by Dani René
Scarlett looks at me, and for a moment, I think she’s going to fight me on what I just said, but she doesn’t. “Okay.” Is all she says before she rises, and I’m once again met with just how beautiful she is close up.
“Good girl,” I murmur, knowing what my brother would’ve taught her. And the thought of that only serves to make my dick jolt with appreciation.
4
Scarlett
“Good girl.” The two words have emotions coiling within me. I want nothing more than to hear the praise coming from Lycan, but I have to remind myself that the man beside me is the reason I can’t.
Darius leads me up the steps, and out into the backyard of a large estate. I’m not sure where we are in the country, but there doesn’t seem to be anything for miles. I wonder if Kahn and his team could find me.
They’ve been following Darius for years, keeping tabs on him. The only reason I even have an inkling of this is because Lycan told me, but would they find this place, and even if they did, would they be able to free me?
When we reach the large two-story house, I note the women who hang around, some sitting on the laps of guys in leather, and others merely leaning against the wall smoking.
The sun is setting on the horizon behind the house, and the sky is a deep orange hue, with shades of pink and purple slowly taking over as night swallows the light. Music blares from the speakers attached to the outer wall of the house, and there’s an enormous fire pit with dancing flames where a metal pole twirls around, roasting a whole pig. The sight has my stomach roiling, and I have to swallow down the acid to keep from puking.
Darius tugs me behind him, and soon, we’re inside a kitchen which looks like it belongs in a farmhouse with wooden surfaces and thick beams of oak holding up the ceiling.
Against one wall is a stove big enough to cook for a family of, I can only guess, about fifty people. It’s warm inside, and as we move deeper into the house, I take in the country-style furnishings. Darius leads me up the stairs, down the hall, and into a bedroom which matches the rest of the house.
A four-poster bed with heavy wooden beams on each corner. The bedspread is a dark brown, with white sheets underneath. The pillows match the blanket. Everything is rustic which gives the space a homely feel, and even though this isn’t my home, I can tell the people who live here love it.
“You’ll sleep in here.” Darius points at the king-sized bed. “I’ll be over there,” he tells me as his finger points to the sofa in the corner of the room.
“In the same room?” I spin on my heel, my gaze catching his. “I can’t do that.”
“Why? Scared you’ll want me between those pretty thighs?” he challenges, as his eyes spark to life. Desire clear in them. Now that he’s aware we’re not related by blood, he wouldn’t stop himself from taking me. But would he force himself on me? I don’t know.
“I’m married.”
He guffaws at my words. “Oh, I don’t doubt it, sweetheart,” he tells me. “But my brother and I have shared women before. We’ve even fucked them at the same time.” Fire dances in his eyes, the shade of green so similar to that of my husband’s as he peruses me. The color blazing like a gemstone in the sunshine.
My brows furrow in confusion, and shock. “You know I’m married?”
“I can have Howler find out anything I want. And you’d be surprised at how much I have learned about you, little one,” he tells me before eating up the distance between us in a few small steps.
He reaches for my face, his fingers tugging a strand of my red hair as he brings it to his nose to inhale the scent. The motion causing me to tremble, with fear, and with intrigue. This man has violence emanating from him like a cologne, but there’s something softer about him.
“All those dirty little secrets you hold, I can find out about them with a snap of my fingers.” He leans in further, his lips at my ear. “I can even find out how wet your pretty cunt gets when my brother pins you down, when he holds you to the ground and shoves his cock inside you. I bet it makes you scream.”
His words send heat and shame racing through me and my cheeks warm with embarrassment as I try to shove him away, but Darius is huge, and he’s far stronger than I am. He laughs when he sees my expression. He’s enjoying my discomfort. Perhaps it’s turning him on to see my fear as well.
“How would you know what he did to me?” I spit, furious at the thought of him seeing me like that. Of anyone but Lycan seeing me like that.
“Those woods offer darkness and shadows, where evil men can hide,” Darius muses as he steps back, allowing me space to breathe. “I used to love seeing you fight back; it made my dick hard.” At this, he grips himself through his jeans, and I gasp at the bulge.
“Just let me go, please,” I plead with him, hoping he’ll realize this is wrong.
“I love a woman who begs. I even enjoy tears. Did you cry the first time my brother fucked you?” he questions, and the words only seem to heat my blood with both rage and desire. Confusion twists in my gut. How am I getting turned on by this? “I see he’s trained you well. But he doesn’t know about your humiliation fetish. Does he?”
My gaze snaps to his. “My what?”
The corner of Darius’s mouth curls, the smirk making him look so much like his brother, it’s scary. How did he ever think they aren’t blood? Granted, I’ve never seen their father, so perhaps they look more like him than their mother.
“You’re still so new to this world. So innocent in what you want to admit,” he speaks, before turning to the chair which sits at a desk in the opposite corner of the room, while I’m pressed against the cool wooden beam.
“What world? You mean the fact that your brother enjoys tying me up?” I challenge, causing Darius’s stare to flash with heated desire. That’s exactly what he means.
“I’m certain he’s spanked you,” he says, and I don’t want to respond, but I nod anyway. “And has he shown you what it’s like to have your pretty, delicate throat fucked?” Another challenge, one which makes my cheeks heat.
