by Bree Rivers
“Excellent. Hiding out from the Senator, of course.”
“He’s still bugging you about law school?”
“Of course he is.” Kane ran his hand through his hair. “You’re dressed up. What’s the occasion?”
She couldn’t help but slide her hips sideways so she could make her skirt move. The baby doll dress was a deep purple, almost eggplant color. She’d designed it herself, the shoes she was wearing took six months to save up for. “It’s my eighteenth birthday today, I’m legal, finally. I’m going out with Carter Allen tonight.”
“The townie?”
Rolling her eyes, she smiled. “Who else would date the gardener’s daughter?”
“Loads of guys. You could do better than those Allens.”
“Wasn’t Carter’s older brother one of your best friends?”
“He was. Doesn’t mean I’d want you to date him either, Vanity.”
“Super.” Her stare was direct and the bravest thing she’d ever done. “Then I’ll cancel and stay here with you, gotrocks.”
“You are far too sweet for someone like me, Van.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Go home to daddy, Princess. This ogre is never going to change.”
Vanity froze, her cheeks filling with color, biting her lower lip. She opened her mouth a few times as if she were trying to speak but couldn’t find the words.
“What are you trying to tell me, Vanity?”
“I want to stay, Kane. I want to be your girl. I know it’d be just for the summer—”
Kane’s face twisted with disgust, and her heart plummeted to her feet. “Van, you’ve got no idea what you’re asking or what I do here.”
“Hell, I don’t. I’ve been eavesdropping outside for years—”
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?” Please, she begged in her mind, please want me. Hiding outside his window for the last six years had been torture. But she learned. She understood two things about life now. Kane was a man who lived to be dominant.
And she was a female who preferred being submissive.
“Go home, Vanity. You’re a sweet girl, and I will always be your champion. So there’s no way I’ll ever let you inside my hell.”
His words might as well have been blows she felt so deeply hurt. “Fine.” Vanity shrugged, determined to follow through on her plan. She knew her body and her mind. If Kane wasn’t interested, her heart really didn’t get a vote. “I’ll just lose my virginity with Carter tonight. Don’t ever say I didn’t ask.”
Chapter 3 - Before
Kane pulled into the Bridge Bar, his temper still raging. Don’t say I didn’t ask. Vanity. It was always about Vanity. She started out as an adorable kid sister who pulled on his protective instincts and made him feel like a God and turned into a little curvy, saucy package that was a living sex fantasy. How the hell did that happen? He’d never been able to resist her pleas as a child, now she was legal, she was even more dangerous. There was no fucking way he’d let her in his dungeon, hell, she was too good to enter his living room.
Stepping into the bar, he was satisfied to see any number of hot women just waiting for him to send them a drink.
He thought he’d choose the two red-heads in the corner, when three of his former school friends, from before his Mom died and his father sent him away to keep him from becoming an embarrassment, surrounded him. He smiled and nodded, making sure to give the right kind of show. The Senator’s only child was expected to show up right. Someone shoved a beer in his hands which he smoothly changed into a whiskey with a pointed the finger at the bartender.
“You’ve got to join us, K. It’s going to be sick.”
Smiling at Ford, Carter’s older brother, he tried to remember what they were talking about. “They’re still doing ragers at the junkyard?”
“Hell yeah, but now they’ve got strippers. My little brother’s been begging me for a pass for years, but I keep telling him the wrong night. The little snot. He’s got some crazy hot chubby chick on the line for tonight, so I guess I’ll actually be left in peace for a change.”
Kane used years of training to hide his response to the slur on Vanity. “Is he still using GHB on his dates?”
“Fuck, yeah. How else would he get laid?”
Kane shattered the glass in his hand without even realizing his fingers had tightened. “Really? So Carter’s still a rapist.” The bartender, uneasy at the Senator’s son being unhappy, provided a fresh glass. The passing waitress handed him a cloth to clean off his hand and tried to follow it with a card that had her digits. He took both and dumped the number when her back was turned.
“Some things don’t change.”
“Right. Listen, Ford. Remember that little problem you had with your grades?”
“Yeah, man.” His eyes got narrow with his unease at the mention.
“Time to repay the favor.”
“What do you need?”
“Invite your rapist brother to the rager. I want him to walk out on his date.” Kane took a sip of his whiskey enjoying the burn against his throat.
Ford chuckled. “Are you sure? She’s a porker.”
She was also his, and he’d be damned if anyone else was getting a taste of her before him. “Let’s go see.” Kane swiped a beer from the bar and threaded through the crowd to get to the tables in the back. There was Vanity, looking as fresh as a violet in a dress made of a summer’s dusky sky with tiny straps that were slipping from her shoulders as she laughed too loud at something the shit Carter said. He slid into the booth with her and exchanged her glass for the one he held. He didn’t need drugs to get a girl interested. “Hello, sweet. Carter, I’m Kane. You probably don’t remember me, I used to hang with your older brother.”
Ford, right as his word, slipped into the booth on the other side. While he was busy softly speaking to the sputtering Carter, Kane took the opportunity to crowd Vanity. His thigh pressed against hers, he smiled at the expanse of silky skin. She wasn’t wearing hose. He folded his arms so he could use one hand under cover of his left to brush the side of her breast. “Were you serious today?” he asked her softly.
