Thorns and Forgiveness : Twisted Legacy Duet Read online

  Jack was such a puppeteer, constantly pulling the strings and controlling people to his benefit.

  “That is so fucked up.”

  “She got married. Had me. But she always thought about Hamilton. And when she got brave enough to come forward, Jack came through on his promise to ruin her life. Dad left her. Her boss fired her. All she’s ever wanted was a relationship with Hamilton. I’m hoping that at the end of this all, he’ll finally agree to meet her.”

  “I wouldn’t hold your breath,” Jess replied before leaning back on the couch and pulling a plastic baggie with a brownie out of her purse. “Anyone want an edible?”

  “Fuck yes,” Saint replied before leaving me at the window and taking a piece.

  “No, thank you,” I replied. I wanted to be completely stone cold sober when I saw Hamilton.

  “Hamilton has this twisted sense of loyalty to Nikki,” Jess replied. “I hope when all of this bullshit is done that he’ll let go of that.”

  “It’s not bullshit, Jess,” I snapped back. I was tired of her bitching at Hamilton. Forgiveness was a gift Jess didn’t possess. She was loyal to Hamilton, but still pissed at him, too.

  “Yeah, yeah. I’m working on forgiving the asshole. I know it’s not productive to be pissed for all eternity. I’m just scared, you know? Jack really could have killed him,” Her voice hit a full stop, and a sob rattled her vocal cords. “He could have died, and he wasn’t talking to me.”

  I stopped staring out the window and walked back over to Jess. Leaning over the back of the couch, I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her cheek affectionately. I understood it. I’d been a nervous wreck since hearing Jack’s plans. “He’s going to be okay. We’re going to fix this.”

  Saint checked his phone. “I’m going to go home. A friend of mine is a hacker and has been looking into some of Jack’s emails. Hopefully, we will have more evidence tomorrow. I think the best course of action is to pull as much evidence as we can together, get your mother out of there, then go to the police. Until then, Hamilton should go nowhere alone. And if he has to leave this hotel, he needs to stick to public places. He’s got a target on his back, and you probably do too. This is so much bigger than a story. This is life or death. Be diligent,” he instructed before nodding at me, grabbing his keys and leaving. I followed him to the door and locked it behind him.

  “Well, that was ominous,” Jess said before tossing her pot brownie back in the plastic baggie and cradling her head in her hands. “Fuck. Infinity keeps calling. She wants me to come home, but I don’t even know what I’m going to tell her.”

  “The less she knows right now, the better,” I replied.

  Jess nodded in agreement before standing. “You’ll be okay, yeah?” It wasn’t like I had much of a choice. Certainly, Jack wasn’t going to show up at the hotel with a gun?

  “I’ll be fine. Little Mama will scare off anyone who bothers me. Go see Infinity. We have a lot of work ahead of us.”

  Jess pulled her lips into a tight smile and patted Little Mama on the head. “See you tomorrow.”

  I spent the next hour waiting for Hamilton to show up at the hotel we’d gotten on the outskirts of town under Saint’s fake name. We couldn’t be too careful, not now that we knew there was a target on our backs.

  So much had happened. It was a lot to unpack, and I wasn’t even sure where to start. Mom finally came through for me. Even though I had to lie to her, I couldn’t help but feel thankful that she finally cared enough about my safety to be honest. She’d been chasing money and men for a while now, but I had hope for a future where she worried about herself.

  I was also obsessed with her comments about the nasty cycle we were all stuck in. The truth was, maybe it was our first instinct to follow the path we knew and become what others expected of us. But I was separating myself from the narrative. I was my own woman; I was loving my own man. I was stepping away from the toxic wasteland of this never-ending karma.

  A slight knock on the hotel door made Little Mama whine, and I got up to see who it was. The moment my eyes landed on Hamilton, I let out a sigh of relief and opened the door.

  He looked handsome, despite the difficult day and traveling. I reached out to grab him by his gray Henley and yanked him into the hotel room before wrapping my arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re here.” He rubbed my back as he squeezed me against his rock-hard body. It felt like finally inhaling again after holding my breath.

