Disconnect

by Phoenyx Slaughter

  “Please, please, please,”

  Warm breath skates over my cheek as he bites at my ear. “What do you need, baby girl?”

  “You.”

  “You got me. What else?”

  One of his hands drops to my hip, then slowly slides down. His fingers brush my clit with feather-light strokes you wouldn’t expect from a man so rough.

  “More?” he rasps against my ear.

  “Yes, please.” I barely recognize my own voice, it’s so close to begging. “Please, Dante.”

  A growl rips from his throat and he pulls out of me, nudging me on my back. Working his way down my body, he leaves a trail of kisses over my breasts, my tummy, and uses his big hand to open my thighs wide. Thick fingers dig in to my flesh, holding me the way he wants. His warm breath tickles over my sensitive flesh and I let out a whimper.

  “You smell like fuckin’ heaven, Karina.”

  My skin heats from his intense tone and the way he seems to be studying me. It’s wrong, but also so right.

  He brushes a finger against my clit and I jump, pushing into his hand. Oh, shit. His tongue flattens against me, sampling me again, and more needy crying noises ease out of me.

  “Fuck me. You’re the best thing I’ve ever tasted.” His words vibrate against my pussy making me even crazier with need. He holds me open and attacks me with his tongue and lips, devouring me, until I’m bucking and squirming against his face. One finger drifts over my pussy, then slides inside, expertly finding that spot that makes me cry out and grind into his face even harder.

  I’m barely finished quivering when he crawls back up my body, lowering himself between my legs. I shiver as the head of his cock presses against me.

  “Good, baby girl?”

  “Oh, yes. Please, give me more.”

  “You want this?” he teases as he pushes in just enough to make me cry in frustration.

  “Dante, stop teasing…”

  His warm, rough laughter rumbles over me. “It’s killing me just as much.”

  I bump my hips up. “Then fuck me.”

  He leans down, catching the sensitive skin of my neck with his teeth. “Easy, baby girl. Don’t make me spank you.”

  “Maybe I want you to.”

  He finally has mercy and shoves all the way in then stops. “Christ, baby girl. I haven’t had such lack of control since I was a teenager.”

  I’m not sure what he means, but I tighten and arch my back. He presses his hips into me, sinking further inside, but also pinning me down. “Don’t. Fuckin’. Move,” he growls against my ear.

  My arms slide around his neck and I pull myself up so I can whisper in his ear. “Give it to me hard. Fuck me like you mean it. Like you were as scared as I was.”

  He draws back, and even in the dark, I can see his eyes searching my face. He pulls out, and then pushes back in, harder than before.

  Closing my eyes, I fall back against the bed, arching my back, offering myself to him. His mouth covers my breast, sucking my nipple so hard pleasure zings straight through me. He moves to the next breast, giving it the same treatment, and I wriggle under him until he slams into me again. His slow, ragged breaths excite me even more. Each time he pushes in, he grinds himself against my clit then pulls out so slowly, dragging against the spot that feels sweetest.

  “More.” I barely get the word out before he rams himself home again. I gasp and moan in surprise, then giggle because it feels so amazing. Then he lays his big body over mine, so we’re pressed together and he hammers into me hard and fast.

  I gasp and his mouth covers mine, kissing me fierce and violent until I break and come apart under him again. This time he comes with me, and I feel every pulse and twitch as he fills me with his cum. Even as he’s winding down, he keeps thrusting into me, milking every last throb of pleasure from my body.

  He raises himself up on his hands and kisses my cheek.

  “Karina? Baby? Why’re you crying?”

  “I’m so happy to be home.”

  I feel the same way. We’re not home, but her home’s with me. Wherever I am is where she belongs. I press my lips against her forehead and roll off her. “Yeah, me too.”

  She nuzzles her way under my arm until her head’s on my chest. Warm breath drifting over my skin. I let her have a minute, until her breathing evens out. My arm flexes, giving her a quick squeeze. “We need to talk, baby girl.”

