“Holy shit, I think he’s dead,” Danny murmured.
“How the fuck do we explain that to the teachers?” Chad gasped.
“Shut the fuck up,” I growled, staring at the surface of the lake as the ripples spread away and the spot where Punch had disappeared became glassy again, until-
“I’m not a pussy!” he roared as his head broke the surface and he punched the air with a howl of triumph.
Everyone cheered him and a dark grin pulled at my lips as I backed up again. I wasn’t best pleased that he’d beaten me to being the first one in, but I was pretty fucking certain that Toby Rosner had just been reborn and no one would even mention his previous life as an Unspeakable again.
Once I was far enough back, I broke into a sprint, my bare feet pounding across the mud as I raced for the edge and propelled myself over it with all of my strength. A whoop of excitement spilled from my lungs and my arms and legs whirled as I plummeted through the air, falling, falling, falling, until my feet crashed through the water.
I barely even slowed as I shot beneath the surface, sinking at speed, my arm catching on a rock with enough force to split the skin open.
But the pain was nothing to the adrenaline coursing through my body. To the pure, undeniable thrill of surviving that insanity. And if anything, knowing I’d barely missed a collision with the rocks only made the thrill more intense.
When my descent finally ceased and my lungs were burning, I kicked for the surface, my gaze fixed on the golden light far above my head as I fought for a way back to fresh air.
My muscles bunched and flexed, my chest heaving with the desire to inhale and I finally breached the surface, sucking down a breath before whooping in triumph.
“Any more takers?” I bellowed, squinting up at the figures on the cliff high above, but none of them seemed inclined to risk their necks anymore. “Bring my shit back to The Temple for me then!”
I exchanged an excited grin with Toby and we both turned and started swimming for shore. The water was icy cold and the sun was sinking lower as we remained in its chilling embrace.
Eventually we made it to the beach where the cave which led into the catacombs was hidden and I scrubbed the water from my face and hair as I strode up the sand.
My heart was pounding with victory and my limbs were trembling with a mixture of exhaustion and adrenaline and maybe a little bit of hypothermia too. But fuck it. I gave no shits. Because the smile on my face wasn’t going anywhere any time soon and my grief had fucked all the way off.
Even the huge slash on my left bicep wasn’t enough to dampen my mood. That was exactly what I’d needed and I was more than ready to face the rest of the night now.
I gave Toby a genuine grin and turned away towards The Temple, setting a fast pace as I shivered in the cool evening air. I swear I could actually feel my balls trying to crawl up inside me and my dick shrivelling to a way less impressive standard than I was used to as the cold bit at me.
The glow of orange light spilling through the enormous stained glass window on the front of The Temple called me home and I hammered on the door as I arrived, hoping one of those douchebags had already brought my stuff back.
The door swung open and I was gifted a look at Tatum pouting in a deep blue halter neck skater dress before her eyes widened and she quickly stepped back to admit me as my damn teeth started chattering.
“What the hell happened to you?” she gasped, her eyes widening in what really did look like concern.
“Are you worried about me, Cinders?” I teased, but through the shivers my usual panty-dropping tone fell flat.
“Tell me about it while you shower,” she insisted, catching my arm and tugging me away from the living area where I could see the other guys and Monroe chatting on the couch, though they didn’t look my way. We carried on through my room and finally moved into the bathroom.
Tatum set the shower running, checked the temperature and gently pushed me in.
“Your arm is a fucking mess,” she tutted, eyeing the jagged cut the rocks had given me. I really was lucky to be alive.
“Tell it to me straight why don’t you?” I joked.
“I can hardly understand you while you’re shivering like that,” she replied, narrowing her eyes on me like I was offending her by being cold. “But my dad taught me a lot of survival shit, including first aid for wound care. So I can stitch that for you if you wanna avoid a hospital visit?”
