Page 13 of Like An Animal

THE SHADOW

M y knuckles are nearly splitting from the anger and jealousy vibrating through my bones.

My little ghost has been doing everything in her power to get under my skin.

Normally, I’d drag her off to remind her of who she belongs to, but I already tried that and she hit me with “you promised to loosen the reins”.

I wanted to kick my own ass for agreeing to the demands she made while taunting me with her delicious cunt.

If I wasn’t a man of my word, I’d put her on her knees in front of everyone and let them watch as she gagged on my cock.

It’s not easy holding myself back from bashing every fucker’s head in that so much as looks in her general direction, let alone the ones who actually talk to her or touch her.

Some people probably think it’s easy being this homicidal, but it takes a lot of work to convince myself not to murder everyone who looks at my woman.

If she keeps this up, she might be the one bathing in the blood of the men around her while I fuck her into the damn ground. Hell, one of these days I might just kill her while fucking her if she keeps testing my limits.

She gives edging a whole new meaning.

“Max,” I grit out as Massimo’s head snaps around, his eyes narrowed. “If you would be so kind as to get Bronwyn up here so I don’t kill half of our audience, I’d appreciate it.”

Without warning, he cracks a smile, something he rarely does unless he’s pounding someone’s face in until it’s unrecognizable. “Are you ever going to tell us what’s going on there? You don’t exactly treat her like a protective big brother.”

That’s because I’m not. Bronwyn has never been my sister in any way, shape, or form. If you want to argue semantics, she’s my step-cousin, but that’s only a technicality. She was never my family, but she’s something much better. My home. My safe space. But most importantly, she’s mine.

“Yeah. Are you fucking her or not?” Xavi presses after eavesdropping like the nosy bitch he is. “I don’t blame you. If I was living with a woman who looked like that–”

I slam my hand over Xavi’s mouth without looking at him and he mumbles against my palm. “It’s in your best interest not to complete that sentence.” Then, I glare at Massimo. “Bring her to me.”

People would look at us from the outside and think Massimo was the most dangerous of us.

He has a grumpy exterior that matches up with all the tattoos and muscles.

I’ve seen the man bash someone’s face in for calling him stupid.

He has a much shorter fuse than I do, but I’m the truly scary one of us.

Why? Because my shortest fuse is attached to a flirtatious brat with a rebellious streak and a box full of matches.

“Fine.” Massimo rolls his eyes before walking to the edge of the stage.

I keep my eyes glued to Bron as he moves through the small crowd.

Most of the people who showed up are regulars so there’s no over-the-top fangirling that we have to watch out for.

Usually, I wouldn’t ask Massimo to fetch her.

I’d have one of the guards do it. We didn’t need armed protection tonight though.

These small gatherings are the only time I feel okay with not keeping Bron backstage because it’s all people she knows from being at our shows all these years. There are maybe a handful of people she’s never met before.

The audience doesn’t know who we are behind the face painting, but they know she knows us and that she knows who we are. I know that, even if asked, she would never tell them our identities. She knows we value our ability to live our lives like everyone else.

Bron doesn’t look happy when Massimo leads her to the stage, but I didn’t expect her to be. It’s not about her feelings. It’s about keeping our fanbase alive.

“You promised, Jer,” she groans, practically grinding her teeth.

“I said I would loosen the reins, not that they would disappear completely. Maybe if you learned to behave, I wouldn’t feel the need to publicly degrade you.

” That’s how she has described the way it makes her feel when I do things like this.

It’s “degrading” and “humiliating”, but what else does she expect me to do when people fawn all over her?

“Behave?!” Rage covers her face right before her open palm connects with my cheek.

That’s something she’s never done. She’s never hit me no matter how many times I’ve embarrassed her and I’m fully aware that I deserve it.

“I’m not a fucking dog, Jeremy. Either I’m in the crowd being supportive or I’ll go home. Take your pick.”

She already knows that neither of those options are doable.

Going home without me means being alone with David and Kathy.

We made a deal not to go to the house without the other.

It’s our way of protecting ourselves from those predators.

She doesn’t want me to be alone with Kathy and I don’t want David to be anywhere near her.

