by Eden O'Neill
I masked the growl in my voice, but I think she saw the heat in my eyes. She’d almost gotten me goddamn killed in traffic, and I think the only reason I hadn’t done anything immediately about it was because she’d caught me with her friend. The reaction had been so sweet at the time I’d given her allowances for earlier offenses.
Well, no longer.
Her mouth parted, her eyes scanning my hands lathering my chest. “I…”
“You what?” I passed into her space, cherry candies and floral scents array. I had no idea if the flowers were from her bodywash or from her. My eyebrows narrowed. “You’re sorry?”
“Fuck no,” she growled, her large chest bouncing. “You deserved it.”
She didn’t know what the fuck she deserved and hand to her throat, I cut off more of her lip.
She gasped, trembling. Her hazel eyes I could see myself in, the soft tone completely swimming in fear. She clawed at my hand. “Stop it.”
I only squeezed, panic making that fear blaze in her eyes. She was scared of me.
I was glad.
She needed to know who the fuck I was, that I wasn’t fucking around. I edged closer. “Tell me I deserve that shit again. I fucking dare you.”
A quiver before her hands left mine, the fear transforming in her eyes. There was hate there, something I woke up. Her expression hardened. “You deserved it. And more. You’re an asshole, Jaxen Ambrose. You’re a complete ass who treats people like shit.”
This girl obviously had a death wish. She obviously wanted to test me and was stupid as fuck. I had her in the shower, vulnerable, and yet, she completely talked back to me.
And was currently staring at my dick.
A quick flash, but I’d seen it, a heat in her eyes I couldn’t mistake. I’d seen it the day I fucked her.
My thumb brushed her pulse point. “See something that interests you, Girl Scout?” I asked, causing her to gasp again. My cock was about three inches away from her pussy. I nudged it. “You want me inside you?”
I gave her a promise in her old-ass car. She’d want me and not only that, she’d ask for me fully knowing who I was. There’d be no games this time. No bullshit about who I was. She’d want me inside her. Her stepbrother. Her enemy.
Her bully.
I’d make her quiver to her toes, and that would be my ultimate revenge. That’d she would choose this and prove who she was to me.
Nothing but a whore like her mother.
I wanted to break all this perfect bullshit she put off, this girl giving a show just like I was. I knew who she was.
I was just waiting for her to show it.
Cleo
He had me in the worst place to be, naked and trembling in his arms. A part of me hated that he might be right. That I did maybe want him to touch me.
That I remembered what it felt like.
I think in that moment I truly did hate him, but not because he had me cornered in this shower. But because of what he gave me and took away. To what he’d allowed me to feel only to end up being a psychopath in the end. He was crazy. He was psycho.
I bared teeth. “You’re nothing but a cruel psychopath, and I’ll never want you. You’ll never touch me again. Ever.”
A smirk before a dark gleam appeared in his eyes. He was a beautiful demon with nothing but mischief in his eyes. He squeezed my throat, and I quivered, his big body crowding me in the corner.
“You give yourself away, stepsister,” he hummed, smelling harshly of male. He was dizzying, the cruel taste of him on my tongue. He grinned. “Oh, how you fucking want me…”
“I don’t want you!”
His arms caged me in an instant, the soar of a wingspan around me. He was like a dark bird, a vicious crow with nothing but hate in his eyes. He still had that hate, a disgust that physically made his lips curl. He eyed me. “I can smell it on you.”
I shoved at him and he got my hands in one tight fist. He ripped them above my head, extending me out and I screeched. His hand got my mouth, his lips to my ear. “Should I check? See how wet you are for me?”
I bucked, my thighs slapping his. I could feel him, all over me I could feel him, his body hard everywhere I was so soft. “Jaxen, please.”
“Jax,” he growled, such vicious delight in his eyes. He touched our noses. “Is that a yes, then?”
“It’s a hell no.”
