Bitter Sweet Hell (Hell Night Book 2) Read online

  Just then, something hairy scurries across my feet, and I really hope it’s not a rat. “Umm… JW? You have a cat, right?” I ask, my voice barely a whisper from my brain being so fogged with desire.

  “No,” he mumbles around the nipple still in his mouth.

  My eyes snap open wide, and I immediately scramble up on the bed. JW’s still bent over from my sudden movement, his mouth hanging open from where I popped my nipple out of it. I scream when a little furry black head appears over the side of the bead, its beady eyes staring up at me.

  JW chuckles as he walks over and scoops up the little critter and cradles it in his arms. I narrow my eyes at him.

  “That’s not funny,” I spit.

  “Actually, it was very funny.”

  I huff and cross my arms over my chest. I almost lose my balance on the mattress when I shift my weight to my other foot.

  “You could have answered my question with more than a simple no, you ass. Or given me a heads up or something.”

  “But this way was so much more fun.”

  I want to punch the mirth right off his face, but it’s really freaking hard to stay mad at him when he allows the cute little ferret on his shoulder to rub its head against his neck. JW pets the animal affectionately as he stares up at me still on the mattress.

  “Come meet Piper.”

  I hedge closer to the edge of the bed. I’ve never owned a ferret but I’ve always thought they were cute. JW holds his other hand out to help me from the bed. Once I’m back on the floor, I look at the adorable little creature. Reaching out, I run my fingers over her head and down her long body. She stays idle on JW’s shoulders.

  “She’s so pretty. Her coat is so dark it almost looks blue. How old is she?”

  “Three years.”

  I smile at Piper and continue to pet her.

  “I just can’t imagine a big tough man like you having such a small and delicate pet.”

  He grunts, and I lift my eyes to him. He’s looking down at his arm, where my bare breasts, still hanging out of my bra, are pressed against him. His eyes flick back up to mine and the heat’s back in their blue depths.

  “I’ll be back.”

  I watch as he walks out of the room with Piper. My heart begins to pound with anticipation. When he appears back in the doorway, he does that sexy move men do when they reach between their shoulder blades and yanks off their shirt. And holy hell, his chest is a work of art. Tanned skin, hard muscles, and several tattoos. My mouth waters.

  “You look like you want to eat me.” He stalks slowly across the room toward me.

  “Maybe I do.”

  “Not until I’ve had you first,” he growls, coming to a stop in front of me and dropping to his knees. “Lose the bra.”

  I reach back and unhook my bra then throw it to the side. He stares up at me, his eyes dark with lust. He grips my hips with firm hands and brings his mouth to my upper stomach. My breath hitches at the first touch of his lips against my skin.

  “That feels sooo good,” I moan because I want him to know how good he makes me feel.

  His mouth moves south down my stomach, leaving a wet trail behind. He stops at my belly ring long enough to flick it with his tongue.

  “This is so sexy,” he remarks huskily.

  He looks up at me when he slowly starts pulling down my skirt. As soon as it’s over my hips, he drops his head and kisses each hip bone, across my lower stomach, and over my bare pubic bone.

  Feeling his hot breath fanning between my thighs has my legs going weak. I cry out and grip his shoulders to keep from falling when his tongue swipes between my folds. My legs are closed, so he can’t get a good reach, but that’s all taken care of a moment later when he pries them apart, putting one over his shoulder.

  I pant and become dizzy when he licks me again, his tongue snaking between the lips of my pussy. One hand digs into my asscheek to hold me steady when I uncontrollably buck my hips forward. The other he uses to tease my opening. The rumble of his growl and the scrape of his gruff against my thighs has my eyes crossing in pleasure. Nothing in my whole life has ever felt so good.

  I come undone and fireworks explode behind my closed eyes when his lips attach themselves around my clit and he sucks on the highly sensitive bundle of nerves. I come hard and fast, faster than I ever have before. My legs start to shake and my toes dig into the carpet. All I can do is hold onto his shoulders as I ride the blissful wave of rapture.

