“Never seen anyone look this pretty to unclog a toilet before. You seen it before, Slink?” Buggy asked.

Slink, the two-timing bastard, leaned backward into the cars. “Been in a rundown club with piss being sprayed in the air. Never a pretty woman going at it with shit.”

I stopped my momentary pounding, the mask on my face hiding my lips but not my eyes as I glared at them. They looked elsewhere immediately. Wolf was the only one still staring at me. “I'm sorry, Remy. I didn't… I didn't think he'd put you here.”

“Tell me how sorry you are one more time, and I will shove this plunger on your face.”

“Understood.”

Decker Kane appeared in my room by six a.m., claiming I'd already missed orientation with the other prospects and because of my lateness and my disappointing him, I was to do whatever the other members wanted.

Hell, I thought he was joking, so I did my hair and makeup, wore a flannel shirt, shorts, and high-heeled boots—but the bastard meant it.

I knew the rule book like the back of my hand. Some little handy jobs here and there, fix some bulbs, wash some cars, go on a few errands—but it didn't matter. As long as he could see me being hot and efficient. Fucking perfect combo.

But after cleaning the dishes and doing the laundry, I was doing this.

And he wasn't even here to witness it?!

“YES. YES. YES!” The sound of the flusher going down was music to my ears before I turned around, trying to hold back a scream. “I did it.”

“Yeah,” Buggy said, scrunching his face. “But could you stop moving that damn plunger around—”

I made a stabbing motion toward them with it. They all flinched. “Fuck. I'm so hungry. Is someone gonna—?”

“Well, hello, little lady. Never seen you around here before. A new club girl or something?”

I turned my head to the voice. New face. Faces. Three girls in blond, red, and black wigs. Club girls. I wondered which one Decker fucked. “Or something.”

Wolf made a face. Buggy stared at me, then back at them with a slightly confused look. Slink was staring at me like it was a soap opera.

“You gotta dress a tad bit respectfully, then,” said the girls, who were wearing practically nothing. “Makes you seem desperate if you're not covered properly and shit. We at least have men.”

“You at least have gonorrhea, but I'm not gonna attack you, sweetheart. We all gotta eat at the end of the day,” I said, placing the plunger down.

“Ha, you really shouldn't be talking to me like that. Can't you see the fucking jacket I have on? Can't you see the property of Reaper King patch on it?”

Bingo.

I lunged with the plunger before any of them could stop me, ready to shove their fucking face into the shit-covered thing before a human wall blocked me, grey eyes staring down at me in familiar disappointment. “Put it down, prospect.”

I had pulled back the plunger as quickly as I thought possible, but some of its… contents had managed to fall right on his chest. He didn't react to it though. Instead, he stared at me hard and serious.

I dropped it down.

“Apologize to her.”

My familiar anger returned. “But she fucking—”

He raised an eyebrow.

I bowed my head. “I… I apologize for my conduct. Please, forgive me—”

“Serves you right, whore—”

I jumped, ready to rip her hair out, but the moment I did, Decker lifted me up and placed me on his shoulder, dragging me away as I screamed at the idiots, then at him. “You taught me about sexual hygiene, but you're fucking the club girls?! Jesus Christ, if you're that desperate, you can call me over, and I'll spread my legs with no hesitation. And you can even guess what? No fucking disease!”

My ass met the concrete floor when he dropped me. We were in another garage. An abandoned one now. And as I stared up at him, he glared back down at me. “You don't touch anyone with a patch, do you understand? You are nothing. A rat. A speck of dust—”

“Do you fuck her?”

“Do you even want to be in Iron Clad or not?!” He yelled back.

Fear flashed through me, but then it settled into my belly as something darker. My middle pulsed as my heart raced, and I asked again, “Do you fuck her?”

