Bound and Unbroken Read online

  For the first time during sex, she curled her fingers through his hair, ran them down his back, and tried desperately to pull him closer. To keep him from leaving even an extra inch of distance between their bodies.

  She watched his long, lean body as he reached over the side of the bed to pull the bag closer and grab a condom. All she could think of was getting a taste of his skin like he’d had of hers, so before he could move back to the bed, she took the chance—punishment be damned.

  She saw his sudden intake of breath as she kissed his ribs, and ran her hands up his back.

  “And what, my sub, are you doing?”

  “I want a taste.”

  Staying on his knees, he clutched the hair at the back of her head and pulled her up to meet him. “Do you?”

  Holding her hair, he gave her just enough free reign to explore his chest with her lips and tongue, and even a few nips of her teeth. Her fingers traced his muscles feeling them tighten with each breath and twitch when she captured a pinch of skin between her teeth.

  He pulled her back, lifting her chin. “Satisfied?”

  “With that bit.”

  “I’m going to get you back for all those bites, you know.”

  Oh, she had no doubt. “Looking forward to it.”

  “What has gotten into you?” He pushed her back onto the bed, then pulled her hips up to meet him as he thrust inside her. She screamed at the sudden intrusion. Her body shuddered with the satisfaction, but Eric stopped, leaving her impaled and pinned down without any chance of doing anything to change the situation.

  “Answer my question,” he whispered.

  “Holding back is exhausting. I want this. Want you. Please, Eric.”

  He pulled out slowly. “We’re back to Eric, now?”

  In no mood to behave, Lena smirked. “Sir Rusty.”

  He slammed inside of her taking her breath.

  “Okay,” she traced his muscles across his chest and over his shoulders as he hovered over her. “Master Rusty.”

  He slammed in again, grabbing her ass to pull up her hips so that he slid even deeper.

  Lena screamed, clenching a fist in his hair. “You still call me Loner—”

  Three more thrusts and Lena swore she saw the room light up. She was sure she’d still feel him inside her days later.

  “—it’s only fair.”

  He leaned forward, and she thought he’d kiss her, but he stopped just short. “I dictate what’s fair, little Loner.”

  Hazel eyes, baring into her. So close, not close enough. “Yes, Master.”

  She wasn’t sure she’d even stopped speaking before his tongue plunged into her mouth. His tongue, slick against hers, he sucked and nipped at her lips as he resumed thrusting into her.

  His cock pushed and stretched her, until the world burst. Even as she fell apart, Eric kept pumping, hitting the same sensitive spot until she thought every nerve in her body would curl up and never be the same again. Another wave of shudders broke through her, leaving her a quivering mass by the time Eric collapsed on top of her.

  “You are all mine,” he enunciated every word. It wasn’t a question, but Lena felt the need to respond.

  “Yes, all yours.”

  As he rolled off her, he reached over the bed to dispose of the condom, then laid on his side next to her, tucking her close to his chest. “Better?”

  “Mmh hmm.” She nuzzled her head close to his chest and closed her eyes, feeling as though she’d just swallowed half a dozen sleeping pills.

  But then, a crack of thunder split through the quiet.

  “I hope that’s not a sign,” Lena muttered, rolling to her side, so that she and Eric fit together back to front, with a tangled mess of appendages locking them together.

  “It’s a storm, Baby. Stop thinking you’re not supposed to have what you want.”

  Lena

  Lena expected to sleep through the rest of the night, possibly half of the morning, but just as dawn settled in, another clap of thunder shook the room, and seconds later a siren followed.

  Eric’s fingers dug into her side, and she cried out. His eyes opened wide, and he blinked once and jolted upright. “Grab your clothes.”

  They both hurried to get at least half-dressed, then Eric pulled off the bedcover, threw it over his shoulder and ushered Lena toward the stairs and down to the basement. There was an old couch, shoved against one wall of the basement, near the stairs, and Eric threw the blanket over it. He flicked on a nearby radio, then, pulled Lena onto the couch with him, wrapping them both up in the blanket.

