by Devney Perry
“Come where?” I counter, looking around the table. King is bad for every girl walking this planet. He has a face that is crafted to perfection, with a body built from steel, but that’s not why he’s poison. He’s everything you were instilled to fear as a little girl. He’s your father’s worst nightmare and your mother’s wet dream. He carries himself with confidence and danger. His felonious smirk is one thing, but the way his eyes dismiss you is another. King is exactly like Lion, only worse. So, so, so much worse. Because even after two years of dating Lion, I never felt with him the way I feel while being around King. Because even if Lion was a cold bastard, he would never have done anything to truly hurt me. And that scares me, that King already makes me feel vulnerable. You can’t have feelings for a corpse. They don’t feel back.
King shuffles in his seat, spreading his knees wide. His eyes, again, remain cool, but his mouth twitches on the corner.
I look down to his lap, and then look back up to his face. I don’t trust him or the game he’s playing, but I find my feet moving anyway. And it’s not because of some creepy mind game they all like to do; it’s because underneath the cement of trust issues I have, especially when it comes to The Brothers, I want to know what he wants. And maybe that makes me dumb as fuck.
I’m standing directly in front of him when he tilts his head and stares back up at me. Killian is blasting “Deuces” from Chris Brown, which I’m thankful for because it drowns out the bad decisions I’m thinking about making.
His fingers come to mine, and he yanks me down until I’m on his lap.
I turn in his grip until his face is directly in front of mine. “What are you doing?”
“Does it matter?”
“Ah. Yes?”
His lips come to mine. His tongue dips into my mouth and fills the pit of my belly with lava, using my organs as a mixer. Deadly, but warm. Slowly, I open wider for him, running the tip of my tongue across his bottom lip. Well, Killian did ask to see if he would kiss me…
A chuckle breaks out behind me, and I go to pull away, knowing that we’ve been caught. Only King’s hand flies to the back of my neck to hold me there. He deepens the kiss, so I wrap my arms around his neck.
Kyrin is sitting at the table, texting on his phone, like what just happened didn’t surprise him. I’m guessing not much does.
“King!” Keaton calls out from the top of the stairs behind me.
Kingston takes his eyes away from me as they go up to where Keaton is. He taps my leg, and I swing off him, brushing my hair out of my face. I try to ignore how the blood rushing around my insides is making my ears throb, but it’s a little hard when his kisses are like heroin, taking hold of my control and smashing it to itty bitty pieces. King says nothing as he disappears upstairs, taking my pride with him.
I can’t believe I kissed him. I can’t blame it on the hype of the environment either. I was stone-cold sober and normal.
“Don’t get too excited,” Kyrin says. His tone is bored, his eyes never moving up from his phone. It’s probably the most Kyrin has ever said to me.
“I’m not.”
Finally, he lifts his eyes to mine. Kyrin’s features are as sharp as a samurai sword. He’s almost too pretty to be human. His eyelashes are so black and thick that it looks like he’s always wearing eyeliner and mascara. But he’s scary. “King never does anything without a reason, much less a girl. Like you. And no offense,” his eyes go up and down my body, making me squirm in self-consciousness, “but you’re not his usual type.”
“Correction,” Killian calls out from the front. “He doesn’t have a type.”
I shuffle away from Kyrin. He goes back to doing whatever it was that he was doing, and I make my way to the front of the RV, sitting in the passenger seat.
“Don’t take anything that Ky says personally. He doesn’t have good people skills.”
“I figured that out. Are you the outcast Brother?” I joke, putting my feet onto the dash and embracing the afternoon sun that’s warming my skin.
Killian laughs. “I’ve been told that many times.”
“So, what’s the deal with the whole Brothers of Kiznitch thing?” I finally ask the question that’s been poking around in my brain since finding out.
Killian doesn’t answer, and for a second, I don’t think he’s going to, until he simply says, “It’s a long story.”
