Hitched (Ride or Die Romances)

by Lauren Biel

“You’ll want a little more than that,” I tell her. “Why? Where are we going? You haven’t told me.” “Don’t worry your pretty little head about that. Just trust me and get a few outfits.”

I walk over to her, put the skirt in her pile, and whisper, “For what I’m going to do to you, you’ll want the skirt.” Her cheeks flame red as I leave her side to find another t-shirt for myself.

“What happened in the car is not happening again. We’re not doing this. And we’re definitely not going further. It’s bad enough that I let you do what you did, and I’ll have to live with that guilt, but I’m not adding to it.” “Sweet bunny,” I coo, “you think you have a choice regarding what I do to you? How adorable.”

“You shouldn’t have let me feel you coming around my fingers, because now I want more. No, I need more. So when I tell you that you aren’t going to wear panties or that you’re going to wear that little skirt, you’re going to listen. I’ll make you feel better than your husband ever did.”

“I’m going to shower,” she says with a glance toward the bathroom. Yet another room that isn’t up to my little rabbit’s standards. “Get undressed in here,” I tell her with a smirk.

Whenever someone catches a glimpse of my marks, they get that same look, but they don’t do a goddamn thing about it. They probably think I did something to deserve it.

How could I forget when the proof of each one marks my skin? I touch the one on my stomach. I wasn’t home in time to make him dinner. I graze my chest. He forced me to fuck him because he had a bad day at work. I grip my bruised wrist. I took too long to get ready last week.

The man out there, Lex, is on the run from something awful, and I still felt safer in bed with him last night than I ever had with my husband. And that’s fucked.

A knock at the door breaks me from my trance. “I’m almost done,” I call out. When I get out of the shower, the leggings and the long-sleeved shirt I got at the store wait for me on the counter. I narrow my eyes. I’m certain I locked that door. I pick through my discarded clothes on the floor and discover that my panties have vanished. Fucker. “How’d you get in?” I ask as I step out of the bathroom, motioning toward the clothes I put on. He just shrugs. “And where’s my underwear?” I ask.

“You want your panties, rabbit?” he asks. I nod, even though I know I shouldn’t. Not when he’s looking at me that way, as if a sadistic idea has just crossed his mind. Lex gets up, reaches into a drawer, and pulls out my black underwear. He stares at me as he sits down, unzips his jeans, and tugs his cock from the spread wings of denim. A smirk crosses his face. As menacing as it is, it’s wickedly attractive. His eyes never leave my face as he strokes himself, slow and intentional. Saliva gathers under my tongue at the sight of him, but I force myself to remain stoic. Even so, he’s noticed the subtle nibble of my lip, because his movements grow rougher and more determined. “Do you like what you see?” he asks.

“Do you know what I like, rabbit? When it’s not a no from you, it’s a yes. Shit, even when it’s a no, it’s still my yes.” He brings my panties to the head of his cock. He drops his head back and groans as he comes in my underwear, saturating the thin fabric. “We’re going to have so much fun together, you and I.” Lex smirks as he tosses the panties onto my lap. “Well, put them on.”

“I’m not wearing those,” I say, as firmly as I can muster. “Ah, no, that’s not how this works. You wanted your goddamn underwear so bad. Put them on.” His smirk tightens. “I’m not asking you again.” The way his jaw tenses and pulses, I know I have no choice. He’s forcing me to take what I wanted in the first place.

“Show me that you’re wearing them,” he says. I hook the front of my leggings and lower them enough to expose the black silk. Satisfied, he relaxes and starts watching TV again.

“I don’t like when you stare at me,” he says without looking away from the television. “I don’t like to wear your come,” I mumble under my breath. He puts on a smile and motions me to him. I keep myself planted in the horrible motel chair. “Now,” he commands. He has a voice he uses when I have no choice but to listen, and that word drips with his demand. I stand up and go to his side, and he rubs his hand between my legs and bites his lip. “Oh, bunny, you’re going to wear those panties to sleep and then they aren’t coming with us.” He grazes my slit. “How does my come feel?” he growls as he fists my hair and draws me to his mouth. His lips stay far enough away from mine to accomplish little more than pissing me off. My dark hair in his grasp is still wet, and drops of cold water fall down my shoulders and make me shiver. “It makes me feel gross.” “Get used to how I feel, because I can’t wait to see you covered in my come, sweet bunny.” “We aren’t doing more,” I say, pushing my hands against his chest. Lex growls—a carnal sound that makes me weak. “I love how you think I won’t end up inside you. I may have to tear you apart to get there, but I will get inside. Tonight, I’ll leave your vulnerable little underbelly alone. But soon, nothing will keep me from ripping you wide open.”