“I was.” Her pointed chin lifted with her pride. She took in a deep breath, and he could see her breasts press against the bodice of her dress. “And I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t disturb my plans with someone who isn’t going to say no.”
“Neither am I.” His fingers brushed against the curve of her beast, and she bit her lip.
Her head whipped to the side to look at him, her eyes as big as plates. “Kane ... I’m on a date. I can’t—”
“Vanity? Sorry, babe. Ford just told me about an emergency with my family.”
“Oh, I—”
“Can you get a cab home?” Ford and Carter both stood up.
“A cab?” Her voice screeched with the insult as her date followed his brother out of the bar before she finished the second word.
HE JUST LEFT.
How could he just ... leave?
Vanity picked up the beer and drank half of it angry that her date thought so little of her he’d abandon her like this. And worse—Kane saw the whole thing.
She kept her eyes down staring at her half empty glass, trying to force back the tears in her eyes. Kane got another short glass of amber colored fluid and made the waitress promise to dump the beer he’d taken away. Just like Kane. He wouldn’t even let her drink the beer Carter got for her.
His hand, large and warm, was on her knee and moved up her thigh. She trembled. Her eyes flew to his, and he gave her a small smile. “Stay or go, Vanity? Tell me what you want.”
“I ... I don’t know.”
“Good. Then, it’s my decision.” He squeezed her thigh, downed his shot, and stood up. Holding out a hand to her, she felt another of those tremors move through her body. His hand was huge, when she put her fingers in his, they felt like they were swallowed whole. Rising, Kane put his arm around her, his hand burning hot, easy to fee
l through the flimsy material of her dress. His hands slid over her arm, down until he was clasping her hip, and squeezed. Her breath froze as the heat of his skin seemed to move through her entire body and turn her insides liquid. “Keep your head up, Vanity. Carter’s an ass, and you deserve better.”
“That’s why I have you? To show up Carter?”
“You’ve always had me Vanity, don’t pretend you didn’t know it. You deserve a lot better than me, too. But you offered, and I’m not letting you go now.”
His arm returned to her shoulder, and he tucked her into his side. When they moved through the packed bar, the crowd magically parted before them. It was a drastic comparison from how Carter had to fight his way through all the people to get them to the table when they arrived.
Outside, Kane kept her tucked her under his arm as if she’d escape if he lost contact. His hand slid down to find her hip again, which he gave a small squeeze like he was testing peaches. Kane took her straight to his car, the cherry red classic Corvette he’d inherited from his Grandfather when he was only fifteen. He opened the door; gave her his hand to help her into the low riding car, and shut the door.
Vanity rested her head against the leather seat and tried to calm her racing pulse. Her heart beat any faster she was scared it’d jump out of her chest.
Kane got in, shut his door, and then reached over her to fasten her seatbelt. His hand cupped her cheek, and he turned her face to him. “Happy Birthday, sweet girl.” Kane’s mouth covered her lips, and he kissed her. Finally, a real Kane kiss. His lips were soft, but the passion behind it made her toes curl. His tongue swept past the seam of her lips to delve inside and taste her fully. His hand covered her breast, the heat of his palm burning through the fabric making her whimper in response. “Very nice.” He pressed a kiss to the side of her lips before putting his own seatbelt on, and turned the key, bringing the car to life as thoroughly as he had her body.
“I don’t understand. What made you change your mind, Kane?”
“You’ve always been mine, Vanity. I guess it took seeing you willing to make the worst mistake in your life to convince me it was time to stake my claim.”
“Is that what this is?”
His hand fell on her knee and moved her legs apart. Sliding up her inner thigh, her breath caught as he reached the top. His fingertips ran down the side of her lace panties. “Really?” He chuckled. “You might as well know now, from here on there’ll be nothing between me and what I own. We good?”
“Is this you claiming me, Kane?”
Kane seemed to have unerring radar as his finger pressed against her clit and started to rub it back and forth. “Claiming, Vanity? You’ve been mine since we were children. This is just me making it official.”
Chapter 4 - After
She felt his eyes on her before she saw him. Sitting on a rock next to the water’s edge. The breeze tousling his long hair, his eyes hooded from lack of sleep. Good. If he was going to insist on bugging her, he might as well look as crappy as she felt. “What do you want from me, Kane? Tell me. Get it off your chest, and then get the hell out of my life. There’s nothing here for you anymore.”
“Davis is here, too. We didn’t think it was a good idea for us both to confront you.”
“Confront me?”
“Van—”
“Violet, Kane. If nothing else, try to remember my fucking name.” her voice was harsher than the whip he’d used on her once. Looking at him, it was easy to see his entire body tense at her words. Violet shuddered as memories washed through her. Right. The all-mighty Kane doesn’t like it when women in his life use foul language. A tiny remnant of his father’s influence, no doubt. She remembered the cook who once spilled some melting sugar on her skin. The older woman cursed a blue streak, and the all mighty Senator had her fired while she was still in the hospital being treated for the burns.
