I look terrifying.
Turning the tap on, I let the water run before I wipe my makeup off as best I can. When my face is clean, I step back into the room and locate my heels at the end of the bed. Did someone take them off or did I take them off?
I quickly step into them and fasten the clasp before I find my clutch bag on the chair. Opening it, I’m relieved to find my phone, my purse and my keys for the flat inside. Thank fuck.
I check my phone and see I have a missed call from my brother, but nothing from Layla. I hope she’s okay.
As I move towards the door, it suddenly opens and I squeal in surprise, taking a step back as Daimon moves into the room. He’s a huge guy, built like a tank, with shaggy dark hair that he’ll sometimes wear up in a man bun thing and a jaw that could cut glass. He doesn’t smile much, not that I’ve seen anyway, especially not at me. He’s wearing his kutte on top of a dark grey tee that clings to his thick biceps, showcasing the artwork down both arms and jeans that hug his hips in a way that has my eyes gravitating there.
My mouth dries and not from fear, but from desire. The man makes my pussy throb with need whenever I’m near him. I don’t care that he’s older, and he is a lot older than me. He’s definitely pushing thirty, while I only turned nineteen a few months back. My body reacts to him in ways I don’t understand.
He eyes me, his gaze roaming over my body, which suddenly feels exposed, before he stops on my face.
Oh my God. Did I do something with Daimon? Not that I’d be averse to the idea, but I don’t remember a damned thing. That’s criminal. Even if I had come home with him, I doubt I would have been able to do a damned thing without freaking out. The scars of my past run deep, as much as I try to deny them.
“You going somewhere?” He sounds pissed, which makes my mouth dry for a different reason now. Why the hell is he pissed?
“Did we… shag?” I ask, caution making me uncertain.
His nose crinkles and my heart shatters as he mutters, “Fuck no.”
“Oh.” Shame and humiliation crawls over my skin, dirtying me. He’s not the first man to act like I’m worth nothing. I doubt he’ll be the last.
“Get that look off your fucking face.”
“What look?”
“The kicked fucking puppy look. Ain’t gone there with you ‘cause you’re a brother’s kid sister. Not for any other reason, so get that look off your fucking face.”
I bristle at his tone. “Are you always like this?”
“Like what?”
“Mean.”
He snorts. “Mean? Didn’t realise we were still in high school, darlin’.”
His jab cuts through me. I know I’m young, but I’m not stupid, which is how he’s treating me. “Fuck you, Daimon,” I hiss and move towards the door.
He snags my wrist, stopping me. His touch sears my skin, flames licking around his hand and I raise my eyes to his, wondering if he feels it too. If he does, he keeps it locked behind his stern expression.
“You fucked up last night, Brie.”
A tingle runs through me at him calling me that. I love how it sounds on his tongue, I love how it makes me feel like shivering.
I tip my head back, so I can meet his gaze—a very pissed off gaze. His eyes are drawn tightly together, his brow heavily furrowed. This time, fear licks along my spine.
“I didn’t do anything.”
“You could have got me and Kyle killed last night. Do you even give a fuck?”
His words hit my belly like lead. “What?” I whisper.
“You were in an enemy’s territory.”
“I don’t have any enemies.”
He looks like he’s considering shaking me.
“The club does and like it or not, you’re a part of this fucking club.”
I never suggested I didn’t like it, so why he’s getting shitty with me, I don’t know.
“I didn’t know I was in enemy territory. I don’t keep track of who you’re friends with.”
He steps into my space, his body a scant inch from mine, and my breath catches in my throat as I tip my head back to look at him.
“Start.”
I blink at him. “How am I supposed to know that?”
“Don’t leave the fucking borough in future.”
His tone makes me bristle. I’m not one of his little prospects he can boss around. I don’t have a single thing to do with his stupid club, and I don’t need to be protected. I’ve never needed that, although my brother did his best over the years to shield me from the worst of the things we went through. He didn’t always succeed, though.
“Quit telling me what to do.”
“I’m trying to keep your selfish arse alive. The last thing your brother needs is to fucking bury you.”
His words score through me, a thousand knife wounds into my heart. I swallow bile and blink frantically, trying to stop my tears which are building in my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall.
“No one is going to bury me. I’m not stupid. I don’t take risks, and I’m not fucking selfish either.”
He dips his head closer to me and my heart starts to gallop in my chest. “You were barely conscious last night while some fucking dipshit had his hand in your knickers.”
A vague recollection of that flits across my memory and my cheeks burn that he saw that. He should never have witnessed that. No one should have. Shit, how fucking drunk was I last night?
Even so, I snap at him, “I’m a fucking adult. I can do what I want.”
He steps back, tearing a hand through his hair. “And that’s what you wanted? Some dirty cunt’s hand in your pussy? A dirty cunt I’m guessing you don’t know. Fuck me, Brie, are you that hard up?”
Anger flares through me, fireworks exploding behind my eyes like it’s the fifth of November. How fucking dare he? Who the hell does he think he is? My palm itches with the need to slap him, but I restrain myself. Hitting a man like Daimon is not a good idea.
Instead, I glare at him. “Fuck you, Daimon,” I snarl out before stepping around him.
He grabs my arm, pulling me up short. “Ain’t finished here, sweetheart.”
I roll to my toes and hiss in his face, “Oh, we’re done. Let go of me.”
He stares into my face, his eyes crawling over mine then he releases me with a growl.
“I hear you’re anywhere you shouldn’t be again, we’ll be having words.”
I glare at him and then move around him to the door. This time, he doesn’t stop me when I step outside the room.
As soon as the door closes behind me, I sink against the wall and try to catch my breath, wondering what the hell that was all about.
3
Daimon
Levi and Fury get back from their run the next evening, full of news from the Sons’ Manchester chapter. Howler, their president, has been solidifying his power there, pushing out some of the smaller gangs in the area, but it could come to a head. Rav will back them if they need it, but for now they seem to be in control. They may be from a different chapter, but they’re our brothers all the same. We’ll bleed for them, just as they did for us against Blackwood.