American Street Kings: The Complete Series Page 12

  My mind scattered into a million directions at once while my body was set aflame. All it took to disarm me, to ruin and possess me, was one simple yet demanding kiss from the devil himself.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Granite

  She needed to shut up.

  She needed to stop fighting.

  And I needed to tongue-fuck her mouth in order to accomplish that.

  No matter how hard she tried to deny it, she knew she was mine even before I took her. I owned her since the first time our eyes met. She had been my obsession for years, and the taste of her on my tongue solidified it.

  Crushing her tiny body against mine felt good. It felt fucking right. And by the way her fight left her while my tongue claimed every corner of her mouth, I knew she felt the same. There was no denying it. The entire fucking world disappeared the second I crashed my lips against hers. In that moment, there was nothing but her and me, and the chaos of our kiss. Our tongues battled with desperation to have more, to taste more of each other, and my thoughts rushed to the part where I could finally claim her body and corrupt her innocence.

  I knew my ballerina girl was still a virgin. I made fucking sure of it. Every guy in town was too scared to touch her because of me—because I had staked my claim over her years ago without her even knowing. I had to. The thought of another man touching her, fucking her, it drove me mad. There wasn’t a chance in hell I’d have let some random guy take what was mine. That jock could be glad I spared his life and left his dick intact.

  I pulled her closer, pressing her hard against me. My cock ached and begged to break through the barrier of her virginity. I wanted the crimson of her innocence to coat my dick while I fucked her, marking my ownership on her goddamn soul. This was so much more than just being horny. This was more than fucking for a ten-second orgasm. This was about finally taking what I’d deemed mine for so long. This was about sating my obsession after all those nights longing to be buried between her legs.

  My tongue lapped against hers, her sweet taste exploding in my mouth, the ripples of lust traveling down my spine and crashing against my aching cock. After years of wondering what she tasted like, I finally knew it was better than I ever could have imagined. Decadent and sweet, her lips instantly became my new addiction. At that moment, I knew nothing would ever be able to compare, and I wanted to savor it forever.

  I slipped my hand down her back, cupping her ass, pushing her body harder against mine as I gave a thrust, desperate to relieve the ache. She moaned, the sound making me want to turn into a motherfucking savage and devour her.

  Images of her naked body, spreading those legs like the perfect ballerina she was, had my body in knots—painfully craving to feel her from the inside.

  She reached up, grabbing my hair while she pulled me down, forcing me to kiss her harder. Permission. That was what she gave me by kissing me back with equal vigor. Permission to take her. Permission to make her mine.

  God, I was losing myself. I was losing myself to the lust, to the need, to the years of desiring her, yet unable to claim her. But, finally, she was here with me. Even if she didn’t want to be, I didn’t give a shit. The selfish prick in me didn’t give a flying fuck. Feeling her, tasting her, having her this close was fucking with both my head and my cock.

  The longer I claimed her soft lips, the more I allowed myself to be consumed by it. My hands roughed up her body, underneath her shirt, desperate to explore. But as I flattened my palm against her belly, she pushed back.

  I was so fucking lost in the moment I never saw it coming…not until I felt the burn against my cheek.

  Alyx looked up at me, her eyes wide in shock while she held her hand in the other. I bet her palm stung just as much as my cheek did.

  She retreated, taking a slow step back. “You had no right to do that.”

  I rubbed my cheek. “Yet you kissed me back.”

  “You caught me off guard.”

  “Did I?”

  “Yes.” She moved back some more. “If you think I’m one of those women who gets turned on by being kidnapped, you’re fucking wrong. I’m not the Stockholm Syndrome type.”

  Jesus. I had to laugh. Her smart mouth was starting to amuse me.

  With a smile, I stepped forward. “First of all, you kissed me back.”

  “You took me—”

  “Shut up.”

  Amazingly, she zipped her lip.

  “Second of all, I’m well aware you’re not the Stockholm Syndrome type. Otherwise, you would have fucked my brother already since he’s been real nice to you…hasn’t he?”

