Page 19 of The Queen of Nightmares

“Because you were walking away,” I sighed, my breath fanning over his lips. “I have to know you will be here when I need you. And tonight, I needed you, but you weren’t listening. I know you have priorities. I understand that the club comes first. I understand that you have a lot of responsibilities, but I just want to know you will listen to me when it’s important. You can’t walk away and put me last.” I sucked in a shocked gasp as my head was tugged back by a handful of my hair at the base of my neck.

“You listen to me,” he snarled, his anger shocking me. I hadn’t seen so much anger directed at me before, not from him. “You are the only thing that is important. The club is nothing,” he spit out. “Next to you, it is meaningless. I told you before, you are my whole world. Without you, there is no me. So, if you want to leave, you need to stab a dagger through my heart first because that is what it will feel like as I watch you walk away.”

The fist in my hair wasn’t painful, but he held me so tight I couldn’t pull away if I tried. His body loomed over me as he eased his knees onto the bed beside mine. The hand in my hair tugged until my back arched, just on the verge of pain. He took my back to the mattress without letting go of his hold, and then his other hand moved to my throat in a tight grip. I could feel my pulse fluttering wildly under his thumb. Shame for my accelerated heart rate tried to surface, shame that instead of this large, violent man scaring me, I was growing wet from excitement. But he owned my body, and I had learned he would bring me nothing but pleasure when he touched me. I swallowed, then tilted my chin, giving him room to hold onto me more firmly.

He growled deep in his throat as he watched my reaction to his domination. He took my lips in a clashing of teeth and dueling tongues. My breath was taken from me as he carried me away on a tidal wave of lust and passion. I knew it would destroy both of us irreparably to be separated. I could only hold onto the deep hope that there was nothing we couldn’t work out together. That there was no problem too big to overcome.

I knew it was harsh, giving him an ultimatum, but he was a stubborn man who didn’t know the first thing about being in a relationship. But he’d quickly proven that he was the man I’d known he was. He was dedicated, loyal, and willing to do what it took to love me. The same as I was with him.

When black dots began to dance along the edges of my vision, Jack finally pulled back, allowing great, big, greedy gulps of air to fill my lungs. As I squirmed under him, Jack kissed along my chin, then down to my collarbone as his hand around my throat spasmed, even as the one in my hair released the tight hold.

I threw back my head as his hot mouth tightened around one of my sensitive nipples. I was hit with double the sensation as I felt the rough fingertips of his free hand skate along my neglected breast to settle over the nipple there. He pinched and pulled as I gasped at the pleasure mixed with pain.

With shock, I felt myself explode with an orgasm. Jack’s rhythmic sucking on one nipple and the rolling, pinching of the other had sent an arrow of heat straight to my clit, until everything inside me tightened before expanding forcefully outward. My back bowed, and my screams echoed in the room, making my own ears ring.

I was lying, boneless, panting in a daze when Jack’s smug tone had me cracking one eye open.

“We are going to be doing that again. Soon.” He ran both of his palms over my breasts, the sensation soothing as much as it made me shiver with awareness of what had just happened.

I narrowed my eyes at him. I wasn’t mad, but there was something about his overly self-satisfied expression that had me wanting to deny that he had anything to do with it. “I wonder if I can do it by myself.” I immediately kicked myself mentally for taunting him. I knew better than to poke the beast, especially when he was still worked up from our argument.

The hand I adored collared my throat once again as he moved his face so close to mine our noses brushed against each other. “Mine.”

Again, my breath was taken from me with another fierce kiss. His teeth nipped at my lips in between strokes of his tongue along mine. I melted back into the mattress, my whole body surrendering to anything and everything he was willing to do to me. By the time he was pulling back again, the self-satisfied smirk returned to his face. I was a melted puddle of bliss and willing to concede that he, indeed, was the only person alive capable of pleasuring me.

He tucked me into his still clothed body, his chest curving protectively over my back as his arms wrapped tightly around my waist. “Jack? Don’t you want to…”

He shushed my sleepy murmur and kissed the back of my neck. “You rest, little Queen. It’s my punishment for making you doubt me again.”

My eyelids were already fluttering closed for the last time, and I didn’t have the energy to argue with him. Though, I was going to make a mental note to kick his ass for saying such a ridiculous thing.

