by Evie Monroe
I’d had a lot of sex. But this felt more meaningful. Intimate. Important. It was like he’d known too, from the way his eyes held mine, the way his hands clasped me like I was precious.
I clutched onto his back as he plowed into me, shaking the walls, making me feel light-headed and giddy. I couldn’t get enough. “Harder,” I panted.
And once again, he responded, with a growl. In that perfect moment, I didn’t care about anything going on outside those doors. I just wanted this man. This man I absolutely adored.
Was I crazy? Bat-shit. Did I know better? Fuck yeah. We’d only known each other a few days and I’d even tried to put on the stops, to not get involved. But I’d fallen like a rock. Completely, irrevocably. And I’d thought Martie had a problem with falling hard and fast.
It was impossible to resist him. All this time, I’d been fighting Slade’s ownership of me, thinking I wanted to belong to no one. But I wanted to belong to Drake. Be his completely. Because I knew he’d be mine, too.
God, I wanted him so badly that as his rhythm increased, becoming erratic and forceful, I started screaming his name wildly, as if saying it out loud would seal our fate.
He sank his teeth into my neck, biting my throat, like he wanted to prove to Slade, or the world, that I belonged to him. I dug my fingertips into his ass and drew him toward me, closer, letting out a cry at the same time he groaned, filling me up with his warm come. He threw back his head in pleasure, and as he began pulsing inside me, a cry of ecstasy escaped my mouth.
When we came together, shuddering, I found myself laughing at how amazing this was. That Drake could be absolutely everything I was looking for, almost too good to be true.
Maybe that was why I was so worried about him leaving. I hadn’t ever believed I could actually have a relationship while my father was around. With Drake, I could almost see it. But I also knew my track record when it came to luck. I’d mostly ended up with the bad kind. I wrapped my arms around him, dropping my head to his shoulder, as if I could stay frozen against him forever.
As we stayed there, cemented together in sweat and come, me feeling boneless and loose and so, so, so satisfied, he started laughing, too. When I listened, I realized why, and started to giggle, too, pressing little kisses into his neck.
We had a little bit of an audience, hanging on our every sound.
One of the guys was outside the door, saying something about how Drake must’ve fallen in. Another one said, “If he did, his girl must’ve gone in with him.” Their voices were raised, like they wanted us to know they were talking about us so they could give us shit about it.
“I think they might have heard,” he whispered, amusement twisting up his lips.
“I think we’re lucky if the whole town didn’t hear!” I wrinkled my nose. “I hope it doesn’t embarrass you too much.”
“’S okay,” he said with a shrug. “They’re my brothers.”
I liked that. I had Martie, who’d been my best friend since elementary school, who I could tell anything to, but never any people close to me as siblings. He had a whole army of people he could depend on. It made me envious of him, how even though they were scuffling before, he still called them his brothers. It meant no matter what happened, they had his back. “Even Jet?”
“Especially Jet,” he said, his voice low and sincere. “He may play the asshole really good. But there’s a reason he’s my best friend. He’d be the first one to take a bullet for me. He’s got a heart of gold.”
He pulled slowly out of me, got me a wad of toilet paper to clean up with, and buttoned up his jeans. I pulled down my skirt, and his eyes were on my thighs as he said to me, “You know. We probably should be getting you some proper underwear. Huh?”
“Duh. I’ve only been saying that for days now.” I looked down at myself. “I’ve been wearing this outfit forever. You’ve never seen me in anything else.”
He touched my thigh. “After this, I’ll take you on a shopping spree. Deal?”
I grinned. The thought of having Drake in a woman’s clothing store, holding my purse while I tried things on, was kind of hilarious. “Really? You don’t have to. I’d just be happy to get back to my closet at home.”
“Sure. I want to,” he said gruffly. I reached for the doorknob and he suddenly grabbed my wrist, pressing me against the door. “So, you’ll stay?”
