Chapter 19

"Ileft Beasty at the diner," Joaquin slurred over the other end of the line.

Jumping up out of my chair, I cursed when my phone hit the floor. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"I don"t know what you want me to say..." Joaquin trailed off, clearly lit off his ass.

"And where the hell are you? Who's watching her?" Someone better be fucking watching her. I grabbed my keys off the corner of my desk and ran from the office. For some reason, I"d decided to work from home today. That was a mistake.

"I"m at Snatched in the Gold Room. We"ve got a helluva game playing right now." More slurred words. He was smashed.

"Who is with Beasty?" I demanded, enunciating each word.

"The Cakes Place. Rory is in the lot. He won"t let her out of his sight." He snorted. "I don"t know why we"re even bothering with her. Why have we ever?"

"What happened?" I tried to lower my voice, but every alarm bell was shooting off inside my brain. Beasty alone outside of our house was asking for disaster. Donnie"s presence at the club was just confirmation that they weren"t going to let this go.

I was supposed to be meeting with Ms. Chen in one hour. That wasn"t going to fucking happen now.

"She thinks we"re scum, Lake. We"re no better than Gates." Joaquin could hold his liquor when he had a mind to it. For him to let himself deteriorate this much meant he was fucked up in the head before he ever started drinking.

"Statistically, what she said makes sense. But weren't Gates. Not even close. We"re survivehs."

"You"re not making any fucking sense." I slammed my car into drive and sped down the driveway, tires squealing.

"I don"t have time for this shit," Joaquin grumbled, now actually using real words. "She"s at Cakes. Go pick her up, then take her somewhere else. I don"t care where. Just don"t let Atlas see her." The line clicked.

"Fucking hell." I hit Rory"s number as I took the turn that would lead me to the breakfast diner. It was just past Snatched, so it wouldn"t take long to get there. Not at my speed.

"Boss." Rory sounded strangled.

"Where is she and what is she doing?"

He coughed. "She just left the diner. She sat there for a good thirty minutes crying. No one noticed at first, then some lady named Bertha came over and patted her back, handing her wads of napkins."

"Where is she now?" I snapped. Why the hell did I have to repeat myself so much today. With my free hand, I dug my nails into my thigh, needing that little bit of pain.

"She"s walking on the side of the road–"

"Why didn"t you put her in the car?" I yelled. My vision started to cloud with red around the edges and my nose closed up making it harder to breathe. All it took was one stray bullet, one deep slice of a knife, or worse, a moment of distraction to be thrown in a trunk of a car, and we"d never see her again.

I needed more pain.

Curling my toes in my shoes, I raked my nails along my jeans. Stupid me, thinking I didn"t need slacks today, but I did. I really fucking did.

"I tried." Kudos to him for remaining calm in the face of my anger. "But I"m following her. Even though she keeps turning back and screaming at me and flipping the bird." A thread of amusement hung in his words.

But that visual didn"t spark any humor for me. It turned my rage cold. Joaquin better have a fucking good reason for leaving her alone.

I didn"t give a damn if she thought I was the devil. She was going to be safe or I was dead. Those were the only two options.

"What road are you on?" I barked and floored the pedal until the trees were a blur as they passed.

"County Road 6. She"s heading deeper into the country instead of toward Snatched. I thought she"d have a–"

I hung up on his ass. I couldn"t listen to his voice anymore.

Beasty was about to get her ass spanked. That was her only option.

I didn"t give a fuck if Joaquin left her there–although I"d take my grievances up with him separately.

She was at the club. She saw Donnie. The stupid girl was smarter than to take off on her own. Her self-preservation was stronger than that. I"d seen enough with my own eyes during our teen years.

It wasn"t long before I came up behind Rory"s SUV creeping along the dirt road. I passed him, and there Beasty was, stomping like a damned elephant as she flipped the bird over her shoulder.

I swerved to a stop in front of her, swinging my door open and hopping out.

Her hand was pressed to her chest as she stumbled back. "You scared the shit out of me!" she screamed.

Tears tracked down red cheeks, and her bloodshot eyes were swollen from crying. Hurt feelings didn"t matter when it came to her safety. She goddamned knew better.

"Rory." I snapped my fingers to get his attention.

He hung his head out of the driver"s side window. "Yeah, boss?"

