Joseph Fallen (The Estate Series) (13 page)

He pushed himself up, his hands resting gently on her
thighs, spreading her legs before him and the green of his eyes blazed with a
fire she’d never before seen.
 
He
took a moment staring down at her, an unreadable expression across his face,
and the corners of his lips tilting up as he said, “I could sit here and look
at you forever and it would never be enough.”
 
She trembled beneath his stare, unable to
respond, her ability to speak, much less think, lost to the fervor of her body,
to her reaction of his scent that lay completely across her skin.

Her legs fell easily out to her sides; every inch of her
exposed to the intensity of his stare.
 
His head dropped and his lips found the inside of her thigh, licking and
nipping at her skin, traveling towards the place where she desperately needed
him to be.
 
A clandestine moment
shrouded in the protective blanket of rain, her heart raced, blood pumping
through her veins, a rush of hormones leaving her drunk and wasted to the
workings of her body.
 
When he lips
finally met the sensitized flesh between her thighs and when his tongue flicked
out to brush across the bundle of nerves that sat atop, her entire body quaked,
bucking up against him, nature taking control over her ability to think clearly
or care about the consequence of what they’d started.

His fingers gripped tightly to her thighs, holding her legs
so wide apart that the tendons burned from the strain.
 
Her hips rolled from the feel of his
mouth on her skin, but when one hand found its way up, when one finger pressed
at the opening to her body only to slowly push its way inside, her mouth opened
in a silent cry of pleasure and pain, of desire and unbridled lust.

A long forgotten energy built within her, swirling deep
inside her core, threatening to tear her apart if not released.
 
Her muscles locked over her bones and
her breath caught in her lungs.
 
One
finger became two and eventually they found their way to a spot inside her that
drove her over an sensual edge so steep, stars burst beneath the lids of her
clenched eyes.
 
She lost control of
herself, her awareness of their surroundings, and the world to which they would
return completely forgotten, drowned beneath the way he made her feel, the
passion he forced through her body with stunning and soul-consuming violence.

Her back arched, pushing the peaks of her breast up into the
chilled air of the cave, but slowly, she regained her senses, electric jolts
still erupting sporadically through her body, the tremble in her legs growing
rapidly as her body let go of the tension, the anger and the pain that had been
built over the last year she’d lived at the mansion.

Opening her eyes, she peeked up to find Connor sitting in
absolute awe of the woman he watched intently, the curl to his lips deepening
the dimples on his cheeks until she couldn’t help but smile back up at him,
small bits of laughter escaping her on her exhalation of breath.

She watched his hands move down to unbuckle his pants, every
bit of him exposed as he pushed the material down, moving slowly to remove it
from around his ankles and feet.
  
His body was rock solid, hard in every place a man should be, and the
tan to his skin spread even to those places the sun would not have
touched.
 
He was perfection, an
Adonis looming over her, the physique of a warrior made even more beautiful
when the light kiss of lightening reflected off his skin.
 
He exuded carnal power, raw and
unrestrained and Arianna’s breath caught at the sight of him.

His hands gripped her hips, the fingers digging into the
flesh as he lifted her to where he could position himself at her core.
 
Their eyes locked and she noticed she’d
stopped breathing in anticipation for his intrusion.
 
He smiled, light sparkling within the
emerald green of his eyes and in one fluid motion, he pushed himself inside,
exquisitely filling her and stirring to life the volcano of need that’d almost
reduced to her to ash only a few minutes before.
 
Her mouth fell open, but the passionate
cry that sounded was swallowed when his weight fell over her and his lips
sealed over hers taking her breath, her cries, and his name as it rolled off
her tongue.
 

Moving within her with a rhythm that eventually drove him
deeper inside, he broke the kiss, and pushed up to look down at the small woman
beneath him.
 
He sped up, pushing
them both hastily to a point where words could not be formed in their minds or
on their tongues.
 
