Page 79 of Filthiest Of Them All

Before he can answer, I shift forward and stand in front of her. She cranes her neck back and meets me with a hardened stare, her blues a storm of emotions. “I warned you?—”

“Your warnings mean shit to me. You said not to go to a club and shake my ass to make you jealous, this is me showing you I don’t give a fuck about what you want, Alex. I’m here because I didn’t have a choice. There was no way I was going to let you hurt Dawson.”

My jaw locks as I close the sliver of space between us. A shiver works its way through her from my close proximity. “Say his name again and see?—”

“Dawson,” she purrs the fuckers name and smirks. Without any warning I bend and toss her spiteful ass over my shoulder. She kicks and screams but the guys do nothing. Vatican shoves the back door open for me.

“Bye, Tate.”

“Fuck you, Carnage!” she screams and I step outside and stalk toward my house. “You better be ready to cuff my ass to your bed because I’m running the first chance I get.”

“I’ll chase you and when I catch you, you and I both know what’ll happen, Tatum.” She clamps her mouth closed and remains silent. When I enter my house I stalk toward the bed and toss her onto it. She squeals and bounces up and down. I can’t stop myself from staring at her tits and black triangle swim top. My mouth waters with need to taste her.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she scolds as she scurries off the bed. She straightens her top and pats down her denim shorts. My gaze snags on the tattoo across her collarbone again. I reach out and trace the tip of my finger over it. She begins to tremble but doesn’t push me away.

I read aloud. “4221 A.D.” She darts her tongue out to moisten her lips, her eyes begin to fill with tears and I hate the look of pain etched into her beautiful face. “What does it mean?”

She swallows then blows out a breath. “I got it after I was released from the hospital.” I close my eyes and force myself to remain calm and meet her stare again. “I… I needed to keep a piece of you with me,” she admits as her first tear falls. I reach out and cup her cheek but she pushes my hand away. “I was left with a fucking tattoo because the real thing wasn’t there. I was alone and terrified and all I wanted was you. I’ve never had a person before and I let you be that for me. I fucking let you mean something to me.” Agony is etched into her words and it kills me to know I’m the cause of her pain.

“What does it mean, Tatum?” I push.

“4221 means forever together to love one another. It was something Nova taught me. I’m sure you’re smart enough to figure out what A.D. stands for,” she spits the last part. then shoulders past me. I swivel around and reach for her but she leaps out of reach. “I’m going for a shower and your ass is going to stay right here. I mean it, Alex. I’m not falling back into bed with you. I’ll bide my time here until spring break is over and then I’m going back to school…alone.”

I don’t stop her. The urge to kick the door and ignore her plea is strong, especially when I hear her crying, but I respect her enough to let her deal with all of this on her own time. I set out some clothes for her on the bed. When she steps out of the bathroom, I nearly die from the sudden loss of blood that raced to my dick.

“Bambi,” I growl in pain. She just scoffs and saunters toward the bed naked! I bite down on my fist and whimper. When she bends over and flashes me her pussy, I nearly cum in my fucking jeans. If I stand here a second longer, I’ll lose control, throw her on the bed and fuck the anger out of her until she forgives me. I storm into the bathroom and slam the door closed. The sound of her laughter has me grinding my teeth to the point of pain and my hand itching to spank her ass for being such a defiant little shit.

My shower is ice fucking cold, that’s nothing new to me at this point. Every time I think about her I get hard, it’s fucking frustrating. It was so much easier to manage my urges when she wasn’t standing naked in the next room. I step out of the bathroom and head straight for my drawers. I pull on a pair of sweats and snatch a shirt, then tug it on. When I turn around and see the place is empty I lose it and race out of the house. I head toward the main house but slam to a halt. I slowly swivel toward the pasture and know where she is. I sprint through the long grass. The closer I get, the more sure I am that she’s out here. I spot her sitting beneath the lone tree and all the panic drains from me at the sight of her safe and unscathed.

She doesn’t turn to face me or even acknowledge my presence. My chest is burning from exertion, my breathing is rugged from sexual need and from fucking running fast enough to rival Usain Bolt.

“You once told me this was her favorite place,” she says quietly. I sigh and sit down beside her, leaving an inch of space between us. I bend my knee and rest my arm over the top of it, staring out at the nothingness in front of me. The stars are shining so bright tonight. “You also told me she was your breaking point.” I nod, feeling her gaze on me but unable to look at her. “I told you I couldn’t compete with a ghost, Alex, and I meant it.” I close my eyes and breathe through the pain in my chest. “I envy the way you love your sister. If my brother loved me even a fraction of the amount you love Ellie, I wouldn’t be here right now.” I snap my head toward her and stare into her eyes, hating the grief I see in them.

“I would have found you regardless of how he felt about you, Bambi. There isn’t a place in this world you could hide from me.”

“I hid out at CHU for months without you knowing.”

I smirk which has her frowning. “Did you ever ask Vox who paid for your tuition andsingledorm?” Her eyes widen and her jaw unhinges.

“What?” she shrieks.

“Baby, I knew where you were this whole time. I made sure you would be somewhere safe while I finished what I started. I left you, Tatum, because I wasn’t good enough for you then.”

“And what? You think you are now because so much time has passed?”

“I told you loving me would be like loving time, you would never know how long you had. I didn’t want my hour glass to run out before I got to experience life with you.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Five years ago I bought the freedom of me and my brothers from the De Santis Cosa Nostra. I thought we were invincible. We built the Denver Kings and were making something of ourselves until two years later I lost my light. My world turned dark. I was sent to prison for the murders I didn’t commit, thanks to Thomas. I thought my life was over until Vivian helped me get my freedom. I was angry. I thirsted for vengeance and I knew I wouldn’t be able to rest until I avenged my sister. She became my breaking point.”

Tatum nods sadly. “I know. She’s the center of your world.”

I shake my head and reach out to cup her cheek. She nestles her face into my hand, needing the comfort I offer. “She was.” Her brows furrow. “My world was dark and lonely. I had one mission, get justice for Elenor, but then a blonde haired cyclone came into my life and flipped everything upside down. I didn’t know it until it was too late, but Ellie wasn’t my only weakness. You are my greatest strength and weakness, Bambi. Seeing you chained up…” I clamp my mouth closed and force myself to breathe through the anger. “I couldn’t save you.”

“I didn’t need to be saved, I just needed you to know I would risk it all for you. I had a plan and I just needed you to trust me to save us both.”

“And you did.”

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