"Park at the end of the road. Watch for trouble." AKA the Pescis.

He glanced at Beasty, humor lighting his grin, and ducked his head back inside. He didn"t waste any time flipping a bitch and heading back in toward the diner.

I stormed toward Beasty, and she violently shook her head as she backed up, tears still tracking down her face.

Jesus Christ. Even her neck was flushed and wet, either from sweat or tears.

She was furious and hurt and fucking gorgeous.

Collaring her neck, I walked her backward. "What the fuck are you thinking leaving the diner by yourself?" I growled, getting so close in her face, my nose brushed the side of hers.

Beasty shoved at my chest, but I was stronger. "What do you mean what was I thinking?" She yelled. "Ask your asshat friend why he left me there in the first place! He"s a fucking baby throwing a temper tantrum," she snarled, even as tears built in her eyes.

This poor girl. She probably couldn"t even see me.

"He didn"t go walking down the side of the street where he could get snatched up by our enemies."

"Enemies?" she huffed, her voice thick. "Your enemies, not mine."

"That"s how you want to act? Like you didn"t learn anything as a kid? Or even out on your own. You"ve seen bad people, right Beasty? Or were you too sheltered for that?"

"Too–To–" Her top lip peeled back and she banged against my chest with all her might. "Fuck you, you fucking dickhead! I"m in this goddamn mess because of you!"

That was e-fucking-nough. I bent and picked her up over my shoulder and carted her into the woods.

There were no private property signs here, and there was no fencing. Nothing to show that this was owned by someone else.

If I remembered correctly, this was all state land.

Perfect for teaching her a lesson.

She thrashed and screamed over my shoulder but I landed a hard smack on her ass. The sting on my hand was so delicious, my eyes rolled back in my head.

Once we couldn"t see the road anymore, I dropped her in a small grove of trees.

Catching herself on my arm, she dug her nails in to hurt me, but I grabbed her arms and pulled her in close. "Don"t forget my kink, Beasty."

"I didn"t forget," she snarled, then her hand cocked back and she slapped me across the face. I groaned, clenching her to my chest as I dropped my head back.

This was how she wanted to play it?

Fuck, yeah. I was game.

I shoved her against the tree and pulled her shorts and panties down as I crouched in front of her. She didn"t need any coaxing to fist her hands in my hair and yank just right.

The sting on my scalp sent goosebumps down my arms as I propped one of her legs over my shoulder. I could smell her sweet, tangy scent from here. Using my thumbs, I pulled her open, her lips flowering out with the little nub on top.

Fucking beautiful.

I leaned forward and wrapped my teeth around it, glancing up at her as I bit down the tiniest bit. I didn"t want to hurt her. Much.

I wanted to use the threat of pain to bring her more pleasure. To tease her. To level her down from her big emotions the way pain did for me.

Beasty"s eyes were wild and her top teeth dug into her bottom lip as she glared down at me. She yanked a little harder, jerking my head back. I groaned and she yelped. Her clit was still between my teeth, and I wasn"t going to let her go. Not until she begged.

Or came. Whatever happened first.

I curled my fingers over the leg on my shoulder, using my nails to cut into her skin. Not enough to break, but enough to mark.

Then I worked two fingers of my other hand inside. With how sopping wet she was, it wasn"t hard. It was almost too easy.

But I didn"t give her gentle, and I sure as hell didn"t give her loving. I gave her intense, brutal thrusts as I circled my tongue around the bundle of sensitive flesh caught between my lips, massaging it, coaxing it.

"I hate you. I fucking, fucking hate you," she gasped, grinding her hips against my face. I chuckled under my breath as I slammed my hand against her harder, making sure to curl my fingers against her g-spot.

My cock was hard enough to break up concrete and every time it pulsed, my vision darkened around the edges.

The urge to pull back and tell her to show me exactly how much she hated me was so strong, but it wasn"t stronger than the craving to help her. To break her apart in my hands.

"All of you. You"re so...so..." She tipped her head back, releasing a long moan as she started to clamp down on my fingers. That was the sign. She was close.

I released her from my mouth and pulled out my fingers. Beasty didn"t let me go far. She scratched her nails against my scalp and I shut my eyes. These trickles of pain were everything, but still so far away from what I actually wanted.

A small appetizer. A tease.

"Wha–" Beasty clenched her leg on my shoulder, trying to pull me against her.

