Monster: A Seven Sinners Novel

by A G Henderson

  Now...

  Women who came here and then intentionally tried to keep their heads down and stay out of sight? The figures on that were much, much lower. In fact, there was only one I could think of right off the top of my head.

  Tone’s girl, Naomi.

  From everything I heard thanks to Jason and his motor mouth—I didn’t go hunting gossip on my own—the tall, dark-skinned Sinner charged with keeping the peace between the rest of the egos in the club had to practically pull his woman into the spotlight.

  An effort that was still trying for both of them. After incident with her smoothie shop, the last I heard was about her leaving.

  Jason had gotten distracted after that point with speculations on why the most popular local bar, Genesis, owned and operated by the President’s lady, was turning people away at the doors if they weren’t close to the club.

  And I was getting side-tracked like a motherfucker.

  I ran the pad of my thumb over a few of the magnets before moving on. There had to be something in here that would tell me more about the woman I was dealing with, since getting answers from her face to face seemed like it was going to be an entire ordeal.

  We certainly had a bit of a chaotic theme going at the moment.

  The first time we met, she threatened to put a bullet through me.

  It said a lot about how many screws I had loose that I wasn’t offended by that in the least. Turned on, more than anything.

  A woman that could kick ass, take names, and protect herself? I was all the way about it.

  Then there was the second time when she let me pull her into my arms. Feel the softness of her ass pressed against my dick. Capture those pretty, fire-spitting lips with mine and fuck her mouth until she moaned in pleasure while the mill burned down around us.

  I was sure I was going to get an earful from Creed about that one before long. But he had told me to do what I saw fit. If the Russians wanted another staging ground for their after-hours activities, they were going to have to hunt one down. There wasn’t anything left of the old mill but charred ashes.

  Now that I knew what kind of crowd they drew, along with the space and privacy they would need? The moment they tried to crop back up again, I would be there. Even if it meant getting another knee between the legs from a woman who packed a lot of power in her toned thighs. My balls were going to be diagnosed with a stress disorder if she got me with another one of those.

  I was willing to risk it.

  Grinning to myself, I ducked beneath the door frame and stepped into her bedroom. Honestly? Space-wise, it was more like a closet. But there was a mattress spread across the floor, taking up most of the room. The faded, threadbare sheets on top of it were in disarray.

  Had she left in a hurry?

  Had the men she associated with come for her when she wasn’t prepared?

  Grinding my teeth together at the wave of fury and protectiveness that flared, I closed my eyes and mentally retraced my steps. I was certain when I got here that I was just lucky she was out.

  Was there more to it than that?

  I didn’t remember seeing any signs of struggle either inside or out. There were no loose sprays of gravel from a vehicle peeling out quickly. The door was a bit askew in the frame, but that seemed consistent with the rest of the poor upkeep. No bullet holes anywhere either, or blood, and that was the biggest clue that she was safe.

  No way a woman like Josie went down without taking at least one of the bastards with her.

  I opened my eyes again and they fell on a cardboard box she was using as a side table. Crouching, I lifted it and spotted the letters and documents she had stashed. I grabbed a handful of them and started flipping through.

  Before I got through more than noticing the past-due stamps, I heard the loud creak of the rusty front door being swung open.

  Standing with a smile on my face, I got ready to confront the woman who was going to end up in my bed before long. I didn’t need to look around the corner to know it was her. The way my skin stopped feeling like I wanted to crawl out of it told me everything I needed to know.

  How she made that possible was another question entirely. One I couldn’t answer until I could keep her in the same room as me for longer than too-short periods at a time.

  Considering our history of interactions to date...it was probably a good idea not to jump out from a hidden spot at a woman who went around armed.

  Sliding the rest of the envelopes in the back pocket of my jeans, I let the tail of my flannel shirt cover them before raising my voice. “Nice place you got here, pussycat. A little small for my taste.”

  I heard her curse to herself and it was music to my ears. Not hearing the door go flying open as she bolted? That shit was the heavenly choir itself.

  Already, the strings that bound us were pulling tight. Otherwise, she would’ve dipped first and asked questions later. Hell, she likely would’ve disappeared entirely. That she didn’t go anywhere told me she was curious if nothing else.

  I could work with curious.

  “Get your ass out here, Sinner,” she called, the annoyance in her voice unmistakable.

  Unable to wipe the satisfied smirk from my face, I raised my hands, empty palms facing out, and stepped into the doorframe. Just as I expected, she was at the front of the trailer, pistol leveled at center mass. There was nowhere to dodge or weave. If she wanted to shoot me, the odds of her missing weren’t in my favor.

  And I wasn’t worried in the least.

  I stepped out of the bedroom slowly, heading towards her. Drawn in by the honey-blonde braid spilling over her shoulder. The narrowed eyes raking me up and down, and heating despite her best efforts to look cool and unaffected. The slight part to her lips as her pink tongue slipped out and wet them before her focus returned to my face.

  The only thing I ignored was the scar on the side of her face, and not because it diminished her beauty in the slightest. Hell, I was sure such a thing wasn’t possible to begin with. Even the other day, covered in the ash and soot, she’d looked like an angel that had just crawled out of hell.

