Make Me Sweat (10 page)

Her heart raced a mile a minute as she imagined the horrors Angus
would visit on Wes, all because of her. All because she’d let a smooth talking,
pretty-boy use and abuse her. Simon would never know she loved him, only that
she’d betrayed and drugged him. She kicked herself for not taking the leap and trusting
him enough to tell him the truth. Angus had severely skewed her perspective on
trust. After him, she’d adopted the mantra her and Wes against the world, but
Simon crept in under the radar.

She couldn’t sit back and have Angus ruin Wes and Simon. She’d do
whatever she had to. Ever closed her eyes and drifted back to the last time
Simon touched her. The look in his eyes spoke way louder than his words. His
love shone through clearly; and fool her, she chose to deny it, deny him.

“Okay, wife.” He appeared as if out of nowhere. “Let’s get you up;
we’re moving.” Grasping her elbow, he pulled her to a sitting position and
produced a knife that he pressed to her throat. Ever gasped. “If you even
twitch, I’ll cut your fucking throat. Nod if you understand.”

Ever licked her dry lips and jerked her head. One hand at her
throat, he pulled a set of keys from his pants pocket with the other and
unlocked the chain from around her wrist. “There, isn’t that better?” He
stared, waiting for a response.

“Ye-yes, thank you.”

“You’re my wife. It’s my job to take care of you.” He held up the
keys. “Use the silver one to unlock your foot. I’ll supervise.”

She took it with shaky hands and quickly did away with the chains
on her foot.

“Good girl.” He held out a hand, palm up, and she dropped the
keys into it. “I always loved when you obeyed me, Ever Mine. I only get mad
when you don’t. You understand, don’t you?”

“I do.” The idiot had lost his freaking marbles. She did a quick
check of the large, spacious room they occupied, but no kind of weapons stood
out. The only thing was the bench she sat on.

“Good, good.” He leaned toward her and she scooted backwards.

“Wha-what are you doing?”

“A kiss. I want a kiss, Ever Mine, for old time sake.” His wild
eyes bored into her, the huge pupils dilated.

“No, no.” She flattened her palms on his chest and pushed, but he
didn’t budge. He only drew closer, his hot breath fanning across her face. “Get
off me!”

He grabbed her by the throat, garbling her screams. “I remember
when you couldn’t get enough of my kisses. You couldn’t get enough of me.”
Something cold and sharp pricked her throat.

The knife.

“I want a kiss, Ever.” He snarled the words though clenched
teeth.

Cold horror made its way down Ever’s spine. Not again. She
wouldn’t go through it again. She leaned forward, eyes closed, waiting. His
lips met hers. Dry. Cold. So unlike Simon’s heat and softness. Her body shook
in revulsion and her face scrunched up as she fought her fight or flight
reflexes.

Angus stabbed his tongue inside her mouth and she bit down. Hard.
Until her jaw and head ached from the pressure and she tasted blood. He yelped.
His fingers twisted in her hair, yanking her head back and away from him. She
arched, spitting and clawing at his hold.

“Bitch, I’ll kill you.” He jabbed the knife’s blade into her
neck, sinking in. The warm gush of blood slid down her throat and chest. She
closed her eyes tight, surrendering to the inevitable.

“Simon.” Tears fell as she thought of him, darkness closing in.

“Federal Agents! Let her go, Brennan.”

Ever smiled, she’d die with his voice in her head. “Simon, I love
you.” The darkness claimed her as bullets rang out. 

Chapter
Eleven

Three weeks later

“Would you stop fidgeting, already?” Wes crossed his eyes at Ever
as she sat in his lap on their living room couch.

She chuckled at his putout tone. “I can’t help it, take them off
already.” Today she got to remove the last of the bandages that had decorated
her body for the better part of a month. The last bandage on the most severe
wound, her throat. All her other cuts and scrapes were superficial. And while
Angus hadn’t done major damage with his blade, he’d still managed to cut her
pretty deep.

“Okay, ready?” Wes met her gaze and slid two fingers under the
edges of the bandage.

She nodded. “Ready.”

He tore it away in one move.

“Ow.”

“Hurts?” He swiped at her throat with an alcohol pad.

“Only a little bit, itches more.”

“Here, take a look.” He handed her the mirror.

She stared at the red, puckered wound and traced it with a
finger. “He saved me.”

“Yes.”

When she awoke in the hospital, Wes told her the story of Simon
rushing to her side, gathering her in his arm, and applying pressure to the
wound. He didn’t let her go until Paramedics arrived. And even then, he rode in
the ambulance with her. He stayed by her bedside as long as he could, Wes said,
holding her hand until he had to leave to deal with
stuff
.

Three weeks she’d been home and he hadn’t called, or shown up. No
word.

“Do you think he hates me for what I did to him?” She placed the
mirror in her lap and pursed her lips. “I should have confided in him, Wes. But
instead, I chose to go it alone and look what happened.”

“Shush.” Wes pulled her into a hug. “You didn’t know if you could
trust him. You did what you had to do.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’m
just glad you’re okay. I lost a few years off my life when I saw you all
bloodied. God.” He shuddered.

“I’m sorry.”

He pulled back, gaze searching hers. “For what?”

