How does your arm feel? What about your head? Do you need more painkillers?” he asked softly. “Tell me the truth.”

She contemplated her answer, inwardly assessing her injuries.

“A little sore, but not enough to stop me from wanting you,” she promised.

“You’re incorrigible. You know that, right?” His lips kicked up into a boyish grin.

“And you like it.” She prodded his chest with her finger.

Fenn slid a hand down to cup her ass over the sheets and patted it. “I suppose I do.” He sat up on the bed, pulling her with him. He made quick work of stripping the top sheet away. Then he reached for his belt, which he’d hung off one side of the headboard. He took her wrists, winding the supple leather tight around them. It didn’t hurt, but she felt restrained, captive in a way she hadn’t thought a simple binding could feel.

“Face the headboard on your knees. Put your hands on the headboard and don’t move them unless I say. I’ve got another belt and can tie you there if necessary.” He helped her get into position. Then he knelt behind her and brushed her hair away from her neck. Hayden’s breath quickened as he licked and nibbled at her sensitive skin. He continued to kiss her neck and tease her ear with whispered words as he started to raise the t-shirt from her body.

“Do you know how much I want you?” He growled into her ear as he gripped her shirt at the neckline and ripped it completely in two. The sudden, swift tearing of cloth made her gasp and he stroked her ass, then smacked it hard enough to give her a zing of pleasure. He feathered kisses along each inch of flesh he bared while dropping the ripped shirt to the floor. Each little touch, each faint kiss, stoked a slow burning fire deep within her. How did he always manage to make her feel desired and protected all at once?

“How much do you want me?” she whispered back.

Fenn cupped her breasts, kneading them before he pinched her nipples. The small bite of pain made her crave more. Arching her back, she pressed herself more fully into his embrace.

“I want you so much that I can’t go a few minutes without dreaming about being inside you again. The way you gripped me, so hot and tight, like a fist,” his tone turned almost guttural as he bit down on her shoulder, like an animal marking its mate. She loved the way he possessed her so primally. He didn’t seem to need toys or chains to get off. Just a leather belt and a flat surface. Damn…he was too good to be true.

“Remember, keep your hands on the headboard and don’t move them unless I say otherwise.” He stroked a fingertip over the leather and her skin, as though admiring the look of his branding—his belt, holding her wrists, keeping her bound and a little helpless. His breath grew slightly rough against her neck.

“I love seeing you caught like this. I used to rope calves when I was a boy. Maybe soon we can try some rope, instead of leather.” He nuzzled her neck, then nipped at that ultrasensitive spot just behind her ear.

Fenn slowly built the tension between them as he tugged off the boxer bottoms she wore and tossed them aside. She was fully naked, on her knees, facing the headboard. Her hands gripped the wood in a white-knuckled grasp as he cupped her mound and teased a fingertip over her clit.

“How much do you want me, honey?” His hair tickled her cheek as he nuzzled her and continued that wicked teasing. Heat and desire pooled low in her belly and she wanted him inside her to ease the empty ache.

“So much,” she panted. He used one fingertip to stroke the sensitive insides of her folds. The sensual teasing, enough to light her on fire but not enough to give her the release she needed, made her whimper.

“What do you want me to do? I want to hear the words.” He rocked his jeans-clad pelvis against her backside. The sensation of his rough jeans scraping against her bare ass made her thighs quiver. A rush of new wetness flowed to meet his finger as he sank it deeper inside.

“Fuck me, please, Fenn,” she hissed, surprised at her own words, but that was what she wanted; no gentle taking. She wanted his power, his domination—all of it, right now.

His laughter was quiet and rich, rippling over her skin. The whisper of cotton as he removed his t-shirt made her quiver. She bit back a moan as she heard the zipper of his jeans behind her. He held her by the back of her neck with one hand and used his other to guide his cock into her from behind. When the head of his shaft was an inch inside, he suddenly rammed into her.

“Oh!” A startled cry escaped her lips, and she gasped as she tried to adjust to him.

He didn’t wait. He began to pummel her, his pelvis smacking her ass as he repeatedly drove into her from behind. There were no words after that, just the heavy thrusts and harsh breaths shared between them. She clung to the headboard, loving the way he pressed his chest to her back, locking them together as he fucked her hard and deep. Her inner muscles strained to take him, squeezing down.

“That’s it, honey, squeeze me.” He groaned and increased his pace until his hips moved like pistons on a well-oiled machine.

Hayden couldn’t think beyond the escalating pleasure. The feel of his cock inside her, roughly dragging across raw, newly discovered nerve endings. The possessive hold of his hands on her neck, the way she couldn’t move, but could only take whatever he wanted to give her.

Surrender
.

