Sinners' Playground

by Caroline Peckham

  "Please, you were the one desperate to get a feel of me," I scoffed, ignoring the ache between my thighs that I really would have liked him to deal with as thoroughly as possible.

  "Oh yeah?" he taunted.

  "I thought Fox's word was law? Doesn't his claim on me mean you shouldn't be touching me?" I asked.

  "I thought you said you weren't his girl?"

  "I'm not," I replied fiercely.

  "Well then. Sounds like there's everything to play for to me." JJ got to his feet and headed for the stairs, leaving me wondering what he'd meant by that.

  "Where are you going today?" I asked as I leapt up and chased after him. "You can't seriously be going to leave me locked up inside on a beautiful, sunny day like this."

  "Boss's orders," JJ shrugged as he made it to the top of the stairs and headed for his room.

  "Well, the boss also claimed I was his property and I'm pretty sure you almost sampled the merchandise downstairs. So maybe you can just take me with you and it can be our little secret?"

  "Oh, so it's come to blackmail has it?" JJ asked with a laugh. "Are you sure you're not just following me up here so that I can fuck that wet pussy of yours and help put out that fire in your veins?"

  "Dead certain," I assured him coolly, ignoring the way everything in my body tightened at his words and the blatant confidence in his ability to fucking destroy me and holding firm as he stripped out of his shirt. Christ, why did I have to have self respect right now? His body was like…super high maintenance edibility. I needed to lick it. Slooooowly.

  "How about this then, I'll bring you to the club with me if you pay for it with a kiss,” JJ suggested.

  "Seriously?" I asked, my gaze dropping down over his sculpted muscles and caressing those swallow tattoos which dove beneath his waistband before I could stop myself. I had an urgent kind of need to see the full extent of that tattoo, but I was pretty sure if I asked to see it we would be entering the point of no return. Shit, he got crazy hot while I was gone. This was not a problem I’d been expecting to face when I’d made my choice about coming back here.

  "One kiss. At a time of my choosing. I've got a point to prove with you, runaway." He pinned me with an honest to shit smoulder and I practically had to cling to the doorframe to stop myself from begging him for it right now.

  I was starting to think I needed to make use of that vibrator he'd bought me whenever I could escape to my trailer again to relieve some of this ache in my flesh. The last thing I needed was to drop my guard around the three men I'd come here to screw over and end up screwing them instead.

  "Deal," I said, shrugging like I wasn't bothered either way and JJ gave me a panty melting smile.

  "Fine. Get dressed and let's go. I picked you up some more clothes this morning, seeing as you won't tell us where you left the rest of the shit we got you." JJ grabbed a paper bag by his bed and tossed it to me, making me grin as I looked inside at what he'd bought. Damn straight I wasn’t giving up the location of my trailer though. I intended to be back in it asap.

  I headed to my room and chose a black bikini with a cute white shirt that tied in a knot to leave my stomach bare and a pair of figure hugging denim shorts that had been cut to leave threads trailing down to tickle my thighs.

  I hurried back out to find JJ and he led me to the front door with a smile playing around his lips. "I'm going to be in the doghouse for taking you out," he grumbled but the playful look in his eyes said he was looking forward to Fox finding out as much as I was.

  Fox had always been the leader of their crew even before he'd taken power officially. It was what he'd been born to do, but it seemed like the boys still enjoyed testing him. Of course Maverick had always been the one who butted heads with him the most, never really accepting him as the leader, so I guessed in a sense I wasn't surprised to find that he wasn't here taking orders like a good boy. But it still seemed weird to me that he wasn't here at all. He and Fox may have clashed at times, but they’d been adopted brothers and the closest of friends. Their loyalty to one another had run deeper than blood. What the hell had happened to break something that should have been unbreakable?

  "Well, if you actually manage to keep a secret this time, maybe he won't find out," I said lightly. Of course, I had every intention of running again the moment JJ took his eyes off of me, but that wasn't the point.

