Sinners' Playground

by Caroline Peckham

  "Why are you doing this to me?" I demanded. "Why can't you just get the hint and leave me alone? You do realise that claiming me like some caveman out for a mate isn't an acceptable form of courting, don't you?"

  "If I was going to claim you like a caveman, my cock would be inside you right now and you'd be begging for more while hating yourself for it even more than you claim to hate me," Fox growled.

  I tried to lurch out of his arms, fighting like a tomcat to escape while ignoring that teeny tiny bit of my brain - or no, it was more like a direct thought from my vagina who had rather ironically gone rogue on me - which wanted him to do that and prove his damn point.

  "Untie me," I demanded as Fox's hands curled around my waist.

  "You know, we could have a lot of fun with you tied up like this. And then you could just pretend to yourself that you'd had no choice but to go along with-"

  I threw an elbow back into his gut as hard as I could and shoved myself upright, trying to hobble away with my feet tied.

  Fox got to his feet behind me, catching the back of my bikini bottoms as I pitched forward and almost face planted the grey floorboards. He yanked me upright by them then half lifted me off of the floor as he swung me around towards the dining table where he pushed me face down over it.

  "I can feel the way your body reacts every time I touch you," he said, cockily stepping up so close behind me that the hard ridge of his cock pressed to my core as he ground himself into me and a shiver raced down my spine as a moan almost escaped me but I bit it back hard.

  "Fox," I hissed, trying to deny the heat in my body that was all hate and lust and fucking rage. I was wound so tight and so worked up that I was pretty sure I'd come all over his cock the second he pushed it into me, but I refused to give in to that desire.

  "Yeah, hummingbird?" He swept my hair off of my face so that I could see him better as I looked back over my shoulder at him and his fist tightened in it just enough to let me know how rough he liked it.

  "Get your fucking hands off of me and untie me right now," I growled, forcing aside any and all desire in my body with all the grit and determination I had. Because this wasn't why I'd come back here and I wasn't about to let him call the fucking shots on me.

  Fox groaned like I was seriously testing his patience then stepped away from me, heading over to the kitchen and grabbing a knife. He slit through the ropes holding me, releasing my ankles first then my wrists and I whirled on him, punching him in the jaw the moment I could.

  He was on me in a heartbeat, upending me and throwing me down on the dining table on my back before moving on top of me and forcing his hips between my thighs.

  His green eyes darkened to pitch and I knew I was looking at the man everyone in this town feared as he glared down at me, the knife still in his hand and my heart jackhammering in my chest as he raised it.

  "You think you really hate me that much?" he taunted, finding my hand and pushing the knife he held into my grip. I watched him in fear as he turned the blade in our combined grip and pressed it against his throat before removing his hand and just staring down at me. "So do it, then. Take your vengeance and rid the world of a monster while you're at it. My heart only beats for you anyway so if you want to carve it from my chest then you can. It's yours whatever way you want it."

  I gritted my teeth and glared at him, my mind racing over every single reason I'd had to love this man once and realising they'd become the motivation for my hatred instead. He'd promised me the world and then taken it away again oh so fucking easily.

  “Please don't do this," I begged, looking between all of them.

  Fox was like a statue, cold and distant, his mind made up, the decision already dealt with.

  I actually felt my heart shattering as I looked into his eyes and found nothing of the boy I’d loved there anymore. Just a Harlequin through and through who was done with me now.

  The memories threatened to drown me and the ache in my fractured heart sharpened to a blinding pain. I'd let these boys get close enough to break me once before and I was never going to make that mistake again.

  I exerted pressure on the blade, forcing Fox to lift his chin as a bloody line appeared on his throat and I swear his cock bulged even more keenly between my thighs.

  But as I tried to force myself to push forward, to end this eternal suffering and take payment for everything they'd stolen from me, I found myself immobilised by all the reasons I'd once had to love them. It was just an echo of a thousand memories now, but it was the foundations of who I was. Who I had been. And no matter how much I hated the man above me, I knew a small, stubborn, foolish part of me would always love the boy he'd once been.

