Heathens (Badlands Book 4)

by Natalie Bennett

  “There’s not shit to be nervous about, pretty girl,” I reassured her as we approached the front door.

  I didn’t tell her I was just as nervous as she was. I’d never cared before but Blue was mine; she needed to be comfortable here.

  I stood there, hoping my family of psychos didn’t send her ass right back out the door.

  Chapter Twenty

  BLUE

  I hadn’t been expecting everyone to be in the living room.

  We walked in and all conversation ceased.

  There wasn’t a pair of eyes that didn’t land on us. I could only imagine what the three of us looked like standing there together.

  A redheaded heathen, a girl with blue hair, and a kid with a shotgun.

  “They’re back!” Calista broke the ice, smiling at us from beside Romero.

  I smiled back at her, feeling oddly relieved. The last time I’d seen her, she was pregnant. Now she was right back to the size she was before, looking more ridiculously youthful than she had already.

  “Annie,” she greeted with a smirk that freakishly matched the one Romero was now sporting.

  “Aunt C. Uncle Rome,” Annie smirked back. When her eyes landed on the baby in Arlen’s arms, an actual smile blossomed on her face and she walked right into the fray.

  Arlen gave me an enthusiastic wave.

  There was one person missing.

  “Where is the fuck is Kat?” Cobra asked before I could.

  The silence that transcended answered the question for me.

  “She left, didn’t she?”

  “You say that like she’s done it before,” Arlen replied.

  “Twice before, actually,” I said more to myself than them, feeling an old hurt resurface and a little more than embarrassed.

  “I’m gonna let her get settled,” Cobra cut in as my saving grace.

  I squeezed his hand appreciatively.

  He and Romero shared a look I couldn’t decipher, but no one objected to our quick departure. The girls told me they’d see me in the morning right before we disappeared upstairs.

  Walking into Cobra’s room was like a breath of fresh air. It wasn’t overtly masculine and the bright colors worked well for him and his personality. Completely unexpected.

  “Where did she leave you?” he asked as soon as the door was shut.

  I sucked in the breath I’d just released, knowing I needed to tell him exactly who I was.

  I walked further in the room and sat down on the edge of his bed, twirling a strand of my hair.

  “Me and Katya were more frenemies than friends. Of course, we didn’t announce that to people. We were from the same city. We had good lives. Then, she convinced me to take off with her at seventeen.

  “She convinced my parents it would be a good idea for me to get out and see the world, which is laughable now that I think about it. The first time she left me was with a man she was sleeping with for a roof over our heads. That guy was such an asshole.”

  I paused and looked up to see him watching me intently before continuing.

  “He…turned his attentions on me once she was gone. I had nowhere to go; she’d taken all my things. It was either him or the street. But he got mean when he drank.”

  “Think I know where this is goin,” Cobra stated.

  “I killed him when he was in the shower, stole his truck and everything I could gather up and left,” I rushed out.

  “And the second time?” he asked.

  I shrugged and curled my shoulders, looking down at the floor. “The second time was after we reunited. I couldn’t go home because I didn’t have one anymore. Our city was raided a year after we left. I don’t know how she knew where I was, but she has a habit of popping up wherever I am.

  “We got in an argument over something so stupid I can’t even remember. She took off and I was on my own for a long time until she found me again with that guy, Parker. And then we met you.”

  The room was silent for a few beats.

  “Okay,” he cleared his throat. “Do you want me to hold you while you cry or would you like to take a shower?”

  I choked on a laugh and looked up at him. “How can you be so at ease about this? Do you know how I lived for all those years?”

  “Babe, I’d rather not picture that.”

  “You don’t think you’re good enough for me, but I thought from the moment I saw you that I was the one not good enough for you. I’m a whore, Cobra.”

  “Shower it is,” he said, ignoring my mini rant completely.

  “Bathroom’s through there.” He gestured to an open door as he walked backward.

  “Where are you going?” I asked, standing up. “Cobra?”

