Episode 1
ARIA
“Get the f**k out of my house you f*****g slut!” Damon's shout echoed so hard that I stumbled backward, my shoulder knocking against the wall.
For a second, I could only stare at him shaking.
He was standing several feet away, breathing heavily, his fists clenched at his sides as he stared at me with an expression that made my stomach twist.
“You’ve been doing this for months, Aria.” He took a step toward me. “Why do you like getting on my f*****g nerves so f*****g bad?”
I swallowed.
“After everything I had done for you.” He stepped back a bit, placing his head over his head like he was trying to get a grip over his emotions. “Do you even know what that makes you?”
“Ungrateful!”
Another step.
“I gave you everything. I paid your bills. I kept you safe. I changed my entire life for you.” His jaw tightened. “And this is how you repay me?”
Tears blurred my vision as I shook my head.
“Damon, please. I never said I wanted to leave you, I just said I needed tonight to myself.”
Lie! I needed to leave before he killed me!
His jaw tightened. “Don’t lie to me. I know what you’re doing. You want to break up with me?!”
He was right.
I wiped my cheeks with trembling fingers. “I’m not doing anything, Damon, I just need a break.”
How had he even found out about it?
I had packed up the little I could knowing he had a night shift this night and was supposed to be gone… but he came back without warning and I had to lie if it only was for a night.
But clearly he didn’t believe it.
He laughed bitterly. “You think I don’t see the way people look at you? You think I don’t know why you suddenly want to go out alone?”
I backed away when he came closer. “I haven't done anything wrong.”
Fuck, I hated the way I still couldn't stand up to him after three years of whatever this was.
Could I even call this a relationship? Hell… I didn't feel safe in his presence anymore, I was a prisoner in a house we had called home years ago.
His expression darkened and for a second I feared he was going to lay hands on me, “You want a night out right? now get the f**k out of the house, Aria.”
“For your own good because I don’t want to hit you! Nor do I want to see your face right now. And if I ever find out you've gone to another man, Aria, you’ll regret it.”
He came closer to bark in my eyes, “You are not leaving me. You will never leave me. Get out and you better be back in the morning!”
This was what he always did.
Whenever I annoyed him, he would throw me out for the night, leaving me to find any place I wanted to stay for the night.
And I had to be back in the morning. Every single time. Because I knew he would find me and hurt me if I didn't.
“Damon, please. It’s raining heavily, I just need my purse!” My voice broke as I followed him toward the door, but he didn't even look back. I grabbed his sleeve, desperate enough to humiliate myself if it meant keeping a roof over my head for the night.
He ripped his arm from my grasp. “Don’t touch me.”
I froze as he opened the front door and pointed outside.
The rain pouring outside was heavy.
I stared at him in disbelief, my chest rising and falling too quickly. “You can't seriously be doing this to me. It's almost midnight! Please, Damon. I swear I won't bother you. I’ll sleep on the couch. I won’t bother you. I promise.”
He didn't answer. Instead, he picked up my handbag from beside the couch and threw it onto the porch.
Without saying a word, he slammed the door in my face.
For several seconds, I couldn't move.
I stood beneath the porch light with tears mixing with the rain running down my face, staring at the closed door as though it might open if I waited long enough.
Fucking bastard!
Eventually, I bent down, picked up my bag, and walked away.
Where could I even go by this time of the night?
I thought about walking down to Emily, but what would I tell her? That Damon had locked me out again? No.
This plan was just so f*****g messed off but now I couldn’t even think!
The rain became heavier as I left the apartment complex behind, soaking through my sweater and making my shoes squelch with every step.
I hugged my arms around myself, trying to stop them from shaking, while every passing vehicle made me glance over my shoulder.
Damon had frightened me enough times that even after I was away from him, I couldn't convince myself I was actually safe.
I hated that I had become this afraid because even when he wasn’t there, I could still feel him.
His voice hitting me to shut me up from crying… his threats ringing over and over again in my ears and his constant reminder that he could find me anywhere.
I quickened my pace.
I just needed somewhere to stay tonight and then tomorrow morning, I would figure everything else out.
Then I saw lights ahead.
I slowed.
A large building stood on the opposite side of the street.
A huge black sign hung above the entrance, illuminated by two harsh neon lights.
I couldn’t make out the words from where I stood but the dozens of motorcycles lined outside were pretty impossible to miss.
I stopped beneath the edge of an awning.
My heart began beating faster.
I looked at the building again and then behind to the dark street I had just walked on… this was the only one play, a motorcycle club.
Great!
