This Is Love, Baby (War & Peace #2)(53)

They are earnest words and weave themselves into my heart. Is this the all-encompassing love Mom always gushes about when she talks about Dad? Because I feel it. From the ends of my hair, all the way down to the tips of my toes.

Brandon is my best friend and I love him.

“Promise me you’ll always be mine,” he says sternly, his eyes darkening slightly. “Promise me, Baylee.”

My heart stops for a moment in my chest.

His declaration terrifies and thrills me at the same time.

“Always, Brandon.”

A choked sound jerks me from my memory and my eyes fly open. I shriek when I realize Brandon’s heavy body has collapsed on me. He’s still—too still. Something warm trickles down my cheek toward my ear and I start gagging upon the realization that it’s his blood. All over me.

I start screaming and squirming to get him off me. Gabe hobbles over to the bedside and pushes Brandon onto the floor, the heavy thud echoing in my heart. My eyes remain fixated on his unmoving form. The only thing moving is the blood as it continues to pour from his forehead.

He’s dead.

Gabe killed him.

The devil slayed the dragon but he took my sweet boy away in the process.

Despite my horror over having seen it actually play out, this went as planned. In our war, my strategy was to use one opponent to take out the other. And it worked. I need to move on to my next move. If I lose my focus now, I’ll completely break down and I can’t. I have to be strong.

For the baby.

For War.

For me.

“Gabe,” I sob, my entire body shuddering, “you’re the only person I have left.”

He leans down over me and strokes my hair in a loving way. “I told you that you were all mine, baby. I love you.”

I nod in vehemence, as if I wholeheartedly agree with him. The bile in my throat is sour and stings. I’m seconds from throwing up everywhere.

Breathe.

Observe every move.

Take out your opponent.

There’s only one pawn standing between you and your king.

Taking several calming breaths, I wave toward the bathroom door. “Could you grab me a towel?” I ask in the most level tone I can muster, hoping I can distract him long enough to implement part two of my plan. All I need is a few seconds’ distraction.

His eyes narrow and he runs his finger along my bare calf. “But you look so pretty with this blood all over you. His f*cking blood,” he snarls as if the very thought of Brandon disgusts him. “You should wear it proudly, baby. It makes me want to suck on your clit until you wake the neighbors with your screams.”

I tremble and hold back my tears. I should have known I couldn’t outsmart Gabe. He’s like the black knight, anticipating all of my moves before I even make them.

I am not a weak pawn.

I am the queen.

Quickly devising a new plan, I peel the blood soaked hoodie from my body and toss it away. Brandon’s blood is beginning to dry on my throat so I quickly smear it down over my bare breasts.

Gabe’s eyes darken and he growls. “Jesus, you look so f*cking hot right now, sweet girl.”

I flash him a shy smile. “I should be trying to run,” I whisper. “But all I can think about is having you inside me.”

He groans and crawls onto the bed beside me, taking Brandon’s spot. “Straddle me. My body hurts too f*cking bad to do this any other way. I want to play with your * while I watch that blood run down your tits.”

I sit up, sliding my palm across the bed, I make contact with my saving grace, and do as I’m told. My hand fists the wondrous piece and I twist my arm behind my back, pushing my tits forward to dazzle him with. All done in a graceful, fluid motion. The bandage on his nose has me halting my movement. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I lie. Truth is, I want to sit on his face and smother him with the * he seems to adore.

“Oh, baby. Such a sweet girl. You just sit there and look pretty—I’ll do all the work.”

Nodding, I ease myself down to straddle his waist just above the top of his jeans, my naked body vulnerable and shaking. I close my eyes and think of War. His gorgeous smile. His moving lips as he counts my breaths. His gentle and loving touch.

Breathe.

I can do this.

For War and our baby.

Gabe grips my thighs almost brutally, which has me jerking my eyes back open. This monster has always thought he owned my body. Making me come against my will. I want to make him pay for hurting War, causing Brandon to get lost in the darkness, for the role he played in the deaths of my parents.

I could almost get off on the idea of Gabe’s death.

Over and over again, I think about his neck being spilt open from ear to ear. His blood, responsible for the deaths of everyone I love, will pour from him until his heart stops beating.

I’ll leave this nightmare he dragged me into. I’ll go to college. I’ll raise this baby in a loving home with War in peace. I’ll go on and live when it was Gabe’s plan to take it all away.

I’ll spit on his grave and laugh all the way into the sunset of my own twisted happily ever after.





THE THOUGHT OF Gabe’s death is responsible for an all-consuming nearly orgasmic shudder that ripples through me like never before. It’s not sexual though, it’s a buzzing, electric adrenaline I’ve never experienced. My body responds with anticipation to eradicate him once and for all from my life, not the feeling of his filthy tongue on my clit as he’d like for it to be.