Decker Kane stared at me like he was deciding whether to kill me or maim me. Then he raked a hand through his hair. “Chrissy has my kutte for safety purposes. She can be real desperate, and the guys… tend to take advantage of that, but now that she's mine, she has bragging rights. And bragging rights means she also maintains a distance with the guys.”

Relief flooded my being, but I didn't want him to know that. “Used a lot of words to say you're not fucking her, then.”

His jaw flexed. “What the fuck do you want from me?”

I rose from the floor and dusted my shorts. “A fucking honest response, maybe? I am hot and sexy and so fucking aware of the fact that you find me irresistible. This whole deal of you brooding around me is because you like me. But if you wanna reject me like you did last time, be a fucking man and—”

He pinned me to the wall, his lips hovering over mine as he stared into my eyes. “You talk too much instead of doing your fucking job.”

His breath was hot against my lips, and I could smell the whiskey underneath it. He didn't drink. He never did. Which meant something else. “Did you stop smoking?”

He didn't move away. I waited for him to answer, but his grey eyes dropped to my lips, his hand tightened on my wrists like he was fighting every instinct to pull me closer.

Then he stepped back. “I quit.”

My breath caught. I wanted to scream. I wanted to grab him by that stupid leather jacket and kiss him until he forgot his own name. But I had to maintain some useless form of decorum.

Learned that straight from 'society'.

“Because I told you to?”

He didn't answer.

I scoffed and made it three steps toward the door before his voice stopped me. “Remy.”

I turned, heart hammering.

“The rules of this club are not a suggestion.” His eyes hardened. “You step out of line again, and I'll have you scrubbing toilets for the next six months. And I won't be nice about it.”

“Wouldn't expect you to be,” I said, grinning despite myself. “Where's the fun in that?”

His jaw tightened. “Get out.”

I saluted him. “Sir, yes, sir.”

As I left, I practically skipped all the way back there—that was until I noticed the group standing in a circle back at the main house and my father saying, “We need to talk. And where the fuck is Decker?”

I made a face, staring at the rest of the crew who were, for some fucking reason, sitting all in front of me like I did something.

Did someone see? They did, didn't they? Fucking hell. Doesn't matter. I'm not letting Decker go. No way in hell.

“So…” I drawled, trying to flash my brightest smile at them. “How's the weather—?”

“Stay silent, Remy Lou.” Not a full name. I'm alive. I'm free!

The door opened, and Decker Kane walked in. He didn't look like I'd attempted to break his balls, but that's also probably because he barely showed any emotions to begin with.

My father didn't seem to notice that he looked a little disheveled though. He turned his attention back to me, his eyes cold. He slid a file to me. “Did you know about this?”

I raised an eyebrow and looked down. I opened it. I looked back up. “Why the fuck is Travis Benson with the President of the Serpents Club?”

“That's his baby brother.”

I blinked. Laughed. “That's cute. I know Travis. He's a pussy. A coward. No backbone. Baby brother of a president? He couldn't even pick which restaurant to eat at without having a full-blown panic attack.”

“We didn't say he was a plant, Remy,” Wolf sounded sad. “He's just—”

The sound of my father's hands banging on the table had me jolting as he snapped, “Why don't you ever fucking stay out of trouble?! For once in your entire life, why can't you just stay away from shit that could kill you?!”

I snorted. “This was me staying away from shit that could kill me! I chose him even if I didn't fucking like him! I had to do missionary for months before he even knew there were other positions! I sacrificed my sex life for this!”

Someone tried to muffle a laugh in the background, but Cole Calloway didn't seem to be in the mood. “You think I'm joking? You think this is funny? You know who the Serpents are, don't you?”

I clenched my jaw. “Of course I know who the Serpents are. I'm not stupid, Daddy.”

“Could've fooled me.”

The words came from the asshole behind me.

Something cracked inside my chest that made my vision go red at the edges. “You know what, Kane? You're right. I should have known. I should have done a background check on every person who was nice to me while I was pretending to be normal because your president wanted me to have a real life.”