  “Shit day, yeah?” he asked.

  “How are you holding up?” I replied. I’d grown to understand Hamilton in the last few months, and I knew his unique coping mechanisms would need kindling after such a traumatic day.

  “You know how I’m a fucking mess when shit goes down, Petal?”

  I pulled away and stroked his cheek. “You’re not a mess, Hamilton.”

  He leaned into my palm, turning his head so that my thumb brushed against his lip. “I just need you right now.” His whispered words sent a tremor through me. “I don’t want to think about anything but how good you squeeze my cock when you come.” He ran his hand down my shoulder and arm before grabbing my waist. “I don’t want to feel anything but your lips on my skin.” He pulled me closer, pressing his hard cock against my core. “I don’t want to talk about anything but how fucking perfect you are. I want to say dirty little nothings in your ear until sunrise, until my voice is hoarse from moaning your name.”

  Hamilton grabbed my ass, then lifted me up. I wrapped my legs around him as he walked me over to the hotel bed and laid me down. “And then tomorrow, I want to protect you, Petal. I want to end this so that I can spend the rest of my life worshiping your pussy, your mind, your precious soul, and your heart.”

  He tugged at the waistband of my leggings and with considerable effort, managed to get the tight spandex off my trembling body. I shivered from the sweet contradiction of his heated kisses and the slight chill in the air.

  Hamilton reached one hand behind his back and took off his shirt with ease. I’d never get enough of his body, of his sculpted abs, is soft skin and rough touch. I lifted up slightly and unbuttoned his pants before easing them over his hips and muscular thighs.

  My muscles tensed in excitement the moment I saw the outline of his hard cock through the thin material of his briefs. “I can’t control myself when I’m with you. It’s the most freeing feeling in the world, Petal,” he whispered before rubbing his palm over his shaft.

  I breathed in and out before removing my soft shirt. His eyes locked on my breasts, my nipples cutting through my sports bra in sharp little points.

  “Tell me, Petal. Do you like hate fucks?”

  I swallowed. The idea of Hamilton fucking me like he hated me sounded appealing. One of our hottest times together was the night he tried telling me goodbye. “Why? You want to hate me, Hamilton?” I asked slowly, my voice taunting and sensual.

  “No,” he whispered. “I just want to fuck all my rage into your delicate body.” He leaned over and bit the inside of my thigh. “I want to break the skin. Lick up your pain. I want to work you hard, Petal.”

  His words shouldn’t have turned me on as much as they did, but fuck, I was slick with need. Turned on so much I couldn’t even function. He sucked on my skin. “I can handle it,” I whispered. I wanted it all. I wanted to be the person who healed Hamilton Beauregard. I wanted to be the escape he craved.

  “Good. Tell me if it becomes too much, Petal.”

  This sounded like I needed a fucking safe word. Hamilton grinned before licking a long line up my pussy. Slowly. Dangerously. He was like a predator prepared to pounce.

  Then, Hamilton grabbed my hips and dug his fingers into my flesh. He flipped me over and then pressed me into the mattress, placing his palm in the middle of my back and holding me down.

  Smack! His hand slapped across my ass. “That sound? I want to hear it over and over again,” he groaned before slapping it again. I could feel my body jiggling from the harsh hit. Pain flared where h
is hand made contact, but it wasn’t too bad.

  Then, I felt his hot breath feather over me. Sharp teeth sunk into my flesh, and he sucked on my ass cheek with painful fervor. I squirmed, he held me down with his palm. I cried out, and he spread my legs before pressing his thumb at my asshole. Yeah, my asshole. I couldn’t even romanticize the intimate invasion because my entire body tensed up.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “I want to be inside every part of you.”

  “Don’t we need to work up to that?” I asked, my voice shrill.

  Hamilton pressed his thumb inside of me slightly. The stretching sensation burned, and I let out a moan. “Oh, Petal. I’ll put in the work. Not tonight, but one day this pretty virgin hole will be mine.”

  He spit on my crack, and I felt the hot moisture mix with my slick need. His hand ran up and down my slit, pressing against my pulsing clit. “Hamilton...” I begged. Instead of giving me what I wanted, he used his free hand to tug my long hair, forcing my back to arch.

