Torryn went to her seat. “Can I please have a glass of Prosecco?”
“Whiskey neat.” I sat down as the man ran away from us. Good. Little twerp.
“Is this why you brought me out? To go all asshole on everyone?” she snipped just as I saw James. Instead of answering, I pulled Torryn to me and kissed her hard before she could see him. She resisted, and I bit her lip. She was fighting it, and it made me want to take it all the more. She finally relaxed into me, and I kissed her like a man possessed. My hands roamed her thighs and teased the edge of those sexy as hell garters she wore. When we finished here, I relished the idea of ripping them from her legs.
“What the fuck?” James said, standing at the table. “I’m not here to watch you fuck some chick, Onyx. If I wanted to watch porn with a whore, I could use the Internet.”
Torryn pulled away, which I allowed. Her face went pale, mouth dropped open, and all breaths left her body. I looked him dead in the eye. “She’s far from a whore so watch your fucking mouth,” I said through gritted teeth. “You live because I let you live; don’t you ever forget that shit.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked him, no doubt the wheels turning in her head about why her first love, her college sweetheart, would be joining us for dinner.
James pulled out a chair and sat. “My brother dearest didn’t tell you, huh?”
“Brother?” she asked, looking at me, panic hitting her hard.
“Enough!” I ordered them both. I had a plan, and Torryn would get in line to make sure it was accomplished.
“Fuck you, O.” His eyes danced with hatred. I gave him the same in return. “Why do you have Torryn with you? She has nothing to do with what goes on between us.”
“I have Torryn with me because Torryn is with me, James. I thought you would like to know.”
“Don’t you think you’ve played enough games with me?”
I glared at him. “And you haven’t had enough with me?”
“What do I need to do to get you to leave me alone?” he asked me, but his eyes kept going to Torryn.
“Stop breathing.”
18
Torryn
My mind raced with crazy thoughts. Onyx Blake kissed me in front of James Shears, my ex-boyfriend. One I hadn’t seen in almost five years and whom we didn’t separate on good terms. What was even more surprising, they were brothers. Not once did James say anything about having a brother.
Ever.
James Shears was my first serious relationship. In fact, to date, he was the only man I ever told I loved them. The man didn’t honestly share much over the time we were together when I looked back on it. He was kind, considerate, but far from an open book. I never met his mother. He did speak of her and the close relationship they shared. He had a step-father, I do remember that much, but other than casual mentions of the man, I knew almost nothing. At the time I felt like I was in love, but seeing what my sister found with Malcom, it wasn’t love. Infatuation, lust, comfort—sure, all those things could be used to label my feelings for James, but it wasn’t this deep connection.
It was all too much and I couldn’t process everything, but I was trying to soak in as much information as I could.
Being in this very situation, I knew one thing was certain—I wasn’t just in Onyx Blake’s possession because of my sister and their agreement. There was a deeper plan for me all along.
James sat directly across from Onyx like a proud peacock. “Torryn Lane McAllister, beautiful as ever,” he said, but kept his eyes trained on Onyx. “You really should keep better company, lover. What has my dear brother shared with you?”
The man had balls to refer to me as lover after all this time. My gaze locked on Onyx, trying to read him. He was calm, too calm. His eyes met mine, and I could see the trust in them. He believed I wouldn’t share with James the ruse between us. And looking back to the man I thought I once loved, the disdain in his stare cut me to the core.
Onyx was far from a good man, but he wasn’t the pure evil James’s gaze called him out to be.
This strange loyalty built up inside me. While Onyx had obviously put me in bad positions, I couldn’t say the man himself had mistreated me. In his care, so many bad things could have happened to me, and they hadn’t. He didn’t rape me, force me to do unspeakable things. Sure, he had pushed my boundaries, but given the upper hand he held over me, he didn’t do the many horrible things he could. I wouldn’t let James think poorly of him or treat him with hatred.
“Your brother and I don’t spend time discussing things from our past like you.” The words tumbled out before I even knew what I was getting into. The sharpness in my tone surprised even me.
