Page 20 of Nothing is Free

“Dez. Stop!” I shout in alarm.

Dez slams on the breaks, bringing the SUV to a halt, and I am out of my seatbelt and out the car before he can stop me.

“Omari! Fuck! Stop!” he shouts. The sound of snapping twigs, and the occasional crunch of snow underfoot lets me know he’s right on my heels. I don’t look back, my eyes are on the camouflage tarps in the distance. I can hear the others running to catch up as I stop short. Chest heaving, I suck down a deep breath as I look between the two tarps. I take one step, then two. I reach out to pull the netting off just as Dez catching my arm in his grip and hauls me behind him.

“What the fuck were you thinking, Mari?” He rounds on me, teeth bared, with fear in his eyes. “It could have been a trap, a triggered bomb, something that could have ended you before you took you next breath!” He releases me and steps back as Beckett and his team surround the first tarp. Quincy and his Alpha team take the largest one beside it. I want to reach for Dez and apologize, but am I sorry? No, honestly, I’m not. But it doesn’t mean he wasn’t right about me being reckless. I need to focus but when it comes to her, common sense flies out the window.

“I’m not picking up any heat signatures besides your bodies,” Malcolm chimes in through the comms. “You should be able to take a look.” I don’t look for him, knowing he’s in the back of the SUV with several laptops in front of him. I’m sure Faith is right beside him. The buzzing of two drones up above us are his eyes and ears.

Dez nods at Quincy as he and Beckett step closer, grabbing the tarps they drag them away from the objects, backingup in the process. Once they are clear, Dez curses under his breath. He was right. Underneath one of the tarps is an off-road vehicle, beside it is a black SUV identical to the one we found abandoned yesterday.

Beckett, Quincy and their teams move in first and once nothing jumps out and bites anyone, I move around Dez to get a closer look.

Beckett opens the back door of the SUV and my skin prickles, my heart pounds in my chest, my mouth waters involuntarily. Her scent, roses and champagne.Petal. It hits my nose, and I can’t think. I’m overcome with the need to sniff her out, to find her. I can sense her fear, it’s sharp, but still enticing. A tug, down deep within me has me turning in a circle. I instinctively inhale deeply, tasting the air. When her scent gets stronger, I stop.

“Mari!” I hear Dez call my name to possibly get my attention.

But I’m already gone, running through the trees toward her.

I can hear Dez’s shouts, the buzzing of the drones pursuing me, but I don’t care about any of that. All I care about, all I will ever care about for the rest of my life, is being by her side. In life or death, she is my heart, my very soul, mine to protect, to covet.Mine.

CHAPTER 13

DAMYN

The longer I’m in her presence, the more my resistance wavers; it strips away my resolve to give her time, to let her come back to me willingly. My dark salacious thoughts plague me daily, my inner demon claws at my insides, whispering in my ear to take what belongs to me. To claim. Bite. Destroy her. I want her, need her, my desire for her only grows more out of control. The more she fights, the harder she makes me. I want to punish her for moving on with her life without me. I want to make her beg and plead for everything I give her going forward. Her suffering excites me. I know it’s not right, that it’s sick and twisted, but I’m far from logical thought now. When I made the deal with her parents to give her child away, I knew then, the last dregs of my humanity fell away in that one decision. All I can think about is her. I don’t sleep, my eyes glued to the camera monitor, I watch her from every angle. When she’s awake, asleep. . .the shower.

I lean back in my chair, and I smile. This morning I finally took the straps off her bed. I even took the chained cuff from around her ankle. I gifted her freedom. As muchfreedom as I’m willing to give. She’s been obedient, doing everything I’ve asked for the past two days. “Good girls get rewards, Butterfly,” I told her this morning. I left her then, to her surprise, with her breakfast and the ability to move around without restraint. I’ve watched her obsessively for hours since. Of course, the first thing she does is search the room, she should know by now there is nothing in the room to help her escape me. She paces, walking the perimeter repeatedly, until she finally decides to clean the days old grime from her body. Yes, I left her filthy, only allowing her to use the toilet, supervised, of course. Then I strapped her back down to the bed, breaking her down until she lost the fight in her eyes. Cruel, but necessary.