  No, I ignored the scar because being face to face with the evidence that someone had left a permanent mark of violence on her face made me want to find them. String them up by their toes. Flay them to pieces so slowly they would feel every cut as my blade dipped below the skin.

  I rolled my neck again, banishing those darker thoughts. Already, entertaining them for that brief instant had my true nature rising to the foreground. She wasn’t ready for what would happen if I let those chains loosen.

  Not yet.

  Josie turned her head from side to side, searching for what, I had no idea. “What are you doing here?”

  I shrugged. “Since I was in the neighborhood, I figured I would drop by. Make sure you hadn’t gotten yourself killed since the last time I saw you.”

  Her eyes dissected me, searching for the lie and coming up empty. The barrel of the gun dropped a fraction before she brought it up again. “Look, big guy, I’ve been taking care of myself just fine long before you ever came around. If you think this creepy-ass stalker shit is winning you any points, you’re crazier than you look.”

  I was silent while her gaze roamed. What was she looking for so intently? Her nostrils flared, and I thought I caught the faintest sigh of relief before her focus swung back to me.

  Taking another step closer, just to enjoy watching her take a step back, I asked, “What are you looking for?”

  Josie glanced at the door as if realizing she might be better off taking her chances with running. Part of me hoped she would. The thought of dashing in behind her, watching that glorious ass pound the pavement while she futilely tried to get away from me?

  Fuck. Yes.

  “Making sure you’re not a pyromaniac,” she said. “If I smelled so much as a whiff of gasoline, I was putting a bullet in your chest and taking my chances with the rest of your boys coming after me.”

  “I’ll have you know th
at was the first place I ever burned down. I’m usually more into preserving a property’s value than I am about tearing it down.”

  Josie blinked, staring at me so hard I wondered if I was growing a second head. “I don’t believe you.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because only someone used to burning down buildings would’ve been so comfortable standing in the middle of one.”

  My hands lowered.

  She barked, “Get those back where I can see them.”

  So damn feisty.

  Laughing at her command, I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned against the counter. “We both know you’re not going to shoot me, so you might as well put that thing away.”

  “What makes you so sure?”

  “Call it instinct.” Or foolishness. “If you were half the killer you’d have me think you are, you would’ve put a bullet in me that first night and been done with it. Let me guess.” I nodded to the duffel bag perched on the table behind her; the one she was never far away from. “Go-bag. That’s the only thing you need at any given time in order to disappear.”

  “Pat yourself on the back later, Mr. Breaking and Entering.” Pet names? Progress already. Even if the scowl on her face said otherwise. “What does any of that have to do with me not shooting you?”

  Fearless, I dropped my arms and strode towards her. Eyes going wide, Josie retreated quickly, kicking her duffel bag behind her as she went.

  But there was no place to go.

  Her back met the pane of glass behind her, and I had to check my sneer at the sight of the other dilapidated trailers in the lot. She didn’t even have a view of the trees that spread for miles on the other side of the road. She deserved better.

  The barrel of her gun dug into my sternum as I stole every bit of space between us.

  “You're insane,” she whispered, throat bobbing.

  I stared her down, memorizing the flecks of brown in her green eyes. “And you walked in on a killer standing in your bedroom without shooting him. Seems like we both deserve a padded room.”

  She bit her lip, eyes bouncing between mine for several long moments. I waited, breathing her in. Letting her see she had nothing to fear where I was concerned.

  Finally, the gun lowered. She made a show of tucking it in the back of her jeans. The threat was clear, but not enough to stop me.

  With a growl, I slapped my hands against the glass on either side of her head, caging her in. She barely had time to startle before my lips brushed across hers.

  Josie froze for a heartbeat, then uttered a soft sight, body going loose and pliant. Our tongues touched, and the blaze from before reignited like it had never been extinguished in the first place.

  She melted against my chest, small hands spreading across my sides. Drifting under the hem of my shirt and coming up again to caress bare skin.

  Her nails trailed down my chest and I hissed between my teeth, cock straining against my jeans.

  “No suit today?” she whispered, briefly tugging at the flannel.

  My lips trailed across her jaw, stopping at the shell of her ear. “I knew I was up to no good. Figured I would try to blend in.”

  She snickered. “It's not working. Your jeans look like they cost more than most cars around here.”

  “That's not saying much.”

  Her eyes heated and she shoved against my chest. “Not everybody is lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon. Some of us have to get by however we can.”

  I have enough money for the both of us.

  The thought came unbidden, bringing a frown to my face. What the hell was going through my brain? I wanted her body, no secret there. One look at my dick would tell anybody as much.

  But I only needed her to stick around long enough for me to figure out how she soothed the violent beast beneath my skin.

  “Truth hurts, big man.” Her lips curled viciously, taking my silence and expression to be a result of her words. “Don't worry.” She patted my cheek. “You might be privileged, but at least you're hot.”

  Scoffing, I reached out and ran my knuckle down the scar on her face. She tried her best to not react. As if turning to stone against me wasn't indication enough.

