by Dukey, Ker
Of her flustered cheeks and downcast eyes.
Did she offer herself to him? Is this all just a game for her?
Hot water rains down on my heated flesh, but it’s not taking the edge off.
“She’s a Lolita,” Asher’s words mock me, and I grit my teeth and punch the shower wall until blood coats my knuckles and pain takes away the small ache in my chest.
* * *
I drive to the office at over ninety miles per hour.
It’s late, but I know Lee works well past normal hours. He practically lives at the office, so he will still be here.
Parking the car, I ride the elevator up to his office and sure enough, he’s seated behind his desk pushing numbers into his keyboard, the fucking loser.
“Erik,” he says my name like I’m a random person off the street and not his partner.
This company was my idea, cunt.
I stride to the leather chair opposite his desk and slump into it.
Lifting one leg, I rest an ankle over the knee and clasp my hands together, using two index fingers to point at him.
“I want to be a silent partner. I keep the same salary, the same shares, perks. I can come and go if I want, but I probably won’t want to.” I state, and he pulls a face that’s half amused and half confused.
“That’s not how a silent partner works,” he states, like I’m fucking stupid.
“I know you fucked the girl, Lee,” I grind my jaw as his unhinges and his skin pales.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about…”
I hold a hand up and gesture with a head jerk to the camera in the corner of the room.
All the floors have them. I don’t have access, but he doesn’t know that.
Closing his eyes he curses under his breath.
“You’re asking too much. It’s just a fucking fuck and it wasn’t even a good one,” he grinds out, my insides deteriorating at his confirmation.
It was a hunch, but I didn’t want it to be real.
She doesn’t love me or anyone, she just needs money and her pussy is how she gets it.
“I wonder if your wife would see it that way, or your father. Fucking a teen girl in your office, using her vulnerability and need for a scholarship. Fucking shame on you, Lee,” I growl.
He caves at those words, slamming a fist down on his desk.
“Be grateful I’m letting you keep your job,” I taunt.
“I’ll get the paperwork drawn up,” he grits out.
“You do that.”
He doesn’t realize how lucky he is to still be sitting at that desk.
At one point I’d envisioned sending him hurtling out the window so vividly I thought I’d followed through on the urge.
* * *
When I pull up back at home my stomach drops to see Ebony’s car in my drive.
Ebony knows there’s a monster lurking inside me.
On some level she’s always known, but she’s never witnessed it up close, not that she knows of anyway.
Jumping from my car, I race inside and come to a halt when I see her standing in the bedroom doorway, a tear running down her beautiful cheek.
“Eb,” I whisper her name. “Maggie called me,” she says, her eyes holding sadness.
Taking the steps separating us I take her hands in mine. “Maggie is a cunt.”
Snorting, she laughs through the tears trickling onto her cheek.
“You know you can’t keep her in there, right?”
I don’t answer, and she lifts her brows.
“Erik, you know that, right?” her voice takes on more urgency.
“Why didn’t you let her out? You obviously looked inside,” I ask, and she drops her eyes to the floor, her small shoulders lifting in a non-committal shrug.
“I’ve lived my whole life trying to erase our past, to pretend that mother didn’t mess us up. But she did, Erik, and being caught in between you and this darkness she created in you is not something I can run from or hide from. I would never betray you or risk losing you, so tell me you know you have to let her go, and I will be ok with that.”
Taking her into my arms I hold her against my chest and sigh.
She’s always been my anchor. I don’t need anyone else.
“I’m going to let her out,” I promise.
Alice really got her nails into me deep, but she’s no delicate bird with broken wings.
She a fucking bird of prey, seeking out her next victim.
Twenty-Eight
Chapter
ALICE
Clicking of the locks unhinging makes me sit up.
The closet is more like a room than a box, but it’s been terrifying being locked inside with no idea of what he’s doing on the opposite side of the door.
Fucking Maggie ruined everything.
Light creeps through the gap as the door expands open and Erik stands in the entryway looking dashing as all hell.
Why does he have to be so beautiful?
“Come,” He demands, and I get to my feet, hiking up the shorts I stole from his clothes in here, one of his tee-shirts settling around my thighs.
Stepping into the bedroom, my mouth feels like death.
Lips dry and chapped and tongue desperate for water, but all of that is forgotten when I see the bag laid open on the mattress.
Stacks of money inside.