“Torryn, being with him is a huge mistake.” He locked his eyes on mine. “My mother spent my whole life telling me all about how much better everything was without Onyx.” Leaning back in the chair, he taunted Onyx who showed not one single emotion or reaction. “I’m the oldest. When our mother got pregnant with him, she left him in a pile of horse shit in a barn. She came home to me and told me the baby in her belly was too much for her. He would only hold us back.” He kept staring down Onyx even as he told this horrific story of their mother.
I bit my bottom lip to stop the gasp as my heart broke for Onyx. He was left in a barn when he was a baby, who does that? Who leaves an innocent child alone to possibly die? What kind of mother could leave one son and raise the other with such hatred for his brother? James was so cold about the entire thing like he was better than Onyx. His attitude was far from anything that made him a man above anyone else.
Onyx leaned into the table. “Do you know why I brought you here, big brother? Do you know why I even let you live when we both know I could make you a ghost?”
James started to reply, but Onyx held up his hand to stop him. Surprising to me, as proud and arrogant as James had been, he sat back and remained quiet.
“I brought you here because I can. I knew you couldn’t resist an opportunity to remind me who she kept and who she threw away. What you fail to realize is, I don’t give a fuck. But while you’ve spent your entire life fuckin’ with mine, I’ve built my empire, and bit by bit I’ve taken everything you ever cared about. You may have had Olivia Blake and all her twisted love, but you see, James, I have it all while you have a memory. I have the woman who is strong enough to stand by my side. I have the house, the cars, and people who have my back. You, brother dear, have shit.”
Onyx laced his fingers with mine and I allowed it, unsure what I was really doing here. But it felt like the right thing to do.
“Fuck you, O. Do not go there. You’re playing with fire, brother,” James warned and looked to me. “Get as far away from him as you can, Torryn.”
“Since you’re so hell bent on warning Torryn about me, where is your wife, James? Have you visited Marie lately?”
“Onyx,” James warned. “You know fuckin’ well where she is and whether I have visited.”
“Where’s your precious mother?”
James growled but didn’t answer. “What’s your play here, Onyx? You know where my mother is too.”
Onyx released my hand before reaching out and lifting me off my chair to move to his lap. My instincts screamed for me to run from both of these men, but my fear kept me rooted in place. “Remember how good she kissed, James?” Onyx taunted.
With his thumb on my chin, he brought his lips to mine kissing me passionately once again. Unsure on what I could do and always remembering my sister in my mind, I gave in. Only when the kiss became loud, wet, and sloppy did Onyx pull away.
“You loved Torryn once, James. She’s mine now.” The venom in his voice was indescribable. “Your precious wife, Marie. It’s so sad what happened to her.”
“Onyx,” James said his name, clearly rattled.
“I told you, James. I fucking told you years ago to let me be. Did you back off then? Fuck no. Now, you’re here, we’re here, a modern day Cain and Abel. Only when you tried to have me kil
led it didn’t work out for you, did it?”
The menace in Onyx’s voice had me trembling inside. The lengths this man had gone through with his brother obviously went deep. There was absolutely no love loss between them, and I feared what was going to happen. Why would James want to have Onyx killed?
“One day, I’ll succeed, Onyx. Even if there’s a casualty of our war, it’ll be on your soul and not mine.” James looked directly at me with his threat. Chills ran through me at the implication I would be an innocent bystander to the game they were playing.
“Watch yourself, brother, you’re only here because I want you here. Cross a line with me, or anyone I care about, and I will make sure you find yourself underground.”
The waiter came and set down plates without us even ordering. I started to climb off Onyx’s lap, but he squeezed my hip keeping me in place.
“Don’t worry, brother, I ordered a pineapple glazed chicken for you. I know you love the feel of your throat closing, air escaping your body, and unable to breath. Say, did you bring your Epi Pen?”
