Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
“SCARS” BY BOY EPIC
KNOX
Fucking Aeron, grumpy motherfucker. You stick your dick in one prisoner and get stuck with all the worst fucking jobs, not allowed to even see the alluring bird.
Fuck, what was I meant to do? I’m a hot-blooded male, after all.
In the chilled fall air, I rub my hands together, my stomach rumbling as I skulk in the shadows opposite a bar owned by the Dead Soldiers.
I’m waiting for two of their guys to come out.
I think about the way Lark looked at me last night, like I was her favorite snack, and well, I’d defy any man to ignore that invitation.
Shit, even cold man Aeron couldn’t keep his eyes off her, hoarding her in his room like a miserly dragon. Fucking asshole.
God, that woman. Even in her pain, she was hotter than the fucking sun.
Maybe more so because of her agony, her warm blood running as hot as the inside of her pussy that gripped my dick in a chokehold.
Just the thought of her naked body wrapped around me has me semi-hard, the cool air around me not so cold anymore.
Movement across the street has me snapping out of my daydream as two gangbangers get into their muscle car and drive away. I make a note of the time, cursing out Aeron for making me miss lunch as I stomp through the trees and back to my matte black, Indian Scout.
I give her an appreciative smile, running my palm across her pristine paintwork before swinging my leg over and lifting the kickstand with my foot. Pausing, the image of an auburn-haired beauty draped across my lap riding me flashes across my vision, making my dick go fully hard in my black jeans.
Fucking hell, I’ve got it bad for that chick, my little bird.
With a self-deprecating laugh, I gun the throttle and get out of there like a bat out of hell, wondering if Aeron will allow me to see the fiery-haired beauty anytime soon.
Stalking into the warehouse, I stall as Jude comes sauntering down the stairs, wearing purple fucking velvet pants and looking too fucking pleased with himself.
My eyes narrow. He catches me watching him, gives me a wink, and then strolls over to the sink and grabs a cloth.
Strolling over to him, I shed my leather jacket and drape it over the back of a dining chair, my forehead wrinkling as he begins to clean his abs.
“What the fuck you doing?” I ask, grabbing a glass from the cupboard and going over to the fridge to get out the juice, and hopefully something to eat. I wouldn’t bother with the glass, just to fuck with Aeron, but he’s angry enough with me as it is. Jealous bastard.
“Nightingale missed a spot when she was licking off her lunch,” Jude tells me matter-of-factly, missing the fact that I’m rooted to the fucking spot, mouth agape as I stare at him.
“What did you just say?” I ask through clenched teeth, my fingers tightening on the carton, the sound of the plastic popping loud and sharp in the silence of the room.
He looks up at me with that unnerving deep blue gaze of his, though I could swear it’s less, well, dead than it was before Lark arrived.
“I made Nightingale lunch, and then she ate it off me,” he informs me before throwing the cloth into the sink which admittedly makes my lips twitch upwards as that’s the kind of shit that drives Aeron wild.
“Do you want to eat lunch off me too, Knox baby?” he asks, stalking towards me and running a hand down my torso.
I feel his touch through my T-shirt, and my breath catches in my chest. I swear he’s been trying to get into my pants for years, even while I was dating June, so it’s not unexpected, but it’s getting harder to deny my… curiosity.
“Fuck off,” I reply on a forced laugh, tension easing from my shoulders at his comically wounded look. I pour myself a glass of OJ, then put the carton back in the fridge. “You and Tarl can keep your dick play, thanks.”
“But you have such a beautiful cock,” he whines while pouting, and I can’t tell if he’s serious or not. Probably is, knowing Jude, though when he would have seen it is anyone’s guess.
“Is my cock not beautiful enough for you?” Tarl asks, his tone firm, and like the good little sub Jude is, he saunters over to him and palms Tarl’s dick over his jeans.
Tarl stands there, his stare fixed on me as Jude fawns over him.
It’s not unfriendly, more challenging if I had to guess, but he didn’t earn the name The Inquisitor for being easy to read.
“You have a wonderful weapon, babe,” Jude coos, then looks over his shoulder at me, batting those long lashes of his. “But don’t tell me you wouldn’t want to have a little fun with Knox’s purple-headed pork sword?”
