Our Darkest Hour (Our Darkest Series Book 1)

by Sarah Bailey

  His eyes flicked over to me.

  “You sure?”

  “You wanted me to draw it, so you get to keep it. Besides, I have others.”

  His eyebrows shot up.

  “What?”

  I grinned and bit my lip which only made his eyes darken.

  “That damn lip,” he muttered.

  “Come here and I’ll show you.”

  He got off the bed, snagging his boxers and pulling them on. I spun around in my chair and reached up, grabbing another smaller sketchbook from my shelves above the desk. Then I handed it to him as he sat on the edge of the bed closest to me.

  “What is this?”

  “Was part of my GCSE project.”

  He opened it to the first page where I’d drawn him as a comic book character, complete with blonde hair and blue-grey eyes. He flipped through the book, his brow furrowed.

  “You never told me.”

  “You’ve always been my muse, A. I just didn’t want you getting big-headed over it.”

  He reached out and smacked my arm.

  “Hey, what was that for?”

  “Keeping this shit a secret. It’s fucking incredible, Rhys.”

  My face grew hot at his compliment. I’d always known he liked my art, but to have him like this was a whole other level of pride for me.

  “Yeah well, that’s why I did so well.”

  “I’m not surprised. Honestly, you should do this shit for a living.”

  I didn’t want to draw comics or anything like that. It was my hobby. Graphic design is what I aimed for, then I could get myself a good job and perhaps freelance one day so I could be my own boss. Aaron knew all about my aspirations. It’s why he’d bought me a graphics tablet for my birthday.

  When he finished flipping through the book, he placed it down next to him and levelled his gaze on me. His eyes were so soft and tender, full of his love and affection for me. Then he dropped to his knees on the floor and crawled between my legs as he spread them wide.

  “What are you doing?”

  The little smirk he wore told me nothing innocent.

  “Someone just drove me crazy with his very talented mouth… now I’m going to drive him wild right back.”

  “Is that so?”

  His fingers were at the hem of my boxers, peeling them down.

  “Oh, it is most definitely so, knight.”

  My head fell back against the chair as Aaron proceeded to show me how much of a knight I was to him. I could do this forever with him.

  And I just hoped when we said forever, we really meant it.

  Part III

  annihilate

  verb, an·ni·hi·lat·ed, an·ni·hi·lat·ing.

  to reduce to utter ruin or nonexistence; destroy utterly.

  Chapter Thirty Six

  The past four weeks had gone by in a blur of days out with Rhys, watching movies, sunbathing and sex… a whole lot of sex. It’s as if once we’d taken that final step, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. I swear being inside him was the sweetest damn ecstasy. The way he submitted to me completely had me so hard all the time. We were already inseparable before but being together like this had only brought us so much closer together.

  I’d whined about us going to the park today, but it was so fucking hot outside, neither of us wanted to pass up the opportunity to relax in the sun. Currently, we were hiding from it underneath a large oak tree. Rhys sat against it, sketching, whilst I dozed with my head in his lap. It’s why I didn’t hear footsteps until they were almost upon us.

  “Hey, Rhys,” came a feminine voice from above me.

  I opened my eyes and found a group of girls I didn’t know had approached us.

  “Um, hi, Becky,” he replied, shading his eyes to look up at them.

  They must go to his school or live on his estate since I hadn’t seen them before.

  “How’s your summer going?”

  “Good, yours?”

  She fiddled with her blonde hair, nudging the grass with her foot. I almost rolled my eyes. Clearly, someone had a bit of a crush on my boyfriend.

  “Yeah, been good. Me and the girls have been keeping busy. Hey, you heard about the party on Friday?”

  He blinked before shaking his head.

  “No.”

  “Olly Trenton is throwing it. You should come.”

  Rhys and I didn’t do parties. They were usually full of underage drinking and people hooking up. Definitely not our scene.

  “Um…”

  “Come on, Rhys, you never come out. The girls and I’ll be there. It’ll be fun.”

