Chapter 12
COLLINS
“Do we now, viper?” He drops the guy into a heap of listless limbs and vacant eyes.
My father always taught me to have an end game. Where to put everything, how to hide it. Logically, it made sense that my clan—who kills and tortures people—would have a dump site.
There should be a part of me that cares—but that’s gone, along with my innocence, stolen by my father’s lessons.
“Want to tell me what the hell you were thinking?” he growls, coming closer, stalking me with the prowess of a tiger. “You told your sister—your very angry, spiteful sister who runs a fucking mob outfit—that we were engaged and you didn’t even run it by me first?”
I stumble back, the flames licking my back. Alright, so we’re fighting first. “I had to do something! She’s going to marry me off to that animal! I will not be another statistic.” I won’t. I’ll kill Bruno first.
“Fucking hell,” he curses, grabbing my arm before I fall into the fire, throwing me away. Without warning, he grabs the corpse, dumping it into the flames and sparks float into the air. “I was handling it. When have I ever let anything bad happen to you?”
My heart constricts, ignoring the flutters in my belly. That damn childhood crush, built on his niceness from my panic attacks, stirs in my gut. There was a reason Hayes was the only man I claimed. Not because he was important to Maeve—but because he was to me.
He fought my bullies, complimented me on my braces, and picked me up in rainstorms. He held my hand when my lungs wouldn’t work and brushed my tears away. I depend on his steadfast presence—even when he annoys me.
And I did fantasize about him when I fucked myself.
“You screwed me.” He rubs his beard, voice wounded. “Left a huge mess for me without any warning. What were you thinking?”
Survival. I was thinking about how I would survive Bruno. And I called out the only name of the one person who protected me.
There’s no guilt. There hasn’t been since Ferguson.
“I was thinking of how to fix this,” I defend. “And now, it’s too late to backtrack. We need to get our story straight for Maeve.”
He scoffs, kicking the body into the fire, a hand flopping to the side. I stare at the callous disregard for life, not a flicker of compassion stirring in my gut.
“Ha..” He kicks the wood, making the flames higher. “Good joke.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I.” His deep blue eyes narrow. “Do you know what you did? It takes a ton of shit to gain your sister’s trust and I had it. Until you came in with your little stunt and ruined everything.”
Wincing, I rub my breastbone. “I’m sorry, I needed—”
“I know what you needed.” He glares at me and my breath stops. His irritation and fury morph his handsome face into a work of art. “And I was handling it.”
“How?” I challenge. “By burning the competition?”
He laughs but it’s humorless. “We’re in a rare mood again tonight, I see. No, smartass, I was preparing for the Games.” He looks to the sky. “Now, without Maeve’s backing, I’ll likely not survive. Thanks for that.”
A prickle of guilt hits my sternum and I exhale. He was preparing for me?
“How was that supposed to help me?” I vaguely recall some comment from Uncle Michael, my father’s best friend and second of the clan about games, years ago but nothing comes to me.
“The Game of Trials,” Hayes supplies, running a hand through his hair. It falls free, caressing his jaw and shoulders. My fingers tremble as the urge to touch it floods my veins. “I was trading favors for votes. If I have enough votes, I can compete.”
I wrap my arms around my chest, shifting my weight. “And this helps me how?”
“The prize is to be second of the clan, sweetheart.” He rolls his eyes. “As second, I could stop all of this marriage business from ever happening. With a clear line of succession, the clan is stable and with it, we can withstand saying no to Bruno’s proposal”
Breath rushes between my parted lips. He was going to fight for me.
“You didn’t want Roman to have me?”
“Roman can fuck all the way off,” he retorts. “You don’t belong with him, Collins. You don’t belong tied to that kind of man.”
This proved I didn’t put my trust into the wrong man. Hayes is not a good man—he kills, tortures, runs guns and burns the bodies of my sister’s enemies. But I trust him to do right by me—like he always has.
Licking my lips, I step closer, tripping over branches. “What do you need to win the games?”
Looking me over, I watch the growing inferno brighten his gaze. Under the cloud of decay, I detect Haye’s clean, fresh scent that reminds me of rainstorms. “Votes. Luck. Sheer determination to win.”
“You need Maeve for that?”
“Fuck no,” he huffs. “But it helps to have a ruling Captain of the O’Brien line on your side.”
He needs an O’Brien to sweeten the deal. I’m an O’Brien.
“What if we help each other?”
His eyebrow raises. “I’m listening.”
