Chapter 5

A week passed with Rey as an annoying constant. When she opened her eyes, he was there. He shared her showers now, admonishing her for the way she scoured herself. They both knew why, and yet he pretended otherwise. Devin often wound up on his lap with him feeding her during their shared meals.

It was disgusting, and she hated it. Hated it more that he won every single time she tried to hold out. He soothed away her temper, her vicious words buried beneath the rumble of his purr. He kept her off balance at all times, never losing the tight control on his emotions as he had before. Rey smiled at her outbursts of rage and cuddled her closer.

Each day, he made her say it. That she was his, making her call out his name. He’d spend hours using her body against her, turning traitorous instincts into a cruel weapon. And each time, it became harder and harder to cling to her fury.

Today she sprawled over his legs on the new couch now saturated with their mingled scents, face tight against the hard planes of his stomach. She breathed him in as she licked away the taste of strawberries lingering on her lips. Above her, he worked his phone one handed, his other fingers tangled in her hair to scrub at her scalp.

“I have business tonight. Can I trust you to be quiet and calm?” Rey smoothed back the dark cloud of her hair to tip Devin’s face up to meet his hooded gaze.

“Does it matter?”

Rey’s brow furrowed and his hand tightened in her curls. Not quite painful, it made do as a warning. “Yes, it matters.”

“Not tired of me yet, then?” Devin couldn’t believe the words tumbling over her lips despite the greasy calm sliding through her. Belly full of his come, coated in his scent, she’d been docile in the days before at this point. “Afraid they’ll throw me in that container if I’m disgusted by it all, and you won’t get to have any more fun?”

“Not funny.”

“I’m not trying to be.” Jerking her shoulder hard where the weight of his arm thought to keep her prostrate before him, demeaned by the submissive posture, Devin crawled backwards to hands and knees. She could rip her hair from his hand, tear the silken strands from his grip, but the pain wouldn’t be worth it.

“You don’t care about me, so please do us both a favor and stop pretending that you do,” Devin continued, forcing her gaze to meet his despite every instinct screaming at her. To avoid the dark promise in his eyes, the warning of his lowering brows. “If you’re concerned that I’ll choose death over this, then you better come up with a better plan than to drag me around like a dog on a leash. I’ll take the first opportunity. If I can bring you down with me, all the better.”

She hadn’t meant to be so frank. The words crashed into the air, smothering all the oxygen from the room as Devin waited with body tensed. Shaking, she tried to anticipate the pain and brace for it.

“You don’t mean that.” His surprise seemed genuine, concern clouding his stern features even as he reached for her. His devastating purr worked through the crackling static of her resentment while he dragged her back against his body.

“You know nothing about me,” Devin hissed in a faltering whisper, already losing the battle, the war long since abandoned. “You can use my body against me, but by the Gods, you do not know me.”

“I know plenty about you.”

Devin’s laugh came out as a sob, watching her fists twist in the loose fabric of his open shirt. She clung to him as he settled her weight against his chest so she couldn’t avoid the thundering resonance.

“You hate that you want it, but can’t explain why you open at my touch,” Rey said through the elongated purr, sliding his hands down her back to dip between her thighs. On cue, she spread wider, hips tipped to ease his access.

“It’s because you use biology—”

“We both know you responded to me from the very beginning,” Rey husked as he arranged her over his thighs. Fly still open, it took nothing for him to tug out the hardening length of his cock. Angling it between spread lips, he guided her to rub against him. “Do you know why, little one?”

“Stop this.” There was no heat to her demand. A pitiful and mewling whimper as she dropped her weight more fully against him, grinding her hips in slow circles as his arousal spiced the air.

“Because you’re mine,” he snarled at her ear, hand clapping down upon her nape to keep her tight against him. His other arm came around her back, a welcomed vice as he slid down the couch for a better angle. Thrusting against Devin’s frantic rocking, soaking them both in the hot rush of her slick. “Say it.”

“No,” Devin drew out on a low whine, despite the way she rubbed her whole body against his. Tearing his shirt open wider so she could feel the intense heat of his skin against her.

