Badlands: Next Generation Collection, page 10
I swallowed my last bit of food, envisioning Butcher’s demise in a pool of blood. “Firstly, don’t ever say anything like that again. You are amazing, Nyx. More than amazing—you are incredible, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my friend. He’s still a boy behaving like a man—a shitty man—and honestly, it’s his loss.”
She stretched her arms out in front of her, and then readjusted so she was lying down.
“The last time we were together, at the warehouse, he thought it was me letting him back in. I just wanted one last hate-fuck.”
“I didn’t know that was a thing. It sounded as if it went well, though.”
“I love you, Addy.” She smothered a laugh behind her hand.
The sound drew the attention of Maliki and Zane from across the room and, as if we couldn’t help ourselves, Zane’s eyes met mine and held them.
“Are you sure you didn’t know it was a thing? You and snake man seem to have some of your own going on.”
I flattened my lips and diverted my gaze, completely unimpressed by that comparison. “I take it back. That sounds absolutely terrible.”
“If you say so,” she said around a yawn. Her eyes zeroed in on empty space as she lost herself in whatever she was thinking.
I couldn’t relate to how she was feeling, but I knew it couldn’t be good. Braxton was her first everything. I also knew she’d never tell me; she would wear the same face she always did and keep it all inside. That’s who she was. Just like her father.
I had to ask, anyway.
“Are you okay, pretty girl?”
“I will be,” she replied quietly before closing her eyes.
I watched her for a few minutes with a frown. Right when I thought she’d fallen asleep, she spoke again.
“Do you think they’re hurt?”
I replied before thinking it over. “No.”
The Stags had taken Savage and Venom. They had to want something, which meant keeping them intact to barter with.
What that could be was anyone’s’ guess. There were wiser and easier ways of going about it than ensuring their deaths.
Hearing her breathing even out, I glanced over again and smiled at her sleeping form.
On the far side of the station where hot food had once been displayed, Trix snoozed away as Maliki and Zane continued to speak quietly. Every few minutes, he would look in my direction, and every time our eyes met, I felt the same pull in my chest and heat between my legs.
I studied his posture and physique. It was easy to hate him for what his family did, harder to remember he didn’t even know who they were. It wasn’t until we’d been in the car together that I reminded myself of that.
That didn’t change who he was as a person, though.
I’d heard plenty of stories and even more rumors about the mystery that was Zane Belial. The girls at the compound whispered about him constantly.
They seemed to be stuck in a state of perpetual lust with a stranger they’d never laid eyes on other than in a fantasy or few grainy polaroids.
I’d never understood the allure.
Until now.
Until I was met with whatever this feeling was—more than simple attraction, stronger than insta-lust, but damn sure not love. I couldn’t define it because I’d never felt it before, but whatever this was, I did not like it.
Fortunately, the sudden urge to relieve my bladder hit hard and gave me an excuse to get away from him even for just a few minutes.
Rising from my small pallet, I grabbed my case of wet-wipes and headed for the bathroom.
The women’s room was far worse than the men’s, with a repellent stench of smeared shit and blood on the walls. Obviously, that meant I was going into the men’s room.
I walked down the small hall, the glow from the battery powered lanterns in the main area giving it a bluish glow.
I used my shoulder to open the door. Once inside, I didn’t touch anything. I squatted, feeling the muscles in my thighs burn as I relieved myself over the nauseating piece of porcelain.
I used a wet-wipe to clean my lady bits, pitching it in the hole without glancing down, and then I exited back into the hall.
My deep inhalation of somewhat fresher air was cut short by the solid force shoving me right back into the bathroom.
I hit the grimy wall, wet-wipes falling away as my wrists were pinned above my head.
Cognizant of everyone sleeping and not wanting to make another scene, I snarled on a whisper, “Get your damn hands off me!”
He ignored my anger, tightening his grip to the point that I grimaced. “You know what’s the most amusing part about that whole statement you gave a bit ago? Your waste of breath to deliver an almost believable performance?”
“You’re a freaking psycho! It was no performance! Now get—”
“Tell me you’re not mine.” His voice dropped to a near whisper as his lips found their way to my neck, skimming over my sensitive flesh.
My nerve endings immediately began to stir, warmth flooding through me and heading straight to my core.
I was suddenly aware of how good he smelled, like a strong bar of soap and hint of sweat—masculine. Like the calloused hands holding my wrists in place.
“Stop it,” I managed to say.
“Why?”
Why? His question caught me off guard. Before I could respond, he was placing his lips firmly against my skin, trailing them up towards my jaw. “You smell like vanilla,” he noted absentmindedly.
“This is wrong,” I exhaled, breathing back in the smell of him and the filthy bathroom we were in.
Lips left my neck and then were hovering centimeters in front of mine, soft breath fanning over my face.
“Does this feel wrong?”
That one simple question was a warning.
His mouth hit mine, hard, demanding access without waiting for permission. The answer to his question was no; this didn’t feel wrong at all. It couldn’t have, because my lips parted and his tongue slipped between them, exploring the roof of my mouth before meeting with mine.