  He ignored me, walking out the door and pulling it shut behind him.

  As I stepped out of the shower, I wondered if I’d gone too far.

  Cobra had emotional turmoil of his own to deal with; I had no right to dump off mine.

  Grabbing a plush yellow towel, I wrap it around my body and used another to dry my hair.

  When I was done, I carried it with me into the bedroom, pausing the second I stepped through the bathroom door.

  I blinked. The lights had been dimmed and a cracker and cheese tray was on the bed.

  “What is this?” I asked, looking to where Cobra was standing.

  “This is for us.”

  “I see that but what brought all this on?”

  “Blue. From day one, we’ve been surrounded by pure fuckin chaos and it ain’t over yet, babe. We’re about to go to war. So, tonight, I just wanna talk and I wanna fuck.”

  I laughed and my heart completely melted all over again. I had to blink multiple times to hold back tears.

  “Sit down.” He gestured to his bed.

  Having a bit of déjà vu, I walked over and climbed up onto the massive king sized mattress, and settled against the headboard.

  Shutting my eyes, I let out a deep contented sigh.

  “You look good in my bed,” Cobra said, sitting down on the other side of me.

  “Good. I don’t plan on ever leaving it.” I looked over at him and smiled.

  He reached out and traced his knuckles down my cheek. “Don’t ever call yourself a whore again.”

  I opened my mouth to object, but he cut me off.

  “You did what you fuckin had to survive.

  “ I wouldn’t care if you fucked the whole Badlands if it meant your pretty ass would wind up here in my bed.

  “You wanna know what a real whore is? It’s me. I would fuck any willing pussy or ass as long as he or she looked good in the face.”

  “He?” I furrowed my brows.

  He laughed under his breath, rubbing his thumb across my lower lip.

  “Yeah, I love pussy but sometimes I like to bat for the other team. Hell, I fuck men to torture them.”

  “Okay, maybe you do have me beat,” I joked. “And that last part sounds like a whole other level of conversation we need to have, but first tell me what made you…stop.”

  He moved the cracker tray to a nightstand and picked up a mason jar of hooch, taking a healthy swig before passing it to me.

  “Well this sounds real fuckin cliché, but honestly, you. I didn’t even understand it at first. I had this longing for something I didn’t even understand. Then I saw my brothers and how happy they are. Then this shit with Beth happened, and I knew I had to change.”

  I took my second sip of hooch and passed it back to him.

  “How do you feel about the baby?” I asked timidly. It wasn’t my intention to pry but I couldn’t let him bottle something like this up.

  He took another large sip of hooch and then released a deep sigh, staring up at the ceiling. “At first I was pissed, ya know? I’d just started to accept that I might have a kid, even if their ma was a devious bitch. To find out my baby was stillborn… I don’t know. Indifferent? I’ll be good, though. Eventually.”

  I held back telling him I knew he’d be an amazing father. Cobra was w
ild and unpredictable. Deadly and venomous just like his namesake. But this man was so freaking loyal and loved his family fiercely.

  I knew we would be revisiting this subject in the near future, and I’d pushed him enough. The mood was quickly deteriorating and that’s not what I wanted.

  I tugged my towel loose and dropped it on the floor.

  His eyes went from my face to between my legs; I smiled to myself and moved to straddle him.

  He immediately sat down the hooch and gripped my hips.

  Sitting right over his hard cock, I let my eyes drift from his silver eyes, over his muscled chest and down his torso. “You are so gorgeous,” I sighed.

  “I was thinking the same fuckin thing about you.”

  I leaned down and pressed my lips to his, tasting the tangy, sour hooch we’d just consumed. “I want you,” I murmured against his mouth as I worked to get him out of his jeans.

  He immediately moved to assist me, freeing his cock and kicking off his pants.

  I didn’t need any foreplay; I’d been ready since I’d stepped into the bedroom.

