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That man is surrounded by desert up in Bakersfield. Adonis does have a large property and a soundproof basement; however, he has a baby now, and I don’t think Soren would enjoy the things I’ll be doing to those fuckers once I get my hands on them. I’ll talk to him about my reservations later on.

“You think he’ll want to get his hands dirty?”

“I think he’s got to be bored way out there by himself.”

Devlin Cormac is a mysterious man, but if he’s still the same sadistic son of a bitch he was when we were teens causing shit together in San Diego, I think he’ll enjoy a little impromptu visit from an old friend.

We went to the same hole-in-the-wall high school, where the walls were crumbling, the teachers didn’t give a fuck about anyone, and drugs were more prevalent than textbooks. We were both out to build an empire, though. Out of the four kings of California, I’m closest to him. Yet despite the years since we’ve seen one another, I know he’ll have my back, especially once he learns someone attacked my woman and endangered my children.

CHAPTER 18

Hester

The world moves silently around me. People talk to me…around me…but I don’t hear any of it. The buzzing in my ears won’t stop; it’s the only thing penetrating the fog that’s settled over my brain.

Blood.

So much blood.

Much more than any person should lose and live.

I feel it dried on my hands, under my nails, on my clothes. The intense smell. Like burning copper, and I swear it’s in my nose, caked in my nostrils, and it’s never coming out.

I blink at the blinding lights, registering where I am for the first time in what feels like days. But it’s only been hours, right? I remember the sirens, police shaking me, Miles looking panicked.

Closing my eyes, warmth seeps into my body for the first time, and I know it’s because he’s here. Cato, my Daddy, he’s holding me, keeping me safe.

The dam breaks, and I sob in his embrace, maneuvering myself so my limbs are wrapped around him as I cry and scream into his throat. His strong arms envelop me as if he’ll never let me go, allowing me to purge everything bottled up inside.

His rumbling chest indicates that he’s speaking, but I can’t hear him over the sounds of my own torment. He moves with me as I break apart in his arms, and the sound of water breaches the buzzing in my ears.

He places me on the counter, waiting until my hold loosens enough for him to step back to look at me. His eyes, perfect milk chocolate, capture my own, and he speaks in a hushed tone.

“Kitten, I’m going to help you into the shower to clean up now, okay?” I nod in response, and relief loosens the lines around his eyes as he exhales a deep breath. “I lost you for a minute.” His warm hands cup my face as he holds me still before lowering his head until our lips touch, breathing life back into me.

“H-h-h-have y-y-y-you h-h-h-heard…?” I can’t bring myself to finish the question; my stutter is worse than ever.

“Not yet. Miles is on it. I’m sure he’ll have an update once I get you into some clean clothes, yeah.” I can only nod again as he helps me remove my bloodstained clothes. “Don’t look,” he instructs as I’m about to glance down at my body. It must be bad if he’s saying that. I can feel it on my skin. Sticky, crusty, heavy. “Come here.” He picks me up again, not even allowing me to look in the mirror.

Standing me up under the spray, he tells me to close my eyes as I tilt my head back. A second later, he steps in with me, and I lean into his strong hold, letting Cato take care of me. He washes my hair and my body, gently wiping my face with a cloth. None of it is overtly sexual, yet my body still responds like he’s seducing me.

Continuing to cry with each touch, everything overwhelms me, and I can’t get control of myself. Cato shuts the water off once he’s satisfied with how clean I am. Grabbing a fluffy towel from the bar outside the shower, he wraps me up before quickly toweling himself off. The man is all sculpted muscle with not an ounce of fat. His chest hair makes me reach out, wanting to touch a part of him because nothing is safer or more comforting than this man who has encouraged me, protected me, and treasured me.

Never in my life did I think I’d find this kind of devotion or feel like I could reciprocate it, yet he’s opening all kinds of doors for me. Opening my eyes to the fact that I deserve to be loved just as much as anyone else.

“Daddy,” I sob brokenly and fall into his chest just in time for him to catch me.

“Aw, pretty girl, you’re breaking my heart.” Tackling my hair with another towel, he keeps me pressed into his body, then discards it and picks me up. Both of our body towels slip free, and we’re pressed together flesh to flesh.

“P-p-p-please, Daddy.” I need to feel him inside me, to have that elemental connection between us that makes me feel so alive. Nothing can touch me when Cato possesses my body.

“You sure, kitten?” My back hits the closed door, and he slides into my pussy with ease. “Christ, you could burn me alive, and I’d never make a complaint about it.”

Burying my face into his neck, I set my hands on his chest as he rests each forearm on either side of my head, holding me up with the sheer power and strength of his thrusting alone. Swiftly, I’m transported to another plane, where only we exist and the pleasure igniting between us. His punishing strokes take my breath away and make my heart race. I swear I feel the blood flowing through my veins as I sit on the precipice of orgasm, but he won’t let me fall. Not yet.

“Hester.” I love when he growls my name like that. He’s lost in my body, as I am in his, and it’s the most wonderful feeling in the world. “Jesus Christ, woman, what is your precious cunt doing to me?”

“D-d-daddy?” I don’t know what he means, but I feel his every move, the pulsing of that long, thick vein on his hardness, the beat of his heart. The way he shudders when my walls clamp down on him.