The Promise (Wolfe Creek Duet #2)

13

DAMIAN

I’m staring at the dozen video feeds on my computer. Most are from the cameras positioned around the house. A couple are from Thea’s studio. I watched her walk out the front doors thirty minutes ago.

She hasn’t sent me her usual text that she’s on her way home.

I don’t have a camera in the parking lot, I’ll need to add one, I note mentally. She didn’t start driving for fifteen minutes. I sat there watching the blue dot of her phone’s location remain in place while I slowly became more anxious.

Finally, it started to move, but my mind tries to figure out why Thea sat there for so long. I try to push the worries away. She’s on her way home—that’s all that matters.

I’ve been biding my time. I wanted Thea to cool down from the news of Adrian. While they aren’t exactly getting along, they’re at least keeping their distance from each other. My brother mostly stays in his room except to use my bathroom and get something to eat.

Now that I’ve given her a few days and the property will be officially hers soon, it’s time for her to make good on our deal. I need to release some of the pent up tension. Between work, managing my family, and Adrian’s nightmares, sleep has been hard to come by lately.

It’s been more than a little difficult staying away from her—the gun range was my breaking point.

Watching Thea handle that gun did something to me. She looked so fucking powerful that I couldn’t help myself. We are her catalyst. She is our queen of darkness. It’s never felt truer than in that moment when she hit the center of the target, despite me distracting her.

Thea isn’t one to fuck with. She might not realize that yet, but she will, in time.

I’ve watched her flinch every time she’s seen one of us handle a gun. Fear is far more dangerous than a weapon. She needed to understand that. Since coming back from the range, she hasn’t flinched once. I’m so proud of her.

I don’t always want her to be fearless. Fear gets her off in the right circumstances, so it’s a delicate line I walk—keeping her on her toes for her pleasure and making sure she can overcome it when she really needs to.

Looking over at the corner of my desk, I smile at the mask I picked up from the local Halloween store that popped up a few weeks ago. Its skull face is detailed with deep ridges and a bloody triangle cut deep into its forehead. The jaw and teeth are also bloody. Paired with a black hoodie, this will be perfect for our first encounter.

From the corner of my eye, I see Thea pull up in my Audi. I grab the mask and pull up my hood, heading toward my bedroom door. Stopping, I step into my closet, opening the door to Adrian’s bedroom. He’s on the bed, drawing with headphones on. Good.

Sutton’s back at the bookstore and Wes is out with a client. They’ll be back soon. It’s getting late, so I’ll have to be quick. This isn’t something I want them all watching—it’s a private moment for Thea and I.

I make my way into the living room just as Thea’s opening the door. Slipping the mask over my face, I pull the strings of the hoodie tighter and hide behind the fireplace.

Her satchel hits the island. I track her movements, peering through the cutout, just beyond the charred wood. She disappears.

“Damian?” Thea calls out.

Her legs come back into view. Crouching down, I can see her leaning over the island on her phone. This is my chance.

Silently, I creep around the corner of the fireplace. The mask makes my breathing seem loud and I’m worried she can hear it too, but she doesn’t show any signs of sensing me. Inhaling deeply, I rush her.

My arm wraps around her waist, pulling her tight to me, and her phone slips out of her hand, sliding across the counter. My free hand covers her mouth. I can feel panic vibrating off of her as she struggles against me and her breathing comes out fast against my palm. Fuck, this is hot.

Thea screams against my hand. Shit. I don’t want her getting Adrian’s attention. This could all be over before it even starts. I twist her around to face me. Her eyes are wide and terror gripped. Then I see the moment of recognition when she realizes who’s behind the mask. The fear’s still there, but so is the trust.

I want to kiss her, but I can’t. It’s probably for the best—tenderness has no place here. I spin her back around and yank her pants down. She tries to pull away.

“What are you—”

I don’t let her finish. My palm comes across her ass fast and hard, making her yelp. Red blooms over her skin. She’s paler now that summer’s over and I love that the color’s much more prominent.

“Dam—”

I land another slap on her ass. She’ll learn eventually. Thea’s looking back at me over her shoulder, eyes watery, yet her jaw is clenched tight. I think I’ve got her attention.

“Remember our deal?” I growl through the mask. I want her to know that this is the start of it. Her throat bobs before turning her head forward.

“Yeah, I remember.”

I grab a handful of her hair, pushing her down onto the counter. Leaning over her back, I tell her, “Don’t forget, you don’t want this.” As I start to push my pants down with my free hand, Thea uses my distraction to her advantage.

She throws her head back violently, making the fist holding her hair crash into my face. The shock of it throws me off balance and the pain of the mask digging into my skin on impact gives her the perfect opportunity to escape.

Thea awkwardly makes a run for it, her pants halfway down her legs makes it hard. I push past the aching of my face and chase her. With one hand, she tries to pull at her waistband, tugging upwards, but it’s useless.

