by Mary Martel
Hell yes, I wanted her marks on me. Every time I touched the back of my neck and felt what she’d left on me, I just knew my dick would stir to life.
“Harder,” I groaned. “Make me bleed. I want to feel you on me for days.”
“Fuck you, Franks,” she whispered, and her nails were gone just like that. I mourned their loss, but she didn’t disappoint me for long. Her fingers slid up the back of my head, threading through my hair. She grabbed a handful and gave a vicious tug. “You don’t get to tell me what to do. Don’t get it twisted, Franklin. You don’t own me. No man will ever own me. I’m not property, I’m a goddamn person.”
She had no idea what the fuck she was talking about. She’d learn though, because I planned on teaching her.
And that particular lesson would start right now.
Fuck yes it would.
And we’d both enjoy it. I was done taking things slow with Gem. Having Riley here changed the game and slow was history.
I squeezed her ass cheek, intending to leave my own marks on her skin. Not just for her, but for the other one. So he’d see me on her skin and think of me, knowing she’d never just be his. Yeah, I liked that.
I slid my hand up her spine, up the back of her slender neck, and into her hair. I fisted a handful and roughly tugged her head down to mine. She came willingly enough and without a struggle. That was promising.
I slammed her mouth onto mine and wasted no time slipping my tongue past her pretty, parted lips. She made a noise that went straight to my dick, and I was immediately hard.
She fought for dominance, pressing her tongue back against mine, and I liked that even more. We dueled, our tongues dancing, our teeth clashing, in the most violent kiss I’d ever endured in my life. And by far the fucking best ever.
It was phenomenal, all-consuming, and I lost myself in it. I just knew when I had her naked and underneath me, she’d light up for me just the same way. It was going to be incredible, and with just this little taste, I was hooked, completely fucking gone.
Our lips broke apart, both of us breathing heavily, and I had to wonder who was teaching who a lesson here because she owned my ass. Heart, body, and soul.
And my dick. She fucking owned him too.
Looked like I was the piece of property here, and I’d been bought with one kiss that had rocked me to my core. My foundation was shaken. My dick ached. And I was hungry for more.
“Put me down, Franklin,” she panted breathlessly. “You made your point, now put me down. I’ll give you what you want, only because I wasn’t planning on sleeping with him anyway.”
Thank fuck, she’d felt it too. Though she was lying to herself about that last bit. I’d let it slide, just this once, only because I’d just gotten a taste of everything I wanted. The rest would come later.
I squeezed her ass one last time before regrettably removing my fingers from her hair and slowly lowering her down until her feet touched the floor.
The look in her eyes when she looked up at me had my chest seizing. She looked younger, almost as if she’d been sucked back in time to that thirteen-year-old girl I’d met four years ago. She looked absolutely terrified.
“Gemmy,” I murmured quietly, reverently, awed at the sight of her vulnerability. She didn’t share this side of herself with many and I was touched she’d chosen me to gift it to.
“You know I don’t care about what you do,” she whispered in a small voice that was so at odds with the fierce girl who was my best friend. “I don’t judge you or your family. How could I when you know where I come from?” She shook her head angrily and some of that vulnerability faded from her eyes. Something I liked seeing a whole lot more replaced it.
I cupped the side of her cheek gently, as if she were fragile when I knew she was not. She might have been acting like it lately due to the extent of her loss, but underneath was a girl with true strength that rivaled my own. “I know, baby, and I appreciate you for it. But you don’t need to tell me. And you don’t need to worry about me. I’ll be careful and I’ll be safe.”
I’ll come back to you, I wanted to say, but I couldn’t.
She covered my hand with hers and pressed her cheek deeper into my palm.
“You know I love you, right?” she asked, freezing me in place with those big, beautiful eyes of hers.
“I know it. And I love you more.”
Half her mouth curled up in a smug smile. Yeah, she knew I loved her back, and she liked hearing it. I made a mental note to tell her more often because it got me good things. Like a sweet Gem, and I liked her sweet. I liked her always, even bitter, but sweet was good for a change.
