Primal instincts volume.., p.1
Primal Instincts: Volume 9, page 1
Contents
Primal Instincts Volume 9
By Nicole Edwards
Copyright
Primal Instincts Vol 9 ebook
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
EPILOGUE 1 1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
EPILOGUE 2
Acknowledgments
About Nicole Edwards
Connect with Nicole
Nicole Edwards on Amazon
PRIMAL
INSTINCTS
Volume 9
BY NICOLE EDWARDS
THE WALKERS
ALLURING INDULGENCE
Kaleb
Zane
Travis
Holidays with The Walker Brothers
Ethan
Braydon
Sawyer
Brendon
THE WALKERS OF COYOTE RIDGE
Curtis
Jared
Hard to Hold
Hard to Handle
Beau
Rex
A Coyote Ridge Christmas
Mack
Kaden & Keegan
Alibi (a crossover novel)
Trey
BRANTLEY WALKER: OFF THE BOOKS
All In
Without A Trace
Hide & Seek
Deadly Coincidence
Alibi
Secrets
Confessions
Bounty
AUSTIN ARROWS
Rush
Kaufman
CLUB DESTINY
Conviction
Temptation
Addicted
Seduction
Infatuation
Captivated
Devotion
Perception
Entrusted
Adored
Distraction
Forevermore
DEAD HEAT RANCH
Boots Optional
Betting on Grace
Overnight Love
Jared (a crossover novel)
DEVIL’S BEND
Chasing Dreams
Vanishing Dreams
MISPLACED HALOS
Protected in Darkness
Salvation in Darkness
Bound in Darkness
OFFICE INTRIGUE
Office Intrigue
Intrigued Out of The Office
Their Rebellious Submissive
Their Famous Dominant
Their Ruthless Sadist
Their Naughty Student
Their Fairy Princess
Owned
PIER 70
Reckless
Fearless
Speechless
Harmless
Clueless
PRIMAL INSTINCTS
Vol 1 - 9
SNIPER 1 SECURITY
Wait for Morning
Never Say Never
Tomorrow’s Too Late
SOUTHERN BOY MAFIA/DEVIL’S PLAYGROUND
Beautifully Brutal
Without Regret
Beautifully Loyal
Without Restraint
STANDALONE NOVELS
Unhinged Trilogy
A Million Tiny Pieces
Inked on Paper
Bad Reputation
Bad Business
Filthy Hot Billionaire
NAUGHTY HOLIDAY EDITIONS
2015
2016
2021
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locals is entirely coincidental.
Copyright © 2023 by Nicole Edwards Limited
This is a self-published title.
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in, or introduced into a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book. For information, contact Nicole Edwards Limited, PO Box 1086, Pflugerville, TX 78660
Nicole Edwards Limited, Nicole Edwards Limited logo, Because Naughty can be oh so Nice, and the series title are registered trademarks of SL Independent Publishing, LLC.
PRIMAL INSTINCTS
Volume 9
NICOLE EDWARDS
COVER DETAILS:
Image: © robinatz (178339146) | 123rf.com Design: © Nicole Edwards Limited
INTERIOR DETAILS:
Formatting: Nicole Edwards Limited
AUDIO DETAILS:
Image: © robinatz (178339146) | 123rf.com Narrators: TBD
ISBN: (ebook) 978-1-64418-081-5 | (paperback) 978-1-64418-082-2
BISAC: FICTION / LGBTQ
PRIMAL
INSTINCTS
Volume 9
NICOLE
EDWARDS
1
Very early on Sunday…
Creed
“There you are. Welcome back. I thought maybe I killed you too soon.”
Clark Huxley.
No matter how disoriented I was, no matter how badly my body hurt, I would never forget the grating whine of his voice. Not for as long as I fucking lived. Which, based on my physical state and his unique brand of crazy, might not be that much longer.
“So glad that’s not the case. We’ve got so much to talk about first. How are you feeling?” Hux asked with feigned interest. “A little bit of a headache, I imagine. That’ll wear off.”
Not if you keep talking.
“And don’t fret. The drug I gave you won’t have lasting side effects.” He cackled harshly. “Not that you really need to worry too much about that. The end is nigh, my friend. The. End. Is. Nigh. For you, anyway.”
He was overly dramatic in the way he spoke, as though he was performing for an audience of two hundred, not one. But Hux had always been like that. He craved attention.
