Feathers and Thorne Series Books 1 - 3: The Complete Collection

Chapter Nine

Carter

I wait until Ernesto kicks the door in to throw the canister. It rolls across the floor, followed by a few loud coughs. Then there’s a cacophony of voices, a man’s and a woman’s, to be exact. After exchanging a quick look with Ernesto, we cover our mouths and step in. When the smoke clears, it reveals a small apartment with hardwood floors, a TV built into the wall, and a half-naked Lilian sprawled on the floor.

But that isn’t the thing that surprises me the most.

When more and more of the smoke clears, I see another body curled up on the floor. Stepping closer, I’m shocked to turn the man over and find myself looking at Rich Donahue himself.

The conniving bastard is skinnier than when I last saw him, and he’s lost a lot of the color around his face, but I’d recognize this vile being anywhere.

I don’t realize I’m laughing until I’ve hauled Rich up to his feet and thrown him onto a chair. He groans, and his head lolls to the side. Still laughing, I catch the rope Ernesto throws at me and use it to bind his hands and feet. Once my laughter trails off, I haul Lilian up to another chair and do the same so the two of them are side by side.

When I’m done, Ernesto comes to stand next to me, and the two of us exchange another look.

Holy shit.

I have no idea how Rich managed to fool Isabella into thinking she killed him, but I’m thrilled at the news. Because it means I can free Isabella from the demons tormenting her. And put a bullet through Rich myself.

After a long moment, Rich stirs awake first and tugs on his restraints. Once he realizes he’s been tied up, he pulls harder, and his eyes widen. When they settle on me, a look of pure horror is etched onto his face, followed quickly by fear.

“Of all the things I expected to find, this one takes the fucking cake.” I use my gun to gesture between the two of them. “I have to say the two of you really have outdone yourselves.”

Rich licks his dry lips. “There’s an explanation here. If you’ll just give me a chance—”

I point the gun at Rich’s foot and shoot, the sound reverberating inside my head. Rich cries out in pain as I kneel down on the floor and dig my fingers into his wounded flesh. “Did I tell you that you can talk? After what you did, you’re lucky I don’t drag you out of here and make an example of you in front of everyone.”

Rich’s face is white when he nods.

I rip off a piece of fabric and tie it around his foot. “You should really get this looked at.”

Rich presses his lips together, a thin sheen of sweat forming on his forehead.

“Carter, baby—”

I wheel around to face Lilian and press the gun to the side of her head. “Let me guess. You love me, and you were just using Rich to fill the hole inside your heart.”

Lilian nods slowly at first, matted hair clinging to her forehead. “Yes, that’s exactly right. I did what I had to do. Rich promised he’d help me take you down a peg or two, and he said he’d clear the path where that bitch is concerned—”

I slap Lilian across the face, and she winces. “Don’t ever say anything disrespectful about her to me again.”

Lilian twists her head back to look at me, and she has a wounded expression on her face. “But you and I were meant to be. Don’t you see? She’s never going to understand you the way I do.”

I make a low noise in the back of my throat. “So, you two have been working together all along, thinking that if you could just weaken me, you’d get me all to yourself, and your little boy toy was going to get Isabella.”

It’s devious, and I want to be surprised at the lengths they’re willing to go to, but I’m not.

Very little surprises me anymore.

Finding out that Lilian and Rich have been in bed together all along is just icing on the cake.

Lilian’s eyes fill with tears. “We only helped the Natoris and Philipses because we all had the same goal. I did this all for you, Carter.”

In silence, I pull out a chair from the dining room table and spin it around so the back is facing them. I drape one leg on either side and straddle the chair so I’m leaning forward in it. My mind races to sort through the information and understand what it all means.

Little by little, everything clicks into place. Except for one thing.

I use my gun to gesture between the two of them. “How far back does this go?”

Lilian swallows and glances over at Rich, who won’t answer. “A while.”

I stand up so abruptly the chair falls forward. “Since you and I were fucking?”

Lilian swings her gaze back to me. “Even then, I knew you and I didn’t stand a chance unless I stayed one step ahead.”

Anger, low and hot, bursts in the center of my stomach. It climbs up my spine and makes my chest tighten as I advance on Lilian. She throws her head back to look at me, and I see the fear dart across her features.