“If you don’t want to come to me, I’ll come to you. I don’t trust you. You might try to scurry away again, little bunny.” I won’t run off, even though everything in my body tells me I should, especially the wetness between my legs. Not only his, but mine, too.

“Are you really still mad about your panties?” She doesn’t look at me. “It’s not about what you did. It’s why.” Oh, she speaks. “Tell me why it bothered you, then.” Her eyes roll and it reminds me how young she is. How naïve and innocent she is. “Because you want to own me. And I’m not someone’s to own.” “You have no idea what it means to be claimed by me, sweet rabbit.” Her eyes flash to mine, fear radiating from them. “We aren’t going further. Wishful thinking isn’t going to get you inside me, Lex. There’s absolutely zero chance of that, so let it go.”

“I don’t need wishful thinking.” I tap the rabbit’s foot. “And I don’t need luck, either. I will bury my cock inside you before this road trip ends. I promise you that.”

Even if I didn’t have to kill her, I’d make sure I released her back to her husband with my come dripping from her.

Rodney looks at me like he’s seen a ghost, his face paling in front of me. “Lexington Rowe, do my eyes deceive me? I thought you were doing life, man!” “Don’t call me that, and fuck off about my business,” I snap. I hear the gasp beside me as Selena learns more of the secrets I have yet to reveal. She has to know, on some subconscious level, that I’m running from the law.

“How much for a new ID? Or passport. Anything I can use to get my ass out of the states.” “There’s time to talk business. Come with me to take a picture first.” He dodges the question precisely how I expect him to. He’ll keep dodging until I get too far in the process to back out, forcing me to pay whatever he asks.

Giving her away for my freedom seems like a small sacrifice. It’s one I have to make. I cut my gaze and sit on the couch with a harsh exhale. Selena’s eyes fill with betrayal. I can’t look at her, but I feel the desperation as she fights against his grasp when he reaches for her. He finally gets his hands around her wrists and drags her to her feet, pinning them behind her. “Fuck you, Lex!” she screams.

“Shh, honey, I’ll be quick,” he whispers in her ear as his free hand works down his jeans. Once he gets the denim past his ass, he works down hers. My eyes leap to the pale skin of her ass as he pushes her against the wall and pins his weight into her. I swear I see the haze of a bruise on her skin, but it might have been the light from the computer screen. I force myself to look away from her ass, and my eyes rise to her eyes. They’re swollen and red with fear, the glaze of her tears coating them. I shake my head, trying to keep my hand away from my pistol. I have to let it happen. It needs to happen. There is no freedom without it.

Instead, I leap up while he’s too busy prodding between her legs with his tiny dick and panting like he might come before he even gets inside her. That’d be convenient, actually. I wrap my arm around his neck, and he releases Selena the moment I grab him, his hard dick softening as I choke him. His hands claw at my wrists, and he flails against me. It’s eerily similar to how she struggled against him.

Selena pulls up her pants, her chest heaving as she runs for the door. “Don’t you dare, rabbit. There’d be another one just like him waiting for you.” My words come out strained as I struggle against the weight of a man fighting to live. She stops, her hand on the doorknob. She has to know that darkness just veils monsters—monsters like me and definitely like him.

I look at Selena. Her eyes are full of deserved mistrust. I put something up for sale that didn’t belong to me. She snatches open the door and bolts from the apartment. With a shake of my head, I grab the ID off the floor and follow her. “Rabbit!” I call after her as she races to the car. I quicken my pace to catch up with her. When I’m close enough to grab her, I slam her against the car, turning her to face me. Forcing her to look into my eyes. “Fuck you,” she cries. Her body trembles, and fear courses through her. She’s still trapped in that moment with him, even away from the apartment. Her hard glare bites at me. I deserve to be bitten like that, but her words still piss me off. I’ll meet her bite with a stronger one, and she knows me enough to know that.

“Don’t be so fucking mouthy, rabbit,” I say. I feel the throb of her heartbeat beneath my fingers. Nervous sweat coats her skin. “You tried to sell me!” she says with a strained voice. “More like . . . loan you.” I’m trying to rationalize with myself as much as her. What I did was fucked, yes, but sometimes there’s no changing who you are, even in the face of something so different from what has molded you.

“Kill me.” Her voice comes out small and weak, but somehow still sure. I raise my eyebrow, but I doubt she can see it in the darkness. “What?” She lets another warm breath wash over me. “I said . . . kill me.” Her voice wavers this time. I lower my hand from her throat and rest it on her clavicle. She’s taken the fun out of preying on her.

