Sanctum (Sacred Series Book 1)

by K. Michelle

  “What do you want?” The venom in her words bite into me.

  “To talk. To explain. To apologize.”

  “Waking me up at seven in the morning was not the best way to go about it, asshole.” Dessa turns around but doesn’t shut the door, and I don’t move. Why am I so nervous? Fuck, she throws me off my game. “Are you coming in or what? It’s fucking cold, and you’re letting all my heat out by just standing there.”

  I hurry and step inside past her. Dessa locks the door back up, but the moment she turns towards me, I drop the flowers and pin her against the wall, doing this the only way I know how to when it comes to her. “You can’t be mad at me, Little One.”

  “The fuck I can’t. And you can’t use your body to—”

  I bring old-school Cohen back and shut her up the way I want to. My mouth seals to hers, and my tongue runs along her lips until she opens. It only takes seconds until her arms lift around my shoulders, and her fingers are in my hair. Just as I’m about to carry her to her room and apologize the way I’m dying to, she bites my tongue and pulls my hair—hard. Her hand comes down and grabs my dick, but I’m feeling anything but pleasure. Leaning more towards anguish. “Jesus, let go.”

  “No. You think you can come over at seven in the morning, bring me flowers, and shove your tongue in my mouth to apologize?” Dessa’s grip tightens, “You’re going to have to do better than that.” She lessens her hold, and I can breathe again, but she may have taken a bit of my manhood with her. “I need coffee before I deal with your shit.” She disconnects from me, making it feel cold in her seventy-degree apartment. Leaning against her door, I fist my hand and softly bang on the wood in frustration as she walks away. She’s going to make me grovel. Cohen “Priest” Russo does not grovel. And while this was a trait that attracted me to her, I’m regretting it now that I’m on the receiving end. Heading into her kitchen, I find Dessa leaning against the counter in one of my shirts, sipping coffee with her blonde hair thrown on top of her head in a knot. She’s stunning, and I’ve lost my breath.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. You got a weird look on your face.”

  Chuckling, I walk up to her, placing both hands on the counter to cage her in, and ask for forgiveness with my eyes.

  “I’m so mad at you, Cohen.”

  “I know.”

  “You should’ve told me.”

  “I know.”

  “Why didn’t you?”

  Sighing, I kiss her forehead, bringing both of my hands up to cup her cheeks, directing her eyes to mine. I see the damage I’ve done in her eyes, and the pain is as if someone lodged a stake into the center of my chest. “I was going to. I truly didn’t plan on you finding out like that. We’ve been so preoccupied with Sanctum and Rory, and I thought I had it under control. I promise I was going to tell you. I’m so sorry I hurt you.” She sighs and looks at my chest. I feel like the ultimate dick. “Can we sit down so I can explain everything? I’ll answer all of your questions.”

  Dessa nods, and some of the tension in my chest alleviates. We walk into her living room, and she sits on the far end of the couch, covering up with her favorite blanket, tucking her feet in so she’s a little ball.

  “The names are a coincidental similarity,” I say, and she rolls her eyes. “But I swear to you, I was never engaged to her.”

  Dessa bites her lip in uncertainty. “She had a ring.”

  “Henry gave it to her.” That got her attention. “Yeah. Her dad is his right-hand man. They took it upon themselves to try and pull off an arranged marriage. She was gung-ho about it. I was not. I couldn’t stand her from the moment I met her. The whole fake, snotty, brat persona makes me want to chew rusty nails. But my dad did a ‘How would you like to wear this ring and the title of Mrs. Cohen Russo?’ speech. He told her I was on board and everything. He was surprised as hell when I refused. They’ve been trying to push us together ever since.”

  “Why am I just now seeing her? I feel like I would’ve heard about her by now.”

  I scratch my head. Just rip off the band-aid, Cohen. “Well, you see. I sort of paid her to leave. When she came back the other day, I paid her again to leave … again.”

  “You’re kidding me.”

  “I wish I was.”

  “That is pathetic, Cohen.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? The woman is a parasite, and now she’ll be causing more issues.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Here we go. “Yesterday. The Sanctum meeting. They don’t know that it’s us, which is good. But Henry asked us to do a certain … job.”