  I gripped him in my hand and slowly lowered myself down, letting out a moan as my pussy stretched to accommodate him.

  Placing my palms on his chest, I began to rock my hips, getting used to the fullness of him inside me.

  “You feel good,” I breathed, beginning to move faster.

  He ran his hands from my breasts to my ass, grabbing handfuls of the flesh and squeezing, beginning to thrust into me from underneath.

  My legs started to burn the harder I rode him, my breaths coming in little gasps.

  “Damn, you are a fuckin goddess,” he groaned, grabbing hold of my hips and flipping us over.

  He placed my legs on his shoulders and fucked me faster; I reached down and grabbed hold of his ass, forcing him to bottom out.

  The sound of his headboard bouncing into the wall mixed with my wanton moans, skin hitting skin, and the squelching sounds from my pussy every time he thrust in and out filled the air.

  Sex had never felt this amazing. It’d never been this fulfilling.

  I stared up into his eyes, letting him see everything I had to offer him. He dropped my legs, wrapped them around his waist and lurched down, slamming his mouth over mine. Our teeth clashed, tongues tangling as his dick continued to pound into me.

  I pulled away, gasping, feeling the most intense orgasm of my life building in my core.

  “Don’t stop,” I demanded on a moan, as his cock began stroking the sweet spot inside me.

  “I plan on fuckin you all night,” he laughed. He moved one of his hands between us, bypassing my clit and moving to my ass. He began toying with my rim, dipping a finger in and then pulling it out, causing my pussy to clamp down. “Plan on fuckin this ass too.”

  Yes! I screamed in my head.

  “Cobra…I-”

  “I can feel it. Let go, babe. Come all over my dick.”

  He covered my mouth with his as I exploded around him, catching his name as it spelled like a chant from my lungs. I arched into him, holding on as tight as I could.

  “Fuck. Blue,” he moaned, finding his own release.

  We lay together, trying to catch our breath before he slowly pulled out and said, “That’s one.”

  “What’s one?” I rasped.

  “I made you come once. I’m going for seven. We’re just getting started. I don’t want you able to walk tomorrow.”

  He laughed at my expression, taking hold of my ankles and flipping me onto my stomach.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  BLUE

  Things were absolutely amazing for a full four days.

  Beyond the sex, which there were just no words for—Cobra was dedicated to all the different ways he could make come.

  On the one occasion my self-loathing set in, he held me.

  The man who got off on torture held me and told me everything he loved about me. And then he fucked me again.

  Our bubble together was my sole happy place.

  The day Romero said it was time to talk, I wasn’t fully aware of the history in the house. I sat at the dining room table with Cobra right behind me, his hands on my shoulders. Cali and Arlen were there too, as were Grimm and Romero, obviously.

  From the second I sat down, I felt like I was facing judge, juror, and executioner. The man was intense without even saying anything. I mean, he was gorgeous just like Grimm; they had the whole dark and alluring thing down pat.

  However, I preferred the man I was falling madly in love with.

  I adored his red hair, sense of humor, and that darkness that lurked just out of sight, coming out at the most unpredictable of times.

  I was pretty elated that he didn’t walk around with a thundercloud of hellfire over his head like they did.

  “We need to discuss your initiation,” Romero began.

  “I’m sorry, my what?”

  He didn’t say anything for a minute, simply staring me down. I’m certain he knew he scared the crap out of me.

  “Rome,” Cali hissed, clearly on the same page as I was.

  “Your initiation is you basically doing something that proves your loyalty to the Savages and lifelong commitment, and some other details,” Cali explained.

  “Oh, well what did you do?”

  “Got knocked up,” she laughed, then held her hands in a defensive gesture when Romero glared at her. “I was kidding. That’s a long story for some other time.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Tell me everything you learned from Vitus and then tell me if you truly want Cobra and everything that comes with him, because he is a Savage, and you will be too. So you can kiss your precious morals goodbye.”

  Wow, he certainly didn’t sugarcoat anything.