I let the silence settle around us. I like silence. I need to be able to sit in silence with people, and if I can’t, then I can’t be around those people. Silence is the most underrated sound. “What Kyrin meant to say was that King doesn’t do the whole exclusivity thing. If you’re with him, you have to know that he’s never fully yours.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “We kissed.” I play it off as if it’s nothing, ignoring my heart beating in my chest and my stomach curling.
“Yeah, it shocked me because King doesn’t kiss. Ever.” Killian snorts. “And that was a kiss that was hot enough to be turned into porn.” My eyes fly up to the rearview mirror and then go back to the road. “Just know that he’s never had a girlfriend. Ever. There will never be a girlfriend as far as King goes. As long as you’re cool with that, then you’re good.”
“Why are you telling me this?” I swallow past the boulder in my throat. I’m a damn masochist because the pain that comes with this knowledge doesn’t stop me from asking questions, knowing that the answers are going to hurt me.
He shrugs. “Is it hard to believe that I don’t want you to get hurt?”
“Yes,” I answer instantly. “Because you guys had me locked in a cell for a whole week. So yeah, it does.”
Killian laughs. “Well, you remember that next time you have your tongue down the devil’s throat.” He chuckles. “All things sinister taste like honey.”
I sigh, resting my head on the back of the chair. I silently vow to myself that I won’t kiss King again.
Dove
We’re in Texas and the location crew has already started setting up the equipment. We got in late last night, and, somehow, between us arriving, sleeping, and waking, the crew has already partially set up the monstrous tent. Texas is hot. So hot that I can barely damn well breathe, so I’m making my way through the RV in my sports bra and little shorts. Sweat is pouring out of my flesh everywhere, and if something doesn’t cool me down fast, I think I might die. The front door swings open, and King is standing there shirtless with cotton shorts on that hang nicely off his hips. His hair is in disarray all over his head and sweat slicks over his muscled torso.
Focus.
“Why is it so hot?”
King’s eyes go up and down my body before coming back to my eyes. “Because Texas.”
“No, I mean, do we have air-con in here? I might die.”
“If only,” he mumbles, climbing up the steps that bring him into the RV. “Get your bikini. We’re going to the waterhole while we wait for the crew to set up the generator.”
I dash into my room and grab the first bikini I can find, slipping it on. Nothing fancy. Just a yellow and white two-piece. I take a couple of bottled waters out of the fridge before slipping on some little white ripped shorts and a tank. I’m taking a sip of water and waiting for King outside when he finally emerges. I fall into step beside him.
The silence that hangs between us is comfortable as we pass everyone’s RVs. Just as we come up to Midnight’s, Maya and Rose are exiting, but Val and Mischa are already sitting outside, rubbing oil onto their bodies. Killian, Kyrin, and Keaton show up next with a few people I haven’t met yet. I make eye contact with a few of them, but they make it obvious when they pointedly avoid me.
Val pauses while rubbing oil onto her leg, her eyes fixed on me. She pushes off her chair and bounces her way to King. “Can you oil my back?”
King pays her no attention. “No.” He shoves past her and goes straight for Maya. He leans into her ear and whispers something, her eyes coming to mine.
“Don’t get comfortable on that seat. You’re on
ly keeping it warm until he comes back to me,” Val announces as I’m passing her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I throw back over my shoulder, mainly because I don’t. Unless she’s picking up something that I haven’t yet. Or maybe she’s just insecure because I’m staying with them.
Rose comes over to me, wearing a little red bikini and nothing else, her arm hooking with mine. “I need a swim before I melt.”
“Ditto.”
“Hey.” She tugs on my arm, just as we all start walking toward God knows where. “Are you okay in there? You can ask Delila for your own trailer. I heard her speaking with Justice the other day, and they both agree that you’re going to have your own show on top of the SOK scenes.”
“SOK?” I ask, before I connect the dots. “Right. I don’t know what she would want me to do.”
“Um…” Rose rolls her eyes. “Dance, of course.”
I drop my sunglasses over my eyes. “I’m nothing special.”
