When Demon woke up Lacy was still next to him, sleeping deeply. He was surprised she hadn't bolted from the building while he slept and taken advantage of his fatigue. He eased from the bed and pulled on his boxers and t-shirt, letting her sleep while he went in search of food.

Her fridge was mostly empty, he wasn't surprised she hadn't stocked it. There was a twelve pack of Dr. Pepper in the fridge, opened with a few missing. On the counter he found only a large bag of pretzels. He grabbed the pretzels and two cans of soda before walking back to the bed, her cat was curled up on the window seat a few feet away and rain trickled against the window.

Setting the food and drinks on a small table nearby he climbed back into the bed with Lacy. Her back was to him and he couldn't resist running his palm down her naked body, from her shoulder, to the dip in her waist and her soft hip.

She rolled towards him but didn't wake up, he wondered if she'd had trouble sleeping since they'd split like he had been.

"Lacy," He leaned down and took her lips in a gentle kiss.

Finally she stirred, her eyes fluttering open. She smiled up at him and brought a hand to rest it gently against his cheek.

"You're kitchen is next to empty and while I appreciate your love for Dr. Pepper, you need to stock the fridge."

"I wasn't expecting company."

"Yes, you were."

She moved her hand from his face to and stretched lazily, reminding him of a large cat.

She pulled the blankets up under her arms, covering herself. She stretched her legs and he saw her wince a little, he had no doubt she was sore.

"Lacy," He was preparing to ask her again about King, when she interrupted.

"Don't ask me, not now."

"Wolf is threatening to call Raphael, you know the things he's capable of."

"Yeah, I know."

She sat up, pushing her hair back from her face with a heavy sigh. He sat up and dropped a kiss on her bare shoulder.

He'd never felt so helpless in his entire adult life, if Raphael was called in he would be forced to step aside and let whatever was going to happen, happen. Raphael would kill her and Lacy would simply be gone.

"How long have you been in bed with King?" He asked.

"Longer than you think."

"Why?"

"It doesn't matter, not really. Trust me, you'd be better off to walk away."

"I can't just walk away, you know that. You were my partner, my best friend, Lacy.....I would have done anything for you."

"How is Zeke doing?" She asked, changing the subject.

"He's going to pull through, Becky is basically glued to his side."

She chuckled and shook her head.

"How is that going?"

"Not well, Zeke is being an ass to her. He owes her his life and he can barely even treat her like a human being."

She rolled over to the stand near her side of the bed to grab a pack of cigarettes, she lit one and barely took one drag before he plucked it from her lips.

"What the hell!?" She demanded.

"When did you start smoking?"

"I don't know," She said with sigh.

"Lacy..."

"Sometime after leaving the clubhouse, I started smoking. It helps take the edge off."

"That shit will kill you."

"Only if you don't first. When I left the club I lost my job, no more torturing people for information. It's like an addiction that rush of adrenaline when I make the first cut, the smell of burning flesh. Smoking....helped keep the jitters away."

He knew what she was talking about, the feeling of needing to hurt someone, needing to control someone. It made you feel like you were burning from the inside out, until you cut into their skin and finally cooled the ache inside.

"So, by longer than I think....how long is that?" He pressed.

She turned to look at him and hesitated before leaning forward and sealing her lips over his, he thought about stopping her. Knew he probably should but her left hand buried itself in his hair and she was kissing him like he was the air she needed to survive. His hands went to her ribcage and he kissed her back.

She pushed him back onto the bed, her right hand sliding down his chest and slipping under his boxers.

He could protest with her lips on his, couldn't question her with her hand stroking his body. Couldn't keep track of a single damn thought when he wanted her more than he wanted anything else.

It was still raining when they finally were able to peel away from one another, the storm outside raging on but not comparing to their passion.

She rested her head on his bare chest, her arm around him. He kissed the top of her head and closed his eyes, he wanted to scream, break things and shake the apartment until she told him what he wanted to know but instead, he settled for holding her close and allowing his heart to break.

"This isn't how I thought I would be spending my day," He said.

"Really?"

"No, I pictured more torture and less sex."

"The day is still young," She teased.

"Lacy, I'm serious."

"So am I," she said pressing a kiss to the tattoo on his ribcage.

He lifted her hand, kissing down her wrist gently. He knew this wasn't only the first time they'd be like this but there was a good chance it would be the last.

"Did I hurt you?"

"Yes, I loved ever single second."

He laughed but didn't say anything else, preferring to listen to the storm outside. He knew that by now Wolf had probably called and suspected that King had most likely called Lacy but he didn't care. For these few solitary hours, she belonged to him.