She’s put the island between us. Smart move. Darting to the right, she tries to get to the stairs. I throw myself over the counter, landing on top of her, ignoring my aching body. I might be in shape, however, I’m beating myself up more than usual with this exercise.

Thea struggles beneath me—I’m impressed. But it’s not enough. I sit on her back, holding her arms down as I use my foot to push her pants all the way off. It’s not easy. They’re nearly painted on her and her ankles don’t want to cooperate. Thankfully, she kicked off her shoes when she walked through the door, otherwise this would be impossible.

“Damian! Stop!” she yells. I won’t. If she truly didn’t want this, she’d use her colors. Until I hear red, I’m not stopping.

I work on my pants next. Somehow, that’s even harder than getting hers off. I’ve worked up a sweat by the time I’m naked from the waist down.

Letting go of Thea’s hands, I give her room to move a bit. I want her on her back, but she needs to do it. If I try to force her, she’ll just do the opposite of what I want. Like I predict, she turns over, looking up at me straddling her.

As soon as she’s on her back, her fists fly up, swinging at my face. The sight of her trying to fight me makes me chuckle.

“You’re a fucking pig,” she shouts, bucking her hips up. She nearly throws me off of her. I catch her wrist as another fist flies toward me. Then the other one as she instinctively throws it. My grip is crushing and I think she might have bruises tomorrow. That doesn’t stop me. “You’re hurting me,” she whimpers.

It’s probably true, but I can read Thea. She’s playing this up. I’ve seen her take pain far greater than this without making a sound.

“Tell me you don’t want this,” I challenge her. “Tell me you aren’t needing my cock in you. Tell me the fear isn’t turning you on.” I harden my gaze through the mask. Her eyes shift away and her cheeks pink up. Yeah, you want this.

My dick is aching to fuck her. Gripping her wrists harder in one hand, I use my other to push into her. Wetness drips over my fingers. I pump into her a few times, then spread her slickness over her pussy.

My eager cock finds her entrance and pushes into her—the warm tightness of her makes me groan. The look on her face tells me she likes the feel of it, too.

“You want this, don’t you? You’re a slut for the fear. Tell me.” Thea bites her lip, refusing to speak. I take a wrist in each hand, then pin her arms down to her sides. Leaning in, I growl, “Tell me you want this.”

“I don’t,” she snarls. “Get off of me. I don’t want you.”

She almost has me convinced. My ego takes a hit and I have to remind myself that she’s playing a role. I just didn’t think she’d be able to play it so well.

I thrust into her. Then I do it again, paying close attention. She’s fighting the pleasure that wants to take over. Her breathing, her parted lips, and her eyes rolling back are dead giveaways. And something about her body reacting like this despite her venomous words thrills me.

I want to push her farther. I want to deepen the scene. “What will your boyfriends think when they find out I’ve ruined you? Will they want you anymore?”

Her head snaps up and the look in her eyes could kill a man. That might have been too much too soon. Then she throws her head back and cackles. I stop mid thrust. Christ, was it that cheesy? As quickly as she starts laughing, she stops.

Looking me dead in the eyes, she says, “They’ll hunt you down and death will be the least of your worries when they find you.” Those words send a rush of fear and satisfaction through me. I know this isn’t real. I’m her boyfriend, but the way she says it scares me a little. Then, I’m so fucking proud that she knows we’d do anything to avenge her.

“Then I’ll die knowing I took the last of your dignity.” I slam into her as the last word leaves my lips. And I don’t stop.

We lose ourselves to the moment. I’m some stranger forcing myself on her and she’s a girl who doesn’t want this. She makes sure I can’t forget it.

“Get off me. Get off me. Stop!” Her words only push me closer to the edge. “Stop! I don’t want you. Stop!” Her voice is cracking as she arches her body up, her breath coming faster. Thea can’t stifle the moans she’s trying so hard to hold back any longer.

Any other time, I’d make sure she comes first, but I have very little self control right now—it’s all too much. I try keeping my rhythm steady, praying that she gets there before me.

“Fuck. Damian… Fuck… Oh my God!” Her pussy clenches around me and I let myself go. My body tenses and we both come together. My grunts and her screams mix in a wild symphony I could listen to on repeat.

As I come down from the high, I look up at the camera in the dining room that’s probably captured this whole encounter. Yeah, I’m going to need to save that clip. I collapse onto Thea, finally releasing her wrists.

She pushes my hood back and takes my mask off—her eyes sparkle as she looks up at me. “That was… amazing,” she pants out before bringing my lips to hers and kissing me. It’s so unexpected that I’m barely able to kiss her back. She pulls back. “But you smell like Adrian. Did he wear this?” Thea tugs at my hoodie.

I shake my head, then rest it on her chest, mesmerized by the thudding of her heart and wondering what torment’s going on inside of her that this didn’t faze her. She should have some other emotion after an encounter like that. She’s had more of a reaction from far less intense experiences. Thea’s showing no signs of dropping and that worries me.

A heavy weight builds in my chest. Something doesn’t feel right. I need to figure out what’s going on.