by A. K. Koonce
We were never normal. But we were happy.
She and I stand on the porch alone. The wind pulls at my hair, causing it to flick across my lips. The sun burns wildly across the horizon, threatening to darken our already dark world. It almost looks untouched here. The destruction isn’t as bad here as it is in Juvar.
The aftertaste of the ash in the wind is the only hint that something is amiss.
“Do you think you’ll settle with one of them?” She glances into the house at them.
The fact that she used the word settle makes me want to laugh. No woman on the planet will ever consider it ‘settling’ if they come across any one of them.
They each have their flaws, no worse than I do, but they’re … what every girl hopes for, really.
Confidence and intelligence. Sexiness and wit. Loyalty and strength.
If only the three of them could somehow form one perfect man.
And maybe that man just doesn’t speak. Maybe he just hangs out as this intelligent, sexy—slightly aggressive—loyal man. Who. Does. Not. Say. A. Damn. Word.
Two of the three men are shoveling food into their mouths and smiling. Darrio hasn’t touched a bit of his food. I wonder if he feels guilty.
I doubt it. I doubt he’s ever felt guilt in his entire life.
“The three of them are just looking for a guide. I’m only helping them.”
“Why? I’ve never known you to do anything out of the kindness of your little black heart, Kara.”
I roll my eyes at her, making a smile tilt her full lips.
“Who would you choose, if you had the chance?” I ask her. A wicked smile pulls at my features. It’s a dirty thing to ask. It’s something that sends a thrilling feeling spiraling through me.
She touches her finger to the center of her mouth as if she’s really having a hard time deciding.
“I wouldn’t.”
“You’re lying.” My words are so high it draws the attention of all three men. They look my way and my cheeks flame from the conversation that’s being spoken about them. I’m asking her to pick one as if they’re livestock, and she’s saying she wouldn’t. What a terrible liar she is.
She leans into me, the smirk still kissing her lips. “I wouldn’t,” she repeats in a whisper. “Choose, that is. Why choose? Those three care about you. Let them care about you, Kara. All. Three. Of. Them. I’d never have to worry about you again if you had three protectors.”
“You know the real world works slightly different from life within Saint’s Inn, right? In real life, I can’t just screw around with three men. It would end very badly.”
“For the wrong people, yes, it would end in disaster. But for the right ones it could end in harmony.” Her attention pulls back to the three of them who are still watching us intently. “Beautiful harmony.”
She sounds so full of knowledge. Dangerous and sexy knowledge.
“Well, this isn’t about grinding harmony.”
“I said nothing about grinding. Push the dirty thoughts from your head.” Her white teeth sink into her lower lip before she becomes serious once more. “What is it about? What do you get out of it?”
The pink and purple shades of the sky hold my attention as I carefully ignore her invasive question.
I don’t even know what I get out of it any more. They can’t change the fact that my father’s dead …
She only lets a beat pass before carrying on to the next topic.
“Do you remember Mackel?”
A warm feeling spreads through me at the mention of his name.
Mackel Alexander was my first kiss. And Gods above, could that boy kiss.
“Yeah, I think so,” I say as vaguely as possible.
“You’re a dirty liar, Zakara Storm.” Her smile lights up her emerald eyes and I can’t help but laugh. “He’s our liquor supplier. Alcohol has made him very successful. He asked about you.”
“When?” I hate how quickly that reply came.
“When he dropped off our order this afternoon. He saw you and asked about you.”
Suspicion claws through me. Her words are carefully aimed. I can feel something coming. Something she’s already put into place.
“What did you say to him?”
“I said he could ask for himself. Tonight. When he picks you up.”
My nails bite into my palm as I fist my hand tightly.
“I cannot go on a date tonight. There are three men waiting for me. I can’t just prance around as if they aren’t important.”
“Are they important to you?” Her pale blonde brow arches as high as it’ll go as she looks down at me. I feel like she’s the adult once more and I’m just the small child complaining about the chores she’s asking me to do.
Not that the three of them are chores … or that I’d do them …
“Perhaps you should let the three men see you with another to make them see your value. If they have no interest in a beautiful woman, I promise you someone else will.” A pleased smile rests on her lips.
As if mechanically, my eyes roll at her. She was always doing this. Always looking for a good man to steal me away from this corrupted fairytale my life somehow turned into.
But I don’t need a man.
I have me.
“I’m not going—”
“Zaraka Storm.” His smooth, deep voice vibrates through my every pore. It’s the most masculine sound I’ve ever heard.
Yeah. Eat shit, Darrio. Your sexy voice has been replaced.
At the bottom of the steps stands a familiar man. The smile on his face is so perfect I have a hard time looking away to admire the rest of him. Golden, depthless eyes shine with kindness. Broad shoulders hold his posture ever so straight. Hard muscles chisel down into lean hips.
“I guess I filled out a little since we were kids, huh?” His words try to pull my appreciation away from his strong body and it takes everything in me to deter my gaze. Again, my attention lands on that gorgeous smile.
Slowly he climbs the few steps until he’s just in front of me.
“Looks like you’ve filled out too.” His full lips have me in a trance.
I should speak, or at least close my mouth.