I can’t even guess how much is in there, I’ve never seen so much money in my life. My heart races inside my chest.
“What’s this?” I croak, trying not to run to the money and hug it.
“You say you love me,” he says, staring at me, dissecting my reaction.
“You can either stay with me, love me, earn your own way in life, or you can take this money and leave. But Alice…” He says my name like a warning.
My eyes dart to his and a shiver snakes up my spine.
“If you take the money, you must run with it, because I will hunt you at some point and come for what’s mine.”
There’s a predatory gleam in his eye and I know he means what he says.
I must have played the loved up schoolgirl better than I thought, for him to actually give me the options. Grazing my eyes over Erik’s stiff form, I sigh internally.
I’ll miss the sex. No one has fucked me like Erik Ross has. But he’s a fool to think I’m capable of love.
Going over the last thing he said in my mind I swallow the dry stone lodged in the back of my throat and ask, “What’s yours? You mean the money?”
Narrowing his eyes, the corner of his mouth lifts up. “No. You, little bird.”
Will he actually let me leave with this money?
As I take a step towards it, he closes his eyes and then opens them.
The pupils swallow the color, and he transform before me, a cold barrier shutting down over his features.
His hand snaps out and grasps my throat, dragging my tired, worn-out body to his.
My hands come up to hold his wrist, yet there’s no point fighting him. He will win.
Catching me off guard, he crushes his lips to mine, devouring me.
His other hand begins frantically tearing at the shirt I’m wearing until it’s hanging off me in shreds.
Lifting me off my feet by my neck and throwing me down on the bed, I choke and gasp for air, gaining only enough to keep me conscious.
He slides his hand from my neck up to cover my mouth.
The beautiful features of his face contort into an angry sneer.
I want to tear his hand away and laugh at how easy it was to play him.
Ripping down the shorts I’m wearing he nudges my thighs open with his knee, and I obey, spreading them for him.
Take your fill before I’m gone forever.
He pulls his cock from his slacks and rams into me without mercy.
It’s burns and hurts.
He offers me no pleasure, his hand smothering my cries of pain.
Asshole.
He takes my body like he owns it,
lips exploring, teeth marking my flesh, drawing blood.
Rough hands grip my hip so tight I know his bruises will take weeks to heal.
He fucks me so hard we’ve moved across the bed and almost tumble off the other side.
Skin slapping skin and angry grunts echo through the house.
When he finally finds his release it’s intense and fast. Hot, warm come pumps into me, filling me up.
And then a cold whoosh of air replaces the heat of his body on mine as he abandons me.
My body trembles and my eyes burn with tears from the pain of his intrusion.
I look up at him, standing over the bed with his cock still dripping.
And I have to hold in the smug smile trying to push away my tears.
This was so easy.
“You’ve been an expensive whore, Alice. Now get the fuck out,” he growls before leaving the room.
My lungs constrict and fire heats my cheeks.
Quickly getting to my feet, I grasp the scraps of clothes, grab the handles of the bag, rush from his house, and don’t stop until I get home.
* * *
Asher is fixing his bike up in the yard when I make it back home.
He drops his rag and tool to the floor when he takes in my appearance.
“Alice, what the fuck happened to you?”
“Nothing,” I can’t help the pounding in my chest, like the chase has already begun.
Asher follows me inside and up the stairs.
“What’s in the bag?” he asks, his tone taking on a biting edge.
“My future. Now get out of my way, I need to pack and change,” I say as I absentmindedly discard Erik’s clothes and pull on a pair of panties and bra, all the while feeling Asher’s burning gaze on me.
“You leaving?”
“Yes, Asher, and don’t act like you’ll miss me,” I scoff.
Grabbing my arm he forces me to turn to him.
“Where are you going?” he demands. “What the fuck are those bruises on your neck, Alice? Did that bastard do that to you?”
“No! He gave me a life. One away from this place, from you, from that fucking bitch of a cousin… and I’m never coming back, Ash,” I state, tugging my arm free and throwing some sweats on.
“You can’t just leave, what about college?”
“Fuck college. Have you seen my passport?
“Passport?” he asks, repeating everything.
“Yes, passport, Ash. I’m leaving.”
“Yeah, well good fucking riddance then, Alice. I hope you finally find what you’re looking for,” he says, leaving my room with a slam of the door.
Packing my shit up, I grab the Eiffel Tower statue and smile.
Paris, here I come.
