The Initiation (Darkness Within Duet 1)

“Cock in pussy,” Buck said.

Axel threw the ball he held, and it hit Buck’s head.

“Dude, enough already. She’s asking the questions. I’m simply answering them. We’ve got to talk about it eventually, and you know, no one is. We’ve been letting Draven handle everything, which we’re all cool with.”

Draven gripped her thighs, and she stared down into his eyes.

“What do you want to know?”

“Do you expect it to be one after the other? Are you all going to be there? Is it going to involve something more than I can handle? I’m just a little nervous about it.”

“I bet. I wouldn’t have to have four cocks either,” Buck said.

“Will you shut the fuck up?” Draven said.

Harper froze at the aggression within his voice. She’d never known him to be so … firm. He made her worried, and the shock on the other guys’ faces as well, let her know she wasn’t the only one a little taken aback by it.

“Dude, I’m just messing around,” Buck said.

“Well, don’t. This isn’t a fucking game. It’s not a joke. This is serious, and if you can just sit there and laugh about it, then we can change it. She’s part of us no matter what. Sex or not, she’s with us.”

“Draven, it’s all good,” Axel said.

“No. It’s not all good. Every single day we’re getting closer to taking over. You think what we want from all of this is going to be easy. We can’t walk away. We don’t get that luxury. It’s why we’ve agreed to this.” Draven’s touch was almost bruising now.

“Are we to never have sex again?” Jett asked.

“What?” Draven asked.

“If you want us to change this, then do we have sex with other people? Isn’t that against what we all agreed to? You get some, but we don’t?”

“I don’t mean that,” Draven said. “I just … I don’t want this to be something we laugh about. It’s serious. This is all of our lives. Our future together, and it can’t be joked about.”

Silence fell on the group. Harper hated to see them conflicting right now.

“Don’t argue because of me,” she said.

“We’re not arguing over you,” Draven said. “This needs to be addressed.”

“There’s no rush,” Buck said.

“We all need to be ready.” This came from Jett. “Draven’s right. This is our future, and we have to be ready for everything. It’s not a joke.”

“This is not something we can force, Draven.” Axel surprised her with his comment.

“I joke,” Buck said. “It’s what I do. We all planned this, but if I’m truthful, I never expected us to find a girl like Harper. You’re different. You’re special. I can see that. I know you’ll complete us. Have our backs. You’re strong. I want this to work out. I do.”

“I shouldn’t have yelled at you guys,” Draven said, rubbing his eyes. “Shit, this is fucking messed up.”

“What are you thinking, Draven?” Axel asked. “It’s up to you. We’re all here. You want to change it, we change it. You don’t, then we stay on this course, but you change your mind and you don’t want us to be solid, I’m getting pussy elsewhere. I’m not living like some kind of fucking monk.”

Draven chuckled. “No, we stick to the plan. All four of us. It’s what we agreed to. I don’t want to turn out like my dad.”

“Agreed,” Axel said, really fast, without a single hesitation.

Jett and Buck agreed as well.

Seeing all four friends together, she saw the concern. They all came from different parents, and their lives were all separate and yet, they were brothers. All of her life, they had been together. In the past few months, she’d spent more time with Draven, but that was only at night, when it was time for bed. Most of the time, they were all together. She’d seen how they all worked together, as one, as a team.

“I want the ink,” she said.

The scroll ink was really pretty, but she wanted something different.

They all turned toward her.

“You do?”

“Yes. It’s really important to you guys, so as soon as you can arrange it, I’ll be there.”

“I know a guy. If you’re ready we can have it done tonight,” Axel said. “Do you have any idea what you want?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Okay, bitches, let’s get this party moving. I’m ready to get me some pain!”

So, three hours later, Harper sat in the basement of a rather grungy-looking home. She straddled a chair, very much aware of the five guys in the room.

Axel, Buck, Jett, and the artist were behind her while Draven offered to distract her up on top.

She didn’t catch the guy’s name. He didn’t have any shop, but this was where all the guys come to for their work. They had amazing work, and for the right cash, he’d do anything. She didn’t have money, but Draven threw a bunch of hundreds down. Again, she wasn’t going to ask where he got the money. For her, it was always better to not know.