ChapterFourteen

JACK

Iwoke up the same way I had the last two months. The emotions that flooded me were all the same, with regret and shame filling me, quickly followed by determination. What was different were all the reasons. I had screwed up in so many fucking ways. I thought I had been protecting her by making her safe physically instead of staying by her side as she healed. I thought she needed space to recover instead of being the shoulder she needed to lean on. I had absolutely no experience in any kind of relationship, least of all with a woman, though that was no excuse.

I did have a fuckload of determination to make sure she understood how much I loved her and was never going to let her go. I may fuck up, but I learned from my mistakes. I didn’t know if she realized that if she somehow did manage to leave me, I would have chased her down. It didn’t matter how fast or how far. She wasn’t getting away from me. I wouldn’t survive it. How did someone live without their heart?

I pressed a kiss to her bare shoulder, inhaling deeply to take her scent into my lungs. Everything about her had quickly become vital to me. I needed her scent, her touch, the sight of her in my vision.

With a last brush of my nose against her soft skin, I slowly slid out of the bed. I was uncomfortable in my clothing all night, but just the thought of leaving her warmth was enough to have me sucking up any discomfort I felt.

Zero stretched in the corner where his bed was situated, his front paws extended with his rear high in the air, before giving a full body shake. He sat down and thumped his tail a few times. I jerked my head toward the door, letting him know he should go outside to do his thing before I expected him back in the room, keeping watch over our girl. He jumped to his feet, gave a quiet rumble, then turned tail to run out the door.

I did my own morning routine, making sure to keep quiet so Sally would be able to sleep in as long as she needed. After changing into fresh clothes, I had the electric tea kettle on, getting the water ready for when she finally woke. I wasn’t sure if her morning sickness was getting better yet or not. Yesterday morning, she hadn’t run straight to the toilet, but maybe that was just because I’d distracted her. Fuck if I knew how the shit worked. I eyed the drawer where I had last stashed the book I bought from the baby store in town nearly three months ago. It was informative, but every time I cracked the pages open, it felt like I was a voyeur into a world I didn’t belong.

While I plated the ginger cookies that she seemed to love for more than their anti-nausea properties, I made a phone call to the one guy I knew could get his hand on any weapon in existence. I had an idea for a very specific handgun that I thought my little Queen would appreciate.

I watched as Zero trotted into the kitchen, going straight to his water bowl. He took a few licks of his water and ate a few bites of his dry kibble before heading back down the hall with his tail held high. His chin was up as he marched back to the woman he saw as his. I’d have to grab him a big meaty bone from the butcher later to show my appreciation for his dedication. Even when I hadn’t been there for her, he had stayed by her side.

I set the empty cup next to the plate of cookies and placed a tea bag inside to wait for the moment I heard her stirring awake. I hoped she would sleep longer, but there was no telling when she’d wake up, and I wanted to be ready.

I felt my phone vibrate with a message and fished it out of my pocket. I wasn’t surprised at the report of more fucking around with our warehouses. I had guys on watch every minute of the day and night, as well as patrols throughout town. I’d stepped up the patrols ever since the first attack. When the message from the Boogeyman President had come through with his threats, I’d tripled them. He wanted me to hand over the club and the town in order to save my girl from his clutches? Fuck that. The whole situation was killing me inside. I would gladly sacrifice anything for my girl, but I couldn’t turn over an entire town to that motherfucker, not knowing that he would have it burned to ashes within twenty-four hours. There were too many innocent people that I had sworn to protect. No matter how much I needed Sally safe, I couldn’t let those who’d done nothing but help me when I’d needed it the most suffer. Sally needed to be alive and with me, but I wouldn’t be handing over control of my territory.

No. The answer wasn’t to sacrifice the town. The only true way to end the threat was to cut the head off the one making it. Oogie needed to die. Now that I’d finally backed Doc into a corner to become my VP, it was time to gather the club together to make a solid plan. The Boogeymen couldn’t hide away forever. I wasn’t going to play little boy games the way they were. Oogie thought he would wear us down by systematically attacking our resources, but all it was doing was pissing me the fuck off.

We were going to need to take the fight to him. The only way to get it done swiftly was to prepare for an all-out assault on his compound. I didn’t have the benefit of insider intel the way he did. I had a mole on the inside, but I could never get one into his inner circle. What I had would have to be good enough.

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