  I jerk in his hold when he doesn’t release my clit. I’m so sensitive it’s almost painful.

  “Oh, God,” I whimper. “Too much.”

  “Not enough,” he growls in response, repeating the words he said to me that day in Remi and Trouble’s bathroom.

  He continues to lick, suck, and fuck me with his fingers. I want to beg him to stop and beg him to never stop.

  When he pulls his head away, I slump down on the bed. My legs feel like jelly and my heart thumps heavily against my ribs. Exhaustion has my eyes drooping, but when I see JW tugging down his pants, fatigue is the last thing on my mind.

  I rub my lips together as I stare at his engorged cock. He’s long, thick, and looks painfully hard. The head is a deep red and there’re thick veins running up the sides. A bead of pre-cum hangs from the tip.

  I have the sudden urge to suck that drop away and see if I can get him to produce more.

  “Another time, baby,” he says, reading my thoughts. “I need your tight pussy wrapped around my cock more than I need your lips around it.”

  Damn, I seriously love it when he talks dirty.

  “Scoot up,” he says then walks to the nightstand, pulls the drawer out, and retrieves a condom. Again, he does the sexy man move with the condom; ripping it open with his teeth, before sliding it down his shaft. A hiss of air leaves his throat as he does so.

  I scoot back, my legs shamelessly falling open and waiting for him. Anticipation has my heart rate speeding up again as he crawls on the bed and settles himself between my legs.

  “I’m sorry,” he murmurs against my lips. Gripping his cock, he notches the head at my entrance.

  “What for?” I frown in confusion.

  “Because this is going to be fast and rough. I’ve been on edge for days.”

  Before I can respond, he’s sliding in me. His thrust isn’t forceful or fast, just a smooth non-stop glide until he’s all the way in and his balls are resting against my ass. I let out a soft moan at the welcome intrusion. It’s a snug fit, but it’s a good snug fit. One that borders on pain but still feels oh so good.

  “Sweet Christ Almighty,” he rasps.

  I weave my legs around his waist and lock my feet at the small of his back. He lifts to one elbow and uses his other hand to lift my ass. When he starts moving, his thrusts are steady and long. Like, he pulls all the way out to the tip and slides back in until he’s fully seated. Each time he presses against my pelvis, he hits just the right spot over my clit.

  Sweat slides down his temples, and why does that look so damn hot? Why does it make me want to lick away the salty moisture?

  He speeds up, his grunts and my moans fill the space around us. My eyes fall closed as an intense wave of pleasure starts in my lower stomach. His fingers dig into the fleshy part of my asscheek, lifting me even higher. When his cock hits something inside me with the new angle, my eyes spring open. A throaty cry flies from my mouth.

  “There,” I moan. “Oh, God, right there.”

  Cocking his knee under my ass, he adjusts my angle, and my eyes about roll into the back of my head from the added pleasure that simple move gives me. My legs tense around his hips and my breath gets stuck in my throat, but a moment later, I’m letting out a loud cry as my release slams through me. My nails dig into the muscles of his shoulders, I’m sure painfully so, but it seems to spur him on because he starts hammering his hips forward.

  With a grunt, he drops his head into the crook of my neck, and with a final forceful thrust, he stills.

 
I love the feel of his fevered breath fanning across my sweaty flesh and the erratic beat of his heart against my chest.

  After several moments, he moves his hips again. Just lazy slow strokes, but it feels good. His scruff scrapes my skin as he lays tender kisses over my collar bone.

  “You undo me,” he murmurs quietly. My heart flutters at his admission.

  I gently run my fingers through his hair and whisper my own confession. “No more than you do me.”

  WE’RE IN BED AFTER TWO rounds of bed sex and one round of shower sex. I’m on my stomach, half on his chest and half on the bed. Our legs are tangled together, and I keep rubbing the arch of my foot over the hair on his shin. What can I say? It’s oddly soothing. He’s playing with my braid, and ever so often goosebumps appear on my arms because the end tickles my back. The only light filters in from the hallway. We’ve both been quiet for the last several minutes. I hate to break the silence, but there’s something I want to ask him. Something I forgot about until his and Judge’s argument earlier.