It wasn’t gentle; it was harsh, nothing less than intensely possessive. Had I not been caught in whatever this was, I would have known that’s exactly what it was. I couldn’t see him in the dark, but I felt him in every way that mattered. His sinewy body molded against mine perfectly.
He wedged a knee between my legs, forcing them apart. My wrists were released and one hand went to my neck, the other going for the front of my jeans.
“Wait,” I tried to say, my protest stopped by his lips recapturing mine and nipping the lower one.
His hand slid between denim and lace and deft fingers found their way inside a place that had never been touched. He caught my gasp in his mouth.
“Fuck,” he cursed softly, forcing my legs apart even further.
There was resistance at first, tightness as he worked two digits in and out of my pussy. While his kiss was brutal, his touch was surprisingly gentle. He didn’t try to go all the way in, pushing just deep enough to cause a slow burn throughout my body.
I’d made myself come before, but never from penetration. My chest began to rise and fall in tune with the foreign sounds muffled by the battle between our tongues.
I grabbed for his shoulder with one hand, gripping the wrist around my throat as if it were an anchor with the other.
He pulled back slightly, beginning to move faster, delving deeper as I grew wetter. I rose up on my tiptoes as he brought me closer and closer to that satisfying edge.
This felt so much different than when I’d taken me there myself—so much better.
“You’re so fucking wet, so tight,” he mused. “I can feel your cunt squeezing my fingers.”
His words brought forth another small whimper, one he didn’t try to silence this time, and a rush of fluid. The muscles in my legs tensed as I teetered right on the brink.
He pressed the pad of his thumb to my clit and it was like pressing a detonation button.
Pleasure washed over my body like a wave. My pussy contracted around his digits, juices drenching his hand.
“That’s right, princess. Come for me,” he rasped, his voice dipping slightly.
The moan of pleasure was blocked by the hand squeezing my throat until my breathing was restricted. He leaned in, whispering again, dark and low as he continued to toy with my slit. “You ever tell me how this is wrong again, that you don’t feel anything between us, or that you’re not mine, and my dick will be inside your pussy making you bleed while my fist is wrapped around your throat, cutting off a minute of your life for every lie.”
His hand dropped and his fingers left my jeans as he took a step back.
I coughed, breathing in air as harsh as reality was setting back in, the fact I was pinned against a wall full of filth.
My lips were puffy, swollen from his kiss. My pussy was aching and wet, craving more than what he’d just given, and my brain was confused about what the hell had just happened.
He leaned back in.
“Get out,” I quavered, turning my head away from him this time.
A feral growl reverberated between us that had my thighs clenching together.
“Don’t fuck with me, Addy. You can deny this if you want to, but in the end, it won’t matter. Every breath you take will be in my name.” He grabbed my jaw with the same hand that had just been down my pants, fingers still slick and covered in my scent. “You’ve been mine since the day you were born, princess. You’d better get that through your head, cuz there’s not shit you can do to change it.”
He placed one last lingering kiss on my lips, and then he was gone, leaving me alone to deal with what we had just done, his dark promise lingering between us.
Chapter Thirteen
Tredecim
A gentle hand shook me awake.
I popped one eye open, closing it with a groan when light attacked my cornea. I was not a morning person.
“Come on, you,” Nyx laughed, shaking me again.
A drop of water hit my cheek next. I swiped it away and abruptly sat up. I glared at her, shoving my fingers through my hair.
“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do it,” she defended, pointing to the ceiling.
My eyes shifted up. The tile above me was browner than before—and wet.
“It’s raining.” I stated the obvious. The soft pitter-patter of rain drops hitting the XL reached my ears before I even opened my mouth.
“We should get going. Something feels off.” She held a hand out and helped me stand up, nudging me off my blanket so she could refold it.
I watched her, a tad envious she could look so good this soon after waking up.
“Where is everyone?” I asked, belatedly noticing that we were the only two people inside the station.
“Loading the truck up and getting situated. Your Venomous prince demanded you be allowed to sleep in,” she explained in a sugary sweet tone.
“Lots of good that did, seeing as you’ve been a complete bitch in the mornings since we were five.” She gave me an affectionate grin when I rolled my eyes.
“I don’t think five-year-olds can be bitches, Nyx. And my Venomous –prince?” I raised a brow.
“Yeah, I woke up and the dude was watching you sleep with this…look on his face. I can’t explain. It was hot, considering it was coming from that schlanger.” She shrugged.
“Zane is not—”
“Zane is not what?”
His husky voice sent heat rushing to my cheeks. A shiver trickled down my spine as I sensed him behind me.
In a bold move and what I assumed was him further cementing his claim, he slipped an arm around my waist and pulled me back into his chest.
“What is with you and constantly putting your hands on her?” Nyx groaned.
“Addy doesn’t have a problem with my hands. Do you, princess?” He murmured the last part in my ear before placing a kiss on my neck.
I jerked away from him so fast, I almost tripped and landed on my ass. I couldn’t believe he’d just said that. Then again, he didn’t strike me as the type to have a filter.
