Bad Decisions Read online

  I was still weak as a kitten. My bones felt as if they’d melted inside my skin but nothing had felt so good in my life. Kane towered above me on his knees. His chest, corded with muscle and covered with tattoos and scars looked like art to me. But that cock was coming for me.

  And I was ready.

  Kane

  Keira tasted as good as I remembered. I could eat her ass and suck her pussy juices all day. Listening to her cry out as she came was a song my heart had memorized but nothing compared to the live concert.

  I palmed my cock, the hard shaft hot and ready, straining to sink into that wet heat. Sweat popped along my hairline. I couldn’t wait a moment longer. I wanted to drive into that pussy so deep I came out her fucking tonsils. There was a primal need to be inside her that I couldn’t deny.

  And she’d never looked more beautiful, more vixenish than in that moment — hair tousled, lips swollen, legs spread — fuck, I was lost.

  With a grunt, I drove my length into her dripping core. My eyes rolled up into my head at the instant, soul-stealing pleasure. “Keira,” I gasped, flexing my hips, going hilt-deep inside her until my balls slapped against her skin. “Oh my God, Keira, you’re so fucking hot…” I couldn’t think straight, couldn’t see anything but her. I wanted to make it last, to draw out her pleasure as well as mine but there was also this overpowering need to fuck her senseless. I wanted to brand her with my seed, sear my essence into her skin, somehow make her mine in the most primal way possible and my body took over.

  I reared up and threw her leg over my shoulder so I could go even deeper. She groaned and I fucked her harder. I found that G-spot and gave it no mercy. Keira’s tits bounced with each brutal thrust and I wanted to bury my face between them but I couldn’t do that and keep the angle I was hitting. I growled, wanting a fat titty in my mouth but stayed the course. My balls tightened and I knew the end was coming. Keira was close, too.

  And then there was no stopping it. Ahhh fuck! At the last second, I whipped my cock out of that warm, sweet place and finished on her trembling belly.

  Seeing stars, I rocked back on my haunches to catch my breath. Oh God, how long had I envisioned this moment? To the point where I’d almost lost my mind. The reality was usually never as good as the fantasy — except when it came to Keira. Everything about her was goddamn perfection.

  Fuck it, all.

  I rose on unsteady legs, needing to move. I grabbed a towel, saying, “You might need this” and tossed it to her. She cast me a look that clearly said, “Thanks asshole” and I chuckled as I dropped into the old armchair, naked as a jaybird as she cleaned up.

  Keira would probably always be a beautiful woman, she had genetics on her side. At one time, I thought I’d hit the jackpot. Beauty was a trap.

  Even now, I was mesmerized by her when I knew better. Pretty pathetic.

  “So, you got anyone on the hook?” I asked, watching her every move. “No.”

  “No?”

  Keira shimmied into her panties. “I said no.”

  I smothered the immediate happiness that no one was holding her at night, smelling her hair and calling her mine. “Why not?”

  “You of all people should understand why dating isn’t possible for me.”

  “Keira always gets what she wants,” I scoffed, not buying her victim routine. “You just don’t like being tied down to one dick.”

  “If you’re not going to believe anything I say, stop asking useless questions.”

  “If I thought you might be honest, I might believe you.”

  Keira fell silent and reached for her shirt. I could stare at her naked body all day and night but I hid my disappointment. I couldn’t have her thinking she had me wrapped around her finger again. But what if, by some crazy chance, Keira actually was telling me the truth? I rejected that tiny voice at the back of my head. Not possible. Keira ran the 13th Street Boys as much as Rey did. If anything, Keira was far more deadly than her brother. If I wanted to survive my plan, I needed to remember that simple fact.

  “Do you ever lose sleep over how much blood you have on your pretty, manicured hands?” I asked.

  “Don’t act innocent, Kane. If I have blood on my hands, you’re just as guilty. You used to run with Rey, too.”

  “Until I realized he was doing shit that wasn’t right. He’s got no code of honor, Keira. At one time, you realized it, too. What happened?”

  “Spare me your sanctimonious bullshit,” she said, drawing her knees up against her chest. In that position she didn’t look like the badass who could slit your throat without blinking twice. I shook off the prickling feeling that maybe none of this was an act. She glanced away, saying, “You of all people should understand that sometimes choice is an illusion.”

  I catapulted out of the chair, snatching up my jeans. “Don’t play the victim, Keira. You’re no good at it.” Her eyes widened as I stalked toward her. I wanted to crush that beautiful face, that wicked soul but even as my hands reached for her all I could do was gently grip her jaw. If I wasn’t careful, she would be the death of me. “You betrayed me and nearly got me killed. If you didn’t want to be with me, all you had to do was tell me to fuck off. I would’ve listened.”

  Tears glistened in her eyes. “No you wouldn’t. You would’ve tried to work it out. You needed to be gone.”

  Gone? My gaze narrowed. “Why?”

  “Just…stop Kane.”

  Was Keira begging? Perhaps it was all an act but I swore I heard a note of desperation in her tone, beneath all the bravado, hidden behind all the hot, angry words. That subtle tremble in her bottom lip did me in. I claimed her mouth, drank in the sweetness even knowing I was drinking from a poisoned well.

