by Ella Miles
I consider pulling out my phone to call Lucy. It will attract Vincent. I don’t want to go back to him, but I’d rather be locked up in his tower than raped by six men. But if I pull my phone out, it will only slow me down. Plus, I’m a solid hour away from the city; they wouldn’t make it in time to save me.
My foot catches in a tree root, and I fall face-first into the ground. I immediately jump back to my feet, but it’s too late. A hand grabs my arm and yanks me to his hard body.
Hoops and hollers leave the other boys, like they just caught their prey—me.
The guy’s arm goes around my neck, but he doesn’t bother restraining my arms. Too cocky, too convinced he has control over me.
I don’t have time. I have to make a move now before the other boys grab ahold of me. I might be able to take this guy, but not six.
Instinct takes over—I bite his arm at the same time I elbow him hard in the groin.
He releases me, and I run. I don’t make it ten steps before a hand grabs onto the collar of my shirt.
“Let me go, you bastard!”
“And here I thought you wanted me to play hero.”
“Beckett?”
He shoves me back like he can’t stand to touch me for even a second. I bounce into Caius’s arms—I can’t tell if he’s holding me because he cares about me or because I’m their captive. Gage, Hayes, and Lennox—I spot them all in the shadows on either side of him.
“You caught her,” the leader of the bro pack says with a smile. “We’ll let you have her after we’re done.”
Beckett growls in response. “She’s not yours. She’s ours.”
“But—”
Beckett takes one step toward them, the growl still reverberating through the forest. But there must be something else in his eyes or his stance that causes the frat boys to turn around and leave us alone in the woods.
They came.
My eyes dance between each of them, trying to read their emotions, but it’s like they’ve all turned them off. Beckett’s back is still to me. I can’t see Caius without turning my head and making it obvious that I’m looking for some reassurance that he still cares. Hayes won’t look at me. Gage is stone. And even Lennox, who usually has his angry scowl on his face, just stares into the darkness.
Beckett turns, ignoring me completely as he starts stomping in the other direction toward a clearing.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
He stops and sucks all the oxygen in the forest right along with him.
“I’m sorry about Odette. I can’t imagine what it feels like to lose your wife.” I look to Caius, who is still gripping my arm. “To lose your sister.” I look to the other guys. “Your friend. I’m so sorry for your loss.”
Beckett’s head snaps toward me. His nostrils flare, and the moonlight catches his eyes, making him look possessed. Last time I saw him, he was mourning; now he’s full of uncontrolled rage. It’s the only thing keeping him going—holding onto his fury.
He doesn’t speak. Caius releases my arm without a word and steps back with the others. It’s clear they are going to let Beckett do all the talking. They are just here to support him.
Silence stretches between Beckett and me. The only thing we can hear are voices of the party in the distance.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I say again to break the silence.
“Sorry for my loss?” he chuckles. “Sorry? Why would you be sorry when you helped Corsi do it?”
“Vincent didn’t kill her.”
I feel the glares of the rest of the guys disagreeing with me.
“I don’t want to hear your lies!” Beckett marches toward me. The move is supposed to scare me, get me to run again, but of all the people I’m scared of, Beckett isn’t one of them.
He doesn’t touch me, but his breath is fire. I stare longingly at his lips, remembering the last time I kissed him. Kissing him was different than any kiss I’ve ever had before. His kisses made me come alive; they made me feel like me, instead of whatever this version is of me.
“Corsi really did a number on you, didn’t he?” he says.
I frown, my eyes narrow as I try to understand his words.
“You’re so fucked up that I threaten you and all you want to do is kiss me.” His hand runs up and down my hip, and I purr. “You want me to fuck you so badly. I bet your panties are soaked, am I right?”
I swallow hard, my throat tightening. My cheeks flush, but I don’t look at the other guys.
He chuckles. “Pretty fucked up that you want to fuck a guy whose wife you just killed.”
“I didn’t kill her. I had nothing to do with her death.”
“You can’t even remember.”
“Thanks to you all drugging me!”
He smirks.
The guys chuckle.
“You care.” I narrow my eyes at him. “You wouldn’t have followed me and saved me if you didn’t care.”
He leans in, the scruff of his facial hair scraping across my cheek. “I care…about retribution.”
I shiver at his words.
“I’m not afraid of you.”
“You should be.”
“I want to help you.”
He looks away, almost bored, ready to tell his guys it’s time to go. “We already established that you can’t. You don’t remember anything worthwhile. But when I figure out the truth—if you had anything to do with Odette being taken or killed, you’ll pay. I won’t spare you.”
“My memories are coming back. The fog from the drugs is slowly leaving.”
He slowly turns and looks at me again.
“The guy I was running from—I remember his eyes. They’re dark gray. Vincent has brown eyes. I haven’t found any of his men with gray eyes yet, but I will. My memories will keep coming back.”
Beckett doesn’t speak.
“I can help you. I want to help you get revenge for what happened to Odette. I can find out things from Vincent, from the other guys that you can’t.”
“So you’ll be my spy?”
