Unravel (Unbound Trilogy Book 1)

by Kathy Coopmans

  He deserved it — power tripping fucker and disgrace to humanity piece of shit that he is.

  Whitney? She’s simmering in her pot of shit. Stewing and if she thinks stealing from me is her way of retaliation, then she’s in for the shock of her life.

  There hasn’t been a day where remorse hasn’t gnawed me to the bone. I think that’s why I stayed clear of Ellie. Of course, I always knew where she was, protecting her from afar, but I never approached her.

  I’d never spoken a word to her before seeing her at a club a few weeks ago, and for some reason, she left an impact on me years ago and an even bigger one on me after I fucked her.

  Ellie Wynn is for a good reason, reserved. But she’s also self-assured, fascinating and the most fuckable woman I’ve seen. For years I thought about sinking between her legs, kissing her everywhere and tasting her pussy, grabbing that tight ass, marking her there and fucking her until she couldn’t think straight.

  That’s not all. For the first time in my life, after one night with very few words spoken, I want to sit down and converse with a woman about anything and everything, and it should scare the shit out of me. For some unexplained reason, it doesn’t.

  I’ve always thought she was beautiful, thick mane of black hair, sky blue eyes, curvy and as naturally beautiful as any woman I’ve seen, and after the other night, her sassy mouth makes her far more exciting than I’d expected.

  The woman speaks with elegance, a side order of smartass, and her mouth gets me hard. She’s the only woman who I’ve ever allowed to tell me off and my dick tapped against the zipper of my pants watching her hold that fight not to lash out even more.

  I wouldn’t change a thing about her.

  Fucking beautiful. An elegant uncommon white swan in the middle of a life full of black.

  All the women I had before her bent over backward for me, shoving away other men the second I snapped my fingers. They allowed me to fuck them in front of strangers, share their bodies with other men and women in hopes they’d snag me. They do the same for my brothers — every one of them wanting to be the one to claim a Mitchell. To tame and get us to settle down.

  Not Ellie though. She might give a shit about the life I lead but, my money, my power, they don’t mean a thing to her, and I find that sexier than any woman who will drop and wrap their mouth around my dick.

  The beauty lost everything, and still, there is something about her strength that shines like some brilliant bright guiding light.

  The kind you see from afar, drawing you in out of curiosity to watch it glow, a magnificence, unlike anything I’ve seen in the purest form. A strong woman full of life and innocence you can’t find anywhere else except in rarity.

  That’s what she is, rare.

  Scarce and unusual in a world full of sin and corruption. A society built on it, like mine.

  One glimpse of her up close a few weeks ago almost brought me to my knees. Eyes that shined like stars, drawing you in to explore the spinning sadness in their indigo blue depths. The black of her pupil surrounded by a ring of loneliness.

  At one glance, her eyes tell an entire story.

  Heartbreak, the missing of love, the pain of deceit, and the flame of an inner force that would never give up no matter how many times she was beaten down.

  And fuck all if she wasn’t beaten down by a couple of deceiving women and a scumbag who did her dirty and wrong.

  Since bringing her home with me, I’ve categorized every move she makes, grouping them in my mind.

  Strong. Independent and unbreakable.

  Stubborn.

  I don’t want to break her; I want to bend and please her.

  Ellie doesn’t just wear her emotions on her sleeve; they flow from her like a refreshing stream in the middle of a desert.

  So fucking sweet I want to dip in and taint. Dirty up only for me.

  I want inside that tight, little body every chance I can get.

  One touch of her hand in mine, her body pressed close, those lips painted in sheer gloss, I knew I had to have her. I had to get a morsel of a taste before I swooped in and caught her in my web of lies, and it angers me that wanting her is driving me out of my goddamn mind.

  I hardly know the woman, and I might have grown up living a fucked up life, but years ago when I heard Shadow did what I feared he would, it pushed me over the edge, tugging a conscience I didn’t even know I had. The things he and his sister did to that woman are worse than everything I’ve ever done, and I’ve done some low and mortifying things, but to rape and destroy and bully an innocent woman.

