by Lindsey Iler
“Never in a million years.” I hold up my hands to say I’m innocent.
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” With the knowledge of my reputation in her head, she still leaves me alone with Palmer.
Sweet fucking victory.
I follow her to the front door and lock it after she leaves. When I turn around, Palmer is no longer at the table, but her bag and belongings are.
The two-story building is dimly lit. The dean claims it helps induce a calm workspace. In reality, he might as well have put mattresses in the back. It’s now where students go to fuck, far back in the stacks.
“Oh, Palmer.” I grin, grabbing her phone and swiping the screen. If she’s dumb enough to leave it unprotected with no passcode, then I’m going to take what I want. It’s not like this girl would willingly hand over her phone number to a guy like me. Putting it back onto the table, I check my surroundings. “Come on out, Palmer. You owe me what I’ve won.”
“Not a chance.” Her voice carries through the tall building. She could be anywhere.
I search for a minute or two, to no avail. This girl is practically a ghost. I ascend the staircase, stalking her like a killer does his victim. It wraps up on both sides, like the grand one in my childhood home. My phone vibrates in my pocket as I hit the top step, and I dig it out and click accept.
“What’s up, man?” I say. “I’m busy studying.”
“Sure you are, but I thought you might want to know she isn’t up there,” Dixon says, laughing. I search the corners until spotting the camera. “Say cheese, mother fucker.”
“Can you see her?” I whisper, hoping not to give my position away in case she’s close.
“She’s on the move,” Dixon explains. “How about we make this game a little more fun?” At his words, the lights turn off, casting the entire library in the dark.
“How the hell did you do that?” I glance around, amazed at this guy’s talents.
“Skill. Time and energy. A willingness to learn.” Dixon’s voice drips with pride. “Now, are we going to catch her or not?”
“Which way?” I ask. It’s been a while since Dixon and I’ve messed with someone together.
He gives me specific instructions, sends me up and down certain aisles, but I always come up short. It isn’t until I’ve gone up and down the stairs two times that I realize Dixon has played me.
“You’ve been sending me on a wild goose chase, haven’t you?” I pull the phone from my ear, growling my anger, before bringing it back.
“Just proving my point.” Dixon snickers. “She’s on the bottom floor, third row in non-fiction. Hasn’t moved this whole time, asshole. Go bat her around for a little while and come home when you’ve quenched your thirst.”
“You’re a dick.” I shake my head and hold up my middle finger, knowing damn well he is watching. He’s always watching.
“Should I turn off the monitors, or can I watch?”
“Do whatever the fuck you want.” I hang up and stalk right over to where I’ll find her.
Hidden in plain sight, she is tucked into the back corner. Her thighs are flush to her chest, like she’s afraid she’ll be hurt by my hands. Some have been in the past, but never her.
“Stand up,” I demand, reaching out to help her.
“And why should I, huh?” She stares at my offering.
“Because you’re in no position to argue, Palmer. Now, stand the fuck up.” I jerk my hand forward, damn willing her to grip it.
When she does, a smile warms my face, and I yank her to her feet. She crashes into my chest, pretending to be disgusted by my very existence, but it’s obvious from the way her fingers grip my shirt, she’s not.
“If I were to guess, I’d bet you’re imagining me with my clothes off.” I tuck strands of her hair behind her ear. Her eyes dilate as she watches my tongue slip across my lips. “All you have to do is ask, and you can get the full show.”
“You’d be wrong.” She tries to push me back. Unfortunately for her, she’s trapped between the stacks and my body.
“Nowhere to go, baby.” I apply enough pressure, forcing her small frame to pinch against the metal. “What’s it going to be?”
“I know what you’re trying to do, Marek, and it won’t work.”
“And what is it you think I’m trying to do?” I step back and rest against the stacks across from Palmer. I half expect her to start running. To my surprise, she stays put.
