Carnage by Sarah Bailey

Thirty Three

West

Raising my whisky tumbler to my lips, I watched Scarlett walk across the room and stop by a table next to a man I knew all too well. My hand curled tighter around the glass as I lowered it.

“What the fuck is he doing here?”

Francis looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Who?”

“Mason,” I ground out.

Both he and Prescott looked over at where Scarlett was standing with the man tasked by the Carvers to watch over her.

“Huh. Didn’t think she’d bring him,” Prescott said, eyes narrowing.

“He looks pretty pissed,” Francis commented, giving me a sideways glance.

Prescott grinned.

“Maybe he doesn’t like us.”

Francis snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Of course he doesn’t. We’re a threat to the girl he’s sworn to protect.”

“Looks like he wants to do more than just protect her.”

I watched the man drag Scarlett onto the dancefloor. Setting the tumbler on the table beside me, I clenched my fists. If I kept it in my hands, it would have been smashed against the wall, the pieces littered on the ground and the liquid dripping down it. The way the prick held Scarlett against him had me taking a step towards them.

“Easy there,” Prescott said, setting a hand on my shoulder as Drake joined us again.

I growled at him, wanting to tear apart the dickhead holding my woman limb from limb. Especially when he had the fucking audacity to look over at us with a smirk on his face.

“Is that cunt for fucking real?” I ground out.

For a moment I forgot where we were. All I could think about was tearing across the room to get my woman away from the fuckface holding her like he damn well owned her. She wasn’t his. She was mine. All fucking well mine. She’d been mine since the day I laid eyes on her. No one else except for the three men standing beside me could touch her. I’d kill every motherfucker who thought they could put hands on the woman belonging to me.

I strained against Prescott’s hold, rage filling my veins as the fucking piece of shit ran his hand down Scarlett’s back. It was too damn close to parts of my woman he should not be touching. I would brand myself on her damn skin as a warning to anyone else to stay the fuck away.

“He has a death wish,” Francis muttered.

“You’re telling me,” Prescott replied, keeping a tight hold of my shoulder. “I’d quite like to punch his pretty-boy face in myself.”

“I’m going to kill him. He can drown in his own fucking blood,” I outright growled.

“Hey, none of that,” Drake interjected, placing his hand on my other shoulder. “We can’t touch him, you know that.”

“I don’t give a shit. He doesn’t get to touch her like that.” I raised my arm, waving my hand at the display. “She is ours.”

“And you need to calm the fuck down, West.”

I shoved Drake and Prescott’s hands off me, glaring at the two of them.

“Or what?”

“Did you forget where we are? Do not make a scene. This is fucking important. We cannot afford to screw it up.”

I hated how right Drake was. Hated it so fucking much. The anger and rage inside me burnt hot, flooding me with the need for violence. The need to take it out on the piece of shit who’d caused it. Fuck, I wanted to hurt him. To make him regret ever taunting me. The prick had no clue who he was messing with. He didn’t want to see the monster inside me. The one who would ruin his entire fucking existence.

Not like I could allow Scarlett to see how she affected me either. She had no idea of the man lurking beneath my skin. How he’d had such intimate access to her thoughts and feelings when we’d been younger. How he fucking well bled for her every day of his life. And how he would kill everyone who hurt her. It pained me, knowing she had no fucking clue who I was to her. Who we were to each other.

“You’re the whole world to me, West. I don’t know why you can’t see that.”

I almost snarled with the memory, her voice echoing in my ears. Her words were like taking a knife to my chest. Scarlett had ruined me. Seeing her now, aware she couldn’t remember ever saying those things was decimating.

No fucking wonder people said I wasn’t right in the head. How could I be? How could I ever fucking well be normal when the light in my life had been torn away from me? From all of us.

“How can you stand there and not give a shit about this?”

“Who said I didn’t give a shit?” Drake hissed. “Do you think I like seeing him touch her? I’d quite happily help you rip his limbs off, but unlike you, I understand our position is precarious. We kill him, we bring down a world of trouble on our heads. I’m not going to let you fuck this up.”

I wanted to punch him in the face. Drake didn’t fucking get it. None of them did. They had no clue. None whatsoever.

You haven’t told them, that’s why. If they knew, they’d understand.