Just as she began to lose herself in the overwhelming sensations, her world flipped and tumbled. Splayed over the couch on her stomach, her hands scrambled over the smooth cloth for purchase as she fought her way up to locked arms. It was no use. Rey covered her back, driving her down into the soft cushion and slipping the slick length of his hardness between the cheeks of her upturned ass. With a vicious sound, he rutted against her, smearing thick trails of his arousal against her skin.

It seemed to take mere minutes for the knot to grind painfully against her. Bruising soft flesh as Rey made animalistic sounds that dripped down her spine in tormenting bliss. Crushing it between their bodies, he gave one last powerful thrust before rearing up. The hot surge painted her back, coating her down to trembling cheeks. He smeared the still spurting head against her thighs, glazing them in the pearlescent fluid.

He gave his knot one last twist, groaning as the watery remnants spattered the soft curls of her pussy. Climbing from the couch, he viewed his work with a satisfied rumble. Rey leaned down, turning Devin’s head so he could see her shell-shocked expression.

“Wipe that off, and there’ll be hell to pay. You lay right there until I come back.”

Devin jerked her head in a nod, floundering through what had just happened, but he was already gone. Heading into the bedroom where the shower echoed out into the living room moments later. She couldn’t move, no matter how she wanted to swipe away the cooling strands of his release. She felt them, slimy and oozing down her skin, but every muscle seemed frozen, locked tight in something she couldn’t name.

It wasn’t fear. He hadn’t hurt her, and though he’d threatened to, she didn’t quite believe him. Yet she remained paralyzed in a battle of should or shouldn’t. The barest shift sending a shiver racing up her spine as she felt the tacky substance against her folds, adding a far different texture to the slide of flesh. Releasing her held breath in a stuttering sigh, she was still in the same position when he returned. Freshly shaved, dark hair slicked back from his forehead, he looked dangerous in all the right ways.

It was hormonal. His scent penetrated her every cell. Of course she’d find him more attractive. Her eyes had no option but to snag on the ripple of muscle beneath the clean shirt. Though she had no precious tale to tell herself as to why the flat scent of soap would bother her. The raving lunacy running rampant telling her he should smell of her squashed under a grinding heel of horror.

She didn’t want that.

“Up.” Lips twitching in a satisfied grin as Devin obeyed, albeit with robotic movements, he tugged the heavy sweater over her head and guided her arms into the sleeves. A considering glance given to the length of her legs, he relented. Pushing her back into the sofa, the still wet fluid soaking into the fine weave of the shirt, he tugged leggings up to her knees. She had no idea where he’d gotten them.

At least he let her finish the act.

“If you’re good, we’ll stop for those doughnuts you like.”

Devin’s breath left her in a pained rush at his patronizing tone, but she couldn’t dredge up the fight she craved as he led her from the apartment.

* * *

The men who reeked of violence and old sweat crowded around the table Rey and their leader sat at. After a cursory perusal of Devin’s body, for which one had been cuffed hard with Rey’s warning snarl the next to get too close would get his head ripped off, they’d ignored her for the most part.

Shifting her weight in a silent shuffle, she watched the proceedings with little interest. Everyone was still measuring their dicks, seeing who was biggest. She hoped it would be over soon. At this rate, it would be dawn by the time she was able to close her eyes.

“We’ve been hearing rumors that you’ve been taking outside jobs, Benny,” Rey said with a casual flick of his fingers at the multitude of guns filed along the wall, stacked in boxes, and packed in wooden crates. “You agreed to exclusive sales when you joined the operation.”

“Not selling them,” Benny said with a leer, leaning back in his rusted metal chair.

Devin rolled her eyes, counting the seconds before Rey just beat the guy and they could be on their way. Not in the cards as Rey leaned forward, fixing the other man in his dark gaze.

“If you’re going to hire your men out, that’s fine, but these guns can’t be connected to our dealings. Our buyers are paying top dollar for that very anonymity, which is why you get paid so very well for your time and goods. If you’re going around brandishing them everywhere, we’re going to have a problem. Kahler is a businessman first, and he’d like to offer you a new deal in the spirit of compromise. You use different supply for your outside dealings, keeping our goods free of scrutiny, and he’ll raise your percentage to make up the difference.”