“Is that really what you want, bunny?” I ask, letting my free hand move her sweaty, dark hair from her cheek. “I’m as good as dead either way. I don’t want to play this game anymore. Take the car. Do whatever. Just . . . I can’t . . . do this.”

I lean into her, putting my forehead against hers as I drop my hand from her chest. “Get in the car, little rabbit,” I whisper. “The backseat.”

“If it’s what you want, I’ll do it for you.” My voice wavers, which is uncharacteristic of me. I feel doubt in my gut, some nagging discomfort I’ve never felt with any murder I’ve committed. And it is murder, even if she wants to die. My hands ride higher to grip both sides of her head. She relaxes into my touch, as if I’m giving her a gift. To her it is. To me, it feels like a burden I don’t want to bear. But I will. I take a deep breath. It’s what she wants. It’s for her. It’s all for her.

His hands fall from my face, and he leans in to kiss me. I draw away from him, catching his breath on my inhale. He tastes like sin. “Lex,” I whisper as I push at his chest. “If you still want to die after I fuck you, I’ll do it for you.” His voice is low and desperate. “Let me inside you, rabbit.”

His lips meet mine again, and I accept his kiss. I spread my mouth to let him inside. His chest rises heavily as he leans over me, pushing me against the door as he crawls between my legs. His hand wraps around my neck and rises to grip my hair. He tugs my shirt off, letting a heavy hand slip over the swells of my bare breasts. I fight the flinch of pain as his touch runs over the bruises near my waistband.

I hear his zipper fall. It’s becoming real. It is real. I gasp as I feel the warmth of his cock against my pussy. I want to stop him. I reach out and push against his broad chest, but he’s so strong. So much stronger when he’s above me. “Lex,” I pant, the hesitation woven through the word. It feels like it’s too late. The leash is hardly holding him back now, especially when he’s so close to slipping inside me. “Shh, sweet bunny,” he whispers before kissing me again. “Let me in.” He growls and deepens the kiss. His firm hand explores between my legs, and I lurch into him as the touch sends electricity through my body and awakens things that have long been asleep. Maybe these parts of me had never been awakened at all. His fingers push inside me, a touch that my body remembers. I curl my hips against his hand. He draws his hand away, and I hear him spit. He touches me again, sinking his fingers inside me. I can’t see his cock, but I feel its heat against my skin.

When he pushes inside me, stretching me in ways I’ve never felt, I scream out, partly from the shock, but also from the realization that someone besides my husband is inside me. Ripping through me. Making me everything my husband says I am. A whore. A slut. “God,” he groans as he pushes deeper. “Your husband is so fucking stupid.” He whispers these words before drawing back to the tip and pushing into me again. My nails dig into his sides as he fucks me, slow and sweet, in ways I don’t expect. It doesn’t seem like he’d fuck me this way. “Don’t worry, sweet bunny. If you let me keep you alive, I’ll show you how I truly fuck. I’ll give you a reason to take that next breath for me,” he growls, as if he senses what I’m thinking.

He pulls out and sits down, pushing my legs out of the way. “Get on my lap,” he commands in a breathy voice that makes my legs weak for a moment. I feel for him in the darkness and straddle his waist, my head nearly hitting the roof of the car. He twitches against my pussy. “I want to see you,” he whispers. His hand moves toward the dome light, but I grab his wrist and place his palm on my ass instead. “Leave it off,” I say as I put him inside me. I don’t want him to see the bruises now, after his hands have raced over every sore part of me. “I’m going to get my eyes on your body, little rabbit,” he growls against my mouth as I lower myself on his cock. My heat rides down to his pelvis, and the groan that leaves his lips makes me throb.

“Not now,” I whisper, my lips hovering in front of his. “What are you hiding from me?” He bucks his hips into mine, and his huge arms wrap around my body. I feel so small in his grasp. “What don’t you want me to see?” “Leave it alone, Lex,” I say as I slow my movement on his lap, nearly stopping as he forces me to confront what I refuse to. Not now. Not when this moment is so perfect. “It’s going to piss me off, isn’t it?” He pulls me into him until my naked, sweaty chest presses against his. My hips stall their motion, the weight of his questions bearing down on me. “Don’t think about it right now,” he says. “It’s something for another day.” He kisses me, and it’s sweet. I’m surprised he’s capable of that. Being sweet.