  “Sorry, if I hurt you.”

  “We seem to be saying that a lot tonight. I’m okay.”

  Eric rested his hand on her stomach, at the base of her ribcage, so Lena slipped her fingers into his.

  “Everyone keeps saying welcome back. But you’ve never told me exactly where you were or why you left.”

  “I just got discharged from the Air Force almost a year ago. I did AFROTC in college, then a four-year stint.” He rubbed his hand over his face.

  “I thought you worked in IT.”

  “I did, and that’s about all I can tell you. I can be open and honest about every other part of my life. And, to answer your next question, I didn’t tell you from the beginning because I didn’t think our relationship was ready for the ‘it’s classified and I can’t really tell you’ kind of questions.”

  “So, you’re a little beyond, ‘my computer won’t boot’ kind of tech.” The house shook again with another loud crack. She tried to bury her face in his neck to stop her body from shaking. Just keep talking, keep talking. “Must be hard for a guy who doesn’t like keeping secrets.”

  “I manage. Overall, I don’t regret it. It was experience I wouldn’t have gotten elsewhere—programming, troubleshooting. I worked on some new training programs, and got to do a fair bit of traveling.”

  “So, last night was your first time back in the club in five years?”

  He snorted, “No, I was working out of Wright Patterson for a while, so I got the chance to come back sometimes. Then I got deployed, reassigned… and it wasn’t easy to mesh the two lives. So, I took the discharge, and landed a good paying IT job for a company in Virginia. Figured that’d give me time to scope out a good club, and figure out my personal life, but that didn’t work out so well either.”

  They both stopped long enough to hear the next announcement on the radio. The danger had passed in their area, but the storm was picking up near the lakes where Eric’s parents lived. The only reported tornado had been miles to the south, but everything to the east was still in the woods.

  Eric growled and sat up. “I can’t just sit here.”

  “You can’t go out there either. If you get hurt—“

  “I know. And I know my parents can handle things as well as anyone during a tornado warning, but Charlie is my responsibility.” The hard look in his eyes pushed his pain straight into her heart.

  If he hadn’t organized things so he could be with her tonight, he’d be with Charlie instead of sitting here worrying. Lena scooted back to sit against the arm of the chair, and pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. “The storm should pass their area soon, too. Then, we’ll figure things out.”

  He glared at the radio and nodded—a slow careful nod that showed he wasn’t entirely convinced, but he’d resolved himself to the fact that he only had one option. Leaning back, his gaze fell to Lena again and he reached over to run the back of his knuckles along her cheek. “I thought I had lost you last night.”

  “Nope, crazy me, still here and stronger than I look.” She pressed her face into his hand and he opened it, cupping her jaw.

  “You’re even stronger than you give yourself credit for. Come sit on my lap while we wait for the all clear.”

  She moved across the couch and took her seat, trying to remember the last time she’d sat in someone’s lap before this relationship began. The last time her parents took her to see Santa when she
was seven? She could remember her wish list for that year, at least the one she gave to Santa—a Barbie Porsche and Game Boy. Of course, she hadn’t received either of those things, and they didn’t make it on her true wish list—the one no one saw. What she wanted that year, was for her parents to stop fighting. For them to move to a different town where Daddy’s friends couldn’t find him in the middle of the night by pounding down the door.

  Eric squeezed her side, twisted her hand so he could lace his fingers with hers. “Where are you?”

  “In your lap.”

  He pressed his lips together, achieving with millimeter adjustments of his facial expression what most teachers would kill to achieve—a look that made her want to spill her guts and do whatever he said. “Then, where were you?”

  “Thinking about my parents. Nothing important, just stuff I haven’t thought about in a while. Christmases and fights that I never understood.” She shrugged and put her head on his shoulder.

  She could tell by the way Eric was watching her, he was debating on whether to push the issue or not, but he decided against it. They sat together for the next few minutes, simply enjoying the warmth of each other’s bodies as the radio played through the weather messages.