Devin almost snorted a laugh at the very idea of paying someone more to screw this Kahler guy over. Until she remembered the dark power the Alpha exuded, how she’d been terrified just by his nearness.

“And in exchange,” Rey continued, tapping a single finger against the wobbling card table. “You’re going to increase our supply by, oh, how about a nice round number? Twenty percent.”

“You want a hundred more crates for fucking—”

“I don’t want anything, Benny. Mr. Kahler does. You should know by now he gets what he wants.” Rey leaned back with a roll of his shoulders, a disarming shrug that did little to ease the tension clawing at the walls. “If you don’t want to make this new deal, I’m sure we can make arrangements with someone else. Of course, then we won’t need you at all, will we? Seeing as you know so much, not much use keeping you around, either. I’m sure Mr. Kahler could make arrangements for that sweet girl of yours. Becca’s her name, right?”

Benny paled, managing an astounding impression of a fish out of water with his mouth opening and closing over dead air. He sputtered twice before he could wrangle words from his tongue, spitting them out into the space between them. “I’ll take the fucking deal.”

“Good choice. He expects the next shipment, along with the extra crates, by Wednesday.”

Devin slammed into Rey’s side as he grabbed her arm in passing, dragging her along as his steady strides carried them back to his waiting car. She glanced back once as she ducked into the low seat of the sedan, eyes widening at the sight of them all crowding the small rectangle of light.

“You wouldn’t… not really, right,” Devin whispered after the engine purred to life and Rey began the long trek down the washed-out gravel drive.

“Wouldn’t what?”

“His daughter, that’s who you meant, isn’t it? You wouldn’t really hurt her, would you?”

“Depends on what Kahler wanted,” Rey said, as cold and dead as the sky above them with its unfeeling stars.

Devin didn’t know what to say to that.

She’d hoped he’d opt to leave her in the car after that, but the Gods never did smile on her much. Dragging Devin into high rises and fancy restaurants as well as filthy junkyards and terrifying piers, he made her be present for each one of his dealings. Some were for Kahler, many for himself. It seemed Rey and Beau took care of a good deal of this Kahler’s import and export through the docks, managing the supplies and people necessary to keep the operation running smoothly. Alongside that, Rey and Beau worked smaller deals, things that had little to no crossover with Kahler’s designs.

Except the attempted sale of Devin to those men. She couldn’t help but wonder if there’d been others, especially after the mention of some blonde woman that was supposed to be in Devin’s place.

By the time it was all said and done, Devin was exhausted. Groaning as she dropped into a boneless heap in the passenger seat after leaving the small restaurant and its terrifying occupants, she curled her arm over her face and hoped this would be the last of it.

Rey muttered something indistinct, dragging her over the console to his lap. Legs draped over the smooth leather into the passenger seat, she curled in against his chest and sighed. As much as she hated him, she couldn’t deny the comforting strength of the bastard when she felt small and vulnerable. So tired her eyes burned, head pounding a ragged rhythm, she let him work at the tensed muscles of her back. She couldn’t even find it in herself to complain about the dangers of driving in such a position as he eased the car onto the dark and quiet streets.

Devin didn’t register the car stopping, dimly aware that Rey was lifting her and carrying her towards a dark building. Words smeared over numb lips, a plaintive whine to leave her where a new set of males wouldn’t ogle her. Rey shushed her, taking her into the warm space reeking of sticky alcohol, sweaty bodies, and the peculiar spice of so many dynamics coming together at once.

Turning her head, she saw the short hall of the second floor spread out before them as Rey crested the final step. There was no thrumming bass, the magnificent crowd long since silenced. It was eerie how quiet everything was. Rey’s steps echoed through the shadows. He faltered once, clutching Devin tighter, before he resumed his steady pace towards the door to his office. It was cracked open, a shaft of illumination spearing through the darkness.

Devin wanted to bury her face in Rey’s chest as they went inside. A wall of spicy cinnamon slapped her across the face, invading her sinuses and attempting to drown out the rich decadence of smoky earth and sweet tartness surrounding her. She couldn’t bring herself to hide, unable to see the oncoming danger as Rey moved closer to the Alpha lounging in a new set of overstuffed chairs before Rey’s desk.

“I told you to stay away.”

