CHAPTER ONE
——
ERIKA
MY FINGERS SPLAY around the copper knob of my door, slowly opening it to an array of stimulations. Music thumps, vibrating my chest and ears. Stepping out, I’m accosted by a thick, grey cloud of smoke lingering just below the ceiling. The aroma of marijuana and sex are scents I’m used to in my home. My mother, Dori and my sister, Amberlee act like sisters rather than mother and daughter, and the front door of our shitty ranch home is a revolving movement of men in and men out.
Tonight is no different from most weekends, except this time my sister’s new boyfriend is a member of a biker gang, the Devil’s Serpents. They’re as scary as the name sounds. Most of the members lounging in my living room frighten me, except one—Dominic. When his eyes follow me across the room, my skin burns with an unfamiliar heat. Between my legs, I ache with a want so fierce, it startles me.
Crossing the living room filled with blunts and beer cans, I make my way to our small, worn out, tacky yellow kitchen. Dominic’s bold, jade eyes glisten like a hungry lion, gaze dead set on its prey. Maybe I should be afraid, he looks like he’s six-foot-something, muscles on every inch of his body, tats covering every part of his skin I see, except his face and neck. He could easily overpower me, force me down, and rape me, and there’s nothing I could do about it, but the fucked-up part, I get turned on thinking about him dominating me.
Sucking my lip between my teeth, I tear my gaze off his intriguing eyes, chiseled jaw, and dark, short brown hair. The blast of the cool refrigerator melts my fiery libido, and I reach in for a bottle of water. Yeah, I’m the lame sister. The one who doesn’t party, smoke pot, or get plastered on alcohol and can’t remember who I fucked the night before. I’m still a virgin, and it’s something my sister gets a kick out of telling all her new friends. She might as well pin a target to my back with the kind of people she hangs around with. I have no interest in apologizing for my virginity. Just because she lost her virginity at fifteen and never stopped spreading her legs to every guy who looked her way doesn’t mean I have to.
Amberlee and I are polar opposites. I read books, she uses the pages to make her own cigarettes. I like to eat healthy, she lives on pop and chips and doesn’t gain a damn pound. She likes loud rock-and-roll music at all times of the day and night, I like to have peace and quiet to think and sleep. She constantly needs attention from friends and boyfriends, I can count my close friends on one hand and boyfriends even less. Every boyfriend I’ve ever brought home ends up being Amberlee’s fuck toy for the night. Great sister, right?
There was a time when we were close, but after our dad went to jail, she and mom spiraled out of control. My mom, Dori is even worse. She’s not even home half the time. She works nights at a twenty-four-hour diner, and when she is home, she’s not really “home.” Her drugs are more important than paying rent sometimes. Thankfully, Amberlee keeps her head on straight enough to pay any bills my mother “forgets” to pay. She dropped out of college her second year and has been working at beauty salons or in retail ever since. She’s been fired a couple times, but I’m thankful this last place seems to be working for her.
I only have three months until I start community college, and it can’t come fast enough. If my mother and sister have taught me anything, it’s I don’t want to be like them. I want to move out of this shithole and make a life for myself, in a town far, far away where no one knows me or the family I come from.
Being the daughter of a drug dealer and murderer in a small town puts a serious damper on your social life. Most people view our family as the trash of Cinderville, Ohio. People spread rumor after rumor, and before long, the rumors become truth, and no one cares to know otherwise. That’s probably why I’ve never had a long-lasting boyfriend. Most have either slept with my sister, or if they haven’t, they’re probably a good guy, but I’m not good enough for them. They know my family, take one look at me and assume I’m the same.
Maybe I am like my family, or maybe I haven’t been given the chance to spread my wings. Either way, they can kiss my ass. I don’t need judgmental pricks in my life. It’s crazy enough as it is. I’ve had to grow up a hell of a lot faster than they have and have seen things that would make them squirm in their khakis.
Closing the refrigerator door, I untwist the bottle cap and pour the refreshing cold liquid down my throat. My grip tightens on the bottle when a hand snakes over my hip and languidly strokes the top of my jean shorts.
“Erika, right?”
A pelvis is thrust into my ass, and I’m shoved into the refrigerator, my patience teetering on a thin layer. Sadly, this isn’t the first time I’ve had one of Dori’s or Amberlee’s friends make a move on me. With a quick hip thrust, I knock him off my ass. Turning, I glare at the dirty, old fuck, shoving his hand away.
“Not interested. Hands off.”
He’s not getting the hint. Pinning me against the refrigerator, his dark brown gaze slithers over the V of my shirt and chest. The stench of stale cigarette and beer is heavy with this one. An unwanted, abrasive hand squeezes my ass, yanking me closer to his crotch.
“I like a woman with sass. Makes it more fun in the bedroom.”
