Nero (Alliance, #1)

by S.J. Tilly

A hot as hell man walks in through my second story balcony. Strolls through my apartment with a confidence I can only dream of having. Flashes me a glimpse of his gun. Then settles in to eat my popcorn. And… is he humming?

Sweet Mother Mary, he’s humming.

“What’s his name?” His voice is still quiet, but it’s also different. A little menacing. “Wh-whose name?” His head tilts, and it reminds me of the nature channel when they show a wild animal stalking its prey. “The man who laid his hands on you. Tell me his name.”

“I bet you’ve never told anyone. I bet you did as you were told.” I can feel his exhale against my lips. “Break the rules for me, Sweet Girl. Put yourself first and give me a name.” There’s a part of me that knows I should stay silent, but I ignore it. “Arthur.” He makes a humming sound before slowly straightening, his thumb drawing a line between my collarbones, before leaving me completely when he stands.

He’s reaching for the handle when he pauses, and I follow his gaze down to the basket of laundry I left by the door. I sit up and watch, eyes wide, as he bends down and picks up a pair of my underwear from the top of the pile. “Those are dirty,” I choke out. The man smirks at me over his shoulder, as he shoves them into his pocket. My mouth pops open, as is becoming my habit. I don’t know what to say.

Because more than anything, it meant vengeance. And we took our pound of flesh. A dark sort of glee fills my chest. We took more than a pound. We took it all. The sewers ran red that night.

“Dude.” King sounds exasperated. “Seriously, man, this woman has got you unhinged.” I tune out King’s words. I don’t have time for his judgment. He doesn’t understand. I need her. Need to consume her.

It’s been a long day. A long week. It’s been a long life. Why can’t I ever just catch a freaking break?! And a good break.

“This is your one chance, Payton.” His voice is rougher than I remember. The deepness of it filling the room. “Your one chance to make the right choice. The only time I’ll let you tell me no.”

“I’m not staying,” he mutters it this time. He sounds so resigned, even as he does the opposite of what he just said, and I almost laugh. Nero drops onto his back, shifting the pillow, lifting his head and smacking it back down against the lumpy cotton, trying to get comfortable. With one final sigh, he stretches his arm out in my direction. “Come fucking cuddle with me.”

And if anyone else ever touches her… If anyone else ever hurts her… A crushing sensation presses into my chest. Somebody did hurt her. My fingers slowly fold into a fist. Somebody hurt her a lot. And it’s time someone hurt him back.

“Are you kidding me?!” I swing a foot out and kick Arthur’s body in the side. “What?” King stops, trying to stretch out his neck. “This motherfucker peed on me!” King barks out a laugh.

With my brow scrunched together, I pull out my phone, seeing a text from an unknown number. Unknown: Eyes up, Baby. My eyes snap up. Nero is sitting at the table, with his phone in his hand. The Mayor busy on a phone call. My phone vibrates in my hand. Unknown: Keep acting like we don’t know each other.

Bad news––he’s a dick.

Unknown: Did you seriously just give that man your phone number?

This fucking punk blinks at me, like I might be joking, but I’m not. I’m not going to walk away while this bitch stands here talking to Payton. “Yeah, okay.” He holds his hands up as he turns back to face my girl. Yeah, okay. God, I want to punch him in the face. Or pull my gun out and pistol whip him. Then he’d be too busy crying to flirt with Payton. “Want your usual?” Her voice glides over my skin. Or maybe I should just kill him. “You know it, babe.” I’m reaching for the Ruger at the small of my back before I even realize what I’m doing.

“I’m not a good man, Payton. Don’t ever forget that. I’m trying to keep my distance for you. Because I don’t want to be the one to ruin you.” The hand on my stomach slides lower, and I’m startled by the sudden touch of skin on skin.

Nero picks up my bottle of shampoo, filling his palm. He moves back just a bit. “Come here.” I step toward him, so the hair hanging down my back is no longer in the water. And then, for the first time that I can remember, someone washes my hair.

“Get the fuck out of my party.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” The bite of King’s words are dulled by a yawn. “What did you need? Some of us are trying to sleep.” “I thought you were having sex?” “Yeah, in my dreams, and I was fucking an iridescent mermaid.” “How would you even––” I shake my head, this isn’t the time to get distracted.

“You know,” he says, when he sees where I’m looking. “Cinderella only left one shoe behind.” I fight my embarrassment by rolling my eyes. “Yeah, and Prince Charming didn’t break into her home to find her.” Nero grins. “The villains always have more fun.”

She doesn’t smooth out my rough edges. She fits into them. The soft to my hard. My better half, in every way.

Disgust grows inside me. Any woman who willingly brings harm to another woman deserves the worst kind of punishment.