Chapter 4
Ican’t believe this fucking luck.
No fucking way. No fucking way. This isn’t happening. This can’t be fucking happening.
What kind of sick, twisted fuckery is this?
Every time. Every single fucking time. I take one step, one goddamn step forward, and the universe shoves a flaming fuckstick right down my ass.
It’s like some cosmic bastard is sitting up there, bored, spinning a wheel labeled ‘fuck this one’s day.’
Fuck me.
Fuck this.
Fuck everything.
It was my fucking moment to finally kill off that bastard, and instead, life decides to bend me over and fuck me sideways with a rusty crowbar.
Of course I let my cock take the wheel and went straight for the hottest woman in the room. Hell, maybe the hottest I’ve ever laid eyes on. Fuckin’ stupid, but inevitable.
But now it’s all gone to shit, just like everything else.
What am I supposed to do now?
“You have got to be fucking kidding me,” I yell at her, her blue eyes flickering with surprise.
“It was the only way; don’t you get it?”
My jaw tightens so hard my teeth grind together, like they might shatter. I march up to her and grab her arm.
“Listen to me, princess,” I sneer, every syllable dripping with contempt.
“I don’t know what kind of sick little fairy tale you’re playing at, but I’m not some puppet dangling from your manicured fingers.
” I yank her closer, hard enough to make her stumble.
Her eyes widen with fear, but I don’t care.
“I’m not your fucking hero, and I sure as hell am not here to clean up the mess you made. ”
“You’re hurting me,” she says, her voice calm and steady, just like her eyes that are locked on mine.
“You need to find someone else to play your little game.” She hauls her arm, but my grip tightens and I pull her closer again. “I’m out. Are we clear?”
“You’re fucking hurting me,” she repeats through clenched teeth.
“Are. We. Clear?”
“Yes. Just let me go.”
I don’t. Not right away. My ego doesn’t let me give her the satisfaction that she won so easily. She doesn’t back down, either. Such a mighty little woman.
Eventually, I do. She takes two steps back and rubs her arm while looking at me, her eyes dripping with disdain.
“Do you need a special invitation, pretty boy?” that fucker who threatened her before shouts from the other side of the bar.
“You shut up,” I shout back.
My head is ringing, and the anger is boiling inside me. I turn around and kick a stool, sending it clattering on the ground.
“Hey! Who’s gonna pay for the mess you made?” a bald guy yells, jabbing a finger at me.
I don’t say a word, just glare at him with a death stare.
He pauses and swallows hard.
“Okay, buddy. It’s on the house,” he mutters, raising his hands, backing off.
I grab my leather jacket and walk towards to the exit without looking at her.
Outside the bar, five black SUVs with tinted windows line the street, blocking every other car from passing. My eyes roll involuntarily as I head to my bike on the side of the entrance.
I still don’t know what I’ll do. I mean, sure, I could play the nice, obedient good boy for a while. Smile and wait for the perfect moment to gut that son of a bitch.
But no.
Tomorrow, my new task starts, and lucky me: I’ve been assigned to gut an entirely different asshole first. One I’ve been waiting for for a long, long time. So no, I’m not backing down.
“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?”
Ugh, him again?
“You don’t really think I’ll leave my goddess?” Of course my bike never stays behind.
She exits the bar, her eyes darting right and left, looking completely lost. She still rubs her arm, which is already bruised from my grip.
“Get in the car,” another man growls at her, shoving her.
Rage slams into me like a wave. My heart pounds so violently it feels like it’s trying to burst through my skull.
“Hey.” I whistle. “She’s coming with me.”
“On that?” the fucker asks. “No, pretty boy. You are coming with us.”
I lean in, my elbows resting against the fuel tank. “Keep calling me like this and I’ll start blushing. I’m straight, by the way.”
“Shut up and move.”
Slowly, I get off the bike and walk closer to her. I grab her wrist and pull her to me.
“I said she’s coming with me. Am I her fucking bodyguard or not?”