  A new alert had been issued.

  Lena’s heart jumped into her throat, and beneath her, she felt every muscle in Eric’s body harden.

  A second tornado had touched down, two miles west of the lakes, and it was heading east.

  Oh god, Lena thought, no idea how to keep a guy twice her size from panicking and tearing a hole through half the city to find his nephew and make sure he was safe.

  Eric stood, lifting Lena then putting her back on the couch.

  “You can’t go chasing after a damn tornado!”

  He turned, mouth open and ready to say something, but then he clenched his hands at his sides and headed for the stairs.

  “Eric, think for a minute, or at least stand still.” She chased him up the stairs and into the living room. He grabbed his phone and sat down on the couch near the door. Staring at his phone for a few minutes before he looked up to even recognize that she was following him.

  “The tornado has already passed their area, and it wasn’t that bad.” He tapped his phone a few more times and put it to his ear. Seconds of blood thickening silence held him trapped, helpless, as he waited for someone to pick up.

  “Phone lines are probably down. It doesn’t mean—“

  Eric grabbed his boots and pulled them on. “Stay here, you’ll be safe.”

  “No. I am not staying here, and you are not going on a crazy rescue mission alone. It’s crazy. Another tornado could hit, there could be road blockages. What the hell am I supposed to do if you don’t come back?”

  “Lena, I have to check on them.”

  “Then, I’m coming with you.”

  “Lena—” He opened his mouth and Lena prepared her next argument, but he agreed. “You do as I say.”

  “Always.”

  It took almost forty-five minutes to make the fifteen mile drive after taking a roundabout route to avoid obstructions. His parents’ house was unharmed, but there were no lights on along the street or in any of the houses.

  He parked and went to jump out of the car, but Lena couldn’t bring herself to open the door.

  “I hadn’t actually considered the meeting your family part of this situation.”

  An older man stepped out of the door, approaching the car.

  “Dad. He’s the easy one.” He gave an uneasy smile. “Mom doesn’t know much about my lifestyle, but what she does know she hates. Don’t let her get to you. You’re mine to defend.”

  And that, as uncomforting as it was, was the only warning he had time to give.

  Eric exited the car, and Lena debated on whether or not she should follow suit. As Eric walked around the car to greet his father, he opened Lena’s door. His father looked shocked to see someone else in the car.

  “And, who might this be?”

  “Lena, my girlfriend.”

  “And you brought her all the way out into tornado country?” He offered a hand, “Samuel, it’s nice to meet you.”

  “You too, sir.”

  His eye twitched at her response, and he huffed. “Your mom and Charlie are inside. Everyone is fine, we just don’t have any utilities at the moment. Sounds like all of the destruction is about half a mile away.

  With an arm around her waist, Eric led Lena to the front door. Her heart pounded blood through her veins.

  Knowing that his mom wasn't going to like her no matter what didn't make it easy to step across the threshold. As soon as they were in, Charlie ran up and jumped into Eric's arms. He quietly hung there with obvious relief, but his silence was painful.

  “And who is this?” An older woman said, ushering toward Lena as she moved to try to recollect the boy who was cemented to Eric's side.

  “Leave him be. And we're fine, Mom. Thanks for asking. This is my girlfriend, Lena.”

  Lena tried to smile, but her body itched with the urge to run.

  His mom kept her hand hooked around Charlie’s wrist as she looked Lena over. “Girlfriend, huh? How long do you intend on keeping this one around?”

  How many women had Eric brought home, and under what circumstances? As if that wasn’t enough to make her gut ache and her mind rush through scenarios at a million frames per second, the magnitude of the entire situation finally hit as she saw him with his family.

  Charlie raised his head, smiling when he saw Lena and waved.

  “Hi, Charlie,” she whispered.

  Eric's Mom's eyes widened, her gaze looked threatening enough to set Eric’s hair on fire. “You didn't answer my question, son.”