Her hands ran
along his back, her fingers smoothing over the skin covered with a sheen of
sweat from the heat being poured from his body.
 
It was carnal pleasure, completely
overwhelming them both until finally, they found their release together.
 
His lips parted and a feral growl
escaped his chest, his throat while she screamed out, pushing a ball of energy
from within her, an orgasm too vivid and powerful to contain.
 
Finally, he lay down beside her, taking
her into his arms and delivering to her the peace that had been stolen so many
months before.

“I don’t understand why you bother keeping her around.
 
It’s obvious she’s unable to give you
what you want…an heir.
 
Why not just
get rid of her and use one of the other women within the network who would
happily give you what you need?”
 
Emory sat back against the leather couch in Joseph’s office.
 
His fingers brought up to his face, he
looked over his nails while attempting to convince Joseph to take the final
step to setting himself free of a woman who’d caused nothing but problems since
the network was built. “She poisons you, Joseph.
 
You are too busy and important to be
concerning yourself with something that has become useless - an anchor to a
life you no longer live.”

Rage bloomed within Joseph’s chest at Emory’s words and the
nonchalant tone in which he spoke them.
 
Bending forward he picked up a straw from the surface of his desk,
placing it to his nose before inhaling the sweet escape of the drug he had
lined up before him.

His head swam, his thoughts flickered out for a split second
while the drug crept into his blood stream and followed a numbing path along
his veins.
 
His habit had started
slowly, a way to temper the rage he felt at his failing marriage, the
humiliation he daily suffered not being able to produce a child with
Arianna.
 
It was a nagging thought
at first, but his obsession grew quickly, but not so much with the desire for a
child as it was with his need to prove his own virility.
 
It was an accomplishment not achieved
and a failure he could not accept.

When Joseph didn’t respond, Emory stop examining his hands
and looked up with eyes so dark, the brown appeared black and lifeless.
 
“I don’t even know why you want a child
so badly.
 
Who will care for the
vile thing?
 
Certainly, not you.”

“Arianna will care for it.
 
She would be its mother – and it
will be her, not some two bit whore that births him.
 
Do you really think I’d muddy up the
gene pool by impregnating some dumb bitch?”
 

The angry tone to Joseph’s words caused Emory to straighten
where he sat.
 
Joseph eyed his guard
intently before continuing.
 
“Have
you ever wanted immortality?
 
I do -
because I know that at some point, I’ll no longer exist.
 
Yet, I can beat even death itself by
leaving behind a genetic link, something that can take over, to be a reminder
of having existed at all.”
 
He
paused, a wicked smile touching the sides of his lips.
 
“Besides, who would manage The Estate
when I die?
 
Do you think I’d trust
it to just anyone? It’s as much a child to me as anything Arianna can push out
of her body. If I have a son, I can raise him to be stronger than me, smarter,
deadlier.
 
My network will never
fall apart, even years after I’m still able to run it.”

After lowering his head to inhale another line, Joseph sat
back and allowed his head to fall to the side, his eyes watching the heavy rain
that fell outside his window.
 
The
woods were all but obscured by the violence of the storm.
 
Every so often lighting would crack the
sky before the answering thunder would roll so loudly, it shook the windows and
walls of the mansion.

Turning his head back to Emory, he reached out to cut more
lines of the drug that was slowly eating away at his sanity.
 
“Honestly, I could care less about the
bitch.
 
Ever since I told her about
what I’d built, the successes I’d gained, all she fucking wanted was to
leave.
 
It’ll be fitting to force
her through a pregnancy, to show her that, without doubt, she belongs to me,
regardless of whether she likes it or not.”

Emory smiled, playing the devil’s advocate, he asked, “Are
you not concerned about how much time she spends with Connor?
 
Their daily walks out into the
woods?
 
How sure are you that he’s
not working towards the same goal as you?”

Joseph stopped chopping and slowly placed the razor blade
aside before looking up at his guard.
 
