Page 52 of These Family Ties

It takes everything I have to keep the absolute panic from my face. Fuck. That’s two awkward conversations I was hoping to avoid. I shouldn’t be surprised, though. Nate and I have been casually seeing each other, heavy makeout sessions and all, for a few weeks with no definitive label or end in sight. Then I went and called him a friend. Which he is, as I’m now positive I don’t want him to be more. It’s such a dick move to keep stringing him along without a clean slate, though. With a heavy sigh and a nod, I step aside, waving my arm toward the hallway. “Come on in.”

He smiles wide as he steps over the threshold. I close the door, then lead him through the kitchen, inviting him to take a seat on the couch. He sits with his back to the corner, angling himself toward me and spreading his legs wide in a comfortable stance. I post myself at the opposite end and curl my legs under me, taking a deep breath to center myself. It’s silent for a while, and my nerves get the better of me, causing me to wring my hands. He came here, so I’ll let him gather his thoughts and talk when he’s ready. Finally, he sighs and shakes his head as he leans forward with his elbows on his knees, eyes on the ground. “So… friends, huh?”

I shift in my seat, not liking the darker tone his voice has taken on, but I guess when you go right to the meat of it that’s expected. “I…” He raises his bright-blue eyes to mine. “Yeah, friends, Nate.”

He scoffs like he did yesterday but doesn’t say anything right away. When he does, his words shock me. “So do you makeout with all of your friends like a whore?”

I’m stunned for a moment, unable to form a response to his harsh words. I open and close my mouth a few times before my voice starts working again. “What? No! How could you even think that?”

He rolls his eyes and sits back against the cushions. “Oh, I’m special, huh? The friend that gets to stick his tongue down your throat, but nothing else, right?”

“Nate, I’m sorry if you feel like I lead you on. I—”

“Lead me on? I’m fucking falling for you, Kyrie. Now you’re gonna tell me I’m nothing to you? That all the dates I put so much thought into were nothing? That I didn’t go out of my way to make you smile or hear you laugh? That those kisses, those passionate kisses, were between friends?” His shoulders are heaving, his voice louder with every question, his eyes ice cold as he stares me down. I’ve never seen Nate so upset, and it’s setting off my alarm bells. My heart is pounding, and my stomach is twisted into a knot.

I press my hands down on the couch, prepared to jump up and run as the tension climbs higher.

“I’m sorry, Nate. Really. I should have made myself clearer earlier. I don’t want to hurt your feelings, I just don’t—”

Nate wraps his hand around my throat, eliciting a choked gasp from me. His face is contorted into a look of rage with his skin turning red and his lips twisting into a snarl. His eyes are wild with a deadly look that makes my blood run cold. “Don’t what, Kyrie? Don’t feel the same? Hmm?”

He picks me up by my throat, and I kick my feet and claw at his hand, my lungs begging for air as he squeezes. “I get to taste your sweet lips, hear those moans? But I don’t get your heart?”

He slams me onto the floor, my back screaming at the impact, and throws his weight on top of me, wedging himself between my thighs where he grinds his hard length into my center. I’m still gasping and clawing at him when he brings his nose against mine, nuzzling it like a lover would.

“I felt you, Kyrie. The way you would get all hot and bothered when I touched you, kissed you. You had no problem dry humping me for your own satisfaction, but when I want more, it’s no longer convenient for you?” His words turn into a feral growl as he releases my throat, allowing me to drag in precious air.

Before I can bring my hands up to push him off, though, he’s grabbed a fistful of my hair and flipped me to my stomach. Ice fills my veins as sheer panic squeezes my lungs. “Nate?!”

He leans back over me, grinding his erection into my ass, and I choke back a sob. His hot breath fans over my cheek as he snarls in my ear. “I thought you were different, Kyrie. You spent all year giving me those shy little smiles in class, batting those pretty lashes while you giggled. You knew what you were doing. I watched you, all the time, everywhere I could follow you, proving to myself over and over how perfect you were for me. I couldn’t help but fall in love with you. Now that I have you, you think you’re walking away?”

“Nate, please stop!” My throat clogs when his zipper slides down. “No! Please, stop!”

I try to get my hands under me to push up, but his weight on my legs keeps me down. He rips my sweatpants and panties down to my thighs in one go, and I can’t hold back anymore. Tears stream down my face with chest-racking sobs, then when the bulbous head of his dick harshly pierces my opening, I shriek, “No!”