  The orange GT was sitting in the sunshine, looking as good as new, clearly back from the shop without any sign that it had been half wrecked by me and my stolen car a few days ago.

  JJ held the door for me and I whistled to Mutt as we left, ignoring the eye roll JJ gave me as my little white dog joined us. I slipped inside and JJ rounded the GT so that he could drop down behind the wheel.

  He started up the car and by the time we pulled out of the drive, I assumed he wasn't going to respond, so when he did, it came as a surprise.

  "Some secrets are harder to keep than others," he said darkly, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. "I want you to know you can trust me, Rogue. You've always been able to trust me, even when you thought I betrayed you...but sometimes trust means doing what's right instead of just blindly keeping secrets. And what's right is wiping the piece of shit who laid his hands on you off of the map. If betraying my word to you is what it takes to do that, then I will."

  I pursed my lips and looked out the window as I decided not to respond to that. He made a few good points even if I didn't want to admit it.

  We drove through Sunset Cove and began climbing the hills towards the upper quarter until we finally reached Afterlife perched about halfway up the cliffs with a view of the cove below. Around here was about as far as the rich folk would come down the cliffside before turning back from the lower quarter and pretending they'd never even noticed its shadow looming on the horizon.

  The atmosphere in the car was thick with the words neither of us wanted to speak to each other yet, but I knew I was going to have to face up to my shit with these boys sooner or later.

  "You know, it's all well and good you claiming to be so concerned for me now. But when I really needed the four of you, I was all alone," I said just as we pulled up at the club. "And it doesn't really matter how much you try and convince me you want me back now, because everything we used to have is gone. It's broken beyond repair. Maverick is gone and Chase doesn't even want me back, Fox seems to think he owns me and you..."

  "What about me?" he asked.

  "You seem to think we can just start right back up where we left off. Maybe add a bit of sex to the games we used to play. And sometimes I let myself forget for a few moments because it really is tempting to let you do that. But then I remember the nights I slept rough, the men who abused me, the times I went hungry and I just...don't even think I'm the girl I used to be anymore. In fact, I know I'm not. And I don't want to be either. So stop treating me like you know me, because you have no idea what it took to bring me back here, and you never will."

  I got out and lifted my chin to the heat of the sun as I stepped out of the A/C inside the car. Mutt headed off to pee on every available surface and I was glad to give him a new stomping ground to mark out.

  JJ got out a moment later and stalked around the hood to face me, his gaze dark as he pinned me in it.

  "You're not the only one who changed in the last ten years, Rogue. And believe me, I've survived my fair share of shit over that time too. After you left and Maverick was...gone, Luther forced the three of us to become fully fledged members the Harlequin Crew officially, getting us to run jobs and follow commands and all of it. The price of membership had to be paid in blood more than once and he made sure we paid in full. The kid you knew died when he made me into a killer and believe me, that's not even half of what I've done in the years since. You already know what my mom was like and...fuck, I can't even begin on what made me decide to get into the sex trade. My mom is a prime example of why I never wanted that life. But shit doesn’t always go to plan. So no, I don't think we can just pick right
up where we left off and yeah, I know that messy doesn't even begin to cover what happened to all of us over the last ten years. But I do know that the moment I saw you back here, my heart leapt right up into my throat and I swore to myself I'd never let you go again. The bond we have can't ever be undone. Ride or die doesn't come close. We're more than family, more than anything tangible. Our fucking spirits are entwined. So you can keep trying to run and we're gonna keep coming to catch you when you do until one day, you realise you're right where you're supposed to be."

  JJ’s words made my thrashing heart squeeze with feelings I wasn’t supposed to be having and I had to fight against the urge to just accept them and throw myself into his arms. It didn’t matter if they’d been dealt their own shitty hands. We were where we were. And the scars time had left on us couldn’t be erased.

  "If that applies to me, then why not Maverick too?" I asked in a low voice.

  JJ's face darkened and I could practically see him locking me out. "We don't talk about him."

  He caught my hand and started tugging me towards the club and I let him because it seemed pretty pointless not to.

