chapter ten

lux

From Hell With Love - Savage Ga$p

I t's been a few hours since our little show in the center of the ring. The air is thick with tension, and I can feel the shift in the crowd—desires boiling over, tipping toward chaos. But none of it matters. Not the screams, not the violence, not even the madness that surrounds me.

All I can fucking think about is her.

Indie.

Her body sways just a few feet in front of me, moving to the hypnotic beat of the DJ's music, the dim lights casting a soft, ethereal glow across her perfect skin. She's still riding the high from earlier, her pupils wide, and her movements fluid. The drugs are coursing through her, but instead of resisting, now she's embraced the feeling. Letting it carry her deeper into the night and I'm transfixed as I watch it all unfold.

I step toward her, closing the distance between us, my body pressing up behind hers as she grinds against me. My hands slide down her sides, and I revel in the feeling the heat of her skin against my palms. She leans into me, her lips parting as she lets out a breathless sigh.

Fuck , she is stunning.

Johnny joins us, stepping up in front of her with a beer in his hand. His eyes are dark with lust as they roam her body. He lifts the beer to his lips, guzzling down the liquid as he grinds up against her, and begins moving in sync with her.

It's a sinful dance between the three of us. Indie in the middle, her body trapped between mine and Johnny's, and it's everything I didn't know I needed. Her skin is slick with sweat, her breath quickening as she loses herself in the beat of the music and the feel of our bodies against hers.

I expected to feel jealous, maybe even rage with Johnny being so close to her. Touching her. But instead, I feel exhilarated. The sight of him pressed against her, and the way her body moves between us only turns me on more. There's no competition here—Johnny knows his fucking place.

He wants her, sure, but he'll never touch her. Not without my permission. And I've given it, but only for tonight.

Her hips grind against us both, and the sensation sends a jolt of raw heat through my body. The friction is fucking maddening, but she knows exactly what she's doing. Indie knows how to get to me. She has since the first night she walked into my circus. Every roll of her hips against me has my cock straining tighter against my jeans. My fingers press into her waist, feeling the smooth, warm skin beneath the lace fabric of her body suit, guiding her movement as she sways between us.

She grips Johnny's shoulders for balance, her nails digging into him as she loses herself in the rhythm. Her head falls back, exposing the pale curve of her throat, her lips parting with a soft, breathless moan that I can feel more than hear. My breath catches as she pushes back and grinds her ass against me. I bite down on my lip, a slow hiss slipping from my lips. Fuck.

The crowd around us dissolves into a haze—blood and screams all blending into the background noise as Indie becomes my sole focus. Every movement of hers against me is so goddamn intoxicating that I can't pull myself away. Not that I would, even if I could.

In this moment, nothing else matters but her. I'm a sinner through and through, and the way she moves against me—teasing, effortless—is my salvation. A salvation I'd drop to my knees for, over and over, for the rest of my life.

Indie is my queen, my everything, and as I watch her body writhe between mine and Johnny's, all I can think about is how far she's come. How far we've come. She's no longer the hesitant, unsure girl that walked into my big top. Now, she's fully embraced the darkness. She's become one of us. Despite how badly I thought she didn't belong in our world, she's proven she not only belongs here, but she is every bit the queen we all needed.

That I fucking needed.

I watch as Johnny's hands roam over her body. His eyes meet mine, a request for permission, and I allow it, tipping my chin in approval while a smirk pulls at my lips. His touch is firm but careful. His respect for the dynamic we've established clear in every movement he makes. He's hungry, that much is obvious, but he knows his limits.

I'm the king, and she's my queen. He knows he's here, touching what's mine, for one night, and nothing more.

Indie's hands slide down Johnny's chest, her fingers tracing the lines of his muscles as she grinds harder against me. Her body is soft, supple, and the feeling of her pressed so tightly between us has my cock throbbing. My hands tighten on her hips, guiding her movements as we fall deeper into the rhythm of the music.

Around us, people are screaming, laughing, moaning. Some are fighting, others fucking, their bodies tangled in a mess of blood and flesh, of raw, animalistic desire. It's fucking anarchy, pure and unbridled, and it's exactly what I wanted. What we wanted.

She turns her head slightly, her lips brushing against my neck, sending a shiver down my spine. "Lux..." she whispers, her voice breathy, slurred from the drugs but still full of need.

I tilt her chin up, forcing her eyes to mine. They're glazed over, pupils blown wide, but there's a clarity in them that makes my heart race. She's fucking mine. Every inch of her belongs to me, and tonight, despite me letting Johnny so close to her, she's proven to me in every way that I'm the only one she wants. That there's only one king who can rule her dark heart, and it's me.

