by Marie James
“Sure,” Professor says as he rounds the table and I pour all of us a drink.
Professor’s friend settles at his feet, head leaning adoringly on his thigh, only emitting a tiny seductive whimper when he leans back on his heels.
He thanks me for the drink when I pass it to him. I don’t get a reaction out of Briar. He’s too busy issuing his death glare across the table to notice the fresh glass of whiskey I set down.
“Listen,” Professor says, noticing Briar’s narrowed eyes, “I’ve been running shit in prison for the last ten years. Your patch is safe. The last thing I want is responsibilities on the outside.”
“Everyone in this club has responsibilities,” Briar counters.
Professor smiles, the same devious smirk he’d use in prison so people would underestimate him. “I’d prefer a little more freedom than upper management.”
Briar nods, appeased.
“I only have a few rules.”
It’s my turn for my head to snap back. Briar eyes me as if saying see, I told you so.
“Rules? Brother,” I begin leaning in so he’s listening, “I’m the only one making rules around here.”
“Not club rules,” he clarifies with a teasing grin on his face. He angles his head down at his friend. “No one touches, disrespects, or mistreats Kai.”
“Hold on.” Briar holds his hand up. Professor narrows his eyes on him, daring him to think before he speaks.
Looking over at Briar as well, I pray he remembers the things I’ve said about my time in prison and the brutal force in which Professor defended me. I can’t imagine what his response would be right now, but I know he’s very proprietary.
“Never mind,” Briar mutters as he stands from the table. “We had a room cleaned for you. I can take you there now if you like.”
“We’ll catch up later?” Professor looks at me as he also stands.
“I’ll see how Zoe feels, but I’m sure I’ll see you later tonight.”
“Zoe?” Professor draws his eyebrows in until I nod in his direction. “Seems we’ve both changed a little over the years.”
My friend walks away, Kai maintaining his quick pace even though he’s on hands and knees. The foxtail swishes with each movement, and I can only smile when Briar looks back at me from the doorway.
“What the fuck?” he mouths.
“Don’t kink-shame, Brother. More people in this clubhouse understand that tail a lot better than your celibacy.”
He gives me a touché middle finger before he disappears down the hallway to escort Professor and Kai to their room.
I have other places to be and ideas for my own fox’s tail if she hasn’t moved her things into my room.
Chapter 42
Zoe
“The guys are leaving tomorrow,” Molly says as she fills two shot glasses with amber colored liquor.
Everyone is here tonight. More people than I’ve ever seen before. They’re loud and rowdy and having a great time, but there’s still an eerie sense of foreboding hanging over us like a dark cloud.
“I know,” I respond. “But, they’re flying so they shouldn’t be gone as long.”
It’s pretty sound reasoning. I haven’t asked Lynch details about his business, but the whispers are still there. I know they’re heading down to Miami, and I know that everyone is nervous about that. Something happened with a woman and Lynch’s dad. Everyone is hush-hush, but from the little bits and pieces I’ve picked up, I know it was bad, and this trip to Florida is stemming from that situation.
“I need you to keep Lynch busy tonight,” Molly urges as she nudges one of the shot glasses in my direction.
With the influx of hangarounds for the night, the girls are busy entertaining, so it’s just Molly and me standing here.
My eyes narrow. She’s never asked me for anything like this before. I feel obligated to help her, but at the same time leery.
“Lynch does what he wants,” I remind her.
“He does what you want,” she clarifies. “Just suck his dick or something.”
Obviously.
“Molly, I love you. I really do, but I’m not going to manipulate your brother.”
“I’m not telling you to manipulate him. Just shake your ass a little more in that short skirt when he gets out of church. His dick will do the rest of the thinking for him.”
I giggle to hide the wince from the liquor as I lower the empty shot glass back down to the table.
“Any chance you’ll tell me why you so desperately need him distracted tonight?”
She frowns at me as if I have the gall to ask such a question after she’s asked a favor of me.
“Zoe,” she whines.
“Molly,” I tease.
Her eyes dart away from mine, focusing on the closed chapel doors.
“Your brother loves me.”
“Duh,” she responds. “Everyone knows that.”
“My point,” I tell her as I pour us a couple more shots, “Is that things aren’t the same as they were when I first got here. Lynch isn’t the same.”
“If you think my brother has changed other than opening his heart to you, you’re mistaken.”
“That one change makes a big difference. I don’t think he’ll be as opposed to you dating now as he was months ago.”
“Dating?” She tosses back her shot and glares at me. “This isn’t about dating. This is about who I want to date. Lynch would never let me date a biker. He wants me to meet a nice man in college and live in the suburbs away from all of this mess.”
Her arms wave around her, encompassing the entirety of the clubhouse. She includes the couples in all stages of undress on the sofas, the girls snorting coke off of each other’s tits, and the men running a train on some blonde in the corner.
“Kind of hard to do if you’re stuck here all of the time,” I mutter.
We’ve been out of the clubhouse frequently in the last two weeks. Although we’re always accompanied by someone from the club, there’s never been an opportunity for Molly to meet a man that doesn’t have leather on his back.
