Page 20 of Rough Choice

“Oh… hey, Kye,” Grier said, uncocking his gun. “You caught up fast,” he noted with his weapon lowered.

“Yeah, I did,” Kye agreed with a look of bewilderment. Grier stood there for another moment almost expecting Kye to break out into a full explanation of who, what, where, when and how of everything when Eliana practically screamed at him.

“Get out!”

“Right, sorry!” Grier said, face beet red, and ducked out of the room, locking it behind him. With all the blood rushing to his face, his headache was decidedly worse. At this point, only the hair of the dog was going to cure anything, so he tucked his gun under his shirt and set off on foot for the bar they’d been at the night before. Shit, it wasn’t like Kye and Eliana were going to emerge anytime soon.

* * *

“Fuck, don’t stop,” Eliana moaned. After the door had closed, it hadn’t taken them long to get back to their previous task, and Kye, though miserably sore from his bruised ribs, was managing to buck his hips under her so deliciously, she felt her toes curl.

His fingers were digging into her hip bones, rocking her back and forth as he pushed himself upward and inside her. God, she felt good. He loved the way her stomach contracted with each thrust, her soft skin glistening with sweat. Her breasts bounced the harder he drove into her, and he couldn’t help but bury his face between the fleshy mounds. Eliana’s fragrance was sweeter than he remembered. Skin tasking of honey, he kissed the silky skin of her areola before taking a nipple in his mouth.

Her persistent thrusts turned frenzied as she rocked herself into a climax. Biting his lip, he watched her face, flushed and rosy, her eyes squeezed closed and lips parted as she shook and trembled until she collapsed against him. As she shuddered, he took his satisfaction, and when he peaked, his ribs couldn’t take anymore, and he collapsed onto his back.

“Are you in pain?” Eliana said, voice full of concern as she rolled onto her side and held a hand to his face. He grinned to cover his wince and turned to kiss her palm.

“I’m perfect,” he said, looking at her. His blue eyes were full of mirth, but she could see the pain that lingered. His abdomen was covered in bruises that were a deep purple. The cut above his eye had been tended to, but it was still red and slightly swollen. She propped herself up on her elbow and leaned over to kiss it softly.

“You are perfect,” she echoed and kissed him on the lips. He was warm, and his hand trailed up her side. Eliana melted into him, and she sighed.

“Tell me,” she beckoned, eyes still closed. She’d asked him outright the night before what had happened. He’d distracted her with hot kisses and wandering hands. Not that she was complaining, but his stamina was spent and in truth, so was hers. Now as they lie on their sides facing one another, she needed him to comfort her with more than just his body. She needed his words to put her mind at ease.

He hurried through his explanation of how Max had been on to them from the start, but his removal of the empty body bag from the fake grave and discovery of the ranger’s body in the garage had solidified it. Eliana was kicking herself for ever letting Kye stay. She should have known, no matter how hard they had tried, their plan was faulty at best.

“You’re skipping details,” Eliana noticed when Kye was intentionally vague about his treatment in the cells of the clubhouse.

“I am,” confirmed Kye. He was still lying on his side and lightly running a hand down Eliana’s spine as she lay on her stomach, her bare back warm to the touch.

“I want to know, Kye… I need to know,” she said quietly, her eyes focused on the pillow in front of her.

“You don’t need to know,” he argued. Her stern eyes turned on him.

“That’s not for you to decide,” she protested. “If it hadn’t been for me, this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Yes, it would have,” Kye contradicted. “Max was determined. He’d caught me in his web, and whether it was you or something else, the outcome would have been the same.”

“I don’t agree,” Eliana said, rolling out of bed. Kye reached for her, but she was already moving toward her suitcase where she pulled on a long t-shirt. As she pulled on a pair of white panties, Kye managed to sit up in bed. Her hands moved to her hips as she stared down at him.

“It’s not that bad…”

“Kye,” she said seriously, “you’re covered in bruises, your nose looks like it’s been broken recently, and I could feel the welts on your back when you were…”

“When I was what? Fucking you?” he asked with a coy smile. Her eyes narrowed.

“You’re not going to distract me. I want to know, and you need to tell me,” she demanded. “What did Max do to you?”

“Max did relatively little,” Kye said and chuckled when she crossed her arms in anger. Her nipples were still taut under her shirt and they, like her eyes, had fixed him with a pointed stare. “He ordered Dhal to do most of the dirty work.”

“Bastard,” Eliana huffed out. Kye held out his arms to her, and she crawled over the bed to him. He hoisted her over his lap so she was straddling him again. From this vantage point, he could hold her gaze indefinitely without her looking away. “He was the one who did this?” she asked, trailing her thumb over the cut under his eyebrow.

“Yes,” Kye answered. She leaned forward and placed a delicate kiss on the bandage.

“And this?” she asked, running her hands down his chest where she could see small but angry-looking cigar burns and fist-sized bruises.

“Mmmhmm,” Kye murmured. He could feel himself growing hard again, and when she peppered kisses over his pectorals and toward his abs, he fisted a handful of her hair, drawing her mouth back to his in a burning kiss.

“This happened because of me,” she said, pressing her forehead against his.