It all happens in slow motion, my mind taking far too long to catch up to reality. Before Nate can push into me farther, a fierce growl rumbles around us. Nate is ripped off me, and when I roll over, I see my seanathair.

He has Nate by his throat slammed up against the wall. Nate’s head bounces from the impact before Owen holds him there, squeezing the life from him. Owen uses his free hand to grip Nate’s tongue when he gasps for air, and Nate wheezes out a garbled screech. In a show of strength I never thought possible, Owen rips Nate’s tongue clean from his mouth. Blood pours from his mouth, and the scream he lets out through his attempts to breathe reminds me of a dying animal on Discovery. Owen keeps squeezing, a darkness clouding his eyes that I’ve never seen before, but it doesn’t scare me. When Nate loses consciousness, Owen drops him to the ground, but I can see the steady rise and fall of his chest, telling me he’s not dead.

Yet.

The dark thought shocks me, but should it? Nate tried to rape me. He… he did. Do I want him to suffer? Yes, I do. More than should be healthy, but perhaps it runs in the family. My mind flashes to the night I witnessed Owen kill that woman. Maybe the violence is ingrained in me, given to me by the very man who holds my heart so tight I don’t even own it anymore. He’s capable of making Nate pay, and a sick part of me hopes he will.

I stare wide-eyed as those thoughts swirl in my head before dragging my gaze back up to him. My seanathair. Owen. The burning look in his eyes is more than rage. It’s passion, desire, need, everything we’ve both been hiding from. I swallow hard against the dryness in my mouth, trying to find words to fit this moment, but before I can, he closes the distance between us. His bloody hands cup my face and drag me to my feet. His lips slam into mine, and I moan as I melt into his embrace, not even caring that Nate’s blood is getting all over me. His blood is perfect for this moment. A blessing, baptizing the chaos between us.

Owen

I don’t want to hurt her. The rage coursing through my body is all-consuming, and I’m afraid my touch will be too harsh, too punishing. When I walked into the house and heard Kyrie screaming for someone to stop, my heart began to pound. With that already boiling my blood, the sight of the twig I threw off my porch yesterday forcing his dick inside my princess as she screamed her protest turned my vision red. I wanted to kill him. I could have in that moment, but that would be too good for him. No, he needs to suffer until I’m satisfied he’s paid for what he’s done. Then, and only then, I might kill him. We’ll see how generous I’m feeling.

For now, I’ll allow myself to drown in Kyrie, my girl, my princess. I hold her to me as our lips consume each other. My hands slide down her body to find her bare ass, and I growl against her lips. I crouch down, dragging my lips down her jaw as I go, so I can pull up her pants. My hands shake with rage knowing that fucker stripped her down. When they’re settled back on her hips, I capture her mouth again. I clutch her ass, pulling her tight to me and lifting her against my body. Her legs wrap around my waist, and her arms wind around my neck. She clings to me with desperation, her lips moving against mine like if she doesn’t devour me we won’t be complete. I know the feeling.

Leaving the walking corpse to wallow on the living room floor, I turn and carry Kyrie out of the room. I’m not worried about him getting away, I’ve already made the call. I keep kissing Kyrie as I carry her up the stairs and turn right to go to my bedroom. I kick open the door, doing the same to close it behind me as I walk her to my bed. In all the time she’s lived with me, I can count on one hand how many times she’s been in here. That was by design, because having her in here leaving her scent was far too fucking tempting. Now? I will bathe myself and all my things in Kyrie.

After dropping her onto the bed, her tiny body bounces on the mattress, I remove my shirt. The sight of the blood stains I left all over Kyrie’s skin has me freezing in place. I never meant to mar her that way, she should always be clean. My brow creases in a frown as I look at her. “Let me clean you up.”

I go to turn away, but she lunges for me. Her small hands wrap around my wrist, her green eyes wide and pleading. “No. Leave it, please. I… I like it.”

My cock throbs in my pants; my princess has a dark side. With a groan vibrating deep in my chest, I pull my shirt over my head and drop to my knees to grip the waistband of her sweatpants. I will be the one she remembers peeling her clothes off her body. I will be the one she remembers touching her. I will be the one she remembers tasting her. I will be the one she remembers fucking her.

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