“No… that was—”

“—My brother…” Bryant repeats, his hand closing around my throat again until I can feel the small bones in my esophagus crunching. “You killed him.”

“You were all sick, demented! He killed himself… he… he…” I can’t finish my sentence.

“Fucked filthy?” Bryant answers for me, tilting his head with a cocky grin on his face. “So tell me, if he had stuck his dick inside you while whispering sweet nothings into your ear instead, would you still have lodged a knife through his jugular vein? Was it just because he didn’t tell you what you wanted to hear? Is it because he fucked you ruthlessly?”

“I said to stop…” I whisper, my throat clogging up from pent-up emotion. “My number one rule was if I said to stop, you stopped...”

“What was our number one rule before you stepped into that tent, Isa?” Bryant edges, coming closer toward me.

I flinch, his grip tightening around my throat. “Answer me!”

“Fuck! That I don’t step inside the tent unless I agree that I have no limits…”

“No. Fucking. Limits.” He releases my throat, pushing me onto the ground. “It wasn’t until he actually fucked you that you decided you had a limit. And then when he didn’t listen, you killed him.” My breathing thickens until I’m reaching for my throat in an attempt to release what feels like fog that has been caught up right at its apex. My chest rises and falls as I look around the room restlessly, trying to find clues. The perfect answer, maybe? I fucked up though. I made the biggest mistake of my life and I’ve lived with the secret since.

“I didn’t…” I shake my head, choking out a hoarse whisper. “Fuck! I didn’t mean to!” A single tear slips over my cheek but I swipe it away angrily. “I didn’t think that would be his kink! Hell, I didn’t even know people had a kink like that!”

“Isa!” Brooke yelled at me and I turned to face her, unlatching from the man’s neck.

I widened my eyes as in to gesture what it was that she wanted, but she ignored me, nudging her head over her shoulder toward the opening of the tent. Rolling my eyes, I swung my leg off his lap before dragging my index finger over the side of his face. “I’ll be back.” Walking toward the door, I muttered, “This better be important,” to Brooke just as I pushed the door open and stepped into the cool air. Brooke walked out a few beats later and started pacing back and forth, her palm pressed against her forehead. “I need more drugs.” Finding out what she needed and that it wasn’t all that important, I shoved her out of my way, ready to walk back inside again. Her hand came out to stop me. “Isa…”

Searching her pleading eyes, I decided to squash whatever anger I had toward her and her crack addiction. “Fine!” I huffed. “Come on.” I turned back around and started heading toward our car where we had a bag of coke waiting for us. She needed it, whereas I just liked to play with it.

Pulling open the door, I gestured toward the passenger seat where she sat down.

“You don’t want any?” she asked, opening the glove compartment and taking out a bible, a razor, and a hundred-dollar bill. Sounded like the start of a great love story.

“No, I’m good. Just hurry up.” I looked up to the tent, hoping no one could see us.

After Brooke had hit a few lines, she got out of the car, so I shut the door, turning to find all the guys had followed us, now they were all standing watching us from the door. I began walking toward them.

“Wait!” Brooke grabbed my arm, tugging me backward. “Are you sure you’re up for this? I mean… I am, but they seem…” she cast a look over my shoulder, her eyes scanning over each of the guys before coming back to mine. “A little intense.”

“Intense is a good thing, remember? Intense means they fuck good!”

Brooke grinned, hooking her arm into mine. “You’re right, and I do like a good thrashing!” Her British accent came in strong as we headed back toward the guys.

I stopped in front of the one with the long hair whose lap I was sitting on, ignoring the other two. He pushed his hair out of his face, displaying his milky white skin and bright blue eyes. “There will be rules upon entering…”

I grinned, running my tongue over my bottom lip. “And what are those?”

“Well, not those, really just one,” he continued, his eyes raking over my body.

“No limits,” a voice behind me growled, a voice I hadn’t yet met. The deep vibrations of it had me turn at its command.

He was beautiful. Too beautiful. His body was built for a soldier.

“Oh?” I took my eyes back to the long-haired guy ignoring the beautiful beast. “That’s fine. No limits…”

We walked inside the luxurious Moroccan tent and I peeked over my shoulder, grinning at the guys who were watching me from the entrance. “Well, come on then…” I teased, winking at them and stepping inside.

