Fragile Truths (22 page)

He rolled me onto my back and kissed me, although devoured me would be a better description. His lips were firm and demanding as he worked me, his passion and need bringing small groans from him as I slid my fingers into his hair, flinching as I knocked my stump slightly under his chin. He pulled back and stared at me, “Okay?”

I pulled him back down, ordering him silently to carry on consuming me. His hand cupped my breast as his tongue rolled around mine, the thick muscle commanding as much of me as his hands were. “I’m suddenly hungry,” he said as he pulled away from my mouth and moved down the length of my neck, placing light kisses over my skin. I jumped slightly when he suddenly nipped at me, his teeth pinching my flesh a touch as he continued down. “I wanna eat your pussy. I want your cum dripping down my chin and your thighs gripping my head.”

He moved lower, all the time tasting and suckling on me as his fingers followed his route and touched the damp trail he left behind. As he reached my stomach he placed his palms inside my thighs and pushed my legs open. “Open up for me, babe. Nice and wide so you can ride my tongue like the naughty little girl that you are.”

I shuddered as the first trace of his tongue over my clit sent a surge of heat across my belly, my womb throbbing almost painfully in need. My fingers tugged on his hair as I pulled his face further into me, my greediness taking over and demanding to be fed.

He grabbed my hip, his fingers digging into me cruelly as I bucked against him, his mouth doing delicious things to my pussy. “Shit, yes that’s so good.” I was moaning, and writhing as he swamped me in pleasure, his talented tongue driving me higher and higher into bliss as his fingers slid in and out of me at a pace that was driving me insane.

I screamed out as my whole body burst with pleasure when he encased my clit between his lips and sucked hard, his teeth faintly sweeping over the engorged tendon as a hand held me flat to the bed and a finger curled into the soft spot inside me. Sweat poured from me as my head tossed from side to side, my heart beating rapidly as my blood powered around my body.

“Fuck, you taste good.” He slid up my body, the dusting of hair on his chest brushing up my stomach and across my breasts as he brought his mouth to mine. “Are you hungry, Frankie? You want some cum?”

I smirked at him as he ran the tip of his tongue across my lower lip, his mouth glistening in my juices as his eyes held a wicked haze. “I’d much prefer yours than mine.”

His chest heaved over me, the action placing more pressure on my tender nipples. “And I also want my cum warming your belly but first I want you to taste how fucking beautiful you are.” He didn’t give me a chance to respond as he kissed me firm and callously, his mouth controlling me and making me yield to his need as his dark side started to cut loose.

“I’d tell you to carry on but I’m not sure I wanna watch my brother fuck.”

We both shot up, me clutching the sheet to my chest like Jude hadn’t witnessed my nudity before and a harsh growl rumbling in Tate’s chest protectively.

I frowned when Jude threw me a shirt, the soft material a surprise as I slipped it over my head. Niko and Huge-Dude, as I mentally referred to him, were stood behind Jude and from the anxiety on Niko’s face as he tried to get Tate’s attention, I started to squirm with apprehension.

Jude’s eyes swung to mine and a cruel smile lifted his lips, “Time for some lessons in love, Tiger.”

I frowned but didn’t reply as Niko closed his eyes momentarily then moved in with Huge-Dude, each of them grabbing one of Tate’s arms in a fierce hold as they dragged his struggling body across the room until he was restrained in the chains once again. “Please, don’t hurt him!” I begged Jude, my eyes as pleading as my words.

He laughed heartily, his head falling back with his sick humour. “Don’t worry, Frannie, this won’t hurt him one tiny bit.”

“Don’t call me that!” I hissed at him. He frowned at me, his eyes searching mine as hatred poured from me.

He fisted my hair and yanked my face towards his, his expression fierce and his eyes blazing wildly, “I’ll call you whatever the fuck I wanna call you, sweetheart. If I want to call you Frannie then get the fuck used to it cos’ now I know it riles you, it will give me a ripple of pleasure each time I say it.”

I spat at him, hoping all the revulsion I felt was contained inside my spit and would burn its way through his face with an extreme potency. I glared at him as he pulled his fist back, the muscles in his arm rippling with his fury, “Only my mother called me Frannie, no one else, and especially not you.”

