Without thinking about it this time, I placed mine in his and let him help me out of the truck.

  Sandwiched between his body and the driver’s side door, he lifted my face to his with two fingers.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he said quietly, placing a heavy kiss on my lips.

  I was thrown off guard but in a good way. I believed him. Managing a small smile, I rose up on my tiptoes and mimicked his kiss.

  Trix cleared her throat from the other side of the truck, and we laughed.

  “Let’s go see what we can find in here,” Zane lilted, threading his fingers through mine.

  “Hopefully a clean bathroom,” Nyx grumbled.

  We filed inside the building as one, Cam taking the rear. Instantly, my senses were assaulted by the smell of floor cleaner, old grease, and tobacco.

  To our immediate left was what must have been considered the diner, once the motel’s breakfast area. Straight ahead was the front desk and, between it and us, two ratty pool tables.

  Two women sat on a worn plaid sofa a little to the right, and, whilst never having experienced possessiveness before, the way their eyes lit up when they saw Zane had me ready to gouge them out with my Kambit.

  It wasn’t jealousy; they had nothing for me to be jealous about.

  “Hello, there!” an older man called as he shuffled from behind the desk. “Haven’t seen your…faces before.” His bushy brows furrowed, periwinkle eyes shifting from Zane’s to mine.

  I’d never considered what people would think when they saw the two of us together.

  “We need a phone, a car, and something for her to eat. Preferably something that no one has touched.” He glanced at Nyx. “And a bathroom, if it’s clean.”

  I squished my lips together to hide a smile. I had more than enough sustainable foods in the gear bag currently strapped to Cam’s back, but I wasn’t going to throw off his momentum.

  It was clear the man didn’t know how to take someone like Zane.

  “Okay. Um. The phone I have—we’ll just need to tinker with the signal. A car I can work on, and there’s some fruit in the diner. Bathroom is clean. Everything’s clean. In the meantime, would you folks like a few rooms?”

  The man rubbed the back of his neck, stopping when I tilted my head to the side. His eyes met mine and darted away.

  I turned and looked at Nyx.

  She nodded, silently telling me she was picking up on the same thing I was. He was nervous, more so than he should be.

  “How long is all this going to take?” Maliki asked.

  “Couple of hours.”

  “Fuck it,” Zane sighed. “Give me one.”

  Great. Looked like we were going to be here a while.

  The chair squeaked every time I moved.

  Zane was across the lobby talking, to Alfred, the old man.

  Nyx and Maliki had engaged in a game of pool with five balls. Cam, Trix, and Ace watched them, placing bets on the winner.

  Feeling someone’s eyes on me, I slowly searched the room, pausing when I found a giant of a man staring at me. His hair was slicked back, his mustache was neatly trimmed. He didn’t immediately look away. Something about him made my skin crawl. He had to of crept in when I wasn’t paying attention.

  When Zane started making his way back towards me, the man finally glanced away, heading for a different exit.

  “Anything?” I asked when he slid in the chair across from mine.

  “Reception is shit, but yeah, I caught the words ‘mall’ and ‘four’. So that’s something.”

  “Oh,” I replied for lack of something to say.

  Chewing my last bit of apple, I stood from the chair and held out my hand for him this time. “Take me to that room you got.”

  He nodded and stood, ignoring my outstretched hand. I tried to skip over the sting of rejection and walked alongside him towards the exit, tossing my apple core in a waste basket before slipping my hands into my front pockets.

  Just before we reached the glass doors, the two women from the sofa appeared, cutting us off.

  “Hi, we wanted to introduce ourselves. I’m Candace,” the redhead chirped, smiling brightly.

  “And I’m—”

  “Why?” I cut off the brunette.

  “Why?” Candace parroted.

  “Why did you feel the need to introduce yourselves to him?”

  The brunette blinked, adjusting the too tight sweater it was way too hot to have been wearing.

