Golden Crown Series 02: The Twin Dragons (8 page)

Chapter Ten

Near Death

“Beth!” Ryan said loudly as he entered the room and ran to my bed. He picked up my hand and then kissed it until he noticed Mani standing off to the side. He turned to him and narrowed his eyes.

“You,” h
e said as he stepped forward and the doctor stepped in between them.

“She is not suffering from anything serious.”

“Oh sure,” he said as he turned to see the IV in my arm.

“I am not Ryan, I got knocked out.”

“Knocked out?”

“Yes,
” I said as I placed my hand on my head and adjusted myself on the bed.

“What the hell?” he asked and Mani stepped forward.

“Beth came to my self-defense class and got a beat down.”

“A beat down, what the fuck does that even mean?” Ryan asked him.

“She was sparring with one of my students.”

“I want t
o know who it was, we are suing,” he said as he pointed a finger at him.

“No…no one is
suing anyone Ryan,” I said behind him and he turned to me.

“Oh fuck that,” h
e said.

“I am
serious Ryan, shut the fuck up,” I said and Mani laughed, Ryan turned and stared him down.

“Oh it is hilarious. My wife is lying in a hospital bed.”

“Stop being such a drama queen Ryan, I am fucking fine,” I said as I adjusted against my pillow and he turned and sat down on the bed next to me. He reached up and touched my face, looking so concerned it confused me a bit. I stared at him for a moment until I saw Mani walking towards the door.

“Thank you,
” I said to him as he stopped and looked back at me.

“For what?”

“For bringing me here,” I said and he nodded and left us alone in the room.

“Beth, what were you doing?” Ryan
asked me. I shook my head and then looked into his eyes.

“Learning to defend myself.”

“We have all the fucking money in the world, if you want to defend yourself just tell me to hire some fuck to come to the house and teach you some stuff.”

“I wanted to go out Ryan. Into the world.”

Ryan touched my hair and then ran the back of his hand along my cheek, I moved slightly to break the connection and he sighed and stood up.

“Well if you don’t give a shit about your own safety then think of the boys
, Beth. It would be nice if they don’t have to bury you.”

I looked up at him as he stared at me and nodded to him.

“I am sorry, things just got a little out of control.”

“I would say so Beth.”

The doctor stepped towards me and grinned.

“The MRI shows no damage at all to your brain
, Mrs. Bittermend, you are free to go home. I will have a nurse come in and help you get dressed and remove the IV.”

“Okay,
” I said as Ryan watched him leave us alone. He then turned back to me.

“I don’t want you to see him again
, Beth.”

“Mani?” I asked him and he nodded to me.

“I am not asking you, I am telling you. He is not good for you at all and I don’t think I have to remind you of what he is and who we are.”

I laughed as the nurse entered
the room and stepped up to my IV. I looked down at the needle and pulled it out of my arm myself as I hissed. She placed a cotton ball on it quickly and watched me as if I was crazy.

“I do not take orders from you
, Ryan. You are not my father.”

He walked to the door and then stopped and turned back to me.

“Then stop making me feel like it, Beth,” he said and with that he left me alone in the room.

****

“That is badass,” Zoey said as she looked through the telescope and saw the moon. It looked so large to her she was amazed it could be floating in the sky. She then turned to see August staring out over the valley and ignoring the stars all together.

“What is it?” she asked him and he turned to her and said nothing.

“August?” she said again and he finally spoke.

“What if the Moon started to move closer to us Zoey and we knew the end was coming?” he asked her and she looked up at the sky and shook her head.

“I mean it’s not, so what is the point of guessing?” she asked him.

“I just wonder what people would do, I mean would they go crazy and kill…woul
d they fuck anyone they could? Would they curl up in a ball and cry or perhaps they would kill themselves to avoid it all,” he said and she watched him as he looked up at the Moon too.

“I am not afraid to die,” s
he said and he looked at her.

“Oh I know that
, I am not afraid to die either,” he added and she smiled at him.

“Really?
”

“No, why would I be?
” August said as he shrugged his shoulders.

She stepped up to him and grinned as she undid his belt and slid it off of him. She snapped it in front of him and he watched her closely.

“Lay down,” she whispered to him and he did as she climbed on top of him and slipped the belt around his neck, he held his hands up at first but she tilted her head and he relaxed as she tightened it onto his neck and wound the other end around her hand. She then reached down between them and undid his pants and grabbed his cock into her hand as he moaned a bit. She slid her panties aside and slid his erect cock up into herself as she bit her lip and held onto the belt tightly. She wrapped it around her hand a couple more times and jerked on it. It tightened on his neck and he opened his mouth as it hurt and started to cut off his air. She rotated her hips slowly at first and then she sat up and placed one hand on his chest and started to ride him as quickly as she could. She pulled the belt as tight as she could as she gritted her teeth. August opened his mouth as he felt himself start to come harder than he ever had before. His heart started to slow as the orgasm took over his senses, his vision started to change and the stars above him blurred. Zoey cried out as she threw her head back and came with him, her back arched and her pussy tightened on him. She then loosened the belt quickly as he lay there with his eyes open and he was not breathing. She started to blow into his mouth and he coughed once and then again as she sat up and smiled down at him. He started to suck in deep gulps of air as everything slowly came back into focus.