  She stirs, presses her hand against my chest and sits up, tucking the sheet under her arms. Reaching over, I flip on the lamp beside the bed. It throws out a weak circle of light, but it’s enough for now.

  “About what?” she asks.

  I slide myself up, so my back’s to the headboard, and she scoots over with her back to the wall. “I need you to tell me everything that happened.”

  “But I already—”

  “Karina.” I use a sterner tone and her eyes widen. “Tell me everything he said to you.”

  “He said a lot of crazy stuff.”

  This is gonna be like pullin’ teeth. Good thing I’ve got experience extracting information from reluctant sources. Bad thing is I can’t use any of my usual methods on my girl.

  “Tell me how you two first met.”

  She scrunches up her face as if she can’t understand why I need to know that bit of history. I’m not sure either, but I feel like a giant piece of this puzzle is in her past.

  “We lived next door to each other when we were kids. My mom…drank a lot. My dad was always on the road.” Her shoulders lift and she glances at the door. “He made sure I got to school safe and would bring dinner over if my mother was too out of it to cook.”

  Christ, I hate hearing the shit she’s been through. “And?”

  “I don’t know. I had a crush on him. I was a girl and he was a boy who was nice to me. My mother died when I was twelve and my dad actually stayed home for a while and took care of me. He didn’t like how close we were, so Logan stayed away. But as usual, my Dad took off again.” She snorts and shakes her head. “I annoyed Logan until he said he was my boyfriend.” She looks down at her hands, wiggling her fingers. “He was my first. But you know that.”

  “Yeah. When’d you break up?”

  “Sophomore year? After he graduated.” She sniffles and keeps her gaze focused on her hands. “We spent the summer together. It was the best summer of my life. He took me everywhere with him. Then at the end of the summer, he told me we were through. He was joining the MC and couldn’t have a kid for a girlfriend.”

  It sounds cruel, but knowing what we put the prospects through, it was probably for the best.

  “Of course, like a fool, I didn’t believe him. I kept coming around his house.” She shakes her head in disgust. “Leaving him these pathetic notes. He yelled at me. I still didn’t get it. I caught him with another girl, and I just threw myself at him even worse.”

  I reach out and grab her hand, but it only makes her cry harder.

  “I was an idiot. I see that now. But back then—”

  “It’s okay, baby girl.”

  “One or two nights after our last big argument, a man crept into my room. He…threatened me. Told me to stay away from Logan.”

  I bolt upright and tug her closer. “Who? What man?”

  “I don’t know. I couldn’t see his face. I didn’t recognize his voice. He reeked of smoke.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  She ducks her head so her hair falls forward, covering her face. “Yes.”

  I’m so fucking livid, the edges of my vision turn red. “Did he rape you?”

  “No. Not exactly.”

  What the fuck does that mean?

  I give her a minute to get herself together.

  “He held me down…forced his…Dante, I can’t do this. It’s too embarrassing. I’ve never told anyone what happened that night.”

  “Karina. You’ve got nothing to be embarrassed about with me. Not ever. Someone hurt you and I want to know what happened so I can fix it.”


  “You can’t—”

  “Yes, I can. Now tell me.” Is this the right thing to do to a traumatized girl? I have no fucking idea. Fuckin’ the hell out of her for the last couple months was probably wrong too. Didn’t stop me. And I ain’t stupid enough not to know that most of the girls who hang around our clubhouse been through similar shit. Never stopped to think about it before. Long as they were of age and no one was forcing ‘em to be here, I never gave a shit about their issues. My girl, though? I ain’t kidding. Somehow, I will fix this.

  “He…forced his fingers in me. Until he…got me off. Then he said since I could get off so easily for someone else, I obviously wasn’t as in love with Logan as I thought I was, and I needed to find another boyfriend to take my mind off him. Threatened to come back if he heard one word about me sniffing around Logan again.”

  Jesus Christ, that’s some fucked up shit. And this is from a guy who treated ‘fucked up’ as his personal motto.

  “What else?”