“Do not mistake me for a fool, Emory.
 
Connor is not that stupid…and neither am
I.
 
I have men watching them
constantly.
 
All that’s been
reported to me is that Connor guards her as he should, never touching her or
barely even talking to her.”
 
He
paused, a sick smile creeping along his features.
 
“Not that Arianna would have anything to
do with a man like him anyway.
 
He
basically ensured that they day he beheaded a man in front of her.”
 
He sat up and placed his elbows on the
desk.
 
“I know my wife, Emory.
 
She’s a prude, she’s a tease; but she’s
not a whore.
 
I have little concern
about that.”

. . .

Two weeks passed since Arianna and Connor had been in the
cave and Arianna stood in her bedroom looking at a calendar, counting the days
on her fingers that she was late.
 

“No.”
 
One word,
whispered so low that only she could hear it.
 
She moved away from the wall, paced the
floor in front of her bed, fighting tears from falling down her face.
 
She’d hoped it wouldn’t be possible, but
the signs, the sickness, told her that not only was it possible, it had
occurred.
 
Growing dizzy from the
rush of emotions combined with the constant movement of her body across the
floor, she finally sat on her bed, holding her head between her hands to keep
from throwing up.

She’d woken up that morning feeling fine.
 
Joseph hadn’t shown up for over three
days and she’d gotten out of bed and walked into the bathroom to take a shower
and brush her teeth.
 
The shower was
uneventful but when she leaned over the sink and scrubbed at her teeth, her gag
reflex kicked in and she found herself quickly bent over the toilet throwing up
whatever bit of dinner still remained in her stomach from the night
before.
 
Forcing herself back on her
feet after she’d spent several minutes dry heaving, she moved into the bedroom
closet and put on a simple dress that wouldn’t press on her sensitive stomach.

Now sitting, glancing up at the clock on the wall, she knew
Connor waited in the living room to escort her to breakfast and then the music
room.
 
It was their daily routine on
the mornings following Joseph’s absence.
 
Connor had started sleeping in the guest room on those nights, a
secondary guard sent down by Joseph always stationed in front of the front
doors to the suite.

She couldn’t go out there and face him, face anybody without
fear that she’d immediately break down, crushed by the knowledge that she would
bring a child into the nightmare that had become her life.

Lying back on the bed, she stared up at the small iron
chandelier that hung from the ceiling, her legs hung over the sides, her foot
kicking back and forth.
 
She heard
the slide of metal against the tile floor when her toe brushed up against the
shackle that Joseph kept attached to the foot of the bed.
 
Instantly, she pulled her legs up,
sitting up to wrap her arms around her knees, tears streaming down her face
when she allowed herself to look down at the floor, her eyes finding the bits
of the chain links that she’d accidentally dragged into view.

A soft knock at the door and she used her toe to quickly
kick the chain back under the bed, the sound of metal against stone causing her
stomach to turn and a chill to run up her spine.
 
The door clicked open and Connor peeked
into the room, his eyebrows raised in question at her obvious distress.

“What’s wrong?”
 
He pushed into the room, quickly crossing the floor to kneel down at the
foot of the bed.

Turning her head away, she closed her eyes, avoiding the
depth of the jade green eyes that stared up at her.
 
She didn’t want to tell him, didn’t want
to see the painful expression that was sure to cross his face.
 
She felt his hand grab hers just before
he stood up to take a seat next to her on the mattress.
 
The bed sinking beneath her from his weight,
she continued in her refusal to look at him when she said, “Get off the bed,
Connor.
 
I wouldn’t be surprised if
he had cameras in this room, or the entire house for that matter.”

He stood up, immediately moving to stand by the door, his
face taking on a disinterested expression as he resumed the sentry
position.
 
“Let’s go for a
walk.
 
We can talk by the stream.”

Her stomach churned, a mixture of morning sickness and
disgust at what she would have to tell him.
 