I nodded reluctantly, even though I’d been planning to hang back at the clubhouse the whole time. I didn’t think I had a choice. I wanted to help, but I wasn’t sure I’d be good at throwing bombs. That was best left up to the experts. I gave him my sexiest little pout, so he might feel guilt and think he owed me, later. “Fine. I’ll stay. But before you go and get my mother, can you come and get me, first? I don’t want her giving you any trouble.”
“Yeah. Sure. I can do that.”
“Good. Then maybe I won’t mind being a kept woman so much.”
“It’s not that I want to keep you, babe,” he said, pushing stray tendrils of hair behind my ears. “I’m not your asshole father. I just want to keep you safe. Okay?”
I smiled, feeling warmth in my belly. Warmth from safety, from longing . . . my pussy was already aching for him again, and he hadn’t even left. I was turning into a total sex maniac.
He cupped my cheek again, and I leaned into the touch, kissing his callused palm. “I know.”
He stared into my eyes, pressing his forehead against mine. He smelled yummy, like soap and sweat and a little like me, since I’d been all over him. The thought made me giddy, like I’d finally had something that was all mine. Something my dad couldn’t take away. I wriggled against him; he was already so close, but I wanted him closer.
Everything he did, everything he said just made me want him more. He oozed sex and raw masculinity, making my toes curl with want and adoration and all those good things. I didn’t want to let him go. Maybe he didn’t want me to think of myself as a kept woman, but I wished I could bottle him up and keep him. And actually, if he was the one doing the keeping? I was fine with that. I’d be his sex slave, all day, every day.
His voice was a low rumble as his bright amber eyes drifted to the floor. “Look, if I don’t come back, I—”
I didn’t want to hear that! That was my deepest fear.
“You’ll come back!” I said, my body tensing as I fisted his t-shirt to get him closer to me, maybe to impress myself upon him. He touched my face softly, his fingertips feeling, stroking, memorizing as his eyes came back and fixed on mine. My pulse fluttered. “You have to.”
“I’ll do everything I can to stay safe. But once we get out there, this is war. And it’s not going to stop without bloodshed. So if I don’t come back. . .” He wiped his thumb under my eyes, catching tears I didn’t even know I was shedding. I closed my eyes. “Look at me, Cait.”
I forced my eyes open. I was trembling so hard at the thought of him getting hurt. “If I don’t, promise me something. Promise me you’ll get your ass out of Aveline Bay and do something with your sweet self. Become an accountant, or a rocket scientist, or whatever you want, because you’re more than just a pretty face, and more than Slade’s daughter. Don’t let that asshole win. You’re worth so much more.”
I nodded, tears falling harder now, blurring everything. And God, I wanted to see him. Because what if this was the last time I would? My heart was beating so fast and hard, I was afraid I might pass out. “Yes. Okay.”
“Good.” He kissed my forehead, lifting my chin up. “I love you, Cait. Okay? Remember that, and don’t ever let any asshole tell you or make you think you aren’t worth it.”
I nodded, untangling my hands from his shirt and wiped the tears from my eyes. I’d pretty much beaten his shirt out of shape from my death grip on it, and it was wet from my tears. “I love you, too, Drake. Please be safe.”
“I will, baby. I will.”
He opened the door, and as we walked out, sure enough, we had an audience. The four men were watching us, some amused, some
tense. Jet looked as angry as ever. For a moment, I wondered if they might break into applause. One of them, the guy who always had his nose buried in a laptop, finally asked, “Have fun in there?”
Drake didn’t care. He just squeezed my hand, and looked at Jet, who no longer looked like such a pretty-boy. His nose was swollen and misshapen, and his eyes were rimmed in dark purple. “Want me to set that?”
Jet scowled. “If you so much as touch me, I’ll break you in two.”
Wow. Jet really hated him. But it didn’t seem to bother Drake. He shrugged, dipping his head low to my ear and nuzzling me, setting a warm, breathy kiss on the shell of my ear. He said, “Make yourself at home. I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
Then he put on his jacket and grabbed his helmet. My ear was still tingling from the pressure of his lips, as was my mouth, my body . . . everywhere he touched me. I shivered with the worry that he’d never touch me again. “Goodbye, Drake,” I said, walking him to the door.