Nothing. I have no intelligent thoughts.
“You look very beautiful tonight, Kara.” He leans into me, stealing up some of the terrible space that separates his body from mine.
“Thank you, Mackel.” It comes out as a whisper. An astounded whisper. He was once a boy who kissed me like a man. Now he stands before me as nothing but masculine confidence.
Boots skimming over hard wood floors echo through the house behind me and I suddenly realize we have an audience.
“Who’s your friend?” Ryder’s calm voice carries over the rushed whispers of Daxdyn and Darrio.
I turn to the three men who are staring daggers at Mackel. He gives them a simple, polite smile.
They’re more than I bargained for. When I stand on the shore and demand my reward for this journey, nothing but all the wealth in the world will be enough.
I swivel my gaze back to the tall, dark, and handsome man before me.
“Ready?” I ask, my smile as charming and beautiful as ever.
His large hand clasps mine. Not another word is spoken as he guides me away. To where, I’m not even sure.
“Fucking human.” I hear Darrio’s slur from several feet away and Mackel glances down on me with a look of confusion.
“He’s weird. Don’t worry about him.” I wrap my hand around his bulging bicep and even bat my lashes up at him as a perfect smile kisses my lips.
It’s then that I realize the amount of effort I’m putting into just being around Mackel. I hadn’t even noticed it, but the last few days have been easy. Nothing I’ve done has been premeditated.
A sick feeling twirls within me at the realization of how dangerous it is to trust these strangers. I don’t even know them and yet here I am.
I’ve been entirely myself with the three of them. My sto
mach sinks low. I’ve been too comfortable with them.
Starting tonight, that’ll change.
Chapter Eight
Prince Charming
Tonight was simple. It was almost fun even. Mackel took me to his bar. The lights there were dim and just oozed expensive vibes. Naturally, I stole every single thing my fingers touched.
It was truly a wonderful evening.
The two of us stand on the small front porch of house 6969. A few wooden chairs sit to the left and I wonder if he’ll linger; if he’ll take a seat to talk for a while. I’m tired. Tired of pretending everything he says makes my heart melt. He’s nice. Just as nice as he was when we were sixteen. But nice never made my heart demand someone’s presence.
Hell, at the very least, even Darrio has an alluring appeal. I want to know where every scar on his body came from. I also don’t want him to open his mouth to tell me. If he opens his mouth, only awful words will come out, I just know it.
“What are you thinking about?” Mackel asks as his hard body leans into mine. Every inch of him aligns in a suffocating way against me.
My cheeks flame red as I realize I was somehow thinking about Darrio of all people.
“You, of course.” At the sound of my quiet words, that beautiful smile pulls at his full lips. “Just you,” I whisper as his lips meet mine.
The warmth of his hands seep into me as he cradles my head. Expertly, his tongue drifts over mine. My back is flat against the house, pinned in place by his strong chest.
Slowly, my fingers run down his soft shirt. The lines of his muscles threaten to deter me from my real mission.
With purpose, I moan into his mouth. His breath quickens just as my fingers wrap around the pocket watch. It’s taunted me all night with the gleaming gold chain hanging from his hip.
Warm hands drag down my chest, down my bare ribs, and across my hip to finally stop at the high slit in my tight dress. He pushes at the smooth material, searing heat into my flesh as my thighs lock together instinctively.
If he paws all over me too much he’ll find an embarrassing wade of cash pressing against my cleavage and there’s nothing less attractive than stolen dollars slipping from your boobs.
I pull back from him, my eyes anxiously shining up into his.
“I like you.” The words are a forced confession but they don’t make his hand fall from its place high on my upper thigh. The scruff of his strong jaw meets my lips as I kiss his cheek delicately. “Pick me up again tomorrow night. I’ll have a surprise for you.” Another kiss skims his jaw with the tease of my promise.
It’s a lie.
I’ll be long gone tomorrow. Probably just as he realizes how much money he’s missing out of the cash drawer.
“But tonight isn’t over.” That charming smile slashes across his face before twisting into something dangerous as he smashes his lips to mine.
A pounding sound thrashes through my chest. My fingers splay against his shoulders but his enormous body doesn’t budge an inch beneath my shoving palms.
“Stop,” I grind out between forcefully clenched teeth.
The pressure of his lips against mine intensifies, bruising my lips as his warm hand slips beneath the high slit in my dress.
A mixture of anxiety and anger floods me.
Sharp teeth sink into his lip. There’s nothing sexy about it. I bite hard enough for his warm blood to fill my mouth and he jerks back from me. Rage as hot as fire burns in his eyes. His glare pierces into me as his palm snaps across my cheek.
Stinging pain shoots through my jaw, making me flinch but I don’t cry out. His hands grip my wrists. The hard wall meets my spine as he slams me back into place beneath his powerful body.
Then his body is spiraling away from mine. Boots thunder across the shaking porch. Ryder’s shoulders are strung tight with power. He gives Mackel a violent shove. The man’s feet stumble down the steps and he lands hard in the dirt.
Ryder’s fists shake as if something within them demands to be released.
