Sinners' Playground (The Harlequin Crew, #1)

by Caroline Peckham

This book is dedicated to JJ’s condoms. Big, thick, long and wide, Ribbed and studded with spermacide. Strawberry, bannana, peaches and cream, One tossed in a bush, another in a stream. Trojan, Durex, SKYN and Crown, Rip it open and go to town. Double wrapped or ultra thin. Pick your poison and enjoy within.

The heck? What a thing to dedicate a book to.

But puking right now seriously wasn’t going to improve my situation and I really needed to improve my fucking situation, or I was pretty sure this dead girl was about to get a whole lot deader.

Maverick told me once that all four of them were in love with me. He said one day I'd have to choose between them and that would be the end of it all. Our happiness dashed to pieces by me choosing one of them and rejecting the others. Little did I know that the end would come much more swiftly than that. The only kiss my boys had ever given me was the very same one that Judas offered up to the man he was supposed to love.

When they’d cut my heart out and left me bleeding and alone, I’d done what any self-respecting runaway brat did best and ran the fuck away. But maybe it was time I stopped running.

Dead girls weren't supposed to shiver. In fact, dead girls weren't supposed to do a whole lot of anything. And seeing as that meant there were no expectations weighing on me any longer, I was going to shed every last hang-up I had.

Big girls don't cry and all that jazz. Or maybe broken girls didn't feel. And dead girls didn't hurt.

"I want your hat, too," I decided, eyeing the baseball cap on his head which he quickly handed over. On closer inspection I realised it was a Red Power Ranger cap which sucked because everyone knew the Green Ranger was the best, he was just totally underrated. Either way, the cap was mine and the kid had learned a good life lesson. "Be nice to dogs and I won't have to come back. And go help your dad with the bags you little shit."

I smirked, my gaze lingering on the diamonds around her throat a little too long before I focused on her blue dress. Nope, it was green. My bad. “You look edible, Casandra.” Like an over-cooked lasagne made by a blind hobo.

“You gotta let him stretch his little penguin wings,” I joked, smirking and Fox rolled his eyes at me, but his mouth twitched at the corner. “Penguin’s don’t fly,” he muttered and I snorted. “They do if you throw ‘em hard enough.”

We wound up the road towards the property, the floor length windows on the bottom floor giving a view into the never-ending party that was always going on here. A huge pool ran the whole length of the house and was full of bikini-clad girls and Ken doll lookalikes. There were plenty of X-rated Barbies too who had their tits out and were laying on the many sun loungers under the pink glow of the outdoor lighting.

It was literally the angriest table service I'd ever seen but I was as hungry as a shark in a cornfield, so I plopped down onto the stool before them and started eating.

"Right. Yeah, Fox can be kinda caveman about the things he wants. And he's got you living in his cave, so as far as he's concerned you're his girl now," JJ explained, saving Lucy from my glare.

"I guess that doesn't sound that bad," I muttered, glancing around the lavish room again. "And no other dude can look at you, talk to you, touch you or fuck you unless they wanna get a bullet between the eyes for it," JJ added, winking at me as my mouth fell open and the complete and utter fucked-up-ness of that statement washed over me. "He's taking control of my sex life?" I demanded. "Who the fuck does he think he is to tell me I can't have sex with anyone?" "I think the point is that you can only have sex with him..."

“I am always, always going to hate you, Fox Harlequin,” she said in an icy tone aimed to scold. And it did. I just didn’t believe her. Because there was too much between us. Too many days in the sun, too many secrets shared, too many memories that were etched into my heart as deeply as they were etched into hers. She just needed to remember why we still belonged to each other.

Guy is fucking delusional. Like to the point of pathetic. Seriously dude. It would be different if in her pov she was still into him. But she's not. Like she acknoledges that she once did. but like she says she's someone new now. He's in love with the memory of her. I hope she kicks his ass so he can accept that she is diffeent. If he could love her for who she is now. I could maybe get on board but right now Fox is just an asshole. At least JJ is still being himself while figuring out who rogue is now. And Chase knows that things have changed for both of them. I wonder if Maverick will come back? Maybe that will be the cliff hanger of the book.

A soft moan of relief escaped me as I teased my clit and dipped my fingers into the wetness between my thighs.

Seriously woman. seriously. He's a pretencious possesive ass hole and not in the good way. Yiu are worth more than this ass.

"You took away the only chance I ever had to be happy when I needed you most. It doesn't matter how you justify it. There were a hundred ways that whole thing could have gone and you chose to destroy me when I was at my lowest. And now you stand here telling me what I can or can't do, laying claim to me like I'm some sort of possession and expecting me to forgive you when you haven't even tried to apologise? Please. You might have ruined me, but I'd take a thousand years of misery over a single moment as one of your toys."

you tell him sweetie

His words stung a little, but they were also kind of a relief. Somehow I found the fact that Chase didn't want me here easier to deal with than the other guys trying to force me back into the fold after everything that had happened. At least with Chase it was simple. Hate I could do. I'd been hating the Harlequin boys for a damn long time. It was the bullshit the other two kept trying to feed me and lure me in with that was too much of a mind fuck.

"Do you know who the fuck you're talking to?" Chase demanded as he stalked closer to her. "I'm a fucking Harlequin. Which means that mutt is a Harlequin too. So guess what, you drown him and I'll be coming to collect that debt from you in blood. And I won't make it quick either. I'll sneak into your house at night and cut your boyfriend’s throat so that you can watch him bleed out and then I'll play pin cushion with your ugly ass. Do you know what that means?" The woman shook her head as she tried to back away, her whole body trembling with fear. "It's a game where I see how many holes I can stick in a person before they bleed out on me. You know, like you’re a pin cushion. My current record is seventy four, but I think if I take my time with you, I could hit triple figures," he purred and save me Lord for I have sinned because fuck me Jesus, that was the darkest, hottest thing I think I'd ever heard someone say.