He squeezed my jaw until the point where it hurt. I wanted to scream, but honestly, I was scared of what he’d do. If he’d physically bring harm to me, touch me in ways I didn’t want to be touched. He said he’d check out how wet I was for him.
But if he did, he’d see the truth.
He’d see how much I trembled for him, see how much I hated that he did bring things out in me. It was as confusing as it was heartbreaking.
Tears in my eyes he’d obviously seen, something in his eyes twitching. The end result was him grabbing my face harder.
And pulling in closer.
“I’ll be waiting for you, Girl Scout,” he said, nose brushing my ear. He bit my lobe. “And if you know what’s good for you, you won’t make me wait long.”
“It’ll never happen,” I charged, more confidence in the statement than I felt. I had to. I couldn’t back down.
Because I didn’t know what he’d do if I did.
Nothing but a smirk as he let go, his eyes playful with his stare. “You’re making this so fun for me. You know that?”
He reached for my chin, and I smacked his hand away.
A chuckle. “So much bite.” He bit his own lip. “Keep that. It only adds to what you are.”
He touched my jaw, a ring on his finger. I’d seen it before, but as he wore it in the shower too, I found that odd. In fact, he never took it off, some kind of animal on it.
The gorilla had its teeth bared, dark and evil just like the guy who wore it. Tapping my nose, Jax let me go, only taking the seconds to rinse himself off before turning off the shower.
“You know where I’ll be,” he said, taking his towel and cinching it around his chiseled waist. He winked. “And make sure to thank Rick for me.”
“Thank him?”
Another wink. “After all, I wouldn’t have gotten into your dorm room at all without him. The call he made?”
My lips parted as he stalked away, his feet slapping the tiles. The door slammed shut after he left and I stood under jets until the water went cold. He had my adoptive father wrapped around his finger.
And once again, I was at a loss for what to do about that.
Chapter Ten
Jax
A group text woke me up a few days later, an ungodly hour at 8 a.m., but as my buddies started classes this week, I wasn’t surprised they were up. It was only move-in week for me, and I didn’t start classes until next week.
Royal: What do you guys think of this?
His next text was a picture of sparkling jewelry, the sapphire jewel in the velvet lined box like something out of that movie Titanic. Fuck, it was big enough. It took up the whole box he’d had it in and was surrounded by little white diamonds.
I smirked.
Jax: It’s nice, man, but I have to say, the color doesn’t bring out your eyes much. ;)
Royal: It’s not for me, asshole. It’s for Em. A wedding present?
Not like I could forget since I was a groomsman. Royal had asked all us guys to be in his wedding later this term. He and his fiancee, December, were supposed to wait until we all graduated to get married, but the pair must have gotten antsy because over the summer Royal’d sat down and asked Knight, LJ, and myself to be in his wedding. Royal said he and December were planning a wedding back home in Maywood Heights during the holidays, and my first thought, as well as the rest of the guys, was what December’s dad thought about that. Her dad had been more than vocal about wanting the two to wait when they got engaged our junior year. Royal had assured us her dad was cool with it, though, and I guessed I wasn’t surprised. Anytime I saw December’s dad with him, they
seemed to be hitting it off.
Good for Royal since December’s dad was truly fucking scary.
Us guys got to know him a lot since December’s dad was also our friend Paige’s father. We’d lost her far too soon, but since that loss, Mr. Lindquist had softened quite a bit. The dude had been prickly as fuck, but once December came around, things started changing. I think Paige’s death put things into perspective for the guy. He was super protective of December, and Royal had had to prove himself a lot over the years since Paige’s death.
He must have accomplished that feat since Mr. Lindquist was finally allowing his daughter’s hand to go to Royal. My buddy and his girl were their own happy little fairy tale, and I was happy for him. It was hard not to love December, just like her sister Paige.
Jax: Obviously, I was just giving you a hard time.
Royal: Right. Any other opinions? Maybe from someone who actually has a girl?
I lifted my eyes to the air but allowed that one. I didn’t have a girl, but didn’t want one. These motherfuckers were totally weighed down since they got women in their lives.