  “Will you….” I hesitate, unsure how to ask, but decide to just come right out with it. “Will you tell me about Sweet Haven?”

  The muscles in his stomach tense and his hand stops playing with my hair. I hold my breath and wait.

  “How do you know about Sweet Haven?” he asks, his voice carrying a hint of…. Anger, maybe?

  I opt to keep my head on his chest instead of sitting up and looking at him like I desperately want to do. I get the feeling I wouldn’t like his expression if I saw it.

  “When I was little, I think I was about eight, I remember hearing the name. It was all over the news for weeks. My parents would always change the channel when it was on the TV and anytime I asked about it, she said it wasn’t for my young ears. It kinda stuck with me though, because I know there were some kids hurt, and I felt bad for them. Then years later, when I was an adult, I walked into a coffee shop and caught the end of a news broadcast. They were talking about how the town Sweet Haven had a new name. Malus. What you said about coming back here and rebuilding the town made me think of it again.”

  I stop talking and hold my breath again. He’s quiet for so long that I wonder if he’ll say anything at all. I was so young when the news broke out about Sweet Haven that I didn’t know what they meant when they mentioned a sex ring. My parents shielded me as much as they could, but I heard whispers from the teachers at school. All I knew about it, was that it was bad. Thinking back now, those teachers were neglectful and should have made sure kids weren’t around to overhear them.

  When he does begin to speak, JW’s voice is flat and devoid of emotion.

  “My brothers and I; Judge, Trouble, Emo, and myself, along with many other kids, grew up in Sweet Haven. You were right. The name didn’t change until we came back and petitioned the change. The place was a ghost town until we arrived almost eleven years ago, only a few people remaining from when we were kids. A few innocent adults and a handful of kids.”

  He picks my hair back up and starts twisting it around his fist loosely. I feel the hard thump of his heart under my hand. I hold still, afraid if I move, he’ll stop talking.

  “When we were little, most days our childhood was normal. Anyone from the outside looking in, they’d see a small town filled with loving families and friendly neighbors.” He laughs harshly. “I say that, but we never got outsiders. I fuckin’ wish we did.” He stops again, and I feel my hair being lifted, then his deep inhale, like he’s smelling my hair. “Hell Night is what me and my brothers called the one night a month when the adults changed from loving parents to lecherous monsters. All of the adults called it The Gathering. To us it was a night we were put through hell, while to them, it was a night to show the kids the ‘true meaning of love’. Utter fucking bullshit. It gave them the opportunity to rape and molest kids while they justified it as love. The adults didn’t just abuse their own children, but others as well. They all shared. Or most of them anyway.”

  I can’t help it. The gasped words leave my lips before I can stop them. “Oh, my God. Those bastards.”

  “Bastards?” he asks “No, they weren’t bastards. They were sick psychos who had a twisted way of spreading love when they didn’t know the meaning of the word.”

  I’m appalled. Like completely, overwhelmingly, horrifyingly appalled. What kind of parents would do that to a child? What kind of parent would allow someone else to touch their child in such a disgusting way? What kind of person likes to touch children in that way? They should all be stripped and treated the same way. I’ve always had the mindset that if you lay your hands on someone in a way they don’t want, your punishment should be the same in kind. Inmate rape in prisons against child molesters and rapists…. Yeah, I’ve never felt sorry for them.

  “I am so sorry you went through that,” I offer. It’s a lame condolence, one I’m sure he’s heard many times over the years, but it’s the only thing I can offer. I’m still kind of speechless. While I knew what happened all those years ago was horrible, I had no clue just how much.

  He moves, rolling to his side, and turning me until I’m facing him. Our legs are still tangled together, but our chests are no longer touching. He gazes at me, and I see the deep pain he’s trying to hide but still very much feels.

  “Despite what my brothers and I went through, I think we turned out okay. Most of that is due to Mae and Dale.”

