Chapter 2 - Jade #3
“Fuck, Killer,” Kratos growls as his eyes rake over me.
Ah, that’s the reaction I was looking for.
“Why do you do this?” Rick asks, his voice deep and husky. He sounds upset, but I can see the heat in his eyes as he fights that caveman urge.
Another point for me.
“Because she’s a tease… I thought we just went over this,” Zander says, throwing his hands in the air.
“Just be happy you guys had enough sense not to go to the room while she was getting dressed. My balls are going to be blue for a week.” He lets his arms drop, dramatically smacking his legs, but gets no sympathy.
“I told you not to,” Spencer says, walking past Trent and snatching the bill from his hands as he goes. “I’d like to say one of these days you’ll learn your lesson, but somehow, I don’t think you will.”
Spencer claps Zander on the shoulder and huffs a laugh before stopping in front of me.
Like Kratos, Spencer’s eyes roam over my body, and if we didn’t have something important to do, I would jump his bones. It’s crazy to think those same eyes used to look at me and see a threat.
He hated me, or at least he tried to.
Now, the same energy we would have used to fight each other is used for much more useful things. I might have enjoyed our verbal sparring, but I can’t say I don’t enjoy us taking our aggression out on each other in the bedroom more.
“I’ll be watching you, Demon,” he whispers before leaning in to press a feather-light kiss to my lips. It takes all my willpower not to pull him back and demand more. With a smirk, he walks away, and I hear the front door open.
Asshole.
“This never gets easier,” Jake complains, and Trent huffs a laugh.
“Nah, I don’t think we're supposed to enjoy watching our girl get all pretty for other people, man,” he says, shoving him toward me. “Now kiss our girl and let's get going. We need to be there before her, show our faces and all that shit.”
Jake grumbles something incoherent but does as he says, walking over to press a kiss to my lips.
“Be safe, Princess,” he says, pulling back to look down at me, and I see the worry that shines in his eyes.
“Always.” I press up on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, knowing he needs a little something extra. No matter how many times we do this, it still makes Jake uncomfortable.
The others don’t like it because I’m theirs, and they don’t like the idea of men ogling me while they stay away. But that’s not why Jake dislikes it. No, that might be part of it, but I think Jake’s more afraid than anything else.
At first, it annoyed me. He knows what I’m capable of; they all do. I’ve survived much worse than this time and time again. I’d survived his father; we both had, but I think that's why he’s so worried. We all have scars, and he worries I’ll push myself too far.
I won’t, though. That’s why we handle this the way we do—careful planning and as a team.
I might be able to face this kind of shit on my own if need be, but I don’t have to anymore.
With them, I’m never really alone, and I’m more than okay with that, but it doesn’t make what we do any less important.
This is why we do it—not for ourselves, not for vengeance, but for a better future. In hopes that we can save just one more person from a fate so many have fallen victim to.
We just happen to enjoy it as well, even if not every part of it.
With a stiff nod, he follows Spencer out the door. Trent is right behind him, wrapping me up in his arms.
“How much did you lose?” I ask with a chuckle when he finally releases me, and he sighs.
“Only a hundred,” he says with a shrug.
“And how did you lose it?” I ask, deciding to ignore the amount in favor of what's really important.
Learning the value of a dollar from them was a mistake.
They all grew up with money and found ways to make even more as they got older.
Technically speaking, I have a lot of money due to Vengeance, but I don’t throw it around the way they do.
Instead, investing it back into Vengeance, helping those who need it, and other things.
Mostly, I let Kratos handle all of that because, after growing up with nothing, having so much feels weird.
“I bet Zander wouldn’t be able to handle you getting ready and keep his hands to himself. Thought for sure he would come down in a different pair of pants after busting a nut.” I laugh out loud at his answer, and he smiles back.
“And here I thought you’d bet against me,” I say, shaking my head.
“Never,” he tells me, leaning down to press his lips to mine, and I can feel his smile. “I know better, Sweetness.”
He pulls back and leaves without another word, leaving me with Zander, Rick, and Daddy.
Rick is always the last to go. His anger gets the best of him, and he becomes a big, growly asshole every single time we do this. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t turn me on to see him like this.
“Aw, Ricky,” I coo, walking toward him when it becomes clear he isn’t going to come to me.
He growls as I run my fingers down his chest, but he doesn’t move.
“Don’t you want to say goodbye? Won’t you miss me?” I ask with a little pout and watch as his brows pinch.
I move to pull away, but he snatches my wrist, pressing my hand to his chest and holding it there.
“You're lucky I don’t throw you over my shoulder and lock you in the bedroom. They don’t deserve to see you like this.”
“Hm, you're right, they don’t. But they do deserve punishment, and you know this is the best way. But I’ll happily take my own punishment for showing them later…” His eyes flash, and I know I’ve won.
Rick’s always hidden his darkness away, only using it to punish people who deserved it. But I’ve been pushing him to let me have some of it, and goddamn it if it’s not one of the best ideas I’ve ever had. Rick is possessive and controlling by nature. It's adorable, but in the bedroom, it’s… ugh.
I can’t go there, or we’ll never leave.
He reaches out, grabbing my face and demanding my attention. His grip isn’t hard, and I could break it if I wanted to, but why the hell would I want to do that?
“Good, because it wasn’t negotiable. After Zander’s night, you’ll be in my bed until I say otherwise.”
I shiver at his words and watch his lip twitch up just the slightest bit. He knows damn well the effect he has on me when he gets like this, even if he’s not purposefully trying to.
“Understood?” he presses when I’m quiet for too long.
“Yes, sir,” I purr and watch his pupils blow wide, his fingers digging into the flesh of my cheeks with a bite that only adds to the thrill.
With a grunt, he releases me, stomping away without looking back.
Once upon a time, calling someone sir would have made me sick to my stomach.
Even after Randall was dead, he had a hold on me, and it took me a long time to shake it.
I knew Ricky would love it. All the guys love to talk about how much they love my reactions, but they don’t even realize they give back pretty good, too.
It had taken me a while to get the nerve, but the first time I called him that, he about lost it, and I’ve never looked back. He fucked me so hard that night I could hardly sit the next day, and it had been amazing.
Looking across the room, I find Daddy staring at me with a knowing smile.
“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” he asks, even though we both know the answer.
“Oh, I’m only having a bit of fun, Daddy,” I say, batting my lashes and smiling sweetly. I know it won’t work; it never does. He knows me too well, but I’m determined to have fun tonight.