A Captive Situation (Kings of New York)

The bed depressing under someone’s weight woke me up at the same time I heard Jake’s mocking voice. “I’ve not had to keep quiet because of parents for a long fucking time.” He was climbing into my bed. My childhood bed. Taking the corner of my blanket, he flung it off me.

“What?” I surged upright in my bed.

I was seeing things.

Jake was here.

Jake was in Montana.

“Jake?”

“Hi,” he whispered, still laughing under his breath. He leaned over me and nipped at my mouth before resting his forehead to mine. “I’ve missed you.”

“You’re here?” I grasped both of his arms, not wanting to let him go.

“Yeah. I’m here. I couldn’t stay away any longer.” He moved to the side and slid under my blanket.

The reality of our location hit me. “This is my parents’ house.”

“I know.” He settled on my side, his gaze raking me up and down. Dark approval was in those eyes of his. I could see enough from a little light plugged in the room’s corner. “I’m liking what you’re wearing.” His hand ran to the end of my shirt. Correction, his shirt.

“How the fuck did you get this?” he asked.

“I stuffed it in my purse when I ran. I wasn’t sure if I’d get more clothes. I was on the run.” When I pulled it out, I burst into tears.

His smirk fell away, and he grew somber. “You’re not anymore.” His hand slid to the back of my head, his fingers sliding through my hair. He tipped me up to see him better and he angled himself so he was almost gazing down into my soul. Almost directly above me. “I made a deal.” His voice grew hoarse.

My heart faltered. My hand rose to press against his chest. “What kind of deal? What about Blake? Is Blake okay?” My voice rose. “And why are you just now finding me? It’s been two months. Two months! You asshole.”

He gave me a resigned smile, laying his head down, still watching me. “She’s fine. And I had to stay away because I needed to make sure EJ was safe. I’m sorry, baby.”

I might’ve swooned at that name, but still gave him a look.

He snorted out a laugh. “My lunatic.”

I grinned. “Better.” I reached for his hand, entwining our fingers. I lay down, too, in shock. He was here. I needed to ask more about Blake, but later. Right now, I couldn’t stop focusing on Jake. I flattened my hand against him and slid it upward, my palm flat against his skin. It went to his neck, where I could still feel his pulse. I closed my eyes because in that moment, all the fear I’d been holding over the last two months flooded me.

I choked out, “I’ve been so scared you were dead.”

“Sawyer,” he rasped out, curling me up to him as he moved both of us so he was lying down and I was tucked into his side. He pulled my legs over him, continuing to move me gently until I was curled in a ball on top of him. His head lifted up, touching against mine, and I let out a sob. He soothed, “I’m okay. I’m alive.”

I fisted his shirt in my hands. “But are you going to stay alive?” The fear was so strong inside of me.

One of his hands ran down my back, sliding up under his shirt and tucking into the back of my panties. “I’m safe. I will be safe. We’re okay.”

Another shudder wracked through me, but I looked up at him. I needed to see his eyes when I asked this next question. “What was included in the deal? I need to know all of it.”

“You.” His other hand touched my bottom lip, pulling it down a little. “Me. EJ. Anyone you love. Anyone EJ loves. That was the deal.”

I let that sink in before I sat up, now fully straddling him. He adjusted with me, moving so he was sitting against my bed’s headboard. My legs sank down on either side of him, and his hands went to them, anchoring me against him. I closed my eyes, giving in for a moment, savoring the feel of him between my legs. I rocked forward.

His hands tightened on me, pulling me to him as he groaned.

God. That felt good. So fucking good.

I paused, opening my eyes to see him watching me. His own serious. Dark with lust. My chest rose up and down in a slow breath. “I thought Blake already made that deal?”

He nodded, his hands running up my legs. “She did, but she disappeared almost right away. Lane would’ve used that as a loophole. So I made a deal with him myself.”

“She disappeared?”

“Yeah, but she’s okay. She didn’t disappear because of him or to go back on not making sure you guys are all safe. It was a sort of inevitable thing she needed to do, but it’s all good. I helped her sort it out too. I was doing that before I came here.”

“What about EJ?”

“He’s good. That’s where I was the last month. I went to California and introduced myself to EJ’s half sisters and Tab’s husband.”