“Remy Lou—”

“Fuck my vagina too for not having a beacon,” I cut in, glaring at Decker before facing my father. “I'm not sorry that I broke him in though. I'd do it again in a heartbeat if I must.”

My father sighed. “That's the problem. Because Travis is in a coma and his brother, Blake—look, we've had territory disputes, but we agreed not to touch each other. This… this complicates things.”

A… coma…

My chest hummed for a second. Oh. Oh, I didn't… I didn't think that would…

I never loved him.

But he knew how hard I worked to become this version of myself.

And he made me feel stupid for trying.

No. Fuck him. He deserved it. I hope he doesn't wake up. “So what? You want me to leave?”

“Would have asked you to apologize, but you aren't good at that, are you?”

I swear to God, Decker Kane, I will murder you in your sleep.

“You are the beating heart of the Iron Clad Kings. Of my soul. You are… all I have after—” Cole's eyes softened. Only for a moment before he sighed. “It's why he and I had an agreement.”

My blood turned cold. “What fucking agreement?”

“The Serpents are involved in some… good businesses. It's relatively far more safe with them than here. Remy Lou, before you fucking say anything, listen—”

“Over my dead body.”

“Look, the only fucking reason you aren't excited about this engagement is because I'm telling you to be with Blake. To piss me off, you'd be with him anyway.”

“I put his brother in a fucking coma!”

“And he's a business man! We've talked about this. The last thing we need or want is this turning into a full-blown war that we are ill prepared for. Plus, Blake has agreed that this would satisfy him enough not to retaliate, and if you wanna join his club—”

I stood up from my chair. “You know what? You win. I'm fucking leaving. I'm going back to my 'normal' life—”

Hands suddenly pushed me down to the table, forcing both of my arms behind my back as something clamped over them.

“You're gonna be staying with your sponsor in his cabin, and hopefully, he'll talk some sense into you before we meet Blake.” Cole Calloway said in front of me.

I laughed, cranking my head so I could look at my side. “Expected this shit from my father but not from you, Kane. Not like my feelings matter, though, yeah? I'm just a fucking dumb slut without my own wants and desires.”

The word tasted bitter in my mouth. But I said it anyway. Because it was easier to say it first than to hear someone else say it.

The bastard handcuffed me and pulled me upwards. “You talk too much.”

“And you're as bland as a fucking wall. We all have our things.” I faced my father. “My six months are still up. I'm gonna stay here and prove I belong here. If I do, then we're all good. And if I don't, then you can ship me off to whatever snake pit you've arranged for me. Deal?”

I had no fucking plans on leaving this place ever. But what I did know was the moment Decker Kane realized how madly in love he was with me, he'd fight to the death to keep me.

Six months. I had six months.

Cole Calloway's jaw worked, then he said, “Don't fuck it up then.”

I grinned. “Oh, I won't.”

Let the games begin.

Remy was light. And she made it far too fucking easy to pull and tug her every which way. She was quiet, thankfully as I pulled her into my cabin.

I walked away, heading to my fridge. I took out a bottle of beer and chugged it, hearing her finally speak again, “Not gonna close the door? Afraid I’m gonna hump you like a dog and take your chastity away?”

The alcohol burned through my chest but it did nothing to quell the fire in me that had started ever since she arrived. “That’s not how to speak to your Sponsor,”

She laughed and rolled her eyes. “Wow, I guess you’re back to being that when you were so fucking ready to ship me to someone I’ve never met,”

I twisted the cap from another bottle and chugged it down, slamming the fridge shut. “Every action has consequences.”

“You’re right. Maybe you forgot to teach me that particularly important detail all those years ago.”

I couldn’t believe my ears. Was she blaming me somehow? “What?”

Remy stood, her hands still cuffed to her back and her hair sticking to her face. She looked angry, a different expression from the sly, arrogant one she’s worn since she got here.