“Intimidate me. Make me squirm, but I’m curious.” She places a finger to her mouth like she’s debating something. “Why now? We’ve gone to school with each other for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never been on your radar.”
“What do you want me to say?” I shrug, dismissing her accusation. “I’m bored.”
“You and Byron aren’t so different, you know?” She spins on her heels and sways her hips as she leaves. Over her shoulder, a wicked gleam startles me. “At least that’s what my sister said.”
At the mention of Reed, my blood ripples under my skin. The biological reaction isn’t anything new.
“She means . . . meant something to us. To all of us,” I call out. Regret instantly sinks in. Quit showing her your cards.
“I know she did.” Palmer stops at the table, shoving everything in her bag. “Reed and I didn’t have secrets, Marek.” She turns and pierces me with a glare wrapped in distaste and distrust, of which I’ve earned. We all have. “You’d be good to remember that.”
“Who’s making the threats now, Palmer?” Her hatred towards me only makes me want to bury myself inside of her more. She’s sexy when she’s angry.
“You aren’t the only one who’s capable of destruction, Marek. Except I won’t have to use my body like the rest of you. Everything I need to destroy you four” —she taps her temple— “is all up here.”
“You’re playing with the depraved.” I stalk forward until I’m looming above her. She tilts her chin up, her icy blue eyes guiding me like a flashlight in the dark. Seeing her hungry for me and frightened has my dick hard. “Are you ready for that?” Please tell me you’re ready.
Palmer wraps her dainty fingers around the silver chain that always stays tucked inside my shirt. She runs a finger over the small key, unknowing the link it has to her sister. “This is an awfully dainty necklace for a tough guy like you, Marek.”
I wrap my hand around her wrist and pull until she releases the last part of Reed I still have. “A girl like you should know her place.”
“You have no idea who you’re messing with.” Watching her rub the ache from her wrist makes me want to pinken it more.
“I sure hope you’re right, because we don’t let up. I’d really hate for something bad to happen to you.” I step back and leave her in the middle of the dark, secluded library.
As I turn the key in the ignition, the library lights up, the windows shining bright with yellow.
“Fucking Dixon,” I curse and switch gears to roll out of the parking lot. If the video has sound, then he’ll know damn well she got the upper hand on me tonight.
In my rearview mirror, I catch a glimpse of Palmer as she circles the side of the building. There’s no parking lot back there. That dumb girl. She’s walking through campus at night, by herself. She can’t be that stupid and reckless.
The drive up the hill goes by too quick. I do my best thinking behind the wheel. It’s the only time in my life I don’t have someone else’s voice in my ear. Expectations fall away, and I can just be. I slam the truck door and head inside.
A quiet house is never a good sign.
“Real smooth, Marek. Why don’t you just read her our diaries, you dumb fuck!” Dixon shouts from the living room as the door leading inside closes.
I ignore him and head up the stairs, taking them two at a time.
The second my head hits the pillow, my mind wanders back to the library. Searching for Palmer was exhilarating. I knew she was close, could feel her, but the chase, that was worth it all.
I pop the button on my jeans and free myself. Too consumed with want, I lick my hand and wrap the moist fingers around my shaft, stroking myself from base to tip. A pair of blue eyes and dark hair drive me to release.
After a quick shower, I wrap a towel around my waist, grab my phone off my bed, and open the camera. In front of the mirror, I snap a few shots. I push send and wait for a response that will probably never come.
Sending her those pictures isn’t for a response.
Girls like Palmer need to be reminded what could be theirs if they dared to reach out and take it. Just knowing she has my photo in front of her, imagining running her tongue along the skin right above where the white towel rests, has all the blood cells rushing to my dick, even after relieving myself.
“You proud of yourself?” Byron steps into my room. The phone in my hand holds his attention. “Please tell me those pictures aren’t for who I think they are.”
“You aren’t the only one who gets to play.” I drop my towel and dress.