  “The older woman from the diner?”

  “Yes. Dale died three years ago. It was with Mae and Dale’s help that we were able to get away the night of the raid. Otherwise, we would have been put in the system and separated. They knew how devastating that would have been for us. My brothers and I aren’t blood related, but we couldn’t be more close if we were.

  “What happened to all of the adults?”

  His jaw hardens when he answers. “Most were arrested, some died that night, and some got away.”

  “Were they ever caught?”

  His eyes narrow in anger. “A few were, but there are some still out there.”

  The way his voice deepens at that revelation, the pure malevolence in his tone, sends shivers slithering down my spine. With good reason, he’s irate at the fact that some people got away and evaded the punishment they rightly deserved. To know they are out there somewhere, possibly hurting other children, brings on my own anger.

  I curl my fingers around his neck and rub my thumb over the heavy pulse, hoping to soothe him. I’d like to think it’s that gesture that causes some of the darkness to leave his eyes, but I don’t know for sure.

  “You were right. You and your brothers have turned out so much better than most people would. You’re kind, brave, and compassionate. You’ve gone beyond your duty to help me. And I’ve seen the way you, Judge, and Trouble interact with the townspeople. You all seem to genuinely care about them. Emo, I haven’t been around him long enough to form an opinion, but he seems to be quiet and guarded. Even so, I bet he still cares, he just doesn’t show it well.”

  His brows pucker as he frowns, and I feel my hair being lifted again. I love that he likes playing with my hair.

  “Emo’s had it harder than the rest of us. I won’t go into detail because it’s not my story to tell, but the rest of us at least got breaks in between Hell Nights. He didn’t. He lived in hell all the time.”

  My heart breaks for the silent and withdrawn man. I’ve seen the fresh cuts and scars on his hands. They’re harder to see through the tattoos covering the skin, but his arms carry some too. It’s his hands that are mangled terribly though. It makes me wonder if the rest of his body is marked as well. I keep that curiosity to myself. As JW said, that’s not my business to know. So instead, I ask him something else.

  “Why did you and your brothers choose to come back here?”

  “We grew up here. It’s a big part of our past. A dark and painful one, but still a big part. We knew some of the good people stayed here. Mae and Dale always kept up with the few people who remained. We want
ed to give this town a new history, one that people didn’t cringe at. It’ll always have a stigma, but eventually it’ll fade to where it’s barely noticeable. We’re helping it along by making Malus a safe place for people who’ve been abused in some way. Almost everyone here has one thing in common; they all share horrifying experiences. But they also heal, flourish, and become strong here. They don’t have to be afraid. We’re more than just neighbors and friends, we’re a family.”

  “That’s beautiful.” Tears prick my eyes at what JW and his brothers have created in Malus. “It’s amazing that you want to take the place that caused you so much pain and turn it into something good. Something that will help other people.”

  His eyes slide away from mine, but I catch something in them before they do. Some emotion I can’t name, but it’s dark and grim and makes me curious about what just went through his head. When he looks back at me, it’s gone, and I wonder if it was just my imagination.

  “Enough with the heavy talk,” he states and rolls to his back. I’m lifted and placed on top of him, my legs straddling his hips. With my braid wrapped around his fist, he tugs me down. “Now kiss me,” he rumbles sexily.

  I do just that, because, well…. Who am I to deny him?

  JW

  I WAKE TO THE ANNOYING as fuck sound of my phone ringing. I ignore it, something I usually don’t do, because I’m the sheriff and therefore always on call. The soft and warm body in front of me feels way too good to let go of though.

  I tighten my arm around Eden’s waist and bury my face deeper into her hair, breathing in the sweet floral scent. We’re both naked and my quickly rising cock is nestled between her asscheeks. I never want to leave this bed or this position. If I stayed here a year, just like this, I’d be okay with that.

  But my Goddamn phone keeps going off. I growl grumpily, ready to slug the person who has shitty timing. Don’t they know I’m in bliss right now and should be left alone?