by Erin Trejo
“I know you saved me.”
“I kidnapped you, it’s not the same.”
“You didn’t send me back,” she says softly, watching her fingers as they move over my chest.
Heat stirs in me and I’m about to explode but there is a nagging voice in the back of my head that says I shouldn’t be doing this. “I’ll ruin you for others. You won’t look at men the same after you’ve been with me, Ariel. It’s a bad fuckin’ idea. You think they fucked you up? I’m far worse.” My admission falls on deaf ears. Ariel continues moving her hands over my flesh, igniting me to the core. When she grabs my cock in her hand, all bets are off. I move quickly, ripping the little dress she wears off her body, tearing it to shreds as I go. She isn’t wearing panties and I groan when I look down at her.
“Who gave you that dress?”
“Chrissy.”
“Never wear her clothes again. You’re perfect the way you are.” I mean every goddamn word of it too. She doesn’t need to dress like a club whore, she’s better than that. She’s pure and perfect the way she is. I lean down and press my lips to her neck, and fuck, I become painfully harder. Spinning her around, I lay her on the bed, her legs spread for me.
“Goddamn it, Ariel.” I look at her laid out before me - the scars that line her inner thighs, the ones around her ankles. I close my eyes thinking to myself how badly I’m going to fuck this up. I shouldn’t touch her, I should walk away, but God help me, I don’t know if I can.
“Quinn.” She says my name like it’s always fallen from her lips and it sounds so goddamn right when I know it’s so very wrong. I climb on the bed, grabbing a condom out of the night stand.
“I can’t have children,” she says softly. I narrow my brows and look down at her.
“What do you mean? How do you know?”
“When I was younger, they did things. They said it was sterilization. The chosen ones should never bear children.” The more she talks, the more I debate this and killing them. This is wrong. How the fuck could they do that to her? I close my eyes as I hover over her, but when her hands touch me, I’m lost in her. She’s so broken but so alive. She doesn’t even know what life is and here I am ruining it a little more.
“I want you, Quinn, all of you. I want to feel what it’s like when it’s real,” she says.
She breaks the last of my resolve. I lean down and kiss her, grabbing my cock in one hand. I tease her, letting her get used to the feel of me before pushing inside her. I gasp and Ariel whimpers. I pull back to look at her face, her eyes burning through me. I thrust gently into her but never let my eyes leave her face. I can’t, I’m captivated by her. Her hands come to rest on my chest sliding them around to my back, pulling me into her.
“I want more, Quinn,” she begs, digging her nails into my back. She arches into me, giving herself to me, and I feel like a piece of shit for taking it. I lift up and plunge into her waiting depths, taking from her as much as I’m giving. I don’t hold back. I fuck her roughly and out of control as she screams my name. I kiss her, suck the flesh of her neck into my mouth, fuck her. I can’t stop myself, and when I feel her tense up, she digs in harder. I look down at her, sensing something might be wrong and the worry on her face stuns me.
“It’s okay, Ariel. You’ll feel good. Just let go, baby.” It slams into me that she’s never had an orgasm before. It never occurred to me before now, but the more I coax it out of her, the more she lets go. Her walls pulse as she comes screaming for me and taking what I have to give.
“Fuck!” I growl. I’ve never felt anything like her in my life. My hips jerk, shooting all that I have inside of her. Her nails remain in my back as I slowly lower my head to her neck pressing feather light kisses.
“I never felt anything like that,” she says sounding almost embarrassed.
“That’s how it should always feel,” I tell her. I pull out of her slowly and roll onto the bed next to her. Ariel rolls to her side, watching me intently.
“What is it?” I ask looking over at her.
“Thank you, Quinn,” she says through a yawn that looks absolutely perfect on her. I brush her long blonde hair behind her ear and ask, “For what?”
“Making me feel like I’m a real person.” With her eyes heavy, she lays her head on my chest and falls asleep within minutes.