The plan builds in my head before I have a chance to ponder the consequences. I can offer him the one thing he needs.
“You want to be second,” I begin, chewing on my lip. “And I want to not be married to Bruno. If we work together, continue to play pretend, we can kill two birds with one stone.”
It’s a crazy idea. But it might just work.
A wild look enters his eyes. “You’re saying, you want to pretend to your sister—to your clan, that you’re mine?” His lips curve into a devious smile. “You think doubling down on a lie will get us both out of hot water?”
“It won’t be a lie,” I correct. “Maeve already thinks we’re together. All we have to do is stay that way. You get the boost my name provides. Then once you’re second, you kill the deal and we break up. Like it never happened.”
It’s a hasty plan, full of holes. But I’m scrambling to keep afloat in this chaotic situation.
“So what you’re saying,” he says, eyes dark with unknown emotions, “is that, you need me?”
“Easy, Hayes.” I scoff. “I don’t need you. All I’m doing is offering you a chance that benefits us both.”
He rocks back on his heels, smiling. “No, no. You need me, viper. Because if I tell Maeve you were lying?” He sucks in a breath, wincing in mock sympathy. “You’re gone.”
“And if I tell Maeve you’ve been on Bruno’s property without her permission?” I arch an eyebrow.
The threat hangs between us.
He seems to weigh the options, wrestling with something, as if asking for divine permission. I’m not sure why, but I hold my breath before he nods. “If we do this, it has to be convincing.”
“I know,” I reply firmly. “We have to really act, be a couple for Maeve to believe it.”
“No,” he murmurs, stepping close to rub his thumb over my mouth. I freeze and my lungs stop functioning for a totally different reason. “Can you handle being completely mine? In every way—mine?”
Suddenly, he’s no longer my sister’s best friend, nor my bodyguard. He looks like a man possessed, regarding me like sailors do the moon.
Clearing my throat, I say, “Well, we’d have to figure out logistics—”
In a blink, Hayes grabs my throat, pulling me close. He cradles my smaller body against his rough muscular chest and I gasp, the sound swallowed by the night.
“No logistics, viper,” he whispers, breath smelling of ice and danger. “No thoughts, no plans. Just feelings and ownership. If you’re mine, then you’re mine. No more library hookups with fuckboys who can’t find your clit. No more study dates. Just mine.”
The way he says it, growling it as if more animal than man, draws goosebumps over my arms. “Then how will I—”
“You want to cum?” His nose brushes my cold one, body shivering from his proximity and the night air. His fingers flex and my vision darkens. “Then you come to me. Only my cock goes between your thighs.”
“You can’t seriously think I’ll want you… like that.” I can’t.
This entire plan only works if we keep boundaries. If we push it, if I allow it, there’s no telling the mess it’ll make.
That smile grows, white teeth flashing against the flames. “I think you’ll realize how good I can make you feel. How much you might even crave it.”
My core clenches at his words, my traitorous body refusing to see logic. Instead, I focus on keeping my voice strong. “And what about my Saturday shows?”
The hand at my throat pressing in and my pussy responds. “You want to dance? Then dance. Let them look. It’s only my cum that will be leaking down those pretty legs of yours.” He speaks again, lips brushing mine. “Everyone will know who you belong to, Collins. Can you handle that?”
Can I? This is a bad idea. I’m a lost soul, sailing into the waves of the unknown, with only Hayes as my compass. Without him, I’ll sink. With him, my life—my body, my sanity—will never be the same again.
“Yes,” I whisper, words soft. “When do we start?”
He smirks. “Right now.” Shifting, he wraps his other hand around my hip. He’s all hard muscle, coiled together under his leather jacket and I sink into his warmth.
“First rule, Collins. I touch, kiss, and fuck what’s mine. And that’s you.”
The hand at my throat travels up to my hair, twisting to yank my head back. I gasp, mouth parting in shock and awe as I enjoy being manhandled. It’s only a mere second later as his lips descend on mine, consuming me.
It’s harsh, and biting, a near domination of lips and tongue I can barely follow. But I want to—I want to show him, he doesn’t scare me. I can handle this. I’ll keep our boundary intact and walk away when it’s done.
Whatever is between us turns primal. My knees tremble and my panties grow damp as our tongues swipe and lick. No one has ever kissed me with such passion before, never taken from me as if I’m their only chance of safety in rough waters.
It’s over too soon. He pulls away, rubbing my sore lip, exhaling. His eyes widen with awe and concern before they’re wiped clean and I’m left swaying. “A good start.”