When It Raynes (Frost Industries #1)

by Montana Fyre

“Rayne,” Emerson whines, breaking me out of my trance. “I’m going to take care of you, baby. Do you trust me?” She hesitates for a moment, her cheeks flushing pink at my scrutiny.

Emerson is struggling to stay still, but she needs to learn to obey, especially in the bedroom. I won’t accept anything else, and the quicker she learns that, the better it will be for her.

Something came up, I won’t be at the Center today. I had some groceries delivered while you were asleep, I expect you to eat something. I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow night for the gala. Rayne.

“I went to your apartment to pick you up, imagine my surprise to find you weren’t there.” My eyes widen. He went to pick me up? “I-I-I didn’t think you meant it, and I needed to arrive with Dad anyway. When I didn’t hear from you today, I assumed you were busy.” I shrug like the idea of his rejection hadn’t been playing on my mind since the moment I woke up without him. “I thought you would know by now that I don’t say anything I don’t mean.” His voice is harsh, menacing even, and I find myself wanting to appease him, to hear him praise me like he did as he played my body like it was an instrument he’s been playing his entire life.

“It’s okay, sweet girl.” I brush my fingers down her cheek, reveling in the feel of her soft skin under my fingertips. “You’ve well and truly earned yourself a punishment though.” Emerson’s mouth drops open. “Punishment?”

“I’ve been very clear about my intentions and my expectations of you. You are my woman, and I take care of what belongs to me. I don’t give a fuck if you think it’s insane, or if you’re unsure, because I’m sure enough for the both of us. Your health and safety are my number one priority at all times. Did I mark every inch of skin I could? Absolutely. But when that happened, you were safe. The bruises will fade in a few days. I asked how many drinks you’ve had because I know how important tonight is, and I didn’t want you having one too many glasses of champagne to cause any issues. So yes, you will be punished. For back chatting me, for continually putting yourself in danger after I’ve explicitly told you what I expect of you, and frankly, just because I know you’re going to fucking love every second.”

“You are going to drink moderately. I want you within my line of sight at all times.” Emerson opens her mouth ready to argue, but I continue before she can. “You’ve caught Russo’s attention, and he has a lot of friends in high places, friends that could be here tonight. Until we know how much interest he has in you, I am not willing to risk you because you’re too stubborn and independent. At the end of the night, you’re going to come home with me, and you will follow every instruction I give you to the letter. Do I make myself clear?” My tone is more menacing than I intend, but I need her to know I’m not fucking around. The eyes I have on Russo told me he noticed she didn’t come to work when she was rostered on, and while I don’t have any proof, I would think Russo will be looking for her before long, because that’s what I would do.

“I already told him,” Rayne informs me, tightening his grip around my waist. I stop in my tracks, my mouth dropping open as I stare at him. “You did what?” “I told him that we’re together the other morning before I took you home.” He shrugs like the words he’s sprouting are normal and obvious, which they most definitely are not. “I don’t even know what we are. Maybe you could have clued me in on it before telling my father!”

“Sweet girl, you have to reason to be afraid. My parents are the sweetest people you’ll ever meet, and when I mentioned you, I thought my mom and sisters were going to pass out from excitement. Snow hasn’t stopped bugging me about meeting you since I asked her to find a dress for you for tonight.” He presses his lips to my forehead. “They’re going to be as obsessed with you as I am.”

Rayne shrugs. “I figured you’ll wear them at some stage. The others are in my wardrobe at home.” I’m speechless. Actually fucking floored. Where the fuck am I going to wear another dress like this, let alone seven? We only have one gala per year, and I don’t go anywhere else that would warrant such extravagance.

“Plus, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to spoil my girl, is there?” I open my mouth to respond, but nothing comes out. Rayne looks at me with a smug smile, like he enjoys rendering me without words.

Emerson is my weakness. Already I find myself thinking about her needs long before I consider my own or the consequences, and that’s really fucking dangerous for us both.

“Well, here’s the thing. I have a beautiful woman waiting for me. The most stunning creature you’ve ever seen in your miserable fucking life. And she’s about to make a speech that she’ll be really fucking mad if I miss. Now, if anything, or anyone, makes my woman angry, or upset for that matter, I get angry, and believe me when I tell you, you don’t want to see me mad.”

“It’s okay, sweet girl. I’ve got you,” Rayne rasps, his voice coated in something I’ve never heard from him before. If I had to hazard a guess, fear. “I’ve got you.” I allow myself to sink into his warmth, the terror I felt only a few moments ago evaporating as I give myself to Rayne, and trust him to keep me safe as I give into the darkness tugging at the edge of my vision.