She turns her head, spots me, and just like that, her eyes light up. “Are you?”
I lean in. “Start searching for a new puppet already,” I whisper in her ear.
She nods, those big, feline eyes soft, but watching me closely.
“Wes, I’m going with him,” she says determinedly.
“No.”
“Don’t be jealous, Wes,” I mock with a fake smile. “Between us girls, I’d choose me too.”
“You fucking—”
“Boss is waiting,” another man says, halting him. Wise man.
“Shut the fuck up, Dawson,” Wes growls.
“We’ll be following them. He can’t do anything stupid.”
Wes needs a little more time to sulk over his tragic loss, but eventually he hauls himself into the first SUV, stomping his legs like a toddler denied cotton candy.
They fire up their engines but just sit there, waiting for me to start mine, too.
How noble.
I walk up to my bike, dragging her behind me.
“I can’t believe you actually—”
“Listen up,” I interrupt her, making her eyes widen. “You dragged me into this pit of shit with you, and I don’t even know the reason behind this circus.”
“I’m doing it to help you. Father was going to kill you.”
I hum with a smile. “Cute story.” I take a step closer, towering over her and trapping her between me and my bike.
“But let’s get some things straight. I’m not a fucking hero, nor a prince willing to risk his cute hairstyle to save the damsel in distress.
I set the rules and you have to do as I say. Are we clear?”
She gulps forcefully, her eyes never leaving mine. “Clear.”
She’s so entertaining. And terrifyingly sexy. Damn it!
A smirk crosses my face.
“Congrats, little orchid. You picked the right monster.”
“M-Monster?”
Her words curl with that faint hiss whenever her tongue touches an “s.” Christ, I love it. And that raspy voice … It fucks me up.
My eyes linger on her full lips a little longer. They’re so fucking alluring and fuckable.
I realize too late that I’ve been biting my lower lip. I’m still stuck on how goddamn sexy she is. It’s pathetic.
I run my fingers through her loose, dark brown hair, savoring the way her eyes follow my hand, unintentionally pulling herself back.
“Little orchid, I don’t need chains to keep things close …” My fingers run lower on her pulsing throat. Her breathing is erratic, and her eyes seem incapable of tearing away from mine. “Just the right pressure in the right place.”
“Isabella,” she breathes.
“What?”
“My name is Isabella.”
“Isabella,” I repeat, savoring the way her name vibrates on my lips. “Wear this.” I nod towards my leather jacket.
“Uhm … Isn’t it too big for me?”
“I’ve changed my mind. Go with them instead, will you?”
“No, no, okay!” she protests, her long lashes fluttering.
She grabs my jacket, slips it on, and zips it up. It swallows her whole.
I look at her, tracing every feature on her body. Slowly, I reach for her orchid hairpins.
“What are you doing?” she asks, eyes wide.
“Easy there, tiger. You’ll hurt yourself with those in.”
I take them off and, without thinking, slide them into my pants pocket. Then I grab the helmet from the tank and place it on her head.
She desperately tries to avoid eye contact, while her breathing becomes more erratic. She’s clearly nervous, and that’s even sexier.
I take my sweet time to strap my helmet on her, reveling in the way my not-so-accidental strokes pull goose bumps from her skin.
She’s got that innocent look. Pure; almost fragile. And maybe that’s what makes me so sure she’ll do whatever I say.
I’ve got to admit, there’s something addictive about her obeying me even with the small stuff. It makes it hard not to push my luck.
These fuckers honk.
“They’re waiting for us,” she says quietly, her voice muffled from the helmet.
“You already forgot our agreement,” I say with a smirk, grabbing the helmet and tugging it toward me, pulling her along with it. “I set the rules.”
The honking gets more persistent, like they’re trying to drill their impatience straight into my skull.
“I’m not fucking deaf!” I shout, causing her to jolt in fear.
It worked. These fuckers stop honking. Finally.
I turn my eyes to her and let a sinister smirk cross my face.
“Shall we?”