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CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DAKOTA

I should be passed out asleep. Bullet is snoring slightly beside me, and he seems to be dead to the world, likely from all the tequila shots he did earlier. But I’m lying here physically satisfied, tipsy, and wide awake.

I can hear the music still playing outside, and now I know why this place is in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors. They want to play their music as loud as they want in peace. They want to party and drink. Rev their bike engines and do… nasty things.

They want to do all the nasty things wherever they feel like it. Inside and out, daylight or dark, and while I should have been shocked and maybe even disgusted by seeing all the things I did tonight, I’m not.

I’ve seen it all before and more. I’m not sure anything can really faze me at this point. While I never participated in any of it at the Haven, what I did was become curious, very curious, especially as a young teenager, and watched it happen many times.

Inhaling a deep breath, I feel the room spin slightly around me. I close my eyes and lie there for far longer than I should, mainly because I’ve had a lot of alcohol and it’s my first time drinking, but I still can’t sleep.

Sliding out of bed, I slowly walk toward the bathroom and stop when something catches the corner of my eye. It’s Bullet’s black leather vest. It’s neatly handing on the doorknob, and I make a mental note to ask him about it because every man I’ve met here has one, and I know it has a very special meaning.

Taking one more step toward the bathroom, I pause again because I remember the letter that Piggy gave me earlier. Moving over to the vest, I reach into the inside pocket and tug the letter out.

Looking over my shoulder, I watch Bullet for a moment. He’s still very much asleep, so I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and hurry toward the bathroom. Closing the door behind me, I lock it before I set the letter on the sink and take care of business.

Once I’ve finished and cleaned up, I slip the letter from the counter and sink down onto the edge of the tub before I flip the envelope open and slip the folded paper out. My ass is cold against the ceramic tub’s edge, but as I unfold the paper, my heart begins to race and adrenaline consumes my body, which makes me forget about the fact that I’m naked and cold in this bathroom.

At the top of the page is my mother’s name, then her date of birth along with her date of death, both of which I knew. Below that are her parents’ names and her sister’s. I’ve never heard my mother speak about her parents or any siblings, ever.

Both of my grandparents are gone, which doesn’t surprise me. Judging by their ages, they were older when they had her and now would be in their eighties. They didn’t pass away very long ago, though, my grandmother ten years ago and my grandfather only five. They were born and died in the same town in California.

My aunt is still alive, though. Posey Bennet.

What a kickass name.

My eyes scan the paper, and I start to read about my mother’s life. She never graduated high school. She left home at fourteen. Pinching my eyes closed, I think about what I was like at fourteen and wonder how on earth she made it on her own alive.

She was arrested for prostitution five times before she somehow ended up in North Carolina. Then she met Nathan and had me. I know most of that story already, thanks to Shocker. She arrived at Willamette Haven when I was five weeks old, and that was that. There is nothing else to know about her.

Chewing on the corner of my bottom lip, I can’t help but wonder what would make her leave at fourteen and never look back. It had to have been bad. Really bad. Folding the paper, I put it back in the envelope before I take myself back to bed, but on my way, I grab Bullet’s T-shirt and slip it on before I slide into bed.

I still don’t fall asleep. I roll onto my side and stare at the wall but can’t find sleep. Not even for a minute. Bullet’s arm slides around my waist before he drags my back against his front. I feel his lips touch my shoulder before he murmurs.

“You read that paper and find out anything?”

“Just more questions,” I whisper.

He hums. “When we go there, we’ll get some answers, baby.”

Exhaling, I roll over in his arms and look into his eyes. I want to ask him a million questions. Not just about Nathan but about us, about this, and what it all means. I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe. And since I feel like I’m living in an alternate universe, I get a little daring.

“What’s your name?” I ask.

He laughs softly, leaning forward and touching his lips to the top of my forehead. “Name’s Bishop Drake.”

Wow.

Bishop Drake.

Wow.

“Great name,” I breathe.

BULLET

Chuckling slightly, I watch as she leans forward. My name is probably the best thing my parents ever did for me. God knows they didn’t do much else. Sliding my hand up the center of her back, I apply some pressure so she moves a bit closer to me.

“It’s just a name,” I murmur.

Slowly, I lower my head and touch my mouth to hers. Dakota’s lips part, and I know I should be talking to her about what Piggy found, but I’m an asshole, and now that she’s in my shirt, in my bed, I need to be inside of her.

Rolling her onto her back, I fit my hips between her thighs. I’m already hard, but I know she’s not ready for me yet. Slipping my hand between her legs, I slide my fingers through her folds, groaning at the wetness I find there.

“You’re already wet for me, baby,” I rasp.

She hums, her back arching as she lifts her hips slightly. Swirling my fingers around her clit, I slide them through her folds again, then slip them inside of her and curl them. She’s fucking warm and wet, perfectly fucking primed.

Pressing my knees into the bed, I wrap my fingers around the backs of her thighs and spread her legs as far as they’ll go before I push them toward the mattress. When her knees touch the white sheets, only then do I sink inside of her, burying myself to the hilt.

Tipping my chin, I take in the way she looks when I’m balls deep inside of her. The way her body stretches around me, how she takes me, all of me, stretching perfectly around me.

