Page 33 of Prince of Pain

“Stop looking so fuckable then,” I threw back, pulling it over my head and standing. It was longer than some of my dresses, not that it was hard to do that. “Are you sure I can’t tempt you into letting me sit on your face before we go?”

“Nope,” he scoffed, steering me towards the door. “Keep your mouth shut about where we were last night. Everyone’s already suspicious about who I’m spending time with in Blackwater, I don’t need them going after Channing.”

“Why the fuck would they do that?”

“To scare him off so he won’t sell drugs to me. They know you’re a fucking mess, so you being here is already a problem. Behave.”

He led me down the stairs and into the kitchen, conversations going silent as we entered.

“You’re fucking kidding me,” Marco muttered under his breath, and I had to fight the urge to snap at him. It wasn’t like I wasn’t good enough for his son to fuck, Ryder was just as bad as I was.

Skeeter silently stared at us while Maddox scrubbed a hand over his face.

“Morning,” Ryder grunted, heading towards the coffee machine. “Don’t everyone talk at once.”

“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Maddox huffed, running his eyes over me with annoyance. “He must have fucked you real good for you to keep coming back for more. That’s not usually your style, Temp.”

Skeeter and Marco narrowed their eyes on me, but Ryder flipped him off.

“She got blackout drunk, so I let her sleep it off here to avoid Hendricks going on a rampage. She would’ve been run through like a train.”

“You need better friends then,” Maddox retorted as if he hadn’t tag teamed me with Ryder in the past, sneering at me. “But good idea, let her daddy come kill you instead.”

“Ryder,” Skeeter bit out sharply, making him turn to face him. “I need to talk to you.”

“Can I make coffee first? It was a late night, and I’m twitchy,” Ryder said, turning back to the coffee. “Sugar, Temp?”

“Please. Double shot too. I’m still half asleep,” I replied as I sat at the table, noticing the smirk he tried to hide.

“I’m not surprised.”

No one spoke while Ryder made our drinks, and he’d just placed mine on the table and sat beside me when Rory walked in, halting in the doorway when she noticed me.

I was the last person any mother would want their son to bring home.

“Nope, too early for this kind of bullshit. I’ll meet you at the shed, Skeet,” she muttered, noticing my outfit and glaring at me. “I doubt your father knows you’re here.”

“You’d be correct,” I replied lightly as I took a sip of my coffee, making her curse at Ryder on her way out.

That went better than I’d expected.

Ryder

“She’s the girl you’re fucking?” Skeeter hissed as he steered me into the living room, leaving Tempest with Marco and Maddox. “Are you insane? Ry, she’s?—”

“I fuck lots of girls, you need to be more specific,” I said dryly.

“The one you strangled yesterday morning and swore you were never seeing ever again,” he deadpanned, lightly smacking me up the back of the head. “Have you finally fucked all your braincells out?”

“I couldn’t leave her at the party. The guys would’ve fucked her, and she couldn’t even stand properly. Archer should be thankful that I went and got her.”

“What party? Who the hell are you hanging around with that thinks it’s okay to fuck unconscious girls?” he demanded, irritation washing through me. It was way too early for this shit, Mom was right about that.

“Look, you know Tempest likes a good variety of guys in her sex life, and she has no problem with them doing that. She consents to it, in fact. Problem is, I don’t need her father going after a bunch of guys because his daughter’s a whore. I figured if I went and got her, everyone would be fine. The guys get high with Temp and they fuck, just like me and her used to. Thing is, I got clean so now I can try to?—”

“She’s not your problem, and she’s going to get you in trouble. You honestly didn’t stick your damn dick in her last night?”

“Last night? No,” I chuckled, downing my coffee as he glowered at me. “I’m taking her home, so don’t worry. I’ll tell Hendricks I looked after her, and everything will be fine.”

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