“Oh Butterfly, my sweet Beta.” I groan as I take in every inch of her naked body. She is aware of the cameras in the room, but she has no idea I am watching her now. Smooth, dark brown skin, soapy and wet, my cock pushes painfully against the zipper of my jeans. I watch her bend at the waist, leg raised on the edge of the tub, the lips of her pussy parting a fraction. Pink and perfect. “Fuck,” I moan. I’m a slave to my need for her, my hand wanders mindlessly to my zipper, my fingers pull at the fly in a rush of anticipation. I spit in my palm, pull my rock-hard dick out and stroke myself from base to tip. My eyes never leave the screen. I squeeze, pressing down on my cock. I want this to last, but the sight of her makes me want to erupt and spill my seed too soon. “Not yet, Baby,” I whisper. My thumb swipes at the precum and I smear around the tip in slow circles, mirroring the way Freeya strokes her breast with the washcloth at the same time.

I picture my lips wrapped around her brown peaked nipples. Savoring her taste, letting my tongue circle and tease each one. I can hear the echoes of her moans as I suck thedrops of water from her skin, leaving open mouth kisses up and down her body.

“Please, Damyn,” I hear her beg for me and I comply. I would give her everything if she asked. Tear my heart from my chest if she wished. If she gives in to me, she will realize how much power she actually has.

I pull at my length, cursing and gritting my teeth as the water falls down the crack of her ass. In my imagination I can feel my teeth biting into her flesh, her screams of pleasure as I leave my marks behind.

“Fuck me, Damyn. I want you,” she hisses as I soothe the sting my teeth leave behind. I don’t hesitate. I bend her over, my knot swells painfully, eager to flood her with my cum.

I’m dizzy with need as I close my eyes, letting my imagination pull me further and further into oblivion. I notch at her entrance and push my cock deep inside of her. I tilt my head to the side. “You feel so good, Butterfly. So, fucking good.” Her pussy swallows me, greedy, squeezing me tight, her cries are the sweetest thing I’ve ever known. I rut until I am raw, hurried and frenzied. Calling out her name as she screams mine right back.

“Fuck, Butterfly, cum for me.” I groan picturing her falling apart around my cock, barely able to stand as the water cleanses us both. I open my eyes and growl my release as the water turns off. The visual fades, my chest heaves as cum coats my hands and the monitor in front of me.

I reach out and stroke my fingers through my cum, smearing it over the screen as I promise her. “Soon, Butterfly. Soon, I will make our dreams come true,” I say as I stand and make my way over to the restroom adjacent to my control room and clean myself up. I watch her drying her wet hair with another towel as she takes in the hair products on the counter before her. I made sure I purchased the exact sameproducts she uses. I left nothing to chance. I want to please her, to give her the world. I’m about to take a seat and watch her go through her hair care routine when an alarm sounds beside me.

I fight the urge to look away from her, worried she will leave me if I chance a glance at another screen. Another alarm is tripped, and my decision is made. I turn my attention to the monitors and stand with so much force I knock my seat away from me. I lean in, my hand clicking away at the keyboard, zooming in. I sneer at what I see. Fifteen armed men rush through the trees heading toward my hideaway. My eyes go to the top screen, a lone man runs full speed ahead of the group. He doesn’t stop to check his direction, he moves with a singular purpose, sprinting closer and closer as if he knows exactly where to go.

“Fuck!” I shout, punching the monitor he’s on with my fist. The screen cracks, my knuckles split, detached I watch the blood spill. I can’t let them get any closer. I can’t let them get to her. I’ve worked too hard, She is mine! She’s always been mine! I stand straighter and roll my shoulders back. I pull my gun from my holster under my arm, and I pull back the chamber, making sure I’m locked and loaded.

I check the locks are engaged to Freeya’s door and take another parting glance at the woman who I have no problem killing for. How they found me doesn’t matter. But I can’t let them leave.

“Do you mean it, Damyn?” My future mate was timid, her shoulders hunched as she curled in on herself. I hated how every time I visited her here she seemed more afraid. It wasn’t rocket science to deduce her parents weren’t good people but deals between families like ours happen like this every day. All I could do was reassure this little beauty that she would be safe with me, with her new pack.

I lifted her chin to look at me and she blinked back tears. I looked over her shoulder quickly to see her mother observing her every move. I leaned in until our lips were mere inches away and I whispered a truth, no, a promise. “I won’t let them hurt you ever again. I promise I will protect you, fight for you, and give you the love I believe your heart is lacking. Do you believe me, Freeya?” I brushed my lips against hers lightly and pulled away.

She looked at me with so much hope, so much adoration, my heart whooshed loudly in my ears. Her tears finally fell and I brushed them away with my thumbs. She nodded her head. “Yes. I believe you,” she whispered back and smiled. A real genuine smile, one she didn’t need to force. It was heady, this feeling. My heart felt whole, and I wanted to cherish her for making me feel this way.

“Soon, you will be ours and we will take you away from here.”

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