  Fucking never.

  Not only did Ellie brutally and inhumanely lose her innocence, but she also lost her mother, and then her father. Her home, family business. Her life. All because of a woman who corrupted Ellie’s father. Glad the bitch was shot in the back of the skull by a man who caught onto her before she got her claws into him.

  Is Ellie unaware of a lot of things? Yes. Harmless? Not a chance. Especially to a man like me. One without a soul.

  Lane tips back the last of his scotch and places his tumbler on my desk, hands attached to a body made up of more loyalty than any man I know. He grips me by the back of the neck, pulling me toward him. Green eyes just like mine giving me a look he’s given me my whole life. The one that says I got your back, always will, but if something happens to Ellie, you’ll be on your own.

  He’s one of the few who has ever been able to calm me down and damn it if I haven’t needed a lifetime of calming, especially after living years in the farthest depths of hell — all flames of fire singeing and scorching my skin.

  I screwed up the minute I saw Ellie the night I fucked her, which wasn’t part of our plan. Couldn’t help myself. I was shocked stupid when I saw her. The woman has a body to worship and fuck. Long shapely legs, dainty and delicate fingers, arms toned and leading up to the most creative elegant neck I’ve ever wanted to bite into, straight hair flowing down her back and begging for me to fist and pull and mess it up while directing her toward my straining cock.

  My brother and I look each other in the eye, the worry seeping from him like a leaky faucet.

  “What you should do, is leave her be.”

  I know I should. We both know I won’t.

  “Yeah, well, that’s never going to happen. I want Ellie; what the hell is wrong with that?”

  Telling lies, hurting a woman who doesn’t belong in our world is what’s wrong. The thing is, I’m obsessed with her, and I know there’s going to come a time when the truth will come out about things I’ve done. Even so, there’s no reason why I can’t pursue until I figure out how to keep her.

  “Jesus man, do you hear yourself? What’s wrong is you, brother. Is she worth letting go of the lifestyle you live, because I’m here to tell you, that woman might be strong, and the night you spent with her might have brought out something you didn’t expect was inside you. However, there’s not a chance in this lifetime she’ll continue with you once she finds out all your secrets. Let’s not forget the women who will make a mission out of destroying her.”

  He’s right.

  If Lane thinks I’m going to feel guilty about it, he’s wrong.

  Ellie unknowingly has me plotting out a way to keep her when I know I can’t. It’s making me agitated. Has my muscles twitching. Fury and resentment have been coursing through my veins ever since I touched her.

  All of it toward me.

  I can’t stop myself. At this point, I’m not sure I want to. Not when Ellie is sizzling in my blood.

  “Ellie knows who I used to be. It doesn’t matter if she’s worth it or not, you and I know I won’t give her up. End of subject, Lane.”

  He releases his hold, shakes his head and strides back toward the bar, pouring himself another drink.

  “You might not teach anymore, but you still participate in the fun. Notice how you didn’t say you’d give it up? I sure did. Do you honestly think she’s the type to have a threesome with you? How about watch
ing you fuck another woman in front of her? How about you watching another man fuck her? You’re an asshole, man. So far out of reach. Sitting over there saying you won’t give her up when you don’t even have her. You shouldn’t have started any of this with her. We’ve followed in the footsteps of our parents. Dad groomed Mom to be like him, to live in his world and in case you’ve forgotten, she became addicted to strange men’s cocks after he died. Those cocks led to drugs and some shady ass shit. Life became a hundred times worse for you after Dad died. It fucked Mom up because deep down it wasn’t for her, she did it for him. You better think again if I’ll let you prime Ellie to be like our mother. I won’t stand by and watch an innocent woman get reeled in, then let go and drown.”

  The fuck is his winded self going on about?

  The muscles in my forearms tighten. The thought of anyone touching Ellie but me is enough to make me want to start pulling the trigger.

