Page 3 of Ripper's Property
Raid looks up. “About taking Rory out. She’s been locked up for too long. The girl’s itching to go somewhere.”
“Absolutely not,” Ripper states, not even giving it a second thought. He draws his firm line in the sand and there’s no crossing it. And once again, my wish of going to Disney is not going to come true. Neither is finding my prince charming.
I hop off the wooden porch and start down the path toward the lake. It’s the only place that brings me any peace around here.
“Where you going, princess?” Ripper steps in front of me, his huge frame blocking my path. Right or left, I have to take three steps just to get around him. The man was built like a chimney stack. Six and half feet tall, his body a stack of bricks. It’s no wonder he’s the Enforcer. He’s bigger than all the rest. Stronger.Madder.
“For a walk.” I tilt my head back, gauging his eyes. They’re just as dark as the sky above, but they aren’t twinkling. They aren’t giving me hope that my wish will ever come true. They’re tight and narrowed, and glaring at me like a defiant child.
“It’s too late for you to be out there alone.”
I’m not alone. I’m never alone. Every direction I look there’s another Savage Knight. Some young. Some old. Some brothers. Some prospects. Everyone always lurking in the shadows. Everyone always watching me, making sure I do as I’m told. If ananimal decided to cross my path, ten would come running and have it skinned alive before I even called for help.
“I’m just going to the lake, Rip.” I’ve done it a thousand times. Mostly with him by my side, but I don’t want to be in his company right now, and he certainly isn’t offering to join like he usually does. He’s probably anxious to get back inside to Cherry. He probably just stepped out for a postcoital smoke, wanting another rush after the rush he just had.
“It’s cold out here. You need to go back inside before you get sick.”
I already am sick. I’m sick in the head, and sick of my life. Getting a cold would be a welcome change. I could numb myself on Nyquil and sleep for a few days. Give my mind a rest from the constant plaguing thoughts.
“I’d rather not. This princess doesn’t want to go back inside and be subjected to all the debauchery.” I don’t want to see Cherry’s pink cheeks and glowing smile as she cuddles up to Ripper, begging for another round. It’s the first time I’ve seen them together. Though, I know it’s not the first time he’s slept with her. She’s very vocal over the fact that she’s become his one and only. He never makes a move on any of the other sweetbutts, which has her thinking she’s in line to become his old lady. He’s thirty-six, so it may be time for him to settle down. The thought of him being with her makes me want to drown myself in the lake.
“That’s a big word for such a little girl.” He scrutinizes me further under his dominant stare, his eyes growing even darker.
I’m not little. I’m five seven now. And I’m no longer a girl. I’m a woman, in case he hasn’t noticed. Not sure how he missed the fact that I went through puberty. Grew tits and an ass. Both are hard not to spot. But the only tits he seems to see are Cherry’s.
And here comes the jealousy chasing me down again. He smells like her. Like sex, sweat, and her potent cherry-scentedperfume. You’d assume that’s how she got her nickname, but it’s not. It’s because she’s as tight as a virgin. With how much he apparently fucks her, it’s shocking that she isn’t as loose as a goose.
“Doubt your ‘little girl’ inside has ever heard the word.” I cross my arms. He loves to point out how young I am, but the girl he was just drilling his cock into is only three years older than me. And nowhere near as smart. She probably has no clue how to spell the worddebaucheryto even look it up in the dictionary.
His jaw locks even tighter. It’s a wonder that a vein doesn’t burst in his neck.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, Ripper, I’d like to get some fresh air, because you stink.”
I go to step around him, but his arm grabs onto my elbow, stopping me.
“What’s your problem, Rory?”
My problem is him. The object of my little heart’s desire. A man I have no business being attracted to, and yet, my body refuses to listen. Every time he’s near, it lights on fire. Butterflies do a tribal dance inside my stomach like they’re begging for rain. And a thunderstorm of desire always rushes in. This crazy feeling ignites between my legs, tingling, aching, and making a mess of my panties. But while I’m dealing with all these feelings, he’s busy fucking the snotty little bitch who sneers at me and calls me a spoiled brat whenever the guys aren’t around.
“You’re my problem, Ripper.” And it’s very much the truth.
“You on the rag?”
That raw, ragged laugh cuts from my throat again. If only my problem were so simple. It’s amazing how the moment I’m not forcing a smile these guys assume I’m PMSing. No one even thinks that something could be wrong in my life. After all, I have a club full of men who love me like a daughter. I have a roof over my head. Food on the table. People who spoil me.
They never stop to think about the fact that I’m a prisoner in their world. They don’t think about how my life has been stolen away from me because someone wants to get vengeance for my dad’s actions. They don’t consider how I feel. They just think I should be happy because I’m alive and safe.
I may be breathing, but I’m not living. I’m a zombie walking through one day after the next. Lusting for things I can’t have. Looking for any bit of excitement. Longingly scrolling through the internet trying to plan my fairy-tale life, but it will always be a fictional dream.
“No, I’m not on the rag.” My jaw tightens under my anger. “The fact that I don’t like watching people having sex in front of me, doesn’t mean it’s my time of the month, Ripper.”
“What? Your prudish little eyes can’t handle it?” He closes in on me, and I back up, finding myself up against the side of the building. “Or is it because…you’re jealous?”
Jealous?Why would he say that?
“Fuck you, Ripper,” I spit the words, and his smirk rattles my spine with a shiver. “Or rather, go fuck your little skank. I would never be jealous over you. Maybe if it were Raid, but not you.”
His fingers grip my chin, digging into my skin almost to the point of pain. The fact that I can smell her on his skin is what really causes the pain.
