by K. A Knight
Evan groans, looking disgusted while Henry laughs. “It’s true,” I admit, grinning at an uncomfortable looking Evan. “You know how to handle them?” I nod at the blades he has strapped on.
“Yes,” he grunts, glancing away. “Sort of…I’m better with a scalpel.”
“When we stop tonight, I’ll give you some lessons,” I offer and sigh.
He perks up then, but looks suspicious. “Why?”
“Don’t worry, Doc, I just don’t want you getting killed. You look heavy and I don’t want to have to carry you to a grave. Too much effort,” I tease, laughing at Evan. I wrap my arm around Dray’s waist and pull him away, as Henry and Barn’s laughter follows us.
“Do I need to kill him?” Dray asks casually, his arm still slung around my shoulders.
I stumble at his words and gape at him. “Evan? No, why?” I question, confused.
“Just making sure he wasn’t a threat. You have enough men, soulmate,” he quips.
I sputter before narrowing my eyes. Grabbing a blade, I have it pressed to his throat in a second. Everyone freezes, the whole war party going silent. Dray’s icy eyes gleam with excitement and heat as he presses into the blade, with that crazy smile curving his lips. “If you wanted to fuck, soulmate, all you had to do was ask,” he growls.
I lean in close, almost touching his lips. “You don’t get to tell me whom to fuck. If I wanted to have a massive orgy right here right now, you still wouldn’t get a say in it. You can be jealous, you can be crazy, but you cannot control me,” I warn, my voice low and sensual, deadly serious. I have been controlled most of my life, and I won’t let that happen again, not even for love.
“I don’t want to control you. I just want to be yours,” he replies almost sweetly, his eyes softening. “Doesn’t mean I won’t kill someone for looking at you wrong.” He grins.
I roll my eyes, but pull the blade away. “I wouldn’t expect anything else.” I look around at all the Berserkers and Seekers gathered. “Are we having a fucking play? No, get the fuck on your rides! We are rolling out!” I scream, before heading to my bike.
“She’s as crazy as he is,” one of them mutters.
“Too right, crazy fucking slut leading others,” someone scoffs.
I turn just in time to see a blade sticking out of the eye of the man who had spoken.
I look to Dray, watching him scowl at the now dead man. Sands below. A thump sounds, and I turn back to see the dead Berserker tumbling off of his bike and to the ground. Archel steps over the dead man, grabs his bag, and then pulls the knife from his eye. He tosses it at Dray who catches it and sheathes it without looking.
“Man, next time, kill someone who has some good stuff to steal,” Archel complains, rifling through the bag before dropping it to the ground with a disgusted huff.
I decide to just ignore it all and climb back on my bike. Maybe I’m learning which battles to fight.
We ride hard again, travelling under a large, broken bridge, down motorways, and swerving around crumbling buildings and rusting cars. A pack of ferals chases us for a while, but they can’t keep up so they soon stop trying. The sun is scorching down on me, heating me in my leather to an uncomfortable degree. I can feel the grit of the sand on my skin, the tiny granules even making it under my bandana. By the time the sun starts to dip below the horizon, I know we only have around two more hours to travel, so I decide to stop us for the night. We’ll head towards Paradise bright and early in the morning—if we approach in daylight, they won’t think we’re attacking them.
I scan the horizon before seeing the shadow of a small building. It won’t fit us all, but it gives us something to have our backs to. Usually, with a party this big, we just sleep on the ground, so it doesn’t bother me. I change direction and head that way, slowing my bike and parking on the side of the building when I get there. I hop off, stretching my sore legs, and whistle while winding my finger in a circle. The Berserkers know what that means, so they search the building checking for threats before making a circle with the bikes, a first line of protection against anything or anyone. Not that anyone would be that stupid to attack a party this size, but you never know.