This family doesn’t have secrets. There’s no room for bashfulness, not with the things we do together. We are a unit. An unbreakable chain wraps around each of us, connecting us. We hold onto the secrets and fears, welcoming the dark and despicable. It’s how we work. It’s how we thrive.
Byron nods his chin at me. “She’s off limits.”
“Some limits are meant to be pushed.” I pull up my sweats and sit on the edge of the bed.
“You’ll break her. She isn’t like her sister.”
“How do you know what she is, huh?” My jaw clenches with anger at the simple facts I know. “You’ve spent the last year ignoring her existence when we should have been pulling her in.”
“Distance has always been the plan until we need her close.”
“And do we need her close now? Is it okay to drag her into our mess?”
“You made that decision for us tonight, now, didn’t you, brother?”
“I’m not your brother.”
“We may not share a Mommy and Daddy, but you better believe I’ll kill for you. If that doesn’t make us family, I don’t know what will.” He turns to leave.
“How bad did I fuck up?” My question freezes Byron with his hand on the door.
Byron spins, watching me with apprehension. “Pretty bad, but you and I both know you don’t give a fuck. Marek sets his eyes on something he wants, he gets it.”
“You going to help me then?” I shrug, not arguing about what he said because he’s right.
“Don’t I always?” He leaves me with that quiet promise I know he’ll die to keep for me.
Chapter Three
Palmer
Music pours from the speakers encircling the club. Aces is always packed on a Saturday. It’s the only club in a hundred-mile radius that doesn’t card the kids from Glass Heart Academy, and everyone takes advantage of that simple fact.
Reed dragged me here last year, and that was the last time I’d ever stepped foot in this place. I promised myself I would never submit myself to the torture again. That was true, until my roommate, and for all intents and purposes, best friend, asked me to tag along with her. There was no way I would let her come out here alone, especially to meet a guy she’s been chatting with on the internet. That’s a quick way to find yourself strangled in a ditch.
Not on my watch.
“Do you see him anywhere?” I hang over the balcony and search the dance floor.
They’re packed in like sardines. The smell of alcohol, sweat, and sex permeates the air.
“He just walked in with his friends.” Delaney points to the shadowed entrance. A group of five or six guys waltz in, carrying themselves with confidence and poise.
“Seriously?” I chuckle. “Delaney, that’s the guy you’ve been talking with?”
“What’s your problem?” She turns on me, pinching her small balled up hands into her hips. “He’s hot.”
“He’s also probably thirty.” I check again, and a rush of familiarity floods my mind. Do I know this guy?
“Experienced is the word I’d use to describe him.” She twists back to the balcony and bounces on her heels. Damn, she is excited about meeting this fool. I’ve never seen her get worked up over anyone.
“Thirty is thirty,” I scoff.
“He’s not thirty”— she blows me a kiss— “and don’t wait up for me.”
Before I can protest, she’s pushing through the crowds. I track her steps, expecting to see her come down the stairwell in the next thirty seconds. When she finally does, she hikes her tits up, adjusts her dress, and rubs her lipstick-covered lips together. She’s looking to kill, and if the grin on the guy’s face says anything, he’s happy to be murdered by my best friend.
As the music switches directions to something slower and more sensual, I can’t stop the sway of my hips. Realizing someone can see me, I set off to find a quiet place to sit. Beneath the same stairwell Delaney took, I find a tiny nook in the corner with a full L-shaped couch. It’s empty and I sit, pulling a book from my purse.
This club, surrounded by people, is the last place I want to be. One thing I’ve learned from being Reed’s sister, is that you don’t turn your back on the ones who always have yours. Delaney’s a constant for me, and I will be the same for her. If she needs me to be standby for her, that’s exactly what I’ll do.
An hour passes, and several times I check to make sure Delaney is still in one piece. If the smile on her face is any indication, I’d say she’s doing just fine.
I take out my phone, skimming through my social media accounts. When I get bored, I scan the space in front of me to make sure I’m alone. All it takes is a few buttons to open the text I received last night. The hard body in the picture is faceless, but I don’t need one to know exactly who it is.
