Hael takes over my body, caressing my thighs and then grabbing my ass, encouraging me to ride his dick hard and fast, the metal skull charms on my heels jangling as I work my wet pussy up and down his shaft. His moans are throaty and low, rough and unpracticed. He isn’t performing for me or trying to show me a good time; this is Hael Harbin raw and real.

He takes one of my tits in his mouth, sucking on the soft flesh and swirling his hot tongue around my nipple as I dig my fingers into his hair. When I let myself slide fully down on his dick, I can feel the piercing in the tip teasing my most intimate parts.

To hide the sound of my moans, I yank his head back with a grip on his hair and then press my lips against his neck, biting and sucking like a goddamn vampire. His skin is mottled with the fervor of my kisses, his body soaked with my juices.

“Motherfucker,” he grinds out as I bounce on him in those gawdy ass heels, bringing him to a shuddering climax. His fingers dig into my ass so hard that I cry out, rolling my hips forward a few more times until he’s emptied himself fully into me.

We’re both panting, the garage silent but for the pinging of the moths against the light.

“Your turn,” Hael growls, lifting me off of him and setting me on the floor. As soon as he climbs off the hood of the Eldorado, he picks me up and sets me back down on it. Shoving my knees apart, he proceeds to clean up the mess he just made with the inferno of a sinful tongue.

Wrapping my long legs around his neck, I drag him close, yanking on his hair harder than I probably should. When I finally come, my body writhing and spasming under Hael’s sinful mouth, he scoops me up into his arms and carries me back to his bedroom.

“How many girls have you brought home?” I ask when he lays me down on his bed and braces himself above me, lifting a single finger to trace the angry pink gash down my side. I got my stitches out the day before school started, but the damn thing still hurts like a bitch. Fitting, considering it was given to me by one.

“Here?” Hael asks, seemingly surprised by the question. “None. You think I’d risk a Cajun mama’s wrath for a quick fuck? No, Bernie, you’re the only girl that’s ever been in my bed.” He kisses me so deeply and so sincerely that I know for a fact that he’s telling the truth. “I love you, Blackbird,” he breathes, surprising the fuck out of me.

That I did not expect, not from Hael, not so soon.

But then, we’ve been craving one another’s company for a decade now.

Two, frightened little kids on a stormy night in a shelter full of lost souls.

Hael adjusts himself so that he’s spooning me, and for several minutes there, the room is silent but for the distant patter of rain outside the window.

“I love you, too, Hael,” I reply finally, surprising him yet again. I can’t see his face, now that he’s curled around me in a protective, possessive sort of way. But I can feel him, the way he tenses up for a moment and then relaxes like every care in the world has just gone out the window.

“Thank fuck for that,” is his response as he nuzzles into my neck and breathes hot against my skin. “Thank fuck.”

Later that night, I wake up to see Hael standing at the window. He’s naked now, his bare ass a treat to look at, even if it’s almost too dark to see. I sit up a little in bed, the blankets tumbling forward so that my breasts are exposed to the cool air. The Harbins definitely keep the thermostat lower than we do at Aaron’s.

“Are you okay?” I ask, but Hael doesn’t move. For a minute there, I wonder if he’s even heard me. Finally, he glances over his shoulder, his face dark and broken into jagged pieces.

“He’s home.”

That’s all he has to say. I know what he means: his father is here.

“Should we be worried?” I ask, and Hael gives the slightest shake of his head.

“Worst case scenario is I kill him in cold-blood and end up in prison …” Hael trails off as I push the blankets aside and move over to stand behind him, wrapping my arms around his body and enjoying the hot feel of him. “He’s changed me in so many ways, Bernie,” he continues, reaching down to put a hand over my laced fingers. “That man … he made me violent. But he also made me too soft in some ways. I can’t stand seeing a woman hurt—even someone like Kali. Like Brittany.” He sighs again and swipes a hand over his face. “I want to hurt my father so bad that I dream about it every night, yet I know that if he dies, the first person the police will look at is me. I can’t bring more attention to Havoc, you know? And if I did get caught, I’d be separated from you. That’d be the worst part for me. The absolute fucking worst.”

“I like that you’re soft toward women,” I tell him, and then I hear myself echo the words I’ve heard from both Aaron and Callum. “It isn’t a bad thing to not want to hurt someone.” My eyes close on the thought, knowing that if I can’t take that advice, Hael likely won’t either.

“I feel bad for Brittany, even though I shouldn’t,” he continues, and I know that even if it seems like his father and his ex are two separate issues, really they’re one in the same. “But she broke our deal. She has to be dealt with. I just don’t think I can do it, hurt a pregnant woman that I used to fuck.”

“You won’t have to,” I promise, watching as his father climbs out of his car and heads for the porch in the pouring rain. We both pause at the sound of a pounding fist on the front door. There are too many locks; the fucker can’t get in without being let in.

There are footsteps in the hall, the sound of deadbolts and chains being opened. Minutes later, we can both hear the sound of a headboard banging against a wall.

“Jesus,” Hael murmurs as we both stiffen up at the sound. I think of Penelope; Hael is worried about his mom.

“Come back to bed,” I murmur, letting go of Hael’s waist and taking his hand instead. I curl up with his head on my chest and stroke his hair with gentle fingers, soothing away both our nightmares at the same time. After the banging stops, Hael falls asleep and I follow shortly after, holding him and breathing in the sweet smell of coconuts and broken boys with cheerful smiles.

Two and a half years earlier …

“Mom, please!” Penelope is screaming, holding the deadbolt in her hand. It’s still wrapped up in plastic, some hard-shell shit that takes a knife to open up. She cut herself doing it, and now there’s blood all over the carpet.

“You’re not putting a hole in that door,” Pam snaps back, snatching the package away from Penelope and holding it aloft. “This place is a rental, Pen.” Our mother tucks the item under her arm as tears stream down Penelope’s face. She looks over at me with this expression I’ll never forget.

Why aren’t you standing up for me? That’s what she’s asking. She needs an ally. I’ve never been all that great at being a sister before but lately … things seem different with Pen. Every time I look at her, I swear, she seems just a little bit smaller than she was the day before.

“Why not just let her have the lock? Have you seen the holes that Neil’s punched into the walls? And neither of you are going to drywall that shit when we move out. You’re not getting your security deposit back either way.”