  “That’s not—”

  “I said shut up.” I pressed forward while she kept moving back, the look on her face similar to that of prey knowing it was only a matter of time before she got blocked in a corner with nowhere to go. The perfect, most beautiful, innocent little prey.

  I tilted my head, scrutinizing her. “Now, since we’re on the topic of my little brother, that brings me to my third point.” Another step. “Stay away from him.”

  “You can’t—”

  “It’s simple, Alyx.” Her back hit the wall, and I stepped right up to her, leaving nothing but a few breaths of space between us. “Stay. Away. From my brother.”

  Our eyes remained locked. I was looking down, and she was looking up, our bodies so close I could feel the warmth emanate from her.

  “And lastly…” My hand dropped, and my fingers gently brushed against her inner thigh. Her eyes became hooded, her lips slightly parted as my touch traveled upward. “Stop fighting me. You will lose.” My fingers eased up some more, her cheeks all pretty and flushed. “Next time you welcome my tongue in your mouth, you better be sure you’re ready to welcome me between your legs.” With a gentle slide of my finger, I touched her pussy, and it earned me a subtle whimper from her tempting lips. I leaned down closer, so close I felt her warm breath against my skin. “Next time, I won’t be walking away without making you bleed for me, ballerina girl. Remember that.”

  The second I stepped back, she let out a breath, her body sagging against the wall. I straightened my cut and pulled my hand through my hair. “You should get some rest.”

  With that, I left the room and locked the door behind me. I fell back against the door, tracing my thumb across my lips, still tasting her. It was the flavor of sweet, sweet innocence—something I made sure remained until I was ready to claim it for myself.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. The mix of lust and anger was toxic and strong. If I didn’t get a handle on it, I wouldn’t be able to do what I needed to do next.

  “Neon!” I called down the hall, and the blue-haired pixie appeared in the doorway.

  “Will it help if I say I didn’t mean to?”

  “No.” I started walking toward her while lighting a cigarette.

  “Um…will it help if I say I’m really, really sorry?”

  I blew out a cloud of smoke. “No.”

  “Goddammit.”

  At that moment, Ink came strolling in through the back door. Neon glanced at him then back at me. “Will it help if I say I’ll blow Ink?”

  Ink balked. “Say what?”

  I wasn’t amused. “No.”

  “Hold up one cotton-picking minute.” Ink walked over. “Dude, I have no idea what she did, but please, in the name of God, let her apologize for whatever it is by blowing me.”

  “Oh, my God.” Neon shoved against his chest. “You are such a slut.”

  Ink followed her out of the kitchen, spitting out promises of mind-blowing sixty-nines and multiple orgasms. Neon’s only reaction was giving him the finger. It would have been amusing if it wasn’t for me and my brother glaring at each other from across the room.

  Onyx crossed his arms while leaning back against the counter. “You look pissed, big brother.”

  “Do I?” I took a seat at the table, straightening my legs out in front of me. “What the fuck you doing, Onyx?”

  “Nothing, man. Neon let her
out so the prospects could clean her room.”

  “And you just let her?”

  Onyx snorted. “Do you know Neon? There’s no telling that woman.”

  “You’re the VP. You should know better.”

  His jaw clenched, lips pulled in a straight line. “And you’re the president. You should know better than to put the club at risk for your own fucking personal reasons.”

  A wrecking ball of flames and fury slammed against my chest, and I balled my fists, feeling the veins bulge in my arms. “You should think twice before throwing those kinds of accusations around, little brother.”

  He pushed himself off the counter and grabbed a beer from the fridge. “It’s the truth. You and I both know it.”

  “Explain,” I demanded simply, relaxing my fists a little.

  “Sure. I’ll explain it to you in one word.” He popped the cap off his beer. “Kate.”

  Yeah. One word. Just one fucking word that made me want to beat the shit out of my brother. The second her name left his mouth, I wanted to slam my fist into his face and break his nose.

  Instead, I got up from the chair, needing to be face-to-face with him. “Don’t go there, brother.”