Chapter 12
Ariel
I never knew that something like that could feel so right. My night with Quinn was amazing. I woke up to him sleeping soundly, his chest rising and falling as I watch him. I want to wake him and thank him again but he looks so peaceful right now. Instead, I run my fingers over the scars on his body. I trace the lines of the intricate tattoos that cover his skin. He’s perfect. He’s everything a man should be, or at least he is to me. I’ve never known what a man should be like, but I’d like to think it’s Quinn. Someone knocking on the door startles him awake. His eyes snap open and he looks down at my hand on his chest before moving to my eyes.
“What?” he calls out in a gruff tone but his eyes stay on mine.
“We need to talk!” Stoney hollers through the door.
“Call church in twenty minutes,” Quinn calls back. His eyes are like pools of honey as they look into my soul.
“What are you doin’ awake? It’s early,” he says reaching up to move my hair away from my face.
“I couldn’t sleep. I always wake early. We would have to prepare breakfast for everyone. I guess I still haven’t adjusted to being able to sleep in.” He nods his head as he studies my face. It’s slightly unnerving to have him look at me that way.
“You said you were in school. What year?”
“Last year. We only had six months left of schooling when we snuck out,” I tell him, feeling a bit of guilt inside.
“What if I had someone come in and teach you two? Would you want to finish it?” he asks and my heart soars.
“You would do that?”
“If you want to finish. You were so close to the end before I took you,” he says sounding a little sad about that too. Maybe he regrets taking us.
“Thank you, Quinn. I would like to finish although I don’t know what I would do with a diploma. I have no skills that are of any use,” I admit.
“You can do whatever you want, Ariel. You’re free of those assholes now,” he says rolling over and climbing out of the bed. My face heats when I see him naked but Quinn doesn’t care. He walks around the room grabbing his clothes before dressing and sitting in the chair to pull his boots on. When he stands he finally speaks.
“I have shit to do. I’ll see you later.” He shrugs his cut on and walks out of the room leaving me alone.
I sit in his bed and wonder what I did wrong. Why did he just leave like that? Reality can be a hard thing to accept but this is mine. Quinn doesn’t want to marry me. He gave me last night because I begged him to. I slowly climb off his bed and pick up my dress but it’s torn into too many pieces to put back on. It almost makes me giggle that he did that. Looking around the floor, I find one of his t-shirts and slip it over my head. It’s long enough to cover what needs to be until I get to my room. I chastise myself the whole way too. I should have known better than to let him have me that way but I wanted to feel Quinn. I wanted to know what it felt like to have someone actually want me the way a man should want a woman. Stepping into my room I find Ava fiddling with her hair.
“Where have you been?” she asks, eyeing my shirt before her mouth pops open.
“Did you sleep with him, Ariel?” The gasp that leaves her mouth surprises me considering the way she’s been acting around Stoney.
“What’s the difference? I thought you were close with Stoney?” She watches me as I walk toward the bathroom before she follows me.
“You shouldn’t have done that, Ariel! That is the ultimate sin! You of all people should know that.” Her words hit me hard, like a punch to the stomach.
“Do you still believe all of what they taught us?” I turn the shower on and peel Quinn
’s shirt off me, tossing it to the floor before stepping in. The warmth wraps in its embrace as tears silently fall. I cry because Ava’s words hurt. We’ve been free of the compound and she still believes, even after all that Quinn has done for us, that they were right.
“I don’t know what I believe anymore, Ariel. It’s all just a lot to take in. Don’t you miss being home?”
Home? What is home? We don’t have a home anymore. The thought never occurred to me until now and that thought hits me hard. The things Ava says make me wonder. Did we make a mistake by leaving? Are we not truly free now? Nothing has happened to indicate otherwise. Times like this I wonder if Ava wants to go back, but I can’t bring myself to ask her that. We had nothing there. I wash quickly before dressing and walking to the main room. Not many guys are around today but I knew they had a meeting from what Quinn said. I spot Chrissy and head toward her before sitting on the stool in front of her.
