It should hurt that Bailey wants to murder someone, but I know why he wants to be the one to do it. I turn away and stuff my fingers in my ears. Connor moves into my side, but only brushes my side briefly with his hand. He doesn't grab me the way Zane would.

The blast echoes in my ears and the ground tremors as if they're all running from a grenade. I flinch, but let my hands drop. My ears aren't ringing, but I could still hear it. Suddenly, Bailey's hands are on me, shoving my face into his chest. I drink in his leather scent and sweat from the hike, and twine my arms around his waist.

"It's over, baby," he kisses my forehead, finally relaxing.

The body lands in the hole with a dull thud. Bailey rubs my back when I jump at the sound. Connor, Riette, and Zane take turns shoveling dirt into the hole and work on downing a tree high on the hill. It will fall right over the pile of dirt, so they won't have to move it. It seems stupid that they are basically marking the spot.

"One of you should come back and remove the tree at some point," I mutter to Bailey, "or it is like a red flag that something is there."

"No one's ever noticed before," Bailey's breath warms my cold ears, "are you cold or scared?"

"Anxious."

"I know it's weird the first time."

They keep making comments like that and I'm getting the sense that this isn't the first or even the second time they've done this. I don't know what I expected. Bailey said they weren't joking around when they offered to kill for me. It shouldn't surprise me that they are so rehearsed with it.

"Can we walk back now?"

"Guys, we'll see you back there," Bailey kneels and I hop on his back, "she needs off her feet."

I glance back to find Zane watching us, but the other two are distracted with the work. Riette thumps him over the head, and he rubs it returning to burying Reynold's dead body. I snuggle my face into Bailey's neck and kiss his warm skin.

"We might have time for a quick one if we hurry back," Bailey groans in pleasure at the skin contact.

"Yeah?" I perk up at the thought to feel him inside, sharp tingles pricking between my thighs, "promise you'll let me ride you?"

"We'll figure it out," he chuckles and picks up the pace.

"Bay?"

"What, baby?"

"Can we talk seriously really quick?"

"What is it, Max baby?"

"Zane..." I confess, and bow my forehead into his neck.

He clears his throat, "Zane?"

"He likes me, doesn't he?"

He snaps his jowls like a rabid dog, "has he said something you?"

"No. I just saw it... Tonight... He's never done anything to make me notice before, but I think the stress of tonight... He can't seem to hide it or whatever."

"Yeah," Bailey breathes out erratically, "yeah."

"What do we do?"

"It's his problem, baby. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I know that, Bay," I grasp at his chest, "but... What do we do?"

"We don't do anything. He hasn't crossed a line... Has he?"

"Never."

"Better not," he snarls and then sighs, "he'll get over it in his own time, baby."

"How long?"

"I don't know... Hopefully not long."

"I mean how long have you known?"

"Oh..." He clears his throat nervously, "a while. I think since we showed you what we do for money, and you didn't get pissed or anything. He thought it would upset you."

"So... That's when you noticed?"

"That's as far back as I can say I noticed, but I didn't put it together until we pulled you out of your dad's house. He was distraught that I let you return there. I was already pissed at myself for it, but... He was ready to tear my head off..."

"Is that why you were all so quiet around me after Reynold's party? Were you all arguing about this?"

"Yeah."

"Jesus, why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to think I felt threatened," his hands clutch harder at my thighs, "he knows who you belong to."'

"It's not hard to figure out that I've only ever been yours," I squeeze my thighs on his waist, "I'll only ever be yours, Bay."

"He's my brother, so he gets a pass for having any feelings at all, but if he ever crosses a line..."

"I don't see him doing that. He loves you. You're his family."

"I know, but if he does..."

"You'll know about it and we'll figure out what to do from there, Bay. Let's not worry about it. I don't see it happening," I peck the back of his neck.

"You didn't notice before tonight?"

"I noticed he was different with me than Riette and Connor, but I was in denial. I didn't really want it to be true. I thought it was because he is in charge. I mean when it comes down to it and you guys need a decision to be made, he makes the call."

"He is in charge," Bailey agrees, "but we've all taken turns calling the shots. He's just the best at it. He doesn't let the stress of a situation muddle his brain like the rest of us. Even with his feelings for you, challenging that part of him... He's still in control of his mind."