Dray and Archel pull up next to me as I round the building and check it out. It’s made of red brick, and covered in graffiti and warning signs. An old bathroom symbol hangs crooked near a horrible, peeling blue door, which has blood and bullet holes in it. Gripping my new axe, wanting to test it out, I kick the door. It swings open with a thud and I peek inside. Stalls, most without doors, stand to the right with sinks to the left, and another closed door stands at the back of the room. The white tile of the floor is cracked and covered in sand, dirt, blood, and grime that will never be washed away. The lights hanging from the ceiling have stopped working long ago. A small, once frosted window hangs in shards at the back of the room, letting in the last rays of the day. Mirrors above the sink are either broken or covered in so much grime and filth, that they are opaque. I step inside, my boots clomping on the floor.
The sinks are filthy as well, the taps missing in some cases, and the once white basins lined with black grime, dried red blood, and sand. I turn my back to the sinks and take a look in each stall, only one has a non-broken toilet, the others are cracked, chipped, or even missing in one case, its porcelain smashed all over the floor. I head to the door next, twisting the handle, and it swings open, showing me a shower cubicle with no windows. It’s not as bad in here, it’s still filthy, but there’s no blood. The floor is like a wet room and I shut the door before turning back.
At least there are no bodies, cannibals, or ferals hiding in here. I sigh, staring down at my axe and whispering to it that I will get to use it soon, before I sheathe it and turn to see Archel and Dray waiting at the door. Bern peeks in behind them and I spot Henry lounging near the doorway when I step closer.
“Get fires going to ward off ferals. I want patrols swapping every four hours and one of you always awake. Tomorrow, we’ll head out at first light to Paradise. Get them prepared,” I instruct the others, before turning my attention to Dray. “Bring in some water, we need to wash off the blood and cannibal stink.”
“Ya, Ma Queen,” Bern calls.
“I’ll take first watch.” Henry nods, walking out of the bathroom.
“What, I don’t get invited for a shower?” Archel teases.
I saunter over until I’m almost chest to chest with him. “You couldn’t handle me,” I say in a sultry tone, before a mischievous grin tugs at my lips. “Plus, wouldn’t your girl kill you?” I inquire, digging for information.
He laughs then and steps back. “She would try.” He sounds wistful, his eyes far away. “Wouldn’t that be great?”
Dray gives him a wicked smile, nodding in agreement.
“You are both nuts,” I comment with a laugh.
“And we picked crazier women, what does that tell you?” he counters, with a barely there smile before slinking out of the room.
Dray abruptly pushes away from the doorframe he was leaning against and smacks the wall. I blink but shake my head when I see he just smashed a huge spider that was crawling towards me. “So, if I’m invited to stay, does that mean I get to wash your back?” He wiggles his eyebrows, his eyes dropping to my breasts.
“If you’re a good boy,” I purr.
“Soulmate,” he whispers, stalking over to me and gripping my hips in his calloused hands. “Where’s the fun in that?” he finishes, pulling me close.
“Here, Ma Queen, ya water,” Bern calls with a huff, dropping what must be a couple of gallons at our feet before winking and closing the door behind us.
I arch my eyebrow at Dray. “Bring that,” I order, before twisting out of his hold.
I start to strip as I walk, losing my leather jacket and placing it on the least disgusting sink, before unlacing my boots and placing them just outside the shower cube door. I remove all my sheaths and hang them on the back of the shower door, keeping them in reach just in case, befor
e I unbutton my jeans and wiggle out of them. I fold my jeans and then quickly remove my ruined t-shirt and fold it too, crinkling my nose as I lay them on top of my leather jacket. Dray watches me the entire time I strip until I’m completely naked.
I frown down at my skin, taking in the sand clinging to my tanned legs and arms, and I know it’s going to be a bastard to get off. There’s also blood still staining my hands and arms, as well as my chest. I must look like a mess, but from the tent in Dray’s pants and the way he’s licking his lips, I would say he doesn’t care. Fuck, he probably likes it.
I give him a slow, knowing grin, and step into the cubicle. He lugs the water into the tiny room and drops it at my feet before getting undressed in record time, but leaves his chest holsters on. I eye them before looking at him.
“You like it when I wear them,” he says in explanation, then shrugs before uncapping a jug of water. “At least we aren’t having a sand bath like the men,” he grunts, lifting the water, his arms bulging with the movements. “Turn around, soulmate, let me get your back first.”