No, thanks.
I had my own battles at the present to deal with, particularly a stepsister down the hall I wanted to wake up from her sleep and hound. I wasn’t done with her, not by a long shot. I’d gotten her right where I wanted the other night, let her know her place.
The tears only let me know I had.
I’d been surprised to see them, unexpected, but I passed them off as more of her head games. She’d wanted me to stop by giving emotion, but I called bullshit on that. The girl was full of shit, but her faux tears let me know how desperate she was. That I was getting to her.
And once that happened, my bio dad would know where I stood. He’d know who I was and wouldn’t be able to fuck with me, my mom, or our family anymore. The asshole needed to pay for his sins, and I’d be the Grim fucking Reaper. My stepsister would be a casualty for his sins. The girl was mine to have.
Mine to shatter.
Knight: Anyway, let a master take a look.
LJ: Right. And, Jax, how the hell are you even up before noon?
Me: I’m up because of you motherfuckers.
Royal: Then go back to fucking sleep. God. Guys?
LJ: I like it, R.
Knight: Yeah, it’s cool, but is it a little impersonal?
Royal: What do you mean?
Knight: I mean, it seems really flashy for Em, right?
I decided to chime in since I agreed. December was casual. A lot like Paige had been in that way.
Me: Yeah, not really her style.
Royal: Fuck, I was afraid of that. She told me earlier at breakfast she just ordered my groom’s gift and I got fucking panicked. Next, thing I knew I was at Prinzes’ Jewelry.
His family’s company, I supposed Royal could have any fine merchandise he wanted—at any hour. Outside of the jewelry store, the Prinze legacy owned half the banks in town as well as many other small businesses.
Royal: I guess I’ll have to think more about this.
Knight: Well, when you do, lend me some help for something for Greer. Our anniversary is coming up, and I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing.
I nearly howled in laughter in my bed.
Me: Anniversary? Seriously? Y’all been dating, what? Like five seconds and you’re getting her something already?
Knight: Try a goddamn year, fucker. This fall? Anyway, enough from your single ass.
LJ: Yeah, enough, bro.
Well, Jesus if they didn’t want my fucking help, then they didn’t have to get it.
I tossed my phone and the device started buzzing moments later. I saw Royal’s dumbass face flash across it, a picture of us both at the lake when we were kids. We used to fish all the time, neighbors for life and my first best friend. I loved all my brothers, but Royal and I had been day one bros being neighbors our whole lives. He’d stayed at my house countless times when his father had beaten the shit out of him growing up, my moms going to bat for him whenever Mr. Prinze decided to show his sorry ass to come and get him. My moms would never let him go, protecting him. Eventually, Royal got stubborn, and my moms couldn’t step in as much as we got older. Royal was his own man and had his own battles to fight. Pops got his just desserts in the end, though. That fucker was gratefully behind bars, more than one of us happy about that. He’d deserved that shit, and free of him, Royal finally got to live his life, be happy.
Didn’t mean I couldn’t be pissed at him and the other guys for talking shit to me, though.
Removing my attention from my buzzing device, I decided to pick up my computer. Since I was up, might as well go over my email. To my surprise, I had quite a few things in my campus box. Some of the professors let us know they sent the syllabus already and the class could check it out online. I wasn’t trying to get into my school shit right now, but it was something to do.
But then the video chat notification.
It came right up on the corner of my screen, Royal’s face again. The dude was relentless. I turned that shit off, but no sooner than I had, the call sounded once more.
He’s not going to give up.
I wouldn’t if I wanted to talk to him. That’s just what we fucking did. We hounded, all of us, until we got our way.
Sighing, I opened the chat only to find not one but three faces appear.
No, this fucker did not pull me into a group video chat.
But there they were, all three of my best friends. Royal sat back in his executive chair like the boss and future CEO he was. He inherited all of his father’s companies after the man landed his ass in prison, but currently, Royal had shareholders running things while he was in school. He must still be at home in his castle, because his location was clearly his dad’s office.
