Make Me Yours (Top Shelf Romance Book 4)

by Devney Perry

  “I’m fine.” She offers me a gentle smile. One that doesn’t reach her eyes. One that illustrates just how not okay she is.

  “Well, at least you’re with girls and not four males who may or may not murder you…” I murmur.

  Rose’s eyes flick over my shoulder, and I follow. My jaw clenches when I see King seated a few rows behind where I was, his eyes lazy and his lips in a flat line. I hate that my stomach and chest feel as though they’ve been punched every time I find him watching me. Why does he have to be so infuriatingly handsome?

  “I don’t know.” Rose bumps her shoulder with mine. “Seems like a pretty good way to wake up dead.”

  I roll my eyes. “Rosé, you don’t wake up if you’re dead.”

  She laughs at my nickname for her, picking up her tossed hoodie and slipping it over her slender shoulders. “Always so smart.”

  I leave her a little bit after that and head back to our RV. Swinging the door open, I lazily make my way to the back where my bed is, kicking off my shoes and jeans and falling onto my bed, before losing myself in a deep sleep.

  Dove

  A jolt jerks me awake as the sun burns my skin through the window, warming me from the outside in. We’re moving. I climb from the bed, squeezing some booty shorts on and tiptoe out of my room and down toward the front of the RV, leaning against the walls every time we hit a bump or turn.

  “Where are we going?” I ask no one in particular, but as soon as I reach the front, I see the same guy who was in here when I moved in.

  “Morning, Birdie. We’re headed to New York. You’re up early.”

  I lean against the passenger seat. “I’m not used to sleeping in a moving vehicle.”

  He chuckles, and it’s then that I see the gold tooth in his mouth. He’s a big boy. A little short for my taste, and obviously too old, but he’s attractive. “There’s going to be a lot that you will need to get used to, Little Bird.”

  I tug my hair out of its ponytail and throw it all back into a high twist bun. “I’m sure there is. Do you drink coffee?”

  “Black, please.”

  “Cool.” I turn around to head into the kitchen as Kingston walks down the stairs, wearing only grey sweat shorts that dangle way too low on his hips.

  Focus.

  I ignore him and start the coffee. I’m grabbing two mugs when I feel the heat radiating from him. He’s right beside me, reaching for something above my head.

  I freeze at his proximity. The smell of lathered soap, honey, and ash quickly becoming a heady combination of sin.

  Jesus.

  I close my eyes and exhale, rolling up the sleeves of the hoodie I’m still wearing. I reach for the pot of coffee and pour two cups. I need to get the fuck— The side of his midsection brushes against my arm, and I involuntarily flinch away from him, unwilling to acknowledge the zap that coursed through him to me.

  “Sorry,” I mutter, stepping away.

  King doesn’t answer. He doesn’t so much as pay me any attention as he pours granola into his bowl. His proximity is toxic, the invisible grip of his fist around my throat, threatening to choke me. Giving a whole new meaning to take my breath away. After pouring black liquid into mugs, I turn for the cutlery drawer when the RV swerves, and I fall into his warm chest.

  “I’m sorry.” I shove away from him, but then yank my hands back when the feeling of his skin almost electrocutes me.

  He shoves me away, glaring at me like I’m an annoying child, and he’s the hot babysitter who can’t be bothered with my shit. “Stop fucking apologizing.” He grabs a spoon for him and then one for me, tossing it across the kitchen counter.

  “Thanks.” I take the spoon and stir sugar into my mug. He lowers himself onto one of the stools, ignoring me while spooning mouthfuls of granola into his mouth. Deciding to leave it at that, I turn to head back to the front of the RV when his voice stops me in my tracks.

  “Oh, and Dove?”

  I turn over my shoulder. “Yeah?”

  His tongue flicks over his lower lip as he points to my back with his spoon. “Take my fucking hoodie off.”

  “Sure,” I reply sharply, hiding the fact that his words stung and that I didn’t know it was his hoodie. He can have it back as soon as I’ve finished my coffee.

  I hand the driver his coffee and take a seat on the passenger seat, blowing into the mug. There’s a long silence before he says something.

  “I’m Justice.”

