Nila crossed her arms, breathing shallowly. Before she could respond, a Diamond brother muttered from across the table, “Yes, I’m sorry if we offended you the other day.”
Nila’s head shot up.
Daniel thumped him in the arm. “What the fuck, man?”
Stupid Daniel.
He didn’t understand how unravelling a person’s psyche went. First came cruelty—a stripping of every high and mighty concept that they were untouchable. Then came tenderness—an acknowledgement of going too far and promises of safety.
This was the second stage.
I’d seen it happen with Nila’s mother. I’d witnessed the bewitchment as she fell under my father’s spell.
That’s going to happen to Nila.
My heart froze at the thought of her looking at me the way her mother looked at my father. Not with fear or panic or loathing but with trust and happiness and…affection.
“Excuse me?” she whispered, almost mute with shock.
The brother who’d spoken, an older man with a goatee, smiled gently. “You have to understand, it was our way of welcoming you into our midst. You do not need to be afraid of us.”
She squared her shoulders. “I’m not afraid.”
I swallowed hard as a foreign emotion crawled into my chest. Goddammit. Jealousy. Again. I was fucking jealous of the men around this table. I wanted to rip their heads off for tasting what was mine.
Don’t go there, Jet.
My father was right to give her to the brotherhood the moment she arrived. If he demanded I strip and deliver her for a round of service again, I would draw a sword from the armoury on the walls and strike him down.
I would never be able to stand behind his chair now. Even though only a few days had passed, so much had happened. Nila had evolved into someone who drove me past rationality and straight into the chaos she wielded so well.
While Nila had been licked and tasted, I’d fought an unwinnable battle of possession. I’d said the words—I went along with the act of sharing her—but that was fucking bullshit now…
Now, I would never be able to share.
Never.
She was mine.
Not my brothers’, not my father’s, and definitely not the conclave of bikers, who by rights were my minions.
Mine.
Another brother broke through my tormenting thoughts, saying to Nila, “It was a special circumstance to welcome you into our family. We were all honoured to have you become a part of us.”
Nila’s face twisted in disgust. “A part of you?”
I jumped in before anyone else could. Ingrates. There was a way of delivering this so it made sense, not repulsed. “We all tasted you. We all licked a part of you and absorbed your sweat, your tears, your fears. No other initiation could’ve broken the barriers between newcomers and old-timers better than stripping you bare.”
Nila’s mouth fell onto the table. The same table I’d spread her over and driven my tongue deep inside.
Fuck, shouldn’t have thought about that.
My cock went from soft to hard in an instant. I shifted in my chair as memories of her blowing me in the forest came thick and fast. I’d come thick and fast. All down that beautiful throat.
I felt Cut watching me, the intensity of his gaze searing into my skin.
“What did you just say?” Nila whispered, her features strained.
Cut sat taller in his chair at the head of the table, steepling his hands in front of him. “Jethro’s right, Nila.”
Nila.
I hated that everyone called her Nila. They had no right to her first name. If and when anyone addressed her by it, it should be me.
Why don’t you then? She wants you to. She asked strongly enough in the woods.
I didn’t have an answer to that. And I didn’t have the guts to search for one.
Nila shook her head, looking at my father. “Is this another one of your mind games?”
Cut smiled reservedly. “No games. I told you, you’re a part of this family now. You’ll be treated kindly and respectfully. You will come to care for us, just like you care for your own flesh and blood.”
“Never,” she spat.
Cut chuckled. “Your mother said the same thing, but by the end, she willingly paid the last debt. A pet can only hate its owner for so long. But ply it with warmth, safety, kindness, and good food, and soon…you’ll have no choice but to let go of that hatred in your heart and embrace the life we’re giving you.”
“The life you mean to steal.”
He nodded. “The life we mean to steal. But also the life we will continue to nurture as long as we have your strict obedience.” His eyes landed on me. “Give me an update, Jet. How are things progressing? Have you followed my instructions?”
Not one.
Not a single fucking rule had I followed. And yet…what had happened in the woods after I’d hunted her down had taken something from her. We’d shared something. Something I never wanted to share with another human being, because it made me feel so damn weak.
Ignoring the question, I sat taller. “The First Debt will be paid this afternoon.”
Nila sucked in a breath. Her fear of the unknown did a much better job than I ever could.
Cut relaxed into his chair. “Good.”
A second passed.
Another ticked silently before Nila snapped, “Have you forgotten my promise so soon, Mr. Hawk?”
The table froze; men looked from the skinny seamstress to their leather-jacketed leader.
Cut tensed. “No, I haven’t forgotten.”
“I meant what I said,” Nila growled. “I will kill you. You can pretend you’re kind and keep me in good health, but I will never forget what you’ve done.”
I stood up, slapping my palms loudly on the table. “Ms. Weaver!”
Her head snapped in my direction, her dark eyes blazing. “Was I talking to you? You’re as bad as he is. I have a good mind to kill you, too.”
My heart raced, shedding the glacier in favour of excitement.
Excitement? How the hell did she confuse me and draw out such lubricous reactions? “Oh, you can try. We’ll see who wins. A seasoned hunter or a fumbling dressmaker? I know who I’d place money on.”
Nila shoved her chair back, standing in one swift move. She looked as if she would hurl herself over the table to slap me.
Cut shouted, “Out! All of you.”