Dark Master (Dark Masters Book 1)

by Shana Vanterpool

  “You’re sick,” I hissed, throwing the balls onto his lap.

  “We’ll take the plug out in the bathroom.”

  “I’ll take it out myself,” I growled.

  “Miya, I’m not in the mood for your hurt. I’m really not.” He glared unapologetically at me, dropping the balls in the center console. His face was stiff and cold. “This entire situation is far bigger than you and me. My past,” he stressed, sinisterly quiet. “Is bigger than I will ever be. We’re going to dinner, you’re to remain quiet, and that’s all that’s happening tonight.”

  Our weekend of bliss was officially over.

  But I’d walked away with certain understandings I hadn’t had before our weekend. “I’m to remain quiet?” I shoved his chest, not shrinking from his shrill cold eyes. Which was hard not to do. Every wall he’d ever built was so obviously up. The fight to get them down this time would hurt us both. “Is that all, Master? Keep my mouth shut and don’t ask questions? Would that please you?” I was proud of myself when I didn’t cry. “One of these days I might have to make a choice, and all of the pain and secrets may be the one thing that drives me away. I don’t keep anything from you.”

  He cursed under his breath, wrapping the leather steering wheel in his fists; the leather whined under the pressure.

  “Damn it, Miya.” He turned his murderous gaze on me. “Vega is really Elouise’s last name. She is Pyper’s ex-sister-in-law.”

  I put the pieces together in my head. “Vega’s husband, the one who beat her, is Pyper’s brother?”

  “Yes. Her husband took off after the divorce and Pyper and Elouise remained close. They’re like sisters. Which was how my relationship started with Vega. Our paths crossed for a long time before they collided.”

  “But why Pyper? Where’s your … mother?” I knew as soon as I asked it probably wasn’t going to end well.

  His soul turned in on itself and he looked at me with empty eyes. “Let’s go.”

  I rushed to catch up to him up the driveway, what with my ass still full. “I’ll keep the plug in.” I wanted to take away some of his unease.

  He paused outside of the front door and took deep breaths. “I don’t want to be this way. I don’t want to be this angry, this mad.” He turned to me. I gasped quietly at the torture in his eyes. “I don’t want to take the only thing I love and use it as a battering ram for my rage.” He crushed me to his chest. “There is nothing without you, Miya. I don’t mean to keep doing this. But—”

  He didn’t know how to stop.

  Just like I didn’t know how not to love him.

  These forces were forged through deep desire and altering emotions, and we’d tossed and turned in both too deeply to ever find our way out.

  “We’ll talk later?” I asked.

  He nodded in the crook of my shoulder, his breath hot on my skin. He pawed at me, pulling and gripping me so tightly it was growing harder to breathe.

  “I’ll be your naïve nineteen-year-old girlfriend tonight, but I want you to know something. That isn’t what I am and I don’t appreciate you bringing me anywhere near Vega after what you two did together.”

  “I’ll make it up to you.” There was a heavy promise in his words.

  I shuddered, inhaling the rich scent of his clean skin and cologne. “It isn’t that easy. Sex doesn’t fix everything.” But my head tilted and his lips traced along the curve of my throat.

  “Promise me you won’t run screaming from me tonight?”

  My eyes slid shut as he kissed my jaw with heated wet insistent kisses. He wanted my lips.

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because I’m the normal one in my family.”

  He pulled away and drug his thumb across my neck where he’d kissed, removing the trail of wet marks. He ran his hand through his hair, cursed under his breath once more, and then used his key to unlock the front door. I found it odd that he hadn’t even tried the lock, that he’d known it was locked on top and on bottom.

  I grabbed hold of his bicep and peered around him in the short empty hall. There was a shoe rack beside the door. Neat perfect rows of shoes. Not a single pair out of place.

  “Don’t take your shoes off.” He grabbed my elbow and wrapped his fingers possessively around it, urging me away from the front door.

  I could smell frying food—good food, if the scent of it was any clue—and I heard people talking. Lots of people talking.