The Cheyenne comes into view and his pace picks up even more. Darkness swallows us whole, but he doesn't stop at the cab of the pickup. He moves to the back where the tailgate is still down. He rests me on my ass, before jumping up next to me, and swiveling me carefully over his lap.

His dick throbs against my thighs immediately, making my blood boil. My skin burns for him, and after getting my legs comfortably around him, he helps me rub my ass over his hardening shaft.

"Fuck, baby," Bailey murmurs, locating my ear and draws it past his lips.

"Oh, Bailey," I squeak, and unzip his jacket.

He lets me strip it off, revealing the long-sleeve shirt that accents his baby blues so well. The top buttons are still loosened from when I was sucking on his collarbone in the cab on the drive in. I can make out the hickey even in the dark and latch to it automatically.

A groan tumbles out of his mouth, and his hands dig under the jean coat and shirt, barricading my body from the cold. His fingers are icy against my sweltering tummy, but warm quickly. He unzips the coat, but doesn't remove it from me, and digs hands past my jean buttons, locating my wet pink skin.

"Fuck!" I brace around his shoulders as he drives past my slit forcefully and explores my clamping walls, "oh my hell, Bailey..."

My skin prickles as his other hand pumps my hips back and forth over his rod trapped in his jeans. I work hard to undo his pants and liberate his dick. He sucks in a sharp breath at the cold air, but I hurriedly encapsulate him in my warm hand. I rub his smooth skin hard as he digs inside me as far as he can with long fingers.

"Christ, you're so beautiful, baby," Bailey arrests my mouth and his tongue breaks past my lips.

"Mm," I hum at his Skittles flavor and swirl my thumb over his twitching tip.

"Yes, baby, fuck yes."

"Get my pants off," I demand.

Bailey frees his hand from my wet folds and stands to work my pants off my hips. He only yanks them off a leg, tossing my shoe, and lets the pants dangle on one ankle, wrapping my legs around him again. It takes him less than five seconds to settle on the tailgate.

I hold myself up and swipe my panties out of the way, shoving his rod inside me. He grunts when I lower all the way, taking all of him and lets his head fall back.

"Baby, that's fucking amazing," he helps me pump my hips over his lap, plummeting a trill of fireworks up my thighs.

"Bailey..." I pant, tangling fingers in his hair and let my head hang.

"Try leaning back, baby," he presses me away from his body, and anchors my hips to him, "I've got you. I won't let you fall."

I support myself with my hands gripping the edge of the tailgate, and roll my hips up and down. Bailey stares down at me, peeling my panties away so he can see my pink skin. He grins at the sight, sweat dribbling down his forehead matching the sweat on my spine.

"Oh fuck," the orgasm catches me by surprise, splintering my vision and freezes me in place.

Bailey digs his thumb into my clit, rubbing fervently as my abs quake and every muscle clenches painfully. Everything inside withers in the burn, stars blinking at me like a light show, and bones disintegrate under the immensity. I can barely breathe through the rocking rhythm and crashing waves of pain and pleasure battling for power inside.

"Christ, that's stunning," Bailey coaxes, slowing his thumb as I almost collapse backward. He catches me and lures me up into his chest, "that was sexy as hell, Max."

I continue to tremble, but Bailey takes over for me. He jumps off the tailgate and lays me back into the cold metal. He thrusts into me fast and hard, pinioning so furiously that I might split in half. I hook my right leg around his waist and grip at his shirt to hold him closer her.

A hand wanders up my shirt, and peels my bra from my breast. He pinches at my nipple till it's swollen, hard, sensitive. Then he cups my whole boob, kneading it and gapes at us connecting with each shrill slap.

"Bailey!" My body jerks up when another round of ecstasy pulses through every inch of me.

"That's my good girl," Bailey grins darkly, not slowing down as the euphoria carries me away.

Trampling footsteps shoots excitement through me that we'll get caught. We aren't making love out in the woods on the back of his pickup. This isn't about passion and lust. This is rough, hard, and desperate. It's far from where we began as the gentle, tender couple, but I've changed since I fell in love with Bailey. We've evolved into monsters together.

Groaning, he slips out and finishes on my bare thigh as I quiver with a third climax. He fixes my panties and zips himself up, though he is still shuddering and his eyelids droop with the remnants of his own release.