  I pulled back and dropped the knife so that it fell off of the table, releasing a shaky breath as I accepted my own limitations where it came to hurting him.

  "We're like the tide and the shore, hummingbird," Fox said in a low voice, leaning down to brush the words against my lips. "No matter how far the tide retreats, it can never stop itself from coming back for more."

  He moved forward like he was going to try and kiss me again but I got the horrible feeling that I might let him if he did, so I twisted aside, scrambled out from beneath him and hopped down off of the table.

  Every inch of my skin was living with this painful kind of desire and my pulse was skyrocketing as I backed away from him step by step and he watched me go with a confident kind of certainty that said he knew I'd be back again soon.

  "If you're the shore in that analogy then you can consider this gap between us to be a sea wall," I ground out. "And no matter how many times the tide draws close to you, it will never cross that barrier."

  Fox's jaw ticked and I turned away from him as I darted up the stairs to the room that was supposedly mine with my heart thundering and my body aching with a desperate desire which I refused to give in to.

  When I made it into my room, I twisted the lock behind me then moved straight into the en-suite. The moment I closed that door, I pressed my back to it and slid my fingers straight inside my damp bikini bottoms to caress my aching core.

  A soft moan of relief escaped me as I teased my clit and dipped my fingers into the wetness between my thighs.

  My eyes fell closed and I refused to think about that blonde motherfucker or the way he'd taken control of my body. I didn't think about how hard and thick his cock had felt as he ground it against me and I gave no attention to how fucking lickable that V which dove beneath his jeans had looked while he reared over me.

  The scent of him sailed up to surround me from the shirt he'd forced me to wear and I moaned loudly as I came hard, tumbling into oblivion with a pair of piercing green eyes staring back at me from the confines of my own mind.

  Fuck Fox Harlequin. Fuck him for everything he could have been and everything he'd ruined. Fuck him for making me angry and hot and so fucking worked up that my own body had betrayed me. But most of all fuck him for thinking he could have me. Because if there was one thing in this world that I was willing to swear to above all others, it was that that would never happen.

  Fox Harlequin might have been the ruler of this little slice of hell, but he was never going to own me.

  ***

  I lay on my front by the pool in Fox's stupid house wearing nothing at all so that I could tan my ass while I played games on JJ's phone and listened to Riptide by Vance Joy with his headphones. I'd turned the volume up loud so I couldn't hear anyone calling my name while I lay there and pouted...and plotted. Because there was no fucking way I was staying here like some goddamn possession locked up safe and sound where no one could play with me.

  I was currently not hearing a word Fox was saying as he tried to get my attention by standing over me and shouting my name really freaking loud. He could talk to my ass for all I cared.

  When he finally gave up on that and reached out to touch my shoulder, I flinched away from him, slapping his hand away and scowling as I dragged the headphones from my ears.

 
"You may enjoy treating me like a dog, but I don't need to be reminded of when to pee," I growled, narrowing my eyes as I looked up at him while making sure my tits stayed very much pressed to the sun lounger beneath me so he couldn't get a view of the goods. I was gonna need to figure out a way to sunbathe front up without them seeing me soon though or I'd have to just give in and let them look. It was weird that I cared really, because I wasn't precious about my body, but there was something about these boys seeing me naked that seemed sacrilegious or something. I'd spent way too long worrying about that as a teenager to just go full frontal without any kind of fanfare.

  "We're going out," Fox said, jaw ticking as he fought to reign in that temper of his while his eyes kept skipping from my face to my body and back again.

  "No thanks," I replied, moving to slide the headphones back up onto my head, but he snatched them off and tossed them aside.

  "It wasn't an invitation. Chase is at the gym and JJ needs to go to the club. I've got a job to run, so you can't stay out here. I need you to come inside so that I can lock up."

