Blaze (Deceit and Desire Book 6) Read online

  “I figured out Croft had grabbed you.” Then he sneered, self-derision thick in his voice. He caught my wrists, squeezed gently, and I knew he wanted to pull away from me. “Figured out…shit. The only reason I managed to figure out anything was because TU all but told me Croft was gift-wrapping you for somebody in the clan. Said you’d already been claimed. Some hero I am. I told you I’d take care of you and Croft got you anyway–”

  “But you came. All of you came.” The shock of it was still hitting. Gripping his arms, I said it again. “You came.” Tears threatened. “I married Ephraim, Lane. I didn’t want to, but they were threatening me. They said they’d hurt my mom. Then Croft said…” my voice broke, and the secret came tumbling out, “he said he’d hurt my baby too.”

  “They made you do it. Contracts made under duress aren’t legal. Hell, did you even sign a marriage license…wait.” He stopped. Eyes wide, he gaped at me. “Did you say baby?”

  I rubbed my belly. “Yes. I just found out this morning. That was part of the reason I snuck out. My period was late. I had to know if I was pregnant. I am. And Croft was there when the clinic called to tell me, and he told me…” I started to cry.

  “Did you say baby?”

  Lane’s soft voice cut through the morass in my head, and I jerked my gaze up, looking at him.

  Thirteen

  Lane

  I’d never known a hell like the past few hours. Now, dealing with the guilt of all the trouble I’d brought to Trice’s feet, I was almost sick with it.

  Her voice shook with every word she said, and she was pale, her face wan. There were bruises on her arms and the wedding dress – a fucking wedding dress – bagged around her because it had been ripped at the shoulder.

  And she was looking at me with beseeching eyes like she was sorry.

  I should be on my knees begging her for forgiveness, but she looked at me like she was sorry.

  Every word she said ripped at me.

  “But you came. All of you came. You came. I married Ephraim, Lane. I didn’t want to, but they were threatening me. They said they’d hurt my mom. Then Croft said…”

  I wanted to go to her and hug her close, hold her. But I’d let this happen. I’d promised I’d protect her, and she’d still gotten grabbed off the street, gotten hurt. This was my fault.

  Her voice hitched, and I squeezed my eyes closed against the raging pain that ripped through me.

  “He said he’d hurt my baby too.”

  The misery in her voice gutted me, and I shook my head. “They made you do it. Contracts made under duress aren’t legal. Hell, did you even sign a marriage license…wait.”

  My mind backtracked over what she’d just said. Swallowing the knot that had suddenly lodged in my throat, I whispered, “Did you say baby?”

  Trice’s hand moved to her flat, firm belly and lingered there. “Yes. I just found out this morning. That was part of the reason I snuck out. My period was late. I had to know if I was pregnant. I am. And Croft was there when the clinic called to tell me, and he told me…”

  Her voice cracked again, and she started to cry.

  Taking a step closer, wanting to console her, comfort her, but still not certain I had the right, I opened my mouth to say…something. Anything. All that came out was, “Did you say baby?”

  She jerked her head up and met my eyes. Tears gleamed in her gaze, and she jerked her head in a nod.

  “I’m pregnant,” she whispered. “I just found out.” The hand on her belly curled into a protective fist, and she lifted her chin as she stared at me. “I didn’t plan on this happening, but I wasn’t going to let Croft hurt this baby.”

  The fire in her eyes only made everything I already felt inside blaze even hotter, brighter.

  I took a step toward her. “You’re pregnant.”

  She licked her lips.

  I took one more step closer.

  She watched me, a mix of nerves and uncertainty on her face.

  I went to my knees in front of her and leaned forward, pressing my mouth against the fist that covered our baby so protectively. Our baby. Ours.

  How had this happened?

  “You want this baby,” I murmured.

  I lifted my gaze to hers.

  A soft breath shuddered out of her, and she jerked up a shoulder.

