Bitter Notes (Second Sets, #1)

by Aly Beck

We definitely won’t be discussing that later. What is he going to do? Spank me? Bend me over his knee and tell me I’ve been a bad River? I shiver. Okay, so it doesn’t sound like a bad idea to me. He seems like the—take control in the bedroom—type. I’m down for that only if he’s ready to take on a brat.

“You almost sound proud of me, Evil Ash,” I quip, swallowing the odd feeling bursting inside me. “Is Daddy proud?” I bat my eyelashes, poking the rigid bear.

If I leaned back far enough, I’d have a clear shot of them murmuring in each other’s ears and braiding their hair.

My fists curl, envisioning tying them to a pole deep in the woods, slathering them in honey, and watching as bears rip them to shreds as they beg for their lives. Try clutching your pearls with no fingers, toes, or body. Fuck.

“Pretty Girl,” Rad whispers breathily, running his lips up my jawline. “If you beat her ass, I’ll pound your ass so hard you’ll forget your name. Whattya say?”

Well then, in that case. It’s time for an ass beating so I can get my ass pounding.

“It’s about damn time you know your place,” Kieran says, moving my hair over my shoulder. “You’re the fucking queen of Whispered Words, understand? And next time, knock her teeth loose,”

But he’s still Asher Montgomery—assface extraordinaire—Evil Ash—the boogeyman in my closet, taunting me with his devilish, warm hazel eyes, lighting me up from the inside out.

My fists curl at his visible discomfort. You know, strange men make my skin crawl with anxiety in situations such as this. Whenever they touch without permission and take, take, take. So, what’s so different about a woman making a man uncomfortable?

“But I swear we had this discussion already. Do my words go in one ear and out the other? Have you choked on too much cock to understand? Has it damaged your hearing? Let me repeat myself. They’re mine. You'll find yourself missing fingers if you lay your hands on what’s mine again.”

But those Lakeview boys always have a weakness for one thing,” he says, side-eyeing me with a smirk. “Yeah? And what’s that? Oh, genius,” I snark back when he laughs. “The magical Central pussy.”

“All four of them, huh? Their dicks that good that they’re about to lock down my bestie who swore off love?”

I’m no biscuit and gravy meal, pal. So, fuck off.

And at the center of it all, a broken girl who they’ve all fallen head over heels in love with—me included. Fuck.

“Can I kiss you, Little Star? I've been aching to put my lips on yours,”

“I want to fuck you, Little Star. I want this memory to live with me for the rest of my life. I want to see this… your face when you come… and remember the feel of your pussy wrapped around my dick. It's you, River. I've been waiting for you,”

“I need you. I'm ready, Little Star. Please! Please fuck me. I've dreamed-dreamed of this moment for months. Since the moment I saw you… I knew. I want to remember this until the day I die. I'm yours, Little Star,”

“We're going to hit submit tonight and finally enter the Battle of the Bands on the damn wire, too. Shit, we only got twelve more hours until it's closed! Also, I won my race, Kieran and Asher are free from jail, and Callum jammed his dick in the best cock socket in town. I'd say today is a damn victory! Besides, my pretty, Pretty Girl. Your face is more beautiful than ever,”

“That's the one,” Rad says, wiggling his brows. “Not only did I win the race, but I convinced Reese to give me his vacation house for seven days. Imagine the possibilities! Far from town, in a secluded cabin by the lake. It's prime, pound town territory. Now, let's go!”

“It matches. So, we're staying at a castle. And boy, do I have plans to defile every inch of it.”

“Make it up to me later, Little Brat. You can even call me daddy.”

When Rad said he wanted to defile it, he meant it. The couch. The kitchen. Every bed in the house. Against the railing and on the stairs. Up against the fridge and in the shower. No surface went untouched as we went rounds and rounds every night since we’d stepped foot into the castle house of fucking.

On a loud cry, filling the space with my raspy moans and begging for more, I come. And I come hard. Harder than fucking hard. Shit. I think I meet Jesus behind the stars dancing in my eyesight. “Jesus!” Rad whimpers. Yeah. Met him.

I don’t know if I’ll survive to tell the tale of our adventures. Death by dick—is what the headlines will say when they tell the story of how Asher Montgomery royally dicked me down and fucked me to death. Dig my grave now because there’s no coming back from this moment.

“Aw, my little Callum is all grown up. But now, you gotta get a move on, man. My dick has an appointment with her mouth in five seconds,”

No one prepares you for life without the woman who brought you into this world. She’s supposed to live for an eternity by your side, helping you as all mothers should.

“I know you did. And I swear the way they looked at you… I thought they loved you, too. I don't understand. How could they walk away without talking to you first?”

It's like that shitty misunderstanding trope everyone loves to hate in movies and books. None of this would have happened if they had just talked it over like adults. The drama would cease to exist, and they'd come back with open arms and tell me they were sorry.

I love them with my entire heart. More than I ever thought I could. They swooped in and stole every piece of me without even trying.

‘Local Central City girl has gone missing after attempting to speak to her baby daddies and hasn’t been heard from since December.’

Odette and I will give this baby as much love as they need without the help of the four idiots who helped create him or her.

“Hello, boys, my name is River West, and I’m your new band manager. Congratulations,”