“How the fuck did you think that playing me from the start was going to help you?”

Lilian opens and closes her mouth several times. She swallows and clears her throat. “I didn’t have a choice.”

I spare Rich a glance, but he won’t meet my gaze. “So, you fuck me, and you fuck him, and now it’s come back to bite you in the ass. How does it feel to know that your allies sold you out?”

Rich scowls. “They wouldn’t have if you hadn’t made them.”

I snort. “That’s exactly right, and now I’ve got two rats in my trap instead of one. I’m feeling lucky today, so I’m going to give the two of you a chance to tell me the truth.”

“And then?”

I fix my gaze on Rich and give him a slow, chilling smile. “And then I’m going to kill the two of you. I should take my time with both of you because of everything you’ve done, but I’m feeling generous.”

And I’m not thrilled about dropping any more bodies today. Not yet, at least. But the blood lust hasn’t abated, only growing stronger since setting foot into the apartment. I’m impatient to go home to Isabella and tell her the news.

With another look in Lilian’s direction, I take a few steps back and duck into the kitchen. When I return, I eye them over the rim of a glass, and it’s clear they’ve been talking to Ernesto. He remains unmoved as he takes a step back and lowers his gun.

After downing the glass of water, I throw the glass onto the floor, and the two of them flinch at the shards of glass. “So, what’s it going to be?”

“The Natoris and Philipses were meant to hit you on one front while Rich and I attacked you on a personal level, making it harder for you to concentrate,” Lilian says, the words pouring out of her in a rush. “Once we were done, they agreed to spare your life.”

“And you thought you’d nurse me back to fucking health while Rich moved in on Isabella,” I finish through gritted teeth. “I should’ve known you were both pieces of shit. You two deserve each other.”

And the fact that they’ve been fucking each other the whole time makes sense now. Lilian and Rich are deprived and sick individuals who want what they can’t have.

Lilian’s lower lip trembles. “Please, Carter. I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t hurt me.”

Rich is studying me intently now. “Make it quick.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Lilian hisses, with an angry look in his direction. “Why aren’t you trying?”

“Because I knew the minute I went after Isabella at the manor that I was a dead man,” Rich replies without looking at her. “And when you visited Isabella at the hospital, you added the final nail to your own coffin.”

I take off my jacket and roll up the sleeves of my shirt. “Looks like he isn’t a complete idiot. Trash does attract trash, after all.”

Lilian mutters something under her breath.

I place a hand on Ernesto’s arm and lean in. “Stand outside and lock the door. Don’t come in until I tell you.”

Ernesto holds my gaze. “What if someone gets suspicious?”

I release his arm and straighten my back. “Take care of it.”

Before he can leave the room, Ernesto’s phone pings, indicating an incoming message. He fishes it out of his pocket and then holds it out to me. Already, several news outlets are reporting on the prison fight that broke out in Sing Sing.

A fight involving a disgraced former mayor who’s been fatally stabbed.

I give Ernesto a grim look and square my shoulders. “Thank you.”

Ernesto nods and hurries out of the room. When the door closes behind him, I wait for the familiar click before I turn around. Then, I drape my jacket over one of the empty chairs and roll my shoulders. I set the gun down on a nearby coffee table and crack my fingers together.

“Who wants to go first?”

***

Isabella

I hold the dress up to the full-length mirror and twist to and fro. “This is one of the nicest things I’ve ever owned. You know you don’t have to keep buying me things.”

Sam presses her elbow onto the bed and twists to face me. “I know, but I want to. Retail therapy works on all fronts, you know.”

I sigh and turn around to face her. “I wish it was that simple.”

Sam frowns and sits up. “Are you still having those nightmares?”

I drape the dress on the back of the dresser chair and sink into it. “I don’t know what to do, Sam. Every night, it’s the same dream.”

And each night, I woke up panicked and drenched in sweat, thinking Carter is going to take my baby from me. Logically, I know Carter isn’t that cruel, and he doesn’t have the moral high ground to take that stance with me, but a part of me does wonder.

If I’m not his precious dove anymore, then who am I?

Sam walks over to me and takes both of my hands in hers. “It’s a nightmare. A shitty one, but it’s not going to happen. Carter is not going to take your baby away from you, not because of Rich or anything else.”

I glance over her shoulder at the closed door and then back at her face. “You don’t know that.”

