some of those tossers we met today? Could there be more than just Kenny with a score to settle?”
The blood drains from my face, my heart skips as I finally realize the implications. I’ve been so fixated on Kenny, on avoiding him, on getting him out of my life, I never thought about the wider ramifications, the others involved in his criminal past. My past, now apparently catching up with me fast. Tom nods, looking thoughtful.
“Now it makes sense, explains why he was so mob-handed, why six big tough thugs would make the trip up here just for one skinny little girl.” He grins at me. “No offense, love. They were all pissed off, and they all wanted a piece.”
“Oh, God. They’ll kill me. Won’t they? They’ll come back, next time you might not be there…”
“Nope. They’re not gonna get the chance.” Tom’s voice is firm again, hard, confident. The Dom, once more in charge. “I somehow think, after today, most of them will have lost their enthusiasm. Kenny now, I suspect with him it could be more personal. But he might have had enough as well, who knows? In any case, I suggest we finish up what needs doing here, talk to your lawyer, the insurance, get the repairs to the house sorted out, visit the cemetery and then we head back up the M6 as soon as we can. And while we’re here, you’re never going to be on your own. There’ll be me or Nathan with you, all the time. Preferably both of us. Speaking of which, we’ll need to fill him in on all of this. He needs to know what he’s up against, what’s behind all this. Agreed?”
I nod absently as I look at him and wonder if it could be true. Can he—they—protect me? Would they? He’s grabbed his phone from the low table beside the bed and he’s punching in a text then fires it off to Nathan. Again, he catches my gaze, smiles his reassurance, his resolve as he stands up, ambles over to unlatch the door.
And I start to believe. I mouth the words—“Thank you.” He strolls back to the bed, sits down and beckons me to him, and I go immediately. I wrap my arms tightly around his neck as he traces my collar bone with his lips.
“I wish, I just wish you’d told me all about all of this at the beginning. Why didn’t you, Ashley?”
I think back to that crazy, confused time and the overwhelming emotion I felt then, the powerful driver that controlled everything I did in those early days and weeks at Smithy’s Forge. “I was scared. Just plain scared I suppose. Scared of you, absolutely terrified of Nathan. After that first day, with you, it was—strange—but I didn’t think you’d ever do anything worse to me than you had that day. I could cope with that. But Nathan—I was sure he was going to tell the police about me, and then I’d have gone back to jail. And—if that happened, I’d have still been inside when Kenny got out. He’d have been waiting for me. And I don’t think I’d have ever managed to get away again…”
And there was something else I now realize, now recognize. It’s personal, leaves me vulnerable, but I owe him an explanation. He’s my Dom, I can’t lie to him. “And I was lonely. Isolated. I couldn’t go to Black Combe any more, couldn’t talk to Rosie or Grace, I knew no one in the area except you. You were…my anchor. My visits to Greystones were the highlight of my week, my only chance to talk to anyone, the only human contact I had. I couldn’t risk having you turn me away too. So I kept quiet about what had happened before. Our relationship was fragile, but it was all I had…”
With a groan he tips my face to his, kisses me. Then, “Christ, what a pair of absolute bastards we were, me and Nathan. When I think of what I did, how we treated you those first few weeks…”
“It doesn’t matter now, it’s done with.” I’m kissing him back, wriggling closer as the towel slips to my waist and his hands cup my breasts. He flips me onto my back, leans in to take control.
“Bloody hell, you two,
The blood drains from my face, my heart skips as I finally realize the implications. I’ve been so fixated on Kenny, on avoiding him, on getting him out of my life, I never thought about the wider ramifications, the others involved in his criminal past. My past, now apparently catching up with me fast. Tom nods, looking thoughtful.
“Now it makes sense, explains why he was so mob-handed, why six big tough thugs would make the trip up here just for one skinny little girl.” He grins at me. “No offense, love. They were all pissed off, and they all wanted a piece.”
“Oh, God. They’ll kill me. Won’t they? They’ll come back, next time you might not be there…”
“Nope. They’re not gonna get the chance.” Tom’s voice is firm again, hard, confident. The Dom, once more in charge. “I somehow think, after today, most of them will have lost their enthusiasm. Kenny now, I suspect with him it could be more personal. But he might have had enough as well, who knows? In any case, I suggest we finish up what needs doing here, talk to your lawyer, the insurance, get the repairs to the house sorted out, visit the cemetery and then we head back up the M6 as soon as we can. And while we’re here, you’re never going to be on your own. There’ll be me or Nathan with you, all the time. Preferably both of us. Speaking of which, we’ll need to fill him in on all of this. He needs to know what he’s up against, what’s behind all this. Agreed?”
I nod absently as I look at him and wonder if it could be true. Can he—they—protect me? Would they? He’s grabbed his phone from the low table beside the bed and he’s punching in a text then fires it off to Nathan. Again, he catches my gaze, smiles his reassurance, his resolve as he stands up, ambles over to unlatch the door.
And I start to believe. I mouth the words—“Thank you.” He strolls back to the bed, sits down and beckons me to him, and I go immediately. I wrap my arms tightly around his neck as he traces my collar bone with his lips.
“I wish, I just wish you’d told me all about all of this at the beginning. Why didn’t you, Ashley?”
I think back to that crazy, confused time and the overwhelming emotion I felt then, the powerful driver that controlled everything I did in those early days and weeks at Smithy’s Forge. “I was scared. Just plain scared I suppose. Scared of you, absolutely terrified of Nathan. After that first day, with you, it was—strange—but I didn’t think you’d ever do anything worse to me than you had that day. I could cope with that. But Nathan—I was sure he was going to tell the police about me, and then I’d have gone back to jail. And—if that happened, I’d have still been inside when Kenny got out. He’d have been waiting for me. And I don’t think I’d have ever managed to get away again…”
And there was something else I now realize, now recognize. It’s personal, leaves me vulnerable, but I owe him an explanation. He’s my Dom, I can’t lie to him. “And I was lonely. Isolated. I couldn’t go to Black Combe any more, couldn’t talk to Rosie or Grace, I knew no one in the area except you. You were…my anchor. My visits to Greystones were the highlight of my week, my only chance to talk to anyone, the only human contact I had. I couldn’t risk having you turn me away too. So I kept quiet about what had happened before. Our relationship was fragile, but it was all I had…”
With a groan he tips my face to his, kisses me. Then, “Christ, what a pair of absolute bastards we were, me and Nathan. When I think of what I did, how we treated you those first few weeks…”
“It doesn’t matter now, it’s done with.” I’m kissing him back, wriggling closer as the towel slips to my waist and his hands cup my breasts. He flips me onto my back, leans in to take control.
“Bloody hell, you two,
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