Chapter 6
Zoey
My stomach tightens the moment I see the giant metal beasts parked in front of my house.
There are only three today. The one with silver flames and crossbones is front and center.
He’s here. The man I’ve been thinking about all day.
I couldn’t focus during class because his eyes kept haunting me.
That dark stare, which never wavered. The danger that was radiating off him like a furnace, causing me to break out into a sweat.
I felt the sweat dripping down my back as I was sitting in class.
I couldn’t even eat lunch because my rackety nerves were filling up the entirety of my stomach.
I don’t understand why I’m having such a visceral reaction to the man, but I can’t shake this feeling.
It’s not just those eyes or his gorgeous face, but there’s something about him that feels like he’s in full control.
Whatever he commanded, I would aimlessly comply.
“Wow, those things are massive,” says Teagan as she steps up to my side. “Do you think they’d be willing to take us for a ride?”
I think she’s crazy if she thinks I’d dare ask them to.
“My dad would never let me get on the back of one of those things.” Even if he would, I’m not sure I’d want to. Having my arms wrapped around Bones and being at his mercy, feels all too overwhelming. My knees are shaking just thinking about it.
“Come on. Let’s go inside.” Before he comes back and I have to face him again. The last time I saw him was right after I confessed to my friend how hot he was.
“Hey, princess. And hey there, Teagan.”
My dad comes walking down the hall right as we enter. I look past him, wondering where the three dark knights are. My stomach is already lodged in my throat as I listen for the sound of his deep voice. The menacing rumble that rolls through my nerves and makes every single one shake.
“Did you ladies have a good day at school?”
“Yes, Mr. P. It was good.” Teagan bounces to him giving him a hug. We’ve been best friends since infants, and she’s like my dad’s second child. “Do you have any snacks? I’m starving.”
“Yes.” He rolls his eyes. “The pantry is stocked. Zoey?” He looks to me, looking more serious. “Can I have a quick word with you?”
My best friend gives me a look before she turns and heads to the kitchen, and my dad waits until she’s out of earshot before he moves in, keeping his voice low.
“I need you to make sure Teagan doesn’t mention a word of the Savage Knights being here to anyone. If my constituents find out I’ve been consorting with them, I won’t be reelected.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me that you were friends with them?”
“Because it’s not something I advertise.
Despite what the public thinks, they’re good men.
They may not subscribe to the law, but they do a lot to keep our streets safe.
It’s just the means in which they handle their business that people don’t approve of.
That’s why I keep things with them discreet.
So, I need you to make sure Teagan doesn’t breathe a word of this to anyone. ”
She won’t. She’s a vault and I trust her with my life.
“She won’t say anything, Dad. But why are they putting in new cameras?”
The need for a new security system came from out of the blue. He never mentioned there being any issues with our old one. But suddenly these known criminals are securing our place like it’s the state penitentiary.
“With the election coming up, I want to make sure we’re safe. There are crazies out there, and they’re getting crazier by the day, so I want to ensure no one can get past the gate. King and his crew have the most secure system at their compound, and we’re going to have the same.”
It feels like there’s more to it than that. He’s always dealt with crazies throughout his entire career as a politician. Why the sudden need for increased security?
“I’m going to be increasing the security team too. So, you’ll be seeing a few extra men around the house.”
There’s definitely something he’s not telling me. He wouldn’t be going to these extreme measures if he hadn’t received an actual threat.
“Are you going to tell me what’s really going on, Dad?”
“Like I said, I don’t trust what’s going on in the world. I want my one and only daughter to be protected and safe. Which is also why I want you coming straight home after school for the time being.”
“What? Why?”
“If you watched the news, you would understand why. Now, your friend is waiting on you.”
And without further explanation, he turns and walks away, heading to his office.
“Are you kidding?” Teagan practically shouts as I inform her of what my dad just shared.
“Shh… He might hear you.” I look toward the hallway, listening for any footsteps. He doesn’t want Teagan to know all our business. But my best friend knows everything about me. She’s the only person I trust with my secrets.
“But what about Friday? Cooper’s party? Your date?”
I’d completely forgotten about that. In fact, Cooper didn’t even cross my mind today. My head’s been stuck somewhere else all day. And since I didn’t go to the cafeteria for lunch, I never saw him today.
“Grab some snacks and we’ll go talk in my room,” I tell her. I don’t want anyone to hear us. Those Savage men are somewhere in my house, and I don’t want them relaying anything back to my dad.
Teagan grabs a bag of chips and a couple of sodas from the fridge for us, then we head upstairs.