  “He’s Zane Belial. He’s—”

  “Mine,” I smoothly interjected.

  “Aren’t you Romero’s daughter?” Candace questioned, her eyes shifting between the two of us.

  Zane remained abnormally silent which had me ready to throat punch him until he finally spoke.

  “Her name is Adelaide. And like she said, I’m hers.”

  They gaped at him.

  “Come on,” he said to me, now taking hold of my hand and leading me past them.

  “Hang on,” I told him. I stopped walking and looked back at the two women still staring at us. “Those fine specimens by the pool table are with us. Don’t go soliciting them.

  “I don’t care what you do, how you do it, or where, but it’s not going to be with any of them.”

  With that out of the way, I turned back to Zane. He pulled me to the right, heading for a faded pair of pinkish stairs.

  “Do I need to paint that ass red for your comment?” he asked once we reached the first landing.

  “What comment?”

  “Those fine specimens?”

  An unladylike snort flew from my nose. “Um, Trix and Nyx were included in that. Do you want to explain why you snubbed me at the table?”

  We rounded up another staircase and then started searching for our room number.

  “Snubbed? I never fucking snubbed you.”

  “Found it.” I gestured to room 212, matching the number carved into the wood with the one on my rusted key. “You did. Back at the table, when I tried to take your hand.”

  I inserted the key into the lock and let us into the room. Zane stepped in after me and shut the door.

  Before I could fully take in the room, he had me pinned to the door we’d just stepped through, hands placed on either side of my head to cage me in.

  “I’m an asshole, Addy, but I wouldn’t snub you or whatever the fuck. I just didn’t see it.”

  I smiled and reached up, cupping his face in my hands. The way he shut his eyes and breathed deep beneath my touch had my chest doing all types of crazy things. To know I could affect this enigmatic man secretly thrilled me.

  “You’re super intense, you know that?”

  His lids fluttered open and he gave me those ocean eyes I was becoming so fond of. He moved closer, forcing a soft breath from me as he pressed against my front.

  “I feel like I’ve waited my whole damn life for you,” he sighed into my neck.

  He was being a lot more touchy than usual, and even more…sweet? I slid my hands from his cheeks to his hair, playing with the soft strands.

  “Your whole life?” I teased.

  Pulling back, he stared down at me again and said, “Addy, you were mine before I knew you, and I guess I was yours, too.”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  “So, this deal with my brother…”

  “It’s real, but deal or no deal, I was coming for you.”

  “Then why did you...? You wanted to hurt me, right?”

  His whole demeanor changed before my very eyes. He took a step back, and I lowered my hands to my sides, watching him curiously.

  “It’s complicated.” He walked over to the bed and sat on the edge, causing it to release a loud squeak.

  I frowned at it. While the room didn’t look as bad as I imagined with plain paneled walls and simple furnishings that had probably been here since the place was built, I was not a fan of the bed, considering what went down here.

  On the bright side, they’d pulled the carpet up in place of hardwood.

  I brought my attention back to Zane, crossing my arms and leaning against the door. “You say it’s complicated. I say try me.”

  He smirked. “You sound like Maliki.”

  “Guess Maliki’s pretty smart, then.”

  He nodded, glancing down at the floor for a few seconds before locking his gaze with mine. “I want to break you, but then I want to put you back together. I want to protect you from everything but myself.

  “I want you to get down on your knees and worship me; at the same time, I want you to become the queen that has the balls to put me in my place.”

  I pushed off the door and approached him slowly. “That sounds superbly fucked up, Zane.”

  “I know, princess. And if I was a good man, fuck, a half-decent man, I’d let you go. I can’t.”

  Tilting my head to the side, I pursed my lips slightly and stared at him. He was still a giant mystery, just as there were a shit ton of things he didn’t know about me. We’d known one another for such a short amount of time, yet he knew me better than people I’d grown up around.

  I would never figure him out today, or tomorrow, hell, even two years from now. Same went for me. It was crazy to so easily accept what this was, but then I was a bit crazy myself.