Nyx’s brows slammed together in confusion. “What did he do with his hands? Er, please don’t answer that. It’s too early. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” I said, exasperated. “We’re nothing,” I avowed, staring straight up at him.
Admittedly, it wasn’t easy, since all I could picture were his fingers inside me, his tongue in my mouth, and the way he’d wrapped his hand around my throat.
However he felt about me rejecting him again was hidden in the mischievous glint in his eyes and the smirk that touched lips I now knew were soft as velvet.
My stomach flipped in either apprehension or anticipation of what he would do to me next. His smirks weren’t portraying amusement; I was quickly starting to learn.
They were merely preludes of violent delights and slow, thorough mind-fucks with ominous words.
“She isn’t a morning person, is she?” he asked Nyx over my head, breaking our connection.
“Not at all,” she answered wistfully.
“Coffee?” He offered me the tin can he was holding. I peered inside and saw a nearly black liquid. The aroma of caffeine taunted my senses a second later, making my mouth water.
“Where did you get this?”
I took the can from him, gently so I didn’t spill it. “And how is it warm?” I questioned, holding it to my cheek.
“It’s a secret.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “This isn’t full of strychnine, is it?”
“Princess, if I wanted you dead, you’d be dead.”
“I was half joking, but thanks for that,” I deadpanned.
He grinned at me then, genuinely, and it was one of the most beautiful damn things I’d ever seen—the kind of smile that invited the devil in. And his teeth were perfect rows of white.
My fingers tightened around the can and I cleared my throat, quickly finding something else to look at as I brought it to my lips. The liquid was strong, dark, and pure bliss. “Mmm.” I shut my eyes and hummed my appreciation as it traveled down my throat.
“Sooo, we should go,” Nyx reiterated.
I opened my eyes and nodded, heading for the doors, missing the look on Zane’s face.
“Here.” He took the gear bag from Nyx without being asked and led the way. As soon as we stepped outside, I knew what Nyx had meant. Something did feel off.
I climbed into the XL, this time behind the driver’s seat where Annie was already sat. Nyx took the center aisle and Zane got in the passenger seat, and then we were pulling off.
The rain continued to fall, setting a gloomy precedent for the day.
I tapped my fingers against the tin can, slowly rotating it in my hands. My mind was all over the place this morning—I didn’t feel like myself.
Looking up, I caught Zane’s eye in the rearview and was immediately lost in their intensity. The hatred was absent. I knew it could return as easily as he could blink but, right then, he was looking at me like I imagined all women wanted to be looked at by a man.
I had no right to look back into those eyes and feel remotely the way I did.
The distortion suddenly cleared up on the radio, interrupting our connection. I watched Zane reach a hand out and turn it up to twenty-five decibels so we could all hear the broadcast coming on.
“What’s up ya’ll, it’s DJ Dystopian bringing you all the hottest news about this beautiful hell of a wasteland known as the Badlands.
“The weather today is rain and more rain until, hell, I don’t fucking know I’m no meteorologist.
“You know what I am? I’m the best damn radio host around. I deliver the straight-up honest truth, no matter how crazy it is.”
“Turn it up a bit more,” Ace said from the last row of seats.
Zane obliged, turning the dial six higher.
“Speaking of crazy shit…The woman who lives next door got dragged away by a man wearing a deer mask the other night. If you don’t know who would do such thing, then you must be new around here. Listen close, cuz this could save your sorry ass one day soon.
“The Badlands is home to the craziest sonsofbitches you’re ever gonna meet. This place is crawling with the worst gangs in the whole goddamn country.
“Let’s start at the bottom with the only ones that matter.
“We got the Jackals. The Stags—the deer-headed psychos. Lazarus—this one’s new, but I hear it’s mean as hell. And then we got those fanatic religious A.R.C. fuckers.
“Last but most certainly not least, we’ve got the big baddies at the top, the Savages—and I hear they’re into some real deal devil shit. There are claims that Satan himself walks among them, and folks, I’m liable to believe it.
“Right there with em is the Venom. You might have thought you heard me wrong just now, but I’m telling you the truth. Those snake-eyed motherfuckers are growing by the day. Could there be an alliance in the future, maybe war? Keep tuning in, and you’ll be the first to find out.
“I’ve got some old-school hits coming at ya in just a second, but before I go, remember the rules.
“Keep your eyes and ears open, guns loaded, and knives sharpened, because in the Badlands, it’s kill or be killed, and if you’re not a killer, then your ass better run like hell.”
Zane clicked the stereo off just as a song by Soap&Skin began to croon through the speakers.
No one said a word. I think this was the first time any of us had heard a broadcast like this one. Not only that, but being listed as the two strongest gangs on live radio while riding with one another was sort of…awkward.
The alliance thing had something wiggling in my brain; before I could delve into it, Trix spoke, breaking the silence.
“Who are the A.R.C’s?”
“I was wondering the same thing,” Cam replied. “Actually, I never heard of any of those, except the Stags.”
“Maybe—”
Something loud pinged off my window, creating an echo in the gloomy sky. Annie immediately hit the brakes, sending Nyx sliding between the seats.