I do as I am told for once and the warmish water trickles down my back. I watch it drain away, the colour slightly pink as it leaves my body. I wrinkle my nose when I can feel the wet sand sliding from me, and Dray drops the jug to the floor and scrubs my back to get rid of it.
“Front,” he demands, his voice gravelly.
I turn and he does the same to my front, not letting me lift a hand to help as he meticulously cleans the blood and sand from my body until I’m wet and clean in front of him. “Your turn.” My voice is husky from having his hands trace every inch of my skin. I really don’t think my nipples needed cleaning, but I’m not going to complain.
“I’m not done,” he growls.
I frown, but my expression changes, my lips parting, as he drops to his knees. Cupping some water in his hand, he slides it between my thighs, and covers my pussy with it. He looks up at me, smirking. “Missed a spot.”
He pushes my thighs open and I widen my stance, expecting him to use his hands. This is strangely intimate, not that we haven’t been closer and done dirtier stuff to each other, but this is soft and caring and...fuck—
His tongue licks a long line up my pussy and my eyes widen as I look down at his icy gaze. “Dray,” I warn, but he ignores me and buries his face between my thighs, licking me and nipping at my folds. He moves his head just far enough away to speak.
“We are heading for the Cities, for war. I’m going to have you as many times as I can just in case we don’t come back. I’ve had nothing but fantasies of you for the last couple of years, and I plan to fulfil every one.”
When you put it that way…
I reach down and grip his hair, winding the short locks through my fingers to hold on as he goes back to devouring my pussy. He eats me the way he fights, the way he fucks—hard, fast, and brutal. His tongue strokes me as he pushes two fingers inside, stretching me. I gasp and hold on tighter, grinding against his mouth, begging him for more. I reach up with my other hand and cup my breast, tweaking my nipple as he lashes my clit again and again with his tongue, his fingers curling inside of me. I’m on the edge, I can feel it, as I dance across the edge of exploding, but when something cold touches my pussy my eyes fly open, my hips stilling as I peer down at a grinning Dray.
His lips and chin are covered in my juices, and I follow his hand to see he has the side of one of his blades pressed to my clit. Before I can protest, he goes back in, licking around the blade and my hole, lapping at my juices as he presses harder with the blade, the steel edge biting but not cutting, and suddenly, I’m rocking harder into his mouth and hands, exploding. He groans, licking my pussy like I’m his favourite treat, lashing me even as I shiver from aftershocks, my clit oversensitive. I yank on his hair, pulling him away.
He takes the blade with him, and I see my wetness spread across the silver surface. Eyes still on me, he licks it clean, his tongue dragging over the weapon until there’s nothing left. I tighten my grip in his hair and tug him to his feet. He stumbles up, the only time I have ever seen him ungraceful, and I push hard at his chest until he falls back against the tiled wall. He growls, pushing away and stalking towards me to grab me, but I jump at him. He catches me mid-air and spins me, smashing my back into the wall. I wrap my legs around his waist and slam my lips onto his.
I groan into his mouth, tasting my salty tang mixing with his natural taste. He tangles his tongue with mine, sucking it into his mouth as his hands span my waist and pin me to the wall, his fingers digging into my side hard enough to bruise. I love it when he treats me roughly, like I’m not made of glass but a warrior, who’s woman enough to take it all. Jerking his head to the side, I bite down on his neck, grinding my teeth into his skin. He growls before reaching his hands down and cupping my arse, digging into my globes.
“Mark me, soulmate,” he demands, rocking his hard cock against me, resting against my aching center.
“Fuck me,” I order.
Reaching between us, I grab his cock, stroking him a few times before lining him up. “Now,” I snarl.
He thrusts into me, stretching me around his hard length. I groan and rock my head back into the wall, closing my eyes in bliss. The bite of pain from him plunging in so quickly dissolves as he rocks his hips before pulling out and hammering back in. Dray doesn’t do soft, but that’s fine, I love it hard and rough. He lowers his head, biting and licking at my nipples. I hold him to me as he fucks me hard and fast against the dirty wall.
He hammers into me relentlessly, forcing my body to accept him, his hips smashing into mine. With each thrust he twists at the end so he presses against my still sensitive clit.