  “What do you mean? Why do I have a bad feeling?”

  “Because you are the job. This is about more than just Rory, and I don’t know the connection. All I know is, I need to keep you safe. But Tessa knows who you are now. So, if she opens her mouth to Henry …”

  “Okay, I have people looking for me, except ten-fold, I mean, minus the two we killed. Eight-fold, plus a bimbo.”

  “Not exactly.”

  “I’m not following. Just spit it out.”

  “It was like the regular Sanctum meetings. They brought up Harvey’s murder, but no mention of Kevin. I’m assuming because not everyone knows about the trafficking side. Henry’s sketchy as fuck. He’s acting careless and messy, and he’s never been that way in all the years I’ve been alive. After the meeting, Henry met with Evan and me, showing us more pictures of you and gave us all of your information. He wants me to find you and bring you in. To him. By weeks’ end.”

  “Uh, why?”

  I shrug. “I don’t know. The idiot is so preoccupied with himself, he doesn’t even know his son has already bagged the girl he’s looking for.”

  She punches me in the arm but barks out a laugh. “Dick.”

  I catch her hand after she punches me and drag her into my lap as the left side of my mouth pulls up. She doesn’t move away, so that’s progress I’ll take. I grab her hand and bring it to my mouth, kissing the pads of each of her fingers. “It’s only ever been you, Dessa. No matter how hard I tried to erase you from my memory, I always came back to you. You’re it for me, Little One.”

  Her eyelashes flutter and close, taking a deep breath before she opens them again. I feel lucky every time she lays them on me. “I need you to be honest with me, Cohen. I have too much shit in my head right now, and the last thing I need is you hiding things from me.”

  “You have my word.”

  “I want actions, too. Sometimes words are just that. Words.”

  I nod, and she nuzzles into my neck. I run my fingers through her hair, kissing her forehead. “I’ll never need anything else other than this.”

  And those words bleed nothing but the truth.

  Evan, Cohen, and I are eating breakfast at Denny’s. I order a big-ass stack of French toast and work on putting them down. Evan watches me in competition while Cohen watches me in horror. Their lack of faith in me when it comes to food is amusing.

  “So, how do we go about Vex? What’s the plan?” I say while shoveling French toast into my mouth.

  “Still not sure I want you there for that one, Little One,” Cohen adds without making eye contact.

  “And why not? Come on. We need a unified front. Gucci Gang and all that.”

  “What?” Cohen looks at me in utter confusion.

  I scoff, “I’m coming.”

  “Dessa, if he’s currently a member … let’s just say we plan on dismembering him,” Evan pipes up, not so subtly implying what they plan on doing.

  “If you’re worried about me not being able to handle it, I can. I’ve watched crack heads cut the skin from their arms because they couldn’t get the bugs they thought were there, off. That was when I was sixteen. I know what I can handle,” I pop some fruit into my mouth, “Besides, I just dumped acid down a guy’s throat, and you forget these people are a part of my sister’s whole ordeal. I want justice for
her.”

  Cohen nods. “I’m not going to be the one to tell you no.”

  Smart man. I look to Evan. “Anything else?”

  “I don’t give a fuck, honestly. Your life.”

  “Good, I’m glad we agree.” I muster a sarcastically sweet smile and get back to eating. I peek up to Cohen, and his long and messy dark-blond hair is hidden under the hood of his hoodie with little pieces poking out. His hazel eyes pin to mine as he chews his bottom lip and his fingers shred a napkin into little pieces. He almost looks-nervous? He’s up to something.

  “Spit it out, Russo.”

  “I have an idea. But you aren’t going to like it.”

  “Hit me.”

  “This is going to be so good.” Evan sits back and rubs his hands together, getting ready for whatever transaction is about to ring up between Cohen and me.

  Cohen bites his lip in hesitation. “We need to move down our list before shit gets any deeper. The main person is Vex, but I want to draw him out and take out a few leeches in Sanctum who help him.”