Before I know it, Riette and Connor's laugh interrupt us, but they aren't laughing at us. Bailey scoops the cum off my legs and wipes it under the tailgate, and smears the last of it on the bottom half of his jeans. Both of the boys look caught off guard to find us struggling to slip my jeans back up to my hips.

"Not like it's the first time," Bailey growls at their stupid faces.

"Or the last," I murmur so only Bailey can hear.

He grins at me and buttons my jeans, "where is Zane?"

"Hitting a tree," Riette shrugs, "using a shovel at least. He almost broke his hand earlier. I handed him the shovel to break instead."

"What? Why?" I ask before realizing what it must be about.

"Too much energy and nowhere to put it," Connor shrugs, playing it off for Bailey's benefit.

"Tell them what you did to Mallory," Riette distracts before ditching to collect Zane.

"I told her if she came back to school, we would show everyone the video and not how it ended. It will look like more happened that night than she wanted and that will humiliate her reputation. Her own parents would disown her over something that scandalous," Connor informs when I frown, "they wouldn't care that she was forced. They would just be pissed that she made them all look bad. I told her to skip town if she knows what's good for her or she'll end up like Reynold."

"You didn't tell her what we were doing, did you?" Bailey snaps.

"I'm not fucking stupid, but she can guess what we're doing and that was written all over her scared little bitch face," Connor chuckles, remembering it, running a hand through blond waves, "we won't have to deal with her skank ass anymore."

"We should have done the same thing to Cassie," Bailey peeks at me as if searching for approval, "scared her out of town."

"She still has the video.... But she sent that out to everyone."

"We can get her on our side," Connor decides, "she'll be our cover for these two disappearing at the same time. She supposedly was involved with him again. We can say they were together, but she caught him cheating on her with Mallory, so the two skipped town together."

"Perfect," Bailey snarls as if he'd rather Cassie was gone and not Mallory.

"It is perfect," Connor slaps Bailey's shoulder.

"Let's get back and end that stupid fucking party!" Riette calls, walking around with Zane, who's fists are bloody.

I shake my head, but don't say anything. It's not my place to chastise him, though I would reprimand Riette or Connor for it. Zane won't look at me, clearly pissed off like it's my fault he is hurting. Fine, let him be mad. It's better than thinking I will return his affection.

What kind of dumbass falls for his best friend's girl?

"Next time let's send them over the cliff in their own car," Riette says as we all split to the Bronco or Cheyenne.

"Next time?" I murmur, climbing into the passenger seat.

"There's always someone else to kill," Bailey snaps the door shut.

Idiots.

"You know this isn't our first time," Bailey moves into the driver's seat and takes off before Connor can get the Bronco turned around.

"Obviously."

"Well, it certainly won't be the last."

"How many times have you guys done this?"

He clears his throat, "enough."

"Are you sick of it?"

"I'm a sadist, baby."

"I'm a masochist, so I'm no better," I shrug, deciding I probably don't want to know every unctuous detail.

"The fuck if you are..."

"I enjoyed you fucking with me in the beginning, Bailey. I didn't want to admit it at the time, but it turned me on that you were hurting me. I just was too stubborn to accept being that kind of person. I was still convinced I am a nice person."

"You are nice."

"The fuck if I am," I giggle.

"You're royalty at Pilot Rock now, baby. You're the Blood Princess."

"That wasn't the plan..."

"Yeah, you were supposed to break my heart, but instead you fixed it," Bailey pats the spot next to him and I slide over, "all I needed was my princess to complete me."

"The Blood Princess and her Dark Prince," I muse, resting my hand in his lap and tease his twitching steel in his jeans.

"Mean."

"You're a masochist, too. You enjoy the torment."

"That makes you a sadist, too. You adore tormenting me."

I giggle, "damn, you're right. I'm just like you."

"Are you sure you're okay with all of this?" He shifts gears as we turn off the dirt road and onto the paved highway, "I know it's a lot to accept."

"It's a bit startling to realize you guys have done this before and this isn't the first time. If I really think about it, it shouldn't shock me at all, should it? You're the dark prince, after all. You're the Ghost Riders."

"You're a Ghost Rider now, too, baby."

"Wow," I like the sound of that, "I suppose I am."

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