"Where is Mutt supposed to go on that?" I asked as Chase kicked his sneakers back on and shrugged into his shirt. I could have suggested we go and get Fox’s truck but I kinda liked the idea of it just sitting there in the street abandoned so I didn’t mention it. "He can just run along behind us," Chase said dismissively and I folded my arms in a refusal as Mutt started growling like he'd understood that. "No," I said firmly. "He's only little and it's too far." "What do you want me to say to that?" Chase asked irritably, reaching out like he intended to force me onto the bike. Mutt leapt forward and tried to bite his ankles and I smirked as Chase was forced to step back. “My dog doesn't like you and he's got exceptional taste, so I trust his judgment. And I don't think I'll be taking your offer of a ride after all." "I literally just watched him eat something out of the trash and then pee on that bitch's purse," Chase accused. "He has terrible taste."

He scowled, his eyes like a dark and dangerous forest I kinda wanted to explore, but I also knew I’d end up eaten by a tiger if I did.

"When we were seven, I punched Turner Forbes for pushing you off of the monkey bars," he said before moving his mouth a little further up my neck and making my breath catch as he kissed me again. "And when we were ten, I took Ronnie Thomas's school workbook and made him burn it because he'd written down your initials with his and circled them in a heart." "Fox," I growled - not a sexy growl because the heat in my veins was rage without any lust at all. He kissed my neck a little higher again, his knee pressing to the mattress between my thighs and drawing way too much of my attention. "When we were twelve, I heard a rumour that Colten Baxter was going to ask you to go to the movies with him and I slammed his face into a wall hard enough to knock one of his teeth out." His mouth moved up again, pressing to that deliciously sensitive skin beneath my ear as I tried to pull my wrists out of his grasp and failed.

His stubble raked over my skin, followed by the hot press of his tongue and a breathy absolutely-not-a-moan escaped me. "When we were fourteen, I pushed Oscar Falkner off of his bike and broke his arm so that I could take his place as your lab partner," he growled as he moved his mouth over my jaw and for some reason, even though I'd never known he'd done any of these things, I knew they were true, I just had no idea what I was supposed to think about them. "I'm warning you, Fox," I gritted out, stealing myself to fight him off as my anger with him grew while he tried to dominate me. "When we were fifteen, Mike Gaskall was going to ask you to go to the winter formal with him, so I broke his nose," he murmured, his mouth drawing dangerously close to mine as he kissed his way along my jaw. "Why?" I demanded, his stupid stories making me curious despite myself. "Because you're mine, hummingbird. And I was never going to let another guy near you. The only ones I made allowances for were the boys. And even then, I would have done whatever it took to keep them back if I thought they were trying to cross that line with you."

I didn't want flowers and kisses. I wanted a man who saw what he wanted and took it. I wanted to use him and be used by him and feel the most perfect kind of dirty in the morning. Because dirty suited me best. I was a fucked up, imperfect creature and I liked to act the part so that I never forgot it. Never again.

I lived between two eternal fields of grey with a black sky above. Nothing surprised me anymore. I’d learned a long time ago to expect the unexpected. And when life gave you lemons, you’d better not bust your ass making lemonade. You needed to squeeze the acid out into your enemies’ eyes and gut them while they were blinded.

Acid seeped into my blood and made my head spin like crazy. “Well I’m gonna need a key to that trailer,” I gritted out. She lived here? In this dump full of deadbeats and dangerous assholes? The only dangerous asshole she should have been sleeping within ten feet of was me. She seriously preferred the idea of being here than in my house with a private pool and en-suite and everything else she could ever fucking need?

Dude doesn't get it.

“What does a person who’s not looking sound like?” I asked, my voice coming out rough and full of desire. I swear I could see the goosebumps spreading across her flesh from here, so why wouldn’t she just admit she wanted me like I wanted her? Sure, I was an asshole, but at least I didn’t try to hide that shit. I was genuine to a fucking fault. Wasn’t that what girls were always demanding guys to be? “I dunno, less watchy.” She pulled on her pyjamas and turned to me, her eyes falling to the huge bulge in my boxers and her lips popped open. “You looked,” she accused.

Douchebag. What the fuck was that? I have all the game in the world and yet I just choked like a hooker with an asphyxiation fetish.

I know she felt like a dream wrapped in a wish dipped in melted chocolate, but fucking her can’t mean we don’t fuck anyone else. It just can’t.

I kissed her slow and deep and her tongue moved with mine, tasting of sea salt and my future wife. I was half tempted to get down on one knee right now if I knew she wouldn’t kick me in the balls for it.

looked up as the crowd of rowdy college dudes whooped and cheered and shouted shit about wanting to give me a real ride later and my gaze collided with a pair of very pissed off, very green eyes on the face of one scary bastard of a Badger.

He barked a laugh and I grinned to myself too. Sometimes hating him was kinda fun.

"C-congratulations," the guy said, his gaze swivelling to me as he held out the crappy plastic trophy and a little golden envelope which presumably held my winnings. "Good boy." Chase slapped his cheek a couple of times patronisingly. "Give the asshole a tip, Rogue," he added, glancing at me. "I suggest you stop being an asshole," I said to the dude who looked mildly tempted to piss his pants. "That's a damn good tip," Chase said, smirking at me before shoving the douchebag away from him hard enough to knock him on his ass in the sand.