Juice sputters over the countertop as I choke at Jude’s description of my dick.
“Fucking hell, Jude,” I rasp, thumping my chest as I try to breathe, tasting orange in my fucking lungs.
Tarl’s mismatched eyes meet mine as he stares at me, his gaze slowly perusing my body before coming back up to my face, my fist dropping away to my side.
I let him look his fill. I don’t give a shit if he or anyone else wants to check me out, regardless of their gender, but while I don’t care if he wants to suck my dick, I don’t want to return the favor.
Tarl just shrugs as if to say your loss, then grabs the back of Jude’s head, tangling his fingers in the other man’s hair, and pulling his lips into a heated kiss. I watch as Jude melts into Tarl, giving over to him completely, just like the way Lark gave into me, sinking into my caresses.
“You taste like her scent,” Tarl murmurs, loud enough for me to hear, and a slight rumble sounds in the back of my throat. Looks like Aeron isn’t the only jealous bastard around here.
Jude giggles, like honest to fuck giggles, and I swear, somewhere, a newborn is crying at the sound. “Aeron said I couldn’t fuck her like Knox did,” he replies, my lips flattening as heat flushes through me. “But he said nothing about licking.”
“Enough,” I growl, attempting to loosen my tightened jaw.
“If only you’d let me help with those big ole, blue balls of yours.” Jude sighs like I’m a fucking naughty child, and I swear to fuck that I take a step forward, ready to punch that smirk off his pretty boy face. Maybe my little bird would like him less with a broken nose.
“Dad just called,” Aeron declares, storming into the room like a fucking thundercloud, tucking his phone into his suit jacket pocket.
He completely misses the tension rolling off of me, but his lips tighten when he notices the damp cloth in the sink.
Fucking jackass. “He wants progress with our pretty captive. We start tonight.”
And just like a bucket of ice-cold water being thrown over me, all jealousy washes away to be replaced with something uncomfortable, like a lump in your throat. I glance over to Jude and Tarl and see them staring at Aeron, their faces blank, though Jude has an excited gleam in his eyes.
“I won’t beat her,” I grit out in the quiet room, and three sets of eyes swing my way, but I don’t back down.
“I don’t hurt women or children,” I state, my chin lifted as I stare at Aeron.
I’m usually the one that goes in first with fists flying, breaking bones and faces until our captives talk to end the pain, or Tarl steps in, but not this time.
“One taste and her gash is making you soft, Knox?” Aeron questions, one dark brow lifted, but the fucker knows he won’t get a rise from me, and I know that he’s not asking any of us to hurt her like that. We may be gangbangers, but even we have lines we refuse to cross.
I stay silent, holding his icy stare until he lets out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“I have other ways to make the canary sing,” he tells us as he looks back up, and a shiver runs through me at the sparkle in his blue orbs.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel a matching rush in my own limbs.
We may have lines, but we’re still fucked-up bastards, and there’s something intoxicating about making that beautiful woman submit to us.
The doorbell rings and Jude claps with a squeal as he rushes over to answer it. The rest of us look at him with matching frowns, but my eyebrows soon go up into my hairline when he wheels in his latest purchase.
“Let the fun begin,” he declares with a manic gleam in his eyes, practically hopping from foot to foot, and the fucked-up man that I am, my lips lift into a grin as I contemplate all the ways that we will make my little bird tell us her secrets.
I just know that she will sing beautifully.
“PANIC ROOM - ACOUSTIC” BY AU/RA
LARK
Gazing out of the window in Aeron's bedroom at the night sky, the lights of the city below replace the stars that are all but hidden above.
I chuckle to myself whilst imagining the stars falling from the sky and landing here, their glorious, celestial light being gobbled up by the sin and depravity that lurks in Whetstone, Colorado.
The door opens behind me, but I don't turn around, knowing that the day of reckoning has finally arrived. I'm healed enough to be broken again.
Heat engulfs my back, the intoxicating mix of clean cotton, amber, sandalwood, and vanilla smell of Aeron Taylor wrapping around me and ensnaring my senses. Strong, warm hands alight on my naked shoulders and a shudder runs through my whole body at his featherlight touch.
I’ve just released a lust-filled sigh when a warm, minty breath caresses my cheek moments before lips brush my ear and my nipples pebble to hardened nubs.