Brooke bounced through their bodies, tying her hair up into a ponytail, her blue eyes twinkling with mischief. I turned back around and finally took in the surroundings a little better this time. The four-poster bed that’s sitting in the corner, the red silken sheets blanketing it, just screaming sex club. I headed toward one of the posts and ran the palm of my hand over the varnished wood, my fingertips skimming over the intricate pattern imprinting the wood. Taking in a deep breath, I ignored the sweet tang of rich mahogany and cologne dancing together in a room that was quite obviously built for fucking. Closing my eyes and then opening them, my head tilted and my eyes zoned into a large cage that sat in the opposite corner of the room. Stepping closer, I ran my palms over the cool metal, just as I felt a presence behind me, his breath falling over the nape of my neck. “You wanna play, baby?” I recognized his voice as the guy with the long hair.

Pulling my bottom lip into my mouth, I cranked my head over my shoulder a little while my hand glided down my belly, toward the apex of my thighs. “I’m always ready to play.”

Twisting me around, he wrapped his arm around my waist, instantly bringing my body into his until my forehead smacked against his chin. Laughing slightly, I peeked over his shoulder to see Brooke already on her knees, unbuckling one of the other guy’s pants as the new hot mysterious guy from outside sat lazily on a large leather seat with a bottle of whiskey dangling between his fingers. He loosened his tie, his dark brooding eyes locking onto mine briefly. My brain fuzzed, my sight started coming in and out of focus from whatever drugs we had taken earlier. Fucking smart idea that was… again, Brooke’s idea of partying is so much different than mine.

“Make her bleed,” the new guy on the sofa growled. I decided to call him Wolf. He suited that name. His mere size, his commanding glare, his everything, was almost wolf-like. Calculating. Deathly. Just him being in the room made the temperature both drop and rise all at once. His lip curling up in disgust as his eyes assaulted my body snaps me back to reality. “Make her bleed and then fuck her.”

I swallowed, the challenge both terrifying me and exciting me all at once. Looking back up to long-haired guy’s eyes, I tilted my head in question, a slight smile on my lips.

Leaning down, he murmured against my cheek, “Orders are orders, Isa…”

“Wait… how’d you know my name?” The ground looked as though it had started spinning from under my feet. Fucking drugs. Alcohol? Mix of both? What happened…

“Oh… we know everything about you, baby girl.” Long hair grinned in triumph, then he cast a look over his shoulder toward Wolf, and then that’s when his face changed. His features fell in submission, but he quickly collected himself, clearing his throat. “What? You told us.”

Brooke. Bet it was fucking Brooke. He took my hand and tugged on me roughly until I fell into his soft chest. Wasn’t my ideal lay, but whatever, I can make it work— His hand instantly came to my throat, gripping it roughly until all air had been robbed.

“Get on the bed.” I began stepping backward until the end of the bed collided with the back of my legs. He shoved my chest so hard my back hit the mattress in a heap and my hair sprawled out from underneath me. Crawling up my body, he gripped my blouse and yanked at it until all the buttons flew off.

“No tapping out, baby girl. You’re my toy now.”

“Oh, you knew exactly what you were doing…” Bryant murmurs, stepping forward. “You were that little slut looking for dick…” he pauses, a smirk on his mouth. “But you almost got the whole gang.” He pauses, coming up to me again until his chest brushes against mine. “We were kids then, so I can understand your slut chapter. What I want from you, though, it isn’t revenge. I do want it eventually, but I’m a businessman first.”

“Which means?” I snide at him, my lip curled.

“Which means, I need you as my wife.”

“Why!” I lean back onto the bed. “Why, aside from who my father is, would you need me to be your wife?” I pause, looking around the room. “You have everything,” I whisper, more to myself. “Money, fame, power…what could I possibly give someone who has it all?”

His laugh breaks through the eerie silence. “Revenge in the sweetest way possible. I’ll make your life a living hell while gaining the benefits of marrying the president’s daughter.”

“What benefits?” I knew his plan was to make my life a living hell. Why not. I killed his fucking brother.

Yet again, he steps closer toward me and then leans down to cage me in with his arms. “I need you to bleed for me every fucking night. You game for that?” He cocks his head. “Of course you are because you don’t get a fucking choice.” His hand comes to the back of my head as he clutches my hair into his fist, yanking my head back until his eyes are looking deep into mine. “Now get the fuck out of this room, take a hard right turn until you get to the stairs, walk up those stairs…” he halts, his lips brushing over mine until I feel his smirk press against my lips. “Strip, and get on your fucking knees.”

His voice and glare activates my deep, dark addiction. Looking up at him, I suck my bottom lip into my mouth. “Okay…” I gasp softly, entranced in the spell his eyes have put me under and the feelings, those feelings, the crave to be desired and wanted, it all comes crashing back into me.