  Rhys looked down at me and I could tell he wanted to roll his eyes. That’s when I think the girls finally noticed me. One of the girls behind Becky gave me a shy smile and flicked her black hair back.

  “I can text you the address… just say you’ll come.”

  Rhys bit down on his lip. I almost died on the spot. That fucking lip of his. Always drove me crazy. And he damn well knew it.

  “You can bring your friend.” Becky indicated me with her hand.

  Rhys popped his sketchpad and pencil down before stroking a hand along my hair.

  “You mean my boyfriend.”

  All the girls looked stupefied for a full minute. I fought not to laugh. They clearly had no idea what to say to his statement. Then Becky coughed.

  “Yes, you can bring your… boyfriend too.”

  He looked down at me again.

  “Do you want to go, prince?”

  Going to a party didn’t exactly fill me with excitement, but maybe we’d have a good time. Especially since we were apparently being open about our relationship. I could dance with him. The thought of it made my skin tingle.

  “It could be fun,” I said, smiling up at him.

  “See, Rhys, even he thinks you’ll have a good time,” Becky chimed in. “Also, hello, boyfriend.”

  Rhys looked contrite.

  “Sorry, this is Aaron. Um, I go to school with Becky.” He then pointed at the other girls. “That’s Jemima, Dotty, Pen and Kiki.”

  The girls all exchanged hellos with me. Rhys never talked about anyone he went to school with. I wondered how well he knew these girls.

  “When did this all happen?” Becky asked, waving at us.

  “Recently… um, we’ve been best friends for years,” Rhys shrugged.

  “Oh my god, that’s so cute. Isn’t it, girls?”

  They all murmured words of encouragement. I felt like we were in some kind of circus show with the way they were looking at us with such curiosity. We weren’t some kind of commodity. Just two boys in love.

  “You don’t go to school with us, Aaron, do you?”

  I shook my head.

  “No, but Rhys and I went to primary together.”

  “Oh well, we’d love to see you at Olly’s party. Maybe we can get to know the boy who’s stolen quiet Rhys’ heart.”

  My face grew hot. Rhys looked plain uncomfortable as he rubbed the back of his neck.

  “Yeah, okay, Becky, we’ll come… just text me when, yeah?” he said in a hurry.

  She grinned at him and nodded.

  “Sure thing… well, enjoy your afternoon, boys. Don’t forget to put on sun cream.”

  Becky gave us a wink and the girls giggled before they all sloped away. Rhys banged his head back against the tree.

  “Jesus Christ, I do not want to go to fucking Olly Trenton’s party.”

  “No? You just agreed to it.”

  He dug his fingers in my shoulder.

  “Shut up. I wanted to get them off my back. Those girls have been trying to get me to come out with them forever.”

  I raised an eyebrow.

  “You never said.”

  He shrugged, picking up his sketchbook again, but I wasn’t done talking about this.

  “Why would I tell you about some girls trying to hit on me all the time? It’s not li
ke I’ve ever been interested in Becky or her friends.”

  I sat up and stole his sketchbook so he’d have to pay full attention to me.

  “It’s that you didn’t tell me about them at all.”

  He frowned.

  “They’re just girls from school, A. Why would it matter?”

  “She has your number.”

  He reached out and stroked his hand down my thigh.

  “Are you jealous?”

  “Huh? This isn’t about me.”

  His mouth curved upwards. I didn’t have a chance in hell when he ripped the sketchbook out of my hands, threw it down next to us and launched himself at me. His hands pinned mine in the grass as he straddled my hips.

  “You are!”

  “Shut up.”

  He leant down and ran his nose along mine.

  “My prince is so cute when he’s jealous.”

  “Fuck off.”

  Any attempt I made at dislodging him would go unheeded. Rhys was stronger than me.

  He planted a kiss at the corner of my mouth, melting me from the inside out.

  “There’s no competition. I already have the hottest boy all to myself. If anything, they should be jealous of me for that.”