“I’m not talking to you about this.” Folding my arms across my chest, I settle on the mattress because I’m scared my knees are about to give out. Nerves have gotten a hold of me, and I’m not sure I’m going to be able to talk to Darius for much longer. As much as I want to admit things with confidence, I can’t because I’m still… like he said, new to this world.
“Why?” When he regards me, I notice the interest he pins me with. I’m not like other women, certainly not ones that Lycan and Darius are used to. Perhaps he’ll be able to tell me about the woman at the club, the one who Lycan didn’t want to talk about.
“The woman you shared,” I start, hoping he’ll offer some answers. “Is she someone still in his life?” My heart constricts, my chest tightens when he narrows his eyes, and I think I’ve made a mistake in asking him.
“Why, little one? Are you jealous?” He waggles his dark brows at me, and I can’t stop myself from rolling my eyes. “There are ways to make Lycan jealous,” he offers with a salacious wink.
“I’m not going to sleep with you,” I tell him. “I want to go back to him, please.”
“No can do. I’m waiting on your daddy to send me my payment,” Darius informs me. “Once that’s done, I’ll decide what to do with you.” His words hold a dark threat.
Before I have time to think, I push to my feet and race for the door, but Darius is fast, and his hand slams against the wood before I can pull it open and slip out. His large, looming body pins me against the hard surface, and the thickness I feel against my ass causes a shudder to race through me, and a whimper of surprise stumbles from my lips.
“That’s all for you, little one,” Darius promises, grinding his hips against me. “Would you like us both inside your fragile body?” he asks, his words a warm hiss of pleasure when I push back against him in an attempt to free myself, but all I only succeed in turning him on further.
“You don’t want to do this,” I warn him, shut
ting my eyes so tight, attempting to focus, to calm my erratic breaths. My hands shove at his chest, but he’s more than double my size. Memories assault me, but even with those come shame, so I shake my head to clear my thoughts. “If you hurt me, there is no going back from that, Darius.”
He stills.
It’s true. And he knows it.
If something happened to me, Lycan would kill his brother.
“Stay here,” he says finally, stepping away from me. His hand grips my arm, and he tugs me away from the door before he opens it and steps out into the hallway. “And if you try anything, and I do mean anything, I won’t think twice about binding you to my bed.” He shuts the heavy wooden door and leaves me glaring at the grain. The lock clicks, and I realize I’m in this for the long haul. There is no escape. The same way I was a prisoner of Lycan’s for so long, I’m now stuck with his brother.
Sighing, I move to the window. The heavy curtains are open, and I can see far beyond the high walls that surround the house. In the distance is a city, but I can’t really tell from here where I am. There isn’t many houses close by, and when I open the window, breathing in the fresh air, I can’t smell the ocean, so at least I’m sure we’re not on the coast.
Leaving the window, I pad over to the wardrobe which I find is a large walk in, and inside are rows of denim and leather. Heavy biker boots sit in tidy rows on the carpet, and in the center of the space is a countertop with drawers. I try each one, finding them locked, and instinct tells me there could be weapons inside.
Abandoning my search, I head back into the bedroom and to the door opposite the closet. Inside is a bathroom which is smaller than I expect, with only a shower above the corner tub, and a single wash basin which has a mirror hanging above it.
When I glance at my reflection, I gasp. My hair is a mess, and tears have distorted my perfectly made-up face. I quickly open the tap and splash my face. I grab the bar of soap sitting in its dish and lather up my hands before scrubbing my palms over my cheeks and my closed eyes.
By the time I’m done, I look refreshed, and my hair looks partly normal with just using my fingers to run through the unruly strands. I step back and consider changing my clothes. Maybe even showering. But I’m not sure when Darius is going to come back, and if he does, I don’t want him to find me naked.
The thought of him knowing about my needs, my desires, and knowing about what Lycan and I have done makes me nervous. Yes, I’ve found solace in the way Lycan would pin me down, in the way he’d push inside me, force himself on top of me, it made me come harder than I ever have. Even just the memory seems to cause the burn on my cheeks and my stomach to twist with need.
I recall the first time I read about it. I’d picked up a novel, wanting to get lost in the wispy romance, but in the end, it was the darkness that enveloped me, and I was lost to the depraved acts. Reading about how the woman enjoyed being out of control, how she loved having the heaviness of her partner pinning her down, I found myself entranced.
When I did finally have sex, it wasn’t even close to what I’d fantasized about. I thought I was broken, that I couldn’t orgasm, no matter how many times I had been with Bryden, my ex from college. He was sweet, gentle, and as much as I wanted to enjoy it, my needs ran darker.
My mind played out the scenarios I read about. And only then could I find my release. And now Darius knows about those cravings as well.
Back in the bedroom, I settle on the mattress and curl up, leaning my head on the soft pillows. The comfortable mattress makes me sigh. My eyes flutter as weariness overtakes me.
“Don’t go into the garden at night.” A warning. A threat.