As if I was going to reveal the truth about Scarlett’s feelings towards me. It hurt too fucking much already. I couldn’t speak of it.

I didn’t care what Drake said. There was no way in fucking hell I would stand here whilst the worthless fuckhead danced with her and watched us with that damn smirk on his face.

“West.”

I’d taken a step forward and Drake’s tone brought me up short.

“Don’t.”

I glanced at him, baring my teeth.

“Lighten the fuck up, Drake, I won’t do anything to him.”

My feet started forward again.

“What are you going to do?”

I turned my head back, looking at the three of them with no small amount of smug fucking satisfaction.

“I can’t hurt Mason, but no one said anything about Scarlett.”

If any of them had a response, I didn’t hear it. I stalked across the room, not giving a shit what I looked like. My damn woman would pay the price of allowing him access to her body. I didn’t care if she wasn’t fucking him. His meaty palms did not get to feel her up.

Halfway across the room, one of them caught up to me and directed me away from Scarlett and Mason. I glanced at Prescott. His mouth was a thin line and his expression dark. I didn’t stop him from bringing me over to the bar area.

“What are you doing?”

“Making sure you don’t do something stupid.” He glanced at me. “Look, I’m with you. The fucker deserves a beating, but Drake is right. Now is not the time.”

“I wasn’t going to touch him.”

Prescott curled an eyebrow up. The fucker didn’t believe me. Probably wise.

“If you want to take it out on her, then by all means. Just do it when he’s not hovering over her like a guard dog, eh?”

I leant up against the bar, glaring over at where the prick was still dancing with my woman.

“You’re right.”

“Did you just agree with me?”

“Don’t push your fucking luck, Pres.” I cracked my knuckles. “I’m not above decking you as a substitute for him.”

Prescott merely snorted before ordering us more drinks. I sipped mine and watched Mason take Scarlett back to their small table. She was giving him a hard time or at least, it looked like they were having a heated conversation. Made me think she wasn’t so happy about his presence here either.

“Do you think she knows?” I asked Prescott a moment later.

“Knows what?”

“His real reason for being here.”

“No. And we’re not going to tell her either. Let him dig his own grave.”

“Mark my words, one day, I’ll help him into it.”

Prescott grinned and shook his head.

“We can’t and you know it, but we can fuck with him.”

I grunted in response. Oh, I would be fucking with Mason Jones all right. He had thrown the first stone. All bets were off. I would take pleasure in torturing him with mind games if I couldn’t hurt him any other way.

Prescott and I stayed by the bar. I didn’t feel like dealing with Drake. He’d forced me to attend this event. Being here in this stuffy room full of stuck up rich pricks and business types made my skin itch with the need for violence.

The announcer started up with the award presentations. Prescott wandered off to find the others whilst I watched the crowd gather by the raised platform. My eyes found Scarlett. She stood near the fringes of the crowd, her guard dog nearby.

I dropped my glass on the bar and stalked towards her. The woman didn’t stand a chance nor did she see me coming. I came up behind her and wrapped my hand around her wrist.

“Come with me.”

She looked back at me, her eyes wide.

“What?”

I smiled before dragging her away from the crowd. She stumbled trying to walk with me. Those heels she wore were death traps. I kept her upright because I couldn’t have her falling over and making a fucking scene.

“West, what are you doing?” she hissed.

I didn’t reply, merely tugged her into an alcove and shoved her up against the wall. Leaning over her, I trapped her body against mine. My hand wrapped around her throat, the skull tattooed there gleaming in the low light.

“Do you think it’s acceptable to let another man touch you?” I asked her in hushed tones.

“W-what?”

“I saw his little display. He thinks he can start a pissing contest with me. And you allowed it.”

Scarlett’s eyes widened. She swallowed against my palm.

“We were just dancing.”

My hand tightened around her throat.

“You are mine, Scarlett. That means you don’t let anyone else touch what’s mine.”

Her breath came out halted and erratic.

“You’re crazy,” she whispered.

I grinned.

“You think this is crazy? Don’t try me. I will show you fucking crazy if you do that again.”

Her expression darkened.

“So what? You let your friends touch me, but when my friend dances with me, it’s not allowed?”

“Yes, exactly.”

She looked incredulous.

“You have some fucking nerve, you know that? All of you do.”

