Surviving Raine 02 Bastian's Storm (22 page)

“
You still think I’m a pheasant for plucking?”

Arden stared at me, his face blank. I saw his chest rise and fall slowly, as if he were centering himself.

“
I think at the end of this, it’s going to come down to you and me,” he said. “After that, it’s no more than a matter of will.”

He looked me over briefly.

“
And aim,” he added.

“
You think that will be enough for you?” I asked.

“
More than,” he replied. There wasn’t any bravado in the statement; he simply thought it a matter of fact. He had no doubt in his abilities, and I needed to throw him off his game.

“
It didn’t keep you out of enemy hands in the past,” I said with a shrug. “It sounds to me as if you have a habit of letting people get the jump on you.”

His eyes tightened but only slightly and briefly. I was hoping for a stronger reaction, but frankly, I wasn’t accustomed to playing mind games. Any reaction at all out of this guy seemed to be a win.

Arden stood, took two steps to get around the table, and leaned over slightly to look me in the face.

“
I hear you’re fighting for a kid,” he said softly. “Maybe when I’m done with you, I’ll put a bullet in his skull, just like his mother’s.”

Instantly, my hands were balled into fists. Once that happened, there was no more control left in me. I swung at him, made contact with his jaw, and sent him flying backward. I was on my feet and going for him a second later, but that was all it took for two of Moretti’s goons to grab my arms to try to hold me back.

It didn’t work.

I wrenched one arm out of the grasp of the guy on my right and used it to pop the one on the left hard enough to make him let go. I started to head back to Arden, who was on the floor and rubbing his chin but starting to stand back up again. Another hand grabbed my arm, but I couldn’t shake it off.

“
Stop.” Landon’s voice rang clear in my head even before I realized he was the one holding me back. John Paul was on the other side, telling me to take it easy, that there would be a time and place for this, but not here, not now.

“
Motherfucker,” I growled. I shook them both off of me though John Paul kept his hand on my shoulder as I stomped toward the door of the barn. I didn’t get far. A moment later, Landon was standing in front of me, blocking my passage.

“
Just let me get the fuck out of here!” I snarled.

Landon glared, and I felt someone else walk up beside me. I turned quickly, and found myself looking at a very irate Joseph Franks.

Fuck.

“
You press too far,” Franks growled in my ear. “I might need you for now, but don’t you pull something like that again, or I’ll blow your brains out and find myself another fighter.”

I wasn’t sure if the threat was serious or not, and I wasn’t going to take the chance that he was bluffing. Anything I said could be used against me, Raine, and my son at any time. Deciding to go for contrite, I glanced at the ground, then back up to him.

“
I know,” I said, “I got it. Don’t you worry about a fucking thing—I’m taking all these motherfuckers out.”

“
That’s more like it,” he said with a smile. It didn’t touch his eyes, but it was an effort, at least.

Deciding it was best to get out as soon as possible, John Paul escorted me out the door and back to his car.

“
You are out of your fucking mind,” he said as he started the engine and began to back around the other vehicles. “That was seriously stupid.”

“
Fuck you,” I muttered. I knew he was right, but I wasn’t about to admit it. I just wanted to get home to Raine. I leaned back in the seat, closed my eyes, and pretended to sleep the rest of the way back to Miami.

There was no question about it—Evan Arden was my primary concern. The others were going to fall quickly and easily, either to me or to Arden. A couple of them would probably take each other out, which was just fine by me. I wasn’t counting frags here; only winning mattered.

Last man standing.

As he had said, it would come down to the two of us. When that happened, it was going to be a matter of who found who first—a matter of my hands or his scope.

Unfortunately, he’d already gotten the drop on me once down at the beach. I couldn’t let that happen again. It wouldn't have happened if I had been on alert. I wasn’t going to fail in that respect when it came to the tournament. There was far too much on the line.

If he was serious about going after Alex…

I wondered if he had something to lose as well though, or rather, someone. Somehow, I doubted it. He didn’t seem the relationship type, and I couldn’t imagine any chick falling for a guy who was so cold, so blank. Yeah, I’d killed more than a few people in the past during tournaments, and I was going to do it again with good reason, but he’d killed a lot more people in service to Moretti and his family. What kind of girl would put up with that?

Well, Raine put up with my ass, so maybe it was possible.

Ultimately, it didn’t matter. Even if he did have someone he cared about out there, it wasn’t as if I could use that to my advantage—not now. The games were set, the territory chosen, and all there would be now was preparation for the fight. Once it was announced, no one was allowed to screw with the odds of which player would win.

My direction was clear. At least for now, Evan Arden wasn’t my concern.

Ice and snow surround me. I’m climbing the sheer face of a rocky cliff as the wind tries to blow me from the edge. I reach up and find purchase on the rocks above. As I pull myself up, I hear a shot ring out.

Across the plateau, I see a body. I rush to it, but I know it’s too late.

“
Raine!”