Mackel’s jaw shudders before he snaps it shut. Blood stains his lower lip. His golden eyes dart from me to the man between us. My back is still against the wall, my palms pressed there as well, to keep them from shaking. I’ve felt worse fear before. Right now, anger trembles through me in waves.
Mackel isn’t nearly as nice as I thought he was.
Ryder folds his arms across his chest, making him appear even bigger than normal.
As he stands, Mackel spits. A crimson color tinges his saliva. With a careless swipe of his thumb, he wipes the blood from his chin.
“If you were already busy tonight,” his attention falls to Ryder, “all you had to do was say so, Kara.”
Slowly he shakes his head back and forth. It’s like I can see his mind working. He considers Ryder one more time, his eyes flickering back to me before he apparently declares me a waste of his time. He turns his back on us and strides down the road.
“Good night, Mackel.” The whisper of my voice quivers and I blink hard.
Why do I do this to myself? My heart stings as I wonder if my father would be embarrassed by the situations I put myself in to survive.
Ryder finally turns toward me, and an angry line is pulled between his brows.
“I didn’t need your help. Not everyone is as defenseless as they appear.” I stand to my fullest height and let my hands rest high on my hips.
With deliberate slowness, his gaze travels down my body, taking in the way the thin material of my dress hugs my hips, the way my shirt doesn’t touch my skirt and leaves my slim abdomen exposed to the cool night air. He seems to linger on the top of my breasts that are carefully pushed up for maximum approval.
He slouches down into the closest chair, his shoulders hanging low. A look of exhaustion pulls at his blue eyes.
“What did you expect to happen on this date tonight with you dressed like that?” Glaring anger stings his voice.
“I thought I would come out ahead.”
I flick open my palm and the gold chain swings with vengeance as I release Mackel’s pocket watch for Ryder to admire.
For a second he only stares at the pretty talisman.
“How did you even get that?”
“Gotta be good at your job.” I cock my head at him, my long hair shifting with my every move. The tight red dress shifts with my body, like water clinging to my skin.
I know what I look like. And I know how to use my body. It’s my greatest weapon and my biggest torment. If I could be plain, average, and overlooked, perhaps my life would be different. But it isn’t and I am not.
“Not everyone is distracted by a pretty face.” His eyes narrow on me, igniting me with his attention. It’s like he’s daring me; pushing me to admit I was wrong.
To prove a point, I lift my leg and slip it over his lap, tilting into him as I settle onto his lean hips. At the feel of my body against his, he closes the small space that separates us. Without hesitating, his hands push up the smooth material of my dress, his palms skimming hot against my outer thighs. A shiver slips across my flesh. My fingertips run up his broad chest.
It’s different with him and I. I don’t know what it is, but I’m not a persona planning out her next haul with him. I can’t think straight when Ryder’s around. I couldn’t carefully plan my words for him even if I tried.
His heated gaze drops to my lips.
“Have you ever stolen from me, Zakara?”
The three of them were prisoners. I realized they had nothing to steal within the first minute of meeting them.
From beneath my lashes, I meet his gaze. Our mouths are so close I can taste his breath against my tongue.
“Do you have something worth stealing, my Prince?”
His head dips low. The wild pounding of his heart can be felt against my palm.
Faintly, his lips brush mine. My eyes flutter as a tingling feeling spirals through me. Then he stops, his eyes widening with alarm.
“I have a girlfriend.
” The warmth of his fingers against my body slips away as he holds his hands out at his sides, as if he wants the gods to smite him down.
Right now, I kind of do too.
Neither of us move, though. I keep my hands planted against his chest as I stare into his captivating eyes. My mouth is just a breath away from his. His cruel mouth that said the worst possible thing at the worst possible time.
“Of course you do,” I finally say, my eyes fluttering closed before I shove hard against his shoulders and stand. My thighs clench together, remembering the way it felt to be pressed against him. “Next time,” my lips purse as I stare down at him, “do not interrupt my date.”
“You want me to let you get yourself into trouble? To get yourself hurt?”
My hands press high on my hips. A twisting smirk pulls at my lips and the mere sight of it causes confusion to cross his handsome face.
Ryder’s too handsome for his own good. Too charming. Too much of a prince for me to ever really care about him.
“I can take care of myself.”
His blonde brow arches high.
Slowly, I push my palm seductively down my own torso, my smooth skin kisses my fingertips. Ryder’s rapt attention takes in my every move. The soft, lavish material greets my palm as I skim down to the high slit against my thigh. His tongue licks against his lips as he watches me with a mixture of confusion and daring appreciation. My hand sneaks beneath my dress ever so slowly. With a quick flick of my wrist I pull the dagger from the holster between my legs.
The disgusted curling of his lips and the thin line between his brows almost makes me laugh out loud.
“Where the hell were you hiding that thing?”
The look on his face seems like I just revealed a detachable dick instead of a small knife.
He looks down my thin frame, his attention zeroed in on my thighs and the curve of my hips. The thighs and hips that were just pressed against him.
“I have many talents. Like slicing an assailant’s dick off without lifting a finger.”
I roll the blade in my hand, the dim lighting streaking across the glittering shine of it. Ryder’s strong legs shift awkwardly and he puts his hand over his crotch.