“Did I die?” he asked her and she smiled at him.

“Yes,” she said and he started to laugh. He rolled her over with his cock still buried deep inside of her and kissed her lips as hard as he could. She struggled a bit as his fingernails dug into the side of her thigh. He started to thrust into her as she moaned and then he quickly flipped her over and shoved himself into her ass. He placed one hand to her throat and one around her waist as she opened her mouth and nothing came out.  He then fucked her as hard as he could. With each thrust he moaned, deeper and deeper until a small moan rose from her throat too. He suddenly grabbed her wrists tightly and held them against the ground, jerking them up above her head until he came inside of her almost as intensely as he had the first time. She dug the tips of her shoes into the ground and left deep trenches as the orgasm overtook her and with it, her breath. If one thing was certain, they would kill each other one day in a glorious fashion, or she could only hope it would be that way.

August collapsed on her back and released his grip on her wrists as she lay there shaking. His body was numb and yet he felt as if his senses had been lit on fire. Death was a game he was starting to enjoy with her and each time she seemed to take him a bit closer. He rolled off of her and she made a small noise as she rolled onto her back and they both stared up at the stars.

“Did you see anything?” Zoey asked him and he closed his eye and rolled on his side and stared at her silhouette in the darkness.

“You mean like a gate with light?
” he asked her and she rolled on her side to face him while she pulled her skirt back down to cover her underwear.

“Anything August,” s
he said to him and he stared into her eyes and hesitated for a moment as a flash of something came back to him that he almost overlooked in the heat of the moment.

“I don’t know,” h
e said as he reached out and touched her hair. She watched him with curiosity.

“August,” s
he said and he shrugged his shoulders.

“The mind does crazy shit when you stop breathing. The brain just has a field day with images.”

“I have read all of that shit already, I am asking you if you saw anything.”

August stopped playing with her hair and then sighed.
“I saw a woman, I mean I think I did.”

“Really? What did she look like?” Zoey asked him and he narrowed his eyes.

“Asian, I mean I think she was.”

“You think
, or you know?” Zoey said as her tone seemed a bit firm in nature.

“I mean she looked Asian. S
he was standing in our garden, at home and I was walking towards her.”

“And?” Zoey asked him.

“And nothing. She had a hand out and I was walking towards her. That is it, that is all that I saw,” he said and Zoey rolled onto her back and stared up at the sky.

“So is that who you fantasize about when you fuck me?” she asked and August laughed and then shook his head.

“I don’t think about anyone else when I fuck you Zoey, why would I? You make me come.”

Zoey laughed and turned her face to look at him.

“So who is she then?” she asked and August looked up at the stars.

“Fuck if I know.”
His phone went off and he sat up and pulled it from his pocket. He looked at the picture and sighed.

“Yes Father,” h
e said and then he paused as Ryan spoke on the other end. August stood up quickly and then started to walk back to the car. Zoey followed him and then stopped before she got in.

“What is it?”

“Mother, she was in the hospital.”

“Oh my God,
” Zoey said as she got into the car and they sped off.

Chapter Eleven

Make
Each Other Sick

Cas was sitting by my feet
, holding onto my leg, and I was slowly playing with his hair when August ran into the house. He called out and Ryan stepped out from our large family room and waved to him. August ran up and Ryan placed a hand on his shoulder.

“She is fine,” h
e said and August stared at him and then decided to come in to see for himself as he always does. If nothing else, August is certainly protective of me. He has a harsher way than Cas does, but they love me and I can feel that through all of the heaviness that overshadows this house and bloodline. I know what festers inside of them but I have honestly spent over a decade trying to make up for my own past by placing a small bit of hope inside each one of them. I know I have always reached straight into the heart of Cas, but it has not been until recently that I did realize that something stuck with August too. He rarely talks to his father anymore. It seems that he comes to me more and more to talk and share what he has on his mind. This is something this house has never known and I am sure something is turning over in its grave at the very thought of it happening at all. I looked up and smiled as August walked towards me and then he went down to one knee and looked at my face. I had a small bruise under my right eye extending over my cheekbone and my bottom lip was busted open in the middle. He reached up and touched my face gently as he sighed.

