I can feel Tyler’s warm breath on my skin as he dips his head, running his nose up the column of my neck, and occasionally dipping his tongue out to taste my skin. Everywhere his tongue touches causes goosebumps to pebble and succeeds in turning me into a puddle of mush in these men’s hands.
Staring into Aiden’s eyes I can see that despite his harsh words and cold attitude, he’s turned on by this too. His gaze flicks down to my lips when I inadvertently lick them, and I see his pupils dilate, the lust burning bright in his eyes.
He leans in towards me and, for a second, I think he’s going to kiss me. I want him to kiss me.
He blinks, and, when he opens his eyes again, the lust is gone. Shoved deep down inside him, and, instead, I’m left looking into his emotionless, calculating eyes, as though he never felt anything other than dead inside. In the space of a moment, he fixed his mask back in place, the one that portrays him as nothing more than the emotionless soldier he pretends to be.
“Now,” he drawls, in a quiet, dark, threatening tone that sends an exhilarating spark through my body. “Why don’t we pretend this little chat never happened; that way I don’t have to tell daddy dearest you’re asking questions about him.”
This is the Aiden The Feral Beasts know, the Aiden that stabbed that traitor in my father’s house the other week and that threatens enemies on behalf of his gang.
Yet, it’s not all that he is. I’ve seen a more human side to him today, a side I don’t think very many people know about.
He gives me a smug smirk as a glint that I can’t decipher appears in his eye. “Don’t worry, Sophie. I don’t mind that tonight, when you’re all alone in bed, worked up, frustrated, and completely soaked, and your hand moves down your body, you’ll be thinking of us. I don’t mind that you’ll find your pussy wet and after you spread those juices on your aching nub, finding that perfect friction, you’ll scream our names as your world explodes. I absolutely don’t mind that it will be this memory that gives you the most satisfying self orgasm you’ve ever experienced.”
With that bomb dropped he releases me and stalks away. Tyler gives my hips a final squeeze, dropping a final chaste kiss on my neck before letting me go and stepping away, leaving me feeling cold and bereft.
He gives me a sly smile as he walks past me to catch up with Aiden, throwing one last flirty wink over his shoulder before they turn down the path and out of sight, leaving me staring after them wondering what the fuck just happened.
I stand there, frozen in place, trying to gather my wits and calm my racing heart. The sun is low in the sky by the time my legs feel as though they can securely carry me back towards town. My mind is a mess, my hormones are going haywire and I don’t even remember why I led them into the forest to begin with.
Once I’m back at the start of the path, at the edge of the town, I call Oliver to pick me up. While I wait for him to arrive, I mull over my encounter. I didn’t get any answers to the questions I have, or find out any more about what Robert is up to, and yet I have this weird feeling that something significant just happened. I’m just not sure whether it will be for better or worse.
Chapter 18
AIDEN
Icouldn’t help but be surprised when Sophie stepped out of the bushes, full of fire and ready to take us on. Not that I let her see my reaction.
My father has done an excellent job of ensuring I don’t let anyone see past my mask, to the emotions I feel underneath. I’m pretty sure my father doesn’t think I have any emotions. He spent my entire childhood using every method of torture - physical and psychological – to rid me of any pesky emotions so he could turn me into the perfect soldier. He wanted an empty vessel who would do anything asked without question or concern.
So, I learned at a young age to wear an impenetrable shield that hides my thoughts and emotions from the outside world. Ty is the only one who has seen behind my smokescreen; he knows the real me.
Ty has experienced some of the same sufferings as I have, although his father was never as brutal on him as mine was on me. His trauma left a different mark on him. Where I learned to shove all my thoughts, opinions, feelings deep down inside and wear a false front of disinterest, Ty developed a carefree attitude, like everything just washes off of him. Still, it’s a mask, just a different kind to the one I wear. Everyone might think he's the easy-going, funny guy, but I can see the darkness lurking behind his eyes, the damage done to him runs just as deeply as my own. He can be just as ruthless as I am. After all, we are members of The Feral Beasts; violence is in our blood.
When the boss first told us he had a scheme in place here in Crescentwood, I didn’t expect him to choose Ty or I to join him. Being the most junior members of The Feral Beasts, we are generally assigned to the shitty jobs, the clean-up, hush-up, disposal jobs. If a body needs disposing of without a trace, a person needs to be threatened back in line, or someone needs intimidating into doing as they’re told, we’re the guys that get called to handle it.
Given our normal jobs, when we were brought to this fancy town filled with rich assholes and told to follow his daughter, who none of us even knew about, it piqued my curiosity.
This job is different from any others the club has done before. Not only is it in a bigger league, but it’s different to our usual ‘fear factor’ approach. There is usually a lot more blood and dead bodies. Not that I’m complaining. I might have grown up in the club, but I don’t have the same desire for blood and violence that seems to drive everyone else around me.
This job might be less messy than our normal ones, but it’s getting to me in a way no job ever has before. SHE is getting to me. Until she cornered us in the forest, Sophie had just been a job. She didn’t do anything fun or exciting, not like what I imagine a normal teenager would do. She didn’t go to parties, she didn’t even hang out with any friends. If she wasn’t at school or home, then she would wander around town and explore the area, or sit in the coffee shop, people watching or reading a book.
I can’t deny her actions didn’t pique my interest. Who is this girl who doesn’t act like a normal teenager? Most people who start a new school would do anything to fit in, to ensure they don’t stand out, but Sophie doesn’t seem to care. She has no interest in trying to fit in, to be like everyone else in this town of silicone-filled women and arrogant egotistical men. Where was she before her father decided to include her in his schemes? What has she gone through that she doesn’t care about fitting in or making friends?
Despite being mildly curious about the girl and what plans Bossman has for her, I had no other interest, beyond keeping an eye on her.
I already knew she wasn’t doing as her father told her to. Not only was she not making friends with the one-percenters, but she made a point of actively avoiding them.
Ty, the dick-thinking idiot that he is, covered her ass by lying to her father about who she spends her time with. I had no option but to go along with what he said. There was absolutely no other reason as to why I helped protect her. It definitely had nothing to do with my increasing fascination with her.
However, now I’m even more intrigued. There is a hell of a lot more to Sophie Montgomery than meets the eye, and now she has my full attention.