by Ker Dukey
“To dance?” His face is a puzzle of confusion, and I roll my eyes.
“No, dummy, to pick out a dress for winter formal.”
He taps his two fingers on the open window frame and there’s a pulse in his jaw that has me mesmerized. “Don’t you have girlfriends to do this shit with?”
I shrug and look out of my own window, admiring the first signs of the leaves falling from the trees.
“Is this a bachelorette thing?”
At that, I turn to face him. “As in we all go alone?” I ask, making him clarify.
“As in you’re going alone.” It’s not a question. He knows how protective my brothers are, especially my twin Brenner.
“Actually, I have a date,” I blush and let the lie roll off my tongue.
His hand comes up to rub at his jaw. “You’re not really old enough to have dates.”
I scoff and punch his arm.
“What are you, my dad?”
“Who is this date? I think he should be inspected.”
We pull into the mall parking lot and I jump out and begin walking to the entrance. Scorch’s feet pounding the asphalt to catch up with me makes my insides swirl.
“Not sure what you’re wearing counts as clothes, Princess.”
He’s eyeing my bare legs and looking around the empty space to make sure no one is looking at me. Overprotective just like my brothers. I’m lucky it was him picking me up because Slade would have marched me back into school, down to the locker rooms and made me change.
The dress shop is only a few stores down from where we entered, thank god, because Scorch has growled at every male that’s passed us. The cashier’s eyes widen when I enter followed by six foot two inches of biker. He’s young but his dominance commands any room he steps into.
“Can I assist you with anything?” An older lady asks, appearing to the left of me.
“No.” Scorch rumbles, taking my arm and leading me down the shop. “Not really my scene, Princess.” He’s uncomfortable and it’s adorable.
“I already know the one I want.” I’d looked online and could have ordered the dress, with free shipping, but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity, and it played out perfectly. It would have sucked if Slade decided to spend time with me instead.
I pick up a silver A-line gown that has spaghetti straps and a gaping backdrop that exposes the back completely. I take my size and walk over to the changing rooms.
“What are you doing?” Scorch asks, scanning the shop as if I’m about to steal it and run.
“Trying it on, that’s what we’re here for. Here, hold my purse.”
I pull the curtain and hang the dress on the provided hook. Slipping out of my shirt and shorts, I look down at the white sports bra and cringe. This dress cannot have a bra and definitely not a sports bra.
Unhooking my bra, I drop it to the floor and slip the dress from the hanger and up my legs. The material is satin and molds to every inch of my body. You can see my entire outline and the tiny dip where my belly button is. The strings of my bikini style panties leave raised lines, and my nipples harden and tent the fabric.
Sucking in an encouraging breath, I pull the curtain back and ask, “What do you think?”
Scorch stands, clutching my purse. If the look on his face didn’t make my knees want to buckle, the image of him with my purse would make me giggle.
There’s a flame in his eyes, a desire ignited and strong and it takes my breath away.
The swallow he makes is audible and the visual of his Adam’s apple bobbing makes me blush all over.
“Do you think my date will like it?”
Silence.
“Do you think I’ll get my first kiss?”
At this, his eyes blink and his brows pull together. “Is that what you’re hoping for?”
I shrug my shoulder and the strap falls onto my arm. He moves towards me and his fingers brush at my skin as he places the strap back on my shoulder.
“Well?” he probes.
“I’m not sure if I’ll be good at it. I’m nervous that I’ll mess it up, but it has to happen at some point, right?” I whisper, looking up at him. He’s so close I can almost taste his breath.
“Kissing is like dancing, Princess.”
“Show me.” It’s a plea and one I can’t believe I let slip free from my lips. I’m waiting for him to laugh and tell me to stop being stupid, but he hasn’t, the air around us is thickening, condensing unbearably.
Bringing the pad of his thumb up to my lips he swipes it across my bottom lip. Brazen and empowered by the dress, I flick my tongue out to taste him.
His intake of breath warms my lower stomach and I swear he can sense my arousal, it’s that potent, a pooling warmth in my gut.