“I’ve got to go. Text me when you go to bed, and if I can I’ll hit you back. If I’m not back when you wake up, I want you to text me then too.”
She squeezed my hand. “I can do that, even if you are a bossy asshole.” She bit the corner of her bottom lip as her eyes shifted over my shoulder. “He might not want to stay here, and that’s okay, Franks. I can be alone, I don’t even mind being alone. It might even be good for me to spend some time alone. You know, I bought this place because I felt like I might find some peace here. It wasn’t possible at my dad’s house, but it just might be here. You shouldn’t worry so much about me. I hurt, yes, and I don’t think that pain will be leaving me any time soon. Or if it ever will, but that’s mine to deal with. Not yours. You should stop worrying so much about me. I’ll be just fine.”
Now how did I know she’d say something like that? Gem’s problem was she thought it was okay to worry about everyone else without having anyone worry about her in return. My family dynamic was no fucking joke, but Gem’s parents, no, her entire family had really fucked her up.
That reminded me, her mother needed to be taken care of. I wouldn’t allow the woman to hurt her daughter any more than she already had. If I had the time, I might just pay her a little visit after I see my father. That was, if I hadn’t been away from my girl for too long.
“We’ll talk more about that later,” I told her evasively, knowing we’d do no such thing. “If your Ken doll leaves while I’m gone, I want you to text me and let me know. Maybe I’ll have one of my guys come and keep watch over you.”
That wasn’t a half bad idea actually. Why hadn’t I thought of it sooner?
She jerked out of my hold and glared at me, the tender moment from before entirely gone.
“It’s like you didn’t even listen to a single word that came out of my mouth.” She huffed angrily, but there wasn’t any real heat in her words.
I grinned at her. I’d heard every word she’d said, I always did. We were still doing things my way, and that was just all there was to it. She should have known better by now.
“I need to have a word with Riley before I go.” I kissed her on the top of the head just because I could, and I’d never again miss an opportunity to touch her and show her affection now that I knew it was okay. “Be a good girl for me, Gems.”
She raised her hands and waved both middle fingers at me. Ah, there was the girl I knew and loved so much.
Riley, while we’d been having our little moment, had gone out to the back deck. Huh, we’d been so wrapped up in each other neither of us had even noticed the door opening or his presence leaving. I liked that a whole lot too.
Thankfully, Gems didn’t follow me out the glass doors that Riley had left open. This was a chat we needed to have man to man.
He didn’t turn to face me until I stood directly behind him. As soon as I had his full attention, I lunged, wrapping my hand around his throat. I squeezed, not enough to block his airway, but just enough to let him know I meant business.
I backed him up until he pressed against the railing and leaned into his face. “If anything happens to her while I’m gone, I’ll fucking kill you. Something to know about me, Riles” —I sneered while saying his new nickname— “I do not make idle threats. When I say I’m going to do something, I do it. What’s more is I’ll enjoy doing it and I’ll take m
y fucking time, relishing your pain and suffering. That girl in there is suffering. She might not show it, but believe me, it’s there under the surface. She’s bleeding out from an invisible wound, and for whatever reason she’s decided you’re going to help her staunch the blood flow. I don’t know what that means for the long term, but for now you’re here. I don’t like it, I don’t have to, and I don’t even like you, but you’re here now and I have to deal with it. You don’t fuck me over, you don’t hurt her, and we’ll get along just fine. You hear me?”
He didn’t even flinch. There was zero fight in him, and halfway through my little friendly welcome speech, his entire body went slack.
God, I wanted to fucking hate him for it, see it as a weakness and toss his ass over the railing. I could do no such thing.