It was what he wanted, and she was giving it to him. He slowed his pace for a brief moment, and when she protested with a little groan, he slapped her right ass cheek hard. She jolted, her entire body leaping to a new level of awareness. He delivered five more stinging little smacks and then he kicked back into that restless pace of thrusting and she exploded. Lit up like a supernova from the inside, she opened her mouth to cry out. He clasped a hand over her mouth, stifling her scream as he cursed, and his ragged breathing was a sweet erotic symphony to her.

“Fuck,” he groaned and let his body sag against her from behind.

With a breathless laugh she turned her head and nuzzled his neck. “Did I blow your circuits again?”

His hands spanned her waist, fingers digging deliciously into her skin as he bit her throat in answer, and the pain was so damn good.

“Honey, you blew more than that.” He remained inside her a moment longer. The simple connection went beyond anything she could have dreamed. It was as though they were bonded at a cellular level.

“I think it’s time for my sassy-mouthed little lady to sleep.” He captured her chin and deeply kissed her. It was the toe-curling, mind-melting kind of kiss that made a woman forget her own name.

“You talk like a cowboy sometimes,” she giggled.

“I do?” He chuckled and withdrew from her and unwound the belt from her wrists. She instantly missed the feeling of their connection and the excitement of the belt’s restraint.

“Yeah,” she said. “Not all the time, just sometimes.” She started to reach for her clothes, but he tossed them onto the floor. Considering the state of her shirt, she’d need to find a new one anyway.

“You’re sleeping in your skin tonight; nothing else.” His powerful stare had her gulping and climbing under the covers again. He got off the bed and stripped, giving her a chance to marvel at the sight of his bare ass and the way his muscles flexed. He disappeared into the bathroom and a minute later strode out completely naked. Even limp, the man was still impressive. When she raised her gaze he was watching her.

“Quit looking at me like that or I’m going to bend you over the bed and fuck you again. You need to rest.” He walked around to the other side of the bed and flicked off the lights, then joined her.

She waited for him to get completely settled in and when he reached for her, curling his arms around her and shaping himself to her body, she spoke.

“That’s not a bad idea.”

“Hush, sleep or I’ll spank you. We both know you need to rest. The second you’re better, I’ll be doing plenty to keep you occupied.”

“Promise?” she whispered.

“I promise.” The gruffness in his tone was tempered by the sweet kiss he placed on her cheek before she released her hold on her consciousness. The last sensation she had was of him holding her as though she was precious…as though she was loved.

The skin-to-skin contact was what Fenn really needed to rest. He shouldn’t have taken Hayden tonight, not when she was hurting and frightened, but something dark and bestial inside him had been unable to deny her need to be taken and pleasured. The more he drew her into his world the more in danger she seemed to be, but she wouldn’t leave and he couldn’t seem to let her go.

He pressed her more firmly into the protective shelter of his body. She was deep asleep, her breathing soft and even. The sound of it made something in his chest tighten. Being with her seemed a cure for his loneliness. He supposed that as a twin who’d spent twenty-five years alone, he was compelled to seek out someone to fill that emptiness. But Hayden wasn’t a replacement for Emery. She was something…more.

Oh, how he dreaded tomorrow. They would return home…a place he barely remembered. Like spying a world through the thick glass of a bottle, everything in his memories was hazy and distorted. In a few hours, he would have to wake, pack, and fly to Long Island. He wished he could stay right where he was—in this ranch house, in this bed, with this woman. Everything outside his bedroom door would complicate his life by leaps and bounds.

The parted window curtains flared out with a night breeze and moonbeams made a slow progression across the room. He watched the night wear away, unable to sleep or rest for a few hours. What if the gunman returned? The house had alarms, but the instinct to stay vigilant kept him awake. He hadn’t told Hayden, but he was keeping one of Jim’s guns underneath his pillow. Just in case. Fenn had never had one of his own, never having seen the need before now. Jim, though, was old school, and kept plenty of guns in his gun case in the living room.

He clutched Hayden to him as if she was a lifeline in a vast storm. She’d return to her life and he and Wes would make sure she’d be out of harm’s way. It was for her own good, but he was going to hate every minute that he was without her.

How the hell am I going to get through this?

His brother spoke through that faint connection.
With me by your side. Together
.

Together
. He agreed.

“You can’t be serious. I’m not getting in that. I thought we were taking a real plane.” Fenn gripped Coda’s leash with one hand and the handle of his old navy blue duffle bag with the other. He stood on the tarmac of a small private airstrip half an hour away from Walnut Springs, staring at a small luxury jet.

“It
is
a real plane.” Wes looked mildly affronted. “Quite an expensive, one too. That’s a Gulfstream G150.”

Fenn shot him a sidelong glance. “Do you have a problem with flying coach or something?”

Wes’s mouth went slack. “Coach? With those little packages of peanuts and screaming infants?” he scoffed. “No thank you. I’ll pass.” He turned to wave at the pilot and removed his suitcase from the Jeep.