  “You talk like I’d force a woman to do something she didn’t want. I won’t share Ellie with anyone. You’re standing there acting like you’re ashamed of what we do. As far as Mom is concerned, she hated me from the day I was born.” Jesus, he pisses me off. We’ve shared many women; he isn’t any different than I am when it comes to fucking.

  “No one will have access to Ellie but me. At least not in the way you’re talking. I don’t want anyone else, Lane. Fuck, you think I want her anywhere near our club? And I will have her, thanks for the vote of confidence, brother. Thanks for being on my side. Thanks for trying to help me figure out what to do.” Shit, this is the first time my past makes me ashamed when it shouldn’t.

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. I’m not the one placing a woman in danger from every direction. Listen to me, damn it; you think those women wanted to hurt her the other night, you wait. You don’t have it in you to be faithful to her, Logan. Admit it.” He takes a breather and runs his hands down his face. “I loved everything about fucking who I wanted when I wanted as much as you. I haven’t been mixing business with pleasure in years. That all changed when I first held the person I love a hell of a lot more than some random lay. Have you forgotten the hell I went through to keep? Jesus, I can’t even finish that sentence.”

  He doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. Any man who would cheat on Ellie is a goddamn idiot.

  “I’ll never forget what you went through, Lane.” The night he can’t talk about is burned in his brain as well as mine and our younger brother Seth’s.

  That love Lane found to keep his ass out of our clubs is in the form of his almost five-year-old daughter, Lexi Mae. The kid is the best thing to come into our lives. The light in our life. Blonde curly hair, a unique personality, always dressing in pink and asking questions.

  My brother is the best father I know. The man will probably have some heartbreaking love story just waiting to be written, one where a woman saves a broken man instead of the other way around. He deserves happiness, and so does Lexi. So does our younger brother Seth, and me.

  I lean back in my chair, a lump growing in my throat, can’t stand the thought of Ellie looking at me with disgust now that she knows. She doesn’t have a clue as to the mark I’ve left on women.

  “They go near her, and they’ll regret it.” I’ll stop at nothing to keep Ellie and those she loves safe. Even if I die trying.

  I haven’t been able to get that woman out of my fucking head since I fucked her. The one my cock gets hard for at all hours of the day and night.

  Son of a bitch. I have big problems when it comes to the darker side of my life as well as the ones arising with Shadow.

  Spinning around, I gaze out at the magnolias that were here when I bought the place a few months ago. They remind me of Ellie, beautiful and full of life, a life that could quickly be snuffed out by the darkness my storm is about to create.

  Leaving them bent, broken, and the beautiful petals falling to the ground before they have a chance to bloom.

  At what point I decided to become addicted to something I never wanted to kick until I spent one night with Ellie beats the hell out of me. Our father died before we were old enough to decide on whether we wanted to be a part of his world.

  I could have become hooked when our mother got involved with a man named Angelo shortly after our father died. The prick always showed up at our house in his big black Cadillac and called her every bad name you could think of before they’d head out for the night. It could have been when she’d stumble in drunk several hours later with a different guy or two. At times she’d bring home women, and they’d tumble into her bedroom, leaving us to listen to grunts and moans while we sat holding our younger brother Seth while he slept. Every damn time we covered his ears so he wouldn’t wake up and ask where she was.

  The times he wasn’t asleep, and he’d cling to her leg, she’d send her lover down the hall, and he’d threaten to beat Lane if we wouldn’t take care of what she called, ‘her little problem.’ I always stood in the way and let them strike me while Lane consoled Seth who only wanted attention from a bitch who loved no one but herself.

  Our mother’s wrath, her hatred toward me, I was used to it. There wasn’t a chance I was letting her touch Lane. I might be an asshole, but I love my brother, and I’d take her fists any day if it meant she never abused him.