  Onyx smirked. “Why not, brother? Afraid to relive some old memories?”

  “Don’t.”

  He set his beer down on the table, straightening. “Why not? You and I both know what’s really going on here. You have your own personal reasons for having her here.” He pointed toward the bedroom where Alyx was. “And using her as a pawn in our little game of revenge against the Pythons is only half of it.”

  “Don’t talk about shit you don’t know.”

  “Oh, I know. I know about Kate, and I know Alyx reminds you of her. That’s why she’s here, isn’t it?”

  In that moment, I lost my shit, launching myself at Onyx. We grabbed at each other’s collars and gripped tight, a fucking deadlock between two giants ready to break each other.

  “It’s been a long time since I kicked your ass, little brother. Keep on talking, and that will change.”

  Onyx didn’t move and didn’t lessen his grip on my cut. “I’m right. She does remind you of Kate. You know how I know?” He clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth. “Because she reminds me of Kate as well.”

  For a brief second, I saw in his eyes what I had felt in my soul for years. Anger. Regret. Grief. But instead of feeling sorry for him, it made me want to hurt him even more.

  “Why are you two talking about my sister when you’re about to kill each other?”

  Onyx and I looked at Dutch standing by the door. Immediately, Onyx and I let go of each other, but I kept my eyes on him. “Stay away from her, Onyx. Consider this your first and last warning.”

  Onyx straightened his jacket. “Sure thing, brother. Just know that having her won’t make you feel any less guilty about Kate.”

  I couldn’t stop it. Those words triggered an automatic reaction, and when I blinked, it was too late. My fist connected with Onyx’s jaw, blood splattering from his mouth and onto the white kitchen tiles. But Onyx was a big motherfucker, just like me, and my punch didn’t make him go down. Instead, he launched at me, slamming his shoulder into my midsection. The air exploded from my lungs, pain shooting up my chest. My back hit the wall, and I wrapped my arm around his neck, trying to force him up so I could beat his face to a fucking pulp. But Dutch grabbed Onyx by his cut, pulling him off me and shoving him to the other side of the kitchen.

  “Stop this shit, both of you!” Dutch glared from Onyx to me, and back to Onyx. “This is not the time or the right fucking topic to lose your shit over. What the fuck is wrong with you two?”

  Onyx spat out some blood then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, glowering at me. “Stop pretending that this is all about avenging Dad’s death. Because it’s not, and we both know it.” Then he left, storming out of the kitchen.

  Dutch turned to me. “What the fuck, Granite?”

  I straightened. “Little shit doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about.”

  “I think he does.”

  I paused and frowned at Dutch. “What?”

  “Your brother is right. I’ve known this all along, I just didn’t say anything.”

  “Dutch—”

  “It’s about what we saw that night, isn’t it?” He placed his hands on his sides. “Don’t deny it, Granite. I knew it would fuck with your head. God knows, it fucked with mine. But I knew it was different for you. I saw it on your goddamn face while you watched it all go down.”

  I lifted my hand, pointing at him while I clenched my jaw. “You don’t know shit.”

  Dutch moved closer, the hard expression on his face meant to tell me he wasn’t afraid to take me on. “Look me in the motherfucking eye and tell me that your decision to take Alyx wasn’t made that very same night we witnessed what her mother did to her.”

  My nostrils flared, air rushing out of my lungs in angry waves. But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t say it. Dutch was my best friend, and no one knew me better than he did.

  “Can you tell me she doesn’t remind you of Kate? Of my sister?”

  I looked everywhere except at him. I couldn’t.

  “Thought so.” He took a step closer, eyes focused and serious. “I said this a thousand times before, and I’ll say it again. It’s not your fault. My sister made her own choices. Not you, not me, not Onyx…no one could have changed what happened.”

  “I could,” I bit out. “I could have changed it.”

  “No. No, you couldn’t. Even if you told someone, it still would have ended the same way.”

  My regret turned to anger, and I grabbed Onyx’s beer bottle from the table, flinging it across the room, glass shattering as it hit the wall.