  As it was the weekend, the place was open even though it was only lunchtime, the glass doors which fronted it drawn back to allow the tables out on the terrace to become part of the club. People ate and drank and enjoyed the sunshine while being served by gorgeous guys and girls in tight fitting uniforms that were really just swimwear but somehow managed to look classy with the beach vibe.

  "There's a few things I need to sort, but some of the boys will be able to keep an eye on you if I have to step out," he said, releasing me as we stepped into the bar. "If you wanna earn some money you can pull a shift serving drinks, or-"

  "No thanks," I said simply, glancing around at the mainly wealthy clientele and hunting down a few likely marks. "I have other ways to make money."

  "Well, if they involve stealing from rich assholes then I'm gonna have to say no to that. You can rob them blind anywhere else, but we don't want this place getting a reputation for thieves. And believe me, I'm getting more than enough money from them in other ways."

  "You're no fun," I groaned, dropping down onto a bar stool as I prepared myself for a long wait with not a lot to do.

  "Bullshit. I'm all fun. You just can't afford to play with me right now."

  "I'm never gonna pay for your dick, JJ," I warned him.

  "Nah. I might just give you a freebie for old times' sake though," he replied with a wink, acting as if we hadn't even had that awkward moment over Maverick and I took my lead from him too as that seemed like the simplest way to deal with it.

  "No thanks," I replied, damn near convincingly too. "I'll just take a free drink or two instead."

  JJ grinned like that deal was acceptable to him and waved the bartender over. "The beautiful girl here eats and drinks for free. Okay?" he said and the girl nodded, offering me an intrigued look.

  "I'll have one of those fancy ass cocktails with the cherries in it," I said, pointing at a woman who was drinking one beneath the shade of a palm while eyeing the wait staff.

  When I looked back around at JJ, I found two men standing with him, eyeing me with interest. They were both of the heavily tatted, scowling, gangster variety and were kinda hard to tell apart aside from one being blonde and the other being dark. But they shared that same, low ranking gangbanger vibe that said they never stepped a toe out of line. Snooze.

  "Rogue, this is Dan and Piston. They're gonna make sure you don't get into any trouble or accidentally run off while I go and deal with that special client I told you about," he explained.

  "You got me babysitters?" I groaned as the two admittedly hot dudes gave me appraising looks. "And you didn't tell me about any client."

  "Oh yeah, that's right, I didn't." JJ smirked and strode away from me without another word.

  I silently seethed as he approached an older woman with a bright blue sundress on and dropped down into the seat beside her to talk, laying on the charm thicker than syrup.

  "So," I said, taking a long sip of the cherry...thing and quite liking it. "Do you guys wanna get fucked up with me?"

  "We can't really get shit faced while we're supposed to be looking after you," Piston said, shrugging apologetically and pushing a hand through his blonde hair and flexing his bicep. Dan just kind of glowered which seemed like code for I'm-a-miserable-fucker-so-don't-even-bother-asking.

  "Great," I huffed, turning back to the bartender and ordering three more of the cherry things plus a shot of rum. No. Two shots of rum. And some cheese fries.

  I tapped my foot impatiently as I looked around at the other people here who seemed to actually be having fun and envied them. Their lives seemed so gloriously boring.

  After three cherry cocktail things, the two shots and the arrival of my cheese fries, I watched as JJ led the woman in blue out of the bar area and through a side door.

  My stomach dropped as I watched them go and it took me a moment to realise that it kind of stung. He'd just been flirting with me, touching me, making me look at him in a way I hadn't meant to and now...he was just on to the next?

  I knew I was dumb for caring about that and if it had been any other guy, I absolutely wouldn't have given a shit, but for some reason, I did. Just a little. Really, I should have been relieved to know he wasn't getting any ideas about something I absolutely didn't want to give him though, so I just turned the other way, grabbed my drink and got to my feet.

  Mutt appeared, licking my foot before joining me as I headed off.