“I’m sorry. You’re right. But here’s the thing, sweetheart.” He stalked over to her, and she backed away hating every cowardly step she took from him. Kane kept moving until she was against a tree. “I don’t give a shit what you call yourself. Violet. Vanity. Viola. Rupert. Doesn’t matter, sweetheart. You’re mine.”
His breath on her face, the heat from his body searing through the cold in the air. Violet stayed entirely still as she tried to keep the panic and terror from showing. Once she craved nothing more than Kane’s unwavering attention. Now she would give anything to have him stop. His dark eyes felt like they were peeling back each of the protective layers she’d built up around her to pick at the soft, hurting, open wounds beneath.
“Kane.”
His eyes locked on hers, Kane didn’t move from where he was at the sound of Davis’ voice. Violet tried to focus her mind on right here and right now. She was in a safe place, a beautiful forest where there was nothing but peace. Violet wasn’t in some filthy warehouse with three men beating and shoving into her body no matter how much she fought. No matter how loud she screamed. Her lips trembled, and her pulse skyrocketed. She went from hot to cold in a single panting breath.
“I’m not touching you, Vanity. I’m just close enough, so you remember. I’m Kane. The man who adores you. The man who has always adored you. I was the first man inside you. And if I have any points in the universe’s record, I’ll be inside you again. You and I are eternal.”
“Kane. Enough.”
He didn’t move his body away. Close enough that she could feel his heat, but not so close he made contact. The memories of their past fought for supremacy with the horrors of the incident. Kane swiveled his head to the side, to glare at Davis who had come closer. “She needs to know, D.”
“Not like this. Go back to the house.”
Kane’s jaw tensed, his head whipped back around when a small sob escaped Violet’s lips. His eyes moved so slowly from her parted lips to her eyes, and back to her mouth. “You’ll explain?”
“Only if you leave. Now.”
When he turned and stepped into the tree line, Violet’s knees gave out, and she crumpled to the ground. Wrapping her arms around her body, she buried her head against her knees, hiding her face with her hair. A jacket was draped around her shoulders; the citrus and sage scent uncurling in her brain and giving her the first full breath she’d had since Kane approached her. Looking up, Violet saw Davis through the strands of her hair kneel a foot away from her.
“I’m ... broken. I’m so ... fucking ... broken. Why do you two even care?”
“Kane and I became friends in the middle of hell. I will regret every day you went through what you did. That we weren’t there to protect you, but I am simply not a big enough man to walk away from you.”
“You’re pretty big, D.”
“And you know what I mean.”
“So what? The two of you heal me, and then you decide who keeps me? Or is this some kind of disgusting pity party?”
“What? No. Violet ... look, we should have this discussion when you’re feeling better.” Davis stood up and started to pace in front of her, nodding. “Yeah. That’s a better idea. We’ll talk about it later.”
“Davis, it’s been almost a year. This is who I am now. We all need to get used to it.” Looking up at him, some small part of her heart clenched at the agony in his eyes. “I’d rather know, than not.”
“Kane and I share women, baby. And you are definitely a woman made to be shared.”
“You ... what now?”
Davis stared at her, the agony cleared, and a pure hot passion poured in glazing his chocolate eyes into liquid heat. “You worked at an S&M club, Violet. You know what I’m talking about. The two of us want a relationship with you. A binding one. We would have a private service where we’d marry each other—”
“That’s legal?”
“Gray, our former commander, his family owns an island. In this country, you’d be legally married to Kane since his name offers you more protection. You, Kane, and I would sign a ton of papers making us responsible for each other.”
“What you’re describing is a fairy tale, Davis.”
“Oh, it’s genuine, sweetheart. We’re getting married. We’re going to share a life. And by all that’s holy, I will spend the rest of my days giving you so much pleasure we’ll burn away every bad memory those bastards inflicted on you.”
Violet started to rock, shaking so hard her teeth were rattling. She didn’t want to talk about ... that. She didn’t want to think about pleasure ... or warehouses with demons shoving ... she didn’t want any of it. Her mind, floundering for something—anything—to hold onto, tried to grasp on a different subject. “Why are you and Kane such good friends?”
“Kane and I met on my second tour. I was with a squad, run by a son-of-a-bitch LT. Asshole was only in it to get enough commendations so he could write himself a sweet deal with some merc outfit. We were in a firefight with some extremists outside this little village in the Kush. My commanding dick decided to bug out and leave. Gray, Kane, and the rest of their team saved us on their own.”
“Did you stay with them?”
“Risking my entire career for ignoring an order.”
“Why?”
“I knew where I belonged.”
“Kane ... who was he protecting?”
“How did you know?”
Violet’s lips twisted into the closest she could come to a smile. “I know Kane.”
“Three girls. The insurgents take the girls, use them—occasionally kill them—if they’re lucky. If they actually enjoy them, they’ll marry or sell them off. Either way, they treat them like trash, easy to dispose of.”
“Of course they do. They’re men.” Violet looked up and shook her head. “Go away.”
“No, baby. That’s the last thing I’m doing.”
“What do you want, Davis? There’s nothing left for you here.”