I grip her thighs, and my hips begin to move. Slowly, in and out, my gaze focused on our connection. My cock glistens with her wetness. With each stroke, I climb higher and higher toward my release.

I’m still half-drunk, but fuck me, I cannot get enough of this girl. Rolling my hips, I grind my pelvis against her clit, watching as her breathing not only grows heavier but also louder. Then she throws in some sweet moans and soft whimpers.

It doesn’t take me long, her long, until we’re both on the fucking edge of falling. I’m about to goddamn jump off that edge when her pussy clenches around me and my balls draw up. I come. It’s hard and fast. It consumes my body from the inside out, and I bury myself deep inside of her, stilling as I come.

Releasing her thigh, I slide my hand up to curl around the side of her neck. My gaze searches hers for a moment before I brush my mouth against hers and regretfully slip out of her body. Lying on my side, I reach out for her, gathering her in my arms.

As I draw circles with my thumb against her hip, I touch my lips to the top of her head. “Bishop,” she whispers.

Lifting my head, I look down into her eyes. “Like it when you say my name, baby.” She lets out a sigh.

“Dakota, why aren’t you sleeping? Two good fucks, ate your cunt, and you had a bunch of booze. You should be passed the fuck out.”

She smiles up at me, her honey gaze searching mine. “I have no clue, but I can’t sleep.”

Touching my mouth to hers again, I hold her close to me. “Like you in my shirt, baby.”

“I still like it when you call me baby,” she breathes. “But I’m confused.”

My lips twitch at her words. I’m surprised she actually said them, so instead of making her ask me the questions she’s clearly confused about, I put her out of her misery.

“This club is my life. These people are my family. It’s the way it was for Shade, too.”

Sitting up slightly, I watch her dark hair splaying out on the pillow. She’s fucking stunning. And she’s mine. All goddamn mine. I gently drag my fingertips from her temple to her chin.

“What does that mean for me?” she asks softly.

“When I claimed you as my woman, that means you’re off-limits to any other man in the club. You’re mine, and soon, you’ll be my old lady.”

She wrinkles her nose. She is so fucking cute that I can’t take her disgust for the term old lady seriously. “It basically means you’re my wife when we get to that point.”

She sits up, her eyes wide as she stares at me. “Your wife?” she asks.

“In my world, yeah.”

Her eyes search mine. Then she clears her throat. “And that woman?”

I knew it was coming. Honest to fuck, I thought she was going to let that go, but it seems as if I’m not going to get lucky when it comes to that. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I lift my hand to cup her cheek.

“She’s a whore.”

“A what?” Dakota hisses.

Cute. As. Fuck.

I extend my finger and touch the tip of her nose. “A clubwhore. That’s what she is. They get a free place to stay, free food, and an allowance. It’s a choice they make.”

“But they have to have sex with you?” she asks.

Shaking my head once, I attempt to explain it further. I’m not required to explain shit about the club to her. But she’s Shade’s daughter, and if she had been here, grown up here, these are things she would have already known.

“They have sex with who they’re told to have sex with. But if they aren’t feeling it, then they just stay in their rooms for the night.”

“They live here with you?”

“They have their own space,” I murmur.

A silence washes over us. Then I watch as she climbs out of bed and takes a few steps backward. She stumbles backward but doesn’t get far before she straightens and squares her shoulders.

“They have their own space,” she whispers.

“They have a common room with beds. You want a tour?”

Dakota’s eyes narrow, her nose scrunches up, and then she lets out a huff of air. “No,” she snaps. “I don’t want a tour. I’m more curious as to why you claim you want to be with me when you had your hand between that woman’s legs. Then I find out that she pays for a place to live with her body.”

I almost laugh, but I decide this isn’t the time for it. “Baby,” I murmur.

“No,” she snaps again.

Pressing my lips together, I rub them back and forth a few times before I speak. “Dakota,” I say, my tone a warning as I tilt my head to the side and watch her.

Her honey-colored eyes shift around. “This is club life. It’s the way it’s always been. It’s the way it will always be. What it isn’t is anything you need to worry about, and I’m sorry, but you aren’t involved in it.”

She presses her lips together and narrows her eyes on me. “Excuse me?” I can’t help but chuckle at her instant anger. It’s hot as fuck. She’s jealous, and I seriously fucking like that shit.

“Whatever happens at the clubhouse stays there. Think of it like Vegas.”

“That doesn’t work for me, although I don’t know why I care because it’s not like we can stay together. It’s not like we even know one another. Plus, I don’t even live on this coast.”

Before I realize what I’m doing, my body moves without my brain even computing. I jump out of bed and charge toward her. Dakota scrambles backward until she slams against the wall and can’t go anywhere else.

I place my palms against the wall on either side of her head. I lean forward until my mouth almost touches hers and speak just loud enough for her to hear, but there’s no need to shout. It’s just her and me, and I want to make sure she’s listening to me, that she realizes how fucking serious I am right now.

“You’re mine, baby. You’re not taking this away from me,” I growl as I shift my hand away from the wall and cup her pussy. “You’re not walking away from me.”

Before she can say a single fucking thing, I slam my mouth against hers and kiss her— hard . She may not want to admit it yet, but I own her. She’ll learn about club life and about being an old lady soon enough, but right now, she just needs to realize that she’s fucking mine.

Only mine.