I wanted to touch her and see what her reaction would be. She was always so head strong, stubborn. If I—

No. Stop.

“You taught me not to accept bullshit since I was like, what? Five?” She tilted her head. “You said I was a princess, that no one was allowed to treat me without respect. You taught me everything I know and now, when I’m actually a good student, ‘actions have consequences’?”

I set the beer harder than I meant to on the table. “Is that all you wanna fucking remember? What about me telling you to stay the fuck away from me? That didn’t stick?”

Her face puffed up. I could see her all so familiar rage returning and I knew she would have hit me with that stupid bat of hers if she could. “Why the fuck was someone like you even around me when I was five?!”

Jesus fucking Christ. “Someone like me?”

“You are called the Reaper King, so you’re not a fucking saint either,” She yelled. “What? You think being in this club changes all the terrible things you’ve done? Or taking care of the president’s orphaned daughter abstains you? You’re a fucking hypocrite. The fact that I’m such a raging bitch is because you’re a—”

I didn’t know when I moved.

My hand was over her mouth, slamming her to the wall.

Her eyes stared up at me, wide like she was scared. The thought sent a thrill through me. “No one fucking calls me that anymore. And you? The name is ‘Sir’, and you’re going to accord me with respect or you’ll find out why I was called that,”

Her eyes darkened. I felt her mouth slightly open, her teeth grazing the insides of my palm. Tingles spread up my thighs to my balls. I gritted my teeth. “Bite me. I dare you.”

Something flashed in her eyes but she stayed still. The fire in me quietened. Finally.

Then she licked my hand.

I jerked away, a low growl leaving my lips as my head snapped back to her. She was smiling again. “Was that supposed to be a threat? I’m seeing your hard dick and I want you to show me. What are you going to do? Push me to the wall and fuck me till I can barely speak? Or choke me with your cock till I can’t breathe? Because what, the fuck, is so deadly about your cock that I haven’t had before?”

My cock thrummed with life. She looked so defiant. Like she knew everything. I wanted to see her with tears all over her face as she creamed all over my cock, begging me to go deeper as her voice—

No. No. No. Decker. Stop.

“You’re right,” My voice was gruff. “There’s nothing special about it,”

Her smile faltered then quickly, she slammed it back. “That’s not the fucking response you’re supposed to give—”

“You’re right.” I picked up my jacket. “Every mess you’ve made out of your life was because of me. I fucked up by being there. I fucked up by ever coming close to you. What was I thinking? That I could do some good by teaching you the same things that kept me alive?”

Her voice turned to steel. “Where the fuck are you going?”

I ignored her. “It’s why I’m going to speak to your Father. Tell him I’m not being your Sponsor anymore,”

She slammed the door with her feet and stood in front of it. “And I’m the one acting childish? Why is it so hard for you to admit it? You want me.”

Remy looked like a guard dog. Her hair was wild and makeup messy. I wanted to kiss her again because she looked like the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “I don’t want you.”

“Liar.”

I leaned closer. “Why would I want a girl that keeps running laps around me like a bitch in heat?”

The pain in her eyes appeared instantly. My jaw clenched to stop the apology about leaving my lips. This. This was how it was supposed to be. I kept being kind to her and she kept returning to me like she had no fucking self respect.

The girl I raised was better than that.

And she was better without me.

Her chin trembled just once, she swallowed and stepped out the door. Her eyes blazed with hate. “You’re still such a fucking coward, Decker Kane,”

I looked away. “Wolf would come uncuff you. There’s food in the fridge. Don’t wait up. You have work to do tomorrow,”

As soon as I stepped out the door, her voice came out, “You better not fuck any of those other bitches. I might still be unable to cause you real damage, but I will hurt them.”

My balls tingled again. I slammed the door.

After a few steps away from my cabin, I picked up my phone and dialed a number. “Chrissy. I’m coming to your room. Clean it up before I get there.”