  “The hottest?”

  He nodded, planting another kiss to the side of my mouth.

  “Mmm, my sexy prince who I can’t stop touching no matter how hard I try.”

  He kissed me properly then, forcing his tongue in my mouth and devouring me whole. My hands flexed against his, wanting to be buried in his hair. We’d never kissed in public before, nor been so overt about us being together. Rhys didn’t seem to care. In fact, he was grinding against me, which made my cock perk up.

  “Knight,” I whimpered against his mouth.

  He was going to make me damn hard in a public park. This wasn’t how I envisioned this afternoon going. As he pulled back, I noticed a pair of feet nearby out of the corner of my eye.

  “You two make me actually physically sick,” came the voice of the one person I had zero interest in seeing.

  Rhys sat up, releasing my hands and glaring at Valentine who was, for once, by himself. He had his hands stuck in his pockets and a disgusted look on his face.

  “Oh no, I’m so sorry we offended your precious sensibilities, Val.” Rhys pressed a hand to his chest in mock horror. “Why don’t you fuck off if two guys kissing makes you so sick?”

  I hoped Rhys wouldn’t move off me. He must know he’d got me at half-mast with all his kissing. Definitely did not want to give Valentine further ammunition to berate us with.

  “You two should not be fucking doing that in public. It’s wrong.”

  His eyes flicked down to me, roaming across the expanse of my chest. I felt entirely exposed and not in a good way.

  Why the fuck is there heat in his eyes? Am I actually seeing things?

  He blinked the next second and it was gone, replaced by an intense loathing, making me think I’d imagined the whole thing.

  “Just go away. No one forced you to come over here.”

  I’d just about had enough of him now. His constant taunts were exhausting.

  “You need to get the fuck over yourself, Valentine. Rhys and I don’t give a shit if you don’t want to see us kissing. We’re not harming anyone. It’s a free fucking country. So if I want to kiss my boyfriend in a park, I fucking well will. Got it?”

  He blinked, his mouth dropping open almost comically. Then he shook himself and glared at us.

  “Whatever,” he spat before turning on his heel and walking away.

  “Fucking prick,” Rhys called after him.

  He climbed off me and sat back against the tree again, picking up his discarded sketchbook. I sat up on my elbows, cocking my head to the side. Valentine had unnerved me. I didn’t like the way he’d looked at me at all.

  “We should go to Olly’s party, then we can shove it in that prick’s face some more,” Rhys muttered.

  “You sure you want to go down that path?”

  We’d never deliberately gone out of our way to piss Valentine off before, but some part of me wanted to get my own back on him for all the years he’d tormented us. And I think Rhys had reached his limit too.

  “Yeah, fuck it. Let’s go have fun, eh? If it sucks, we can just leave… and fuck instead.”

  He winked, which only made me grin. I pointed at my dick.

  “What about now? You got me worked up.”

  His eyes landed on it and he bit his lip. I stifled a groan.

  “Take me home then, prince.”

  Chapter Thirty Seven

  The moment we got through the door, Aaron was on me, pressing me back towards the stairs. His hands grasped my arse, squeezing and making me harder than ever. I wanted him so badly, every part of me ached. It was as if our appetites for each other were utterly insatiable. The past four weeks had been a blissful haze. I never wanted it to end.

  “Damn it, knight, you get me so fucking hard,” he grunted against my lips as we stumbled upstairs together, both of us unwilling to stop touching one another.

  We hadn’t stopped calling each other by those stupid nicknames. If anything, they’d stuck.

  “Good thing I want you just as much then, isn’t it?”

  He groaned, hands grasping at my clothes as if he was going to tear them from my skin. I wanted to feel him in me. His body against mine. The sweet ecstasy of his cock driving into me over and over. It hadn’t taken us long to work out what the other liked. The way Aaron looked at me spoke volumes. He wanted it rough. And I would let him take me the way he needed.

