Ours (Blood Ties Book 3)

She slept, eventually. Curled in the corner, refusing the bed, just like I knew she would. Her breaths were steady and deep. But her body betrayed her, twitching and jerking, fighting demons in her sleep. I stared at her clenched fists until my eyes burned. But I didn’t dare close them…not in this place. Demons didn’t just wait for us in our slumber…they waited here, as well.

Somewhere in the hallway the faint snap of a lock sounded.

“No,” a woman pleaded, her words faint. “No, I won’t go…I won’t—’

Then there was nothing. I waited, waited so fucking long…

But there was just silence.

Christ, this fucking place.

Red…

Red coated my world. Red lace at my feet. Red that stained these hands. I flexed my fingers, still feeling the pulsing of her pussy. I’d tried to draw her back from the darkness, tried so fucking hard to keep her safe. Look where that had gotten us. I wanted to never see red on her again. I looked her way, desperate to lose myself in those gray-blue eyes until I stopped existing. Maybe then, I might touch perfection.

Because she was…pure perfection.

“Tobias,” she called my brother’s name. “No…”

I winced at the sound and looked away, at the half-eaten sandwich discarded on the floor at her feet. No matter how hard I’d tried, she refused to eat.

“Don’t go…” she whispered.

I swallowed that sting and turned away. Still, it stayed with me, as well as the last thing Nick ever said…fix it. Fix it or you’ll lose her forever.

I’d tried to fix it, and gotten my brother killed. I closed my eyes and inched toward that black abyss waiting for me. I was a dead man anyway, one living on borrowed fucking time. I was under no illusion about that. As soon as they found a workaround for whatever Jack Castlemaine had on them, I’d meet the same fate. Only this time, there’d be no quick end. No, the fucking Priest would see to that. They’d take their time, drag it out…make an example of me, if only to break Ryth. They’d break her and there wouldn’t be a goddamn thing I could do to stop it.

I hung my head.

“Don’t worry, T,” I whispered. “I’ll be joining you soon, brother.”

My hands shook as fear wormed its way in deep.

“Caleb.”

I jerked my gaze her way. “Yeah?”

“I can’t feel my foot.” She shifted her gaze from my trembling hands and clutched her leg.

I moved in front of her and grabbed her calf. “You’ve had cramps all night.”

She was tight, her muscles quivering as I kneaded until she closed her eyes. “Oh, that’s it.” She flinched, that crease in her forehead growing deeper. “Right there.”

It didn’t matter how deep that abyss went for me. This was what I focused on. Caring for her, protecting her, as best I could. I worked her muscles until they slowly eased. She was so small under the fleece, too fucking small. But still she didn’t eat.

The sound of heavy steps drew my gaze to the door. My gut clenched and panic rose as the lock snapped and the door opened. Two women dressed in black stepped in. I scanned the lace they wore and their clasped hands as I pushed to stand.

Two guards followed. That was bad enough…until the bastard they called The Teacher followed. He scanned the room, that stony gaze settling on Ryth. “Ms. Castlemaine. It’s nice to have you back with us.”

Ryth pushed to stand beside me. “Fuck you.”

She glanced at the women as the last guard through locked the door behind him.

“Seeing as our normal clients are unable to visit us, you will assist us in their training,” The Teacher said carefully. “After all, it was due to the disruption you caused.”

“What?’ The color drained from Ryth’s face.

“No.” My pulse raced as I moved in front of her, glaring at the guards. “You heard what her father said. She’s not to be trained.”

“No.” The Teacher shifted that empty stare my way. “She won’t be trained at all. But you will assist us in their training.”

Sonofabitch…

“After all, you’ve already given us a taste of what we want, haven’t you?” He looked at the CCTV camera in the corner of the room.

I clenched my fists. Rage burned deep. The piece of shit had been watching. Even with my back to them to shield her, they’d watched it all. I bet they fucking enjoyed it too.

“Amber,” The Teacher directed. “Get on your knees for Mr. Banks.”

Blood rushed from my face, leaving me cold and empty.

“No.” Ryth’s hand found mine, her tone dangerous. “Take a fucking step and I’ll kill you.”

The Teacher smirked. But he said nothing, just reached into his pocket and pulled out an image before turning and sticking it to the wall behind them. It took me a second to realize what the image was…then I did.

