Beyond Pain Read Online Free PDF Page A

while framing the pair of tattoos that shouted her status, with Dallas's name across her abdomen and his mark around her throat.
    The O'Kanes said everything that mattered to them with ink. It made her feel naked, sometimes, having none at all.
    Lex didn't seem to care. Her gaze tracked around the room instead, and she shook her head. "Things'll get pretty wild around here tonight."
    Six couldn't tell if it was a warning or not. "I thought all your parties got a little wild."
    "Some wilder than others. Right, Bren?"
    Before he could speak, Trix whirled around, laughing dizzily. Lex caught her with a smile and brushed a kiss to her cheek. "Steady, love."
    "Sorry." Her face was flushed, her chest rising and falling with quick, elated breaths.
    "Nothing to be sorry about." Lex guided her toward Bren.
    He kissed her temple and whispered in her ear, and something ugly and dark twisted in Six's gut, a feeling unpleasantly like jealousy. She jerked her gaze away in time to watch Lex fist a hand in Cruz's short hair and lick her way past his lips.
    Jesus, these people had no boundaries.
    Lex held the kiss, her tongue sliding over his, while he kept his hands out at his sides, as if he didn't know where he could safely rest them. Six didn't blame him--Dallas O'Kane was a scary fucker.
    But when his voice came bellowing across the crowd, Dallas only sounded amused. "Christ, woman," he called out. "Pace yourself. He's barely halfway there."
    "Technicalities," Lex murmured as she pulled away and patted Cruz's cheek. "Enjoy your party."
    The man might be six-foot-four and carved from rock, but Six swore he blushed as he stumbled to the next person in the circle.
    At least she wasn't the only one out of her element.
    She tried to fake a casualness she didn't feel as Trix and Cruz worked their way back around toward Rachel. "What happens when they're done with their shots?"
    "If they're still upright?" Lex raised both eyebrows as she backed away into the crowd. "Anything goes, honey."
    Six couldn't bring herself to look at Bren with the words hanging in the air, vibrating with promise. "Anything, huh?"
    He stepped closer, his arm brushing hers. "She's exaggerating, but not much. If it makes you uncomfortable, we can go."
    "Not uncomfortable yet." Six bumped her hip against his. "I didn't get it last time."
    She felt his stare, intense and focused. "Get what?"
    She watched Ace give Trix a friendly slap on the ass that earned him an indulgent smile in return. "That they don't wanna fuck me if I'm not into it."
    "Not even a little bit." Bren gestured around the room. "Everyone in here is into something different. Mad likes to have as many people around as possible. Flash used to dig the groupies before he hooked up with Amira. Jas and Noelle are together, but they like to play a little, too. Dallas and Lex are... Well, they're them. But no one in here gets off on forcing anyone."
    "But it's not just that. I've met plenty of guys who aren't into force but are fine with a woman who'll close her eyes and put up with it." She'd expected Dallas to be one of them, but maybe she'd been selling the arrogance of the O'Kanes too short. None of these men would tolerate being tolerated .
    Bren's words confirmed it. "Doesn't sound like much fun to me."
    If it had, he would have already fucked her. She shifted her weight, and the warm skin of his arm pressed more firmly against hers. "Must be nice to be such hot stuff you can hold out for the good sex," she said lightly.
    He brushed a lock of hair off her cheek, and her stomach dropped out as his fingertips grazed the shell of her ear.
    She dragged in an unsteady breath and shoved both hands into her pants pockets to keep from reaching for him. "Cheater."
    "Why?" His hand lingered near her face. "Because you like it? Or because you want more?"
    Bren didn't ask rhetorical questions. He asked blunt ones and expected honest answers. Worse, he acted on the things she told him. If she said she didn't like it,