  There were pictures in the hall. I eyed them curiously. There was a large one with six people in total. And on the right corner was a young startlingly good-looking teenage boy. Wayward inky black hair, hard hairless jaw, and piercing deep brown eyes. He looked pissed, even from that far ago back. Cold. But he was so cute my heart stuttered for that younger version of Jaxon. My younger self would have fallen even then. Hell, he was pretty. I couldn’t imagine him ever hurting for female attention.

  He sighed beside me and paused; he kept his grip on my elbow.

  I studied everyone in the picture intently. One woman, with hair the color of dirty hay and withering deep green eyes was in the center. And though her countenance was hard, there was an edge on her eyes that hinted at a sense of happiness. Happiness, I thought, that she’d gotten everyone in the picture.

  The other four were an older man with his hand around the blonde’s shoulders, and three other teenagers. One female with jarringly rich purple hair, and two males, one with dirty hay and other with muddy straw. All kids in the picture were probably around fifteen except the purple haired girl, she looked younger. And they all looked … sad.

  “Have your fill?” he whispered.

  I could feel his hard gaze on me as I moved on to the one next to it. “Who is she?” I pointed at the woman with the dirty blonde hair.

  “Aunt Pyper. That’s her husband, Meyer, and her adoptive daughter Sally, and her two biological sons from another relationship, Kline and Jaymond.” He put his mouth over my ear. “Jaymond has the dark brown hair. You’re not to be alone with him, even if it might save your life. Nod.” I did. “Kline is safe. He’s a detective. Homicide. Portland PD. He just got divorced from his wife and he’s not taking it well. Sally is … somewhat safe. As long as she likes you. If not, well, I’ve suffered her for years. Meyer’s a dope. Harmless. Which is probably how he puts up with us all, being married to Aunt Pyper. She has OCD and an anger problem. She’s invasive and has absolutely no boundaries. But the rest of the time, she’s open and caring. And then there’s me, Jaxon Damon, Pyper’s brother’s illegitimate son. She took me in when I was ten. Kicked me out when I was seventeen after I dropped out. Vega took me in immediately. I sometimes wonder if she planted that bug in Pyper’s head.” His whispers faded into quiet suspicion. Our eyes flicked to each other’s. “I want to kiss you right now. I want to push your skirt up and sink deeply inside of your tight wet cunt. Inside of you, everything makes sense, Miya. It’s the only time I know and like who I am.”

  My knees nearly gave out.

  “Let’s go.” He guided my elbow and turned us immediately into an open doorway and into a warm country kitchen. There were wood-block counters and mosaic tiles on the floor. Outdated had never looked so charming.

  There was a table that sat at least ten right off the kitchen. Pyper Vega was leaning against the counter with a glass of what looked like beer in her hand, her eyes falling across her family. There was love in her gaze, lots of it, but there was something else too. Something that looked like sadness.

  The moment Jaxon pulled us into view and her eyes found him, the sadness left her, like a sheet falling and pooling around her feet.

  She didn’t say anything.

  She simply set her beer down and walked over to him, pulling him into a tight encompassing hug. He kept hold of my elbow, even when I tried to pull free. He hugged her back with one arm, nodding his head to whatever she was whispering to him. His eyes were empty, wiped clean of emotion. He looked like he’d done everything he could not to feel anythi
ng the moment he’d walked into this house.

  “Oh, look who finally joined us,” a light feminine voice sneered. “Jaxon Damon, the beloved doctor and professor.”

  I peeked around their bodies to find Sally glaring at us, but she was smiling too, and it was the most alarming sight. Her beautiful pixie-like face grinning as her dark blue eyes twinkled with poison. Her hair was no longer short and purple, but long and onyx with blue ends. She looked closer to my age than she had in that family portrait.

  Beside her was a man as pretty as Jaxon. His dark brown hair was styled and perfect and he oozed danger and sex. He was wicked. Frightening and gorgeous was a dangerous combination. Jaymond Vega. I didn’t even have to ask. And deep down, I thought it was probably pure possessiveness that made Jaxon alert me to him. Kline was on the far end of the table, giving me a bored but unthreatening look with a dusting of curiosity. His buzzed haircut and large shoulders made him brawny and intimidating.

  The older man beside Jaymond was smiling genially, his shoulder-length hair the color of ash, a mixture of black and gray. Meyer.

  I wanted to go home.