  My scalp turned tender, and he dragged his teeth along my neck. I felt the head of his cock pressing against me. “You never did finish what you started. How about you be a good girl and choke on my cock, Petal?”

  My heaving chest struggled to settle. He let go of my hair and laid down on his back beside me before grabbing me and forcing me on top of him, with my pussy at his lips and the head of his cock perfectly aligned with my own mouth. He moved me so effortlessly. Hamilton had all the strength, all the control.

  “I want to hear you gag, Petal,” he whispered before wrapping his hands around my thighs and furiously licking my clit. I moaned and trembled for a brief moment, temporarily stunned by his abrupt mouth.

  Then, I sunk lower onto his cock and started pumping him in and out. He tasted salty, and his smooth skin felt good on my tongue. Obeying his wishes, I took him all the way back, deep in my throat. I gagged and choked until my eyes watered and his erection was slick with my spit and tears.

  He worked me with his skilled tongue, circling my clit. It was exhausting pleasure. I felt drained and tense. I came hard and long, but Hamilton didn’t stop.

  I stopped sucking him to cry out. I was too sensitive. “I can’t—” I choked out as he licked and licked and licked and motherfucking licked. The force of his talented tongue on my clit sent me rocking against his face.

  He paused for just a moment to speak. “I’ll stop licking your pussy when you’re swallowing my cum, Petal.”

  I gasped when he sucked on my sensitive nub, another orgasm rolling through me almost instantly. I screamed and twitched, but Hamilton didn’t stop. Quickly, I started moaning and sucking his dick once more, this time, more desperate to find relief. It was all too much. My entire body was shaking from his persistent mouth.

  Up and down, I moved. Moaning, sobbing, breaking from the pressure. Another orgasm. I was spent. Too much, it was too fucking much.

  Finally, Hamilton let out a moan and started jerking his hips. I knew I only had a few moments before he was coming in my mouth, and I welcomed it.

  Ropes of salty cum shot out against my tongue, and I swallowed it whole. Moaning in pleasure as he finally released my clit from his lips and let me bask in the multiple orgasms I’d just earned.

  I toppled over and fell on my back, my head level with his thighs, my legs shaking uncontrollably. Our combined breathing was the only sound in the motel room.

  “Petal, your mouth is perfect.”

  “Your mouth is demanding,” I whispered back.

  “Oh, I’m just getting started. Give me a minute and I’ll be ready again.”

  I blinked twice and sat up on the mattress. “You’re kidding.”

  He looked down at his cock and smirked at me. “Does it look like I’m kidding?” Hamilton sat up and shoved me onto the mattress. He pried my legs apart with his strong hands and pressed at my entrance once more. I jumped at the feel of him.

  “I’m too sensitive.”

  “Good,” he replied before kissing my neck. “That means you feel how hard you make me even more.”

  Hamilton spent the next ten minutes sucking on my neck, my collarbone, my breasts, my stomach, my thigh. Every chance he got, he pressed against my clit with his finger or his dick, reminding me that it was him winding me up so much. It was a painful pleasure unlike anything I’d ever experienced before. He was literally going to make me come until I physically couldn’t anymore.

  “Ready for me to fill you up, Petal?” he asked.

  I wasn’t sure how much more I could take. “Yes,” I whispered.

  One single thrust. Hamilton impaled me with his cock and started pumping hard, harder, harder. In and out, he rocked the bed nearly off its frame. I screamed his name, not caring who could hear us next door. Hamilton pressed his palm over my chest, holding me down as he showed me the power behind each move.

  It seemed to go on for hours. He manipulated my body into various positions. Each time, he held me down, moved me whatever way he wanted and worked my body like he owned me. I felt like a precious little fuck doll. The agony of coming over and over and over again was pure bliss. I’d never been so sensitive. It was the rawest form of pleasure I’d ever experienced.

  “I love you, Petal,” he said like the devotion was a curse. “I love you. Only you. I fucking love you, fuck!”