He blinked at me and froze. I watched his face with uncertainty as a shadow crossed it, a black flicker dimming his eyes as an ache pulled at his brow, his forehead creasing with the strain. He gulped and lowered his hand, rolling his lips behind his teeth severely before he turned towards the doorway and gave a slight nod.

A tall willowy woman walked into the room, each stride showing confidence and a grace I could only ever dream of. Her sleek black hair fell in a rigid curtain down the length of her back, the deep red tips brushing against the swell of her bottom. Her sculptured face was striking, the depths of her green eyes mesmerising and exquisite but her proud lips curled into a deliciously evil smirk when her gaze settled on me. I heard Tate groan faintly from across the room but I couldn’t remove my stare from the woman as she held me hostage beneath her eyes.

I flinched as she reached out and trailed her long fingernail down the edge of my face. “So, you must be the delightful Francesca, Tate’s new
piece
.” The ridicule and sneer in her tone was as clear as the repugnance on her face as her eyes slowly perused me, the disgust in her expression shouldn’t have hurt me as much as it did.

She slowly spun on her fuck-me heels and grinned enchantingly at Tate. The intimacy that held their gazes twisted at something inside me. There was an obvious history between them and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what that connection was.

I watched the sensual sway of her hips, the expensive sheer material of her deep red dress skimming over her hips with perfection, showcasing her impeccable lean figure and slender curves. She strolled across the room, her gaze never leaving Tate’s as he regarded her with narrow eyes, his chest heaving harder with each of her steps. “What do you want, Cassandra?” He asked with an expression of hatred but I heard the alarm in his voice as she neared.

“Hello, darling.” She smiled and leant into him, setting a lipstick kiss to each of his cheeks before her tongue darted out and swiped the length of the red mark she left behind. I stared in shock as she moved her lips over his and kissed him as passionately as he had kissed me not minutes before, her hands lifting to grab hold of his hair viscously, playing him with the carnality she and I both knew he craved.

I lowered my gaze, fixing my eyes on my toes as I tried to make patterns out of the chipped varnish. My little toe resembled a teddy bear with one ear, my big toe held the image of a kettle and I moved my imagination onto a steaming cup of coffee, my creativity concocting a strong rich coffee aroma. I noticed a vein that protruded above the other ones, its plumpness securing my attention stubbornly.

“Something bothering you, Francesca?” Jude sniggered in my ear.

I shook my head in denial and lifted my eyes. My footing stumbled as my knees collapsed but Jude swung an arm and caught me before I hit the floor in a heap. “This is what your precious lover is, Tiger. A dirty, filthy bastard who will take what he wants.”

I managed to trap the sob in my mouth as it tore up my throat against the pain in my chest. Tate’s eyes were panicking as he swung them between me and Miss World, her heels only just supporting the bend of her knees as she crouched before Tate and wrapped her fingers around his cock. His erection was already fierce from our earlier fun but the sight of it throbbing between her claws was torturous.

I turned my head away, the scene causing a burn in my gut as well as my eyes, but Jude slammed his hands on either side of my face and twisted me cruelly, “Watch. If he feels anything for you, then Cassandra will be feasting on a limp, flaccid cock that shows exactly how Tate feels for her. On the other hand…”

I was forced to watch as Tate closed his eyes, shutting me out as excitement took over his shame when Cassandra dropped her head and took him into her mouth.

I would take the torture of the interrogation chair, I could take the piercing agony of being whipped and even the excruciating pain of losing a finger but this torture, this agony and this pain was so very much greater. Its force was crippling as my heart exploded in a pain so fierce it took my breath and froze the blood in my veins, ice curdling in my stomach as I watched Tate’s head fall back. A moan shifted from within him, its guttural sound squeezing at my chest as I fought to breathe.

My throat hurt as I tried to stop the scream of torture wanting to free itself from deep within me, but I couldn’t take my eyes from them as Cassandra slid her hand up Tate’s stomach, the tip of her finger tracing the contours of his abs, his muscles twitching under the touch before she pulled back and his cum shot over her face, the cascade of slick white fluid spraying across her eyes and cheeks, then over her chest as she lifted her hand and dipped her finger in it before bringing it to her mouth to lick it off.