“Someone had to run this joint while you were playing house,” Beau said with a wicked twist of his lips, tipping his full glass towards Devin. “Tired of her already?”

“Shut up,” Rey said with far more heat than Devin expected him to. He settled her body into the large rolling chair behind his desk, putting his body between her and Beau as he began shuffling through the mass of paperwork.

“Fine, whatever.” Beau snorted, tossing back half of the full tumbler of whiskey before settling his icy gaze on Rey. “The cops came through. Someone lodged a complaint. Said we were holding someone against their will here. Give you two guesses who that was. I paid them off, but it cost twice as much as usual.”

“Fuck.”

“Oh, there’s more. Margo’s gone until further notice. Said she’s taking that vacation we owe her, and we’re just going to have to deal with it. Jackson said that bitch left her, so she’s all torn up.” Beau added another snort, his derisive amusement giving a crazed gleam to his gaze. “The new girl you hired for the accounting fucking sucks. Apparently, she shortchanged a bunch of the girls, so we’re going to have to settle that up, too.”

“Fucking Gods,” Rey groaned, pulling at his face with a broad palm. “Tell me that’s all.”

“Nope. Any and all dealings we had with Rip? Keep it quiet. He’s gotten in the way of Kahler, and the further we can distance ourselves, the better.”

“Gee, guess you won’t be selling me for pennies on the dollar anytime soon.” Devin cringed as her cracked voice sped through the room, the sudden stillness of both men telling her what she already knew. She was always too quick to speak up, never minding her tongue. Even in life-or-death situations, she couldn’t keep her thoughts to herself.

“Sit your ass back down, Beau,” Rey yelled, slamming the side of his fist against the desk. The gleaming wood groaned, something splintering deep within it. Rey’s presence sucked all the air out of the room, squeezing Devin’s heart in a cruel grip as he proved his dominance over the other Alpha. “She’s right, and we both know she wasn’t the only one. Your dealings are just that. Yours.”

“I can’t believe you’re siding with some slit.” Despite the venom dripping from his every syllable, one couldn’t mistake the roughness of emotion coloring his tone. The chair groaned under his weight as he sat again, this time angling so he could see Devin around Rey’s side. “She’s nothing special, Rey. Just look at her. It’s pathetic.”

“We’re not having this conversation again. I appreciate you holding things down, but if you’re done, you can go.”

“I’m half owner of this damned place, Danny boy,” Beau said in a snarl, launching up from the chair and sending it skittering across the floor. “I have every right to be here.”

Devin tried to stifle her whimper, but it seeped out around her clenched hand. Curling into a tighter ball, she made herself a smaller target for Beau’s wrath as a wave of burnt cinnamon scalded the back of her throat.

“You’re scaring her, Beau.” Rey sighed, holding a placating hand out. “It’s late, I’m tired.”

“So what if she’s scared? I bet she doesn’t even realize how much danger you put her in tonight, taking her to all those meetings.”

Beau barked a laugh at something he saw on Rey’s face where she couldn’t see, but Devin noted the straightening of his spine, the way Rey’s shoulders stiffened. Had she been in that much danger?

“Oh, you were trying to impress her with how big and bad an Alpha you are, eh? My bad, man. Sure, none of those men were at all dangerous for her. Absolutely none of them would have gunned you down and run a train on her ass just for the fun of it.”

“They wouldn’t have gotten through me, and they damned sure wouldn’t dare piss off Kahler.”

“You think Kahler cares about your piece of ass? He’s got bigger worries, Danny boy.”

“Fuck off, Beau!”

In some cosmic design, they both roared and charged the other at the exact same moment. Colliding at the corner of the desk, they sent the heavy piece flying into the wall where it cracked the plaster, sending up puffs of dust. Devin was too stunned to move for a long span of stuttering heartbeats before instincts took over. She crawled from the chair, creeping along the floor against the wall as the sounds of violence erupted around her along with the shattering of glass and the cracking of wood. The entire office became their arena as she made it beneath the desk to huddle in the open space of the kneehole.

