Page 7 of Bear
“You like it rough.” His eyes hold a dangerous glint. “So, let’s stop this back-and-forth banter shit and get to the good stuff.” His gaze slides over to the pantry door as he puts an arm around my back and pulls me against his beefy frame. “How about we step in there, and I’ll let you get on your knees for me. I’ll leave your neck alone, promise. But you can choke on my cock for a bit instead.” He has the audacity to wink as he leans in close to whisper, “Your knees still have another round or two in them. Show me what I’ll be buying this coming weekend.”
I ease back a fraction with a fake smile on my lips, tipping my head up so I can stare straight into his eyes. At the same time, I get a firm hold on his shirt so he can’t get away, then bring the tip of the paring knife up to poke into the soft flesh under his chin. “Go ahead. I dare you to say another fucking word,” I grit out. “One. More. Word.” My head buzzes as I wait for his answer.
“Warren. This bitch has a knife to my throat. Would you give me a hand? Text Duke. I’m sure her stepbrother would love to see what she’s getting up to.”
“What the fuck?” From the other room, a chair screeches as it’s heaved back. A moment later, Warren approaches from behind me. His hand is both gentle and cautious when it finds my shoulder. “Lennon?”
I ignore him, shrugging off his hand, in favor of digging the knife’s tip deeper. “Listen up, you awful fuck. Don’t ever come onto me like that again with your lewd suggestions and insinuations. You don’t know me. You won’t ever know me, especially not likethat.”
He outright sneers at me. “You don’t call the shots around here, you crazy sleepwalking cunt.”
Huffing out an amused laugh, I shake my head, and allow my eyes to bore into his. The longer I wait to respond, the more he seems to regret his words. My eyes flick downward for a split second. It could have something to do with the knife’s blade that now has blood dripping down it. “You know what, though, you arrogant asshat, at this very second, I’m in complete control because I’m the one with the fucking knife. One false move from you and this ‘crazy sleepwalking cunt’ will flick her wrist and spill your blood all over the floor.”
Warren clears his throat behind me, almost like he’s trying to remind me he’s there, but whether it’s because he’s on my side or Tucker’s, I can’t be sure. I simply don’t know him well enough.
“What do you think? Is this what you thought it’d be like if you got close to me?” I cock my head to the side, studying the fear sliding over Tucker’s features.
“Warren, what the fuck man.” His eyes are wild as he looks past me to the guy he joined the brotherhood with two years ago, someone he should know well, I would think. But apparently, he didn’t click with Warren, because he gets zero response. Maybe Warren is here to back me up, after all.
He leans in close to my ear. “This dickhead isn’t worth it, Lennon. But I’ll help you clean up the mess no matter what. What can I do to help you right now?”
I draw in a relieved breath and shake my head. “Nothing. I’d just like a witness who knows how pathetic this douchebag acted the second I didn’t agree to give him what he wanted.” I glare daggers at Tucker. “I didn’t give in, didn’t fall to my knees for you, so you automatically decide that makes me a bitch. You’d better not cross me again.” I pull the knife away and in the next instant, shove Tucker hard to get him away from me.
He stumbles back into the cabinet, probing the spot I’d poked into his skin with his fingers. They come away bright, bloody red. “I’m reporting this.”
“You do that,” I spit, sparks shooting from my eyes. If he knew what I’ve been through in the last day, he’d be more careful with what he says to me or the next time he crosses my path, he might find that the paring knife slides a bit deeper. I must look pretty fucking scary because he turns and hurries out of the room. I wait a moment for my chest to loosen its hold on my lungs, then take a deep breath. My face is hot. In fact, all of me is a little overheated. Agitated.Angry.
“Don’t worry about him. He deserved that. I’ll back you up if there’s any backlash.” Warren’s voice comes from behind me.
Exhaling hard, I pivot on my heel toward him, and his eyes widen as they drop to my hand. It shakes violently, the knife still clutched in my grip.
Warren’s gaze flicks from the blade to search my eyes as he slowly brings one hand up to wrap around mine, steadying me. I see nothing but kindness and concern in his expression. As my heart pounds and pounds, he slowly brings a second hand up, covering mine with his. “You okay? Let me take that for you.”
I nod, swallowing, and that’s when my hoodie falls back off my head.Oh, shit.
If I thought his eyes were like saucers before, that was nothing compared to what they look like when his gaze drops to my neck. “Holy shit. What the fuck, Lennon.”
I suck in a stuttered breath, my hands coming up under my chin to cover my throat. I blink at him, completely incapable of doing anything else.
“Lennon—” He stops himself, mouth snapping shut. “Fuck, I—” Closing his eyes for a moment, the struggle he’s feeling practically screams through the quiet kitchen. When his eyes pop back open, he exhales harshly. “You can totally tell me to fuck off if you want. I saw some, uh… stuff last night. Things I know I wasn’t meant to see in the hallway. But shit.” He pauses. “Sorry, I’m really having trouble with this. Um”—he lowers his voice as he turns to the counter and plants his hands on the granite—“I know we don’t know each other that well, but if you don’t feel safe here, I want you to know you can come to me, and I’ll help you. I don’t know what the fuck I’d do, but—”
“Thank you. You don’t need to say anything else. I’m okay for now. I’ll”—I tilt my head to the side considering the fact that I might have an ally in the house—“let you know if I need anything.” I give him an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this bullshit with Tucker. It kinda came out of nowhere.”
He presses his lips. “Are you kidding? That was classic Tucker. Duke, Bear, and Mason aren’t around? He figures he can pull rank and do whatever. Keep that in mind and be careful because I doubt he’s the only one who’d like to get his hands on you. Why any of them think that’s okay, I have no fucking clue, but they consider you fair game. Or maybe it would be more appropriate to say they consider women pawns in whatever games they like to play.”
It disgusts me, but he only speaks the truth. I begin to walk away, but then I stop, turning on my heel again. Warren glances over his shoulder from where he was rummaging in the fridge. “You okay?”
I inhale deeply. “Yeah. You don’t happen to know where Mason is, do you?”
He eyes me steadily, and I see the war behind his eyes over whether he should answer or not. “If he’s not in the attic or in his room, you might try the pool house.”
FIVE
LENNON
The heatand humidity of the day hits me full in the face as I step out the back door. I glance cautiously in the direction of the pool. Pierre’s at it again, swimming in the nude. I can make out his tanned ass cheeks below the surface of the water. What the fuck is this dude’s problem? I shake my head and carefully avert my eyes as I give him a wide berth.
“Hey, sweet thing, wanna come for a swim?” He glides through the water to the deep end, coming up and resting his arms on the pool’s edge.