  She shakes her head. “Nothing. I stayed away from him. Kept my head down and my mouth shut. Maybe a week before you and I met, I ran into him with some girl on the back of his bike.” Her shoulders twitch. “It made me so fucking angry.”

  “So you decided to get even with him?” Lucky for me. Were it not for that little run-in, she and I might not have met. Now that I have her, I don’t know what the fuck I’d do without her.

  “Yes. It was stupid. I’m so sorry, Dante.”

  “Nothing to be sorry for, Karina. You came clean. We talked it out. We’re good.” I’m slammed with the thought of just how innocent she is. Plot she came up with? Not many of the women I know would feel a hint of shame over it. My girl’s still apologizing.

  I’m so motherfuckin’ wrong for her.

  The worst part is, I don’t care. She’s mine now. No matter what.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “What else can you tell me?”

  She fidgets and blows air out her pursed lips. “I don’t know. It was a long time ago. I tried so hard to forget.”

  “Just think. Anything?”

  She leans back and closes her eyes. “He was big. Not as big as you, but in the dark, looming over me, he seemed huge.”

  “Okay.”

  “He had an accent. Not Spanish or Southern like around here.”

  That’s interesting. And probably helps me cross a lot of people off my list.

  “It reminded me of one of those mob boss accents, like on TV. I was so scared he was like some crazy mafia guy, come to cut my fingers off.”

  Neither of us laughs. In my head, I’m guessing she means a New York or Jersey accent. Know a few MCs in that area. Know one or two nomads from that area who do jobs like Karina’s describing.

  “That’s good, baby. Thank you.”

  She nods but looks so damn lost.

  Holding my arms out, I urge her closer and she crawls over the tangled sheets to throw herself against me, letting out a harsh sob. “I was so scared, because I was all alone. I made my dad get all new locks, but I used to be terrified when he was gone for long stretches.”

  Jesus Christ. Again I’m asking myself how the fuck anyone could abandon this girl? “Baby, what’s your dad’s name?”

  She peers up at me, forehead wrinkling in confusion. “Ken, why?”

  Fuck me. “Ken Rivers?”

  “Yeah. Why are you asking?”

  “No reason. Just thinking I ought to have a chat with him one day about the right way to take care of a daughter.”

  Her lips quirk up. “You don’t have to do that. I’m safe now.”

  Hearing her say that is like a fucking knife twisting in my chest. I lean over and kiss her forehead. “Yeah, you are.”

  Before I can get anything else out someone knocks on the door. “Shit, give me a second.”

  She nods and rolls herself up tight in the sheet. I slip on a pair of sweatpants and find Sadie on the other side of the door.

  “You said she needed some stuff?” She holds out two plastic shopping bags. “Nothing fancy.”

  “Thanks, Sadie. What do I owe ya?”

  “Nothing. Luck took care of it.”

  I raise an eyebrow and she shrugs. Looking past me, she waves at Karina, and I take a step back. “Party goin’ on, sweetheart, not as rowdy as usual, if you want to join us?”

  “Thanks,” Karina says and when I turn, I see she’s blushing a couple different shades of red.

  I appreciate Sadie making the effort to make my girl feel welcomed. “Thanks, Sadie.”

  After she leaves, I paw through the stuff. Fuckin’ Sadie knows me well. I snort at the mini-skirts and the lack of underwear in the bags.

  “You up to hangin’ out there?”

  “Sure. Whatever you want.”

  Yeah, I know she’ll do whatever I want, but that’s not what I asked. She reaches for the bag and pulls out one of the skirts. Her cute little nose wrinkles and she pulls out a pair of leggings. “Nah, just the skirt, baby girl.”

  Her wide eyes meet mine and one corner of her mouth curves up in a sly smile I’m not used to seein’ on my girl.

  When Dante tells me what he likes to see on me, the intense way he focuses his dark eyes on me, my insides turn to liquid heat. Slipping into the short, black full skirt without anything underneath feels wrong, but in a good way. The material is soft and when it swirls around my legs a wave of sexy confidence washes over me. Sadie included a thin red tank top. When I reach for my bra, Dante stops me.