  "Wait...you're telling me that you're going out and you intend to lock me in the damn house while you're gone? I can't even sunbathe?" I made no effort to hide the disgust in my tone and Fox shrugged.

  "Well, you've already proven that you're a flight risk. After that shit down at the beach, I'm inclined to think you're best off behind locked doors where I can be sure you're safe." He flexed his fist, glancing off to my left like he always used to when he was trying to hide something and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously.

  "I can look after myself, Badger," I hissed. "I've been doing it for a hell of a long time."

  "And look where that got you - half dead in a shallow grave. You do understand that, right? You're literally only alive because that asshole you were fucking didn't do a better job of finishing you off." Fox looked seriously pissed off at the thought of me screwing someone else and for once we were in agreement because fuck Shawn. But also, fuck Fox, so whatever.

  I wanted to get right up in his face, but I refused to flash him my bare body, so I was stuck glaring where I was, but that wasn't going to hold me back.

  "Oh I'm perfectly aware that if the great Fox Harlequin wanted me dead, I'd find the job much more thorough. No doubt you'd take me out on your boat and toss me to the sharks when you were done too. Just like Daddy used to."

  "Don't knock it until you've tried it, love. I have the practice down to an art form now – the key is plenty of chum. And don't go thinking that I'm going to keep letting you get away with your shit. You're on lockdown until further notice. Unless you wanna give me that name so that I can eliminate the threat against you?" He cocked his head like he was waiting for an answer and I reached out to snatch the shirt I'd worn to bed from the floor beside my sun lounger so that I could get to my feet and rip him a new asshole.

  Fox smirked like he thought he'd won something and strode away from me to let me get dressed. I yanked the shirt over my head, forcing my arms through the holes and ignoring the rich, cedar scent of it which marked it out as his. He was so freaking big that I could wear the damn thing like a dress, so as I stalked inside behind him, my ass was at least covered.

  "Don't walk away from me, asshole," I yelled as I strode after him and JJ looked up from the lunch he was eating at the kitchen island.

  "Guys," he said placatingly. "Can we just try to-"

  "Did it ever occur to you that I want to off that motherfucker myself?" I demanded of Fox's muscular back as he opened the fridge and grabbed his protein shake out of the door.

  "If you wanna be the one to pull the trigger then fine," Fox said. "Give me a name and I'll have fun with him for a couple of days. Then when I'm done, you can come on in and blow his brains out. You can even wear a tiara and play the part of the vengeful queen."

  "You know, I still remember when we were fifteen and I punched you hard enough to give you a black eye and made you beg for mercy while I pinned you beneath me," I hissed. "I've beaten the great Fox Harlequin before now and I sure as fuck can go after my ex without needing him served up on a fucking platter."

  "If you're referring to the time that you fought me for the right to pick what movie we were gonna sneak into down at the plaza, I think you're remembering it wrong. Did I let you jump all over me and pin me to the ground between your thighs? Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that little encounter served a far greater purpose than letting you pick a dumb movie. I'd been aching to get between your legs for a long time and I was perfectly happy to let you think you'd beaten me in exchange for that little bit of wrestling."

  "True story," JJ agreed while my lips popped open in outrage. "The rest of us were pissed as fuck over that and I'm pretty sure Fox used it as inspiration material for a long time, if you know what I mean." He mimed jerking himself off as if I might have been too dense to pick up on that and I snarled internally.

  "Whatever. I'm still perfectly capable of fighting my own battles," I said stubbornly.

  JJ caught my hand and tugged me to sit on the stool beside him with a look that said back off, while I gave him a returning look that said never.

  "If you wanna agree to be my girl, then you can have more freedom," Fox said as he leaned back against the work surface and looked over the kitchen island at me. "Every Harlequin in the city will watch your back no matter where you go."

  "That sounds like hell on earth. I don't want to be watched," I snarled and JJ's hand landed on my knee beneath the worktop as he gave me a squeeze that could have been a warning but also sent warmth warring beneath my skin.

