Page 2 of Stripping Keys
“So, now that you have to give something in return, you don’t want me to fuck you, is that it?” I cock a brow and stare down at her, wanting to rip her clothes the rest of the way off and dive deep into her.
“You’re being an asshole.”
“Of course, you think that, Marla. Because I’m not giving you what you want without you giving me what I want as well.” I’m dying here. I could easily give her what she wants, what I want, but there’s too much at stake here. She wants it, she’s gonna give me something as well. “You want this,” I grind myself into her, lean in and press my lips to hers before finishing, “give me what I want, and I’ll fuck you all you desire. I’ll make you mine and not let go. All you gotta do is strip away the bitch. She ain’t you.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Marla protests and shoves against me. Giving her this, I roll off and fall to my back, watching her as she jumps off the bed.
“I know exactly what I’m talking about,” I state, eyes locked on her as she jerks her shirt off the floor and glares at me. I don’t move from my position on my bed. Let her get a good look atwhat she wants. “You want it, you know where to find me, but you also know the only way to get it.”
“Whatever, Kyan.” Marla huffs and stomps toward the door. She glances back one last time, and for a brief second, I catch a glimpse of the woman inside her. “You don’t know anything you think you know about me.”
“I know more than you think I do.” Sitting up, I brace my elbows on my knees, not taking my eyes off her. “When you finally want to give in, you know where to find me.”
I barely get the words out before she opens and closes the door behind her.
She’s the most forbidden thing I could ever want, and yet I can’t have her. Not completely. But if I have her even in secret, it won’t be the bitch side of her that I take. It’ll be the woman I know lurks beneath.
CHAPTER ONE
MARLA
Two Months Later. . .
“No, I’m sorry, but you need to understand me when I say I’m not going back there,” I snap, glaring daggers at the man standing in front of me. A man I’ve trusted for far too long. A man who’s been as close to me as family. The only one who really knows the truths that I hold close to my chest.
“You need to go back and help them. They don’t know what’s coming their way. You do, though,” West states, staring at me like I’ve got two heads. “Is there a reason you don’t want to go back?”
Boy was there ever.
“I just don’t want to,” I grind out. “The last thing I need is for my sister to be getting in my business, and you know that is exactly what will happen. Marley will be all over me.”
I love my sister, but the two of us together are like oil and water. Put us together and we’ll clash. It’s always been that way, no matter how much our parents try to smooth things betweenus. It’s never going to change. We’re better apart. Maybe it would be different if she and all of them knew the truth about me, but they don’t. They all just think I’m this stuck-up bitch who doesn’t give two shits about anyone else.
Little did they know I care a bit too much. It’s one of the reasons I’m staying away. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I’m staying away because of a certain person. A certain man, who the moment I saw him, I wanted nothing more than to jump his bones and ride him like a buckin’ bronco.
I’ve known Keys, not personally, but personally enough for five years. We’ve worked together through the dark web, helping each other with intel. Mostly, I’ve helped him, though there have been times he’s given me intel that has helped me in more than a few dicey situations.
Shoving thoughts of Keys to the back of my mind, I focus on West. “Look, isn’t there another way to deal with this than for me to go back to the clubhouse?”
“Considering it has to do with them, you’re gonna have to suck it up and face your family again.”
“What if we just went to Nerd instead?” I suggest. I knew Nerd was a member of the Tennessee Chapter while West was with the Original’s chapter. He could relay the intel to Keys and the rest of the club.
“You know it’s better if it comes from you.”
“Like they’d actually believe me,” I scoff.
“They would if they knew what you’d been doing all these years,” West retorts.
“It was my decision to keep them out of it, and I stand by it.” No way was I going back on my decision now. Not after I’ve worked as hard as I have to come as far as I have.
At eighteen, I found my way, not by going to college, but hooking up with West and using my talent for what I know how to do best. My brother, Marshall, had met West but never knewwhat he and I did. My parents, they just thought West and I were best friends.
“What if I go with you? Your parents wouldn’t question my being there,” West suggests.
“That would work. You go with me and maybe help distract from my being there, and I can help them without them knowing it.” I typically would feed my intel to Keys, but this time around, I can’t do that. Not because of what nearly happened between us, but a more dangerous reason. If what West and I know gets into the wrong hands by chance, we’re screwed just as much as they are.
“Fine, then we’ll both go,” West grunts and rolls his eyes. “When this is over with, though, you owe me, Marla, big time, and I won’t let you forget it. You know I won’t.”
