BRANDONI find Cassius holding a glass of bourbon in the dimness of the dining room. He knows that I needed him sober, but the whole plan must’ve gotten into him.
Silvanus’s text came in the afternoon, leaving us only the time and a location, a detail favorable for both parties—which was good so Jason and his Wolves can follow their strategy.
I guess my cousin will not be very pleased to hear the sudden change Jason has planned.
I lean on the wall, slipping my hands into my pocket. “What are you doing?”
Cassius frowns. “Don’t worry. This is just to calm my nerves. What’s up?”
“Alayna still doesn’t know about Jason’s whole plan yet. I don’t want to surprise her at the sudden change because this involves her family.”
He scowls. “What changed?”
“This includes you, actually, and I think I need a shot.”
He gulps the remaining liquid in his glass and pours another shot, throws in two cubes of ice and hands it to me. “What about me and Alayna’s family?”
“Suspicious men are lurking around Alayna’s house. Jason’s Wolves are around the area, so they’re still safe, but only for now.”
“Silvanus, that son of a bitch.” Cassius bangs his fist on the table and pinches the bridge of his nose.
I drink down the whiskey and grimace slightly at the intense smokiness. “I need to ask you a favor.”
“What do you want?” he asks gruffly.
“Take Casey and Alayna to Lawrence. Jason’s men will accompany you.”
“When?”
“Tomorrow.”
He smirks humorlessly and scratches his head. “You want us to leave New York during the operation.”
“We will be there after we take Oliver back. We must go to her family and move them somewhere else safe. You know Alayna’s family; they will trust you.”
“Wow, isn’t this a déjà vu?”
“It is.” This is exactly like the day I asked him to look after Alayna when she was hurting last year. For selfish reasons, I know exactly why he won’t decline. His feelings for Alayna make him the best person to pull off the otherHe heaves out a sigh, but his answer is decisive. “Fine.”
“Good, and I can promise you we will rescue Oliver.”
“You better, because I won’t know what to do to you if you fail,” he warns.
“We won’t. I know that you wanted to be there too, but Casey and Alayna will need you more.”
He shoots me a glare. “Of course, I know that.”
“Then come with me.”
He looks at me curiously. “What?”
I usher Cassius into my room and unlock the vault, but before pulling out the thing I’m keeping inside, I straighten my back and face my cousin.
“Cassius, I need you to promise me something.”
“What?”“I need you to keep them safe. Alayna and my sister.”
He flashes a faint smile. “Brandon, you must be forgetting that Casey’s my sister too, and with Alayna—”
“I know.” I clasp his shoulder. “I trust you.”
I fear for anything that might happen, but there is no room for failure. We only have one choice. It’s to surviveI pull out a handgun and cock it in front of him, checking to make sure it’s loaded.
“Man, you got a gun?” Cassius says, then smirks. This isn’t a surprise to him. Men in our family are trained in various sports, and shooting is one of them.
“A Walther PPQ .45 ACP caliber.” I flip the handle in his direction. He takes it carefully, then checks the safety.
Cassius knows how to hold a gun—even better than me. I’m still new and working on getting familiar with it. But it won’t be fair if our enemies are ahead of us—working with a bunch of terrorists.
“When did you get this?”
“A couple of months ago. Got the papers too.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Though that isn’t mine. It’s yours.”
“Uh?” He looks up at me, raising an eyebrow in confusion.
“I supposed you didn’t bring yours with you. It’s still better to be prepared.” I pick up the holster and give it to him as well.
“Then I’d be breaking the law.” His expression hardens, but eventually, he nods. “But thank you, you might be right. I can’t go there unprepared.”
“We already broke the law when we associated with the mob,” I point out.
“You sound like a vigilante.”
“I’ll clean the slate when all of this is over.”
“You sure about that?” He tries on the holster on his thigh, then places the gun in it.
“I made a promise to Jason.”
“But it doesn’t mean you’re safe. Things have changed too.”
“What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you think you’d be tangled up with him now that he is also Alayna’s brother? But of course, this is not the case if you do not intend to keep it Nevertheless, he has a point. We’d also have to tell her that Jason is an elite mob leader at the right time. If we’re really cleaning the slate, the full confession includes that too. No more secrets... No more hiding.