  “You’re over thinking this,” I said when I was standing in front of him. “You’re right—you aren’t a good man. But what the hell is good, Zane? I’m not good, either. Why do we have to even define that?”

  “So you’re done fighting me?” He brought his hands up and placed them on my hips, pulling me forward until I was forced to straddle him. “You piss me off, you can guarantee I’ll have my foot up your ass.”

  “You were right,” I admitted, reflecting on what he’d said just hours ago when he fucked me for the first time.

  “And what happens when I break you one time too many? Say the wrong thing and can’t make it better?” I clasped my arms around his neck, situating my pussy right over his cock.

  “I’m not some fragile thing, Z. You’ve placed a gun to my head. That’s the worst of your offenses. I can handle your rough. I can handle your dominance. I can handle you being an asshole. You know what hurt more than anything? When you didn’t take my goddamn hand.”

  He laughed an actual full belly laugh, tightening his grip on me. “Tell me again how what I said was fucked up, because the shit that just came out your mouth wasn’t any better.”

  I slipped my hands down to the hem of his shirt, lifting it up as I pressed myself down onto him.

  “See, we’re both fucked up. So let’s just live every day fucked up together.” I tossed his shirt to the side, helping him remove mine, followed by my bra.

  “Together, huh?” he questioned, placing a kiss on each of my breasts.

  I ground my hips against the bulge in his jeans, suppressing a moan at how good it felt.

  “Tell me what you need, princess.” His calloused fingers trailed up my spine to grip the back of my neck, leaving a blaze in their path.

  His breath fanned over my budding nipples, and his lips nibbled my neck.

  “I need you…” He gently sunk his teeth into my lobe, throwing me off-kilter.

  Placing my hands on his solid chest, I leaned back so I could see his face.

  “I need you to let me fuck you.”

  He didn’t look at all surprised by my request. I’d expected some objection at least, not for him to lift me up and help me out of my boots and pants.

  When I was completely naked in front of him, he spread his legs and grinned. “By all means, ride your fucking heart out.”

  I climbed back onto his lap, not allowing myself to think about where we were right then. I held onto his shoulder and dropped one hand to the zipper of his jeans, dragging it down.

  He lifted his hips to help me shove the denim down just enough free his gorgeous cock.

  I stared down, smiling at his hiss as I ran a thumb over the smooth tip, thighs clenching at the sight of his barbell.

  “Put my dick inside you, princess.” The abrasion of his voice and the look in his eyes had me desperate to do just that.

  I gripped him firmly in my hand, feeling a throb against my skin. My pussy was already wet; I ached to feel him stretch me again.

  Hovering above him, my heart beating at a wild tempo, I curled my fingers into his shoulder and sank down, easing him into me.

  I held still, breathing through the feel of him stretching me and waiting for the lingering soreness from earlier to subside.

  He watched me closely, letting me figure it out.

  I rolled my hips once, eliciting a groan from him and a moan from me.

  “You feel so good,” I practically whispered, moving in earnest. It took me a minute to find a rhythm; when I did, it all came naturally. I shoved his chest until he was flat on his back and began rocking into him, taking him deeper, fucking myself harder on his dick.

  “Goddamn, Addy,” he breathed, digging his fingertips into my hips. “Zane,” I whimpered, dropping my down so my chest was smashed against his, capturing his mouth in a kiss.

  Growing close, I sat back up and rode him faster.

  The sheer look of torturous desire written all over his face had my pussy growing slicker around him, my juices dripping down to his balls.

  My goddamn calves started to burn, but I didn’t stop. Sweat beaded between my heaving breasts and curled the ends of my usually straight hair. My moans became pleasure-filled gasps.

  “That’s it, princess. Fuck me just like that.” He reached down and pressed the pad of his thumb to my clit, working it in a circular motion.