  I strode out into the sun with my silent, brooding guard dogs following me and squealed with delight as I spotted Di standing off to the side of an open stage area right near the view which looked out over the cove. I wasn’t normally a squealer but what could I say - cherry alcohol thingys.

  "Oh my god, I'm so glad you're here. I've been lumped with this pair of silent clowns and I'm bored to tears. To. Tears. Please save me from the nightmare of fun-sucking company,” I begged, making a mental note to organise a fun night out for her some time soon because if she saved me for a second time now I was really going to be in her debt.

  "We're just doing our jobs," Piston complained, looking a bit pissed.

  "Oh really? Is JJ paying you to watch me then? Because I got the impression he just said jump and you said how high." I replied scathingly as Di looked between us, biting down on her lip to hide a laugh.

  "Well, he's the boss, so-"

  "Nu-uh, Fox is the boss. And JJ never said you had to be the fun police while you watch me. You just decided on that for yourselves."

  "Oh, if you wanna have fun, you should join in with the contest. You look like you're dressed for it already and the winner gets five hundred bucks," Di said with a grin. I glanced down at her and noticed she was wearing the same swimsuit and shorts combo the other waitresses were wearing.

  "Are you working?" I asked, blaming the booze for the slow uptake.

  "I pull a few day shifts when they've got them going spare. JJ likes the working girls and guys to have at least a few nights off a week so that we can give our sexy bits some down time. So I'm usually working here in the evenings dancing, but I get a few waitressing shifts in where I can. So what do you say? The staff will take part too, but only members of the public can win and you're easily the hottest girl entering. Your main competition will be that dude." Di pointed to a drool worthy specimen in a clingy white t-shirt and I checked him out while biting down on a cherry from my cocktail stick.

  "Umm, okay," I agreed. "But I don't really know what I'm agreeing to."

  "Wet t-shirt contest," she said with a smirk. "It's a totally perverse pastime that relies solely on the willingness of the men and women in the crowd to wanna bang you. But JJ made it a contest that men and women both enter to at least take the utterly sexist vibe off of it. We do them once a month and they always pull in a big crowd." Di grinned and I found myself nodding.

  "I'm in," I agreed. My say yes attitude dr
ove my decision making because I’d long since learned that the best way for me to enjoy this unpredictably shitty life was to grab every opportunity by the balls and squeeze until I was laughing.

  "You're not," Dan said.

  "What?" I whirled on him with a glare, brandishing the last cherry on my cocktail stick and ignoring the way the world spun a bit as I moved too fast. Those drinks were strong. "JJ said to make sure I didn't run off. He said nothing about me being unable to take part in competitions being held in his club. He clearly approves of this contest or it wouldn't be going ahead, so sit down and watch the show, because I'm about to win me a prize."

  I whirled away as the two of them exchanged a look and I had to guess that I'd won because neither of them tried to stop me as I took Di's arm and walked away.

  "That was badass," she commented with a grin and I smirked to myself as we headed over to the area that was set up like a stage.

  Di grabbed a microphone as a couple of scantily dressed guys moved to the front of the stage with hoses and got into position to soak the contestants.

  I moved to stand amongst the group of people waiting to go on and sought out tall, dark and drool-worthy, giving him a flirtatious smile as I moved up beside him.

  "I figured I may as well come at my most worthy opponent head on," I said to him as he looked me over.

  "Game on, girl. But stop giving me the come to bed eyes, because you don't have enough D for me," he replied with a wicked smirk and I beamed at him.

  "Fine. How about the winner gets to have their pick of the hot guys in the crowd then?" I offered.

  "You've got yourself a deal - I don't mind beating your little ass twice in a row," he replied, making me laugh.

  "My ass is perfectly round, thank you very much," I objected, tossing my rainbow hair. "There's nothing little about it. I do a sets of squats like...every few weeks."

  "Oh girl, you should up your routine if you wanna be able to crack a nut in those cheeks."

  "What?" I laughed, but Di had finished announcing us and was calling everyone onto the stage one by one to take their soaking and we were both distracted by watching.