Exactly the kind of place a woman alone at midnight should probably avoid but thunder rolled overhead, and another wave of rain came crashing down reminding me that beggars aren’t really choosers.
Taking a shaky breath, I stepped toward the door.
Conversations faltered as I stepped inside, trembling and dripping water onto the concrete floor.
I immediately regretted coming in. Everyone stopped to look at me, their expressions filled with suspicion. I looked so out of place.
Just as I was about to reconsider my actions, a voice came from the far end of the room.
“You’re either incredibly lost or you’ve got nowhere else to go because this is no place for a princess.”
Princess? I was no princess.
I looked toward the voice to see three men sitting at the largest table in the room.
Brothers— I knew it instantly.
They had the same sharp resemblance, but everything else about them was different.
The man in the middle had dark, messy hair and a hard expression that made him look like he had very little patience while the brother on his right was buffed up, covered in tattoos, his arms resting casually against the table as he studied me. The third was quieter, leaning back in his chair with his eyes fixed on me in a way that made me suddenly conscious of the fact that I looked absolutely miserable.
I swallowed, suddenly squirming under the intensity of their gaze. “I’m sorry. I just need somewhere to stay until the rain stops.”
The tattooed brother looked toward the door I’d come through. “That’s not what I asked.”
My mouth opened, but I couldn’t form the words.
The man slowly stood to his feet, stalking towards me with slow measured steps, before he stopped right in front of me, his frame towering over mine. “Are you lost, princess?” His voice dropped to a hoarse whisper.
The other members in the bar averted their gaze, as though noting that it was not their business.
This man was powerful, I could tell instantly not only from the way the other people shook but his size.
I looked behind him at his brothers who were lounging back, their gazes pinned on me. Then I looked up at him, trying not to show my fear. “I…”
His lips curled into a smirk and he raised a hand, fingers stroking my cheek and leaving a wake of goosebumps in its wake.
What the hell was wrong with me?
The simple touch burned hotter than it should have… and I hoped he didn’t see my n*****s that had tightened against the wet fabric of my dress.
He leaned down to my height, his dark green eyes filled with mischief as his breath tickled my skin.
“You look stressed, love. You’ve come to the right place if you’re looking to unwind. Perhaps we could…help you?”
My breath hitched and I shuddered, this time not from the cold.
But merely from the way his gaze seemed to undress me slowly… lingering on the way the soaked material clung to my breasts, the hard points of my n*****s clearly visible, the way my thighs pressed together under the thin skirt.
I wasn’t sure what led me to making that stupid decision… maybe it was because I needed an escape from Damon for one day and forgot.
All I knew was that these men looked like they promised a good time and my body was already answering yes before my mind could catch up.
I licked my lips, still tasting rain, and forced the words out before I could lose my nerve. “Buy me a drink first?”
The tattooed brother’s mouth curved.
Without looking away from me he lifted two fingers and a prospect appeared almost instantly with three fingers of whiskey in a short glass.
The man in front of me took it, pressed it into my hand, and watched while I brought it to my lips.
I tilted the glass and gulped the burn straight down until it was empty, the heat blooming in my chest and racing lower.
When I lowered the last glass. his eyes had gone darker.
Then I gave a shaky nod, his hand wrapped around my waist, his presence overwhelming as he steered me towards the hallway.
The heat of his palm seared through the wet fabric, fingers splaying possessively over my hip as if he already owned me.
Oh f**k, where was he taking me?
From the corner of my eye, I could see the other two brothers downing their drinks and getting to their feet, following us.
What the f**k was I doing?
Then I remembered the look in Damon’s eyes… the way they went black right before he lashed out and beat me so I pushed forward.
Their eyes never left my body and burned with so much hunger that I was already imagining what they were about to do to me.
Finally, we got to a private room and my head was already spinning as the three brothers walked in with slow, careful steps.
The door shut with a soft click… the room was dim, and only now did the reality of what I agreed to hit me.
They crowded me, their faces highlighted by the dim lights in the room. One of them traced a finger down my shoulder, toying with the thin strap of my dress. “What's your name, princess?”
A shudder rolled through me, and I found myself easing into the touch of one of the men behind me, nestling my ass to his warm body. “A… Aria.”
Damon would never find me here. And I deserved a break too.
His face dropped, mouth skimming over my collarbone just as his brother behind me chuckled, his large hands gripping my ass tight.
“You're shivering, Aria.” The brother rolled my name on his tongue with a sultry lilt, the sound sending wetness pooling between my thighs. “Let us warm you up.”