Emerson is pressed against the tiled wall. Her entire body shakes violently, her dress is pushed up around her ass, torn and tattered. My precious girl sobs so hard I’m almost worried she’s going to hurt herself.

“I’ll take care of this. You take care of your girl,” Storm says quietly, but I’m way ahead of him. I approach Emerson slowly, not wanting to startle her after what she’s just been through. I pull her body back into mine, holding her against me as I carefully push her dress back down. It’s torn, and it doesn’t cover much, but there will be a swarm of people in here any minute now, the clean-up crew Storm is organizing, she doesn’t need anyone staring at her.

Emerson relaxes into my hold, and a moment later, she’s limp in my arms. It’s probably for the best. She doesn’t need to see the clean-up crew take the monster that put his hands on her away.

“Get her out of here. Wynter is outside. She’s going to check her over, check if she needs to go to the hospital. If not, take her home.” Storm is in work mode. He’s calling the shots even though this is usually my job. Taking care of dead bodies is my bread and butter, but he steps into the role without hesitation so I can take care of my woman.

“It’s okay, sweet girl. No one is going to hurt you. Angelo Russo is not going to get his grubby hands on you, okay?” I say the words into her hair, hoping her scent will keep me grounded. I have a temper. And when I say I have a temper, I don’t mean I get mad. No, when I snap, I black out for periods of time until someone can bring me back again, and I can’t afford for Emerson to see me like that.

A loud sob breaks from her chest and for the first time in my fucking life, I feel helpless. There’s nothing I can do to numb the pain, nothing I can do to take it away, at least not while we’re here. I need to get her home, get that motherfucker’s blood off her, and then I need to take care of her the only way I know how.

“I’ve organized for a car to pick you up at the back entrance so we can avoid the paparazzi,” Wynter tells us as Storm slips into the room, his eyes looking over Emerson protectively. They’ve only known each other for a few hours, but I see the familiar look in his eyes. It’s the same way he looks at Wynter and Snow, which means he’s accepting Emerson as part of the family.

The way he’s holding me only seems to make my heart clench more, it’s like he thinks one wrong move will break me.

“Because I need you in my bed tonight, sweet girl. I need to know you’re safe behind so much security there’s no way anyone can get to you.” His voice is soft, but I hear what lurks beneath the surface. He needs this just as badly as I need to be in his arms.

He closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “Sweet girl, I’m really fucking close to losing my fucking mind. I need you to let me take care of you. Can you do that for me?”

“I was anxious about the event today and couldn’t face eating anything,” I explain. “I think you just like breaking my rules, sweet girl,” Rayne rumbles. “Let’s get you something to eat. Your dad will be calling soon to check in.”

“He couldn’t live after putting his hands on what belongs to me,” Rayne growls. “I will always protect you, Emerson. I will kill anyone that hurts you, and I will burn the whole fucking world to the ground if it means keeping you safe. You are everything to me, sweet girl, and there’s nothing I won’t do to ensure your safety.” His lips crash down on mine before I can fully process the words he’s just spoken.

I adjust my grip on her again, making damn sure she can’t make a run for it. She wouldn’t get far anyway, Storm organized an entire team of security for Emerson and they’re stationed by the door, in the lobby, and at every exit point. My sweet girl is trapped, whether she likes it or not.

She’s thrashing around in my lap so much I’m starting to worry she’s going to hurt herself. “Emerson,” I growl, grabbing a hold of both her wrists in one of my hands. “You are going to hurt yourself. I understand this is a shock, and I understand why you are upset, but there is nothing you can do or say to change that you’re mine. I’m never going to let you go, and the sooner you understand that, the better off you’ll be.”

“I told you, Emerson. There’s nowhere you can run from me that I won’t find you and drag your ass right back here. You don’t get to put distance between us, because the more space I give you, the more you’re going to overthink things, and that’s the last thing either of us needs. So no. No space. No time to process. This is happening.”

“No, Emerson, that’s enough. You’ve been trying to back out of this from the moment I told you that you were mine. Every time I leave you on your own for any amount of time, you start doubting everything I say to you. So I’m not going to give you that chance anymore.” I feel my mouth drop open, but I don’t have any words. What he’s saying sounds a lot like I’m his prisoner, and surely that’s not what he’s trying to get at.

“I think my girl needs to be punished. I think she’s begging to be shown just how serious I am.” His whisper is deep and menacing and sets something primal off deep inside me. “Is that what you want, sweet girl?”

He hovers over my back, his erection pressing into my ass. “I’ll never give you more than you can handle,” he assures me. “If it gets too much, I want you to say ‘red’, okay?” I nod against the pillows, an uneasy feeling settling over me. I’ve never given up complete control in the bedroom, never let a man tie me up, or blindfold me. And yet the word doesn’t touch my tongue. I don’t even consider using the out he’s given me.