He placed his big hands on my shoulders, massaging gently away the goosebumps that had sprouted up all over, and kissed my forehead again, gently. “I don’t want to leave you, But I have to. I’ll do my damnedest to come back. Remember that.”
He left along with the other guys, who just waved at me. One of them said, “See you later, Cait.”
Alone, I let out the breath I’d been holding as I heard them fire up their bikes and take off, away from the docks. Crypt-like silence set in, the only sound the crash of the waves on the shore below and the noise of the ticking clock in the kitchenette. I looked around the clubhouse. The Cobras clubhouse, a place I’d never thought I’d be even a week ago. Was I insane? Falling for him, a Cobra, so fast and recklessly?
But looking back at the way he’d treated me, the more likely question was, “How could I not fall for him?” My daddy had pretty much destroyed my dreams of a Prince Charming ever coming to save me, but Drake easily made me believe again.
My heart ached in my chest at the thought of him.
Hugging myself, I walked around the empty converted warehouse, the heels of my boots clicking on the concrete floor. The place wasn’t like my father’s clubhouses, which were packed with junk and weapons and beer kegs and crap. This place was pretty clean, probably because my father had destroyed their old one a few months ago.
I hope my daddy knew that he deserved this. This was his punishment.
But knowing my father, he wouldn’t feel guilt. He wouldn’t surrender. He’d fight them to the very end. And that made me worry for Drake.
I sighed, grabbed another water from the fridge, and collapsed on the old, overstuffed couch, taking a gulp and swallowing as I thought of the way he touched me. I hated drinking anything, because it destroyed the taste of him, but I was dying of thirst. I sniffed my skin, happy to smell him on me, ran a finger over my lips, feeling the places he’d rubbed me raw. Basically, I reveled in Drake World for a few long minutes, sighing over how absolutely yummy and amazing he was.
I spent the next few minutes cursing myself for being a giddy teenager when he was out there, putting his life on the line.
Tonight, my father would pay. And I was sitting here, lovesick and dreamy, on cloud nine.
I needed to get a hold of myself. Because there was real danger here. And I wasn’t kidding that this was where the floor usually dropped out from under me. Right when the finish line was in sight and I could almost taste that white picket fence . . . it could all disappear.
I sniffed my skin again, thought about the way he’d touched and licked and kissed me in the bathroom. What if that really was our last time?
I stiffened at the thought. If Slade ended up killing Drake tonight, then I was probably just as good as dead, too. Yes, this was the ultimate betrayal. My daddy would kill me. To calm my nerves, I grabbed the remote and turned on the television. Just some old news show and a bunch of lame sit-coms. I turned it off and stared up at the ceiling. More sexy Drake thoughts floated into my head, like the badass way he kissed and held me and growled my name and commanded my body like he knew it better than I did. His hard pecs. His sexy ass. His powerful biceps. His cut everything. His cock.
I wiped at my mouth, finding the corners still wet from his kisses. As I told myself to calm down, the phone in my purse started to buzz.
Drake, I thought first, as I rummaged through my purse, trying to pick out my phone. He was so sweet and attentive. I could just see him calling to tell me he missed me. Or to remind me to lock the door of the warehouse so that no one could get in.
But when I spied the display, I realized the call was from my home. My mom.
The plan was for Drake and the others to head off the guys at the clubhouse with the explosives, then go rescue my mom. After getting me, which he’d promised to do, and I knew he would follow through. Drake was a man of his word. But only twenty minutes had passed. I didn’t think that they’d have gotten to her so soon. She was probably in her pajamas and robe, settling in for a normal night of watching television in the living room. I didn’t want to tell her what I was up to, because I knew she’d try to talk me out of it. She had no clue about what was going to happen.
“Hi, mom.”
“Hi, sweetie,” a definitely male voice said. One that chilled me to the bones. One that used to calm me when I was young, but now terrorized me so much I couldn’t breathe. “How is my little girl doing? And more importantly, where is she doing it?”
My father.
I froze.
“Coming home soon, light of my life?” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “Or are you still out whoring around?”