  We stumbled into his bedroom together, hands tangled in each other’s hair as we kissed without restraint. He bit down on my bottom lip, making me whimper in anticipation. The moment we reached his bed, he shoved me down on my stomach and tore my clothes off my legs. I helped him along by pulling my t-shirt off.

  He walked away, ripping open his bedside drawer and grabbing the bottle from there. Then he was behind me, running his hands down my back. I could hear his laboured breathing and feel his eyes burning into my skin.

  “Aaron, please.”

  His hand ran up my neck and into my hair as he gripped it tightly in his fist.

  “You want my cock, do you?”

  “Please.”

  “Want me to pin you down and fuck you until you’re coming all over yourself?”

  My only response was to whimper as his fingers brushed against my hole.

  “Mmm, yes, you do, my little knight.”

  I shivered, bucking against him as he slid a lubed finger into me. How we discovered dirty talk turned us both on? One night whilst we were curled up on the sofa watching a film, I started whispering in his ear about how I wanted him to fuck me. I swear Aaron had been rougher than ever when he got me upstairs. And I loved every minute of it.

  Aaron worked me until I was a panting mess beneath him, begging him to give it to me. When he pulled back, I whined in protest, desperate for him already.

  It made me feel so fucking good earlier to show Aaron off as my boyfriend. It’d come naturally, telling Becky and her friends. Because everything about Aaron and me together came naturally. We were meant to be. I knew it deep in my heart. In my fucking soul. Aaron was my one and only.

  I looked back at him. My heart thumped hard against my chest watching him undress. The way his muscles flexed with each movement. I could stare at Aaron all day. He was the most beautiful boy I’d ever known. From the moment we’d met, I couldn’t take my eyes off him even if I’d fought so hard against us becoming friends. He had that way about him. He drew everyone around him in with his charm and charisma. Probably why I felt possessive. He was mine and I wanted to make sure everyone knew it.

  “What’s that smile for?” he asked, stroking his fingers down my spine when he’d stripped.

  “You make me happy.”

  The fire in his eyes dimmed a lit
tle, his expression growing softer. Only I saw this side of him. When he was open and unreserved with his affection and desire for me.

  He leant over and kissed my shoulder, his tender caress so at odds with his rough treatment from a few minutes ago.

  “You make me happy too.”

  He kicked my legs open wider, stroking his fingers across my lower back.

  “You’re perfect,” he whispered before pulling away.

  The pop of the cap signalled foreplay was over. A minute later I felt him against me, his hand gripping my hip. I grunted when his cock slid inside, the stretch making me crazy. He neither went too fast or too slow, feeding me inch by inch so I could have time to adjust. When his hips pressed against my behind, I gripped the covers below me as I knew what would come next.

  His hand ran up my back and curled into my hair, gripping onto it. Pulling his hips back, he thrust inside me again, the force of it making me moan. Aaron wasn’t gentle with me at all. I didn’t want him to be.

  “Don’t stop, prince, please.”

  The hand around my hip tightened. The way thrust into me had me rubbing against the covers, making my cock throb. At this rate, I wouldn’t even need to touch myself. He knew exactly how to work me up until I exploded. He adjusted his angle slightly so he could hit my prostate. I choked out a moan.

  “That’s right, little knight, you’re mine.”

  Aaron was possessive of me too. Hearing him tell me that made me tremble. And it only prompted him to fuck me harder. My knuckles went white in the sheets as I held on for dear fucking life.

  “Aaron!”

  I’d make a complete mess of his sheets if he wasn’t careful.

  “Close?”

  “Yes,” I choked out, trying desperately to hold back, wanting the feeling to last because there was nothing like this. Nothing at all. Everything about sex with Aaron had me needing more. So much more.

  He pulled out of me and flipped me over, shoving me on my back. Hands were on my thighs, pushing my legs back, then he was inside me again. The expression of pure bliss on his face set my body alight. His blue-grey eyes had me drowning in their heat and intensity.

  “I want to see you make a mess of yourself.”