  Cobra squeezed my shoulders to reassure me and let me know he was there, which only solidified my decision.

  I knew without a doubt I would walk through hell if it meant being with this man. I was going to be his future and help him heal from his past.

  The bits and pieces he’d shared with me already were heartbreaking.

  He’d given me pieces of his heart and I was damned sure going to collect the rest of them. I would show him he was worthy of all the love everyone in this room had for him.

  For him, I would hand my soul to the devil. I would give up my morality for savagery.

  “Okay…I’m not sure what you consider new information. This is all over someone named Tillie, right?”

  As soon as I said that name, I felt a spark of tension. Cali had looked from Romero to me; he didn’t look away for even a second.

  “All I know is that Vitus is looking for someone named Zane, and that he has something to do with Tillie.

  “ You may know where this Zane is because you and Tillie were closer than she and Vitus?

  “Also, Beth told me this, and she’s dea—gone,” I hurriedly added, choosing my words carefully out of respect for Arlen.

  The room was too silent once I was finished.

  Cobra moved his hands from my shoulders to around the front of me and gently squeezed.

  “Who’s Zane?” Cali asked Romero at the same time Arlen asked why her sister was at the prison and not in Centriole.

  “Rome,” Cali began.

  “Zane is Tillie’s son. She had him when we fucked around off and on.”

  “Did you know where Beth was?” Arlen was asking Grimm.

  I made a point of studying the table, feeling all sorts of awkward witnessing other couples argue.

  “What the fuck does that mean?” Cali asked, clenching her fist around the baby monitor.

  She sounded equal parts hurt and pissed off. Had I known this would have upset her, I’d have worded it differently.

  “You’re okay, babe,” Cobra leaned down and whispered in my ear, sensing my growing discomfort.

  “Cali, don’t start this shit,” Romero snapped.

  “You did all this because of her? Why are you stil
l keeping things from me? Fuck you,” she snapped right back, launching the monitor at his head before walking out of the room and straight out the back door.

  “You two are fuckin assholes,” Arlen laughed humorlessly, pushing away from the table and going after Cali.

  Silence reigned.

  I looked up, hearing a heavy sigh, seeing Romero sink down in a chair. Grimm hadn’t said a word.

  “He’s not my kid,” Romero said after a minute. “He’s Vitus’. But I helped her hide him. He hasn’t pulled his ‘alliance’ yet, even knowing we took Blue. He doesn’t know we’re aware Beth is dead and so is…” He looked at Cobra and trailed off.

  “We leave in a few days. We’ll take the city and Vitus. I have scouts inside looking for Zane, but so far he hasn’t been located.”

  “So all Vitus wants is his son?” I spoke up. Now things made sense. I’d known he had have of been after something highly valuable to concoct this scheme.

  Not much would beat out his son.

  “He wants his son, and he wants my kingdom. He isn’t going to get either.” His words dripped contempt.

  In that moment, I understood that for this beef, Vitus wanted the girl and the kid, while all Romero wanted was to win, as painfully as possible.

  I didn’t see where Cali came in.

  “She loved her too. The bitch was good at playing people but I knew her too well for it to work against us. Beth wasn’t half as smart. Thank fuck she’s dead.”

  I didn’t even want to begin analyzing that mess of a statement.

  “This is the only secret she’ll know,” Romero said with a pointed stare at me.

  How many secrets did he have?

  Realizing he was speaking to me, I swallowed my fear of him to respond. “I don’t know your secrets to tell. It seems to me you don’t need assistance pissing off your wives, anyway.”

  “Our wives?” Grimm asked.

  “I…saw their rings.”

  “I’m going to find my queen,” Romero said, standing up. “Maybe she’s got some backbone after all. Have her ready to roll out the morning of,” he directed at Cobra on his way out of the room.

  “Guess I should go too.” Grimm stood and followed behind him.

  “Did I mess up?” I asked Cobra as he helped from my chair.