  “Nice to meet you,” I say, keeping my eyes fixed on the passing trees and farmland.

  “You don’t have to lie to me, little girl. I know damn well it’s not nice meeting me, considering your circumstances,” he grunts, taking a sip of his coffee while keeping one hand on the wheel.

  I run my palm over my forehead. “What makes you think I had a life worth losing?”

  Justice pauses, and I watch as the corner of his mouth turns into a smile. “Touché, Little Birdie.”

  “Dove!” Kingston barks from the back. I don’t turn. I’m not one of his groupies. I don’t like being treated like shit when he barely knows me.

  “What?” I call out, my monotone voice a dead giveaway on how much I care about his annoyance.

  “Hoodie!”

  I take a long sip of coffee, swallowing past the burn that each gulp ignites.

  “Little Bird, don’t provoke the wolf when you’re a sheep,” Justice whispers.

  I stand, turning to face King. His legs are spread wide, and his glare is dead set on me. He’s lounging backward, his head tilted slightly. A couple of the other Brothers begin walking down the stairs.

  “Oh, did you mean now?” I ask, reaching for the zipper and sliding it down. I’m well aware that I have nothing but my white lace bra and booty shorts beneath it.

  Kingston nods his head. “Yeah, Little Bird, now’d be good. You can come shake your ass around me, too, but you ain’t getting paid.” He cocks his head in challenge.

  I unzip it all the way down and shuffle it off my shoulders.

  “Jesus Christ, girl,” Justice growls beside me.

  I fold the hoodie in my arms, and that’s when I see the name printed on the back. AXTON. And then below that is THE BROTHERS OF KIZNITCH. My eyes shoot up to where Killian is standing still, a mug in his hands, but his eyes on my body.

  “Asshole,” I murmur, walking forward and shoving the hoodie at Kingston’s chest in passing.

  Killian laughs as I stroll past and head straight for my room.

  It was Miami Beach, and I was single, so naturally, I found myself sucking face with a random stranger after a night out with Rich and a couple girls from the club.

  I pulled the guy in closer as he reached behind him to unlock the door, swinging it open until it was crashing against the wall.

  We both laughed, and it was the first time I noticed he didn’t have great teeth. Hell, the tequila must had been wearing off, but fuck it. I was here, drunk. I needed a distraction. Sure, picking up a random dude from the club wasn’t classy, but tonight, I wasn’t looking for class: I needed to be taken away.

  We were fumbling to his bed, and I was falling onto the mattress when he started reaching for a condom. I went with it, because that was why I was here. Once he was naked and rolling on the condom, I yanked him down on top of me and lost my way for all of—five minutes. If that. The song “one-minute man” started playing in the back of my brain when random guy fell asleep beside me, but not before muttering that I could stay the night and go home in the morning, which I was more grateful for than the epic failure of whatever it was that he just fucked me with.

  I crawled up his bed and yanked the covers up with me, rolling my eyes when his snores gained volume.

  I wanted to go to sleep, but I couldn’t. The window in his room was open, allowing the ocean air to drift into the room. After ten minutes, my eyes began to get heavy.

  So heavy.

  I was chasing the sleep I so desperately wanted, when a rough hand clamped over my mouth, b
ringing me back to life.

  My eyes popped open as fear rippled through me. I could see the outline of his hoodie, but a black rag was wrapped around half of his face, hiding it from his nose down.

  He leaned down to the side of my ear, his hand squeezing my mouth. “Let’s play heads or tails, Little Bird…” The Shadow teased. I felt his knee come between my legs. Even though I had a light sheet covering me, I could feel everything. “Heads, I suck your pussy until you scream, to show this fool how a real man fucks. Or tails, I cut off each of your fingers and fuck you with them. Both will have you screamin’, baby. So, what will it be?”

  I kicked and turned, but I knew it was no use. The Shadow would come, and he would go. It was what he did.

  He shoved me away, and I swiped the saliva away from my mouth, tears pricking my eyes. The day he started was the day my parents died, and I knew that it had something to do with them, but I wasn’t sure how long I could hold on until he finally took the one thing he craved.

  Me.

  Slowly, he stepped backward, and I watched as he pulled a coin out of his pocket. I turned to check on my random one-night stand, finding that he hadn’t moved. He was still snoring on his back.