“I’ll bet money you thought it would be easy,” Hux continued. “Trade yourself for her, then take me out before I could dump your giant ass in the trunk of that fucking car. Wasn’t an easy feat, let me tell you. You’re a big guy. I had to work for it. You should be proud. Proud and…”
I tuned him out, letting him ramble incessantly while I tried to get my bearings. Physically, I was still in one piece, but that was the only positive. The side of my neck throbbed, assumably where he dosed me with whatever knock-out drug he used. My clothes were in a pile on the floor beside me. I was naked, and the hard wooden chair I was straddling wasn’t cold, meaning I’d been sitting in it for a while. My back felt like someone had taken a branding iron to it. My shoulders ached because he had my arms pulled down in front of me, my wrists contorted by zip ties that had been weaved between the wooden spindles on the chair’s back. The angle was only part of the problem because they were bound tight enough to cut off the circulation to my hands. The same plastic zip ties secured my ankles to the chair legs.
He obviously didn’t want me to get free, and in this position, I doubted I could. But the worst part was whatever was wrapped tightly around my neck—some sort of thin wire bit into my skin whenever I swallowed.
“I heard you were thinking about closing this place down. Such a pity.” He clicked his tongue several times, then sighed. “But I honestly expected no less. You never did have big dreams, did you, Alpha? Just take what’s handed to you and make do. Pathetic, if you asked me.”
If I didn’t feel like I’d been run over by a truck and someone had put the overheated engine block directly on my back, I would’ve found that amusing. I’d clawed my way up from nothing, and those who knew me at all knew that.
“I will hand it to you, though. The suggestion to come here was brilliant. I was honestly surprised you would make the request,” he rambled. “Quite fitting, if you ask me. And who am I to deny a dying man his last wish?”
We were at the club—a four-hundred-thousand-square-foot, single-story warehouse building that had once been a distribution center. I’d acquired it at auction specifically for the club and, with help from the members, had modified it to accommodate our needs. For the most part, it wasn’t fancy, but our brand of kink didn’t need extravagant wall coverings or expensive carpeting. Bare concrete and metal walls were more our style. At least in the main room. The jungle that made up a majority of the building could probably be considered overkill, but the members enjoyed it.
“You didn’t think I knew it was closed, did you?” He sounded proud of himself. “I did.”
He shouted the last two words loud enough for them to echo through the empty space. There was currently no one here because I’d temporarily closed the doors until I could decide what my next steps would be. I couldn’t be here to oversee activities, and with Nick and Garrison too busy to help out, there was no one who could do so in my absence, so it felt like the right thin
“I have my ways, Alpha. You always thought you were smarter…” He laughed uproariously. “Such an idiot.”
I was grateful there wasn’t an audience for this shit show. Not because I gave a fuck whether the members saw me like this. I wasn’t vain enough to care. However, I would move heaven and earth to keep submissives out of this bastard’s reach. To say he was a monster was a grotesque understatement.
Hux snorted. “I thought about using one of those cages over there. It would’ve been poetic to see you trapped behind the bars. I do love how eager little rabbits peek out, eyes hopeful. Desperate for whatever scraps I’m willing to give.”
Little rabbits were what Hux called submissives.
“Sorry to break it to you, but I have no scraps for you, Alpha. Not this time.”
About twenty feet in front of me, several chairs had been dragged over, all in a line facing me. Or rather him, I figured. The center of the main room had become his stage. He was the star, and those chairs were for his audience. Whether he had them designated for someone specific or his imaginary friends were already occupying them was anyone’s guess. The guy was fucked in the head.
“The best part about those little rabbits was the way they would cower when I poked at them. I used a steel ruler once. Don’t tell anyone, but I filed the edges just a little so it would scrape easily. That was the best feeling in the world. It left little nicks in the skin.” He laughed. “Fuck, that made my dick hard.”
His footsteps thudded loudly on the bare concrete. Although I was trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey, Hux maintained a wide berth as he moved around me. The bastard was still nervous. Under different circumstances, I would’ve been pleased.
When he moved behind me, I attempted to loosen the zip ties that were firmly circling my wrists. They were at least two inches wide and too thick to snap, but getting free was an instinct I couldn’t abandon.
“Do you think they’ll come for you?” he asked.
I didn’t respond.
“I’m really hoping they do. I got them chairs and everything. Maybe that little whore will come. She can have a front-row seat.”
Whoopssshhh.
My head snapped up to catch the tail of the whip as it snapped near the chair he was referring to, cracking the air with an ear-splitting sound that echoed off the metal walls.
“I would love to tell her my story. I know she’ll get a kick out of it. She deserves to get to know the man responsible for your death, doesn’t she? Plus, I already know so much about her; it doesn’t seem fair. I mean, I’ve seen her naked.” He cackled. “Hell, I’ve seen her getting fucked like the whore she is.”
I jerked against the restraints on my wrists.
Hux laughed. “I do love that you’re scared. It makes me all tingly inside.”
How he came to that conclusion was beyond me. I wasn’t scared. Not for myself. As far as I was concerned, the fucker could do whatever he wanted. The only thing that mattered to me was that Hawk and Journey were safe. And for my peace of mind, I chose to believe they were.