  “Okay …” I say, trying to get him to spit the words out. He opens his mouth, but I interrupt him, “Wait-aren’t you sad about losing some of these people? Aren’t they like … I don’t know, family to you?”

  “As far as I’m concerned, they killed my family when they killed my mom.”

  “I guess that makes sense.”

  “Anyways, I was wondering if you would, um …” he rubs his hand over his mouth, “Well, if I got you a slot if you’d dance.” His face pinches up like I’m about to hit him, and he’s bracing for it.

  I choke on my breakfast, and a gnarly coughing fit ensues. I chug my orange juice until the sausage is gone, and I can finally catch my breath and look to Cohen. His face is pinched, one eye peeking open like he’s waiting for me to hit him. Evan’s laughing so hard he’s almost in tears, and by his reaction, I’m assuming he knew about Cohen’s idea.

  Looking up at the ceiling, I speak out, “Of course, you knew this about me.” I sigh and look back at him. “How exactly is this going to help?”

  “Some dancers have the option to offer personal sessions in a VIP room. After you dance in the main club, they’ll be requesting you. And yes, I know this for a fact. And because they’re looking for you, I have no doubt someone from Sanctum will recognize you. The others? Well, you’ll have them eating out of the palm of your hand.”

  I sigh. “Is there any other way?”

  “Dessa, do not, and I mean this, do not do this if you don’t want to. I know this is dangerous and uncomfortable for you.”

  “Yeah, but I know you wouldn’t ask this unless it was your only option.”

  He nods. It’s not that I don’t want to, I just wish I didn’t have to dance again. I’ve never been ashamed of these parts of my life. I was doing what I needed to survive. I just thought that part of my life was over. But doing this puts me one step closer to Rory, which is enough for me to agree.

  “I’ll do it,” I say as I push around what food remains on my plate.

  “Really? Are you sure?”

  “Yeah. When are you thinking? It’s been a while, and I need to practice, so I don’t fall on my face. And I’ll need to go shopping too, which you boys will be joining me for because I’m in the mood to torture.”

  Cohen’s hooded eyes drill into mine, a slow smirk pulling on his cheek, and Evan grins.

  “Thursday night. You’ve got two days,” Cohen says, back in business mode.

  “Two days? Are you kidding me right now?”

  “Is that going to be a problem, or can you make it happen?”

  “I’ll make it happen.” I throw a ten down on the table, paying for my portion, and stand. “Let’s go. We got shit to do.” I walk out of the diner, not looking back. Getting in the car, I take out my phone to make a list of the things I need until Cohen and Evan are in the car too.

  “Pure Water” by Migos plays on our way to the mall, and once we arrive, the three of us peruse several shops as I get some new makeup, tanner, and shoes, then head to the lingerie boutique.

  “Good Afternoon! I’m Monica, can I help you find anything specific?”

  “Hi!” I greet her back with a big bright smile. “I need something strappy and black. Or white. You know, surprise me and bring something that will make these two drool.” I point with my thumb behind me to the two grown men who are probably making every woman’s panties drop.

  “I can tell you, anything you put on will do that.” She winks, and I like her already. “But I think I know just the collection for you to try on.”

  “Perfect.”

  She turns, and I follow the sound of her clicking heels. The boys follow me as she leads us to a lounge in the very back of the red and gold boutique and into a private dressing room. There are two black sofas, and Cohen and Evan sit as she takes my measurements.

  “I’ll be back in a few moments with your items.”

  I turn to Cohen and Evan, whose eyes are slightly widened, and my head shakes as I chuckle at how typical they are right now.

  A few minutes later she returns, placing the selection of lingerie behind a curtain. “Let me know if you need any help or a different size.”

  I take a look at what she brought me. “These are perfect. Thank you.” Before I walk behind the curtain, I turn to face Evan and Cohen and give them an evil smirk.

  “She’s going to kill us,” Evan’s voice rattles.

  “I’ve never been so eager to die,” Cohen’s voice follows, and I chuckle to myself in the dressing room. “You better close your fucking eyes, or I’ll gouge them out.”

  “Fuck you. I’m taking my chances.”