  Words rolling lazily off my tongue, I said, “Is that mouth of yours the reason somebody gave you this?”

  Her anger was immediate and beautiful. Staining her cheeks red. Gobbling up the hesitation that had been there a moment before. “You motherfu—”

  I kissed her again, swallowing her protest. She beat at my chest for a moment yet made no effort to disconnect my mouth from hers. When I plunged my tongue past her lips, she opened willingly, even as the fury beneath her skin singed me.

  We were both panting when we came up for air, and I took a moment to revel in being the cause of her swollen lips. The heavy-lidded slant to her green eyes.

  Then I grabbed her by the hips and twisted, pressing her front to the glass. I had her jeans below her hips before she could protest, gracing me with the sight of her glorious ass spilling from a green thong.

  “Seriously?” Josie jerked in my hold, but there was glass on one side and me on the other.

  She wasn't going anywhere.

  I chuckled in her ear, cupping her supple flesh. “Dead serious, pussycat. I've got claws of my own. Did you think there wasn't going to be any payback coming your way?”

  “You don't scare me,” she whispered, glancing over her shoulder.

  “I should.” My palm cracked against her ass, and her gasp filled my ears. “That was for threatening to shoot me, twice.”

  Another smack. Another round of watching her cheeks jiggle from the blow. She was quiet this time, but I could see her biting her lip in the reflection of the glass.

  “That was for introducing your knee to my fucking balls.”

  A third spank, opposite cheek. I cupped her ass, feeling the heat coming off her skin.

  Josie shivered. “What about that one?”

  “That...” I pressed myself closer, knowing she could feel my thick length prodding her. “...was just to make sure you know who this ass belongs to now.”

  “You’re full of yourself,” she said softly.

  “And you’re about to be full of me.”

  My fingers were just starting to slip beneath the hem of her underwear when an unexpected noise stopped me. The low growl of her stomach was surprisingly loud in the relative silence. I paused, taking my hands back so I could ball them into fists as the swift surge of annoyance rose.

  Not at her, of course.

  No, with her jeans around her hips and her cheeks flushed red, she remained a more beautiful vision than any woman I’d ever seen.

  I was annoyed at myself.

  Keeping her around wasn’t part of the plan, but starving her would do me no good either. Besides, any way I looked at it, that would be a scummy fucking move.

  How had I jumped straight to wanting to shove myself inside her without making sure the most basic of her needs were met?

  Was this where the slippery slope to being a true monster started?

  Where I realized I was bound to destroy even the things that were good for me?

  No. I won’t let that happen.

  I turned her around and caught her chin in my hands, raising her gaze to meet mine. “When did you eat last?”

  When she broke eye contact, I knew I was going to be pissed no matter what came out of her mouth. She proved me right.

  Josie shrugged. “Why do you care?”

  “Answer. The. Question.”

  She rolled her eyes and my pulse throbbed. “Yesterday, I guess. Sorry if having my place of business burned down put a bit of a dent in my schedule.”

  “When yesterday?” I ground out like I was chewing gravel.

  She bit down on her lip. “Morning-ish?”

  Fucking. Hell.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Josie

  The giant burglar I let spank me was having the weirdest freak out I’d ever seen in my
life.

  Monster was raiding my kitchen like his life depended on it, cursing to himself the entire time. He opened the tiny fridge and rummaged through the contents. That part didn’t take him long. The only things I had in there were a few bottles of water and—

  He pulled out the candy bar I’d been saving for a desperate occasion. And by desperate, I meant I was holding onto it for a rainy day where I needed to have some chocolate and a good cry.

  Before you call me a cliché, the damn thing had been in there long enough to be out of date.

  A fact Monster pointed out with a growl. “Seriously?” He threw the candy in the trash can.

  I started to complain, but the crazed look in his eye gave me pause. While he hunted through my cabinets, I pulled my jeans up over my hips and leaned against the glass behind me. I spread my palms on the cool surface.

  The fingerprints and smudges I left behind would be an improvement over the grimy mess.

  I almost let him fuck me against that.

  A shudder went through me, and I couldn’t tell if it was good or bad. All I knew was that I was grateful he hadn’t been able to tell how close I’d been to begging for that thickness I’d felt pressing into me from behind.

  Could he actually be as huge as he felt? Such a thing seemed impossible. Being able to fit something like that inside me seemed even more so. But damn it if I wasn’t willing to at least give it a try.

  Before he snapped and started this whole food-finding episode.

  “Why in the fuck do you have nothing to eat here?” His upper lip peeled back from his teeth while he slammed cabinets closed, pissed at them for not having what he was looking for.

  His moniker made more and more sense every time he was around.

  Since he was distracted, I glanced at the door again, trying to determine my odds. I was fast, faster than most guys expected. I also knew this area like the back of my hand.

  If I could make it out the door and into the woods across the two-lane street, I would be able to lose him. There were only a few things wrong with that plan.

  First, whoever said winter in the South was no big deal was a liar. It was freezing outside. I was not looking forward to hiding in the woods while he searched relentlessly.