  “Wanna see those nipples poking through, babe.”

  For a second it’s like trying to breathe underwater. “Dante, I can’t—”

  “Yeah, you can.”

  I can do anything if he says it in that voice. My knees weaken and he steps closer, until my nipples brush against his chest.

  His hand grazes my thigh, pushing my skirt up, slipping between my legs. One thick, rough finger finds my pussy, rubbing slow and steady. “I think you like it.”

  I do.

  Abruptly he stops. “Get dressed, or I’m gonna fuck you until you can’t walk.”

  “Maybe I want you to.”

  His mouth tips up in a wicked grin. “I think you wanna go over my knee later.”

  He’s right.

  I slide the shirt on and try not to feel completely naked with my breasts bouncing under the flimsy fabric.

  There’s a pair of black ballet flats in the bag and I raise an eyebrow. “No hooker heels?”

  “Nah, I’d rather have you barefoot, but not to run around here.”

  I’ll have to keep that in mind.

  The simmering look he gives me when I’m ready to go almost makes me want to stay in. But I’m curious and full of nervous energy. My stomach rumbles. Apparently, I’m also hungry.

  When we’re in the hallway, he pulls me close. “You look perfect in my club’s colors,” Dante whispers in my ear.

  “Red and black?”

  His mouth curves into a soft smile I’ve only ever seen him use with me. “Yeah.”

  The main room is crowded. People yell to Dante, and I tuck myself against him as tight as I can.

  He steers me to the bar and glares at one of the men seated there until he moves; then he fits his hands onto my waist and lifts me onto the stool.

  “How you feeling, Karina?” The low gentle voice on my right belongs to Luck and my mouth pulls into a smile.

  “Better.”

  He turns to Dante, who’s taken up the space behind me, but left his hands on my shoulders. “Romeo’s looking for you.”

  “Figured. Can you have one of the girls bring her something to eat and watch her while I go talk to him?”

  “Yeah, no problem.”

  Dante squeezes my arm before leaving. Then I’m alone with Luck. Not that he scares me. The opposite really. In this whole scary place, he’s the only one who doesn’t frighten me.

  “What do you want to eat?”

  “I don’t know. What are my options?”

>   “Anything.”

  I cock my head at him and he laughs. “Grilled cheese?”

  “You got it.” He turns and flags one of the nearly naked girls running around. She glances at me and smiles which is a nice change from the stink-eye I usually get.

  “She’s not going to spit in it is she?” I ask him after she leaves.

  “Not if she knows what’s good for her.” He doesn’t crack a smile when he says it. “Dante says you’re finishing your senior year?”

  For some reason, my cheeks heat up. “Yeah.”

  “Know what you want to do after?”

  “Something in the medical field.” I’ve been rethinking this a lot lately. In fact, before all the craziness with Logan happened, I wanted to talk to Dante about a chemistry class one of my teachers suggested I take over the summer.

  “Nice. You must be smart.” At first, I think he’s teasing me, but he doesn’t smile.

  “Thanks.”

  The girl Luck asked to grab my dinner slides in between us and sets a plate down on the bar.

  “Thank you.”

  “Need ketchup?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Her mouth curves up. “Yeah, I can’t eat ‘em without lots of ketchup either. I’m Amy if you need anything around here, just let me know.”

  “Thanks, Amy.”

  I really am starving, so I practically ignore Luck while I devour my sandwich. “Amy’s nice,” I mumble at him between mouthfuls.

  “Yeah. She’s a good girl. Sadie, too. They both help out a lot around here.”

  I nod but I wonder if he’s hinting that I should help around the clubhouse?

  “Tell me you heard somethin’?” I ask as soon as I step into Romeo’s office.

  “Sort of.” He jerks his chin at the chair across from his desk. “Have a seat.”

  A heavy sigh that doesn’t conceal my irritation leaves me as I drop into the chair.

  “Can you cut the dramatics, prez?”