“I can’t even imagine anyone but him you know?” Molly’s sad eyes find mine.
We don’t mention Briar’s name anymore. We both know who we're talking about, so there’s really no point.
“I can talk to Lynch,” I offer.
“Don’t you dare.” She grips my wrist to the point of pain.
“That was the whole point I was trying to make before you sidetracked me.” She sticks her tongue out at me. “Lynch is different. Love makes you different. It makes you want others around you to have the same happiness.”
“Not going to happen,” she mutters pouring another shot.
“It’s possible.” I scrunch my nose up when she hands me the new shot, but I pour it down my throat anyway.
“Please,” she begs again when the chapel doors open, and the guys begin to file out.
“I’m just going to be me,” I tell her, but she knows exactly what I mean.
When Lynch and I are together, we’re equally distracted. She knows that as much as I do.
“Last one for luck,” Molly says as she pours a final shot.
I know what she’s doing. She’s building courage. No matter how much she and Briar have been dancing around each other, she’s made a decision that something is changing tonight. I smile at her bravery and throw the shot back with a little prayer that she also finds happiness.
“Getting started without me?” Lynch asks as he walks up and wraps his arms around me.
TJ walks up to Molly and kisses her temple before walking away in search of a woman for the evening. I’m still cautious around him. He went from nice guy to devil and back to nice guy in the blink of a damn eye. Losing concentration or letting your guard down around someone like that is only asking for trouble.
Molly angles her eyes toward Briar getting served at the bar, and without another word, I lead Lynch toward the couch on the far side of the room. It’ll position
his back to his sister, but with me straddling him, I’ll be able to see when the coast is clear. Guilt swims in my gut as Lynch, unsuspecting of being tricked, nibbles on my neck.
Pulling away, I smile down at him. I consider this a for your own good situation. It’s wrong to be happy in a relationship and dictate whether others can do the same. Molly and I are the same age. He has to know that she’s just as capable of doing the things I’ve done, the things Lynch and I have done together.
“Please don’t leave tomorrow,” I whisper in his ear, loving the way his newly grown beard feels on my soft cheek.
“Baby,” he pants, hands gripping my thighs and dictating the small rotation of my hips. “I have to go.”
“Is it dangerous?”
“Everything we do is dangerous,” he says.
Nuzzling into his neck, I see Molly heading to the hallway. Briar, looking lost and a little agitated, peers back in our direction. His eyes widen, finding me looking at him, but that doesn’t stop him from following her.
I nip Lynch’s ear, loving the grumble in his throat as he thickens under me.
The skirt I wore tonight serves its purpose. I normally stick to yoga pants and a t-shirt, but things felt different tonight, like I needed to put forth a little more effort. The sinking feeling in my gut has only grown exponentially since I found out they were heading out of state, each of them with one-way tickets because they don’t know how long they will be in Florida.
“Are we really going to do this here?” Lynch’s fingers find my bare core, and he doesn’t waste a second slipping two of his digits inside of me.
Personally, I love it when people watch us. I feel like a goddess pleasing my man in front of others who will never have a chance with him unless I allow it. Lynch still allows it every once in a while, but we haven’t crossed that line to include anyone else in our bed.
It doesn’t mean we won’t ever dabble in ménage again. Just last week he had Ronan and Xena hold my legs open while he licked me, then fucked me just like I’d fantasized about. Apparently, I also talk in my sleep when I’ve been drinking.
“Zoe,” Lynch prompts. “Here?”
Just as I reach for the zipper on his jeans, I notice Chains across the room with his hand already gripping his erection over his jeans. He winks at me, waving his hand out in front of him as if he’s telling me to keep going.
Here’s the thing. I like fucking, and on occasion, I like doing it with an audience, but each time I do it, it’s for me, not for them. Chains, as always is making things weird.
“Baby? You need to decide, or I’m going to decide for you.”
I’m honestly torn. There are amazing things going on around us. TJ is sitting on the couch with some girl managing to straddle his face without falling off of the sofa. The Professor is grunting as Kai rides his cock. A girl is kneeling in front of them sucking Kai off. I’d love to be right in the middle of it, checking more kinky things off of my list, but tonight seems too important. I feel as if I’ll regret not spending time alone with Lynch.
“Let’s take it to the house,” I urge, leaning back slightly so he can pull his fingers from my soaked center.
“House?” He frowns. “We have a room here. The house is so far away.”
I blink at him, fluttering my eyelashes playfully.
Without another word he lifts me, slinging me over his shoulder. I know from the cool air meeting my ass that everyone who looks over can see my slit. Lynch’s hand comes down hard on my ass when I try to cover myself. It’s barbaric, a way to draw even more attention to us. It’s his way of reclaiming me in front of everyone in the clubhouse.
“Don’t fuck my shit up,” he demands addressing the partiers. “Or I’ll hang you from the tree in the front yard.”
A cacophony of agreements follows us out of the room.
“They’re terrified of you,” I whisper as he carries me toward the hallway.
“As they should be,” he agrees.
“There isn’t a tree in the front yard.” I laugh at the ridiculousness of his words.