“You are so wrong.” Rose turns her head over her shoulder slightly, before coming back to me. “When you dance, Dove, you create a new world. You captivate the entire audience. There’s peace in your movements.”
King’s arm wraps around my torso, pulling me into him as he walks behind me. “Yeah, but always remember that in peace always lies havoc.”
I try to wiggle out of his grip to no avail. Once we’re in the parking lot, King pulls out a set of keys and pushes the unlock button on his keyring. A black Ford Raptor lights up. He points to it. “Get in the car.”
“Can she ride with us?” Rose pleads. “I haven’t seen her in so long!”
King pauses, cutting her with his corpse eyes. “No.”
At least he’s not an asshole just to me. It’s an overall personality defect. “I’ll see you when I get there,” I tell Rose, making my way to the truck. I go to slip into the back when someone picks me up from behind and puts me in front of the passenger’s side door. I turn around to find Killian smirking. “Little Bird rides shotgun.”
Sighing, I open the door just in time to see Val glaring at me from the other side of the parking lot. She’s about to slip into a white Range Rover, but paused her movements to make it known to me that she hates me.
“Don’t worry about her,” Killian catches me off guard by whispering into my ear. “She’s just jealous because King has never paid her any attention that goes past the bedroom.”
“What?” I say, turning to face him.
Killian shrugs. “King fucks her and disregards her. When I say fuck, I mean just fuck. He never touches her. Never kisses her. Everything they do is in the bedroom, and nothing past that door, and it’s her door, not his door.”
“Are you both done gossiping?” King starts up the loud truck, and I pull myself up by the running board, sinking into the leather seat. I can feel him watching me out of the corner of my eye, but I ignore him. I’m confused by the sudden back and forth. At what point did he and I establish something? I missed it. That’s what worries me. It was organic. The knots and bonds were knitted without me noticing. Now I don’t know how to untie all the knots because I missed how they were woven together.
“Stop thinking too much into whatever the fuck Kill is filling your head with.” King drives us out of the parking lot, following behind the Range Rover and another car.
“I’m not.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, you are.”
“And you can read my mind now?” I tease, chancing a look at him.
His jaw tenses, and for a second, I want to hit myself for joking with him. It’s bad enough that I can’t stop kissing him or being on his lap, let alone joking with him. And anyway, he probably can read my mind. I wouldn’t put it past him. Or any of them.
He hits the stereo, and we let the music fill the empty space around us. Which is a lot because this truck is massive. “Hail to the King” by Avenged Sevenfold starts playing. I roll my eyes at the irony of the song and distract myself with all of the passing trees and buildings. The road turns into gravel, and we’re bouncing down a bumpy road.
I spin around and look at Killian, Kyrin, and Keaton, who are in the back.
Killian’s already smirking at me from the middle. “What? Scared we’re taking you somewhere to kill you?”
“Actually, that thought didn’t cross my mind, surprisingly, but where did the rest of them go?”
“Lost them on the trip.” Keaton catches my attention. Talking with Keaton on the way here was probably one of the highlights of my trip. He’s not someone who looks like he makes a lot of friends, but for whatever reason, he’s chosen to make one out of me.
I turn back around, just as King pulls up to a clearing. “Wow!” There’s a long waterfall that’s pouring over a cliff, crashing into the clear water below. “Wait, how do we know there aren’t gators or anything in this water?”
King shrugs, climbing out of the truck. As soon as his door is opened, the humidity slaps me across the face, and suddenly, I no longer care. Anything to take away this sticky heat. Just as I’m closing the door, the Range Rover and other truck pull in, parking beside us. I’m instantly annoyed that Val is here.
They all stammer out, and Rose yanks at my towel. “Take your clothes off, Dovey!” She hands me a wine cooler, and we clash our bottles together in a cheers.
I take a sip and watch the rest of the girls strip half naked and all go diving into the water after The Brothers.
“You all right?” a voice says from behind me. “Why aren’t you in the water?”