  "Is that the only reason you're saying no?" Fox demanded. "The public recognition of your position if you're linked to me like that? What if I'm just asking because it's what I want?"

  "I don't see why you would. We've done nothing but argue since the moment I was dragged through your door." I opened my mouth to go on, but JJ shifted his hand on my thigh beneath the table and the only thing that escaped my lips was a surprised breath as he gently caressed me with his fingertips and little zaps of electricity raced right to my core from his touch.

  Fox tsked as he took a long swig from his shake before striding out of the room in the direction of the stairs.

  My gaze moved from his retreating form to JJ's honey brown eyes and the moment they did, he smirked at me and pushed his fingers beneath the hem of the t-shirt I was wearing.

  "What are you doing?" I hissed.

  "You seem stressed, sweetheart," he replied in an equally low voice. "I'm just trying to help. Besides, I'm pretty sure you aren't wearing any panties under here, but I need to make sure.”

  My lips parted to tell him to stop, but as he continued to shift his fingertips along the sensitive skin on the inside of my thigh, I found myself momentarily lost for words. The last hands I'd had on my skin were Shawn's and as much as I was attempting not to give that asshole much thought, I felt weirdly dirty for knowing he'd been the last man to claim my body. Like I wanted to feel someone else possessing me to wipe away the stain his hands had left on my flesh.

  Fox reappeared with a black shirt on and a gun jammed into the back of his pants. I'd once watched a documentary that happened to mention how doing that put you at risk of accidentally shooting your butt cheek off, but as this was Fox, I wasn't going to warn him about that. Although I did have to admit that it would be a damn shame to fuck up an ass as nice as his.

  "For the record," Fox said as he strode back to the counter where he'd left his protein shake and picked it up again. "The only reason we are arguing is because you want to act like everything the four of us used to share means nothing to you now."

  "Five," I growled. "I don't care if you all hate Maverick now, you can't just deny that he was a part of us too. But I guess you don't care about making things up with him because he doesn't have a pussy. And as far as I can see it, Fox, the only reason you wanna fix things with me is because you've cooked yourself up a little fantasy about owning mine."

  JJ
moved his hand right up to the apex of my thighs and I stifled a gasp as he very nearly touched my core, my heart leaping with the thrill of the idea of him doing so right under Fox’s nose.

  "That's where you're wrong," Fox snarled.

  "Oh yeah?" I taunted while trying not to pant with how much I wanted JJ to close that last little bit of distance between us and I tipped my thigh to the side to give him better access.

  "You’re mine, Rogue,” Fox said in that takes no prisoners tone of his that said he really did believe he owned the entire world. “Always have been. Always will be. It’s why you came back to me, whether you're ready to accept that or not. So what I'm gonna need you to do, is stay put in the house while we go out. And when you're ready to give me the truth, we can talk about you going out again."

  He strode around the kitchen island and I almost groaned in disappointment as JJ took his hand off of my leg, letting the t-shirt fall back down to cover me up before Fox could see what he’d been doing. Of course, I still hated him too. But letting him finger fuck me beneath the counter while Fox was being all you-belong-to-me, would have been the perfect secret up yours to that asshole.

  Fox locked the door which led out to the pool and pocketed the key before turning and striding away like we were done here.

  "You coming, J?" he called back and I looked at the man in question as he shook his head.

  “I'm still eating. I'll head off in a few," he replied.

  "You're going to be late," Fox grunted like that pissed him off, but JJ only shrugged.

  "Can the boss really be late? I'm pretty sure they're all just early until I show up."

  "Whatever." Fox headed out to the garage and silence fell as the door banged behind him.

  "What was that about?" I demanded as JJ took a bite of his grilled cheese like nothing at all had happened.

  "You mean the bit where I tried my luck with you or the part where you spread your legs and got nice and wet for me?" he asked casually before lifting his heated gaze to mine.