He slaps my ass again. “They’re too drunk and high to know th—”
He stiffens, sentence going unspoken, and his grip on my thigh becomes so tight it’s punishing.
“What’s going on?”
I circle my head so I can see between his arm and the side of his body. I may be upside down, but there’s no mistaking Molly in Briar’s arms and their lips locked together.
“Oh shit,” I hiss and try to wiggle out of Lynch’s arms.
I don’t have to try very hard because Lynch is hell-bent on putting me down so he can get to his friend.
“I’m going to fucking kill you.”
The threat is similar to what he just said in the living room, but this time I believe him.
Marie James
Epitaph
“There is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable.”
~Mark Twain
Prologue
Briar
“Think we should come back later?” TJ asks as we watch people stumble in and out of the frat-house.
We’re cloaked in darkness, halfway down the block.
“With the way I feel right now, man, we could go inside and kill everyone, and I wouldn’t even blink an eye,” I mutter, shaking my head as another drunk college girl stumbles down the sidewalk alone.
Don’t these damn girls know that they’re putting themselves at risk? I’m not one to blame the victim, but fuck, don’t get drunk and leave yourself unable to defend an attacker off. If we lived in a perfect world, there would be no problem with drinking until unconsciousness, but the world is a cold, dark, sinister place. It’s filled with demons lying in wait for the opportunities these girls are handing over freely.
Four guys in this damn house are soon going to find out just how bad of a world we live in.
“Briar?” TJ prompts.
“Look how wasted they all are,” I observe, not pulling my eyes from the darkness that swallowed another girl up. “I don’t think anyone would notice us if we walked inside carrying flares and yelling on a bullhorn.”
“Lead the way,” TJ urges with a wicked grin on his face.
He’s just as excited to get to those guys as I am. We both know what’s going to happen here tonight. No one gets away with hurting one of our own, and they damn sure don’t get a pass on hurting Molly. TJ is invested because she’s his sister. My role in her life is a little less concrete, but that won’t keep me from seeking revenge for the girl I’ve watched grow from an eight year old girl into a gorgeous young woman.
The pulse of the music blasting inside vibrates under my boots as I climb the rickety steps onto the porch. TJ, focused on only one thing, gently shrugs off a drunk girl as she brazenly offers herself to him. I know TJ. If that girl is still out here when we’re done, there’s a chance he’ll take her up on her offer, but he’s focused right now. The call of blood has always been stronger than the temptation of pussy for him.
We separate once we get inside, each of us looking for the familiar faces we’re seeking tonight. At twenty years old, TJ fits in perfectly. He’s a college girl's dream with a built frame, dirty-blond hair, and a mischievous smile that leaves women curious. I, on the other hand, am twenty-nine and have no business partying it up with college kids, but they don’t seem to mind.
We spend ten minutes looking around, neither one of us locating the assholes. It can only mean one thing, and TJ realizes it too when his eyes meet mine from across the room. Heading in the direction of the stairs, I add a little hustle to my steps, praying the entire way to the closed bedroom door at the end of the narrow hallway that we aren’t too late.
“Hey guys,” I spit when I open the door and see the passed-out chick on the bed.
One guy is pulling down her panties, struggling against the cumbersomeness of her lethargic body, while two others look on. One doesn’t even bother to stop stroking his cock with our interruption.
The guy on the far side of the room drops the cell phone he’s using to record the action and has the wherewithal to look ashamed at what he’s involved in.
“Private party,” another guy says as he turns, dick already out of his jeans.
The second he presses his hand to TJ’s chest in a bid to make him exit the room, all hell breaks loose.
The snap of his wrist can’t be heard over the drone of music from downstairs, but I’m not so sure that his howl of pain won’t be.
“Shut him up,” I snap as I step closer to the guy closest to the girl. He pulled his hands from her body when we walked in, but he doesn’t look like he’s planning to stop. We’re just a minor inconvenience in his evening plans. His eyes are dilated like saucers, cheeks flushed from the increase in his body temperature. The man is high as a fucking kite.
Too bad, I think as I step even closer. I was hoping they’d be fully cognizant when I gut them. We don’t always get what we want though. It’s one of the harsh realities of life.
“Gladly,” TJ hisses.
Time moves in warp speed.
I don’t know if seconds, minutes, or hours pass by, but when it’s all said and done, there are three bodies at our feet and one quivering little asshole pissing himself and trembling in the corner. He’s the only man left in the room alive, aside from TJ and me. He’d be dead too if it weren’t for the fact that he’s fully clothed and was video recording the other guys rather than joining in. I can’t be one hundred percent sure that he wouldn’t have joined in later, but tonight, it’s his only saving grace.
“Look how fucking sexy that is,” TJ says more to himself than anyone else, but it distracts me from my next task briefly.
“Sick fuck,” I murmur, but I look at the girl anyway.
I know what he’s talking about the second the words leave his mouth. He isn’t turned on by the unconscious, vulnerable woman. It’s the blood splattered all over her body that’s getting his dick hard.
“Are we going to leave her there?”