“You bastard.” Ryth lunged. I moved fast, catching her before she did any damage. “You were watching us?”

The Teacher just held her stare. “Always.”

Always…

I stared at the image on the wall, remembering that night like it was yesterday. It was right after our parents were married, when all four of us were left alone in the gardens outside the reception…and Nick was on his knees.

“You watched us.” I repeated her words. “How fucking long?”

“From the very first night.”

The very first night…the breath was snatched from my chest. This wasn’t just a spur of the moment reaction to what we’d done with Ryth, was it? No…this was planned from the very beginning. From the beginning.

From the beginning!

Still, I couldn’t stop staring at the image taped to the wall. It meant something and more than the realization this shit ran deeper than a woman and her daughter turning up on our doorstep in the middle of the night with nothing more than a garbage bag for their clothes.

No, this image said more…

My gut clenched as T’s face rose in my head. T was dead…and Nick…Nick was…

“You have him, don’t you?” I met his stare, finding that fucking glint shimmering a little brighter.

“No…” Ryth whimpered.

I wanted to reach for her hand, but I couldn’t move. I was frozen by the curl of those hard lips. My gut dropped, falling hard.

“Where is he?” I forced out the words.

Still, he said nothing. I took a step closer and the guard moved with me, stepping in front and shaking his head. But I didn’t care about him. “I said, where the fuck is he?”

“Amber.” The Teacher held my stare. “On. Your. Knees.”

Movement came in the corner of my eye as one of the women stepped closer and stopped in front of me, then slowly sank to the floor. But this wasn’t about their training, was it? They already knew what to do with their mouths, and their hands, and their pussies.

No, this was about training me.

I didn’t flinch, didn’t move, as Amber reached for the buckle of my pants. I saw myself in this woman. I was made to perform, jerked and manipulated by men like this.

Crawl.

Killion’s voice resounded in my head as she unbuttoned my trousers. I glanced at the photo of Nick on the wall. The threat couldn’t be clearer…do this…or else. I closed my eyes…

My zipper lowered. My gut clenched. I was going to be sick…I was going to be…

“Perfect.” That sick voice filled the room as a warm hand closed around my cock. “This is the art of seduction, correct?” The Teacher spoke and all I wanted to do was throw up. “Where we empty the vessel of our own being and fill it with the pleasures of another. You do not exist in this moment. You are not here. It is only about them…their wants, their needs. You are nothing more than a mouth to suck and a cunt to fuck.”

“No!”

I snapped open my eyes as Ryth whipped her hand backward and slapped Amber across the cheek. The woman fell sideways and her hand lifted to her face.

“You fucking touch him!” Ryth jerked that savage glare to The Teacher, stabbing the air with a finger. “You fucking touch him, and I swear to God, I’ll murder you all.” She glared at Amber and the woman had the good sense to cower.

My little sister moved in front of me protectively, just like I’d done for her. This time the roles were reversed…

Or were they?

That sick fucking smile on The Teacher only grew wider. “You don’t like the training I provide, Ms. Castlemaine?” He motioned to the floor at my feet. “Then by all means, fulfill the obligation yourself. This is our training exercise for the day and it will happen, whether you like it or not.” He stepped closer, towering over her.

I clenched my fists, taking in the sight. The coldness. The way he looked at her, like he knew exactly how she was going to react…because the bastard had planned this all along.

A wounded sound tore from the back of my throat. I shook my head as I understood this wasn’t about me. Nor was it about Nick or Tobias. It never had been. It was only about her. “Ryth.” My heart pounded. “It’s okay.”

She shook her head, still holding that bastard’s stare. “No, it’s not. They’re not touching you, Caleb. They’re not touching you, because you belong to me.”

“Then by all means,” The Teacher murmured, his hand tilting, motioning for her to kneel.

Slowly, Ryth turned.

“No.” I shook my head.

What we had wasn’t meant for this…or them. Still, she fixed those stormy eyes on me and stepped closer, past Amber, who shoved back from us, clutching her cheek.

“Mine,” Ryth’s voice cracked as she stopped in front of me. “Only mine.”

My pulse was booming as she knelt and, lowering her gaze, reached for my pants. Her damn fingers shook, but Christ, if I didn’t want to take this over another fucking woman’s hands on me. I’d done some dark, fucked up things…but not that. I never wanted to do that.