There was that temper I remembered all too well. Scarlett had never been the shy, retiring, obedient type. She had sharp claws. Ones she’d shred you with. And I’d always found it incredibly alluring. A woman who matched my own insanity.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You think because I let you fuck me, I’m now your property. Well, fuck you.” She shoved at my chest. “I don’t want to deal with your bullshit right now.”

She said the wrong thing and she knew it. I wasn’t about to let it slide even though we were at a public event and Drake’s warnings blared in my head. My free hand slid down her leg and underneath her dress, pushing it up as I ran my fingers up her inner thigh. She let out a gasp.

“You are mine and the sooner you get that into your skull, the better. You think us being in a public setting will stop me from taking what I want?”

“West—”

I squeezed her throat, cutting off her airway for a moment so she couldn’t continue.

“Oh no, now isn’t the time for talking.”

My fingers met her knickers. I rubbed the front of them, right over her pussy lips. She stared up at me with fear in her eyes.

Good. Be fucking scared. I’m going to make you come in a room full of people and there’s nothing you can do about it.

I dipped my fingers underneath her knickers, stroking down her slit and finding the beginnings of her wetness. It made me smile and lean closer to her.

“I see how it is,” I murmured. “Your mouth likes to say one thing but your body tells me another. You want this.”

“No,” she whispered.

Seeking out her clit, I circled it. She bucked her hips into mine in response.

“Mmm, do you get off on telling me to stop, huh? Want to pretend I’m making you do this? Is that the type of game you want to play?”

“No.”

I bit my lip. The lust mixing with fear in her eyes gave her away. It made me shove three fingers inside her wet pussy and thumb her clit.

“I bet you wish it was my cock buried in this tight little pussy right now, don’t you?”

She shook her head, gulping down air as I squeezed her throat again.

“What if I fucked you in front of everyone? Showed them who owns your tight little holes, hmm? Would you like that, Scarlett? I’ll make you cry out my name whilst I wring every fucking climax out of your body until you’re a mess of tears and shame.”

The way she panted and ground against me told me everything she couldn’t voice out loud. The thought of me doing it turned her on. Made her want to sink into the deep, dark pit of depravity I lived in. There was no room for morals here. No room for airs and fucking graces. Only corruption, debauchery and sin.

Leaning ever closer, I ran my tongue up her cheek.

“Tell me who you belong to,” I whispered. “Tell me and I’ll let you come.”

She shuddered, her body bucking as her hands gripped my waist to anchor herself.

“West.”

“Tell. Me.”

“You… I belong to you.”

I buried my face in her hair, breathing in her spicy scent and thrust my fingers harder.

“That’s right. You’re mine.”

Her body tensed and she came apart. Whether she’d said it so she could come, I didn’t care. Letting her pleasure wash over me was fucking everything. I allowed myself a moment to bathe in her body before I pulled back, slipping my fingers from her dress. She stared up at me, her eyes unfocused.

“Open.”

She did as I asked, allowing me to slide my fingers inside her mouth. I didn’t have to ask her to clean them. She did that all by herself.

“If you let him touch you like that again, Scarlett, there’ll be worse consequences for you. Do you understand?”

She blinked, my fingers sliding out of her mouth. Then she glared at me.

“That’s my friend. What you’re asking is ridiculous.”

I shook my head, my fingers flexing around her throat.

“Friend,” I scoffed.

“I don’t get what your problem is. You don’t even know Mason. Why do you care?”

I laughed and dropped my hand from her neck.

“I don’t take kindly to anyone messing with my belongings. You’d best remember that in the future.”

Before she could say a word, I walked off. If I stayed any longer, I would fuck her in front of the whole room and then Drake would have my head. It was lucky everyone was currently distracted by the awards presentations. I might be unapologetic about who I was, but I did understand the importance of this evening. It’s why I was even here in the first place or I’d have stayed home and got high.

I could do with a hit right now. It would calm the raging storm brewing inside me. I didn’t pity the fool who got in my way. They would regret it, of course, but I would enjoy ripping them to shreds without a single shred of remorse. The only thing I regretted this evening was not pulling Scarlett from the room and shoving my cock so far down her throat, she’d feel it for days.

You’re going to get it worse next time, Scarlett. Mark my fucking words. You fuck with me, I’ll fuck with you right back, only I’ll do it dirtier and meaner. Then you’ll really see who you belong to.