"I hate to ask but......are you...on something?" He asked, already counting the several times he'd been inside her without a condom.

"Yes."

"Because of King?" He asked, not wanting to think of the other mans hands on her.

"No, we haven't done anything yet."

"But you're in love with him?" He questioned.

"Yep," She said with a heavy sigh, clearly annoyed.

"But you're here with me."

"Don't ask me questions that you already know the answer to Demon, it's beneath you."

She shoved away from him rolling from the bed, obviously pissed off at him. He sat up as she pulled on her panties and a large t-shirt from the floor. She moved into the kitchen, Mr. Darcy following her.

Demon pulled on his jeans, buckling his belt and then pulling on his t-shirt he followed her into the kitchen.

"So what's the real reason you left?" he asked.

"None of your damn business," She said, the walls going back up.

She leaned down to put food in the bowl for her mewling cat. Demon leaned against the wall, their time of soft intimacy was officially over. He needed answers and she was shutting him out again.

"When do you think you'll start sleeping with King?"

"I don't know," She said.

"But you're going too?"

"Yes." She slammed down the can of cat food, turning her back on him.

"You're going to let him touch you in all the places I have? You're going to let him taste you? Do you think he'll be as good as I was?"

"Shut the hell up!" She threw the canned food at his head.

He ducked and it ricocheted off the wall, her cat abandoning his food dish to run and hide.

Lacy shook her head before storming towards the bedroom, shoving passed Demon. He grabbed her arm and she tore it loose spinning to face him, an angry scowl on her face.

"Don't touch me!" She yelled.

"Cut the bullshit Lacy!"

"At least he wants me! At least he sees me as a woman, as a wanting, waiting woman!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"He asked.

"Did you ever, even for a single second see me as anything but another member of that damned club?!"

"What?"

"I practically threw myself at you, I craved you, I wanted you! I always wanted you, you treated me like any other member of the club! I couldn't stand it! I wanted to claw out of my skin, I wanted to scratch into yours and you barely even noticed!"

"That's why you left!?"

"No! But it's part of why I can never come back."

He stood there a second, he wanted Lacy. He'd wanted her for awhile but fear of driving her away had always kept him holding back, fear of ending up like Ivan and Laurel keeping him from getting close.

He walked towards her, reaching out and she slapped his hand away. He grabbed her with his other hand around her throat, pulling her to him and lifting her from the ground. She didn't fight and he hated to admit it that he wanted her too.

He wanted her to scream and kick, scratch and bite. He wanted the challenge, it's what turned him on and it's what got him off and he realized how sick that made him.

He began to lower her back to the floor and recognition crossed her face and she knew what he wanted, knew what he needed. She slapped him hard, then offered him a cheeky grin, daring him to top it.

Using her neck he spun her away from him, forcing her back against his chest. She let out a moan that was positively sinful, her head falling back to his shoulder and her teeth sinking into his neck. He forced her face down onto the bed, holding there by her neck with one hand his other hand fumbling with his belt.

It came free and he almost dropped it to the floor then hesitated, running it up the inside of her bare thigh, she shivered visibly but didn't protest. He brought the belt down on her backside, not too hard and barely touching skin.

"Is that all you've got?" She taunted.

He smiled and raised it above his head bringing it down hard, hard enough that she lurched forward on the bed. Her hands reaching out to grip the sheets, bracing her arms as she lifted her hips in silent invitation.

"Damn, we're screwed in the head," He muttered.

"Don't stop," She begged breathlessly.

He closed his eyes and raised he belt again, this woman was going to be the death of him and he wasn't even sure why he was doing this. It wasn't about punishing her and it certainly wasn't what he was supposed to be doing.

He lost count of how many times he brought the belt down but when he finally could stand it now more and tossed it aside her bottom was bright red and bruising in spots. She didn't cry or even protest the strikes, when he dropped his pants and roughly tore off her panties she didn't say a word and when he once again roughly joined their bodies she pressed further into him.

It didn't take long for him to reach his limit, in fact it would have been down right embarrassing if it wasn't for the fact that he still lasted longer than her.

He released her and she pulled herself weakly onto the bed, he collapsed on the bed next to her. Both of them out of breath, she turned to face him.

"It's my fault," She said softly.

"What is baby?"

She took a deep breath and turned to stare at the ceiling, a tear rolled down her cheek and he wiped it away. She was struggling with something he could tell but for once didn't want to press her, she took a deep breath and nothing could have prepared him for what she said next.

"I'm the reason that Iris was shot."