I wanted to hear more about that situation, but the Lane part was nagging at me. “What’d you have to do to get Lane to agree with upholding letting all of us be alive and torture-free?” Or worse. “What’d you give up so he’d agree with that deal?”

He shook his head, leaning toward me. His hand returned to the back of my head, cupping me. “Nothing that you need to worry about.”

I braced a hand to his chest. “Jake.” His heartbeat pounded through his chest, into my hand. It distracted me momentarily. “I need to know what kind of deal you made.”

His lips twisted down. “I gave him something that he’s been wanting the whole time. That’s all. I’m not trying to keep it from you, but I need to tell someone else first.”

“Who?”

“One of the guys from the city.”

I frowned. “One of the Mafia guys?”

He nodded, silent.

“The one you like?”

His lips twisted again, finding that amusing. “Walden and I have always had a weird dynamic. We’re friends. We’re enemies. We’re going to be more enemies than friends from now on.”

My frown deepened.

His hand began rubbing over my leg, tugging me to ride over him. He added, “But that was his doing. Not mine. Not yours. He did that, so the deal I made with Lane closes a door to us. That’s it. The only consequence is that we can’t go to the city again.”

My lips parted. “Ever?”

“Not for a long while.” He blew out a ragged breath. “Is that okay? I know you just met your cousin. And you had that list of tourist things you wanted to do. We can’t go back there. Not for a while. It won’t be safe. I’m sorry about that, about taking away that city from you.”

“Stop.” I pushed up against his chest again, climbing higher on his lap. “I don’t care about that right now.”

“But you can’t visit your cousin.”

I waved that off. “Graham can come here. He is coming here.”

“You never saw a Broadway show.”

“I can watch something on television and pretend I’m there. Have you met me? I have a good imagination. Plus, there’s no line for the bathroom here. Or there isn’t usually. Snacks are significantly cheaper too. If I get drunk, I don’t need to worry about my safety on the subway or if I should cab it home.”

“I still feel bad.”

I rolled my eyes. “Like my aunts won’t figure out some way to get into that city? They’ve been antsy, waiting to reach out to Blake. Maude’s the worst. It’ll be fine.” I laid my hand to his face, cupping it. “You told me you love me. Don’t think for a second I’m ignoring that.”

He snorted, his head resting back as he shook it from side to side. Slowly. “I do love you. And I don’t know what the fuck goes on in your head sometimes, but no. I didn’t come all this way, driving through the goddamn mountains to say goodbye, if that’s what you’re thinking.” He suddenly jerked forward, stopping two inches from me. His next words came out fierce. “I came to get you.”

My mouth parted even more. My chest began pounding. “What . . .” I licked my lips. “What does that mean?”

He pulled me forward, his hand fisting tightly in my hair. He growled, possessively. Primal. “That means you’re mine. A war was already brewing, but for you, I lit a match and dropped it. I’m going to let the whole city burn for you.”

I didn’t know what that meant, but he came for me. Not to say goodbye to me. Not to leave me again. My body sagged forward. He caught me, easing me down gently. My head went to his neck and he cradled me against his chest. His lips grazed my forehead before he whispered, “I love you. I have no clue when it happened. If it was already in that subway train when I made up an excuse to talk to you, or when I saw you at the police station, or when I tasted you for the first time. I don’t know, but it happened and I’m never letting you go. I love you.”

Warmth burst through me.

So I started crying.

Of course.

I lifted my head again, finding him watching me. So serious.

A new tenderness shone from his eyes. “I’ve always walked the line between the two worlds. I was half-Mafia. Half-cop. I had to be both. For me. For Justin. I didn’t know how far over the edge I was willing to go. A part of me was scared to find out because if I did, then who was I going to hurt because of it? I was already trying to protect Justin, my sister, and EJ. My life was fucked, Sawyer. It wasn’t mine. I was living in the gray and I couldn’t find my footing. All that changed when I got you. Everything suddenly made sense. I know exactly how far I’d go to keep you safe. I’m still walking that line, but I’m doing that for me. Right here, right now, there’s no one else pulling my strings except me. I’m both. I’m bad and I’m good. I’ve got no problem doing what I need to do to protect the people I love. That’s you. You and EJ. You are mine. There’s nothing I won’t do to keep you alive. You formed the foundation under my feet and I finally know who I am, all the parts of me. You help meld it all together. You make everything make sense. You gave me that clarity. You gave me freedom.”

