tonight.”
I arch a brow. “That’s up to your boss,” I reply. “What do you say, D-man, wanna get this over with?”
He sighs and takes a step back, removing his pants-covered cock from my face as he sinks back into his seat. “What the fuck do you want?”
What do I want? I want a lot of things. I want people to leave me the fuck alone. I want to be able to crawl into any ol’ bed and sleep like a fucking log without thinking about what I could be waking up to. I want fucking freedom. But I settle for less because there’s no other option.
“The truth,” I state plainly.
He arches a brow, and for the first time since I came up here, I cut a glance side to side to see the others’ reactions. Just like Dean, their faces are wiped clean of anything useful. No emotion. It’s like they’ve trained to appear as the indomitable assholes that they portray. They probably are.
“What truth is that?” Dean asks.
My eyes meet his from beneath my lashes. “Don’t act stupid now, Mr. Carter,” I say. “If you’re the one sitting in that middle seat,” I nod towards him, “then, we both know you’re not. I want to know why there’s a rumor going around that I’m your property.”
He doesn’t hesitate. “Because you are.”
My hands curl into fists and I have to will away the desire to punch him in his cruelly handsome face. You know, it’s honestly not fair for pricks like him to look the way they do. “Well, look at that,” I say, keeping my voice purposefully light and unassuming. “Not two minutes after I tell you that you aren’t dumb, you prove me wrong. Good for you.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. Turning my head, I watch as Brax leans forward, placing his elbows on his knees as he stares at me. He meets my gaze and reaches back with one hand, removing a cigarette pack from his back pocket. He slaps it against the palm of his hand once, twice, three times before ripping the plastic wrapping off and tossing it on the end of the table I’m currently sitting on. Sticking the end of one between full, masculine lips, he lights it.
A hand grasps my chin and Dean pulls me back around to meet his gaze. “You may not like it, little girl,” he says, “but you’re the reason we had to make it happen like this.”
I narrow my eyes on his. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
He doesn’t smile. In fact, he looks more like he’d rather choke me out than put any sort of claim on me. “You refuse to fall in line,” he says. “You don’t follow our rules. You want the truth, baby? The truth is we don’t trust you.”
“So, why not kick me out then?” I ask. I’m not asking because I want it, but I am curious. It seems the easiest solution to all of his problems. Why hasn’t he taken it?
He scowls and releases my chin. I blink. Holy shit. I hadn’t even realized he’d touched me. Normally, I didn’t let people—especially guys—touch me. What the fuck is wrong with me?
“You don’t need to know why I do what I do,” he grits out, sitting back. “All you need to know is that as long as you don’t cause any more problems, we’ll let you remain off lockdown. It’s better for you this way. You should be grateful.”
“Grateful…” I repeat the word with no small amount of skepticism. The only thing I’ve ever been grateful for in my entire life is my ability to adapt. Throw me to the wolves and I come back leading the pack. That’s just what this is, I realize. Another fucking test. Well, I’m done playing things the Sick Boys’ way. They want to play at being Kings, then I want to see how they react when a savage enters their midst. They have no clue what’s about to happen now.
I smirk. “I get it,” I say. “You’ve sanctioned my actions, haven’t you?” I laugh. “You had to,” I realize. “Because this way, if I do something that pisses someone off or gets me into trouble—it’ll look like you gave the go ahead for it.” I stand and their eyes follow me, but I only have my sights set on Dean. Leaning over, I run my hand down his chest as he stiffens and glares at me, unspeaking.