“Yes, what?” He licks his lips devilishly.

I grit my teeth, my stubborn nature fighting to come through. “Yes, sir.”

He unlatches from my throat and points to the door. “Do as you’re told.”

I make a beeline for the door, pausing for a split second to glance over my shoulder at him. “I’m sorry, Bryant. For what it’s worth...”

“It isn’t worth much more than your pussy, so get the fuck up there and be waiting for me on your knees.”

Asshole.

Super fucking asshole.

I turn back toward the hallway, slamming the door closed behind myself as thoughts hammer through my brain with every step I take. I head up the dark gloomy hallway with memories, regrets, and sadness latching to me.

I don’t really regret what happened that night, and I think that makes me a bad person. Well, at least half of a bad person. I just wish that it had turned out differently for him, for all of us. I wish I didn’t have blood on my hands – but I do. Now I have to live with it for the rest of my life. Though I thought I had suppressed most of the guilt I had through hours and hours of therapy, it obviously doesn’t take much to set them off again.

Walking up the stairs, I take the first right turn like Bryant instructed, coming face-to-face with a sleek black door. Running my fingers over the smooth marbling, I close my eyes and let out a heavy breath. But no matter what I try to do, all the memories have started flooding my brain again. Memories that were buried under all the hurt and regret I had spent years upon years building on—slowly crumble inside of my brain.

He pulled out a knife from his back pocket and ran the blunt side up my leg.

“What?” I asked, as his thumb pressed against my clit again. I’m confused at what he’s doing, or asking, if he even asked something. Did he ask something?

“Shhhh,” long-haired guy murmured while continuing to drag the knife up to my pussy. “Actually, fight it.” He grinned, pressing his lips to my ear. “That’s how I like it.”

I swallowed, my mouth dry and coarse from my sudden come down off the drugs.

“I don’t want to anymore.” My head shook from side to side, just as the cool metal continued to press against the inside of my thigh, only this time, a sharp sting erupted from my inner leg. I scream so loud I almost deafen myself while flinching away from him. I felt the wetness trickle down my inner thigh but slammed my eyes closed, attempting to cut them out. Cut them all out and this whole night. It’s not happening. It’s not that bad. You’re just having a bad trip, Isa.

“Too bad it’s too late to make that decision,” he quipped back, standing from the bed and flicking the knife around between his fingers. He peered down at me and cocked his head, his eyes running over my body in a way that had my flesh crawling. I turned from left to right, trying to make sense of what was happening, though nothing really did make sense. Nothing at all. A sharp sting stabbed into my outer leg this time, causing a monstrous scream to erupt out of me. I got to my elbows to see what the fuck it was. That shit was painful. I think I’m going to die. I’m going to be an episode of ‘1000 Craziest Ways to Die’ or whatever it’s called. People will be sitting in the comfort of their home, watching how a stupid drugged up sex addict got herself into a difficult situation all because orgasms. A needle was sticking out of my bare thigh— “Is that?” my vision blurred even more, the colorful Moroccan décor now swimming in a murky pool of colors.

“Heroin? Don’t worry, it’s just for trial.”

“What did you do?” I heard a voice growl out in the background.

I knew that voice. I thought I did, at least…

“Oh come on, B. We’re just having a little fun with her.”

“I said make her bleed, not drug her.”

“Just go with it.”

There was a long pause, so I laid backward onto my back, the wires in my brain now coming to life. The large drapes that hung on the roof of the tent began to twirl and twist into a trance, and I giggled, my hand coming to my mouth. Nothing about this was funny, yet I found myself floating on a magical carpet of peace. Everything felt as though it was going to be okay. No worries, no stress, no actual thought process running through my brain. Just bliss, momentary peace. The sharp sting on my thigh no longer throbbed in pain, I now felt nothing.

“There you are.” Long-haired man stood on the side of the bed, unlatching his belt. He tugged his jeans down until his cock sprung free. Thick and hard, and usually, the sight would have my thighs clenching together. Usually, I would be feeding off of his lust like a sex maniac sponge being tossed into a bath full of hormones, but it didn’t do anything for me sexually. My emotions were heightened from the drug cocktail, but it made do the opposite of what he was probably hoping for.

“No.” I shook my head from side to side. A fit of giggles sounded around the room. It sounded like a pack of hyenas were around the bed, waiting to feast on me. I brought my head up to see three faces coming in and out, doubling up in blurry sights, then just as they all laughed again—all but Wolf— their faces began to morph. Their faces slid out long, their heads shaping into one of a hyena, their eyes dousing blood red now and their shoulders rose up to their necks as their laughter got louder. I was tripping. Majorly tripping and I wanted out.