  “I hadn’t thought about it yet. But…yeah.” A faint smile spread across her face, wobbling a little before it settled. “I want this baby.”

  Closing my hand around her wrist, I dragged her hand away and pressed my face to her belly.

  She had my baby growing inside there.

  I couldn’t believe it.

  How could this be possible?

  I wasn’t thinking about the biological aspects of it, rather the…miraculous fact that it had happened at all.

  Trice was carrying my baby.

  Her hand came up and cupped the back of my neck.

  For a moment frozen in time, we stayed there, my lips pressed to her belly, her hand curved over the back of my neck as the truth rocked through both of us. Slowly, I tipped my head back and stared up at her.

  Her dark eyes, still wet with tears, met mine. Slowly, I reached up and splayed my hand across her belly. “A baby,” I whispered.

  She nodded, covering my hand with hers.

  It was something that I’d never even considered, something I’d never even wanted to consider. But a greedy possessiveness unlike anything I’d ever known had already gripped me, and I knew, with an absolute truth that outshone everything I’d ever known, that I wanted this – this baby. Her.

  I rose and cupped her face in my hands, lowering my mouth to hers.

  I was braced for her to pull away, to freeze. Braced and ready for anything…except her response. She sighed against my lips, a soft moan escaped her as she opened for me. But all I did was trace the line of her lips with my tongue before lifting my head to meet her eyes again.

  “I want this,” I told her.

  She blinked, her eyes rapt on my face.

  Sliding one hand down to cover her belly, I said it again, “I want this. You. This baby. I know I don’t deserve it.”

  “Lane–”

  “Let me finish,” I said, shaking my head. “I don’t deserve it. I got you into this mess. I caused you so much trouble. I brought you so much trouble. I don’t deserve you, but fuck, Trice. I want you. I want you more than I want my next breath. My next sunrise. I want this baby, and I want you.”

  The tears in her eyes glittered like diamonds, and she rose onto her toes, reaching up to grab my head. “Lane,” she whispered.

  “Give me a chance,” I said, lowering my face to hers. “I…shit, Trice. I don’t know how to handle this. It’s crazy, and I know that, but I’ve never felt anything like this before. I think I might be in love with you.”

  A soft gasp escaped her.

  I stared into her eyes. “I’ve never loved anybody before. Other than my family, and this is different. I wake up thinking about you, and I go to sleep thinking about you. I dream about you. I want you with me all the time. I want to know what makes you happy and what makes you sad and what makes you laugh. Then I want to figure out how to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you let me try?”

  Her answer was to fling her arms around my neck.

  As she pulled me down to kiss her, I briefly wondered just what in the hell I’d done to even deserve a chance at this.

  Fourteen

  Trice

  “I think I might be in love with you.”

  I was imagining things.

  There was no way this was real.

  But Lane stared at me intently, like nothing else existed.

  And he continued to talk, his voice rough and needy. “I’ve never loved anybody before. Other than my family and this is different. I wake up thinking about you, and I go to sleep thinking about you. I dream about you. I want you with me all the time. I want to know what makes you happy and what makes you sad and what mak
es you laugh. Then I want to figure out how to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you let me try?”

  I reached for him, desperate to just have him touch me, desperate to tell him things I couldn’t even put into words.

  Just…desperate.

  The moment our mouths touched, it was like a fuse had ignited.

  Later, I’d think about how crazy we’d been.

  But in those moments, all I could think about was the fact that Lane was here, I was safe, and Ephraim was far, far away.

  He kissed me like I was the only thing that existed, the only thing that mattered.

  His tongue curled against mine, and I whimpered, hungry, crazed.

  The awful, ugly wedding dress was trapped between us, and Lane reached behind me, tugging at the zipper that ran up my spine and held me trapped inside it.

  As it bagged around me, I gasped in relief, so ready to be free from the confines of that dress and everything it meant, it was almost unspeakable. I pulled away from him for just a moment and tore at the satin, tearing and jerking at it as though it scalded my skin.

