Page 22 of Reed

Chapter Twelve

Reed

After Leon leaves, we sit in silence until Ali excuses herself. Max turns toward me. “What is our first move?” His voice is strained, and I relate to his anger and the urge to burn the world down that I see in his eyes. I feel it as well.

“Time to find out everything we can about this Dennis guy,” I say, looking toward Jessie, Gabe, and Nick. “You know the drill, leave no stone unturned. I want everything on this fucker.” They all nod before standing up and leaving through the front door. I turned toward Max. “I’m not going to ask how deep you are in the Ricci family because I don’t care unless it becomes a problemfor Ali and the boys. However, do you think there is anyone who could help us out?”

“You care for her, don’t you?” Max leans forward, resting his elbow on the table.

“I do,” I say, mimicking his posture and never looking anywhere but his eyes. I’m not going to back down from anyone. Never have. Never going to.

“I might have someone that can help us. What do we need?”

“I need someone who can track down this Demon guy. We are good, but we aren’t that good.” I’m not arrogant enough to not admit when we need more help. We can track down anyone, and I know just enough to use the dark web, but by the sound of this guy means that my skills won’t be enough.

“I’ll make a few phone calls,” Max says, standing up. Ali comes back into the room and freezes when she sees him walking toward the front door.

“Caleb, where are you going? I thought we could talk,” she whispers.

He turns around immediately and heads toward her. I should leave them alone to have a moment, but I can’t. I don’t really trust him or his involvement with the family that caused my girl harm. “We will have plenty of time to talk. I’m just stepping out to make a call. I’ll be right back, Sarah.” He bends down to kiss her cheek.

Once he is outside, I get up and cross the room to pull her into me. She buries her head in my chest and starts to cry. I pick her up, and my body heats when she wraps herself around me. There will be time to indulge in my needs later. Right now, I need to be there for whatever she needs as her world shatters again. “I’m here,” I whisper as I head up the stairs and into the master bedroom.

“I can’t believe this is all happening. My brother is alive and working for the family that tried to kill him. I’m being stalkedby the guy who abused me for years. And I’m in the arms of my fucking teacher. Who I slept with last night,” Ali says, her cries becoming louder. I gently lay her on the bed and crawl up over her body. Her eyes are closed, and her face is scrunched up in pain. I know it’s not physical pain but mental pain. I want to take it away, but there is nothing I can do about it. Not right now, but soon, I will eliminate everything that dares to harm her.

“It will all be okay. No one is going to hurt you or the boys. Never again. Not as long as I have a say in the matter. I promise.” That promise is the easiest thing I have ever said in my entire life. Slowly, Ali’s tears run dry, and her sobs subside. “Can I ask you a question?” I’m still hovering over her, with her thighs on either side of me. Of course, my dick is hard because the fucker is addicted to her, but I choose to ignore it.

“I guess,” Ali says, running her hands up my arms.

“What name do you want me to call you?” Her gray eyes bounce between mine with a hint of confusion in them. “Sarah, Kate, or Ali?”

“Ali,” she sighs. “Sarah is gone. I stopped being her the minute they loaded me in the ambulance, and I watched four caskets get wheeled down the church aisle on a laptop. Kate died the moment Dennis didn’t listen to my pleas to stop. I’m Ali. She is strong and independent, and I like her.”

“So do I. Can I kiss you?” Every nerve ending in my body is on fire, and all I want is to lower myself down on top of her. I want to make her forget, even for a moment, all she has gone through today.

“Please,” she whispers. I don’t wait another second. I close the space between us and slant my lips across hers. She kisses me back with so much fire that I’m not sure how the bed hasn’t caught a flame. Her nails dig into my back, and her legs wrap around my waist, pulling me snugly against her.

My hands move to the bottom of her shirt, and I pull back away from her pillowy, soft lips. “I need your consent,” I say in a growl. Ali nods her head and tries to pull my mouth back to hers, but I don’t let her. “I need words.”

“Fucking kiss me, Reed. Take my clothes off and do things to my body that no one has done before,” she demands.

I groan but give her what we both want. I pull her shirt off, and my mouth waters at every inch of her skin that I unveil. Reaching around her, I unbuckle her bra and toss it somewhere behind me. My mouth latches onto one of her nipples that have pebbled in the cool air around us. I flick my tongue over it, and she bows her back, pushing me closer. My fingers pinch and play with her other nipple. I thrust into her and groan at the friction of my jeans. With a loud pop, I switch breasts, licking and nibbling at the other. Ali’s hands are threaded through my hair, keeping me in place.

“I need more,” she begs.

“Where do you want me?” I ask against her skin.

“In… inside me.” Ali moans, the sound going straight to my already hard dick. As quickly as possible, I strip out of my clothes as Ali watches with lust-filled eyes. This is the first time she has seen me naked, and I love the way her gaze feels. When I push my pants down, releasing my cock she gasps. I might not have the length of others, but I make up for it in girth. “Shit,” she says, and I watch her throat as she swallows loudly.

“Take your pants off and show me what’s mine,” I demand, wrapping a hand around my shaft and squeezing hard to hold off the orgasm that is quickly building in me. I will not come until I’m deep in her. I hesitate for a moment, thinking she won’t listen, but her hands go to her pants, and she pushes them down. After she kicks them off, she wastes no time spreading her legs, giving me the perfect view of her pink, glistening pussy.

I walk over to my bedside table and pull out a condom, tossing it on the bed beside her. Ali’s eyes follow my every move. I crawl on the bed and back in between her legs. A moan falls from both of us when my dick slides against her. “At any point, if you want to stop, all you have to say is stop. Had I known your past last night, we wouldn’t have had sex,” I say, using my fingers to grip her chin, making sure she is looking right at me.

“Don’t do that. Don’t regret or look back on last night as anything less than what it was.”

“What was it?” I raise an eyebrow and cock my head to the side.

“Perfect. Now shut up and fuck me, Professor Black.” I growl at her use of my name like that, and Ali smiles like she knows exactly what it does to me.

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