“No way am I going near a fucking hospital,” I growled and she nodded in agreement. Everyone knew that hospitals meant the Hades Virus. Doctors and nurses who were wearing entire biohazard suits were still managing to catch that fucking illness way too fucking often. And it was damn clear to anyone with two brain cells to rub together that going and sitting in a hospital waiting room was akin to suicide these days.
“I agree. I’ll go find what I need then.” Tatum turned and headed out of the room.
It occurred to me that I hadn’t ordered her to take care of me or help with my arm. She’d chosen to offer. And that made me feel all sorts of uncomfortable. I’d treated her with nothing but ire at the very best since I’d found out about who her father was and it was more like pure venom most of the time. I didn’t deserve any kindness from her.
I dropped my soaking boxers and cranked the heat a bit more as I thawed out and the shivering quit. Thankfully, my dick had stopped playing turtle too and I ran my hand over it slowly as I thought about the way Tatum had looked at me when she found me bleeding on the doorstep.
It made me wonder if I hadn’t totally screwed everything up with her. Because surely if she still gave a shit about me after everything, then there was hope. Just the tiniest, almost invisible thread of it. But maybe, she didn’t entirely hate me. Maybe there was a chance that I could fix some of the mess I’d made between us.
I thought about the way she’d looked at me that night we’d spent together before everything. I remembered how much my body had reacted to hers. And how much hers had seemed to ache for mine.
I hadn’t gone near another girl since that night. I couldn’t summon the enthusiasm to even try. Because I knew that none of them would come close to her.
I stroked my cock again as I remembered the way I’d claimed her. How tight she’d been, how wet. And the way she’d called my name when-
“Jesus!” Tatum cursed and my eyes snapped open to find her standing in the doorway with a needle and thread and some antiseptic wipes.
“Shit,” I cursed, my hand still wrapped around my rock hard dick. I didn’t really know at this point if releasing it was better or worse. I didn’t want her to think I was carrying on while she was still here, but if I dropped it she’d just be looking my hard on in the eye. “I assumed you weren’t coming back in here…”
“Seriously? That’s the line you’re going with?” she asked, arching a brow at me which said she clearly thought I was full of shit.
“I swear,” I said innocently, raising both hands in surrender and her gaze instantly fell on my cock which really just encouraged it.
“Fine,” she huffed. “I’ll just wait in your room for you to…finish I guess.” She hesitated and the corner of my mouth twitched as her gaze raked over my naked body.
“Finish?” I asked with a filthy smile. She’d literally caught me with my dick in my hand so there wasn’t a lot of point in trying to pretend I hadn’t been doing what I’d been doing.
“Gah! I didn’t mean that!” A blush lined her cheeks which was so fucking cute and innocent that it made me ache to corrupt her. She spun towards the door and I called after her before I could stop myself.
“You’re welcome to stay, if you want to.”
“Why would I do that?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes with hatred, though she definitely checked out my dick again.
“To watch…or join me…anything you want.” I tossed her a cocky wink and she blushed even harder.
“As if I’d want to watch yo
u…do…that.” She waved a hand at me vaguely like she had no words. “I hate you, Blake Bowman. I hate your face and your abs and peachy ass and I especially hate your dick. So have fun jerking off alone because hell would freeze over before I’d touch it again.”
“I will,” I promised her as she slammed the door in my face, but I didn’t actually do it.
My wood was sinking hard after her outburst and it was for a stupid fucking reason. I didn’t like her saying she hated me. Even though after everything we’d done to her, it was more than obvious why. I just…wished it had sounded more like a lie on her lips.
I shut the water off and vaguely scrubbed a towel over my hair and body, avoiding the cut on my arm which was still steadily bleeding, before wrapping it around my waist and heading back into my room.
I stilled in the doorway as I spotted her on my bed, legs crossed, needle and thread ready and waiting.
“You still want to patch me up?” I asked in surprise.
“Not everyone in this house is a monster,” she quipped. “I’m not going to leave you bleeding just because you’re a total dickwad. I am however going to enjoy it each and every time I stab you with this needle.”