“Who did this you Mother?” he asked me and I grinned
, but quickly hissed as I felt my lip burning and it started to bleed a bit. August watched me with much concern and I shook my head.

“I did this to myself,
” I said and he narrowed his eyes and looked agitated as if I was hiding something from him. He reminds me so much of Ryan when he gets angry about something. It is like watching the past come to life again.

“Y
ou have nothing to be afraid of,” August said to me and I laughed, holding my mouth a bit and he turned and looked at Ryan who was staring at me.

“S
eriously, this is what happened,” I started to say and Mani walked into the room as Ryan turned and I swear if a growl could have happened it would have.

“What happened is your m
om came to my self-defense class and I let her take on someone who was much tougher than she is.”

I looked up at him and grinned as he said it, truth be told I was happy to see him and I was sure Ryan knew it.

“I would not say tougher, just bigger,” I added and August walked up to Mani and stared him down.

“So is this how you conduct your business? Allowing women to come and get beaten half to death by your ingrates?” he asked him and Mani kept his cool and tried to place a hand on August’s shoulder. August moved and crossed his arms on his chest.

“My students are mostly made up of women who have suffered from abuse at the hand of a man, or they have been raped and assaulted. They are far from ingrates,” Mani said and I stood up as Cas stood up with me and held my arm. I am able to stand and walk but he is acting as if I can’t do it on my own.

“August, Mani did nothing wrong. I went to the class and he warned me but I ignored him and this is my fault, not his.”

August stared him down until I stepped up behind him and touched his arm. He turned and looked me over.

“Beth, you are very lucky to have such a close and caring family. Your sons are protective of you and that is a great thing to see. I only came to extend my apologies to you and to Ryan. I feel terrible for what happened and if I can ever do anything to make up for it I would be happy to.”

I nodded to him as no one else said a word. He turned to leave and I spoke as I felt I needed to.

“I would like to still learn.”

Ryan looked at me and shook his head.

“I mean here, could you possibly take me on as a student, privately?” I asked him and he smiled at me.

“Sure, I will do it free of charge.”

“Money is not an issue,
” I added.

“It is for me,” h
e said as he left us all standing there. I looked down as I smiled, trying to hide how happy it made me that he would still see me. Ryan was not amused and stormed out of the room as Cas stayed by my side and August turned to look at me.

“Are you sure you are okay?” he asked me and I smiled at him. He hugged me which was something that caught me off guard. Cas smiled as
he watched August holding onto me.

“Ice cream,
” Cas said and August let me go and looked at him.

“What?”

“Ice cream and a movie. I mean, something funny.”

“Really?” I asked him and he nodded.

August hesitated but then smiled.

“Sure, fine,” h
e said as I noticed a bit of redness on his throat. I reached up and touched it and he jumped a bit.

“What happened?” I asked him and he shook his head.

“Nothing. It was nothing.”

“Did someone hurt you August?” I asked him and he sighed.

“It seems you are not the only fighter in the house,” he said as he stared at me.

I watched him as he wal
ked to the couch and sat down. I turned to Cas who was too excited as he always was with everything.

“
I will get the ice cream,” I said and Cas held his hand out to me.

“I can do that
, Mother.”

“No, I want to,
” I said as I walked from the room and towards the large kitchen of which I never really spent time in. I do remember it a little bit when I was little and…

I stepped in and Ryan stood at the large refrigerator and for a moment he transformed into the small thin boy who used t
o steal food from us while his mother cleaned the house. I paused and he looked at me and was an adult again. I swallowed the memory the best that I could and walked towards him as he stood still. The light of the refrigerator played off of his tight jawline and made him even more handsome than he normally looks. He stepped back a bit and he was shirtless and I cleared my throat.

“What the fuck is this?” he asked and I stopped walking as I thought he wanted to start a fight with me.

“What is what?” I asked him and he looked back into the refrigerator.

“This shit in here.”

I stepped up into the light next to him and stared in. There was a ton of food on every shelf and I sighed and stared at it.

“Well, that is octopus.”

“Really?”

“Yes
, Ryan.”

“We eat this shit?”

I laughed.

“We do.”

“I need to stop drinking,” he said as he leaned up and placed his hand on the top of the refrigerator and his arm flexed as well as his tight stomach. If I can say one thing about Ryan it is that even after years of drinking liquor he still worked out and his body was as tone as it had ever been. I could not remember the last time I had seen him half naked but it was not a bad thing at all. I looked back at the food as he glanced at me and grinned.

“So why are you in here
, Beth?”

I took a breath.

“The boys want ice cream and a movie.”

“What?” he said and I looked at him while he was lingering to close to me.

“Ice cream and a movie. Cas is picking the movie now.”

“Mmm,” h
e said as I opened the other side and started to search for ice cream. He watched me but did not move and I could feel the heat of his body close to mine. I finally saw some and pulled it out as he kept his eyes on me.