  “Okay, all right,” Jaxon snapped, pulling himself free of Pyper’s embrace. He pulled me in front of him. “Aunt Pyper, this is Miya, my girlfriend. Miya,” he said, warmth wrapping around my name. “This is my Aunt Pyper.”

  She looked at me intently, up and down, and then down and up. Finally, she looked at Jaxon. “What’s wrong with her?”

  “Nothing,” he growled, pulling me past her. He dragged me over to the table, pulled out a chair beside Kline and an empty seat, and pushed me down. “Beer? The Vega’s only have beer and water. Because what the fuck else is there to drink?”

  I was so mortified. The eyes on me I didn’t know, Jaxon spouting off at the mouth. What was wrong with me? Did there have to be for me to be with him? I shook my head, swallowing my discomfort.

  He left me at the table with his family and wrenched the fridge open, grumbling under his breath.

  “How old is she?” Sally curled her lip up at me. “She looks my age.”

  “Ignore her,” Kline rumbled, his voice deep like gravel. “She’s a bitter little bitch. But she’s so pretty she gets her way too often to ever change.” He held out his hand to me. “I’m Kline.”

  I gave him mine tentatively. “Miya.”

  He grinned for some reason. “She’s a cutie.” He leaned in close. “You legal?”

  “Yes,” Jaxon grumbled, slamming down two large glasses full of beer. “Stop talking to her.”

  “Jailbait is my favorite,” Jaymond purred. “Those young hot tight bodies.” He moaned under his breath. “Daddy likes.”

  “Ugh.” Sally rolled her eyes. “You’re so pervy. And you’re full of shit. You’re a business man. You care more about that than you do pussy. You’d really risk your career for some sixteen-year-old dumb kid?”

  Jaymond glowered at her, eyes the color of hard cut emeralds. “What do you know about men and sex?”

  Her right hand picked up her knife.

  Jaxon chugged his beer down and got up to presumably get another.

  Meyer was still smiling sweetly at me.

  Kline looked ready to pounce on Sally should she use that knife.

  And Pyper was still in the kitchen sipping her beer.

  I was in a horror house.

  It looked so normal outside. Maybe that’s where Jaxon learned it from.

  “You gonna stab me?” Jaymond looked really unimpressed.

  Sally looked really hungry for blood. “You think you know everything, Jay. Like the world is some boring oyster and you want to stick your dick in every dumb orifice.”

  I grabbed my beer and drank a long eager swallow just as Jaxon sat down with another. A timer binged somewhere.

  “Pork chops are ready,” Pyper announced.

  “Oh, goody.” Meyer tucked his napkin in his front shirt collar.

  “You have ranch, right, Ma?” Kline checked.

  I was losing my mind.

  “Pretend you’re someone else,” Jaxon whispered in my ear. “Someone not unlucky enough to love a fucking monster who grew up in a slaughter house.”

  I closed my eyes in sadness. “That isn’t true.”

  “Hmm,” he grunted, because of course he thought it was.

  What I wanted to know in that moment was how bad had his life been until he was ten for this to have been his refuge? I eyed him as he chugged his beer. He didn’t look in control or even self-possessed. And for the first time I noticed small little wrinkles around his eyes as he frowned in disgust at his family. They showed of his unhappiness. I’d never seen them when it was just us. I leaned over and kissed him on the small crinkles on his left eye, giving him a look of love and support.

  His wrinkles faded and his body relaxed. He smiled sadly, pressing his forehead to mine as Sally lunged at Jay and Meyer started singing a happy pork chop song. “You’re my happy place, Miya. Right now, and forever.”

  “Did you know that there’s a parasite in pork that will make you go blind?” Meyer stated.

  “Sounds like my ex-wife,” Kline chimed in, pouring ranch dressing all over his fried chop.

  Jay straightened his black dress shirt and chuckled. “Yeah, but she had a set of cans on her you could lick, fuck, and suck. It’s a tradeoff.”

  Sally tried to cut her pork chop with her fork and spoon, glaring profusely at it now that she’d been stripped of her knife privileges.

  “What are you going to do custody wise?” Jaxon asked, setting a pork chop on each plate and piling it high with what looked like macaroni and cheese. There were fresh rolls and something that looked like olive relish.