Moving his thumb over my mouth with more vigor, he then slips it inside when I part my lips. Oh god. I take him in and swirl my tongue around his thumb like it’s a lollipop and I’m craving sugar.
He slowly pulls it free and I risk a look into his eyes. They’re heavy and glassy and I know mine will reflect the same need.
“Fuck it,” he says, almost to himself, and then he’s cupping my cheeks and leaning in. His lips clash with mine, brutal and perfect. I grip his forearms to stop myself from falling into a puddle at his shitkicker boots. I’m throbbing all over and my head is spinning. Stars dance in the back of my eyes as our tongues duel. I hiss when his teeth puncture my bottom lip and a new wave of excitement floods through me.
He pulls away, leaving me woozy and stunned. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand he blinks a few times, just glaring at me. And then the magic pops like someone stuck a pin in it.
“You can’t wear that, Frost would kill me. Get something else and let’s go, I have other shit to do.”
“You fucking him?”
Buzz’s question catches me so off-guard that I stare at him in disbelief, my mouth wide open in stunned silence.
“You know he wants to fuck you, don’t you?”
I’m not sure if it’s a rhetorical question, or if he’s genuinely asking if I’m aware Scorch feels something for me other than in a brotherly way.
“Umm.” The blush that flames my cheeks makes me look away from him. I have no idea why he looks so hurt. I can only put it down to loyalty to his brother. If Tats had feelings for me, then I suppose, to Buzz, every other guy that feels the same is an enemy.
His eyes narrow on me. “Your pussy’s hot for him too. Fucking hell!” he scoffs, shaking his head, exasperated.
Changing the subject as swiftly as possible, I turn to look at him. Being sat on the hard floor so long has made my backside numb, and I flinch at the ache. “So, how long do you think we’ll be here?”
His expression hardens, and he sucks in a sharp breath. “As long as it takes, Rhiannon!”
“But it’s obvious Bren isn’t going to give in!” I fire back when his harsh tone angers me. “What the hell is all this achieving?”
The dark chuckle that leaves him makes my blood curdle. “Brenner thinks I won’t hurt you. He has no reason to. But he’s going to have to find out he’s very much mistaken!”
My whole body stiffens in trepidation when Buzz’s fingers curl around my chin, and his fingers dig painfully into my cheeks. The burger I was holding slips from my grasp onto my lap.
“Don’t think I won’t, Rhiannon. Your brother killed mine. Whether or not you’re to blame for that doesn’t make a shits bit of difference to me. I’m not your knight in shining armor, nor am I besotted with you like everyone else seems to be. Brenner isn’t losing sleep over you, neither will I. You’re not as fucking holy as you think you are!”
My eyes widen further with each spiteful word that he sprays at me. I’m not sure what I’ve done that has angered him, and I scurry through the last ten minutes trying to anchor down what suddenly changed his mood. His menacing gray eyes pierce mine. He is so close that I can feel how cold his nose is when the tip presses against mine.
As suddenly as he�
�d grabbed me, he lets go. My face snaps to the side with the roughness of the action, and I wince when the door slams loudly behind him.
I pick up the piece of meat that’s dropped from the bun and fling it into the fire. The flames dance in the haze of my vision and I swallow back the lump that has formed in my throat. The ketchup that’s coated my jeans gives my brain a reprieve from the horror of my thoughts, and I focus hard on it, drawing patterns with my finger.
I can hear Buzz tearing through the house. I’m not sure why he’s suddenly furious enough to destroy what’s left of the derelict house with his bare hands, but I suspect he needs to shoot up. I know he injects, every brother knows he’s an addict. I would imagine by now he’s struggling more and more with every minute his veins run clear of the shit that allows his own mind a break from the horrors that crucify him.
His bitter screams echo through the void of the empty rooms, ricocheting off each bare wall until they come to rest in the hollow of my heart.