My nails dig into his arm, his grip tightens, but I slam my palm down on his forearm and his grip falters. With one quick and angry slap, his hand goes to his cheek and my fingers are left with a burning sting.
“I’m not interested. Back off.”
Storming off, my bottle goes flying through the air and hits the counter, then the floor as two hands latch onto my arms, yanking me back into the kitchen. Water pools in a puddle as I’m shoved into the counter, the air escaping me.
I groan, and he laughs. “Thought you could walk away from me, didn’t you, bitch?”
The loud music thunders in my ears, matching the hard beat in my chest. When his hand reaches for my jean shorts and fists them, I’m whipped around, facing his seething scowl and determined stare.
“Now get on your knees and show me how sorry you are.”
Fear seizes me as I look over his shoulder. No one gives a shit what’s going on in the kitchen. Amberlee is nowhere to be seen, probably in her room fucking her boyfriend, Ditch. Dori’s at work tonight, and even if she was here, she’d be strung out and useless. I’m alone, as usual, to handle this problem. A problem I shouldn’t have to be dealing with in my own home.
Reaching behind me, I cover my moving arm with my body as I search for anything to hit or stab this fucker with. My hand touches metal, I don’t know what it is, but I grip it tight and swing.
My arm stops mid-air, my wrist ringing in pain from the hand gripping it.
“She’s off limits, Tex. That was the deal.”
Dominic’s grip eases on my wrist, and I lower the can opener.
Tex and Dominic stare each other down. Dominic towers several inches over Tex’s bulbous frame. His gaze is ruthless, his eyes display a challenge he seems ready to fulfill.
Tex drops his shoulders. “The bitch hit me. I was gonna teach the slut a lesson.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Dominic declares. The tone of his voice sends a chill over my skin. Not the way Tex’s touch did either. It’s arousing and frightening all at once.
“You fucking better,” Tex demands.
Tex takes one last look at me and sneers. “You’re gonna wish you sucked my cock, you little whore.”
My eyes narrow at his back as he walks away. Raising my arm, I’m ready to release the can opener at the back of his head. Dominic grips my wrist again, his massive frame filling my vision.
“Drop it, now,” he orders.
My fingers loosen instantly, and the can opener falls into his waiting palm.
“That’s a good girl.”
Reaching around me, his gaze remains steady on my eyes as he sets the can opener somewhere behind me.
“You need to be smart around these bastards. They’ll hurt you and won’t give a fuck how much you cry.”
The heat of his gaze burns over my skin. The anger and hatred I feel are melting away the longer he lingers over me.
“Now I know. Next time, I’ll start sucking a stranger’s cock, no questions asked.”
Dominic’s laugh is a melodic sound of danger mixed with sexy.
“I’m not saying you need to whore yourself out. I’m saying be smart, use your head, not your knuckles.”
“Why do you care? Why did you stop him?” I ask, curious.
“Not sure yet. Maybe you’ll give me a reason to.”
So, I’ve exchanged one asshole for another.
“I don’t think so. I don’t sleep with Dori or Amberlee’s friends.”
Dominic’s fingers graze my chin, then pull my face upward, holding my gaze hostage to his.
“So I’ve heard. Why don’t you?”
Hand gripping the counter, his arm blocks my movement right, and his body, my left. I’m pinned between him and the counter, and I’m burning up with an outrageous desire to feel his lips on mine.
“I have no interest in being used. I respect myself.”
Dominic’s tongue swipes over his lips, his breath warm, brushing across my mouth.
“That’s good. Real good,” his words are a smooth whisper across my lips.
I’ve been kissed before, but I’ve never felt a desire quite like this. Dominic’s masculinity is incredibly arousing. I should feel terrified of him, but oddly, I don’t. More than anything, I feel compelled to submit to know what it feels like to be kissed by a man this handsome, this dangerous, this seductive.
The thunderous music and chaos bustle around us as his tongue invades my mouth. My stiff body goes slack in the arm folding around my back. I’m dragged to his chest, my hands finding the ridges of his shoulders and biceps. My ass touches the counter as he pushes forward. His towering frame engulfs me, holding me to him as his tongue makes skilled movements over mine.
My mind goes blank, our surroundings become a blur as his masculinity invades my senses. His mouth is methodical, moving my lips to his tempo, and I’m pliant in this dance. With a fist in my hair, Dominic pulls my head back, his kiss pushing me toward an antagonizing level of unfamiliar need.
My jean shorts are gripped in his other hand, a bulge in his jeans pressing into me. A startling growl slips between his lips.
Behind him, I’m saved from my total loss of control by the voice of one of his biker friends.
“Dom, you’ll have to fuck that chick later. I need you for a run.”
Unhurriedly, Dominic withdraws from our kiss. My swollen lips tingle the moment we part. His grip doesn’t loosen as he leans his head next to my ear.
“See you around.”