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Fuck you, Rika. Fuck you. I can’t choose you. Why did you do this to me?
Why her? Why, despite my mother, who always loved me, and my friends, who always had my back, was it Erika Fane who put the air in my lungs or made my blood run hot? She always got to me.
“Michael?” I heard Kai’s voice. “You’re looking at her like she’s not sixteen, man.”
“As long as they’re old enough to crawl, they’re in the right position.”
Redefine normal. None of us know the full measure of our power until we start pushing our boundaries and pressing our luck, and the more we do, the less we care what others think. The freedom feels too good.
“Such a good girl,” I growled in a whisper, flicking her lips with my tongue. “Say it, Rika.” “I’m a good girl,” she panted, her voice shaky.
“This was a mistake,” I bit out, scowling at her. “You’re pretty, and you have a pussy, but other than that, you’re not special. You’re just ass.”
“Oh, yes, you will!” she snarled back, challenging him. “You’re the pack’s dog. Come fetch, little dog!”
“You stupid fucking bitch!”
Run or play.
“She either gets beat in.” He shut off the car, killed the lights, and locked his dark eyes on mine in the rearview mirror. “Or fucked in.” I shook my head quickly, clenching my fists. “I want to go home.” He sucked in a breath through his teeth. “That’s not one of the choices, Little Monster.”
“Damon,” I said, twisting my head away, “take me home. I know you’re not going to hurt me.” “Oh, yeah?” He got in my face, his lips on my cheek. “Then why have you always been afraid of me?”
“Stop crying,” he ordered. “We weren’t going to hurt you, but now you know that we can.”
“Michael doesn’t want you, and neither do we. You get that? I want you to stop watching us and stop following us like a pathetic dog begging for someone to notice her.”
“Get a fucking life of your own, Rika, and stay the hell away from us. No one wants you.”
“It was only a matter of time before you tore us apart,” Damon bit out. “You’re fucking pussy and nothing more.”
“So she says,” Damon snapped. “We can’t trust her.” “I trust her a hell of a lot more than I do you!” Michael bellowed. “Yeah, fuck you,” Damon growled. “She’s a worthless fucking cunt, and I’ll show you exactly what she’s good for!”
Yeah, it must be a bitch to realize you wasted three years hating the wrong person.
“This isn’t seriously happening right now, is it?” I snapped, stopping in front of the table and looking over at Michael. He raised his eyes but kept quiet. “You kidnap my mother,” I started, “burn down my house, steal my money, lure me here, and then attack me.” “We’re really sorry,”
“Does this mean you’re tapping out?” I inquired with fake concern. “No,” he bit out, storming down the hallway, the muscles in his back flexing. “Game change. New players. There are plenty of other girls here, Rika.” “And there are lots of guys here, too,” I threw back, following him down the stairs.
“Is that so?” And then he smiled and twisted his head around, speaking to the crowd. “Listen up!” he shouted to all the guests hanging out. “Rika Fane is Horsemen property. Any guy lays a hand on her has to deal with us!” And then he turned back to me, lowering his voice with a smirk. “Good luck.”
Plenty of other women here. Yeah, that was a fucking bluff if I’d ever heard one. I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and I’d either have to swallow my pride and actually be nice to get into her bed tonight, or . . . Or I’d have to pick another fight.
What if I’d completely corrupted her? What if she’d begun to like playing games too much, and the lust to play—and to win—overpowered her need for me? What if her heart had hardened so much that she closed herself off in order to survive? What if I was the one who had to bend?
“I like to hurt myself,” I told her. “I need this. Now, take off your clothes and get in his bed.”
“Because you’ve corrupted her nice and good. She’s a force now, and it won’t be long before she’s brave enough to demand what she wants. If you don’t give it to her, she’ll find someone else who will.” I turned my head, peering over at him. “I don’t need your warnings. I don’t lose.” “That wasn’t a warning,” he shot back, not taking his eyes off her. “That was a threat.” And then he looked at me as he turned to leave. “Watch your back, brother.”
“The only way we find out what we’re capable of is by getting into a little trouble.”
His rudeness and coarse attitude made the rare times he was soft so captivating that I wanted to slap myself. He was a sadist, and my little heart just had to go pitter-patter the second his yanks, grabs, and pulls turned into gentle caresses and his frowns, scowls, and snarls turned into whispers. I fell, and I never even tried to stop myself.
Lust and logic sat on my shoulders like the modern-day angel and devil, one telling me to trust my heart and the other telling me that I would never be able to trust his.
“You need to come?” he taunted, nibbling my jaw and chin. And then he went for my ear, whispering a low growl, “I can handle that, baby. I’m going to lick you so good.”
“Your dick’s working now,” Michael warned behind him. “Go find someone else.”
“They think I have a rich married lover who supports me, so hush and just feel special that I trust you with shit, okay?”
“Did you know that he was twelve when his mother started fucking him?”
Life is one-way, and there is no return trip. What are you waiting for?”