What is she doing here? She shouldn’t be anywhere near the fighting…

I kneel down and reach for her cold hand. She doesn’t move. The sound of snow crunching underfoot catches my attention, and I look up to see the barrel of a rifle pointed in my face…

I woke in a cold sweat with a constricted chest. I had rolled away from Raine and all the way to the other side of the bed at some point during the night. I quickly fixed that by curling up against her side and pulling her fast against my chest. I threw my leg over the top of hers and just held on. For a few minutes, I panted and told myself over and over again that she was safe and warm.

A dream; not real.

It had felt real. Really fucking real. I had to fight against my body’s desire to shake uncontrollably as I calmed myself down and looked Raine over to make sure she was fine.

She was, of course. It was all in my fucked up head. When I had relaxed enough to allow myself to release her, I went out to the balcony for a cigarette. The smoke filled my lungs, and the nicotine relaxed my mind. The alcoholic inside of me tried to tell me to take a little drink to calm myself some more, but I told him to fuck off.

After watching her eyes when she’d found me drunk, there was no way I was ever going to put myself in the position to cause that particular look on Raine’s face again.

I smoked a cigarette and a half before I went back inside. I took a quick shower to wash myself of the nightmare and the stench of smoke before I crawled back into bed. I didn’t think I’d be falling back asleep anytime soon, but I was content to just hold Raine and tell myself that she was fine.

I’m going to make sure she stays that way.

When morning came, I didn’t say anything to her about my nightmare. She probably knew anyway because I looked like shit whenever I had been up most of the night. She also made an extra-large pot of coffee when she went into the kitchen, but she didn’t ask why I hadn’t slept. She knew I’d tell her when I was ready.

I didn’t think I would ever be ready to think about that one again, though.

I finished breakfast and placed the dishes in the sink to soak a bit. Raine came up behind me and circled my waist as I stood at the sink, and I turned around to face her.

She reached up and ran her fingers through my mussed up hair.

“
You okay?” she asked.

“
Sure,” I said. I didn’t think she was buying it, but I was going to try to keep myself together. I still needed to get to the beach this morning, and it was getting late. Even if I were inclined to talk, it would just mean delaying my morning run.

“
Take a nap if you want,” Raine suggested.

“
With you hanging all over me?” I replied with a smile. “Not a chance.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck as I leaned down to kiss her. Kissing led to fondling, and before long, we were headed back to the bedroom with our clothing strewn across the floor.

I backed up against the bed, and Raine pushed against my shoulders until I was on my back. She climbed over me and leaned across my chest to press her lips against mine. I ran my hands over her bare ass and pulled down to press her core against my rigid cock.

Raine rocked her hips against me, and I arched my back to increase the friction. We kept kissing deeply as we moved together, and Raine’s hands were gliding over my chest and abs, sending tingles through my skin. When she raised herself up a bit and broke the kiss, she was breathing hard, and I couldn’t wait any longer.

With Raine straddling me, I grabbed a hold of my cock and guided it inside of her. She let out a sharp breath as her body encompassed me, and for a long moment, she just kept herself there, balancing with her hands on my chest.

I leaned back and let her have control. She moved slowly over the top of me, and I was glad of it.

I sat up and took her hips in my hands, raising and lowering her over me. With this angle, we could look right into each other’s eyes, and I could feel her inside of me as much as I could feel myself inside of her.

Our mouths meshed, and our tongues slid over each other’s as we moved together. Raine held on to my shoulders tightly as she pressed her lips to mine and moaned quietly in time to our rhythm. I reached up and enveloped one of her breasts in my hand, lifting it slightly as I rubbed the nipple with my thumb.

She moaned louder, and I wrapped my arm around her waist, twisted us both, and landed on top of her. Raine gasped as I entered her again, swiftly and deeply. I held myself inside of her, reveling in the sensation as she reached up to grip my back. I nipped the skin of her neck with my lips as I started to move again.

For a while, I could pretend there was nothing outside of the bed, nothing that was threatening to harm either one of us. If I closed my eyes and listened to the sound of the surf coming through the window, I could pretend we were on our isolated island, far away from everything else.

I moved inside of her slowly, wanting the feeling to last. I listened to Raine’s short breaths and felt the beating of her heart under my hand. I cupped her breast in my hand, sucked at the nipple, and then switched to the other one. Raine grasped the back of my head and arched her back to meet my thrusts time and time again.

It was heaven.

Knowing her body so intimately, I was well aware when she couldn’t last much longer. As her face turned pink with desire, I ran the backs of my fingers down her side, reached between us, and stroked her until she was panting and twisting below me. With my fingers pressed against her clit, Raine rocked, moaned, and called out as she came apart around me. I glided my hand up her side and to her shoulder, braced myself against her, and thrust forward quickly. She cried out again, and I repeated the motion over and over again until my head was spinning with the sensations inside of me.

My legs began to quiver, and my arms began to shake with the strain of holding myself up. As I struggled to keep myself from falling, I quickened the pace. My body quaked, and I groaned as I filled her deeply and collapsed on top of her. I panted against her shoulder for a minute as I collected myself and then rolled to the side so I wasn’t crushing her. I wrapped her in my arms and pulled her close to me.

“
You’re fucking phenomenal,” I informed her.