On his right hip, the tattoo peeking out above the white towel is all I need to see to confirm it’s Marek. I’ve spotted his ink several times as he’s walked off the football field after a game, pads and jersey hanging from his hand, and sweat dripping down his chest like it can’t help but touch every inch of him.
“Caught you, Palmer.”
I jump from the intrusion and tuck my phone under my thigh to hide the evidence.
Byron sits on the opposite end of the couch, looking like every high schooler’s wet dream. That is if you dream about being dicked down by your teacher. Where the hell did he come from, anyway? Had I been so stuck in my own thoughts of Marek’s body that he’d slipped right past me? I need to be more self-aware.
He crosses a jean-clad leg over the other at his knee, pulling his pants snug on his thighs. With a tight grip on his shin, he watches me. But does he need to watch me like a lion does a wounded zebra? I shift, uncomfortable being locked under his scrutiny. Never in my life have I ever felt so unsafe as I do now.
“No need to be shy.” Byron winks at me, then breaks his stare.
At the entrance of my secluded spot stand Marek, Breaker, and Dixon, looking like the gods they are. Untouchable and invincible.
“Aren’t you a teacher? Shouldn’t you be trying to avoid places like this?” I grab my phone and stand.
Breaker hops over the table between us, invading every inch of the space in front of me. The back of my knees is pinned to the couch, and the heat from his chest filters through my blouse. His closeness entrances me so much, I miss his hand skimming down my arm and wrapping around my phone. He yanks it from my grasp and tosses it over his shoulder to Marek.
Don’t bolt for it. It will make you more obvious.
“Aren’t you going to come get it?” Marek dangles it in the air between us.
“No,” I say confidently. The only way to survive these four is to feign indifference, and they’ll lose interest. It’s no fun to hunt if the animal walks its chest into the barrel of the gun.
“Let’s see what she’s looking at, boys.” Marek clicks the screen, smirking when he finds a passcode in place.
Ha! Now, who’s smart?
“That’s not my passcode,” I say triumphantly.
The only problem is, Dixon’s smile is much wider, like he knows something I don’t.
Marek taps my screen and bites his bottom lip, pulling it tight inside his mouth, then letting the plump skin pop out. Wearing a wild smile, he holds up the phone for me to see his picture.
“It is now.” Dixon sits next to his brother, extending his arms along the back of the couch. Breaker joins him, leaving Marek and me in a standoff.
“What is this? A shake down? Corner a defenseless girl in the shadows?” I swallow, knowing what these four are capable of.
The rumors are just that to everyone else who walks through the shiny gates of our academy. Underclassmen know who to avoid, and upperclassmen know whose dick to suck if they want to survive their education under the gray and black flags of our school.
I was born with a get out of jail free card. My sister. She was this protective shield around me, stopping any threat that could come my way. No one fucked with her, and these four boys are the reason.
Their friendship wasn’t always easy. Freshman year, they nearly broke her, and with the flip of the same coin, they won her devotion and understanding.
“I don’t owe you shit!” I spit.
“Let’s get something clear.” Marek steps into me. One hand rests on my hip, and his fingers dig into the small patch of exposed skin between my blouse and jeans. “You are not defenseless. If you have one-third of your sister’s DNA, you’re solid.” He bends down to drive his point home. “You’re right, though. You don’t owe us anything, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to make you pay.”
Breaker laughs. “How though, brother? How will we ever make her pay?” His voice becomes more sinister and excited from the prospect.
“Could be money, but we all have enough of that,” Dixon adds.
“Maybe with her body.” Byron chuckles, enjoying this far too much.
“No, that’s not the kind of payment we’re looking for, Palmer.” Marek releases my hip, forcing me to admit how much I miss his touch. His hand doesn’t wait too long to press against my chest, pushing me onto the couch next to Breaker.