“What’s wrong? You look sad.”
“My sister said I shouldn’t have been with Quinn last night.” Chrissy spits her juice before covering her mouth with her hand.
“Sorry but did you just say you fucked Q last night?” Her eyes are wide as I nod my head. Her smile that follows couldn’t be any bigger if it had to be. “Why is that a bad thing? You like him, don’t you?”
“I do but he left me alone this morning. I don’t know what to think of that, Chrissy.”
“Q is different. He’s never been with just one girl, Ariel, but he likes you. I can see it in his eyes.”
“That means nothing. I was just one more girl,” I tell her sadly as the realization hits.
“Don’t think about it. I’m sure it’s fine,” she tries to reassure me.
The door to the office opens and the guys all file out. None of them look happy, but my eyes are drawn to Quinn. He never looks over at me. He heads straight toward the door with some of the other guys. Roman walks over to the bar, stopping long enough to tell Chrissy something.
“Need Doc on alert tonight. In fact, you should have him come in. We’re lockin’ down for a few days so make sure we’re stocked up on shit and call in the old ladies.” Chrissy nods her head listening to everything he’s saying when he turns to me. My heart leaps, wondering if he has news for me about Quinn.
“You okay? You look sick,” he states. I shake my head, opening and closing my mouth with no real words forming.
“I’m fine,” I say lowering my head so that he doesn’t see the hurt in my eyes. Stoney leaves and Chrissy disappears to do what she was told and I’m left yet again alone. I thought I felt something for Quinn but it was just my stupid lying heart. I thought that it meant more because for the first time it was on my terms and I chose what happened to me.
I was wrong.
Chapter 13
Q
“Watch my ass, Jeremy!” I hiss as I pull my gun and head around the corner of the building. Stoney got intel what that asshole Thrash was going to talk to the cops. It seems one of his guys got picked up, and in order for them to release him, they wanted information that that slimy bastard was willing to give up. Now I have to stop that before it happens.
I crouch low as I move against the wall. Peering around the corner, I see the door and make hand motions for the guys to follow me. We make it around the corner and Roman kicks the door open. Shots are fired before we ever make it inside. We return fire, shooting until we all make our way inside and that’s when I see Thrash with the shoulder wound. I can feel pain in my own arm but I know it’s just a flesh wound.
“Ain’t that a damn shame?” I say when his eyes come to meet mine. I can see the panic there.
“What the fuck, Q? I stayed away like you said!” He looks around at his dead gang members, a few still moving. They don’t all need to die, just remember who the fuck the boss is around here. Me.
“Yeah, you did but then a little fuckin’ birdy told me that one of your boys got himself caught up in a mess and wants out,” I say when Roman chimes in next to me, “badly.”
Nodding my head, I pace the floor next to the girl I know is Thrash’s girlfriend, or at least she used to be. I kneel down, grabbing her by the hair and jerking her to her feet next to me. She cries in pain as strands are ripped from her head. The look in Thrash’s eyes tells me he’s pissed and that’s just the way I want him.
“I don’t know shit!” he roars, making me laugh.
“You do know and I know that you were the one who was gonna give up what info you had on me. Who the fuck else might know? Her?” I shove my gun into her mouth until she gags.
“Let her go, man. I won’t say shit!”
Roman laughs knowing how much he wants blood today.
“I could do that but what are the odds that I don’t want to? She’s kinda hot. I could make her a club whore in no time,” I tell him. I watch his face, the way his nostrils flare and his brows narrow.
“I mean it, you fuck with her and I’ll tell my boy to make the move.” There it is. The extra info I needed. Pulling my gun from his girl’s mouth, I pass her off to Roman as I move in on Thrash.
“Who else knows?” I ask him calmly knowing that he will never tell me. I’m not new to this game. I fucking invented it.
“Fuck you, Q. Fuck you and all your guys. I’d rather die than tell you shit!”
Raising my gun, I pull the trigger as blood and brains spatter the wall behind him and me. I wipe my arm across my face and shrug.