Eyes follow me as I meander through the house. I can feel them, but I can’t see them. Someone is out there. Perhaps that’s why my father told me not to go out at night when I was little. This house has been haunted for a long time. I read stories about the old Bardot mansion, but I never truly realized just how eerie it is.
As a little girl, I was convinced nothing could touch me. My father was my hero, big and scary, and I believed he would save me from the darkness. But now, as I walk through the halls, I’m certain he would allow me to be stolen if he could save himself.
I’ve learned the man I always thought a hero is nothing more than a selfish bastard.
That’s what my mother called him, anyway.
The fighting started more the older I got. I’m not sure why. Every night, Dad would be out with friends, he’d come home drunk, and he and Mom would be at each other’s throats. Now, at sixteen, I’ve learned to focus on me, not them.
The fear that trickled through me the first night I heard them is now gone. I’ve since learned adults aren’t perfect, even though they expect children to be. My father is nothing short of a bully, but my mother isn’t any better.
She wants to be seen as perfect.
But she hides a series of secrets that I’m certain would hurt our whole family.
It’s no secret she’s not faithful to Dad. I overheard her on her cellphone a few times, talking to someone. A stranger. But I never can tell who it is. Perhaps one day I should steal her phone and try to figure out who she’s talking to. Maybe then I can fix our family.
When I open the porch door, I feel it, warmth cascading over my body. The nightdress I’m wearing is tiny, hitting me under the butt, and barely covering my chest. The sleeveless material offers no comfort, but it’s too hot to wear anything else.
I look out over the garden, trying to adjust my vision to the black that greets me. For a moment, I’m sure I see a figure moving in the trees, but as soon as it appeared, it’s gone in the next second, and a cold shiver grips me as it slowly travels from the back of my neck to the base of my spine.
“The wolf and the hunter will always find you, little red,” a voice comes from the darkness, causing me to yelp in surprise. And that’s when the thick fingers wrap around my neck and hold me in place.
“No! No!” My eyes snap open and I find luminous green staring back at me. Darius smirks as he hovers over my thrashing body.
“Boo,” he murmurs along my mouth, the warmth of his breath fanning over my face, and I attempt to lift my knee to kick him in the crotch, but he’s fast, grabbing my leg before I can make any contact.
“Get off me!”
He obeys without taunting. “What were you dreaming about?” he asks as he moves a tray from the desk to the bed. He sets it down, and I take in the mug of coffee, and a plate of toast with cheese melting into the bread.
The dream, or rather, the memory, messed with my mind, and I can’t focus on when that was. It feels like the past, a long time ago, but it also feels eerily like the present. I recall my childhood with clarity, but there are moments that seem almost… missing.
Since the first night I heard my folks fighting, till the day Lycan took me, I had strange dreams in the Bardot house. As if I was always meant to be stolen by the hunter and taken by the wolf.
But I can’t tell Darius that. I can’t confess anything to this man. So, instead of explaining what happened, I answer, “Nothing.”
“Didn’t seem like nothing,” he says, a dark brow arching as he regards me. When I don’t respond, he doesn’t push further, so I grab the coffee and gulp it down quickly. The heat scorching my tongue, but the caffeine offering me a sense of calm.
“Thank you,” I say instead. “This is good.” I hold up the mug which is almost empty.
He smiles then, and my heart lurches in my chest. Each time I look at him, he reminds me of my husband. The man who’s wounded because of Darius. “I make a mean coffee.”
“What are you going to do now that you know my grandmother isn’t your mother?”
5
Darius
What am I going to do?
I’ve been so hellbent on revenge; I haven’t thought about the after.
The way she looks at me makes me feel almost human. That’s what Lycan saw, that’s what made my brother fall for this girl. And
that’s what she is, too young for me and him, but she’s here, trying to burrow herself in my mind.
“I have to head out for a bit,” I tell her. “You’ll stay right here while I’m gone. Howler will be right outside if you try any funny shit. And trust me…” I pin her with a stare. “They are under order to do whatever it takes to subdue you.” Even though the thought of my men touching her sends rage through me, I can’t help but smile when the fire sparks in her pretty eyes.
“I thought you were human,” she spits, setting the mug down now that it’s empty. She seemed to enjoy it. I make a mental note of how she likes her coffee before I open the door and step over the threshold.
“Never claimed to be, little one.” I shut the door behind me, listening to the symphony of her screams from the other side. Howler comes walking up to me, a grin plastered on his face.
“Sounds like your girl is awake,” he says, chuckling around the words.
Nodding, I glance over my shoulder at the thick wooden surface. Her hands will get sore eventually, and her throat can’t deal with that kind of screaming for too long. “She’s a fiery one.”
“Let’s go,” he says, his tone turning serious. “They’ve got the Treasurer of the Serpents down in the basement. Luckily you took your girl out of there.”
“She’s not my girl,” I bite out, frustration causing my fists to clench at the thought of not having her. Walking down the hall, I listen to the last few whimpers from Scarlett, and I crack my knuckles ensuring I’m ready to take on the bastard they brought in. The Serpents are a club of vile motherfuckers, and the member they brought in for me to talk to is our latest victim. A man who has a mile long list of crimes that would have made my skin crawl if I hadn’t seen it before.