“D-dad?” I started, sputtering, because I had no idea what to say. My heart jammed in my throat, and everything blurred. I gripped the phone tight in my hand and looked around, terrified, as if he was in this very room, watching me. I let out a frightened gasp.
He laughed bitterly, like he always did when he knew his threats were working and he was on top. This was his power, what got him high. He sounded angry, but I knew he was probably relishing every moment of this. “Right, you little idiot. Why don’t you tell me where you are?”
“I . . .” I looked around. I couldn’t possibly be anywhere worse, in Slade’s eyes. And from the way he was toying with me, I had to wonder if he already knew. Had his men seen me coming here? “I . . .”
“I . . . I . . .” he repeated, mimicking my voice. “I thought you were brave, Cait. You sound like a little pussy. Does the little pussy want to come crying back to her mommy?”
I tried to think of what to do, but nothing made sense. All I could feel was hate. Fear. I despised him. And, I was a little pussy. I thought of what Drake had told me, about not letting Slade win. And I wanted to tell him to go fuck himself. For Drake. I owed him that, for believing in me. But my brain was useless, my tongue felt swollen in my mouth and I couldn’t bring myself to speak. My father usually had that effect on me.
I swallowed back the nausea in my throat and decided to play dumb. “I didn’t do anything, Daddy. I’m just at a friends. At Martie’s. She’s going through a bad break-up. That’s all.”
“Right. I’ve talked to your little whore friend, Martie. She told me she hasn’t seen you in days.” He paused, allowing that to sink in. He’d contacted Martie? How? If he’d gotten in touch with her, then he’d really done his homework. Who knew what else he knew? I was dead. Fucking dead. “And we pressed her a little more. So you’re right about one thing. She is broken up.”
My jaw dropped. He’d gotten his hands on her. Hurt her. Because of me. My stomach turned. No one was safe, knowing, being friends with, even talking to me. I was a poison. A poison, because of my father.
And Drake was in danger. It didn’t matter how strong or amazing I thought he was. No one had ever beat my father.
“W-what did you do?” I whispered.
“She’s alive, if that’s what you’re asking. Not hurt or anything, but she’s probably not your friend anymore.” He let ou
t a low, rumbling laugh. “She told me some very interesting things. Said you two were at a bar in South Aveline Bay Saturday night. The Wall, huh? You run into some friends of mine?”
“Daddy, I don’t know what you’re . . .”
“I think you do, Cait,” he snapped. “I really think you do. But don’t worry. I’m about to make it right. Oh, and I had your car picked up. Hope you won’t need it because it’s gone.”
“Dad don’t be angry at me,” I begged. “Please.”
“Oh. I’m not angry at you, love,” he said, his voice as jovial as ever. “I’m just going to beat your ass the second I get my hands on you. You hear me?”
I nearly dropped the phone. I pushed out, through gritted teeth, “Please, Daddy. I’ll do anything. What do you want?”
“What do you think?” he hissed out. “It’s what I’ve always wanted. What I’ve told you I wanted from the beginning. I want your little ass at home. Where I can see you. And where I can be sure you ain’t fucking me over.”
I clenched my teeth. “Fine. I’ll go home.”
“I know you will. I’ll be waiting.”
Waiting? He wouldn’t be going to the clubhouse? I checked around for a clock. It must have been around nine o’clock by now. “Aren’t you going to the clubhouse? No church tonight?”
“Church? Not tonight, little girl” he said, and I could sense the smug smile on his grizzled face. “Why? Are you trying to get rid of me?”
“No, I . . .”
“I have more important things to deal with. Namely, my little slut daughter who thinks she can pull one over on her old man. Get your ass home, right now. You understand?”
At that moment, I understood one thing clearly. If I went home, I was dead. I could tell from the malice in his voice that he wouldn’t let me leave there alive.
“But . . .”
“Twenty minutes, Cait, or your mom gets it.”
I nearly choked on my heart, it jammed itself so hard in my throat. I went completely numb from the shivers coursing up and down my body. “Daddy, I don’t think I can . . .”