I turn around to find a guy I haven’t met yet. He’s tall and slender with kind brown eyes. He’s attractive, at first glance.
“I’m getting there.” I chuckle.
He laughs, and I notice his white teeth instantly against his tanned skin. His eyes fall on me. He has a friendly face. “I’m Jackson, but people call me Jack.”
My hand meets his. “Dove.”
“I know who you are.” He winks, removing his shirt. No ink. Not even the star that The Brothers have. Interesting.
He dives into the water, just as I slip out of my sandals.
“Oh, come on, Little Bird. Get in the water!” Killian yells.
“What are you scared about?” Val snaps, climbing up one of the rocks, shaking the water from her toned body. The Brothers don’t pay her any attention.
Shrugging off my towel, I toss it to the ground, placing my wine cooler on top. I pad my way to the rock that Jack dived off of.
“Dovey! Holy shit!” Mischa is laughing from the water. “That dancer body, though!”
“What?” I look down at my soft curves, but athletic frame. I have a tight six-pack and more muscles than bone, but essentially, I still wiggle in places. I like it that way, because I love food. “You’re insane. You’re all fit.”
“And you’re not?” Rose challenges me with a sneaky eyebrow lift.
I roll my eyes and dive into the water, instantly releasing all of my stress that the heat had brought upon me. My head breaks through the water, and I swipe the excess off my face, laughing.
“Feel better?” King whispers from behind me, just as his arm locks around my torso.
I spin around, wetting my hair back, so it’s not all over my face. “Much better.” I’m still laughing when I lean forward and kiss him softly on the lips. I freeze when I pull back. “Sorry—”
His lips are on mine again, his arm tightening around my waist. He releases me after a few seconds, and his eyes are searching mine.
“What are we doing?”
“Don’t do that,” he murmurs against my lips.
“Do what?” I want to know what he means. Suddenly, everyone and everything has disappeared behind me, and it’s just King and me.
“Don’t ask questions that you’re not ready to hear the answers for.”
“And you think I’m not ready?” I probe, wanting something. Anything. “You said that you hated me.”
“Yeah, and what did I say af
ter I admitted that?” The words come out of his mouth, but his arms are still holding me beneath the water.
I think over my very brief memories, before his words come back to me in a violent echo. “I don’t need to like you to fuck you.”
“Okay.” I flutter my arms to keep me afloat, but fail miserably when I sink back under water. His hands come to the back of my ass, and he lifts me up out of the water again, forcing my legs around his waist. I’m chuckling with my arms around his neck. “We didn’t finish that conversation. Why do you hate me?”
His eyes narrow, and for a very brief second, I’m lost in his blatant masculinity. His dark hair and lashes. His very prominent jaw that always looks as though he’s tensing it—that’s how cut it is, and the way his eyes can express almost every human emotion while not exuding any at all. “All in good time.”
“Dovey! Want your drink?” Rose hollers, snapping me out of King’s trance. I push away from him and start swimming to the shoreline until my feet touch the sandy bottom. Once I’m out of the water, I take my drink and set my towel up beside her as she flicks through her phone and turns some music on.
“Are you okay?” she asks without looking at me. I get the feeling she’s trying to be secretive in her questions.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” I answer, running my fingers through my hair before it tangles.
She exhales, turning her full attention to me. “Please be careful, Dove. They’re not what you think they are. They’re—”
“Hey!” Mischa, the brunette girl who seems to have way too much energy for her little body, flicks her towel down on the other side of Rose. “You and King?”
“Ah…”
Maya drops her towel beside mine, complaining about wearing a bikini, even though she’s wearing sport shorts over her bottoms. “Fucking hate this Texas heat.”
“So?” Mischa further forces.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Mischa. Shut up and leave her alone.” Maya puts a joint between her lips and lights the tip, inhaling. She passes it to me, but I decline.
“Oh, come on.” Maya smirks. “I just put her in her place. The least you can do is have a puff on me.”