Self-pity is more soul destroying than any hurtful action of another. My thoughts are as cruel as the toxic words Buzz spewed at me. Each one takes a blade to my soul and hacks at it until I can do no other than curl into a ball, shield myself from Buzz’s screams with a hand over each ear, and give into the rush of desolate tears that incinerate my heart.
10
Scorch
The bottle smashes on the wall when I launch it across the room, scattering the floor with shards of glass. I stare down at it and wonder if that’s how my heart looks in my chest – it feels as broken.
I swear if Buzz is fucking her up I’ll rip him apart with my bare hands. He’s a brother for fuck’s sake! Why would he involve Rhi in all this?
She’s the only pure thing in my life, her innocence and kind-heartedness the very thing I fell in love with.
I fell in love.
I know she’s forbidden to me, she’s my best friend’s sister, not to mention the club Princess. However, that doesn’t stop my heart pining for her.
My mind is full of visions of her. I’ve studied her long enough that every inch of her face, the sound of her laughter, the sway of her ass when she walks. It’s all etched into my memory so deep I know time will never erase her. I’m thankful for that, I don’t ever want to forget anything about her.
I scream out and pull at my hair in frustration. I’m talking like I’ll never see her again.
My imagination won’t fucking stop. I remember how beautiful she is, the small dimple in her chin when she smiles.
Shit, I’m fucked!
It’s Echo’s funeral tomorrow. Rhiannon should be there, he was like a brother to her. And Buzz for that matter. And Brenner.
The whole club is fucked up! I can’t think of why or how it all went to shit. Lilith’s Army has always been robust, a band of brothers so mightily forged that not even a bomb would be able to break us apart. That was one time anyway. Not now, not anymore.
I remember seeing Rhiannon for the very first time. She was a chunky little thing. She came running into the club to find Frost, her knees all scuffed up with blood dribbling down her calves from where she had fallen and scraped her knees. Her dirty cheeks were marked with tear stains.
And she intrigued me.
She’s always intrigued me.
I never understood, then, how much this small person would have such an impact in the following years, but I found myself watching her more closely. From her sweet little laugh to the way she taps her foot on the ground when she is nervous. From how her bright eyes widen to the size of saucers when she gets excited, and to how her right eye twitches slightly whenever she tells a fib. They all glued their quaint little ways to my heart and saturated it in love. I didn’t realize how much, of course, until the night I took her dress shopping for Winter Ball. The night I pushed all the shit to the side and kissed her. The night when it all made sense.
Then a couple of months ago when I fucked up and let everything I’d been feeling boil over. I was drunk off my fucking ass and Frost had rung me to ask me to go pick her up from a party she was at. He didn’t want Brenner to know she’d gone and as usual, I was on Princess duty. It fucking killed me being around her and not to have her in all the ways I wanted. She’d blossomed; fuck how she’d blossomed.
She was so innocent, in a white dress, cut just above her knee and backless. It’s a good thing her brother sent me because if either of them caught her wearing that she wouldn’t have been allowed to any more fucking parties, that’s for sure.
I couldn’t stop myself in the moment. She wouldn’t get in my truck because I was shit faced, so we went back to the party and helped ourselves to a bottle of some cunt’s expensive whiskey. Then she drove us to a hilltop. It had killer views. Apparently, I don’t even remember it because she was looking at me like I was made of candy floss and she has a sweet tooth. I tasted her lips. My tongue caressed her perfect fucking tits, and then she began rubbing on my cock. I had to polish off the bottle of whiskey to numb my senses, so I didn’t do something stupid and deflower my club’s Princess in the back of my truck. I woke up the next morning with a roaring headache and half the night was a blank, her soft was body curled up by my side.
I fucked up and Frost will put a bullet through my gut if he ever found out how much I love her. And Frost’s friendship is invaluable to me. He’s like my blood brother, not just a club brother. So, I pretended it didn’t even happen. I dropped her off at her place and told her she needs to wear more clothes in future or I was telling her brother. Real stupid shit to say to her but I was stuck and grasping and confused as fuck.