She stopped, her hands shaking so fucking bad as she reached for me. It was all I could do not to come apart. “Do you remember the last time we were together, little sister?”

She closed her eyes for a heartbeat, and nodded.

“Look at me.”

She did, obeying my every word, just like I knew she would. That connection between us was instant, just like it’d been since the very first moment we’d been together. The memory of her body raged inside me, my hand over her mouth, my thumb finding the panicked flutter of her pulse as I’d dragged her backwards into the pantry.

“You’re doing so good.” The words came out of nowhere. I savored that moment, then and now, as she pulled out my cock. I reached down, dragged my fingers through her hair, and stared at her throat. “So damn good.”

They said nothing as she bent and opened her mouth for me, sliding the head over her warm tongue. A lick, and I shuddered. My voice turned husky as I cupped her head as she took me in. Warm, so fucking warm. “In the bedroom.” Deeper…sliding her tongue along the length, her small hand gripping the shaft. “My hands around your throat while I fucked you.” She took more, driving that fist along the shaft all the way to the base.

Christ.

I grew hard. “You hated me.” I tried to focus, tried to help her through this. “Still, you were fucking wet when I fingered you, weren’t you? Your sweet, perfect fucking cunt was dripping. Fuck, I loved fingering you, loved how shy you got. How that mark on your cheek still burns when I push into your pussy. I love the way you squirm, clenching around my fingers like a good, fucking girl.”

Deeper.

Slicker

My fingers sank through her hair as her head bobbed. “That’s it, princess.” I closed my eyes. “Worship me.”

Her mouth grew wet and I looked down, clenching my fist in the strands of her hair and pulled out just a little. Strings of saliva came away with me. She met my gaze with that look of innocence, so goddamn sweet. So fucking pure.

Pure enough to ruin.

Christ, I wanted to ruin her.

I wanted to ride that sweet body.

I wanted to fuck her until she screamed.

And in those perfect moments when she fully gave herself to me, I wanted to take her into my darkness and make her mine.

Make her mine…

The eye of my cock twitched. The head blushed and glistened from her mouth, making my breaths deepen. I pushed her back down. My hand around her throat. My cock in her ass. I wanted her to watch us in the mirror while I filled her with my come. I closed my eyes as she took all of me. “Fuck. That’s it, little sister. That’s it, swallow.”

One hand gripped my thigh, the other pumped my shaft as she pushed her head down, forcing me to the back of her throat. My balls tightened with the rush. My hold was relentless, taking every inch she was prepared to give. Still, she didn’t buck…as I… “Ugh…ughhh.” I opened my eyes and looked down, coming hard in her mouth.

Her throat worked. That throat which had felt my grip. I leaned down, pulling my hand from her hair to clamp around her windpipe. But it wasn’t to hurt. I just wanted to feel. “Swallow, little sister.”

She did. Those muscles working under my hold, tightening, moving, taking every drop down. “My good little whore, aren’t you? My sweet, perfect whore of a sister…” Hard breaths consumed me as I stared into her eyes. “Fuck, I love you.”

Her lips parted, and slick coated her tongue as she stared at me. It was just us…just this—always this.

And behind us…the slow fucking clap of praise. Clap…clap…clap… “Well done,” The Teacher murmured, his eyes bright and shining as he smiled. “Well fucking done, indeed. What a shame you’re not to be trained, Ryth. You are a goddamn natural if I’ve ever seen one.”

She flinched and pressed against me. My body still twitched, heavy and spent. But I didn’t have time for that. I released my hold around her neck and tucked myself back in to my pants. “Let us go.” I straightened as Ryth rose to stand beside me.

The Teacher just stared at Ryth like he wanted her on her knees for himself. I lowered my gaze to the bulge in his pants. That wasn’t going to happen…

Ever.

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” he answered, slowly turning toward me. “But I appreciate your effort, that was…delicious.”

“You fuck.” I sucked in hard breaths as he just nodded to the guard, who unlocked the door and opened it. Amber pushed upwards and hurried out, leaving the other woman and the last guard to follow. Until there was just him…

Who looked at Ryth once more, before he turned and strode out, leaving us alone…