The last image I had of them was Journey hovering over Hawk, pressing a towel to the bullet wound in his leg. He’d been conscious, his eyes pleading as he stared at me. I had no idea how long it’d been since we left the house, but the windows and skylights above were dark, so it wasn’t yet morning. With any luck, Journey had called 9-1-1, and Hawk was getting medical attention. He would be fine. He had to be.
Hux circled me again, but he remained behind me this time.
“This could be easy,” he said, his words followed by the hiss of braided leather sliding along the concrete floor. “But trust me when I tell you I’d like nothing more than to beat it out of you.”
A second later, I heard the tell-tale song of that vicious bullwhip slicing through the air, followed by the slice and burn as he flayed open the skin on my back. I grunted as the pain singed my nerve endings.
That explained why I hurt so fucking much.
A gleeful laugh echoed in the empty space. “That’s more like it. It’s not nearly as satisfying to beat an unconscious man.”
But he had, obviously. The bite of the whip ignited the flames and flipped the switch in my brain that had been turned off to the pain.
Whoopssshhh.
Whoopssshhh.
He cracked the whip in rapid succession, the explosive crack in the air making me flinch. I anticipated the strike, but it didn’t come. Not then.
Hux laughed giddily. “Don’t worry. I’ll give you more. Promise. But I have to do so sparingly. It wouldn’t do to kill the Alpha too soon.”
The grandiose tone and the cocky tilt of his chin told me Hux believed he’d won. In his feeble little mind, he probably had. If the man knew anything about me at all, he would realize this wasn’t a victory for him. I’d been reduced to a whipping post more than a few times as a kid. A couple of the foster fathers I’d encountered had been belligerent drunks. This wasn’t new for me.
More importantly, I didn’t give a shit what happened to me. Journey and Hawk were all I cared about. And because he’d opted to take me instead of them, he’d unknowingly forfeited the game because they were the prize. Not me.
“You’re not even a little curious how I did it?”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to. He wouldn’t spare me the details because the bastard had looser lips than a ten-dollar hooker.
“It was easy. I just had to sit back and wait for that little bitch whore to come back from college.”
I assumed he was referring to Journey. I considered asking why he hated her so much but decided I didn’t care.
Whoopssshhh.
I flinched, but the strike didn’t come.
“I visited her a couple of times. Bet you didn’t know that. At Princeton. Jesus, I can’t figure out what the fuck you see in that whore. She’s a fucking child. But her parents would be proud to know she kept her nose in a book. Didn’t give me the time of day because of it.”
Probably not the reason. I opted to keep that insight to myself.
“Imagine my surprise when she comes home and makes a beeline for your fucking door.” He laughed, the maniacal sound echoing off the bare concrete. “A little do-gooder like her. I didn’t think she had it in her. But it was perfect. So fucking perfect. Not only could I get to Ryder and Roman, but now I had a chance to get to you. All because the little whore was curious about this place.” He spread his arms wide. “Was it her idea to close it? She couldn’t handle the way you ripped into unsuspecting prey, could she? Didn’t want to accept you shoved your dick into anything that walked. They always think they can change you, but they’re only good for one thing.”
He paced around behind me once more, dragging the whip with him. I knew it was coming but refused to brace myself for impact. Another grunt choked out when the whip licked the same wound it had created before. The edges of my vision dimmed, but I held on. I wouldn’t give this bastard the satisfaction of taking me out. I wouldn’t last forever, but I damn sure wasn’t giving up this easily.
My thoughts drifted to my last conversation with Rule when he had come to the house. The night his hacker had separated the photo that had been delivered to Journey. During the meeting, I’d kept it aboveboard for Nick’s benefit, not wanting my best friend to know the true depths of my depravity. But the moment I had Rule alone, I dropped the facade.
“What would you like me to do when I find him?” Rule asked, his eyes locked with mine as though he wanted to dig the answer from the depths of my soul.
“Kill that bastard,” I seethed. “A bullet right between the eyes. Let him know it’s coming, but don’t give him time to beg.”
I probably should’ve questioned my sanity for wanting this fuck dead, but wiping him from the face of the earth was a long overdue public service.
Whoopssshhh.
I took a deep breath, grateful for the reprieve.
“I’m not above admitting I had some help.” There was a gleeful curve to his vowels, reflecting his excitement. “But you know that already. Wayne. God, he was so fucking eager to take that little bitch down. Like a high school boy hellbent on hate-fucking the head cheerleader because she wouldn’t give him the time of day.”
I saw Hux out of the corner of my eye as he moved around to my left. He paused long enough to pull the whip back, then swung it around with enough force to cut the air with a whistle. The whip’s fall slapped my right leg, curling around my calf. The burn was instant, as was the blood that trickled down when he flayed it open. He wasn’t pulling any punches, the fucker.
