Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
I knew I shouldn’t be thinking about her like this. She was off limits. But the more I tried to push her out of my mind, the more my thoughts kept returning to her.
It wasn’t until I heard Merrick clear his throat that I realized I had zoned out completely. Embarrassed, I tried to focus back on the conversation at hand.
“The Hunt begins in three days. Is everything on track for that?” Soren asked.
“Everything’s running smoothly like normal,” Merrick said. “Numbers of participating women are up this season, which is a good thing. Once we sent out the memo to all the men that the baskets they leave the next morning were getting a little weak, their egos stepped in, and now it’s a competition of who can outbuy who. Talk on Heathens Hollow is spreading and it’s in our favor.”
We oversaw the long-standing tradition of The Hunt. And though it ran like a well-oiled machine, the four of us always met and made sure we weren’t dropping the ball. And although we didn’t create the event, we had taken it on and become the organizers to make sure the sinful legacy lived on. Seemed only fitting that The Vault spearheaded the events.
But as the meeting dragged on, my frustration only grew. Like every night at The Vault, a sex party was in full swing around me, with half-clothed revelers exploring their desires and pushing their limits. Everywhere I looked, people were engaged in intimate acts, both gentle and brutal.
The scent of perfume and sweat filled the air. Laughter and moans of pleasure mixed with the sound of orders given and received. There were tears and cries, too, as some of the participants pushed themselves beyond their comfort zones. It was a wild and chaotic scene, yet there was an underlying current of respect and understanding.
I took another sip of my drink and then spotted a woman that looked like Storee—brown hair, haunted eyes, and fucking stunning. She was on her knees, servicing a group of men, taking turns licking their hard cocks.
I felt my blood boil, and I had half a mind to storm over there and drag her out of the club by her hair wrapped in my fist.
She’s not Storee.
That woman is not her.
Good thing or those men would be dead. I’d cut their fingers off one by one, and then their dicks right before I’d gut them. How dare they look at her that way, how—
She’s not Storee…
I downed the rest of my whiskey, trying to numb the feeling of desire mixed with rage that coursed through me.
“You good, man?” Braken asked. “You’ve been off all night.”
I shrugged. “Long day.”
But it wasn’t just a long day that was bothering me. It was the fact that Storee was out there alone, exposed and unprotected from all sorts of dangerous predators that lurked in the shadows.
No one was watching her.
No one was keeping her safe.
I couldn’t stand the thought of something happening to her. I also hated that she felt the need to work odd jobs just to make a buck, when I could fix every worry she had.
If she’d just let me.
But I also couldn’t trust myself around her. Every time I saw her, my control slipped a little more. I knew I couldn’t let my feelings for her get in the way of my duty to protect her, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.
Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I stood up abruptly, causing the other men to pause in their conversation.
“I’m calling it a night,” I said, my voice gruff. “I have lunch with Storee tomorrow, and—”
Merrick smirked. “We get it. See ya.”
Without waiting for a response from the others, I marched out of the sex-infused room and made my way down the hallway to the back exit. As I pushed open the door, the cool night air hit me like a slap in the face. It did little to ease the fire that had been burning inside me all night.
Leaning against the brick wall of the building, I tried to calm myself down.
I needed to see her.
Needed to make sure she got home safe.
I needed to watch her from afar.
She didn’t need to know. Just like I did every night.
I needed to watch.
From the shadows, I needed to keep her safe.
Chapter 4
Storee
The moon hung low in the Pacific Northwest sky, casting an eerie glow over Heathens Hollow. The island had always been unsettling, but now it felt as if the air itself was charged with a restless energy that whispered secrets to those who dared to listen. Shadows danced across the cobblestone paths and the damp, salty breeze carried the faint scent of decay.
The moonlight made me feel as if someone was always watching me. Lurking. I never felt alone when the moon rose.
As I walked through the streets, my mind buzzed from my conversation with Locke. Which often happened with that man. I knew he was angry to see me working the event, and he’d be even angrier if he knew I was still working the docks, but it’s not like there were a lot of employment opportunities in Heathens Hollow. And unless I wanted to move to Seattle, as many islanders felt they had no choice but to do, my blue-collar fate was sealed.