  Dutch didn’t move. He didn’t even flinch. It wasn’t the first time he witnessed me lose my shit because of old fucked-up memories that just never let go of me.

  “It’s been going on for years, you and Alyx.” Dutch lit a smoke. “I’ve seen you two look at each other whenever we paid the police commissioner a visit.”

  I didn’t even try to deny it.

  Dutch blew out some smoke. “But after we saw what her psychopath mother did, I knew it was only a matter of time.”

  “Matter of time before what?”

  A half-grin crawled up at the corners of his mouth. “Before you took her.”

  “You make me sound like a fucking psychopath.”

  He snorted. “Not a psychopath, no.” He shrugged. “Obsessed, maybe. But not a psychopath.”

  Silence moved in around us, and I stared at the broken pieces of glass on the floor. “It’s not just because of her.” I turned to Dutch. “All this is not just because of Alyx…or your sister.”

  “I know. And that’s why you got my vote at church. We can fuck up the Pythons with this, even if it’s not your only motivation. But you need to keep your head in the game.”

  I took a seat across from him, pulling out a cigarette before tapping the filter side on the table. Talking about Kate had always been an uncomfortable topic between us. Mostly because I couldn’t talk about her without losing my shit. I still couldn’t understand how it was possible for Dutch to forgive me when I couldn’t even forgive myself.

  Clearly, Onyx hadn’t forgiven me either.

  “He loved her too.”

  I glanced at Dutch.

  “Your brother. He loved Kate too.”

  This time, I snorted. “My brother seems to always want what I have.”

  “Is that why you lost your shit with him? You think he wants Alyx too?”

  I tossed the unlit cigarette to the side, no longer craving it. “Who the fuck knows what’s going on in Onyx’s head? All I know is I don’t want him near her.”

  Dutch leaned with his arms on the table. “I’ll keep an eye on him. You might be the bigger asshole between the two of you, but Onyx is the loose cannon. We can’t afford for him to lose his shit.” He narrowed his eyes at me. “Esp
ecially if you’re as obsessed with Alyx as I think you are.”

  Usually, I denied and played down everything Dutch said that related to me and what I may or may not have been feeling. Getting psychoanalyzed was not my thing, and I hated when others pretended to understand me. I didn’t even understand myself half the fucking time. But Dutch was my best friend. He was like my goddamn twin, and about the only one who remotely knew who and what I really was.

  Dutch opened his mouth, about to say something, when Manic came rushing in. “We got trouble.”

  I shot up from the chair. “What?”

  “Pythons.”

  “Where?”

  “Across the road.”

  “Jesus. Here?”

  Manic nodded. “And they brought leverage.”

  Dutch got up, and all three of us made our way out of the kitchen and down the stairs. Onyx joined in the second my boot hit the bottom floor. “They’ve never come so close to our turf before.”

  I passed Ink, and he handed me my gun, which I placed at my back underneath my cut. By the sound of it, everyone else got their guns as well.

  “They know we won’t make a scene on the street. Especially so close to the gym.”

  “I have a bad feeling about this, brother.” From the corner of my eye, I noticed Onyx glance my way without saying a word. Even though we wanted to kill each other ten minutes ago, right now we were a team. A family ready to eliminate a threat if we needed to.

  All five of us stormed through the gym. It was late afternoon, which meant there weren’t a lot of people. Thank fuck.

  We got to the front door, Ink and Dutch moving in front of me and Onyx, taking the lead. They opened the door slowly, Ink holding his hand on his gun at his back, ready to use it if he had to.

  Onyx wanted to walk ahead of me, but I reached out and held him back with my arm against his chest. “Keep your shit together.”

  The glare my way was his only response. But he knew as well as I did that if it was Slither on the other side of that goddamn road, Onyx would have to work extra hard at keeping his temper contained. Ever since the Pythons’ president murdered our dad, revenge was what we craved, and we knew the day would come when we would finally have it. It consumed us both, but it ruled Onyx.