  Could have been when I did everything she told me to do, and it still wasn’t enough for her to stop beating the shit out of me and convincing me at a young age her idea of how I could make millions. Always reminding if I wanted to stay with my brothers, and eventually, the three of us become what we were born to be, I would do what she said, or she’d kick me out. Bitch was so whacked, the business would have gone under if it wasn’t for a family friend doing us right.

  Or, it sadly could have been the night our mother decided she didn’t have a damn thing left to live for anymore and blew her brains out in her bed while we slept in our rooms down the hall.

  Didn’t bother Lane or me one bit she was gone, but Seth, he loved her in spite of the bitch not giving three fucks she had kids who needed the loving touch of a mother. Not one who filled their heads with learning the oldest profession known to man.

  To use our bodies and become whores. To teach women how to fuck.

  Christ, I hated that woman with everything in me.

  I give him a stern look. There’s so much more to the lives of the Mitchell family than people know. All the things that went on behind our closed doors while growing up would make a priest give up trying to save us.

  But, Ellie, she could be the one to pull me out of something I’ve enjoyed far too long.

  “You need to protect Ellie, let her know everything you’ve done and then leave her be. That means now. Don’t go barging in her life, sweeping her off her feet and having her fall for you without telling her your secret. You know better than to blindside someone. You do, and you aren’t the man I thought you were.”

  Yeah, well, unfortunately, I’m not the man he thinks I am. Luck dropped in my lap. I’m holding onto it and making Ellie mine. Leaving me the honored man who gets to pound into her pussy, watch her back arch when she comes, to see her spread those thighs, to watch her lips separate when she drops to her knees — all the delicious wicked things I want to do to her.

  “Shit,” I mutter as he doesn’t say anything more and walks out the door. I need a drink and to purge on whiskey instead of thinking of Ellie as my chaser.

  But that awareness, and want and need, they don’t subside.

  It doesn’t matter how much I drink; it won’t erase her from my mind.

  This new addiction I have is going to be a sweet tortuous ride.

  Chapter 3

  Ellie

  “Come on, Ellie; you’re the one who went home with him and here you are angry with me? Unbelievable. You wouldn’t speak to me on the drive home, and you still refuse to talk to me. I told you when we left Logan’s place; he isn’t married. He doesn’t have a girlfriend, so what’s the big deal
? It’s not as if you haven’t already slept with him. Talk to me. He’s asked Eric twice for your number. I’m going to give it to him if you don’t talk to me.”

  The big deal? Oh, I could rattle off a half dozen of big deals and Norah will still try to get to the detonator button to set me off.

  Push and explode.

  I smash my eyes closed against the swell of potency that is Logan Mitchell. It hasn’t left me since I walked out of his door. The man is so powerful, so influential; he’s taking up all the space in my mind, and it terrifies me that he’s there. I’ve allowed him to place a crack in my walls. It won’t be long before the big brute of a man tries smashing them to smithereens.

  Blowing out an aggravated sigh, I finish the window display I’ve been piecing together between customers most of the day. Our little consignment shop called Ebony and Ivory doesn’t make us wealthy, but it pays the bills and gives me the necessities I need to live.

  I’m proud of our store, and I believe my parents would be too. It puts a smile on my face when a single mother walks in here with her kids, and they walk out with bigger ones on their cute faces. Carrying bags full of clothes, shoes, and accessories they couldn’t afford anywhere else.

  “It’s not the clothes, the hair, the jewelry or any expensive thing you wear. It’s the way you carry yourself underneath that makes up you. Hold your head high, push your shoulders back and show the world you matter. If you always remember that, Ellie, whatever you do will be successful.”

  My mother told me that every time we went shopping. At the time, I didn’t understand. Now it’s the motto Norah and I painted above the awning outside.

  “I slept with him, not him and others. Logan owns a sex club, Norah. How many women do you think he’s slept with since me, before me? God, don’t answer that. Let me absorb this, and maybe I’ll forgive you, it’s just going to take a while to forget you betrayed me.” I suck in a breath, shame sliding in with it.

  Norah is the last person in the world I thought would let me down and that hurts more than her deceiving me.