  “Tick, tock, Little Bird, it’s a race against the clock…”

  The Shadow had always tormented me between the cracks, but never had he threatened me sexually.

  I chewed on my bottom lip as he flicked the silver coin up into the air. I watched as it curved, flipping around and around, until it landed in the palm of his hand.

  He paused for a second, and then his fingers flexed as he checked what it landed on. He grabbed it between his two fingers and flashed it at me. I squinted my eyes to get a better look, but it was obvious that it was— “heads,” I whispered.

  He made his way back to me until his body hovered over mine, both fists sinking into either side of me. “A deal is a deal, Little Bird.”

  “I—” he pulled the sheet off my leg.

  “Spread your legs,” he growled, and a dangerous concoction of fear and heat began to brew in my belly.

  Slowly, I inched my leg wider, flinging my arm over my eyes. I am not about to do this. Not here. Not now. Not with the one man who I have feared for years. Truth is, is that as the years have gone on, I had somewhat become accustomed to his presence. Fear made me do reckless things, but this was by far the worst.

  Before I could run from the room and away from the very thing that was chasing me, his warm mouth was on my pussy. My back arched off the bed from the sensation as his tongue flicked around my clit. He sucked, licked, and teased me savagely as whimpers left my body.

  “Scream,” he demanded.

  I fixed my mouth closed, my head thrashing to the side to check on random guy. The Shadow pressed against my clit with the thick part of his tongue and slowly licked up. A finger slipped inside of me, just as his mouth clamped down again, with hard flicks of his tongue.

  “Fuck!” I screamed, sweat pouring out from my body as the orgasm I so desperately craved seized my muscles and convulsed around me. I didn’t even care if I woke up random guy at this point, I was too sedated. A few minutes later, he crawled back up my body, his mouth now fully covered by the rag again. “Next time you wanna bounce on someone else’s dick to get away from me, I’ll be right here to remind you why the fuck that isn’t a good idea. So unless you wanna flip the coin again, Little Bird, keep your fuckin’ legs closed.” Then he pushed off the bed, and instead of climbing out the window like I thought he might’ve done, he headed straight out the front door like he owned the place, slamming the door behind himself.

  I turned around to check random guy, who was still snoring beside me.

  King

  “Don’t fucking pull that shit again.” I empty my bowl into the sink.

  “Oh, come on. It was funny.” Killian grins from the other side of the room. “We all know how much you can’t stand her.”

  I turn to face them, squeezing the counter. “Figured out what we’re going to start with tonight?”

  “I feel like throwing some shit,” Keaton says casually, drinking his shake.

  Killian takes a seat beside Keaton, grinning from behind his mug.

  I flip him off and head back upstairs to shower. Fucker. Kicking my door closed, I stretch out my neck and head straight for my phone that’s ringing on my bed.

  Sliding it open, I push it to my ear. “Mom.”

  “Son, I haven’t heard from you in a few days. How’s everything going?”

  I head for my closet and take out a pair of jeans and a beat-up Harley Davidson shirt, tossing them onto my bed. “It’s going.”

  Silence. “Your father wants an update.” I hear her click her fingers in the background. Probably at our maid. “Sapore tuae ne obliviscaris, son.” Don’t forget your task.

  I still, my muscles flexing from the tension. “I haven’t.”

  “Son…”

  “Mom, I gotta go.”

  I hang up my phone, tossing it across the room. Have you ever heard of that mom who drove all of her kids off of the cliff, killing her entire family? Yeah, well, pretty sure that bitch re-incarnated into my mom. If you think I’m bad, which I very much fucking am, then you need to meet my mom.

  I head for the shower, leaving any and all of the conversation I just had behind. Stepping under the hot water, I rest my head against the marble wall. She can’t fucking know who we are. I mean, who we really fucking are. I smirk as the water drips down my face. Revenge isn’t always sweet; sometimes, it’s a bitter reminder of the demons you missed, so you need to cock back, aim, reload, and…bang.

