Page 38 of Wicked Vengeance

Alek turns my body around, bearing my back in all its hideous glory to him. A hiss escapes my lips when the loofa makes contact with my fresh cuts.

“But you don’t have to be strong here. Not with me. The weight of the world isn’t on your shoulders alone anymore, Raena. Break. Fall apart. I’ll pick up the pieces.”

“How? How do I do that?”

“Give it to me. Tell me what happened this time. Let me bear it with you.”

He continues to softly scrub away the blood that’s dried and crusted to my skin. A sob breaks through, stealing my breath. How do I tell him what happened? What he did– what they did. What if he doesn’t look at me the same? “Get it out of your head, Baby Girl. Just start at the beginning. What happened at Twisted?”

“It was my mom.” My knees buckle beneath my admission, but his arms band around me, pulling me back into his hard chest.

“I’ve got you.” He holds me like I might slip from his fingers and vanish again. “Take your time.”

I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, allowing the warmth of his body and the comfort of his overwhelming presence to seep into my soul, grounding me. I don’t feel bad about what I had to do, but a part of me always wanted more from my mother. I always envisioned her getting her life together. She would apologize for abandoning me, and I would forgive her. She would be a part of my life. But those were the foolish dreams of a child who wished she was enough for her mother to want her. Enough for her to change and do better. The woman I am now knows better.

“My mother traded me to King. The first time and this time. She– she traded me to save herself.”

His hold on me tightens, pressing me into him like a second skin. “I have experience with shitty moms. My mom offered me to her friends, let her friends…” He trails off. I don’t need to hear the rest of it, I know. His mother is no better than mine.

“I’m so sorry, Alek.”

“I’m sorry, too. We don’t get to choose our family, our blood. That’s why my brothers and I chose to become brothers, and we chose you, too. Our family is different because we choose every single day to put the ones we love above everything else. We protect each other– save each other– because we all know what it feels like when the people who are supposed to love you, supposed to take care of you, hurt you the most. You and Em, you’re family now, just as we are yours. We take care of our own.”

“There’s so much I need to tell you. So much I’ve learned, but I can’t go another minute without saying this.” The words can’t leave me fast enough. I can’t wait any longer. “I love you. I know it’s fast, and it doesn’t make sense— and I don’t need to hear it back right now. When I thought I was going to die, over and over, I wished I would have told you sooner. I wish I would have told all of you sooner.

“I never thought I’d see my daughter again. Thank you all for looking out for her when I wasn’t here. Not just this time, but for the time I spent thinking she was dead. Thank you for protecting her– loving her when I couldn’t be there.”

“Say it again,” He whispers, his lips against my ear as he stands as still as a statue under the spray of the shower with me.

“Thank you.”

“No. The other thing.”

A smile tips the edge of my lips. “I love you.”

He spins me around in his arms, picking me up until my legs wrap around his waist.

“Again.”

“I love you, Alek.” I’ve never seen him smile as big as he is right now, but I don’t miss the tears pooling in his honey eyes.

“No one’s ever said that to me,” he whispers, the gravel in his low voice doing things to my lady bits pressed against him that they have no business doing right now.

Tangling my fingers in his wet hair, I pull him down to capture his lips with mine. My heart breaks that no one has ever told this big beautiful, kind-hearted man they love him. I’ll tell him everyday, until our days are over.

“Well, I’m glad I could be your first, Daddy.”

Alek spins us to the side, and my back hits the cold tile wall with a thud, drawing a hiss from my lips. “Oh shit. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t you dare stop, Alek. I need this. Please.”

“You’re hurt, Baby Girl. I’m not going to hurt you more. I’m sorry. I got carried away. Just let me take care of you.” I know it’s irrational, but that doesn’t make the rejection sting any less. Luckily, all of my shame went out the window when my three boyfriends inspected my butthole for injuries earlier, so I don’t really give a shit right now.

“You are taking care of me. Now fucking kiss me, Daddy.”

His restraint snaps, and his lips descend on mine in a second, but my gentle giant makes sure to cushion my back with his arm so it's not against the wall. He kisses me like he’s drowning in me, desperate for the air only I can breathe into his lungs.

When he pulls back, we’re both breathless. I should be embarrassed that I’ve made a mess against his warm skin, my pussy begging to be touched, but I’m not.

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