  Lane seemed to understand, and he pulled the rest of the offending material away.

  Once the satin was gone, I felt as though I could breathe, and I sank back against the door behind me, my head hitting the surface almost languidly.

  But then Lane put his hands on my skin, and electricity jolted through me. I came alive when he touched me, when he looked at me. His mouth came down on mine, and I curled my arms around his neck, arching closer, desperate to rid myself of the memories that were now imprinted on my psyche.

  Everything that lay outside the door beyond us ceased to exist.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t care – I just stopped thinking.

  Lane was here. I was safe.

  My baby was safe.

  Nothing else mattered.

  When he skimmed his hands up my sides, closing them over my breasts, it washed away the foulness of Croft’s hands on me, and I whimpered, pushing myself more completely into his hands.

  Lane smoothed the straps of my bra away and lowered his mouth to my shoulder, his teeth scoring the sensitive skin there.

  I mumbled something under my breath. What, I didn’t know.

  Lane kissed me again, silencing me.

  A few seconds later, he boosted me up against the wall, and I felt him between my thighs, separated only by my panties and his jeans. “Are we doing this?” he whispered against my ear.

  “Yes.” Any other answer didn’t even seem plausible at the time.

  A split second later, he jerked at my hips. My panties fell away, and I was naked from the waist down.

  Then Lane brushed up against me, and I gasped. The heat of his cock pressed into my center. I groaned and arched closer, seeking him.

  He didn’t hold back. One moment I felt the head of his cock brushing against me, then he was inside me. I opened my mouth, a scream building in my throat.

  Then he was kissing me, swallowing down the sound as he thrust deep, deep, deep inside me.

  I clung to him, helpless, desperate.

  Lane guided my legs to his hips, and I wrapped them tight around him.

  He pulled back, surging inside me a second and third time. More.

  Another scream rose inside me, fire burning inside my veins.

  It had never been like this before.

  Nothing had ever been like this.

  Lane bit my lower lip, then caught my mouth in another burning, deep kiss that left me all but mindless.

  When he pulled away, I had no breath left to make another sound even as the waves of pleasure started to batter me.

  It seemed we’d barely started, but it didn’t matter.

  The climax was already there, rushing at me full speed.

  Lane slid a hand between us and whispered, “Come for me, Trice…come…”

  I whimpered and rocked – or tried to. Impaled on his cock, trapped between him and the door, I could barely move. But he knew what I needed, and he changed position just the slightest, stroking just there.

  The orgasm hit, hard and fast.

  I couldn’t breathe.

  I thought I’d scream from the intensity of it, but I couldn’t breathe.

  Lane’s mouth sealed over mine, and he bit my lip – that was when I breathed, and I screamed into his mouth. He swallowed the sound down and slammed into me even harder.

  I quaked, shuddering around him as his cock jerked, clutching at him as he clung to me.

  Hot, breathless moments passed, and we stayed locked together, just like that. He buried his face against my neck, shuddering.

  I clung to him, my head spinning around and around in dizzying circles.

  “Trice,” he whispered.

  I shivered against him as he slid a hand down my side. I slowly lowered my feet to the ground, muscles groaning, aching.

  Once I stood on my feet in front of him, he worked a hand in between us and pressed it flat to my belly.

  The gentleness of the gesture, and everything that it meant, practically laid me low.

  Tears burned my eyes, but I blinked them back.

  Pressing my face to his chest, I breathed in the scent of him and told myself that everything would be okay.

  Fifteen

  Lane

  If I’d ever been in a more awkward situation in my life, I didn’t know when or where it was.

  But I’d brazen my way through it because I wasn’t letting Trice bear the weight of this.

  Carrying the torn wedding dress in my hands, I made my way out of the room where I’d left her and found both Suria and Nicco huddled in the hallway just outside the room where Ephraim and a few others, including Croft, were being read their rights.

