Dark Oz

by Geneva Monroe

Now, there was an image, one that I was unfortunately able to add a complete audio track to. Nick was lying to himself. Fuck, I’d been lying to myself since the moment I saw her ogling my car. If Dorothy would give either of us a chance, we’d both drop everything in the middle of a damn gunfight for a taste.

“Order something online from OzMart. I’ll have it delivered. I’m not spending my day sitting outside a dressing room while you try to decide if the black jeans or the blue ones make your ass look better.”

“Jokes on you, my ass looks great in every color of jeans.”

“Get the fuck out of here with that shit.” My blood began boiling with some kind of primal possessive instinct that had no business rearing its angry head.

“You’re just jealous because Thea actually likes me. If you two weren’t always trying to kill her, maybe she’d like you too.”

“In my defense, I haven’t tried to kill her in at least a day,” Nick ...

“Which am I, Danny, a pet or a princess?”

“You’re trouble wrapped in pretty packaging. If you weren’t worth so much, I wouldn’t put up with it.”

“Princess, you wouldn’t be able to withstand my best, much less my worst. You think threatening me will make me want to play with you less? If you’re not careful, you might become my new favorite toy.”

“I don’t scare you. I see it in the stubborn line of those pretty lips, in your smoldering eyes, and the even beat of your pulse. But precious, when it comes to me, chains and whips should be the least of your concerns.”

“Pity.” He swallowed hard, lips ghosting over my own. I ached to make contact with them, to lose myself in the viciousness of his kiss. “I can tell you what I want.”

“What I want is to pretend your bratty ass isn’t here. I don’t care what you do, so long it doesn’t involve me.” His eyes traced down my body, lingering on the visibly soaked fabric of the boxers. He smirked. “That was even easier than I thought it would be. Good to know.”

“It’s always, ‘strip for me, drop your pants, say my name when I make you come.’ You three are so bossy.”

“Princess—” My voice dropped low and gravelly, “—when I make you come, you won’t be able to speak, much less remember anyone’s name. Now get over here.”

“Look who decided to let her good girl show. Apparently, you can follow orders after all.”

“No. Just trying to decide where I want to start.” A lie. I knew exactly where I wanted to start. By sinking my teeth into her ass right below those two adorable divots.

“Mmm. Keep pushing me, Dorothy.” I gave her ass a hard slap. I couldn’t help it. She was being a brat. A man could only hold out for so long when faced with this kind of temptation. She yelped and glanced back at me. Where I expected to see anger, there was only amusement and absolute lust. Fuck, of course she loved it. She probably got off on the fight as much as I did. “Behave, or there’s more where that came from.” I made a twirly motion with my finger.

Now I understood the woman who never flinched and met me blow for blow. She wasn’t a princess at all. Dorothy was a fucking queen, looking to reclaim her kingdom in the name of everything she’d had stripped from her.

“Careful, Danny, if you keep doing things like that, I might start to think you actually like me.”

“I don’t have to like you to imagine mounting you on this counter.”

Her fingers curled along the marble, shifting her ass straight into my groin and fitting far too perfectly to be anything but a fantasy. I should have stepped back. Fooling around with Dorothy wasn’t a good idea for anyone involved. It would only confuse things more than they already were. She was a job. A means to a very long end, and I would see it through, even if it meant burning her alive along the way. She was a sacrificial pawn in this game. When she was moving against me, those pink lips curling in triumph, it was hard to see her as anything but that queen.

“I was so naive. There was so much I didn’t know. Just like I don’t know why I’m telling you any of this.” She glanced over her shoulder at me. “It’s not like you care. Let’s just finish these bandages. Then you can go back to pretending I don’t exist.”

I flinched at my own words thrown back at me. Everything was all twisted up. I wasn’t sure what to do. Part of me wanted to strangle her for having had anything to do with The Farm to begin with. Another part of me wanted to kiss away the tears I could see forming in the corners of her eyes. I’d never felt so conflicted. Caught in the middle of two warring emotions, I stood rooted to the spot, unmoving like my limbs had been turned to stone—just like the concrete-dipped souls that decorated Mombi’s garden.

“Answer the question. What do you want, Dorothy?”