I nod, looking to the others. Gage and Caius seem intrigued. Hayes seems cautious. And Lennox looks like he wants to kill me.
“And what do you want from me in return?”
“I want you to protect me when you can. Protect me, and I’ll give you information. But more importantly, I want you to win the game.”
Beckett cocks his head, his eyes turning to ice. “I save you, Princess, and you’ll get me info? I thought you didn’t want to be saved.”
“I don’t, but I realized that I’m vastly outnumbered. If I want to survive, I’m going to need allies.”
“I save you, and you’ll owe me anything.”
I don’t blink at the change of our agreement from getting him information to owing him anything he wants. It’s not exactly the easy alliance I had hoped for, but he’s here. He’s talking to me. He wouldn’t be if he didn’t care.
I nod. “Every time you save me, I’ll owe you whatever you want. I’ll help you win the game for free, though.”
He shakes his head slowly. “Oh, I plan on winning, Princess. But not so I can have the pleasure of calling you ‘wife.’” He steps into my space, backing me up until he has me boxed in between him and the trunk of a large tree.
“I’m going to own you, Princess. When I win, I’ll enjoy taking everything from you. Your father. Your family. Your friends. Your money. And then, eventually, your life. You’ll belong to me.”
His pain rattles through me. I welcome it if it means I can take a little of his agony away. I don’t know what connection we share that makes me want to help him so much.
I know he felt a deep connection to Odette—that he should have had an eternity with her. But I can’t help but feel it should have been me. We were made for each other; there is something special between us.
I doubt I’ll ever change his mind. Even if he wins, he won’t save me. He’s not my hero, and I’m not his princess. But if I can ease his grief and he can keep me ou
t of the hands of monsters, it will be enough.
He thinks I’m responsible for Odette’s death, as do the rest of the Retribution Kings. He’s wrong; I’ll prove it. And I’ll help him end anyone who took her from him.
I don’t know why I care, why I love him already. He hates me. He doesn’t want me. That will never change. And yet, I love him. I know that deep in my gut. It’s a love I’ve never felt before. The instant I met him, I loved him and knew that he’d never be mine.
I don’t know if it’s a romantic love or just a pulling of two souls who have been through a similar experience, but staring into Beckett’s brown eyes, everything floods back into me.
Everything.
Every memory.
Every pain.
Every heartache.
I remember why…
I remember who…
I could spill everything I know right here, right now, but Beckett would never believe me. I have to gain his trust.
And I have to protect him.
“I owe you for saving me. What do you want me to do?”
5
Beckett
“I owe you for saving me. What do you want me to do?” Ri says.
What do I want her to do?
I want her to tell me the truth.
I want her to admit her part in Odette’s death.
I want her to be punished for her sins.
I want…
Dammit, I want her to stop risking her fucking life because she thinks I’m her hero. I’m not. I’m nobody’s hero. I couldn’t save Odette, a woman I love; I can’t save Ri, a woman I hate.
And yet, our deal proves that she trusts me. She trusts me to save her.
She shouldn’t.
I don’t care about her.
I never will.
Losing the love of my life ensured I never care again. Not about her. Not about the guys who have sworn their loyalty to me. Not about any woman. I can’t love. I’ve lost that ability.
So Ri asking me what I want her to do is dangerous. My mind flutters with possibilities. Things she could do to get me information from her father or the other players. Things that could help me get retribution.
But I don’t trust her. Whatever information she brings me, I would have to verify myself. That’s not very useful.
Right now, all I want to do is punish her for dragging me out of bed in the middle of the night, chasing her ass to the middle of the woods, watching her dance across a bonfire with a bunch of drunk assholes, and then watching her shake her ass and croon her finger for the guys to follow her, only for her to have gotten herself into a situation she couldn’t handle.
“Do you want me to spy on Vincent? Get close to one of the other guys? Ask the guards some questions?”
“No.”
She frowns, thinking I no longer want any part of our deal.
Good, let her squirm.
In the meantime, my eyes wander to the other guys I’ve almost forgotten are here. They all look at her with anger in their eyes, even though I know Hayes and Gage aren’t upset with her. Lennox is always upset with her. And Caius—I have no clue what’s going on with him. I don’t know why he entered the game. Does he want Ri or want to hurt her like me?
Either way, it doesn’t matter. I want her to suffer for what she did. I want her to realize how stupid coming here was.
“On your knees,” I say.
She blinks at me. Even in the dark, I can see her shock. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“Why?”
“I saved you. You owe me—anything.”
Her eyes lust when I say anything, and I know what she thinks I’m going to have her do. She kneels almost immediately then, begging to touch my body. She’s that desperate. It’s pathetic really.
With Ri on her knees, her eyes are eye level with my crotch and growing with need. She licks her lips, wanting in my pants.
I chuckle. “So eager.”
The guys laugh with me. It’s then that Ri remembers the other guys are still here. Slowly, she looks around as her cheeks pinken. She tucks her wavy hair behind her ear as she scans each guy and then finally returns her vision to me.
I quirk an eyebrow. “A deal’s a deal.”