Fully dressed, Royal sat back in his Pembroke University sweatshirt, his blond hair wet like he’d just gotten out of the shower. He sat at the desk with his finger to his lips and our buddies Knight and LJ looked about the same. They too were wearing university gear, but only Knight’s ass looked like a grandmother. He had a set of black rimmed glasses on, yelling at the camera with no sound.
I lifted my eyes. “Knight, bro. Your sound isn’t fucking on.”
More yelling on his end, and LJ had his head tossed back in laughter. He had that mane of his tied up, chuckling hard. Meanwhile, Royal appeared to be over this shit already.
Royal put a hand to his face. “Knight?”
“I got it. Fuck,” Knight gritted, the screen shaking when he tapped it. “This is Greer’s computer. Leave me the fuck alone.”
“Right, Grandpa Reed,” I smirked, which got me the bird right in my screen. Knight actually held it there, tapping at the camera before sitting back in what appeared to be his frat. He was the only one out of the four of us who decided to join a fraternity when we all went off to school.
“Say that shit again,” Knight growled, but then a shot of a blond bombshell with nothing but a set of boy shorts and a tiny top on angled into the sideview of his screen. His girlfriend Greer was goddamn gorgeous, and if I didn’t think I’d get my ass annihilated, I might whistle or say some shit about that.
She casually strode through the shot, and almost immediately, Knight tilted the screen almost closed. “Baby, I’m on a call with the guys. Can you not for like a second? They can see like your full ass.”
A shriek after that, obviously her since she realized we’d seen. By this time, even Royal was roaring, and lifting his screen, Knight sneered at us.
“Enough from the fucking peanut gallery,” he grunted. “She’s not used to me making video calls.”
“Neither are you, Grandpa,” I chided with a wink.
Another flip off in my screen, and chuckling, I lay back, lacing my fingers across my chest.
“So, Jax, did we say we were fucking done with you?” Royal asked, eyeing me. “Jax leaves the chat, and you just thought we were going to fucking let you?”
He said thi
s, but his eyes danced, clearly just giving me a hard time here. I rolled my eyes. “Nah, I was just over the handling. Plus, I don’t want to hear all your shit.”
I was single, so fucking what?
“Well, maybe you should fucking hear it.” A eyebrow lift on Royal’s end. “You might not be such an asshole.”
Why the fuck did people keep calling me an asshole lately? Cleo may have me on that, but it was so not deserved this last fucking time. I scratched into my hair.
“Right, man.” Knight fixed his screen. “Not to mention, you really haven’t been acting like yourself. We barely saw you over the summer, and when we did, you looked like you had the fucking world on your shoulders. What’s your deal?”
My deal had nothing to do with them, silence on my end, but then LJ had to lean in front of the screen.
“This have to do with your grand master plan?” he asked, tilting his head. “The one to fuck with your dad’s family?”
My lashes blinked, eyes fucking wide, and it took me a second to get my thoughts back. I’d seen LJ over the summer, but not once had I mentioned some grand master plan to fuck with my dad’s family. I may have alluded to some things when I’d last seen him, but I’d never put it all completely out there.
I guessed he’d figured it out.
LJ smirked. “That’s it, isn’t it? I’m right, aren’t I?”
“Wait a goddamn second.” Royal raised a hand. “What master plan?”
“Yeah, what plan?” Despite wearing glasses, Knight leaned it. He normally wore contacts, so I couldn’t remember the last time I’d actually seen him in glasses. Maybe middle school? He scratched his head. “I think I’m missing something.”
“Me, too,” Royal chimed in, and when LJ started to open his fucking mouth again, I lifted my hands.
“There’s no goddamn plan.”
“Like hell there isn’t,” LJ cut me off, leaning back in his own bed. “Dude was going on about how he had some kind of shit in store for his dad and stepsister. R, remember how I told you Jax and I had a weird-ass conversation when I went down to Miami for that wedding for Billie’s dad?”