“You love her,” he murmured quietly. “I get it. She loves you too, it’s obvious to anyone who sees you two together. I don’t want to fuck with that, I’m not that type of guy. So I’m going to be honest with you here. I feel something for her, and it’s beyond just her being my dead best friend’s twin. I don’t know exactly what it is, but I don’t think at this point I’m capable of walking away from her. She’s not the only one bleeding from a wound you can’t see. I don’t think either one of us knows what we’re doing right now, and it’s wrong of me to ask you to be understanding toward it, but I don’t know what else to do because I’m not going anywhere.”
His words stung, each one like a blow I didn’t know how to block. The balls on this one were impressive, I’d give him that. Maybe this one wasn’t so bad after all. That didn’t mean I liked him or was anywhere near not hating him because we weren’t there yet and likely never would be.
I squeezed his throat tighter and leaned in until we were nose to nose. “I don’t give a fuck about your wounds or your feelings. You don’t mean shit to me. Right now all I care about is you keeping your dick to yourself while I’m gone and that you take care of my girl. Do you think you can do that?”
If he answered wrong, I just might get my wish and be able to toss him down the hill. I didn’t think it would kill him, he’d probably break something though, those rocks looked like they would be painful to land on.
“I’m not going to do anything to hurt her. Ever.” Not a simple sentence. Not even a promise. A fucking vow.
“Well, alright then.” I grinned at him and released my hold on his neck. I stepped back, allowing a foot of space between us.
An angry red mark, the perfect size of my hand, remained where my fingers had been wrapped around his throat. Oddly enough, my dick twitched at seeing my marks on his skin too.
Yeah, I was more fucked in the head than I thought. I needed to get that shit screwed on straight before I did something regrettable.
Riley rubbed at his throat. My eyes tracked the movements hungrily.
Time to get the fuck out of here.
I started to walk away when his next words stopped me. I looked back at him over my shoulder in irritation.
“I have to work tomorrow night and I can’t skip it. I owe Chance’s dad a lot. I don’t want to fuck him over, so I’m going to need to leave her for a few hours. And I’ll need to show my face at my house or my mom will worry about me.”
I sighed. More shit for me to have to deal with. “I’ll call Chance and clear you for tomorrow.” He opened his mouth to argue with me, but wisely thought better of it and closed it before anything could come out that might piss me off even more. “I know you have a job because you need the money, so I won’t be gone for longer than just tomorrow. And you should bring Gem home with you. She needs to be around good people, and it’s not good for her to just stay holed up here in this stupid fucking house that barely even has furniture. Make sure she eats, especially when she’s hitting the bottle. If you need me, you have my number, use it.”
And with that, I got the fuck out of there.
I hoped whatever job my father needed me for required violence, because if I didn’t get some of this emotion out of me, I might explode. And I didn’t want Gem anywhere near me when that happened.
Chapter Thirteen
Chicken Shit
Gem
Confusion didn’t even begin to cover my state of mind. Goddamn Franklin had totally fucked me in the head in more ways than one.
He was playing games here, but he’d failed to inform me of the game or the rules. But I had a feeling I knew the stakes. Boy, did I ever.
I just wasn’t in the mood to play games. And now I had Riley on my hands, and I had no clue what to do with him. Outrageously, given what Franks had demanded of me, I knew what NOT to do with him.
I could just kill that arrogant prick.
“Are you hungry?” Riley’s deep, husky voice murmured from right behind me, making me jump.
I whirled around to face him and hoped like hell my cheeks weren’t pink. I hadn’t forgotten he was here. I’d just been so angry with Franklin I couldn’t think straight.
“He told me to make sure you eat.”
I scowled at him. Was he going to do everything Franklin told him to do like a little lost puppy? That thought pissed me off.
“What are you doing here, Riley?” I implored. “You don’t even really know me. Is it because I look like her? Please tell me that’s not it, because right now I can’t bear it. She wasn’t really your friend, you know. I don’t think she was really anyone’s friend besides that cow she secretly called a girlfriend. I want to carve my face off so I don’t look like her.”
