Hard Core

  The thought makes me lightheaded as the blood rushes to my cock, and my hand tightens dangerously on the windowsill.

  No.

  As hard as it gets me, I know that's not me. War might've fucked me up hard , but it didn't break that part of me. It didn't shatter me into the kind of man who'd do that to an innocent angel like her.

  And right then, I know I was wrong. This isn't a crossroads at all, because there's literally one option here: to go inside, get her the fuck out of this place, and save her from this hell — come what may, and consequences be damned. Like I said before, I've made plenty of bad decisions in my life, and I'm prepared to pay for at least one of them by way of Nico killing me if it means saving her.

  I push the window open, and slip inside.

  The room is dark, and I was right — she's got the bathroom light on, with the door three-quarters-closed. It sends a line of light across the floor and the bed, and across the girl who's burrowed right into my head and won't get out. She's breathing quietly, like she's sleeping, with just a sheet covering her.

  I move fast, closing the distance between us in a few steps and quickly putting a hand over her mouth. Rose bolts up, her eyes wide , but I quickly, hold her tight.

  "Don't scream, angel, it's me," I growl into her ear.

  She shivers, her eyes taking me in as she slowly nods. I drop my hand.

  "What are you—" She shakes her head. "How did you get in here?" Her eyes dart to the open window behind me, which seems to answer her own question.

  "You…you came to find me?"

  "Of course I did," I say quietly. My hand drops to hers, and when her small fingers curl with mine, I feel a spark of heat blaze through me.

  "I'm getting you out of here," I say tightly. "Now."

  I stand, and tug her arm, but when she tugs back, I frown.

  "Rose, the sooner we can hit the road, the better our chances of—"

  "I'm not leaving."

  I blink, staring at her.

  "Excuse me?"

  She swallows, her cheeks flushing as she takes her hand back and balls it with her other one in her lap. She stares at her twisting fingers, biting her lip before she looks back up at me.

  "I'm not going, Dylan. I can’t."

  "The hell you can't," I hiss. "Angel, if you stay, he's going to—"

  "I know."

  Her voice is small and fragile, and before I can stop myself, I'm moving into her and pulling her close. She melts against me, her body hitching like she's trying to stop herself from crying.

  "I can get you away from all this," I say, my voice heavy and edged. "I can get you far away from these assholes."

  "It's not…" She trails off, pulling away as her shoulders sag. "I really can't leave," she pleads quietly. "And I know what staying means. I know what's going to happen to me—" Her voice hitches as she blinks back tears, and something breaks inside of me.

  "I know what will happen to me if I stay, but I can't go." She looks up at me, her lip catching between her teeth. "I— I mean, if I have to do this, I'd rather it be with…" She blushes, looking away. "If you have to leave, I understand," she says quietly.

  "Rose, we are not doing this," I hiss. "You're not doing this."

  "Yes, I am."

  "The hell you are," I growl fiercely, my jaw clenching tight. "I'm not doing that to you on camera like that. I'm not going…" I squeeze my eyes shut. "I'm not going let them see you like that, and I'm not going to—"

  "I have to , Dylan," she says quietly.

  "Angel—"

  "They have my sister ."

  The words hit me like a slap, and I blink in shock, pulling back to see the look of sadness on her face.

  "I have to do this, on camera, and it has to be good they said, or they'll— they'll hurt—"

  I catch her as her words break, pulling her into me and holding her tight.

  "That's not going to happen."

  "Yeah?" she chokes out bitterly, wiping the corners of her eyes before she looks up at me with those soft, innocent, pleading blue eyes. And she's got me. Whatever she's about to say, I know she's got me, because after that look, I'm hooked.

  "Well for them not to hurt Keeley, Dylan, then you have to help me. And if you really want to help me?" She blinks away the tears and her look hardens to something fierce and wild as she looks right into my eyes.

  "If you want to help me, you have to fuck me."

  Shit .

  6

  Rose

  D ylan looks away , and I can see the muscles of his jaw tensing in the low light from the bathroom.

  Is he mad ? I can't tell. There's a part of me that wants to grin like a big idiot at the fact he's come in here with every intention of rescuing me and taking me away from all of this. I mean, your tattooed, gorgeous porn-movie co-star isn't exactly who you'd imagine being your knight in shining white armor. And yet, here he is.

  It kills me that I can't say yes. It breaks something inside of me knowing I can't run off with him and leave this whole nightmare behind. But I know if I leave, they'll go after Keeley, and I could never live with myself if that happened. And if I run and they get her, I know they'll make it hurt. I barely know him, but even still, I can see the cruelty in a man like Nico Moretti, and I know he'd punish her for me leaving.

  So I'll stay. I'll stay and I'll do this awful thing, because it'll save her. But it being him that'll be doing this with me gives me something to hold onto. If it was some random cruel mafia thug, or, God , Nico himself, I'm not sure I could bare it. But it's not. It's Dylan — a man I also barely know, but a man I can see the good inside of. Not to mention, the man that sets something on fire inside of me.