I laughed again. "You"re a brat, Beasty. I didn"t know you had this side of you." As much as I hated brats, I loved Beasty in any form she came in. And I couldn"t hate that she"d given me a reason to give her a tiny taste of pain.

Her face darkened with the dangerous scowl. The pretty flush had transformed into a livid red. Beasty was pissed. And now that she had sufficiently lost her orgasm. I dove back in. This time sucking her clit with more force than care and shoving my still wet fingers back inside her.

She cried out, and tried to edge backward, but there was nowhere for her to go with her back against the tree. "Too much, too much, too much," she chanted as she beat against my back.

I stopped for just a second. "It"s not too much. It"s perfect. Because you"re perfect, Beasty." I licked around her nub then bit it again. She was so hot, and already she was starting to pulse around me.

Backing off again, I shot her a grin. As she lost another orgasm, anger vibrated through her. I didn"t even see it coming when she landed her next slap.

Damn, she cut my lip on my tooth. I stuck my tongue out, tasting a tiny drop of blood.

"I"m sorry!" She tried to drop her leg but I held her firm.

"Stop!" I barked. "Don"t start that shit." It came out harsh, but shit. We were just starting to have a good time. Now she was acting like she"d had a bucket of cold water dumped over her head.

"I didn"t even think–"

"You don"t think with me. I don"t want you to. Your body knows what I need just as much as I know what you want. This between us, Beasty, it"s never bad. The hurt is good. Not everyone understands it, but we do, don"t we?"

The excitement seemed to leak out of her and a dark cloud gathered over my head. No. Fuck no.

I angled her hips so I could watch her as I brushed my nose against her, then I licked up her slit. Her breath quickened, but she didn"t say anything. Didn"t give me the satisfaction of any of her noises.

"We understand each other, don"t we, Beasty?" I tried again, kneading her ass as I worked her over with my mouth, desperate to get the fiery, spitting kitten from a few minutes before.

"No," she panted. "I don"t understand any of you. You"re all..." she swallowed as I inserted one finger, more gently this time. "Assholes. You"re all assholes who don"t care about anything but yourselves."

"Not true." I worked my second finger back in, and instead of thrusting, I curled them rhythmically inside her to consistently hit the spongy spot that would have her in a puddle before too long. "We care about you, Beasty. You"re all we care about."

"Funny way of showing it." She huffed, dropping her head back again as a soft noise fell from her lips.

"Funny that you don"t see it," I murmured back.

She stopped trying to talk to me, lost in the sensations I was pulling from her body.

Like she knew what I needed, she grabbed the sides of my head, angling me where she needed me most and using her nails against my scalp. I groaned, and continued my ministrations until she once again started to close on my fingers.

This time, I didn"t stop. Fuck Atlas and his idea to edge her. We could edge her in other ways than to have her hate us.

Beasty groaned, and dropped her head, showing me those beautiful hazel eyes. Her mouth parted as she panted and rocked against me.

Not changing my movements, keeping the same rhythm the way women needed, she came apart in my hands. Her eyelids drooped, and she bit her bottom lip even though it didn"t do anything to stop her from vocalizing her pleasure.

When the tremors started to subside, I pulled my fingers free and lifted them to her lips, sliding them into her mouth so she could taste herself as I worked her down softly with my mouth.

She shuttered, closing her eyes.

The moment was like nothing I"d ever known before. Beasty was it for me. For us.

It didn"t matter what she thought, we"d bring her to our way of thinking. We had to. There was no other option.

When I sat back, I lowered her leg and let her get her balance before I helped back into her panties and shorts.

"Come on." I stood and held out my other hand as I sucked any remnants of her from my fingers.

She eyed my hand like a snake in the grass before stopping on the tent in my jeans.

Shaking my head, I snagged her hand. "I"m fine. Let"s go. We"ve already been out here too long."

Beasty didn"t put up a fight as I placed her in the passenger seat. She didn"t attempt to talk about what bothered her on the way back.

I didn"t either. Not that I was afraid, but she was sated and calm, and I didn"t want to rock that boat before I figured out what the hell happened with Joaquin. Just looking at Beasty, I knew it wasn"t what he thought.

Sighing, I turned down the driveway.

My own reflection didn"t last long because there was a black SUV in front of the house that certainly wasn"t any of ours.