“I’ll kill you,” James growled. I knew of the allergy. It was intense. Even juice touching his skin would cause him to break out in hives, to ingest the fruit would certainly send him into anaphylaxis.
Onyx laughed maniacally, “You’ve tried twice and failed miserably.”
I had so many questions, but I knew better than to ask. More than anything, I wanted to get out of here. I wanted space from Onyx. I wanted to breathe. I also wanted to smack him for using me to toy with James as much as I wanted to hug him for the little boy who was obviously scarred by his past.
Onyx cut a piece of steak and lifted it to my mouth to feed me. It was awkward, especially with James sitting across from us not touching his plate.
“Torryn, why are you mixed up with a man like him?” The disgust in James’s tone pissed me off.
More so, I thought about my time with James. He was selfish. Everything in our entire relationship was about him. I even almost failed a class in college because he demanded I spend time with him instead of going to class because that was the time he had available for me.
James Shears wanted a fight, and I was more than happy to give it to him. “What exactly do you mean a man like him? He’s given me answers when I’ve asked questions. He’s listened when I spoke. I can’t say you gave me that kind of attention.”
“He’s the devil himself; a monster, a villain,” James spoke as if Onyx wasn’t sitting right there.
“Then why are you even here?” I asked to which Onyx squeezed my hip.
“Because he makes the rules,” James muttered while Onyx continued with his meal. “Is this all you wanted from me? To show me you’re taking sloppy seconds.”
Anger bubbled inside me at both of these men. I wasn’t a pawn in some game, to be used, abused, and thrown away. And no matter what James and I had, I wasn’t sloppy seconds. Screw him.
“Actually, having Torryn join us was a bonus.” Onyx removed an envelope from his jacket pocket. “I figured you would need this right now, given your legal woes.”
James snatched the envelope from Onyx’s hand. “Fuck you, O,” he spat the words while opening the envelope and taking out a wad of cash.
I fought my instinct to gasp that James obviously hated Onyx, but still took his money. It made me all that more curious about their relationship.
“Does this mean I’m dismissed?” James asked, putting the money in his pocket and tossing the envelope to the table as if it were nothing.
Onyx sat back like he was contemplating it before finally giving him a slight nod. “Don’t forget your love note from mommy dearest,” he muttered, pushing the envelope back to James.
“Go ahead and eat,” Onyx ordered me with a squeeze to my thigh as a way to release me from his lap.
I moved, happy for the reprieve in close contact, but I couldn’t eat. I was too wound up by what I had learned. My mind raced and my palms were sweating from my nerves through the entire evening. What else was inside the envelope? Mommy dearest? Why would Onyx bother to give James any money given the hatred they shared? And more than anything, why me?
Onyx used me tonight to get back at his brother. This entire situation he placed me in had nothing to do with Kennedy, Malcom, or their baby and everything to do with whatever game Onyx was playing with James. A game I certainly didn’t understand.
James looked at me, his eyes tried to read mine and I prayed I gave nothing away. “You’re in too deep, Torryn. You should know he destroys everything he touches and you’re nothing special, so it’s bound to happen in time.” He picked up the envelope, shoving it in his pocket.
“Enough,” Onyx commanded and James silenced, turning his back and walking away.
I couldn’t stomach the food even though it did look delicious. I sat in silence while Onyx finished his meal. The table was tense with anger coming from both sides before James left. Now the tension was there, but it was different.
Onyx was so damn cool and calm the entire time. It surprised me.
After James left, it was like Onyx was here but he wasn’t. His body sat beside mine taking in the meal he obviously ordered ahead of time and enjoyed, but his mind was somewhere else. Could he be thinking of his childhood? I had so many questions, but I didn’t dare ask a single one.
When we got in the car, the rage came off of him in waves. Case drove while Onyx sat stiffly beside me in the backseat.
Staring out the window, my thoughts spun around adding more pieces to the puzzle that was Onyx. Even if he had a hard life growing up, what gave him the right to do this to his brother? Let alone, what gave him the right to do this to me.