My phone alerts me to a text and I look down, praying with all my soul it will be from Rhi. But it’s Frost asking if I want a beer. Do I want a beer?
No. I want his fucking sister in my arms, that’s what I want. I’m not going to get that either.
Then I feel bad. Frost’s hurting as much as me. His old lady has disappeared, taken by a bigger cunt than Buzz.
Brenner, had traded her to that Axel fuck. Now there’s a name that sends a shiver through the marrow of my bones. Brenner. I always knew there was something wrong with that kid. Stuff that didn’t sit right has played on my mind every time I looked at him. There’s something really sinister about him, yet, I can’t put my finger on quite what it is. Although, now, the fucker has shown me I was right all along.
I reply to Frost’s message and tell him I’ll meet him at The Bar in an hour. I need to get laid. I need to bury my cock in a hot cunt and imagine it’s Rhi. Just for a moment. It’s all that helps when I’m fucking a faceless chick, Rhiannon’s face. I know I could make her feel so good, give her so much pleasure that she’d fall apart underneath me, and she did when I kissed her. Then the reality of what I had done sank in, and I had left her lonely.
If I could go back, I’d have never left that car, that dressing room, her place. I’d lock us away and keep her there, a willing hostage. I’d make her scream my name, feel her cum soak my balls. I’d take her nipple between my teeth and watch as bliss drenches her eyes.
Jesus fuck. My dick is like granite.
I’m fucked. I’ve always been fucked when it comes to Rhiannon Walker.
11
Slade/Frost
It’s been days since Avery disappeared. My truck was found abandoned at a supermarket with no signs of anyone. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I just get high, or drunk, anything so long as my mind doesn’t concoct terrifying scenarios.
I’ve searched everywhere, uncovered every stone and she’s just fucking gone, like Rhiannon. How could I fail them both so royally? I was never husband material, thinking I could have someone like her, protect and have a small slice of peace within her. Fucking idiot. This life, my position, my sins. Why would I get to have something precious, untouchable?
A part of me knows if she ever comes back to me, she won’t be the same. We won’t be the same. I know in my heart that Axel will destroy her in any way he can. To him, she owes him. I have
my pride, and I know how much it can shape your actions, but there’s one difference between Axel and me, I’m not a sadistic cunt. And that’s precisely what steals sleep from me, the constant sickening images my mind refuses to cease torturing me with.
I haven’t stopped searching for her. All the brothers have scoped the whole of Sleight Falls and surrounding districts looking for them Avery, Rhiannon, and Brenner. It’s like they’ve all been consumed and shit out in another galaxy. Even Brig has joined in the search, each Cutter brother joining with Lilith’s Army brothers to hunt high and low. Brig will want retribution, and by fuck, he’s owed it. We took his daughter, married her into our club and then let her be tortured by my sick brother, cutting her birthmark from her neck. And now his treachery is linked to a betrayal from his own camp. Axe is being put to ground. I just hope I’m the one who gets to put him there.
How can five people just evaporate into thin air?
I feel incomplete, my heart and soul now only a fraction of their former fullness, the richness Rhi and old lady gave my life now buried in the soil along with my mother.
I want to hurt Brenner until he can no longer take my wrath and begs me to stop.
I want to hug Rhiannon until I feel her heart beat in sync with mine again.
I want to make love to Avery until our souls dance with one another once again.
I’m fucked.
“Drink this and sober up!” my dad barks, his outstretched hand containing a steaming mug.
The aroma of lemon tea drifts into my senses. Mindlessly, I take the cup from him and swallow a sip of the hot liquid. My taste buds recoil at the first flavor to touch them in days, but the churn that has been present in my stomach since the moment I woke this morning eases.
The club is full to the rafters, the many brothers from every MC club in the county coming to pay their respects to Echo on the day he’s to be put to rest.
I hate funerals. I suppose every other person does. I can’t help comparing each one to my mother’s. They make me reflect, and today of all days, I don’t want to reminisce. I don’t want to evoke memories of my mother. I don’t want to think of Avery or Brenner. I just want some fucking peace.