  “I loved you,” I said, the anguished truth slipping from my lips to land between us. “Tell me the truth, Keira…was any of it real? Did you ever love me or was it all a lie?”

  Maybe I was as pathetic as she said but I needed to know.

  A single tear slid down her soft cheek as the fate of my world rested on the answer. I searched her gaze, willing her to be honest, no matter how much the truth might cut. Tell me I’d never been in this alone — that at some point you were right there with me.

  “Yes,” she said, barely above a whisper. “I loved you, Kane.” More tears welled in her eyes as the fire returned to her jade eyes. “Goddamn it, you asshole, I was trying to save your fucking life. Can’t you see that?”

  She held my stare as I fought against the groundswell of emotions — a nauseating mix of anger and relief that I hadn’t been wrong — threatening to knock me on my ass. “What the fuck, Keira?” was all I could manage, still stunned by her truth bomb. I returned to the chair, my mind moving faster than I could process. If she was being real with me that meant…something else went down that night. I looked her straight in the eye, my tone low and brooking no argument, said, “You better tell me what really went down that night. I want the fucking truth. You owe me that.”

  “And if I tell you the truth, will you stop this suicide mission and move on with your life?”

  I’d brought Keira here for answers. I’d say anything to get them.

  “If you’re completely honest with me…it’s possible.”

  But that was a lie.

  More lives than mine rested on taking Rey DeLeon out.

  I wouldn’t stop until one of us was dead.

  Keira

  Kane had always been smart — out of all of us, he could’ve went to college and made something of himself but he’d chosen to stick around the neighborhood because Rey had played on his loyalties.

  We used to dream about getting out of the lifestyle we’d been born into, to make a different life for ourselves and our future kids. We’d fantasized about the little house with the picket fence in a safe neighborhood where the night wasn’t punctuated by the sounds of gunshots and the distant scream of squad cars rolling up on the scene.

  We’d wanted so much more than 13th Street could ever give us.


  I knew at some point Rey was going to send Kane to his death. Rey sent others to do his dirty work and sometimes those people didn’t come back. I lived in fear that someday Rey was going to send Kane out and Kane would end up dead on the streets.

  So we’d hatched a plan to leave, to disappear. New identities, new state, leaving it all behind. We had the cash and the plan.

  Until…”Rey found out,” I said, the dull ache in my chest returning. I hated revisiting that memory. “I don’t know how but he found out we were planning to bail.” I shuddered at the wild rage in Rey’s eyes when he discovered I’d been planning to leave him. I’d seen Rey turn vicious with other people, I’d never been on the receiving end, until that night. “He was going to kill you. Rey said, he couldn’t let that level of betrayal go unpunished or he’d lose the respect of the gang. I begged him to spare your life.”

  Rey had done unspeakable things to me that night. I didn’t dare tell Kane or he’d never leave.

  But Kane sensed I was holding back and pressed. “Did he hurt you?”

  I stiffened against the horrible memory, still unable to believe what my own brother had done to me. I swallowed the lump in my throat. “It doesn’t matter what he did. I would’ve done anything to save your life.”

  “He was going to kill me,” Kane said, remembering that night. “The only reason he didn’t was because I managed to punch him in the nuts and get away.” Kane followed with, “But not before he managed to do this” as he traced the scar running down his face.

  “He was never supposed to cut you. That wasn’t part of our deal,” I said, feeling sick. I purposefully never visited that memory. The pain was too deep, too horrific to deal with — I couldn’t bear to linger too long. “You were supposed to get the hell out of here. Get a fresh start, forget about me.”

  “How could you ever think that I would walk away from you? Forget what we had?”

  “Because your life depended on it,” I snapped, hating that all my sacrifice was for nothing. “Damn it, Kane. You have no idea what hell I’ve been living in for the past five years. My only consolation was that you were safe and Rey promised as long as I didn’t leave him, you’d stay that way. By coming back, you’ve gone and fucked it all up. There’s no way Rey will honor that deal now.”

  “Fuck Rey. I’m going to kill him,” Kane said, his nostrils flaring. He sensed my pain the way an animal sensed danger. Everything about him bristled with raw rage. “What did he do to you?”

  I couldn’t tell him. I shook my head, panic creeping into my voice. “Leave it alone, Kane. It’s in the past and over.”

  “What did he do?” he repeated, his tone low and menacing.

  I closed my eyes, suffocating beneath the horror. “Don’t do this,” I begged him. “Just leave me here, go and find a new life. Forget about me and your stupid death wish, please.”

  Suddenly, I was in Kane’s arms and he was rocking me like a baby. I didn’t realize the racking sobs echoing in the room were coming from me until I tried to catch my breath, my heart fluttering like a mad bird caught in a trap. “Baby,” he crooned against my crown. “I’m here. Let it out. That’s it, let it all out.”

  A tidal wave crashed over me as ugly sobs escaped my body. All the pent-up rage, terror and grief that I’d tried covering with a mind-numbing blanket of denial came rushing back and all I could do was cling to Kane as I purged the sickness inside me.