To use me.
To throw me in James’s face.
The anger percolated like a coffee pot the entire drive to his place, with no words being said. I felt as if I were going to spill over so much so, my body vibrated. Onyx got out, entered his code, and we rolled into the driveway.
As soon as the car stopped, I flew the door open and made my way up the steps. The handle was locked, and I had to step to the side for Onyx to unlock it. Once he did, I pushed my way through the threshold, needing time to myself to think. Needing air to breathe that Onyx was currently suffocating.
Flinging the door behind me, it smashed into Onyx. “Torryn,” he growled, and that was it. Not Collateral, he called me by my name like something changed between us. It was as if his one word set the flame on fire, and I exploded.
Turning around swiftly, I got in his face. “Don’t you Torryn me. You set me up. You knew this whole time I was with James before! Didn’t you!”
He shrugged. Yes, shrugged like he didn’t give one shit that he had ruined my life from top to bottom. Fuck him.
“I thought there was one shred of good in you because of what you’re doing for my sister, but I was so wrong.”
“That was your own mistake. Never said I was good.” He moved around me, dismissing me, but I got right in his path. Maybe I was signing my death warrant, but I didn’t give a shit, I was too pissed.
“I hate you. I can’t wait for this shit to be over so I can get as far away from you as humanly possible.”
“You think having you in my space is such a treat? If it weren’t for your pussy and link to James, you’d be worthless.”
His words cut deep, but I turned them into the kindling of my fire. “Fuck you!” I screamed in his face as he grabbed me and kissed me roughly. I bit his bottom lip hard tasting the copper on my tongue. It only made him pull me closer to him, kissing me with a vengeance.
I hated him. My mind hated him. My emotions hated him. My life hated him. My body… couldn’t get with the program. Gripping his neck, I squeezed with all my might meeting him kiss for kiss, trying to get control of the situation. My panties were soaked in desire craving the release he knew how to give. I wanted to battle him to have my way.
It didn’t work. Onyx walked me backward where we ran right into the glass table, shatte
ring it to the ground. Giving me a slight advantage with the diversion, I pushed off and started for the stairs. Because fuck him.
His shoes stomping were right behind me, where he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to his front. His mouth came to my shoulder where he bit me hard, while I thrashed around.
“I hate you!”
He ignored me, taking his other hand and ripping the shoulder of my dress away. I kicked backward, hitting him in the shins. Onyx grunted, flipped me around, and put his weight on me. The stairs bit into my back, and the more I struggled the worse it felt.
“Get off of me.”
“Your pussy is begging for me right now,” he taunted, taking my lips once again. Taking his shirt in my hands, I ripped it open and spread the buttons all over the room, pulling it and the jacket off of him. His body was a fucking work of art.
I was a mess. There was this war between my mind and body, my emotions and reactions. I hated this man but craved him at the same time.
“This means nothing.” Clutching both sides of his face, I pulled him to me biting and kissing him, our teeth clashing from time to time. It was an intense flurry of movements, hands, legs, tongues. There was nothing sensual about this. This was hard core fucking at its best with two people who couldn’t stand each other.
A cry left my lips when the rung of the step crushed my back.
Onyx flipped us so his back was against the stairs as he unbuttoned his pants, pulling his cock out. My hands explored all of the contours of his abs, scratching my nails down hard, drawing blood in a few spots. He growled, reached down tearing the panties from me and tossed them down the stairs to the floor.
He lifted me with ease and rammed his cock inside of me so hard, I saw stars momentarily. Onyx gave me no time as I dug my nails deep in his pecs. Looking down at him a snarl left me. “I can’t fucking stand you.”
“Good.”
We rode each other hard and I felt the need to get out my aggression, so I bent down and started biting him. By the third nip of my teeth, he sat up bringing us face to face as I thrust my hips up and down, taking from him something that was good. Hell, the only thing in my mind that was good from this man—sex.
PowerHouse_Anti-Hero Game_Power Chain Book One Page 12