  “Boys, easy,” I yell out as I step out of my clothes. She grabbed five for me, and I put the two I wasn’t crazy about to the side, which leaves me with red, white, and black. Choosing the red one-piece first, I step through the top and into the thong, pulling the straps of the sheer red bra over my shoulders. Thin vertical laces connect the top to the bottom, and the sheer bra has pockets of embroidered lace throughout the cup. It’s beautiful. “Monica, could you connect the back for me?”

  “Of course.” She steps in, and when she sees me, an evil smile spreads across her red lips. “You’re going to drive them crazy.”

  I chuckle as she buttons the back of the bra. When she exits, I take a quick look at my reflection in the mirror before following behind her. It’s gorgeous, and I know this isn’t the one, but I still plan on having some fun and driving Cohen mad is a part of that. I take a deep breath and run my fingers up through my long blonde hair, so it’s messy. I pull open the curtain, and when they both look at me, they’re frozen solid. With my hand on my waist, I sway side to side and turn in a slow circle. I don’t notice Evan as my eyes are only on Cohen, and Cohen’s Adam’s apple bobs, his nose flares, and a sick sense of satisfaction pulses through my veins, stemming from the power I have over this man. His long blond hair is flung over to one side, and those hazel eyes are glued to my body. Neither of them can say anything, and I smile in amusement.

  “This one is nice, but I think I know which one I want,” I say, and they nod and clear their throats, speechless for once in their lives. I go into the dressing room one more time. I like the white one, but I knew it was the black one from the moment I laid my eyes on it. I undo the back and step out of the red one, being careful not to rip or snag it as I hang it back up. I turn to the black piece and my excitement rises. It’s another one-piece, and I step into it. This one, I’m able to connect the back myself. I look in the mirror and feel fucking empowered. The nude silk cups with a black lace overlay accentuate my C-cups, and it has thin black satin fabric crisscrossing across my stomach to the black lace thong. It’s dangerous and powerful, and I can move easily in it, which is vital for dancing. I clear my throat and step out of the curtain once more.

  “Oh, fuck,” Evan says immediately, chuckling because Cohen leaps over and throws a blanket from the end of the sofa over
his head. Once he’s sure Evan can’t see me, he stalks over and pushes me back into the room. He aggressively pulls the curtain shut and turns back, pinning me against the wall.

  “Are you trying to infuriate me?” He growls into my mouth. I lift my legs, wrapping them around him as he grabs behind my thighs to pick me up. Our mouths fuse, warring with each other as we try to top the other. I bite his lip, pulling back until it pops back against his teeth.

  “Better find a way to control your anger because I’m about to dance for a numerous amount of men, and you can’t be flying off the handle. Otherwise, you’ll ruin everything.” He snarls at me, but I continue, “And if you ruin this,” I lick my tongue from his jaw to his ear and whisper, “I’ll ruin your fucking life.” I unwrap my legs from his waist and slide down his body, turning towards the wall as I start to unhook my bra. “Don’t forget you’re the one who asked me to do this.”

  He grabs my arms from behind me, shoving me against the wall. My cheek makes contact, and it hurts but I hold my yelp back. “Doubt me one more fucking time, and it will be you who gets ruined.” Then the brutal sting of his palm on my ass makes me yelp into his hand covering my mouth, followed by a moan as he grinds against me from behind. I feel all of him at once and then none of him at all. Confused, I turn around, and Cohen’s about to leave but stops and throws his credit card at me. “Get the red one, too.” Then he’s gone.

  I’m about to deliver sass back along with his card at his head but think better of it. Normally, I’d buy my own shit, independence and all, but I’ll gladly spend this gorgeous asshole’s money. Jokes on him, I’m getting the red and white one, too. I get dressed and check out, meeting Cohen and Evan outside of the store.

  “What’s next?” Evan chomps at the bit, and I laugh at him as Cohen punches his shoulder. “Fuck, man. The hell was that for?”

  “You know what, Dickweed.”

  I laugh, rolling my eyes as I walk past them. “Nothing, we’re all done. But I need to go find a place to practice.”

  “My house,” Cohen states confidently.