“Why didn’t you j
ust have someone get it for you?”

“I like to do things for myself
, Ryan.”

“Since when?” he asked me as he turned and I set t
he ice cream down on the center island.

“
I have always liked to.”

He laughed and I looked up at him as he stood there in his
dress pants hanging a bit lower and his body getting hotter by the minute. I seriously have no idea what the hell the hospital gave me but I have a feeling it ups libido and bad decision making skills.

He smiled as I started to try to pull the container top off and nothing was happ
ening. I grunted a bit and he stepped and reached both hands around me from behind and placed his fingers on the lid. I cleared my throat as he started to peel it upward and pressed against me from behind. I turned and stared him down as we were face to face.

“Hello
, Beth,” he said to me as I stared at his lips.

“My name is Ryan Blackwell, but some call me endless, it is a ridiculous rumor.”

I laughed a bit and then stopped.

“Ryan,
” I said and he leaned forward to press against me and I turned my face slightly as he leaned in. He stopped and reached up and placed his hand between my breasts and I closed my eyes for a second. His touch had always been intoxicating to me and I cannot count how many times I had thought of him as I fingered myself alone in my bed. I could never admit that to him and even now as he stands before me half naked I still harbor some hatred for him as I think I should. He leaned into my ear and started to whisper.

“
Beth,” he said to me as his hand lowered and he cupped my pussy with a bit of pressure. I sighed and felt my heart beat speed up in my chest.

“Are there no maids on staff that you enjoy right now Ryan?” I asked him and he suddenl
y lifted me up and set me down on the large island in the middle of the kitchen. I refused to look at him until he grabbed my jaw and turned my face to him. He watched as I pushed back on him slightly.

“Don’t you want me Beth?” he asked quietly and to say ‘no’ was on the tip of my tongue
but saying it out loud was another job altogether. I opened my mouth and he leaned in and forced his tongue inside, it was a bit harsh at first and then he eased up as he pulled me forward against him. My legs spread wide open and my body slightly ridged. He grabbed at my ass and let his tongue move slowly, being sure to explore my mouth as if he had not known of me in forever and truthfully he had not. We had not kissed in so long it was almost foreign to me, but the sting of his treachery remained and made his taste just as bitter as it was before. He was like a poison to me as he always had been. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled at his hair as he hissed. Our lips parted and I stared at him as I lowered one hand between us and grabbed his belt, undoing it with one hand and then unzipping his pants. I continued to hold his hair tightly in my hand as he tried to kiss my mouth, but the tease of not letting him was making me hum in all the places that needed it the most. He grinned as I jerked on his hair harder and took his erect cock into my hand. I squeezed at it as his eyes closed and a low moan rose up in the back of his throat.

He reached down and I smacked his hand as he laughed under his breath.

“I see you are still as bitchy as you always were.”

“Shut the fuck up Ryan,” I hissed at him as I started to stroke him slowly. His body tightened up and I made him look at me as I did it.

“Is this what you wanted?” I asked him as he reached over and shoved his fingers into the ice cream and then placed them to my lips. I tried to turn my head but he shoved his fingers inside of my mouth and I bit him as he smiled at me, that same sinister grin he had always owned which told me he was enjoying the ride as much as I was. I bit into his fingers harder and he reached down and moved my panties aside as I shifted a bit and moaned. He then teased me with the tip of his cock as he placed it to my pussy. It ached for him but I would never ask him for anything, I would rather die than do that and he knew it. He leaned into my ear as he rubbed it against my clit.

“You need to tell me Beth,” h
e whispered and I let my head fall back as his simple stroking was making my stomach tighten. “Tell me,” he said a bit louder and I leaned back and grabbed my breasts as I arched my back, he sighed and tried to control himself but without warning he grabbed my hips and shoved the entire length of his cock inside of me as I moaned and my back arched even further. “Look at me Beth.”

“No,
” I hissed as I relaxed my back and turned my head.

“P
lease, please look at me,” he said with emotion in his voice and I turned my face to look at him as he slowly moved himself in and out of me, taking his time and enjoying it as if we were making love. I sat up and wrapped my legs around him as I thrust myself forward and he shook his head.

“Slow down,
” he said and I grabbed at his hair again and he wrapped his fingers on my hands and pried them from him. He then pulled me down and continued to fuck me like we were a loving couple and I yelled at him.

“Stop.”

He slowed, but continued to fuck me as I told him again.

“Stop
, Ryan.” I said louder and he pulled me up and kissed me as I started to cry at his lips.

“Let me love you
, Beth,” he said to me and I shoved him from me and jumped down from the table as I adjusted my skirt. I then looked up at him as he stood there looking saddened.