“You,” I whispered out harshly, looking straight at Wolf, his eyes glaring into mine. “Your name should be Wolf.” I look back to the sudden hyena hybrid humans that circled around my bed, just as long hair guy spread my legs wide and removed my panties. “No,” I said again, shaking my head and now bringing my attention straight to him. He came in and out, but black heavy dots threatened to steal my vision.

“Oh, lies, we know it’s all lies.” He spread my legs wider, coming between them and resting his body weight over mine. Another stab came from the inside of my other thigh and I let out a blood-curdling scream. That was when I felt it. His cock slipping inside of me, invading my walls with every single inch of himself. Of what I didn’t want. I said no. Tears poured out of the corners of my eyes. I was getting raped, wasn’t I? Or is it my fault for putting myself in this situation? Either way, though I can’t gather any coherent thoughts, I could now feel something. Something clear.

Pain.

Survival.

Physically and emotionally. I wriggled, my weak attempt at trying to get him off me but it wasn’t useful. He was too large and I was too drugged and obviously, injured.

“That’s it, baby, move with me.” He pulled out, then pressed back in. Bile rose in my throat and the acid hit my tonsils like a dose of reality. Though I was still drugged, the buzz felt as though it was dying out a little. Maybe it wasn’t heroin, or maybe it was shit heroin, or maybe I’ll probably die from the shit heroin that he pumped into me, so for that reason alone, I wouldn’t go down without a fight, but I wouldn’t know what heroin felt like anyway. It’s not a drug I use, or will ever use. I was still out of it a lot though, and weak, but my mind felt a little more aware, and just as I realized this, the pain in my thighs intensified like a panic alarm. I wriggled again, leaning toward the side to check my leg, but through the blurry vision of my tears, all I could see was red. Red smudges all over my upper thighs. Oh this was bad.

I looked up to catch Wolf just as he turned and walked out of the tent.

“Get off me. I said stop.”

“Nah uh,” he grunted, sweat dripping onto my face. “I say when it’s enough.” He launched his fist into my face, dazing me a tad but not enough to knock me out, just before he ran the knife down my leg again. Terror erupted over every inch of me.

Pure, undiluted terror.

“Please,” I begged. “Please stop.” His disgusting cock slowed inside of me and I went to move my leg, only it was numb. He raised the knife to his mouth and licked my blood off the blade. “I said—” I raised my hand, and in one fast movement, I gripped where his hand held onto the base of the knife, twisted it and then stabbed it through his throat. I let out an earth-shattering scream as his blood rained down over my face. Blood seeped into my eye sockets and leaked into my mouth. My retribution was now dancing on the tip of my tongue.

Everything after this went in slow motion. My scream cut out once I realized what I had done. I had killed someone. Oh my God, I killed someone. My chest began to rise and drop as an electrifying pulse of panic zapped through me, jolting me to consciousness. The undeniable pain in my thighs no longer mattered. I killed someone. Took a life, and now that would hover over my head until my days were over. I could never undo what I had done. Realizing that his body was still on top of me, I tried to push him off again but he didn’t budge, though it didn’t matter because the other guys were already there in a flash. The door flew open and Wolf barged back in, his eyes finding the body slumped over mine. One of the other guys pulled him off me and I shot off the bed, blood strewn through my hair and seeping into my pores as my own wept out of the two wounds on my thighs. Wounds that no doubt would need stitches. But none of that mattered. I had killed someone, taken a life. Collapsing to the floor with sobs wracking through my body, I let out the floodgates. Brooke dropped down beside me and wrapped a blanket around my shoulders. “Everything will be okay, Isa,” she whispered into my ear, but it was no use. There was no use.

Wolf stood in front of me, looking down his nose in disgust.

I dropped my head between my shoulders. “Take me in.”

When he didn’t answer, I slowly looked up at him again, peering through my blurry vision.

“No,” he replied, his voice deep. A voice that would otherwise have no emotion, but I heard something then. He was affected, though could I blame him? I had killed his friend. “You can live with this for the rest of your life and just when you think you’re living again? I’ll be there to remind you, now, get the fuck out.” I didn’t move, though, not until Brooke started getting to her feet slowly with her hand wrapped under my armpit.

I killed someone.

“Now!” he roared, and my body immediately responded. I shot to my feet, wincing at the pain just as Brooke threw my arm over her shoulder and leaned. “Come on. I know someone who will be able to stitch that up.”