I snapped my mouth shut and quickly looked away from him. I couldn’t believe those words had actually just come out of my mouth. They felt like the ultimate betrayal.
“It’s okay to be angry,” he rushed to assure me in a gentle, kind voice. I hated the sincerity there. “Your bodyguard told me about the shit she said about me, and I’m angry too. I’m beyond angry and I feel fucking sick inside. I don’t know why she’d say those things, but I will tell you this, she loved Belinda beyond all reason and would have done anything for her. I’m not making excuses for her behavior, I’m just trying to figure out a way in my own damn head to make amends with her for the things she’s done. It seems impossible, but I’m trying. For your sake you should too.”
I cleared the sudden lump forming in my throat. “Did you…” I couldn’t say it. I didn’t even enjoy thinking about it. If they’d slept together and he treated her poorly I might throw up.
His body twitched, almost as if he was stopping himself from moving, from coming to me.
“No,” he growled, sounding pissed beyond belief. “I never had sex with your sister. I’ve never even thought about her that way. We were just friends and nothing more. I was one of the few, if the only people she trusted with her relationship with Belinda, and I knew when Belinda cheated on her. I knew about it all because Gin told me, and I saw it with my own goddamn eyes. Don’t you worry about Belinda, I’ve got her covered.”
I blinked at him stupidly. Had her covered? What the hell did he mean by that?
“You never answered if you were hungry or not.”
No I had not, and now my stomach hurt and I didn’t feel much like eating.
I also didn’t want to talk about Gin anymore. She broke my heart.
“Do you want to go for a walk down the beach?” I asked nervously. “I haven’t been here very long and I bought the place for the water, though you wouldn’t think so since I actually haven’t been down there once. If you want, we can eat after we come back up.”
Hopefully that would be enough time for my stomach to unclench and I’d be able to eat. That was if we didn’t talk about my sister while we meandered down the beach.
“It’s going to be dark out soon,” he warned, and I couldn’t help but grin at him.
“Are you afraid of the dark, Riley?” I taunted. “Scared something might jump out of the water and try to eat you? Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”
I wouldn’t. If something came out of the water, it w
as every man and woman for themselves. I would happily push him in the water so I could make a break for it and run to safety. If he died, he died. I was sure someone would miss him, but it wouldn’t be Franklin.
“You’re kind of a bitch, Gem, did you know that?”
I laughed at him.
Some people thought the truth hurt. Some people thought it set you free. I didn’t give a fuck, it was what it was.
“Let’s go,” I yelled as I raced around him. I kicked off my flip-flops on the deck overlooking the beach and ran down the wooden stairs. I heard the heavy thump of his boots behind me as he raced after me.
“Be careful!” he shouted.
His words and the fear in them struck home halfway down the stairs, and I froze with my hand clutching the wooden railing like my life depended on it.
Oh God.
How could I have forgotten? My sister fell down a flight of stairs to her death, and here I was recklessly running down them like the hounds of hell were yapping at my heels. I bent over the rail and vomited. I coughed and heaved until there was nothing left inside me to expel. Riley’s big hand came down on the small of my back and he rubbed gentle, soothing circles up and down my back.
“Shit, sweetheart,” he murmured quietly. “I shouldn’t have said anything. You were happy and not even thinking about it. I’m so sorry.”
I didn’t know what the fuck he had to apologize for, I was the stupid one who’d forgotten about my sister. I didn’t care how mad at her I was, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself for forgetting about her. It felt so wrong.
“I’m so stupid,” I whispered in a horribly broken voice that made me cringe.
“How about we do the beach tomorrow when it’s not going to be dark out soon?” Riley suggested. “We can go back up to your house, order takeout from somewhere, and watch some TV. Just chill out and relax. Maybe get to know each other a little better. After that, I’ll feel better when you get some hot food in your belly. I think you’ve lost weight since the funeral and you were already skinny then. Have you not been looking after yourself? Is that why the bodyguard was so insistent on me feeding you?”