From her vantage point, she couldn’t see a damned thing, but as the wet slap of flesh spattered through the air, flinging bright droplets of ruby soaring into the wall, she was glad of it. A tooth clattered across the floor, rolling to a stop before her to gleam in muted shades of red and brilliant white. One of them pounded the top of the desk again and again, wood splintering under the force though it remained solid above Devin’s head. It took her a panicked moment to figure out it was someone’s head slamming into the glossy surface.

For all their terrible violence, it was strangely quiet. After their initial challenging bellow, there were only the grunts and groans of effort and pain. Soon, even those petered out to ragged breaths and wet gurgles.

She didn’t have to wait long when utter silence swelled to suffocating proportions.

“Now get out and stay away from her. You even look in her direction, I will rip your heart from your chest, Elijah.” Rey punctuated his command with a solid kick, Beau’s guttural moan following him out of the door when Rey grabbed him by the back of the shirt and pants and flung him into the hallway.

Slamming the door shut, Rey stood within the destruction of his office, breathing hard. Devin could see the blood dripping from him to spatter the floor. Why she would crawl out from her hiding place, peering around the edge of the desk to take in the damage before centering her sights on Rey, was well beyond her reasoning.

Stark raving mad, she rose and picked her way through the debris towards him. Brows furrowing, she marked every wound, each bruise.

“Is that what you wanted, Devin,” Rey asked, no louder than a whisper.

“I… I don’t…”

“Is it proof enough for you,” he snarled as he drove her back against the desk. Bending her backwards over it until he shoved her hips up over the edge so she slammed into the cracked wood.

Understanding dawned on a chill slithering up her spine. He thought to show his care for her by wounding another, proving his prowess. Punishing Beau for past behavior with his fists. Demanding her feelings in return for such a superficial act. Devin shook her head, the smallest negative causing his nostrils to flare. Small hand to his chest, she gave a faint push, lips pursing when he refused to budge. Devin squirmed her way off of the desk, bringing their bodies flush before she could duck beneath his reaching arm.

She got to the small first aid kit he’d used on her dozens of times before he could grab her, returning to the desk to lay out the supplies she’d need. Alcohol wipes, gauze, butterfly bandages, all set out in an orderly row. Facing him, she raised her arms, a clear indication of what she wanted. Rey growled deep in his chest, but he lifted her back onto the desk, standing still as Devin tore open the first packet.

“You don’t know me, Rey,” she murmured as she blotted the worst of the cuts with the alcohol swab. She blew cool air over the sting when the small lines at the corner of his eyes twitched. “All of this, it doesn’t change that you stood by while he did all those horrible things to me. You watched him break me and didn’t raise a finger.”

“He didn’t break you,” Rey said through a bone shuddering roar, deafening her with his rage, though his touch was careful when he grabbed at her hips. Pulling Devin flush, he pushed his erection against her. “He couldn’t break you, and that’s what made him so angry.”

Devin scoffed, setting aside the red smeared square. Angling the bandage she retrieved, she pulled the two ragged edges of flesh back together.

“I’m nothing to you. I don’t know what you think I am, but that much I do know.” Breath hitching on a swell of emotion, she averted her eyes to tear open another swab. Blaming the watery sting on the harsh smell, she dabbed at a deep puncture that looked enough like a bite mark that Devin couldn’t hide her frown.

Shoving her hand aside, Rey set his forehead to hers. Keeping her gaze with a warning curl of his lips, he cupped her cheeks in his large palms. Dwarfing her in their size, he let her know how easy it would be for him to rip her apart.

“You screw me all up. Make me think things I have no business dreaming of,” he whispered, as if he didn’t dare to say the words loud enough for anyone to hear. Even her. “The minute I saw you, I wanted you. Needed you. Beau didn’t want you to hurt me, and I don’t fucking care if you rip my heart out anymore, hear me? You’re mine.”

“Bought and paid for,” Devin mumbled, the scathing reminder a defensive reaction to the strange surge of heat through her chest.

She did not, and would never, care for this man. No matter the earnest intensity of his words, they were a fabrication of his arrogance. That Devin should fall all over herself to be his simply because he wanted her.

“Is that what you think? I don’t care about that.”

“I do.” Devin sniffed, but only the once. She pulled away, once again busying herself with the bandages as Rey stood quiet under her ministrations.