My eyes scanning every corridor in search of the giant man who hijacked my every thought today.
Right as I reach my door, it opens. And he’s there.
Staring down at me. His eyes even more intense than they were yesterday.
I can’t speak. My throat is choking on my nerves, and every thought has flown from my head.
That nervous knot in my stomach is rampantly fluttering, like butterflies are spreading their wings, making me feel like I’m going to take flight.
And it’s suddenly a hundred degrees in here.
The sweat is forming on my brow and across my skin, threatening to drip down my back.
“I was just fixing the wiring in your room.” He finally breaks the silence, and that gruff voice rocks me with a shiver.
“We can go somewhere else since you’re still working in here.” My words come out breathless. Nervous. I feel completely out of sorts again.
“I’m done. You’ll be hardwired in on your computer from now on. That way no one can hack into your system.”
He’s working on the internet too? Is that part of the security system? I can’t even find the words to ask because my mind is burning up. My nerves are melting to a puddle under his stare. Being this close, breathing in that rugged scent… It feels like I’m being hypnotized under his spell.
“I… Um… Thank you.”
“If you have any problems logging on, let me know. I’ll be outside wiring the rest of the cameras. But you should be set.”
It feels like I’m leaning against him. Like we’re mere inches apart.
That’s because my body has chosen to use him for support.
I’ve pressed myself against his pillar of a frame and can feel every hard inch against my hips and thighs and waist. Every inch of his firm power is holding me steady as my ankles threaten to give out.
The flames tattooed up his neck and around his left eye feel like they’re actually burning.
I feel like I’ve caught on fire. My insides burning so hot. The sweat trickling down my back.
“You need something, angel?”
His gruff whisper casts over me, sending another heatwave down my flesh.
My skin is beading up with sweat as his dark stare narrows in.
Do I need something? I’m not sure what I need.
I’m not sure what’s come over me. I’m burning up.
Soaking my panties right through. I feel like I’ve been drugged. He’s making me delirious.
“I know exactly what you need.” His hushed whisper rocks me with the gust of its force.
“Deep… Hard… Fast… Pounding… Taking.” Every word increases the throbbing ache inside my gut; my clit is pulsing like a bass drum.
My heart hammering like a snare as I struggle to take a deep breath.
One more word and he’ll blow me straight over the cliff.
One more hot breath cast over my flesh and I’ll burst into flames.
“I can feel you trembling. So desperate for it. So perfect.”
“Yo, Bones! You finished up here? We need you outside.”
The deep voice has me jerking back, feeling lightheaded and in need of a chair. I don’t know what just came over me. His wicked voodoo cast its spell, and I wasn’t in my conscious mind.
“Yeah, I’m coming out now,” he calls to his friend. “We’ll finish this later, little one.”
It’s the faintest of whispers, but it nearly blows me over. Never have words been so potent.
He pushes past me, and I cling to the wooden frame to keep myself from falling.
Heavy retreating footsteps are pounding in my ear. As they fade in the distance, my mind starts to clear.
“What the hell was that, Zoey?”
My best friend’s voice has me snapping out of the trance. That’s what it felt like I was under. Some hypnotic trance. I had completely forgotten she was here, bearing witness to whatever the hell that was.
I quickly pull her into my room and shut the door, rushing to the window to close it.
He’s there. Out in the yard. Looking as though he’s in a heated conversation with the man who just pulled him away.
I shut my window, and both heads turn, looking up when they hear the sound.
It’s his—Bones—who hold me captive. His dark stare echoing the message he left me with.
We’ll finish this later, little one.
“Zoey, seriously. What just happened?”
I break his hold, turning my back on his shrouded eyes and move to my bed.
“I don’t know, Tea. I don’t know what just happened.”
I’m still trying to figure it out. That dangerous man just said such…naughty things. And I was strung out on every word. Pulsing to the brink. Dripping down my legs.
“You were right about him.” She shakes her head, still looking as freaked out as I feel. “He is definitely hot. But the way he was just looking at you… I’d be careful, Zoey. That is one dangerous man.”
I know he is. I can feel the danger oozing off him.
Yet… I want to draw closer to it. He could hold a knife to my throat, and I’d beg for him to fuck me.
Beg for him to draw blood as he ripped my innocence away.
I seriously don’t understand what’s wrong with me.
I’m under some sick spell, wanting to be that man’s victim.
Hoping he’ll come back and take what he wants from my body.
“Zoey?”
“Yeah, sorry. I think I’m just in shock.”