Her throat bobs, and she slowly reaches for my pants. Fighting the urge to rip my pants down and take me hungrily like she wants, while being embarrassed that we have an audience.
I wait until she has my pants undone to stop her. I grab her wrist and pull her back.
“You think I want you to suck me off? You’d like that too much.”
She sits back on her heels. “Then what do you want?”
“I want your embarrassment. I want your pain. I want your suffering. I want you to feel a hundredth of the pain you caused me!”
She flenches at my words.
My breathing is hard and uncontrollable. I feel myself losing control.
“Okay,” her small voice cuts through my pain. “How do I do that?”
“Beg for what you want.”
“I don’t understand.” She purses her lips, trying to keep her breathing steady.
“I don’t trust you. We don’t trust you. Maybe someday, that will change. But for now, I don’t trust any information you give me. Now, all I want is for you to suffer.”
“What if I’m telling the truth? What if I had nothing to do with Odette’s death? You’ll punish me for something I didn’t do.” Her eyes are fire, her words pure strength. It’s going to take a lot to break her. She’s not easily broken, but I’m going to enjoy every second of her pain.
“I’m not punishing you for killing Odette. If I find out you had a role, you’ll know—the pain I’ll inflict will be nothing compared to now.”
“Then why punish me now?”
“Because you’re a careless, spoiled little princess who needs to understand that we aren’t at your beck and call. We aren’t your heroes. I’m not your hero. And if you want to be part of our group, you have to earn my trust.”
She nods softly.
“Now beg for what you want.”
Her eyes dart back one more time to Caius, Hayes, Gage, and Lennox as she takes a deep, steadying breath. And then her dark eyes look up at me, hooded with lust and desire.
“Please,” her voice is breathy.
I give her an amused grin. “Please? That’s all you got, Princess?”
“Please, I want you. I want to suck your cock.” Her cheeks are crimson. I relish her embarrassment. I stroke her long hair.
“Sorry, Princess, you don’t get my cock. You haven’t earned it. And I doubt you ever will.” Thank god it’s dark because as much as I hate her, my dick still thinks she’s hot as fuck on her knees in front of me, her long eyelashes batting up at me and begging for my cock.
With her in this position, I can’t completely deny myself some pleasure.
“Suck my fingers like you want my cock.”
Her tongue swipes over her bottom lip, and a drop of drool drips out of the corner of lips, just thinking about it. She’s desperate for me.
Ri reaches out and grabs my hand, her breathing short and nervous as she moves my hand toward her mouth. As much as she wants to touch me, any part of me, she hesitates and looks back again at our audience.
“What’s wrong, Princess? They’ve already seen you naked. Kissed your lips. Fondled your breasts. Thrusted their cocks inside your cunt. But this is what gets you bashful?”
My words get the feisty fire to return to her eyes. My opponent returns to her true form as she grabs two of my fingers and slides them between her lips.
I don’t let myself react. This isn’t about my pleasure; it’s about making her suffer. It appears embarrassing her is the way to do that—not physical pain, but mental. My cock doesn’t get the message, though. My boxers tighten as her lips slip over my fingers, pretending they’re my cock.
Her eyes lock on mine as she pumps her lips over my fingers.
I smirk at her, letting h
er know she’s not affecting me, but I know I’m affecting her. She has no control. No power. If she wants my help, she has to be completely at my mercy.
She goes to pull her lips away, thinking she’s done, but her humiliation has barely started.
“More.”
Her chest heaves, and this time when she sucks my fingers into her mouth, she doesn’t hold back. She pushes my fingers deep into my mouth, her tongue swirling around as she gags on my fingers. Drool slips from the corner of her mouth, and I see uncontrolled desire in her eyes.
She shuts her eyes, blocking me out, not letting me see how much this act is turning her on.
“Open your eyes, Princess.”
She does, reluctantly, but that drives her to suck me harder until I let out the smallest of gasps. She gained a tiny bit of her power back. I won’t let her keep it.
“Open wide,” I command.
Her eyes narrow as she opens her mouth wider. I remove my fingers from her throat to button my pants, reach into my pocket, and pull out another small tracker to replace the one that I’m sure is about to exit her system.
“Stick out your tongue.”
She does, her saliva dripping down her chin as she waits to see what I’m going to do.
I place the pill-like tracker on her tongue.
“Swallow.”
Her eyes grow curious as she swallows, the tracker slithering down her throat.
“Good, stupid girl. Do you know how careless it was to come here to the middle of nowhere?”
She flinches.
“You’re lucky your other tracker hasn’t left your system yet. Lucky that we were curious enough to follow you.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think you do.” My eyes darken. “You could have been raped by a half dozen drunk college assholes.”
“I could have handled it.”
“Could you? You can barely handle the shame now.”
She glares up at me, still on her knees.
“You say you came here because you wanted an alliance, someone who could help you during your father’s twisted game. But what I really think is you’re a horny, manipulative princess who is desperate for my cock before she agrees with her father to be married off.”
“I’m not working with Vincent. I’m telling the truth. I came here because I care about you, all of you. And as much as I wish I was strong enough to defeat Vincent and save myself, I’m not.”