I narrow my eyes at her. I know she’s trying to make a stand against me and how controlling I can be, but it’s not having the effect she wants. “Go sit down backstage, little ghost,” I nearly growl at her through my gritted teeth.

Something about what I said must’ve been the wrong thing because her face contorts with shock, then hurt, before settling on grief.

“You’re such a prick,” her voice cracks before she shoves past me.

“Bron!”

She darts backstage and I groan, slowly shaking my head.

“Is she going to leave? I mean, have we ever had a show without Bronwyn here?” Xavi mouths off and I scowl at his dumbass.

“Nah. She’ll sit backstage, but I bet my bottom dollar that she never comes to another one.

She’s pissed and I can’t say I blame her.

Jer practically has a collar and chain on standby for her.

I’m a bit surprised he hasn’t locked her up in an ivory tower yet,” Massimo mutters as if I’m not standing right fucking here.

“Shhh. You’re going to give him ideas. Bron is our biggest cheerleader,” Xavi jokes drily.

The idea of locking her in a tower and putting a collar and leash on her to make her behave has crossed my mind a time or two.

I’ll save those ideas for when we move to New Jersey.

Like the idea I’ve had to tie her down and edge her until she passes out then fucking her unconscious body until she wakes back up from her need to come.

I have a long list of fantasies I have yet to act out with her.

“Hey, guys!”

I lift my head and barely manage not to groan out loud in irritation. What the fuck is she doing here? I thought we got rid of her.

“Missy!” Xavi throws open his arms like she’s a long lost friend when she’s the opposite. She’s a fucking weirdo. I only tolerated her before because she was Bron’s friend, but they haven’t been friends for years, not since the night I tricked Bron into letting me kiss her.

She likes to think she initiated it, but if I hadn’t lied when she asked if I’d ever kissed anyone before, she would’ve back pedaled so fast my head would’ve spun.

“Looks like you’ve got a decent crowd tonight,” she says as I pick up my guitar and pretend to make adjustments. I never need to adjust my guitar before a performance. I do all my adjustments during practice, which she would know if she hadn’t dumped Bron as a friend.

All Bron told me was that the fallout was because of me, that Missy thought Bron wanted me–something that turned out to be very true considering how often she comes all over my cock and begs for more.

“It’s smaller than our usual,” Massimo mutters under his breath, giving her a sideways look before glancing at me.

He is fully aware that I don’t like this bitch.

I never did and it made me wildly uncomfortable anytime she flirted with me.

I thought I made it clear to her when I told her that I would never be interested in her, but she can’t take a hint.

Almost immediately after turning her down, she was offering to suck me off. I guess self-respect is dead.

“Hey, Jer.”

I glare at Missy, waiting for her to get it over with and disappear again, but she just touches my arm, her disgusting fingers snaking around my wrist before she whispers, “I can’t wait to hear you play. It’s been so long.”

I grab her hand and remove it from my arm, not saying a word.

“Maybe we can all hang out after the show,” the leech offers, batting her eyelashes at me like an early nineties cartoon character, only not even those drawings looked so ridiculous doing it.

She lifts her head and flashes a sickly sweet, fake smile behind me.

“Oh, sorry, Bron. You didn’t want me flirting with your step-brother, right? ”

What? Is that what their fallout was really about?

I turn and see her standing there against the open doorway, her arms crossed over her shoulder, her phone and wallet in her hand. Her face is a mask concealing everything except for the wet streaks across her cheek.

Wait. Was she crying? Why is her face wet?

“I don’t give a shit,” she says, her voice reserved, before her gaze moves to mine. What are you thinking, little ghost? “You can have him. He treats women like shit though.” Then, she darts off the stage.

What the actual fuck?

“Bron!” I yell her name, but she doesn’t turn around. I hand my guitar to Massimo and dart off after her.

You can have him.

He treats women like shit.

What the fuck did she mean by that?

“The show starts in five, man!” Xavi screams at me, but I barely register his words as I make my way through the crowd.

“Bronwyn!”

She’s not going to just run off like that.

We both know she’s not going home. She doesn’t have a way to get there.

I drive her everywhere. The house is a twenty minute drive from here.

She would be getting home around the same time as me if she walked.

I’m not going to let her put herself in that kind of danger.

Anything could fucking happen to her.