  Rey was evil. I’d been living in survival mode since that night, pretending to be strong when I wanted to run and hide. Everything I’d done, I’d done to keep Kane safe but now it seemed my sacrifice was for nothing. I pulled away, pain and anguish creating accusation in my voice. “You’re a fucking idiot. Why’d you come back? You got out but now…it’s over for both of us.”

  “I’m not going to let him hurt you ever again,” Kane vowed.

  “I know you think you can beat him but you can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I can’t watch you die — not after everything I’ve done to protect you.”

  “I never asked you to protect me,” he said, his nostrils flaring. “It’s my job to protect you.”

  “That’s sweet but you’re not vicious like Rey. He doesn’t play fair. He has no code of honor.” I caressed his cheek, admitting, “It’s one of the things I loved most about you — your integrity. You made me realize that Rey had nothing in common with the qualities of a good man.” A tear drop rolled down my cheek. “Which is why you needed to get away from me.”

  But Kane wasn’t going to let me push him away again. “I’ve spent the last five years envisioning how I was going to punish you and Rey but I always had this sense that you still loved me. I could feel it inside me,” he tapped his chest “a truth that wouldn’t remain silent even when I desperately wanted to cover my ears and ignore what I knew deep inside.”

  “Yes, I loved you,” I said “but loving you was going to get you killed.”

  “No, our love made us stronger,” he disagreed, shaking his head. “Love is something Rey will never understand or have.”

  “Which is exactly why he was determined to rip it from me,” I said. “His jealousy made him crazy.” I shuddered at the memory, prickles of remembered horror dancing on my skin. “It was like he was another person…separate from the boy I used to know and love. He…” Tears burned in my eyes. If I let out my secret, it would become real and I might collapse. “I can’t talk about it, Kane. I just can’t.”

  But Kane seemed to hear what I wasn’t saying and fresh rage percolated in those beautiful eyes. He didn’t pepper me with questions like, ‘Did you go to the police?’ or ‘Did you tell someone?’ because he knew it would’ve been my own death sentence. Rey owned the local cops. If I’d dared to go to the cops, Rey’s retribution would’ve been immediate.

  I did the only thing I could — survive.

  And now, as soon as Rey found us, my nightmare would start all over.

  Kane

  All this time I’d been nursing my hatred for Rey DeLeon based on what he’d done to my face. None of that mattered now. I’d suffer a multitude of scars if it meant taking away the pain I saw and felt from Keira.

  Her own fucking brother.

  Half-brother but still, her only family.

  I knew the situation was complicated. Life for people like us was always filled with hard choices.

  Rey DeLeon had risen from the slums to create an empire built from the blood and bones of our people. The 13th Street Boys had become a menace worse than a corrupt government with no fail-safes. He was nearly untouchable.

  Street justice was the only thing that could take Rey down.

  Now I had even more fuel to power my rage and conviction. I’d been naive to think Keira could leave with me all those years ago. She’s right — Rey would’ve hunted us down.

  She’d done the one thing she could to protect the person she loved the most and I’d been too blinded by the betrayal to see past the pain.

  I wouldn’t let her bear the burden of my safety — not again.

  “You’re right, I can’t do this on my own,” I said, gently wiping away the tears “but together we can take down Rey.”

  “I can’t,” she said, her lip trembling. “He’s even more powerful than he was before.”

  “No one is invincible. You’re his weakness. We’ll use that against him just as he used me against you.”

  She began to shake, her eyes watering. “I won’t watch you die.”

  “And I won’t walk away knowing the hell you’re living in.”

  “We could go back to our original plan,” Keira said with desperate hope. “I was stupid before but we could change our names, get different identities and he’d never find us.”

  “You know that’s not true. The only way to be free of his shadow is to end this, once and for all.”

  Keira dropped her chin, her voice thick with dread. “I know how this ends — we both die.”

  I gripped her chin gently to force her gaze. “L
isten to me and listen carefully: I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?” Keira wanted to, I could see the struggle but our success would come down to her answer to that simple question. I asked again. “Do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  I gathered her in my arms. “Then, everything is going to work out. Together we’re stronger than Rey ever could be.”

  Her shaking body hurt my soul. I wanted to crush Rey with my bare hands for what he’d done to Keira but I cursed myself for being too thick to realize that Keira never would’ve betrayed me willingly. My stomach clenched with nausea when I thought of what she’d had to suffer because of me and I wanted vengeance.

  My lips found hers. She opened eagerly, clinging to me as we fell back onto the bed. My hands roamed her body, relearning every curve as her hand curled around my hard cock. Her clothes were off again in an instant, fingers fumbling with buttons and tiny scraps of lace as we desperately sought each other’s heat yet again.

  My hunger for Keira would never end. I entered her with a groan. I lost myself for a heartbeat. I thrust against her, sinking as deep as I could go, melding our bodies into one. “Keira,” I moaned, holding her tight. “I love you, woman.”

  “I love you, too,” she returned, arching her back on a gasp. Good God, that little sound drove me to insane levels of need and want. She was the embodiment of everything I’d ever wanted in a woman and I couldn’t get enough of every sight, smell and taste of Keira in my arms.