“You were going to let him fuck me,” I whisper as I drop my head into the crook of his neck. “I know, rabbit.” He lifts his hips to meet mine. “When I saw him about to take what I’ve wanted . . .” He releases a frustrated growl. “There was no way I could leave him breathing. No way I could let him feel you around his dick before I felt you around mine.”

“But now that I’ve been inside you, no one else will ever be, including your fucking husband.”

“You’re tightening around me,” he says, and I know. My entire body is tight and tense. My moans lengthen, becoming longer the closer I get. “Where does your husband come?” “On my belly,” I whisper. “Have you ever been filled up?” he asks. I swallow hard and shake my head. When Bryce fucked me, he didn’t seem to savor being inside me. It was a place to push his frustration before dumping it onto my skin. As Lex’s pelvis grinds against my clit, with his cock deep inside me, I come. His hands travel down the curve of my spine and grip my ass. “You’re going to make me come, bunny.” He fists my hair and cranes my neck so he can bite the skin of my throat. “I’m going to fill your pussy and then you’re going to tell me if you want to live or die as my come drips from you.”

His hands ride up my sweaty body and grab both sides of my head once more. His touch makes me shiver. “What do you want?” he asks, his voice still laced with pleasure.

“Tell me what you want,” he says. “You,” I whisper, accepting my sin. And wanting more of it.

She swallows hard, and I stare at her throat as it bobs. “My husband beats me,” she whispers. “I know.” I figured as much.

Her lip trembles as she lifts the hem of her shirt, exposing some of the worst bruises I’ve ever seen on a living person. Her stomach and sides are shades of purple and pink. A yellow haze outlines anything that has begun to heal. This makes my heart quicken. Marks like that would have caused her a lot of pain. My mouth hangs open. I can’t believe what I’m looking at. I can’t believe how much it bothers me. It shouldn’t. I shouldn’t care. But I do. She has a way about her that makes me want to rip her away from all that hurt her so I can shield her under my own tattered wings. “Goddamn it, Selena,” I say through gritted teeth. I step into her and run my hand along her bruises. “How the fuck do you feel an ounce of guilt over what we did when he does that to you?”

I force her to look at me by raising her chin. She looks ashamed. “Don’t pity me,” she whispers, which is a really weird thing to fucking say, but not the weirdest thing she’s said tonight. “I don’t pity you. I’m fucking pissed, though.” She trembles at the sharp rise in my voice. She looks like she fears I might hit her. I am mad, but not at her. I’m pissed at her piece of shit husband.

I lean into her and get close to her ear. “Rabbit,” I begin, “I’m a murderer. More than what you’ve seen tonight. I’ve killed innocent people. I killed my foster parents. I went to prison and killed fellow inmates. I’m a killer. It’s what I’ve always been.” Her gasp pulls cool air over my skin. She fights the realization that she’s let me inside her, a person so much worse than she imagined. Worse than anything she deserves. A tear falls down her cheek and when I go to wipe it away, she rips away from my touch and runs into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. It’s a fair response to finding out you came on the dick of a heartless killer.

Oh god. Oh my fucking god. I pant against the door in a panic.

I stare straight ahead at the peeling paint on the wall . . . until I hear the bathroom door slam. Lex is naked. I pretend to be asleep, but I peek at the cords of muscles in his arms. He has a prisoner’s body—the type of physique a convict attains when there is nothing else to do but work out. His damp hair is brushed back. His taut back muscles connect to one of the most perfect asses I’ve ever seen on a man. I wish I had gotten to see how a body that perfect would have merged with mine. Perfect versus the most imperfect. Regret at that longing immediately fills me.

Lex gets into bed beside me, tugging up the disgusting blanket I’d kicked away. When he turns over and backs into me, I realize his back and ass are bare. And against me. I can’t believe he got into bed naked with me. I try to scoot over an inch, but I meet the edge of the mattress. My eyes clench shut, and I hope he doesn’t notice the change in my breathing. I’m worried he’ll feel the discomfort radiating from me as I draw my arms against my body. “It’s just nudity, rabbit. Don’t get your panties in a bunch,” he says without turning over. His words infuriate me. I scoff. “I don’t have panties to get in a bunch, thanks to you.” I draw my legs toward my chest, making myself as small as I can. He laughs. He fucking laughs. “Oh yeah, that’s right.”

I can’t bring her with me, not that someone like her would come along anyway. Life on the run wouldn’t work for a girl like her. There aren’t any spas or fancy new cars on the lam.

I never treated women much better, and I’d be lying if I called myself any kind of saint. She’s different, though, and I can’t wrap my mind around his inability to see that.