I caught both sides of his face in my hands, more tears sliding down my face. “Jake,” I whispered.

“Are you happy here?”

“What?” I blinked away some of the tears.

He wiped them away from my cheeks, repeating, “Are you happy here?”

“I . . .” I didn’t know what to say until the truth hit me hard. “I’m happy with you.” I touched his chest and his hand covered mine, keeping it there. His heartbeat picked up, thumping even stronger.

“My life is done on the East Coast. I can’t guarantee no one will come after me, but as it stands now, I don’t think they will. EJ knows about me. Tab knows what happened. She’s not happy, but I don’t give a fuck anymore. I cleared everything so if you wanted, we could go to California. Unless you’re happy here? Your family is here. I’ll go back and forth to see EJ, but I won’t stay away any longer.”

“What are you actually asking me?” My head was swimming.

He moved both hands to mine, keeping it anchored to him. He stared hard at me. “I want you with me for the rest of my life. That’s what I want. I want you as my woman forever. I want a partner. I want you as my family. That’s what I want, but I’ll go where you are. If it’s here, I’ll move here. If you want to go to California, I’m sure EJ would like that as well. But you and me. That’s what I want.” He caught my bottom lip again, his eyes searching inside of me. “Is that something you’d be okay with? I want you. I want all of you. Forever.”

Love filled me. Happiness. Peace. I leaned forward, my forehead returning to its spot against his, and I breathed into him, “Yes. I want all of that. I love you.”

His mouth found mine, and I let myself get swept up in everything that was Jake Worthing.

The kiss was rough, demanding, and soon it was desperate. It’d been too long since we’d been together.

He picked me up, turning, and laid me underneath him. His hands found mine, pinning them above me. “How quiet can you be?”

“What?” I surged up against him, grinding against him. He felt so good. I began panting.

“We’re in your childhood bed, and babe, I want to do some dirty things to you here. I’ll ask again. How quiet can you be?”

I gasped. “My parents are here.” But as I said that, I wound my legs around him and arched up into him. He wasn’t moving, so I’d move for both of us. I kept rubbing against him. Pleasure began building. I moved faster, harder against him. The ache was back, starting to throb between my legs. I wanted him inside of me.

“I’m aware. So are you going to be quiet, like a good little girl?” he teased before nipping at my lips, then slid one possessive hand down my body, slid his shirt up and off me. His hand quickly found my breast, circling it. His thumb ran over my nipple.

I moaned. “Jake.” That felt so good.

“I’m going to fuck you.”

I moaned again as his lips found my throat, tasting me.

“But you need to keep it down or your parents are going to catch us, because once I’m inside of you, I’m not leaving. You got that?” His hand continued its slow descent, sliding down my stomach, over my hip, dipping between my legs. His finger circled my clit, rubbing over it, and my body shivered.

“Jake.” I reached for his shoulders, trying to yank him up to me.

“No. Not yet.” He ignored my hold, moving farther down. He pulled my panties off, then he was back between my legs.

His tongue circled me, and I arched, the hunger erupting inside of me. I needed him. I needed him now.

He slid inside of me, thrusting deep with his tongue.

My legs wrapped around his head.

He groaned, eating me up. “You taste so good. Always so sweet.”

He kept tasting me, his tongue sliding in and out as he built the pressure inside of me. When he sucked on my clit, long and hard, he slid two fingers deep into me at the same time, and it was enough. I went over the edge, soaring over it and almost frantically. I yanked myself up off the bed, using him as leverage with my legs clasped so tightly around his head. He lapped everything from me, continuing to lick me and then soothe me through my release until my body lowered back down to the bed.

My legs fell to the side, now feeling boneless. My whole body seemed to melt into the bed, but Jake growled, his teeth grazing the inside of my thigh before he lifted, then positioned himself at my entrance. I felt his cock nudge my opening. “I’m still safe.”

I nodded, pulling him into me. “Me too.”

He slid inside of me, bare. Pushing all the way, both of us went still at the feel of him. I was so full.