  On and on it went. He didn’t let me sleep. He didn’t let me rest. It was rolling pleasure again and again. Until the sun started peeking through the blinds. Until all the hate in Hamilton’s body was spent. Until we both were ready to face the day ahead.

  20

  Hamilton

  I woke up to Little Mama whining. I’d probably slept a total of two hours, and my dick felt like it was about to fall off from all the extra work it put in last night. Fucking hell. Vera was lying in bed, her hair fanned out around her and her creamy skin marked up with hickeys. I got dressed and brushed my teeth. “Come on, girl,” I said before grabbing Little Mama’s leash off the nightstand. She squirmed, annoyed with how off our routine we were. Me too, girl. Me too.

  Outside, a man pushing a cleaning cart walked by as we made our way to a patch of grass. My phone started ringing, and I looked at the screen while Little Mama took the biggest steaming pile of shit I’d ever seen.

  It was Jack, probably wondering why I hadn’t shown up at work. I wasn’t ready to talk to him. I didn’t even know what I was going to say to him. No. I wasn’t answering it. I didn’t want to hear his excuses. I didn’t want to listen to him pretend to give a fuck about me. A car blaring rap music slowly drove by, and I irresponsibly left the shit on the ground for someone else to step in before walking back to our room. It was time to face the music.

  The minute I slid our key card into the lock and opened the door, I heard Vera’s frantic voice. “Mom?” Vera said while sitting up. She clutched the hotel sheets to her body while staring off in the distance. “Mom? You have to speak up. I can’t understand what you’re saying.”

  My eyes thinned to slits, and I cocked my head to the side in question. “Joseph,” Vera’s voice cracked. Seeing my girl on the brink of passing out sobered me up from the stupor I was in.

  I rubbed my eyes for a second before mouthing, “What’s wrong?”

  Vera ignored me and gasped. “No. No, don’t hurt her. I’ll be right there.”

  I grabbed the phone out of her hand and held it up to my ear. My girl looked to be in shock. “Who is this?” I asked.

  “Oh hey, brother. I figured your little slut was with you. I was thinking, we should have a family reunion.”

  My blood chilled at his words. “What do you want?”

  “Exactly that, Hamilton. A reunion. I was thinking about pie. I want a piece to eat in peace. Hell, I’d buy an entire bakery at this point.”

  “You sound fucking psychotic. What is going on?” I pressed on.

  “Right, right. I guess I’m not feeling myself. I’ve got so many thoughts, you know? So much anger.
Dad was angry, too. But not anymore. Lilah keeps fucking sobbing when I need her to mop up the blood. Oh my goodness, are you on your way yet? Stop and get me a pie—cherry pie.”

  I’d always known my brother was insane, but this took things to an entirely different level. What the fuck was wrong with him? “Joseph, what do you mean blood?”

  “You told me to run, but I remembered something particularly important, Hamilton. I’m a Beauregard. I don’t run. I bloody up the competition. Fuck, I’m hungry. Hurry up and get here, okay?”

  Joseph hung up the phone.

  Shit. Shit, shit, shit. My brother had completely lost his mind.

  I took a moment to organize my thoughts and go over everything he’d said.

  Dad was angry, too. But not anymore.

  Lilah keeps fucking sobbing.

  I need her to mop up the blood…

  I need her to mop up the blood…

  I need her to mop up the blood…

  I need her to mop up the blood…

  I need her to mop up the blood…

  Vera was searching the floor for her clothes. She could barely stand up, her legs were so weak and shaky from the adrenaline. “We have to go. He has my mom. He told me to come over with you if I want her to live. What’s happening, Hamilton?” She broke down, falling to her knees while sobbing uncontrollably. There was no way in hell I’d have her walk into this trap.

  “I’m going to call the police,” I said.

  Vera gasped and clutched her chest. “He’ll kill her, Hamilton. You can’t.”

  “I’m not playing his game, Vera. What other option do we have, storm into the house and let him kill us too?”

  She dragged her sharp nails down the sides of her face before letting out a harsh scream. “It’s not a game, Hamilton! She could die!”

  Fuck.

  “Okay. I’ll go. Call the police when—”