Still, I satisfy Cassius’s curiosity. “I don’t just intend making this long termpermanentCassius laughs humorlessly again. “You were away... You were fucking away. You weren’t even there when she was suffering, but I saw all of it... How you hurt her. She chose you, and I respect that. But if you hurt her in any way again, I swear—”
“You can stop worrying, Cassius.” I realize he has never confronted me this way before. He never hurt Alayna like I did, so I deserve it. I deserve all his doubt.
“I swear... I won’t back down,” he concludes.
“I know.”
“You better.” Unexpectedly, he holds out his hand to me. “I’ll keep them safe. Get my brother back.”
I tense up and grip his hand firmly. At this moment, there’s nothing else we need but trust from each other. “I promise.”
***Alayna’s body is soaking in a bathtub filled with bubbles, and just like she said she would, she left her door open, so I lean on the frame.
“Enjoying the alone time, are you?” I tease.
She smiles in delight. “The water is warm and relaxing.”
My eyes drift over her cleavage. My cock twitches instantly, remembering how her breasts were just the right size for my palms when I claimed them, as though she was made only for me.
“You’re so enticing like this, I might not be able to stop myself.”
She smiles sweetly. “Then don’t.”
Satisfied with her answer, I stalk over to her and pull my shirt over my head.
Her cheeks turn rosy, and her mouth parts open. My eyes are glued to her breasts, then slide down her stomach. She makes an attempt to lower her body in the water, and I can imagine her squirming beneath the white liquid.
I stand next to the tub and peel my pants off, revealing a fully erect cock.
“I’ll join you.” I step into the water, and she automatically moves forward to make a space behind her. I stretch out my legs to her either side.
Her body is pressed to my chest, skin to skin. My erection pokes her buttocks, and she feels so damn soft underneath. I curse under my breath.
“Alayna, I’m going to come just being like this,” I whisper in her ear, and she slightly starts. I know this isn’t the time to be doing this with her, given our mission to rescue Oliver tomorrow, but I’ll take every chance I can get just to be with her. No one can know what’ll happen tomorrow.
I plant small kisses on her shoulder, and she tilts her head to the side to give me greater access, then my hands trail down the delicate skin of her arms. I love making her melt against me like this.
Suddenly, she turns around, and her bare torso is facing me. She holds on to my shoulders, breathing heavily.
She bites her luscious lip. “I want to see you.”
I chuckle, claim her mouth, and chew her lip, sucking it and pulling it slightly with my teeth. “Is that what you really want?”
“Mm.”
“You know, Miss Hart, I’m not that hard to please.”
I lift my hands to her stomach and cup her perfect tits with my palms. Lust pulses through me, and a moan escapes her mouth.
“Beautiful,” I murmur and swiftly lean forward, taking one of her nipples in my mouth. She fucking feels so soft.
“Brandonnn...” Ferociously I suck her breasts, one after another until she is utterly lost. She can’t decide where to hold me and grasps my head, the back of my neck, and scratches my shoulders with her fingernails. As my tongue circles her nipples, I feel the quivering of her thighs, so I pull her down so she can sit on my lap—her clitoris lands on my swollen erection.
Finally, an orgasm takes over her, and her eyes flutter. I feel her come against my cock underneath the water. This is the definition of torture.
“How easy it is for you to come when you give yourself to me, see?” My hands move back to her breasts and start to massage her, soothing her, my thumb circling her nipples.
“Only with you,” she murmurs. Her head collapses on my shoulder and her face on the curve of my neck. She feels so bare and so warm.
“Feeling better?” I ask.
She giggles. “So much better.”
I stroke her head, my arm still draped around her back. “Alayna, let’s finish your bath, and I’ll take you to bed. You need to sleep early.”
She lifts her head and pouts at me. “Already?”
I shove my fingers into her hair and feast my eyes on her beauty. I’m not sure I deserve this selfless woman. “You need your strength tomorrow.”
She kisses me softly and wraps her arms around my neck again. “Are you worried about tomorrow?”
“I’d be lying if I said no. But it doesn’t matter.” I stroke her head once more, gently, so she will relax. “Everything’s going to be fine,” I assure her, but those words are a question to me.
Is everything really going to be fine?
Still, I can’t tell her the danger lurking outside her mother’s house. She deserves to know, but I can’t ruin her mood. Tonight is all about her comfort, easing her body and her mind against the incoming storm. I’m afraid this might be the last time she’ll have peace of mind for a while.