Johnny leans in, his lips ghosting over her collarbone, his hands sliding down her waist to rest on her hips, just above where mine grip her. It's a careful, deliberate touch, one that acknowledges the lines he knows he cannot cross. I watch him intensely, my grip on her tightening, but I don't stop him. Right now, I don't care if he tastes her, because I know that at the end of the night, she'll still be mine. All fucking mine.

"I don't know what that guy put in my drink, but I feel fucking amazing," Indie breathes, her voice thick with the haze of drugs and euphoria. She's enjoying the high, but Dario will still get what's coming to him. Stupid fucker. Thought he could fuck with her, with something that belongs to me. Not a fucking chance.

Indie's hand reaches back to grip my thigh, and the simple touch sends a jolt right to my cock, pulling me back from my dark thoughts of revenge.

I slide my fingers along her neck, feeling the rapid pulse beneath her skin. "You look amazing," I whisper in her ear, inhaling the sweet, almost vanilla-like scent that clings to her. It's her scent, the one I can't get enough of, even here in the midst of all this madness. "All of this, the chaos, the violence—it's nothing compared to you."

Around us, the world is falling apart. Two cirkies nearby are dragging a limp body into the shadows, the dull thud of their movements barely cutting through the pounding music. A few feet away, a man with wild eyes and blood dripping from his chin grins as he watches his partner carve her name into his chest with a gleaming knife. They laugh, their eyes gleaming with twisted joy as the blood flows freely, the crowd cheering them on like animals in a pit.

Across the tent, one of the fire-breathers throws another puff of flames into the air, sending sparks raining down on the crowd. People scream, but it's not fear—it's excitement, an adrenaline rush as it lights up the night. The havoc is spreading, the energy of the crowd growing more dangerous with every passing second.

Indie's body continues to sway between us, but as my eyes scan the people beneath my big top, I can't help but feel the tension building around us. The crowd is growing wilder, more unpredictable. I spot a few customers across the way, pulling a struggling man into one of the tents, blood staining the ground beneath them. It's getting out of control faster than I expected, and I know it's only a matter of time before things turn violent.

I tighten my grip on Indie, pressing my lips to her ear. "Stay close, Indie," I murmur, my voice low but firm. "Things are getting a little bit wild."

She looks up at me, her eyes glassy but filled with a wild gleam. "I can handle it," she says, her voice soft but sure. She leans into Johnny, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw. "You both worry too much."

Johnny chuckles, his hands resting on her hips. "She's got a point," he says, his voice thick with amusement. "She can take care of herself. Besides, this shit is just starting to pop off! This is the shit we wanted!"

But even as he says it, I see the shift in the crowd. More cirkies are dragging bodies off the dance floor, and the fights that were once playful are turning vicious. Blood is starting to pool on the ground, and the screams are getting louder. My instincts are on high alert, every nerve in my body screaming that something's about to go very, very wrong.

Before I can say anything, someone taps me on the shoulder. Giselle, one of my most loyal cirkies, slips up beside me, her expression grim. "Lux," she says, her voice urgent, "there's a problem out back. You need to come now. Johnny, you should probably come too."

I glance down at Indie, still lost in the high, her body swaying to the beat as if nothing in the world could touch her. She looks up at me, her lips curving into a soft smile. "Go," she says, her voice smooth. "I'll be fine. I can handle myself."

I shake my head. "You should come with us," I tell her, not liking the idea of leaving her here alone. "Things could get worse, and I'd rather you be with us."

Indie laughs, light and carefree, her eyes gleaming under the haze of whatever's coursing through her. "I'm not going anywhere," she insists, her body still moving to the rhythm. "I want to stay here, dance a little longer. I can handle myself, Lux. I've done it before."

Johnny frowns, his hand tightening on her waist as his eyes meet mine.

"I'm fine, really," Indie interrupts, pressing a kiss to Johnny's jaw. Then she leans into me, her arms winding around my neck as she ghosts her lips over mine. "Go take care of what you need to. I've got this."

I grit my teeth, torn between the instinct to protect her and the logic that she's right. Indie has handled herself in worse situations. Still, I hesitate. "You're sure?" I ask again, my voice low. "Stay in the center. Don't wander off. The cirkies need someone here just in case."

She nods, her eyes soft but determined. "I won't wander. I promise."

Johnny lingers for a moment longer before pulling away reluctantly. "We'll be back soon," he says, his hand trailing off her hip as we turn to follow Giselle into the shadows. I glance back one last time, watching Indie move to the music, fully immersed in her world. She's in her element, but I can't shake the growing tension in the air.

Whatever's happening out back, I need to deal with it fast. You never know how something will progress in this business. A problem could simmer down in a few minutes, or it could turn into a shit show. However, there is one thing I am certain about as Johnny and I follow Giselle through the crowd, whoever the fuck is pulling me away from my girl right now, is going to pay.

With their fucking life.