“Dray,” I beg.
His eyes are wild, his lips thin with need, and his face a mask of desire as he stares intensely at me. I trace my hand down his shoulders and onto his chest, stopping at the raised edge of the brand he cut into himself. As I trace it, his hips stutter and he groans, his eyes hooded in pleasure. He’s such a pain whore. I can’t help but grin as I dig my finger into the cut harder and he yells, slamming into me. I hear a tile crack behind us as he fucks me brutally, my hand gouging into the cut as moans leave my mouth unchecked.
He smacks his hand into the wall next to us as he holds me up with the other, tilting my hips back to hit deeper until, with every thrust, my eyes are nearly rolling back into my head. He hits my clit on the next plunge, his cock dragging over the bundle of nerves, and I come with a silent scream, clenching around his cock as he explodes too, filling me with his come. He groans and buries his face into my shoulder, biting down on my skin to muffle the noise. We slump against the wall with his softening cock still inside me as I try to catch my breath.
“Sands below,” I gasp out, my eyes closing as I lean my head back, wrapping my arms around his shoulders to hold him to me.
“Fuck their bunker. Paradise… Paradise is here between your thighs,” he groans, kissing my skin where he bit softly before pulling back and looking at me with a smug, satisfied smile.
I laugh, slapping his shoulder. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up before someone barges in here and you kill them for seeing me naked.”
We washed up again after that, taking our time learning each other’s bodies. No sex, just exploring. It was sweet. Afterwards, I got dressed, grimacing at the horribly stained shirt I had to put back on. He helped me into my jeans and weapons, and I helped him sort his before we braced ourselves to face the warriors gathered outside.
When we open the door, the smell of roasting meat and the sound of laughter hits us. I stand at the doorway watching with a small smile on my lips. Is this what it feels like to be part of something? Part of a family, maybe? The only thing missing are my men.
Five fires are set up within the ring of the bikes, each filled with Berserkers and Seekers talking and eating as they regale each other with stories. I spot men patrolling around the circle and Bern’s giant frame at the front of the group. It makes me rela
x a bit, so I head to the nearest fire that’s not as busy as the others where I spot Evan and Erik. Slipping through a gap in the circle, I find a spot and sit down with my legs stretched out towards the flames. Dray comes up behind me and sits down, his warmth blanketing my back, letting me relax further knowing it’s not an open target. I lean back into him as he stretches his long legs out on either side of me. I feel the hard weight of his weapons against my skin and almost grin.
Erik nods at me from across the fire, while concentrating on ripping some meat from the stick in his hand. Evan passes me some he’s cooked, and I take half and give the rest to Dray behind me. I eat quickly, realising how starved I am, and once I’ve finished, I snuggle back against Dray’s chest and concentrate on the dancing fire, the voices of the others talking, and the flames twisting and curling in front of me, lulling me into a peaceful trance.
“You will never escape me, pet, wherever you go. Nowhere in the Wastes is safe from me, not even your own mind.”
Blinking hard, I swallow and ignore the memories twirling through my head as fear claws at my throat. I feel like I’m trapped, my heart banging against my chest.
“I’m always with you, pet, don’t you see that?”
No, no. I close my eyes and breathe slowly, concentrating on that as I try to block his taunting. It’s just memories, I tell myself, just a ghost of your past, he can’t hurt you.
He can’t hurt you, He can’t—
“Want to play with me, pet? You know how much I enjoy our games.”
Grinding my teeth, I force the memories back, focusing on anything but him, and trying not to stiffen against Dray.
“This Paradise, what is it?” Erik asks, his voice bringing me back from the brink. “I’ve heard the rumours, every babe out here has, any of it true?”
I focus on it, letting the harsh, rough quality of his voice bring me back to the here and now, and finally break my gaze away from the fire and swing it to him. He’s leaning forward, watching me and waiting for an answer. The reflection of the flames sparkles in his eyes, reminding me so much of Noah. It sends a pang through me, but I ignore it and cuddle into Dray. He wraps his arms around me, holding me against him like he will never let me go. Erik’s eyes flicker down to Dray’s arms, but he says nothing.