  …I mean, if I'm going to be having sex for the first time anyways, I suppose it might as well be with the insanely gorgeous, wickedly attractive man with the panty-melting grin and the eyes I just want to get lost in.

  Right?

  "Look, I've never…" I swallow, taking a breath and putting my hand on his. "I have no idea about any of this, okay? I'm not going to know what I'm doing, and—"

  "It's the oldest human instinct in the world," he growls lowly. "It'll come to you."

  He doesn't want to do this, which is why he's fighting me on this. But, the way the fierceness blazes up in his eyes, I feel like he doesn't want to do this more for me than for anything to do with himself.

  "Yeah, but I can't be bad at it."

  Dylan sighs heavily, and I can feel something sinking inside of me when his hand suddenly slips back to mine on the sheets, his fingers twisting with mine.

  "Angel—"

  "Will you show me?" I say quietly.

  His eyes snap to mine. God they’re gorgeous — something so good in a place and situation so bad.

  "What?" he hisses.

  "Show me," I whisper back, my cheeks flushed. I almost can't believe I'm saying it, but I know it's got to be him.

  "Look, it's not like every girl dreams of her first time being forced on camera, to be filmed and sold for porn, but—"

  "No , angel," he growls tightly. "I won't do it."

  "You said you'd help me."

  His eyes pierce through the darkness into me, making me shiver at the intensity. I suddenly realize that this is another first — I mean, it's not like I've ever been alone with a guy in a hotel room before. The thought, as silly as it is, makes my cheeks blush.

  "Not like that I won't," Dylan hisses back, his eyes burning into me.

  "Yeah?" I spit back. "Then how ?"

  He
shakes his head, his hand tightening on mine in the darkness.

  "I can get you out of here."

  "And then what? Run while they hurt my sister? Dylan, they took me because…" I look away and bite my lip. "You know . And she might not be what they want in me, but they'll still use her if I run. Nico told me he would, and that it'd be her on camera."

  Dylan swears under his breath. "Fucking animals."

  "Help me ," I whisper fiercely, gripping his big hand with both of mine pleadingly. "Please ."

  The room goes quiet, and I'm not sure I'm ever going to get an answer when suddenly, he shifts his weight on the bed, like he's decided to stay.

  The grin that comes to my lips is a small comfort.

  "What parts are you…" He clears his throat. "What parts aren't you clear about, besides the main course I mean."

  I blush. "Uh, all of it?"

  "No, I mean, what have you done at least once before?"

  I swallow, looking down and making a face.

  "Um, nothing."

  "Nothing?" He sounds more surprised than angry. Actually, he doesn't sound angry at all, which makes me smile.

  "No, nothing."

  "At all?"

  I shake my head, and he whistles lowly.

  "Jesus, Angel, how—" He swallows hard, and I can feel his hand start to pull away from mine.

  "How old are you?"

  "Nineteen."

  I grin quietly as I feel his hand stay on mine.

  "And you've never done anything with a guy before?"

  "No , okay?" I mutter.

  He chuckles quietly. "Just seeing where we stand. How about kissing?"

  I shrug. "Kinda, I guess."

  "Then we'll start there."

  I grin in the darkness. "Is this you saying you'll help me?"

  "Let’s take it slow and see where we get."

  I grin wider, my hands tightening on his. "Thank you ."

  He only nods, and from the low light from the bathroom, I can see his eyes locked right on me with something between fierceness and hunger in that gaze. It makes me tremble slightly.

  He moves closer to me on the bed, his weight shifting the mattress and making my pulse spike through me. I can feel the heat of his breath, the feel of him so close to me, and I take a deep, shaky breath. He moves even closer, and when his hand slides up my arm, I shiver. His fingers push through my hair, brushing it from my face as he moves a mere few inches away from me. The hand cups my jaw, and when I feel the power and possessiveness of that touch, something ignites inside of me.

  "Slow ," he says quietly.

  "Slow," I whisper, nodding.

  "Kiss me."

  I shiver at the way he growls it. Fuck that's hot. There's an edge to his voice I haven't heard yet — something demanding and animalistic that sparks something in me.

  "Kiss . Me ," he growls again when I still haven't moved.

  I take a shaky breath, and I lean forward. I press my lips to his, and for a moment, the whole world goes still around me, before I slowly pull back, my whole body reeling.

  "Not like that,” Dylan growls, his gaze so fierce as his eyes blaze into mine. His hand still cups my jaw, and I tremble as I feel his thumb trace lightly across my cheek. "Kiss me for real ."

  "I—"

  "Don't kiss me like a little girl, kiss me like a woman ."

  This time, it's him that pulls me in, crushing his lips to mine. And this time, it's not a peck.

  …Not even close .