“For getting sucked in by Angus, for putting you in a position
where you had to defend me. Kill for me.”

“I love you.” Wes squeezed her. “You didn’t owe me anything, even
though I know you thought you did. I only want you to be happy.”

She brushed her lips over his then laid her head on his chest.
“He makes me happy.”

“I know.”

“What should I do? Wait for him to come to me or go to him?”
Because damn it, she needed to see him. To apologize. Beg his forgiveness.
Thank him for saving her. To tell him she loved him.

“What do you want to do?”

“Hmm. I want to hunt him down and demand to know why he’s staying
away.”

“So do it. Only do it tomorrow when you’re up to your full
strength.”

“What are you talking about? What full strength?” She pushed away
from him and sat up.

“I’m just saying—”

“What? What are you saying?” She jumped to her feet and stared
down at him with hands on her hips. “I should wait until he disappears for good
on his next undercover and I never see him again?’

Wes threw his hands up in surrender. “Forget I said anything.”

“Already forgotten.” She grinned, belted her robe tighter, and
walked into the kitchen as the doorbell rang. “Get that, will you?” She’d get
herself something to eat and wait until Wes went up to bed before she headed
out. She couldn’t let Simon slip through her fingers. He had to know she loved
him. It had been a mistake to keep her secrets from him, she knew that now. And
if he gave her another chance, she’d never make that mistake again.

She put a slice of pizza into the microwave to nuke and leaned on
the countertop with her chin in her palm. What if he didn’t want her? After all
she’d done, what if he’d decided she wasn’t worth it? She shook her head.
Plenty of time to deal with that if and when the time came. Right now she
preferred the scenario where he accepted her apology. Another declaration of
love from him wouldn’t be unwelcome either.

Voices echoed out in the living room.

“Wes, who’s at the door?” One thing they didn’t have to worry
about was Angus and his people. Jayce or Simon had killed Angus—they weren’t
sure whose bullet hit where. The Feds had rounded up all his associates, aided
by the very careful logs she and Wes kept, and every last one was ratting out
the other.

“Hey.”

She jerked upright, heart lurching into her throat. Simon stood
in the kitchen doorway, Wes behind him.

She licked her lips and stared into his intense gaze. “Hey.”

Wes flashed a smile and a thumbs-up. “All righty, I’ll be upstairs
in my room if anyone…needs me.” He disappeared.

Simon’s gaze dropped from her eyes to her lips and down to stop
at her neck. His jaw tightened. She touched the scar with a fingertip.

“It’s healing fast.” She moved toward him on unsteady feet. “I-I
wanted to thank you for helping me. For saving me.”

Dark eyes flashed. “Fuck, Ever, you don’t have to thank me.” He
met her in the middle of the room with two strides. “You’re the woman I love.
I’d do anything for you.” He hauled her into his arms, and she went willingly,
clawing at his belt as he undid her robe and pushed it off her shoulders.

He kissed her, deep and wild, tongue thrusting against hers as he
lifted her and placed her onto the kitchen table. She shrugged away the robe,
freeing her hands to sink her fingers into his hair.

He pulled apart her thighs roughly, fingers dipping into her
pussy. She moaned into his mouth and reached for his cock.

“I need you,” she mumbled against his mouth. She massaged his
hardness through his pants then undid his zipper, freeing him.

“Hmm.” He groaned and thrust in her hand, blunt fingers fucking
her wet cunt as her juices poured. Then his cock replaced his fingers,
thrusting into her hard. Sliding deep. “I missed you.” He nipped at her ear and
neck and licked her throat.

“Ugn.” She lifted her hips and arched. “Why’d you stay away so
long?”

“Business.” He slid out and drove back in. “Had to clear up some
paperwork.”

Head thrown back, she smiled up at the ceiling. “I’m sorry for
all I did.”

He palmed the cheeks of her ass, angling her hips as he pounded
into her. “Forgiven,” he grunted.

Ever rolled her hips, riding him. Yanking on his hair, she
commanded, “Look at me, Simon.”

His gaze leaped to her face, dark eyes boring into her.

“I love you.”

He stilled his movements, eyes glistening. “Say it again.” His
fingers bit into her skin.

“I love you.” She smiled.

He slammed into her. Ever cried out, legs lifting higher.

“Again, Ever.”

“I love you, Simon.” She kissed his neck and chin as he impaled
himself on her again and again. “I love you, I love you.” She caught his mouth
and sucked on his bottom lip. Savage grunts rumbled in Simon’s chest as he
pounded into her. Telltale heat bathed her spine, and Ever urged him on. “Yes,
fuck me harder. Make me come. I love you.”

Simon obeyed. Canting his hips upward, he drove in, hitting her
G-spot. She cried out, orgasm ripping through her, and he slid his tongue into
her mouth, drinking her sounds as her pussy contracted around him.

He hissed into her mouth, body jerking. His cock throbbed inside
her, and she felt the warm gush as he poured his cum into her.

“Fuck.” She shuddered. “I can feel your cum filling me up,
flooding me. God, Simon.” She undulated, and he continued his thrusts until
he’d given her all he had.

He wrapped both arms around her, hugging her to him. “I’m keeping
you.”

The End

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