“Easy enough.” Turning back to the girl, I smirk. Roman has his hand over her mouth, keeping her quiet.
Tears spill down her cheeks, making my heart hammer a little harder. I don’t care about what happens to any of them, they aren’t my problem. What they know however is.
“Your man wasn’t smart when he dug into my world. Let’s hope you’re smarter than he is,” I say, giving Roman a nod. He pulls her back toward the door as I look around at the bodies on the ground.
“The rest of you will live to breathe another day. If you open your mouth or come anywhere near me and my shit, you will die. That’s a promise.”
Kicking the bloody leg of one of the assholes, I head toward the door quite proud of what we accomplished today. I didn’t set out to blow their fucking heads off but it is what it is. The point was made and I don’t think Thrash’s guy will be saying anything any time soon. Now I just need to get his bitch back to the clubhouse shed and find out who the other idiot is. I’m sure Roman won’t have problem with heading out to take care of that problem. I’m about to slide my helmet on when my phone rings. I pull it out quickly, needing to get the hell out of here when I see it’s the good old police Chief.
“Yeah?”
“Two things. I just got a call about shots being fired. That you?”
“Just a little feud.”
“Get the fuck out of there, Q.”
“I’m workin’ on it. What’s two?” I ask, watching to make sure all the guys are ready to move out.
“The girls you asked me to look into. I think I might know who they are. Can you come in tomorrow?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there.” Hanging the phone up, I slide it back in my pocket and put my helmet on, motioning for everyone to move out. The last thing I need is the goddamn cops to deal with. The ride back to the clubhouse takes about thirty minutes but that’s thirty minutes I have to clear my head. Ariel has taken up a spot in my mind that I wasn’t willing to give up. She’s digging her claws into me and holding on. I don’t know what else to do with her aside from show her what kind of man I truly am.
When the gates open and we pull inside, we all ride around to the back and park near the shed. Roman pulls the girl into the shed as the rest of us climb off our bikes and follow. A few of the guys head back inside, which is fine by me. This is my game to play, not theirs. The girl is already tied to the chair when I stroll in.
“You have two choices here. You can give me what I want and walk away or you can take what we’re about to give you and still tell me
in the end. Your choice here, sweetheart.”
She stares up at me with swollen eyes from crying probably thinking that would faze me. It doesn’t. I don’t give two shits about her. She is nothing but dispensable to me. She doesn’t speak so I nod to Roman. He swings his hand, backhanding her across the face. Her head whips to the side before I move in. Slamming my fist into her stomach, the air is knocked from her lungs. Each of the guys take a few blows until I hear a scream. I spin around and see Ariel with her hand over her mouth, tears in her wide green eyes, and Mini the club whore grinning next to her. It doesn’t surprise me that that bitch would bring her out here. She’s always jealous of anyone I fuck who isn’t her.
“What the fuck are you doin’?” I direct my question to Mini.
She just smirks and says, “She was looking for you. I helped her out.”
My feet move before my brain, and in the matter of seconds, I have Mini around the throat. Ariel screams again but I have tunnel vision and it’s all aimed at this bitch.
“Who the hell do you think you are? Huh? You are nothin’ but a piece of fuckin’ ass that half the guys have used up. When did anyone tell you you could be back here?” I squeeze harder needing to hear her say something, anything, but she doesn’t. I slap my open palm across her face before shoving her to the ground roughly.
“You get the fuck outta here or you’ll be in there next!” I roar when Ariel slams into me. Her little fists hit and punch as hard as she can, but she isn’t that strong. I lift her in my arms and holler over my shoulder to Roman.
“Get what I need!”
Chapter 14
Ariel
He doesn’t put me down no matter how hard I hit and kick at him. I can’t believe he did that. How was I so blind to the fact that this is the kind of man he is? Was I so infatuated with him that I didn’t see it?
“Let me go!” I scream louder as Quinn carries me through the main room. People glance over, most just laugh, but none make a move to help me.