  My lower stomach tightened, my pussy contracting around him. Without warning, he placed one swift smack to my clit. Warmth shot through my veins, my muscles going taut. I collapsed onto his chest, the pleasure momentarily debilitating.

  He kissed my face and my neck, holding me through the climax as I caught my breath.

  When I was done, I laid with my head over his heart, comforted by the steady thud.

  Slowly sitting up, I took one look in his napalm eyes and my face caught on fire. “Why are you grinning like that?”

  “Because that was the hottest fucking thing I’ve ever seen, princess.”

  I tucked my chin to my chest, trying to hide.

  He sat up as if he were doing a crunch, wrapping an arm around my back to keep me securely on his lap. “So gorgeous,” he murmured, kissing my forehead.

  “Guess Ace was right about you.”

  I whipped my head up, brows slamming together.

  “What the hell does that mean?”

  “Nothing.”

  Before I reached down and grabbed my Kambit from its holster, I studied his face, smacking his chest when I realized he was screwing with me.

  “You’re such an ass.” I looked between us. He’d pulled out, and he was still hard. “You didn’t finish…”

  “I held back,” he replied.

  People do that?

  “Why?”

  The smirk should have been answer enough. “For my turn.”

  He stood in one fluid motion, wrapping my legs around his waist as he carried me across the room, placing my back against the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  No response given, he leaned in and kissed me—brutally. Our teeth clashed, his tongue intertwining with mine.

  The head of his cock wedged against my tender entrance, but I wasn’t prepared when he pushed up into me with one solid thrust.

  I screamed so loud I choked on my next breath.

  “Fuck!” he cursed, gripping my thighs so tight I knew they’d be even more bruised. He never stopped burying himself to the hilt, filling me with him entirely over and over again.

  “Goddamn, princess, your pussy’s fucking perfect; you’re fucking perfect.”

  He slid his hands to my ass, grabbing a globe in each hand. “Now tell me you’re mine,” he commanded, his voice taking on the dark tone I loved.

  “Yours,” I managed to breathe out as he drilled into me.

  I threaded my fingers through his hair and pulled. Without warning, he shoved a finger into my ass.

  I dropped my mouth to his shoulder and bit down.

  He leaned in and thrust so deep, I thought his dick was inside my stomach. His bite on the top of my breasts brought forth a squeal.

  I wound up digging my nails into his back, locking my legs beneath his perfect ass as he fucked me for everything I was worth.

  It was becoming a contest. Who could fuck the other insane first?

  When he finally finished, I felt as if I’d become one with the door. I held onto him when he moved us back to the bed, burying my face in his sweaty neck.

  “You good, baby?” he asked, laughing beneath his breath.

  “Is it always like this?”

  His lips touched my shoulder and then my cheek. “For me and you? Always. We haven’t gotten started yet.”

  A sound of distress rifled up my throat, causing him to laugh again.

  “I need to go check on the car. Don’t think I’m running out on you. I would hold you all night, cuddle you, too. But not in this fucking bed—in ours.”

  I would have pointed out he’d just let me bounce on his cock on this very bed, but I found myself giggling.

  “You’re going to cuddle me?”

  He huffed and gently lifted me off him, though I’m sure he wanted to launch me across the room.

  “You want me to wait for you?”

  “Nope. Go check for the car and then come back. I’m going to try and get myself presentable,” I replied, sliding my boots back on.

  When he continued to linger, pretending he was so infatuated with a cheap ass painting, I smothered a laugh.

  “I’m gonna go into the bathroom now, okay?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be right back.” He placed a chaste kiss on my lips, and then he was walking out of the room, looking as put together as ever.

  I exhaled a deep breath to gather my bearings and then headed for the bathroom.

  Chapter Twenty

  Viginti

  I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone—especially in a shit hole like this one.

  Reminding myself that Addy could handle herself didn’t make me feel any better. That phone call I made…Luce didn’t sound right and, even through the distortion, I sensed a feeling of distress.