  “She wants them. Says I’m never home. Work too many hours.” Kline sighed sadly. “I want my kids to be happy, you know? I don’t want this to be hard on them. They’re already asking me when I’m coming home. How do I tell them I’m not?”

  Jaxon cleared his throat and the mood sobered. “Fight it. If you need money for a lawyer, I’ll front the costs. Your kids are good. They don’t deserve to feel that way.”

  “I can’t believe that Stacey would behave this way,” Pyper said, sitting across from me.

  “Why not?” Sally gave up and brought the chop up with her hands. “She was always such a snooty bitch. You marry the man and his family. Just because we’re not some lame ass perfect cutout like her doesn’t mean we’re trolls. Plus, we love the kids. Isn’t that what matters?”

  I ate looking at my plate. But inside I had this strange urge to sob. Maybe because I’d always felt that way too. Outside looking in. I didn’t even want what others had, I just didn’t want to have so much of what I already did that it separated me from others. I felt a tiny shred of a connection with this family.

  “Well,” Jaymond said slowly. “There’s always your uniform. Women love a man in uniform. Ain’t that right, Sals?”

  “Be serious, Jaymond.” Aunt Pyper sounded pissed; I pushed food into my mouth. “If you can’t do so, you can leave.”

  “No, I can’t. Or you’ll bring it up until next Sunday. Which, by the way, I won’t be around for. I have to cover the manager at Heights the next couple months. Back surgery. And judging by the belt size on his wife, I can see why.”

  Kline spit his food out and guffawed. Jaxon smirked.

  I joined Pyper and Sally in a glare. Pigs.

  Meyer smiled sweetly. “These chops are good, Pypie.”

  She returned the smile, and for the first time I saw a genuine sweetness in her eyes as they landed on her husband. “Thank you, baby.”

  “So, Miya.” Sally jabbed her fork at me. “Are you, or are you not, jailbait?”

  “Sally,” Jaxon warned, a dark master at the table.

  But I thought Sally was her own kind of mistress, because she cared little for Jaxon’s overwhelming influence. “I love you, Jaxon. I have to make sure you’re not sticking your pickle in the wrong kind of jar.”

  He curl
ed his lip up in disgust. “Yeah, Sally, we’re two peas in a fucking pod. Don’t talk to her, Miya.”

  I defied him. “I’m nineteen.”

  Everyone turned sharply. “Damn it, Miya,” Jaxon hissed under his breath. That wasn’t fair. That was the truth. There was no room for lies in our lust and pain. Both were hard enough on their own without being ashamed of them too.

  “Why does it matter?” I demanded, slamming my fork down and glaring at each family member. The only one who didn’t seem to mind was Jaymond, but that wasn’t comforting. “My name is Miya. I’m nineteen. And I love Jaxon. Anyone else have a problem with that, you can have it on your own.” I stuck my fork into my chop and tore off a large chunk, stuffing my mouth.

  “Hmm.” Sally winked at me. “I take it back. I kind of like her.”

  “That’s young, son.” Pyper looked at him boldly, letting him know how she felt.

  “Maybe she’s not too young. Maybe I’m too old for her. It can go both ways, Pyper. Don’t forget that.”

  She hadn’t openly acknowledged me since I walked into this house. How many women had he introduced to her, and how many had she scared off? I wondered if Kline’s wife was snooty, or was his mother crazy. Combined with the control Vega had over him, and I was starting to see where Jaxon’s expectations and disappointments had materialized.

  “What do you two talk about?” Jay asked, giving me a handsome white smile that made my stomach turn in trepidation.

  That smile was dangerous. I’d never fall for it. I’d never let Jaymond anywhere near me if my wrists were bound.

  “Boys and Starbucks?” He put his chin in his hands.

  “No, I’m nothing like your sixteen-year-old ex,” I sneered.

  He laughed, dark green eyes twinkling. “You, Miya, are going to be my favorite thing ever.” He reached across the table to glide his index finger down the ladder of my knuckles, laughing once more when I jerked my hand away.

  “How serious is this relationship?” Pyper did a great job at ignoring her family, compartmentalizing her sights and thoughts.