I snorted at that, and in a twisted way I was okay with it too. I’d hurt her enough times to have earned a little payback.
She pointed at the spot beside her on the bed and I dropped into it like a good patient, refusing to balk as she wiped the wound with antiseptic and it stung like a bitch.
“Are you going to tell me how this happened?” she asked half a second before driving the needle into my flesh.
I grunted in discomfort and she smiled like a psycho as she got to work patching me up.
“I jumped off the east cliff into the lake and hit a rock a little bit,” I said and I would have shrugged if she hadn’t stabbed me with the needle again.
“There were rocks in the water?” she asked, looking at me like she thought I was insane.
“Yeah. I guess I could have done you a favour by jumping a meter to the left and ridding you of me,” I joked.
“Don’t say stupid shit like that,” she growled, her gaze snapping up from her work to meet mine.
My lips parted at the ferocity in her tone, but I wasn’t really sure how to face it so I just brushed it off. I doubted it was real concern for me anyway. More like a moral objection to some asshole throwing his life away when I had it as good as I did on paper.
“What’s the matter, Cinders? You’re not starting to feel something for your tormentor are you? Was your favourite Disney movie Beauty and the Beast by any chance?”
“You wish,” she scoffed. “Besides, the Beast had redeeming qualities. You don’t. None of you do.”
“I’m pretty sure that Beauty didn’t think the Beast did either in the beginning. Maybe you just have to look harder?” I gave her my winning smile and her ice queen mask cracked a little.
“I’ll be sure to get my magnifying glass out,” she teased.
“If you do manage to find an ounce of good in any of us, I’ll give you a trophy from my collection,” I offered. “But I imagine it’ll be a hard won thing.”
Her gaze slid to the trophy filled shelves on the far wall and she rolled her eyes like they weren’t impressive. But I’d never met anyone who won first place as often as me in life so fuck that.
“I can’t believe you put that roll of toilet paper up there,” she muttered, looking back at my arm as I smiled at my latest trophy.
“I don’t choose the prizes, I just win them all,” I said cockily.
“Sure thing, champ,” she replied, cutting the end of the thread as she finished up her work on my stitches and swabbed it with another wipe.
“If you insist on feeding us this shit at least get it out of the oven when the timer sounds, Barbie!” Saint’s voice echoed through The Temple and Tatum huffed irritably.
“If you didn’t have to dance to our tune tonight, what would you be doing instead?” I asked her curiously.
“I wanna say literally anything else,” she replied, getting to her feet. “But I guess pizza night would be a good option anyway - I’d just spend it with people I actually liked.”
She moved into the bathroom to dump the bloody wipes and wash her hands and I pulled on a pair of sweatpants as I waited for her to come back.
She stepped back into my room and headed for the door which led to the living area and I moved to grab the handle, leaning in close to her for a moment as she was forced to pause.
“You liked me once, Tate,” I breathed. “For at least one night and maybe for a little while before then. We can always pretend we’re still those people tonight? If you want a…friend?”
She looked up at me with her lips tight and I was sure she was going to refuse me, but as her gaze caught mine, something in the depths of her eyes softened and she released a sigh.
“Sure,” she replied with a shrug. “Why the hell not? I’ll pretend to be the real Cinderella for the night and you can play at being Prince Charming. And then at midnight I’ll go right back to my rags and you’ll be a mean little pumpkin all over again. But if I catch you sniffing my shoes in the morning, we’re gonna have trouble, Blake Bowman.”
I grinned at her, pulling the door wide as my heart pounded solidly in my chest. I had to admit, there was something about that stern look she got in her eyes when she called me by my full name which I really quite liked.
“Your carriage awaits,” I teased, offering her my arm and after a beat of hesitation, she took it. Her small hand slid around the crook of my elbow and lightly gripped my bicep and I walked her through to the kitchenette.