  The room melts around me as I sink into his lips and the single hottest, wildest kiss of my entire life. His lips sear to mine, and when he growls into me, it sends a teasing shiver through my entire body. And before I know it, I'm moving into him — clutching him harder and feeling his big, hard, muscled body press against me. His tongue teases my lips, and I open them for him, letting him inside. He finds mine, and they tease together, his masculine growls sending tremors through me as I moan into his mouth.

  I'm falling — literally falling backwards onto the bed as he moves on top of me. My blood runs hot through my veins, and my skin feels like it's on fire as he eases over me. I'm panting for air, kissing him as hard as I can and moaning into his lips as our tongues swirl together.

  And just like that, the fear melts away. For just a frozen moment while we kiss, all the horribleness of everything around me fades away, until I'm just lost in the moment with him. His body grinds into mine, pushing me into the mattress and making my pulse hammer through my veins. My legs slip apart, the sleep shorts I'm wearing pressing tight between my legs and making my head swim as he moves between my thighs.

  And I can feel him.

  Him.

  I might not have a ton — or any, really — experience, but I do know what I'm feeling that's so hard and throbbing hot between his legs.

  And I know that it's huge .

  I moan into him, arching my back and pulling him into me as the heat of it all washes over me. I forget about the whole situation that's brought us here, and about the camera, and Nico, and all of it. Because right here, it's just him and me, and the world's hottest kiss.

  But suddenly, he's pulling back — pulling away from me and groaning as his face tightens.

  "Fuck ," he groans, taking a deep breath and shaking his head as he sits back from me.

  "What?" My face falls. "Did I do something wr—"

  "God no ," he growls, and as his hand cups my face and as his body moves back to mine, I think he's about to kiss me all over again, when he stops himself short.

  Dylan takes a deep, steady breath.

  "I didn't listen to my own words," he growls.

  I bite my lip between my teeth. "About going slow?"

  "Yes."

  "You can go faster," I whisper, the teasing heat from the kiss still burning through me.

  Dylan shakes his head. "No, I can't."

  "Why not?"

  "Because I won’t be able to slow down until I've taken everything ," he hisses fiercely.

  "Oh ."

  His eyes flash blue fire in the semi-darkness of the room. That look sends a tremor through me as we both freeze, breathing heavily in the stillness.

  He looks away. "I should go."

  A part of me crumbles. A big, big part of me never wants him to go. And I know it's silly, and so fucked up given our circumstances, but he's the one thing in this place I feel I can hang on to that's good .

  "Wait." My hand grabs his, holding on tight like I'm afraid if I let go he'll never come back.

  "What about—"

  "Nico said we don't shoot for a couple of days," he says quietly. "I'll—"

  He takes a deep breath, and before I know it, he’s leaning in, pulling me close, and crushing his lips to mine all over again. He pulls back, leaving me breathless and spinning.

  "I'll be back, angel," he growls. "I'll always be back for you."

  7

  Rose

  I 'm reading the second Harry Potter book when I hear the knock on the door to the room. I've read the book before, twice, but it's the only book in here, and the only thing I can possibly fill the time with. The knock comes again, and I wrinkle my brow as I clear my throat.

  "Uh, come in?"

  The knock is weird, because it's odd that anyone who knows I'm here would be asking permission to enter what is really a cell for me.

  The door opens, and when the big, brooding, muscular man with the gorgeous dark eyes steps in, I swallow thickly and back away. He's insanely good looking, but there's this air of
danger and roughness to him that has my warning bells going off inside my head. I drop the book and back away to the far side of the room, my back against the window as his huge frame steps into the room.

  He looks at me, those eyes piercing right through me, and for a second, I see a flash of anger cross his face, before it fades. He glances around the room and nods before he pokes his head back out.

  "All set, ma'am."

  "Thank you," a softly feminine and strongly confident voice answers from the hallway. The big guy looks at me once again, giving a curt nod before he moves out of the room, and she steps in.

  "It's Rose, right?"

  She's got fiery red hair that frames her absolutely perfectly gorgeous face. The curls and tangles fall around her sharp, intense green eyes and tumble across her shoulders, and her perfect, full lips pull back in a very kind, very genuine smile.

  I nod quickly. "Yes," I say quietly.

  The woman, who's probably only a few years older than me, smiles again before she glances out the door, nods, and steps inside my room. She closes the door behind her.

  "How are you doing, hon?" Her face falls, her eyes full of concern and sadness as she steps towards me.

  I'm not sure how to answer, mostly because I'm not sure who she is. After all, she did just waltz right into my locked and guarded room. But she must sense my hesitation because she smiles warmly at me again.

  "Okay, I'll start with what you don't want to hear." She holds her hand out, a big sparkling diamond glittering in a huge, gaudy ring.

  "Quinn Moretti."

  I tense up. Moretti. Yeah, that's how she waltzed right in. That's why the man who I assume now is her personal bodyguard checked my room first.