“A new life outside of Oz.” She paused, then twisted to face me. “Actually, more than anything, what I really want is Em gone. I want her to answer for killing my parents, stealing my inheritance, and making my entire life hell. I want her to pay for selling me. I want her to suffer as I have suffered. I want her to feel like she is nothing. When I throw what’s left of her away, I want her to know it’s because she is nothing more than trash.”

I reached up and cupped her cheek. Her brow furrowed at my unexpected tenderness. I didn’t care. I was too busy marveling. It was like this girl had been brought to me by fate. I hadn’t seen it before, but I was seeing it now. Dorothy was my mirror. Standing here, with her stormy eyes boring into mine, I knew that this girl had been brought into my life for a reason. In the end, what we wanted was the same thing. I would make her wish come true, and Ozma willing, she’d hel...

“Locked up? You’re lucky I’m not tying you to my bed until I return.” Fuck. We need to put a pin in that idea for another time.

“Fuck. You. Dandy.”

I smiled at the challenge in her eyes. Dorothy smiled right back. Yes, she was most definitely my worst and most damaged parts reflected right back at me. Albeit in a much sexier package. “I love the way your mouth looks when you say fuck.”

“This isn’t what I picked out.”

“Yeah, but it felt appropriate. So, I made a few changes.”

“Purely for my entertainment.”

“There is literally nothing to cover any part of the body that matters.”

“Pretty sure that’s t...

“You don’t have to wear them.” I added with pure amusement. Fuck, Dorothy was sexy when she was pissed. “I’m perfectly comfortable with you foregoing under garments all together.”

“My emerald isn’t there, but by all means keep searching. Maybe you should check lower, just to be certain.”

All because that girl was the definition of trouble. The kind that looked vulnerable and sweet, tricking you into wanting to indulge in it. The kind that got you ambushed on the I-9 and sent your world spinning out of control. Trouble was never worth the time, even when it came with spiraling auburn hair and an attitude to match its fire. Thea was beautiful, no doubt. Then again, the worst gifts came wrapped in pretty packaging. Case in point: our current predicament.

Thea dropped the lighter with a smile. The trailing lines of igniting fuel hissed, writhing like snakes over the gravel, illuminating her killer form. Death was never a rider on a pale horse. It was a woman bathed in firelight, her hair glowing a brutal shade of red that reminded me of the poppy fields of my childhood. Not the rainbow flowers of Oz, but the crimson ones of home.

“You look unfairly sexy with a gun, Firecracker, but don’t ever point one at me again.”

“Orin only got the jump on me because I was too busy defending you, Princess. You had one job. Light the gas and stay out of sight. Not flash your tits all over the yard while you bathe in your pyromanic afterglow.”

“Her heart isn’t racing from fear. It’s racing with excitement.” With a single finger, he tipped my chin up, forcing me to look at him. “Isn’t it, Beautiful?”

“Don’t do that. Don’t hide. Let them hear all of the wicked things I’m about to do to you.” He licked a line up the length of my neck, resting his lips against my ear. “If you were able, I’d be sliding you onto my dick right now. I’d keep each thrust deep as you rode me, ensuring you felt every inch.” Raking his teeth over the sensitive spot behind my ear, he added, “I’m not small, Thea. It’d be tight and you’d feel so full.”

“The harder we went, the tighter your pussy would grip my cock. Just like you’re choking my hand right now. You’d want to go fast, careening over the edge, but I wouldn’t let you.”

“I’d slowly unravel your senses one nerve ending at a time.”

“Fucking hell, Crowe, and you call me heartless. Just let the girl come already.” Nick’s voice was tight, like the display that Crowe was putting on was as excruciating for him as it was for me.

“Do you hear that, beautiful? Nick wants to hear you fall apart while you ride my hand.”

“Please, Crowe.” I was so fucking close. “Please.”

“Fuck, she begs so prettily,”

“She does, doesn’t she?” Crowe said, gripping my breast and driving hard enough to make me cry out but not enough to tip me into bliss. “Thea did shoot that arrogant psychopath. Our girl deserves something as a reward.”

Danny took my hand from Crowe, then lifted one glistening finger to his mouth. My mouth hung open, watching in awe as his tongue slowly licked away my arousal in exactly the same way he’d tasted the scotch that first night in the compound. “You taste exactly like I thought you would, Firecracker.”