“Actually, I do,” Sam replies with the barest hint of a smile. “I’ve seen him over the past few weeks, and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but he’s really trying, Isabella.”

I blink. “What do you mean?”

“Tristan says he’s trying to do better and reign his temper in a lot more,” Sam admits, with a quick and guilty look over her shoulder. “I’m not sure if I should be telling you this, but I think it’ll help you to know that you aren’t the only one who’s trying.”

Knowing he’s making an effort doesn’t make me feel better. If anything, it makes me feel worse. Carter is becoming the man I’ve always known he can be. And I’ve turned into the woman we both feared I would be.

Fate really has a sick and twisted sense of humor.

“I know he’s trying,” I whisper before I withdraw my hands. “He’s been so patient and gentle, and I know it’s because he wants to show me that it’s okay, but…”

“But?”

“How can I be a good mother if I’m carrying around all this… shit? How can I bring a child into this world when nothing has changed? Even if Carter is trying, he can’t control the violence and chaos around him.”

No matter how much he wants to.

“For what it’s worth, I think he’s doing the best he can,” Sam replies after a brief pause. “I don’t know what you should do, but I’ll be here no matter what you decide.”

When she leaves, I strip out of my clothes and hurry into the shower. I’m washing the shampoo out of my hair when the door creaks open. I spin around and spot Carter through my curtain of hair. Wordlessly, he steps out of his own clothes and slides the door open. Blood and dirt trickle down his skin and swirl into puddles at our feet.

Sam’s words are still echoing in my head when I bridge the distance between us and kiss him.

Carter makes a low noise in the back of his throat and pushes us back, so my back hits the wall. His arms come up around me, caging me in his embrace. My head is spinning, and some of the tightness in my chest abates as we kiss.

I kiss Carter like I’ve been starving for air. Like I need him to keep from dissolving into a million pieces.

When I tilt my head to the side, he bites down on my lower lip, and I gasp. Carter’s tongue darts in, sending another wave of desire crashing over me. I dig my nails into his shoulders, and my knees go weak. Carter makes another noise in the back of his throat and wrenches his lips away. He presses hot, open-mouthed kisses down the side of my neck and over my jaw.

One hand darts between us and flicks my nipples.

“Carter, I—”

He presses a finger to my lips. “No talking, dove.”

I press my lips together and exhale.

Hot water cascades down his back, plastering his hair to his forehead. Carter kisses a path down the slope of my chest. He kneels down in front of me, and when his mouth grazes the inside of my thighs, I jolt. I wind my fingers through his hair and tug.

Carter growls and lifts his head up, a strange glimmer in his eyes. “Hold your hands up over your head.”

I do as I’m told and watch as Carter returns to grazing the inside of my thighs. He stops when he’s down on all fours in front of me. Then he sits back on his legs and hoists me up so my bottom half is pressed against his face, and my arms are almost to the ceiling. Startled, I make a low gasping sound and throw my head back. Carter adjusts himself, and his lips crash against my wet folds, searing and demanding.

He’s trying to prove a point, and I don’t care.

I don’t care that he’s not being gentle anymore or that he and I have a lot to sort out first. All that matters is how it feels to have his mouth against mine, to have those long, capable fingers ravaging every inch of my skin.

Until this moment, I had no idea how much I missed him. How much I needed him.

Carter growls into the kiss. I hear a rustling sound, and my eyes fly open when he sets me down and ties my hands together. Wordlessly, he sinks back down to the tile floor. When he glances up at me, there is a look of fierce and stark hunger on his face, the kind that sends another jolt through me.

He lifts my legs up over his shoulders and presses a kiss to my center. I nearly fall apart then and there.

“You’re not going to come until I tell you to,” Carter says in a thick voice. “Do you understand?”

I nod frantically.

Carter cups my ass and squeezes hard. “I didn’t hear you.”

“Yes, sir.” I breathe, struggling to calm my erratic heartbeat. “I’m yours.”

Carter plunges his tongue in between my wet folds, and I cry out.

Wave after wave of pleasure builds within me as Carter’s tongue darts out, licking and sucking. I’m completely at his mercy, with my back pressed against the wall, hands tied together, and my legs over his shoulders, but it doesn’t matter.

He has me right where he wants me, and it’s been weeks of being away from him. Or dreaming of this exact moment.