Knowing he’d find out eventually, she
sighed deeply, resigned to speak words she didn’t know she could say.

“I can’t go for a walk today.
 
I don’t feel well.”
 
She looked up into his face; saw the
concern that swirled within the depths of his eyes.
 
Whisper soft, she confessed, “I think
I’m pregnant.”
 
She lowered her legs
over the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around her stomach.
 
“Oh, God, I’m going to bring that
bastard’s child into the world.”

“Or mine.”
 

He’d spoken so quietly, she wasn’t sure she’d heard
him.
 
Her blue eyes shining bright
with tears, she looked up at his face, her heart breaking to see realization
darkening his gaze.
 
Just slightly,
her head shook, disbelief consuming her, driving her farther into despair.

He blinked…once – twice…and his tone was curt when he
finally said, “Lay down, get some sleep, and see if you feel better when you
wake up.
 
If you can, we’re going
out to the stream.
 
We need to
talk.”

Before she could argue, he stepped into the hall and shut
the door.
 
She wasn’t angry at his
brevity, and she knew that his reaction would have been different if they’d not
been in the house.
 
But he was
right, they did need to talk, and she hoped she’d feel up to it after she got
some rest. With eyes burning, she lay back on the mattress again, curling into
a fetal position, her body trembling with grief while she lost herself to
sleep.

. . .

They walked quickly through the woods, her stomach having
settled after she slept for a few hours.
 
Connor was tense, each muscle of his body locked, his defensive posture
apparent in his gait.
  
He
didn’t move faster than she could follow and he still stopped to assist her
over top roots and other obstacles that littered the path.
 
The sky was covered in clouds again and
she worried that rain could fall at any time while they made their way farther
out into the woods.
 
Small bits of
light streamed in from where the leaves were less dense above their heads.

When they finally reached the stream, he led her to a large
rock that sat along the edge, holding her hand until she was sitting down.
 
“I’m fine, Connor.
 
You don’t need to start treating my like
I’m fragile so early.
 
I’ll need
more help when I’m so big I can’t see my toes anymore” She attempted levity to
try and lighten the mood that weighed down his shoulders, but he didn’t crack
even a slight smile in response to her words.

Intently, he stared down at her when he said, “I’m getting
you out of here, Arianna.
 
We’re
leaving tonight.”
 
Moving from her
side, he ran his hands through his hair and began pacing back and forth along
the edge of the stream.

“How will we get out?
 
Where will we go?
 
No. It’s
insane; we can’t do this.
 
We don’t
even know for sure that I’m pregnant…”

“Are you late?”
 
He turned to her suddenly, the green of his eyes shining brilliantly in
the sunlight.
 

“Yes,” she admitted quietly.

“Then we’re leaving.”
 
Stepping towards her, he grabbed her arms, pulling her closer into him,
hugging her while resting his head on top of her head.
 
Her body shook against him, sobs
escaping her throat.
 

“We can’t, Connor.
 
It won’t work.
 
Just getting
out will be dangerous, but after that, what will we do?
 
He’ll find us, and I don’t even want to
think about what he would do to us if we were caught.”
 
He held her tightly, and when he didn’t
respond she added, “It could be his child, as much as yours.”

“I don’t care.
 
I’m not letting that monster anywhere near you again.
 
I shouldn’t have let it go on this
long.
 
I know the risks, but I can’t
sit idly and not try.”

She was sick of crying, of the constant state of futility in
which they lived.
 
But she knew
agreeing to leaving was risking his life.
 
Her heart beat rapidly and her voice cracked when she said, “It’s too
much of a risk.
 
I can’t - I won’t
do it.”
 
Breathing deeply, she
begged, “Connor, you need to leave.
 
You can get out of here and he won’t look for you, he has no need to
keep you here, but you know if I leave, he won’t rest until he’s found me.
 
He’s insane, if he were to catch you,
he’ll kill you.”