Twenty-Nine
Chapter
ERIK
One week later
Laying on the new couch I finally got around to getting for Ebony I listen to her moving around her kitchen, cooking something that smells burnt already.
She comes marching into the living room and throws herself on the end seat, yanking my feet up and plonking them down on her lap.
Raising a brow at her, she side eyes me.
“Takeout?”
Chuckling, I grab her computer and bring up the Italian place she likes.
I order dinner and place the computer on the coffee table before flicking on the TV with the remote.
“I’ll get some drinks,” she huffs, pushing herself up and walking around the couch.
I hear her stub her toe and then she’s hopping about, groaning from behind the couch.
“Dammit, Erik,” she screeches. “Why haven’t you moved that damn bag already? What the hell is in it anyway, bricks? Where did it come from?” she growls, limping, looking down at her toe.
Alice.
When I don’t answer she leans over the back of the couch and slaps my head, snatching my trinket from my hands.
“Why are you always playing with this?” she frowns. “You should go see the real Eiffel Tower.”
Maybe I will go and see it. One of us should have.
She hobbles away taking my trinket with her.
The one I took from you, Alice.
My little, broken bird filters into my mind as Ebony rattles around the kitchen, and then just like that, thoughts of Alice dissipate when Ebony’s laptop dings with an incoming email.
Dear Anonymous…
I’m so lonely, will it always be this way?
[email protected]
Da dum…da dum...da dum...
“Hello, little Annemarie.”
The end.
Thirty
Acknowledgements
from Ker
Dukey’s stalkers
Thank you for reading this dark delight story.
My heart and soul lives in the dark, so it’s always a joy to come back to the dark side and share my crazy with you guys.
I have many more planned, and YES, you will be seeing ASHER again.
Thank you to my editing, proofing and beta reading team. I love you guys and you make magic happen right along with me, so thank you.
Bloggers: Thanks so much for taking a chance on this dinky read. I love you all and your passion and dedication to our book world.
Terrie PA / Arasin’s PR: Thank you for all your hard work with release and promo packets. You’re awesome and always step up when I need you to.
Thirty-One
About Ker Dukey
My books all tend to be darker romance, edge of your seat, angst-filled reads. My advice to my readers when starting one of my titles... prepare for the unexpected.
I have always had a passion for storytelling, whether it be through lyrics or bedtime stories with my sisters growing up.
My mom would always have a book in her hand when I was young and passed on her love for reading, inspiring me to venture into writing my own. Not all love stories are made from light- some are created in darkness but are just as powerful and worth telling.
When I’m not lost in the world of characters, I love spending time with my family. I’m a mom and that comes first in my life, but when I do get down time, I love attending music concerts or reading events with my younger sister.
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Contact me here
Ker: [email protected]
Ker’s PA : [email protected]
Books by Ker
Titles by Ker include:
Empathy series
Empathy
Desolate
Vacant - Novella
Deadly - Novella
The Broken Series:
The Broken
The Broken Parts Of Us
The Broken Tethers That Bind Us – Novella
The Broken Forever – Novella
The Men By Numbers Series
Ten
Six
Drawn to you Duet.
Drawn to you
Lines Drawn
Standalone novels:
My soul Keeper
Lost
I see you
The Beats In Rift
Devil
Co written with D. Sidebottom.
The Deception series:
FaCade
Cadence
Beneath Innocence - Novella
The Lilith’s Army MC series.
Taking Avery
Finding Rhiannon
Coming Home TBA
Co-written with K Webster.
The Pretty Little dolls series:
Pretty Stolen Dolls
Pretty Lost Dolls
Pretty New Doll
Pretty Broken Dolls
The V Games Series:
Vlad
Ven.
Vas
Joint series –
Four Fathers.
Blackstone by J.D. Hollyfield
Kingston by Dani René
Pearson by K Webster
Wheeler by Ker Dukey
Joint Series – Four Sons
Nixon by Ker Dukey
Hayden by J.D Hollyfield
Brock by Dani René
Camden by K Webster
THE ELITE SEVEN SERIES.
Lust – Ker Dukey.
Pride – J.D Hollyfield
Wrath – Claire c Riley
Envy – M.N.Forgy
Greed – Amo Jones
Gluttony – K Webster
Sloth – Giana Darling.
COMING SOON.
Lost Boy 31/3/19 (standalone)
Lessons TBA (standalone)