  Dove

  “Okay, okay.” I laugh, resting my legs up on the dashboard. It’s mid-afternoon, and we’ve been driving for what feels like days. We have around four more hours to go before we get to New York. “You might be right about that.” I chuckle at Justice’s poor attempt at thinking up conspiracy theories. “But I think the Avril Lavigne clone thing is a little far-fetched. I mean, you’re giving the human race way too much credit. We are not a species made to last.”

  Justice chokes on his drink. “Why do you say that?”

  “Easy,” I say, nudging my sunglasses down my nose and looking at him from over the rim. “We live in an economy that thrives on the underprivileged staying under, and the rich getting richer. We have wars happening all over the world, and now, people are so damn sensitive. Everyone is offended by being offended and then get offended that they’re offended.”

  “Okay, you lost me, sugar, but I see your point.”

  I shrug, pushing my glasses back up. “So tell me something about you.”

  Justice laughs. “Nope. Not going there.”

  “Little Bird, come here!” Killian calls out from behind me. I’ve been purposely ignoring them the entire trip, making small talk with Justice, but this is the first time any of them have actually called for me.

  I turn around. “I’m good. Thanks.”

  “Yeah, that wasn’t a question,” Kyrin bites, pouring vodka into a glass. He looks at me over the rim as he tosses it back. “You act like you’re not a prisoner. Maybe I should remind you and tie you to my bed.”

  Killian laughs, throwing down his hand of cards. “You’re scaring her, Ky.”

  Kyrin glares at me. “Good. I like them scared. It gets my dick hard.”

  King’s walking down the stairs interrupts our back and forth—thankfully. I really want to go up there to see what it looks like, but it was made clear, at the very beginning, that up there was out of bounds for me, and right now, I don’t feel like testing their restraint.

  King goes to the fridge, pulling out deli meat and mustard and getting busy on a sandwich. I know that he’s the leader of them all, but it’s a weird dynamic. They all move fluidly, even though King doesn’t really hang with them. From what I’ve seen. Or maybe he’s just not social. Just as that thought breezes through my brain, King drops down on the stool beside Kyrin, taking a massive bite
out of his sandwich with his eyes on me. It’s creepy. As though he can hear the thoughts inside my head.

  Kyrin slides over a glass of what looks like some mix of alcohol. Or Coke, maybe.

  King’s eyes stay on mine as he picks it up and takes a long drink.

  “Little Bird, come play,” Killian taunts, snapping me out of my Kingston trance.

  “Play what?” I ask, watching them all with suspicion.

  Killian raises a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Well, if I get to choose…”

  If I play a game with them, cards by the looks of it, what could be the worst that could happen?

  “Go on, Little Bird. They don’t bite,” Justice adds faintly.

  “Oh, don’t we?” Killian teases, sending me a wink.

  King kicks out the chair opposite his, nodding his head toward it. “Well, come on, Little Dove.” He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees, while pinning me with his icy glare. “Don’t you want to see if we bite?”

  My legs shake beneath my weight, and my breath catches in my throat, but I find myself heading straight for the chair. One step. Two step. Three… I sit, noticing the cards laid out on the table.

  “What are we playing?”

  King leans back in his chair and grins. “You.”

  I clear my throat. I’ve never seen his smirk, and now I wish I hadn’t. It’s deadly, like something you’d imagine in your nightmares. The only difference between him and the monster that awaits you in those nightmares when you close your eyes is that Kingston comes dressed as everything you’ve ever wanted.

  “He’s kidding.” Keaton stares at me blankly.

  “Or is he?” Killian teases.

  Kyrin rolls his eyes, dealing my hand. “The game is called sixers.” Kyrin hands me six cards and continues. “The object of the game is to read people. Can you do that?”

  “Honestly?” I answer, scooping up my cards. “No.”

  Kyrin pauses his dealing, his eyes going around the table. He keeps talking. “Well, you might learn, or you might not. I guess we’re about to find out. So the object is for all of us to pick up the cards. The dealer, who is me for this hand, has three questions. You start with the left and go around the circle. Use your three questions wisely, because that’s all you get before you have to guess the one card they pick out of the six they have. You get it right, you get that card. The player with the most cards at the end of the game has one dare to use. So, say if I won, I could choose one of you to do anything that I wanted, and you’d have to do it.”