Saint, Kyan and Monroe were already sitting around the dining table, a few drinks in and looking like the buzz was kicking in. Monroe was sinking beers and he wasn’t looking much different than usual aside from being here in our home instead of shouting at us on the field. Saint had a tumbler of insanely expensive vodka over ice sitting before him and Kyan was drinking Jack right out of the bottle.
One glance was enough to let me know that Kyan was already a third of the bottle down and the dark look in his eyes said we were going to be treated to him in his most douchey, angry asshole state tonight.
“Finally,” Saint growled, his gaze taking in the freshly stitched wound on my arm with a frown. “You wanna explain that, Blake?”
“I fell and sliced it on a rock,” I explained with a shrug. No need to mention quite how far I fell. “Cinders kindly patched me up and now I’m good as new.”
“You’re a girl of many talents,” Monroe said, his gaze trailing over Tatum though his features remained neutral, closed off. Our newest brother still didn’t fully trust us, but that was okay. He was a dog thrown into the wolf pack, but I was convinced he’d manage to prove his wild nature to us soon enough.
“You have no idea,” Tatum replied casually, batting her lashes at him.
“You should let her suck your cock some time if you wanna know about her talents,” Kyan said in a low voice.
Saint outwardly sneered and Monroe didn’t look too happy either. I could only really admit that he had a fucking good point. But maybe it was a dick move to bring it up at the dining table.
“Kyan came within about thirty seconds,” Tatum quipped back, barely missing a beat. “Which I’m guessing is the real reason he doesn’t fuck girls on campus. He doesn’t want everyone knowing how fast he blows his load. He must be a real disappointment to those poor Murkwell girls. Maybe that’s why he likes tying them up? So they can’t punch him in retaliation for the shit sex?”
Kyan laughed loudly, but it was a cruel thing. “I dunno why you’re so obsessed with my cock, baby. But you need to stop pining for me to put it in you because this bitter stuff isn’t a good look on you. It’s giving you crow’s feet.”
“You know what-” she began but Kyan cut her off.
“I’ll take that compliment now, baby,” he purred, grinning as she simmered with rage.
“W
hat?”
“The one you owe me for carrying that shit back here for you earlier,” he reminded her with a dark grin.
Tatum opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water, seeming to be hunting for a way out but there wasn’t one.
“Come on, I really wanna hear a genuine compliment from you. What is it about me that makes you so hot for me?” he taunted and Monroe clucked his tongue like this whole thing was dumb. Which it was, but none of us were gonna say a word to stop it.
“Fine,” she said, offering him a sweet smile while her eyes were filled with loathing. “You’re hot, Kyan. Like, seriously hot. You’ve got everything going on to look at you. Your muscles are stacked and your ink is so beautiful that I want to get lost tracing my hands all over it. You look like something sculpted by the gods for the sole purpose of melting panties.”
Kyan smiled like he was enjoying watch her squirm and she laid her hands on the table as she leaned towards him.
“But, that’s the only thing you’ve got going for you. Which makes you great for looking at and fooling around with, but you’ll never be good for anything else. And seeing as looks fade, I think you can look forward to a real lonely existence in the not so distant future.”
Monroe released a low whistle as Kyan snarled at her.
“Well at least I know I’m a monster, baby. I don’t try and pretend I’m anything else. But you’re the one who keeps lowering yourself to my level because as much as you hate the dirt I wallow in, you can’t help but love it when it makes you all filthy.”
Tatum’s cheeks reddened with rage and she parted her lips to respond, but I caught her arm and tugged her away so that she could concentrate on the food. I didn’t know why I was bothering to try and protect her from Kyan’s anger, but I’d promised to be her prince tonight so I guessed it was my duty.
She muttered beneath her breath about fat-headed overly shredded, tattoo-covered twat waffles as she pulled the pizzas out of the oven and put them on plates. I smirked as I took them from her and made quick work of slicing them.
Kings of Lockdown: A Dark High School Bully Romance (Brutal Boys of Everlake Prep Book 2) Page 21