PROLOGUE
Hyperventilating like there was no air, I banged on the crate, my fists becoming splintered and aching. There was no escaping this fate. There was no leaving any of this behind. I was about to be shipped overseas and worked to the bone. This was the end for me. I’d flown too close to the sun, tried to get ahead of myself. I was never meant for a good life, I was meant to be the fall guy for a drug runner.
Everything turned to a dripping Jell-O right before me, suffocating. I tried hammering my fists against the wood more. I tried calling out for help. The palms of my hands ached, the pain it was killing me.
“Art,” a soft voice pulled me. “Art, you’re having a nightmare.”
Gasping for air, my eye opening painfully wide in the dark of the night. “I—” It was all my dry throat could let out.
“You’re ok,” Donovan said, stroking my back with one hand and holding a glass of water to me with the other. “Everything is ok. You were having another nightmare.”
“It’s so warm in here,” I said before gulping down the entire glass of water. “You’re trying to kill me.”
He kissed my cheek. “I’ll play with the AC. I swear hotels throttle this shit to keep us boiling up.”
“I like the heat, but not when I’m dripping in sweat,” I said, laying down to feel said sweat now cold and uncomfortable in my space. “Eugh. Can we request a new bed?”
Donovan climbed out of the bed. His naked body catching the light from the moon outside. I stared at his ass jiggling and as he turned, he cupped his cock and balls, hiding them from me. “I’m not putting on a show,” he said. “You’ve got to give him a break.”
“I just had a nightmare,” I said, pouting. “Pweese can I see him?”
He removed his hand and helicoptered his cock for me. It wasn’t doing anything to help cool me off, but the couple stabs of the air con remote did the trick. “What was it about this time?” he asked. He climbed into the bed and pulled me out of my sweat patch. It was a king size bed—plenty of space to move around.
“They’d got me in the box,” I said. “This time, they’d sold me. I couldn’t hear where I was going. I’m sure there was some antiques in the box. I just—don’t remember the name. Or the people.”
“We’ll figure it out,” he said, kissing me on the forehead. “And when we do, I’ll kill every single one of them.”
“I want to do it,” I said.
He laughed and shook his head, pulling mine into his chest. “No way, you’ve got your baseball bat for when we’re chasing them down, but you’re not touching a gun.”
I liked that he’d do anything for me. I stayed against his chest for a moment longer, listening to his heartbeat as it raced.
“And then once it’s all over, we’ll go somewhere nice and warm, outside of the US.”
He rubbed his chin on the top of my head, nodding. “Away from it all,” he said. “You’ve got to promise me that you’ll always be safe. Don’t look for trouble. Don’t do anything without me.”
“What?” he snort-laughed. “Like you’re going to leave me long enough that I do anything alone. But I do want to practice self-defense, even if it’s just to get an edge over you in the bedroom.”
“That’s all consenting,” he said. “I’d love to see you try pinning me down. I know you can’t. You’re my tamed little brat.”
“And you’re my dangerous Daddy.”
He hugged me tighter. “I knew you liked being a good boy really.” He pushed my head back and kissed my forehead . “But I promise, I’ll always be there. So, don’t put yourself in the middle of this shit. Understood?”
I groaned. “Yes, I know it’s dangerous.”
“And I’m your protector,” he said, forcing my head to nod. “Good boy.”
I reached down his hairy chest, down those thick muscular abs, and reached for his cock through his bush. “Can I?”
“Ok, but if you make a mess, you clean it up.”
There wasn’t going to be a mess—I swallowed. It was like sealing the bond we’d made. We were unbreakable.
1. ARTEMIS
Revenge was a dish best served bloody. I took the final blow at the people who attempted to kidnap, traffick, and—or force me to work as a drug runner. I saidno, thank you, bitch, and popped a bullet right through that sucker’s head.