  “I don't know mom how about we run through your list of boyfriends and discuss how long you kept any of them around.”

  She gave off a humpf and walked into the kitchen.

  Family drama and dysfunction certainly wasn’t limited to foster care. Eric rubbed the back of her neck, and she relaxed marginally, leaning her cheek against his shoulder.

  “Sorry.” Eric whispered to his dad.

  Samuel shrugged. “Before my time. I was just about to go check on Mrs. Morganstern. She lives alone and doesn't have any family.”

  “I'll go with you,” Eric said, but Charlie gripped him tighter. “I'm just taking a little walk. We won't be long.”

  Charlie pouted, but slid to the floor and moved to the corner of the room where papers and crayons were scattered around the floor.

  Eric kissed Lena’s forehead before stepping around her. “I'll be right back.”

  Lena shook her head, she certainly wouldn't be sent to a corner to color as easily as Charlie.

  “She won't bite,” he whispered, “she likely won't say a word. Keep an eye on Charlie until we get back.”

  “You owe me.”

  “Always.”

  Left alone in the living room with Charlie coloring away in the corner, Lena took a seat on the couch where she could lean over the arm and watch him.

  He looked up and caught her eye. Then brought his drawing over to show her.

  “What do you have there?”

  As if hearing Lena's voice had been the last straw, Eric's mom stormed back into the room. “Where'd they go?”

  “To check on Mrs. Morganstern.”

  Charlie held up the picture for his grandma to see and pointed.

  “It's beautiful, honey,” her fake smile was impossible to miss, especially when she didn’t even take her glaring eyes off Lena.

  “I teach.” Lena said, hoping it would ease the woman’s rabid anger, “I had Charlie in my class last year when I was subbing for his art teacher.”

  “And how long have you known Eric?”

  “Long enough.”

  “Really? Because I've known him since he was born and sometimes that doesn't seem like 'long enough' to understand anything he does or anyone he brings home.”

  “Look, I didn’
t come here for a fight.” Charlie was nearly the same age she was when her parents began their regular fights. It was enough to drive a kid to pieces under normal circumstances. Charlie had already been through enough. “I just wanted to make sure that everyone was okay.”

  The wind picked up again and there was a crack outside. Lena jumped from the couch and pulled Charlie with her, getting him away from the windows as the house shook and glass cracked. Thrown off balance, she fell, twisting her wrist against the floor while trying to protect Charlie. She heard screaming, but her body froze in pain. The hardwood floor around them glistened with broken glass, and the roof overhead cracked again.

  Eric

  Eric ran in through the side door after seeing the tree in the front yard break free from the ground and smash into the front of his parents’ house. Lena was on her knees in the middle of the room. His mom standing next to her with a screaming Charlie in her arms.

  “He’s okay,” his mom assured him, and nodded down to Lena. He pulled her to her feet and into the kitchen as the living room ceiling creaked again.

  Eric directed Lena to one of the wooden chairs at the kitchen table so he could look her over, but she pushed his hand away. “Take care of Charlie.”

  “Charlie is fine. Mom’s looking after him.” He tilted up her head, and she squirmed away again.

  “He needs you more than I do.”

  “Did you hit your head?”

  “No, I just twisted my wrist. I might have a few scratches, but I’m fine.”

  Charlie broke free of his grandmother's grasp, ran forward and hooked his arms around Eric’s neck. All the while, keeping his eyes on Lena. “We should get some ice—“

  Eric stood, but Sam was already opening the freezer. He handed over a frozen sponge in a plastic bag that they kept for emergencies. “I can grab a bandage for you to get her wrist wrapped, but then we should clear out of here. If another storm comes through, the house won’t hold out much longer.”

  ***

  At home, Eric put an exhausted Charlie to bed, then joined Lena in the kitchen where she sat at the table with her head down on her folded arms.

  “You’ve only had a few hours of sleep. Maybe you should get some rest, too.”