“There’s my good girl,” Rayne praises and heat floods my core. His words turn me into liquid butter and make me want to comply with his every instruction. If that’s not the biggest indicator of how much trouble I’m in, I don’t know what is.

I’ll do everything in my power to protect her, hire the best security, lock her up in the penthouse where nothing can ever touch her. Whatever it takes to keep my woman safe, but I won’t ever let her go.

Of course I can’t clip my butterfly’s wings. I have to give her the illusion of control in some things. I will let her choose our home, maybe our children’s names, the things she will believe to be the most significant. But I will make every other decision in our lives, and I’ve already started doing

“Emerson,” Rayne whispers into my hair as he peppers kisses all over my face. “Come back to me, sweet girl.” His words are sweet and gentle, so at odds with the man I had seen a few hours ago, the man that murdered a man in cold blood because he touched me.

“I mean, no. I’m not having anything between us.” He thrusts his hips forward farther and takes my argument right from my throat. The slight burn that mingles with the intense pleasure makes it hard to breathe, let alone argue about contraception. “I know that you’re clean and on the pill. I was tested the day we met because I would never risk your health.” My mouth drops open again. “How do you know I’m on the pill?”

I have security at every exit of your building and two at the door. I’ve also arranged permanent security for Emerson, people already in the ranks who we trust to keep her safe. I have Everett going through that shitbag’s phone and emails to see if we can find a request for him to grab her from Russo. We can’t start a war without proof.

She isn’t getting time. She’s being told what’s happening and she’ll need to learn to live with that because she doesn’t have a choice in the matter. Not when it’s her life at risk.

“There are movers at your apartment at the moment. Your stuff will be here in a couple of hours.” Confusion morphs into anger, which morphs into blinding rage,

“Russo sent someone to collect you last night, sweet girl. He’s only going to send others, and the only way I can ensure your safety is for you to be here, with me, and with the best security system in the damn city.”

“I’m saying the only place you’re safe is with me. I’m saying that you’re moving in, effective immediately, and will not leave this building without me or a member of security. This is about your safety, and therefore it isn’t up for negotiation.”

“What do you mean no?” he growls. “I mean no. I’m not moving in here with you. If I’m going to have security anyway, and there will be security here, why can’t I just have it at my apartment? We’ve been together for a matter of days, Rayne. We can’t live together, that’s not how this works.” I’m trying my best to remain calm despite my body and mind running a mile a minute.

“Emerson, if I thought you would agree to it, I would marry you today. Moving in together is me compromising.” He shrugs like what he’s just said is the most casual thing he’s said all day. “Even if Russo wasn’t a threat, I would have been doing everything I could to get you here permanently, it’s just moved up the timeline a little.”

“You’ve resigned from the diner effective immediately.” “Excuse me?” Surely I heard him wrong. Surely those words haven’t just left his mouth. “You’re not working at the diner anymore. You’re working and the Center, and you’re finishing school. You’ve been making yourself sick working so much and I won’t tolerate you making yourself ill.”

“I need that job, Rayne. I’m already down a lot of money from giving up the club, I can’t survive on the money I make at the Center.” Tears pool in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I can’t break in front of him. “You don’t need the money.”

“Like I said, you don’t need the money. You can focus on the things you love, on the Center, on finishing your degree.” If he hadn’t just tried to buy me like a whore, I might think he was being sincere. It’s the excitement in his eyes, the way he smiles at me like I’m his whole world, the way he casually leans against the bench across from me that almost disarms me.

“Rayne, I need you to listen to me, and I need you to listen really fucking hard,” I hiss. “I am leaving. I cannot stay here with you when you obviously see me as fucking whore. What? I sleep with you and then you pay me? Is that how this fucking works.” His face drops slightly. “That’s not what this is, sweet girl.” Rayne reaches for me, his hand extending toward me as if our bodies connecting can make me feel anything other than dirty.

counter. “Don’t touch me.” I hate the way my voice breaks when I say it, and the way I still long to throw my arms around him and bury my face in his bare chest, to feel the comfort I know he can offer me. “I’m not going to hurt you, Emerson. I’ll never hurt you,” he says the words softly, but he doesn’t make another move toward me, sensing how close I am to losing my shit. “You already have,” I whisper, and then I’m sprinting through the penthouse as fast as my legs will take me.

I had a feeling she was going to lose her ever-loving mind when she found out what I’d done. I had a feeling she was going to fucking flip when I told her she was moving in with me and there was no other option. But I didn’t expect her to look… hurt.