Tate’s eyes were still screwed tightly shut as his hands fisted in the restraints. He chewed on his lip and hung his head, his heaving chest now slowly rising and falling as his body came down from the high.

I craved numbness, a part of me needing to detach itself from the taunts and cruel jibes my insecure side flung at me, its snicker mocking me maliciously, its snide remarks taking me back to my school days when the whole school had laughed at me, their fingers pointing at my stupidity. And here I was, yet again, my stupidity bringing on a new punishing low.

However, the best was yet to come. Jude wasn’t happy with this torture; he had to twist the knife, sink the blade deeper into my heart, milking me of what little hope I had left as his lips rested against my ear. “And now Tiger, I’m going to make your pain a little easier to deal with.”

I closed my eyes, wishing he would just die, there and then, in front of me, in the most agonising way possible. His breath shimmered across my neck, causing a chill to envelope me, “Tate here, my wonderful brother, has a way of keeping things from you. Has a way of hiding what needs to be shared, and I know he hasn’t shared this titbit of information with you. As we’re now friends, I feel it my obligation to tell you just what Tate feels about you.”

I braced myself, the rapid beat of my racing heart telling me to shut down, urging me to ignore whatever would leave this cruel bastards lips but I hung on to every sick and haunting word as they left his mouth with glee. “My daddy dearest, Fran, you know him?”

I shook my head, my heart rate settling as a relieved sigh calmed me. The twat had his info wrong this time. “But you know my sister, Tiger…” I frowned when he paused, wondering where he was going with this. “Bella Nardini.”

I gasped and shot my eyes to his, confusion worming through my brain when I realised it was the new girl who worked in my office.  Jude smirked and nodded his head, “Now you’ll have to forgive me here as some of this precious information must remain strictly confidential but Bella, my adoring sister was sent to
‘keep her eye’
on you, Fran.”

I reared back and stared at him as he started to make even less sense, but then it clicked, like a battering ram on the stupid parts of my brain. Nausea flooded me as I slowly turned to look at Tate. Jude laughed as the blood ran from my face and I swayed as the whole fucking truth careered into me with a speed that knocked the breath from my lungs.

“Ahh, you’ve caught on, Tiger. Yes, my Pop sent Bella to gain the whereabouts of the evidence you have against Don. Quite valuable is that little USB of yours. So valuable that a man, a greedy man would even send his own son in to pursue a girl, flatter her with words and touches, even get him to sleep with her, make her feel special, drive a connection so fierce that she thinks he actually feels something for her.”

I stared at Tate as my legs appeared to belong to someone else; I was swiftly wishing my heart would get the same idea. Tate was shaking his head and staring at me with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing as his lies became truths, fragile truths that fractured my soul and shattered it into shards, cruel jagged shards that tore at my tender heart.

“Why do you think he was at your apartment that night, Francesca? It certainly wasn’t to bring back your bag. He knew who you were when he fucked you against the window in his office, he knew exactly what you had in your possession when he allowed you access to his already overfull club, when it was already pushing the illegal limit of patrons. Tate can be very persuasive when he wants to be; he’s a Shadow, Fran, a phantom that lurks in the nightmares of others, others weaker and stupid enough to believe that they’re special.”

With that he turned and walked out of the room, the others following him, Cassandra’s malicious smirk fraying the edges of my sanity even further when she sucked on her fingers and departed the room with a wink.

Tate

The air in the room was stifling; the silence choking as Frankie’s pain slowly massacred me. Nausea swirled deep in my stomach, the acid bubble scorching me from the inside out as my stagnant heart feared to beat.

She stood so very still, and so very quiet as she stared after the party, her gaze on the door even though her eyes were seeing something much different. Her shoulders were slumped, the weight of Jude’s words crushing her while I stood as silent as her, my cowardice heavy and frightening.

“Frankie.” I tried quietly. She didn’t move. I wasn’t even sure if she was breathing, her body was slack yet equally as rigid but the slow flutter of a blink somehow calmed the storm a little. “Please…” The final word came out raspy and restrained, the fear of her breaking keeping my tone low and subtle.