He groaned. “Fuck. You feel good. Tight.” He began moving, moving out. Pushing back in.

Carnal desire inflamed me.

He picked up the pace, thrusting almost wildly. Rough. Hard.

I loved it so much.

I loved him so much so I told him, whispering, “I was tossed out like the trash when you met me.”

He tensed, raising himself up to see me, but he kept moving inside of me, just slowing.

What he was doing to me, showing me, was a beautiful thing. He needed to know this about me. “He made me feel like I was the garbage, and I ran away.”

He laid a hand against the side of my face, thrusting in again.

Another tear slid free. I ignored it, saying, “He broke me down, Jake. It’s the only reason I stayed with him for so long. He was using me, and a part of me knew it. I let him use me because at some point, he made me think I couldn’t get anything better. That I didn’t deserve anything better. He conditioned me so that I accepted the crumbs he was giving me, and I stayed. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t in love. But I stayed and I couldn’t understand why I stayed, but then I met you.” I pulled my wrist out from his hold, reaching up and framing his face as he continued sliding inside of me. My legs were wrapped around him, moving with him. The pleasure was bursting out of me. The love. The sun. He gave that to me. He had to know. “I ran to you. I just didn’t know I was running to you until you caught me. You fought for me. You protected me. You saved me. You did it because you love me. I never got that from him. It’s all I’ve gotten from you because that’s who you are as a man. You make me feel beautiful. You make me feel priceless. You are ruthless. You are reckless at times. You can be calculating and brash. Blunt. Rude. But I love every part of you because when I met you, I found me again.”

Another moan left him as he bent over me, grabbing the headboard. He began fucking me harder. Deeper.

I closed my eyes, my head falling down as I let the sensations ride over me.

“Fuck, Sawyer.” His head fell down, his body blanketing me, but he continued to pound me. A new frenzy came over both of us. He turned so he could see me, his hand reaching for my mouth, hooking my head so I could see him too.

We were both breathing hard.

Our bodies clambered to get even closer to each other, if it was even possible.

“I love you,” I whispered, my eyes wetting.

“Christ.” He raised his head up to find me, his mouth covering me, and he breathed into me. He pounded into me, holding deep as the pressure sped through me. My release spread through my entire body, making me tremble from the aftershocks. He shoved an arm underneath me and held me up against him in a firm grip. Then his teeth raked over my shoulder as he thrust a few more times until I felt him swell inside of me. I grasped onto him, holding him to me this time as he released inside of me.

He collapsed on top of me.

A moment later, he rolled to the side, grabbing my face. “I’m never fucking letting you go now. Not that I would’ve before, but all that shit you just said. You cemented your fate to me. Never leaving you. Never letting you go.”

That made my heart soar. “Promise?” I raised up my pinkie.

His eyes turned molten before he wrapped his with mine. “Promise.”

There. Forever.

Someone knocked on my bedroom door.

My mom called through it, “Sawyer? Are you awake in there?”

We both tensed, before falling into quiet laughter.

Jake grinned at me, smoothing some of my hair behind my ear. “You should’ve been more quiet.”

I grinned back, shaking my head. “No.” Because it was perfect.

All of it was, just, perfect.

Wait. Not totally perfect.

I held a hand to his chest, stopping him from kissing me again. “One second.”

Jake lifted up, giving me space.

I rolled over and reached for my nightstand. I pulled open the drawer and grabbed the knife inside.

He had a careful measured look in his eyes as he watched me lie on my back again. “Sawyer.” His voice went low. “What are you doing with that?”

I smiled at him, letting him see all the love I had for him. He relaxed into my touch. “Told you that you wouldn’t see it coming. I’m keeping a promise to myself.” While he was busy staring into my eyes, his muscles continuing to relax, I flipped the knife around and then impaled it on his leg.

There.

A strangled cry left him before he quickly tried to muffle it. “What? Why?” He was breathing through the pain, the force of it making him lose some of his color.noveldrama

I gave him a soft peck on the lips. “Payback. Stay here. I’ll grab some first aid for you. I don’t think you’ll need the hospital.” I climbed out of the bed and padded barefoot into the bathroom.

Turns out, he did need the hospital for a few stitches.

Now it was perfect.