Carter is devouring me like there’s no tomorrow, and my pulse is moving in time to his movements. As heat and steam fill the bathroom, so do my moans. I can’t bring myself to care that Anita can hear us or that the whole neighborhood can probably hear the desperation and impatience in my voice.

Carter keeps one hand on my legs, and the other presses my breasts together. He flicks my nipples, only pausing when they’re as hard as pebbles. Then his free hand moves down to cup my ass, giving it another firm squeeze. Molten hot desire continues to pool in my stomach as I buck against him.

He makes a low noise in the back of his throat, and I fall. The force of my orgasm rips through me, leaving me writhing and shaking.

Carter lowers my legs, and I’m still shaking as he switches off the water and sweeps me into his arms. In one quick move, he carries me out of the shower, and my head falls against his strong, muscled chest. He doesn’t say anything as he takes me to the bed and sets me down on the mattress. My vision is still shifting in and out of focus as I glance up at him.

Then he flips me onto my back and pushes my arm back over my head.

“Fuck, dove. You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” He pushes my head forward so it’s pressed against the covers. “I want to fuck you all night long.”

I make a low-strangled noise, but I still can’t speak.

Carter kicks my legs apart and places one leg on either side of me. When he thrusts into me, I twist my arms over my head and try to touch him. He presses his head to the back of my neck and nibbles on my lobe.

“What did I say, dove? You’ve been bad, and you need to be punished.”

With that, he pins my arms back against the mattress and eases out of me.

When he slams back into me, I moan his name, a prayer and a chant on my lips. Carter is muttering unintelligibly in a low voice. I can’t make out what he’s saying, but I recognize the emotion in his voice, the same kind of feeling reflected in every moan. And every time I grind against him.

I want all of the obstacles and everything to melt away as if they never existed to begin with, but I know it’s not going to be that simple.

It never is.

Still, with each thrust and each groan, I feel closer to Carter.

Closer than we’ve felt in months, and as another orgasm looms ever closer, it’s almost as if nothing has changed between us. Each touch, each stroke, and each thrust brings us closer together as if we can fuse into one person. Carter’s movements are no longer slow and practiced, designed to torture me.

When he flips me over and I glance up at him, I see the unhinged look on his face, and I nearly come apart at the seams. He lifts my legs up over his shoulders and rams into me, filling me to the hilt. My chest tightens, and a gasp falls from my lips. Then he releases my binds, and my hands fall to his back. I rake my fingers over his smooth skin, and Carter hisses. He lifts my arms back up over my head and holds them in a vice-like grip.

I wriggle my hips and link my feet over his torso. “Carter, please.”

“Not yet,” Carter says in a deep and thick voice. “Not yet, dove. We still have a lot to make up for.”

Over and over, he eases out and slams back into me until the tightness in my chest swells and unfurls. Carter lets my legs fall on either side of him and secures my feet around his torso. With a growl, he places one hand on either side of the headboard and eases back out of me. I toss my head to the side and whimper. He chuckles and thrusts back into me with a grunt.

The bed dips and creaks underneath us. I smell Carter on my skin, and I want to bottle it up.

When he changes his pace again, his movements growing more and more frantic, I can’t tell where he begins and I end. I cry out when the force of my orgasm rips through me, leaving me panting and writhing with pleasure. Sweat pours down my back, and the sides of my face as Carter lifts my legs up over my head. He gives me a few more quick thrusts, murmuring my name the entire time.

As soon as his release comes, Carter’s body begins to shake.

Little violent tremors rip through him as he presses his forehead to the headboard and releases a deep breath. Slowly, he eases out of me and collapses onto the mattress next to me. After several deep breaths, my heart is still thudding painfully against my chest. I throw one leg over him and tuck myself into his side.

For a long moment, Carter doesn’t react. Then he drapes an arm over my shoulders and presses a kiss to the side of my head.

The smell of his sweat and sandalwood cologne washes over me as I drift in and out of sleep. Before I drift off, Carter stands up and snaps on a pair of shorts. He presses a kiss to my forehead and mutters something about food. Then the door creaks open, and he disappears into the hallway. I listen for his footsteps down the hall, fighting off sleep till the last second.

When it finally comes, I heave a deep sigh and bury my face against the pillow.