  Their rights.

  I wanted to go in there, grab Ephraim, and beat him bloody.

  He’d put marks on Trice.

  He’d put fear into her eyes.

  And I wanted to kill Croft for pulling her into this mess to begin with.

  Nicco saw me first, and his eyes dipped to the dress I held.

  Suria turned almost immediately after he looked at me and her eyes widened at the sight of the dress.

  Neither of them liked me much, and I knew it. I’d have to change that because I knew Trice adored Suria. I didn’t know much about Nicco, but if Trice was that close to Suria, she’d have to be close to the guy too.

  Suria all but sprang to her feet and rushed to me. “Where is Trice?” she demanded in an almost-whisper.

  “Hiding,” I said succinctly. “She’s not going anywhere wearing this.”

  I brandished the wedding dress, all but daring Suria to say anything.

  I could tell by the look in Suria’s gaze that there was a lot she wanted to say, but Nicco lifted a hand. “I can’t imagine why she’d want to wear it.”

  Suria whipped her head around, staring at him.

  He met her eyes. “I’m in Ravenna’s car. She’s got a gym bag. They aren’t the same height, but I imagine they’re close to the same size. Maybe she’d be okay wearing some of Ravenna’s clothes?”

  Suria opened her mouth, then closed it, sighing.

  She looked at me, hard. Then finally, she nodded. “I guess I don’t blame her,” she acknowledged grudgingly. She glanced at Nicco. “Can you grab those clothes?”

  The two of us stood in stilted silence as we waited for Nicco. He didn’t take long. Logically, I knew that, but it felt like forever since I’d hurried out of the room, leaving Trice wrapped in a blanket we’d pulled off the nearby bed.

  He came back with a gym bag and pushed it into my hands. “She washes her clothes every time she works out, so whatever is in there is clean,” he said.

  I nodded my thanks and turned to go.

  “Maybe I should go–”

  I kept on walking, pretending I didn’t hear Suria. Striding down the hall, I cut around the corner and ducked into the bedroom where I’d left Trice. She was sitting on the edge of the bed, an
d judging by the look on her face, I’d startled her.

  “Ravenna had clothes,” I said, dropping the bag next to her.

  She looked confused.

  “Nicco’s girlfriend,” I said. “She’s the redheaded cop who helped us today.”

  She just nodded, but I could tell she didn’t much care where the clothes came from as long as she didn’t have to put the dress on. She’d probably be happy to walk out of there in the blanket if she had to.

  “We should hurry,” I said gently. “The police will want to talk to you.”

  It seemed like lifetimes passed before Ravenna finally walked Trice out of the house.

  Ephraim and her mother, along with a few others, had already been escorted out and were currently sitting in the back of various police cruisers.

  I’d given my statement to the cops, and I was under no illusion that it was over. They’d want more. I knew that.

  I’d give them whatever they wanted. They’d gotten to Trice before Ephraim had been able to rape her, although the bruises I’d seen on her arms made me want to hurt and tear things.

  Suria got to Trice before I did, and I stood in the middle of the sidewalk, feeling like the fifth wheel as the cousins hugged.

  Nicco lingered a few feet away, and Suria beckoned for him to come over after she pulled back from Trice. Trice gave him a hesitant smile, but her eyes sought me out.

  I wanted to go to her, but I didn’t.

  Not then.

  She came to me, though.

  Suria trailed along next to her, and I saw the expression in her eyes as Trice leaned against me. Wrapping my arms around Trice, I blocked everything else out of my mind. For those few seconds, at least.

  “The police said I can go,” she said, her voice wan.

  “We’ll take you home with us–”

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Nicco put a hand on Suria’s shoulder.

  But I was focused on Trice.

  She was staring at me with wide, needy eyes. I should do the right thing. Send her home with her cousin, get the hell out of her life.