by Lindsey Iler
“We have video surveillance in the house.” He grins, knowing fully well what’s been seen on those cameras.
“In each of your bedrooms? Don’t you think that’s a violation of others’ privacy, especially if we don’t consent to it?”
“It doesn’t record,”— he reaches across the table and grabs my hand— “if that makes you feel better.”
“Not really.”
“What do you want me to say? We don’t keep secrets, Palmer. The minute you walk through the front door, you consent to be an open book. That’s how we work. It’s how we stay loyal.” He squeezes his hand around mine, gently begging me to understand.
“You’re asking me to comprehend the inner workings of you boys’ minds, and I don’t think I’ll ever understand what it is you four mean to each other.”
“Would you like to?” Marek grabs my wrist, lifting my open hand to his mouth and nibbling on the ends of each of my fingers. Every bite is a little more intense than the one before.
“I’m not into the things my sister was, Marek,” I explain. “Last night was a lapse in judgment. Byron found me in a moment of weakness after you told me to live life, and then you showed up in the room, and I couldn’t . . .”
“Couldn’t what, Palmer?” He stands, reaching out to me. I trustingly place my hand in his and let him pull me to my feet. He twirls my back to his chest, pinning my thighs against the table, practically bending me over. His fingers wrap around my ponytail and yank tight enough to pull at the hair on my scalp. The burn is a sensation I never believed I’d enjoy. “What was it you couldn’t do, huh?”
“Resist you.” I’ve handed my body over to him without question, and now, he holds onto my mind.
“What was it you liked about it?” His other hand slides down to explore the back of my leg.
“You watching him touch me, knowing it was killing you. That’s the part I liked.” At my confession, I’m spun back around, bringing my chest flush against Marek’s.
“You and I, Palmer Weston, might not be that different after all.” His hands find their home in my hair while his lips lower to mine, offering me a slow and steady kiss that has my knees buckling. Marek’s movements are quick. He holds me up, offering me a sly smile as I pull my lips away from his. “Don’t ever show your weakness around us. We’ll use it against you. Even if we’re the ones that force it out of its hiding spot.”
Chapter Six
Marek
Palmer lifts her chin, giving me a glimpse of her soul through her eyes. The soft lighting reveals icy blues with flecks of silver around the pupils, deep like the ocean and as alluring as the sea. Why does this girl have me all twisted up? Seeing her is easy. I’m not afraid of what she’ll discover inside of me.
“Okay,” she whispers, leaning into my hand on her cheek.
One simple word seemingly hands her over to me. Okay.
“Let’s get you back home,” I offer, turning towards the back doors I know Breaker snuck them in through.
Palmer’s warm hand wraps around my wrist, stopping me in my tracks. I skim from where she’s connected us up to her face. Like I said, the girl is easy to see.
“What if I say I don’t want to go home?” Her tone is unapologetic.
Well, fuck. Her question is very much unexpected.
She leads me through the darkened building. Once outside, she releases my hand, and I follow her down the sidewalk.
My phone vibrates in my pocket, but it’s easy to ignore. Nothing can distract me from a smile like Palmer’s as she glances back at me. She’s clearly up to something. What that is, I intend to find out.
“Not that much farther,” Palmer calls over her shoulder.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m enjoying the view.” I appreciate the perfect curve of her back onto her ass that’s swaying. Whoever chose these school uniforms is doing me a favor. Short skirts are my undoing.
She turns to walk backwards, grinning with a soft chuckle under her breath. “Is that so?”
“It is.” I take two large steps and invade her space. She tries to pull away, but I’m quick, wrapping my arm around her waist and tugging her close. “Now, where exactly are you taking me? Don’t you know it’s not safe to traipse around campus at night?”
“You wouldn’t let anything happen to me, Marek, would you?” Unspoken desire is alive and well in her eyes.
At the trust in her voice, my stomach churns. Letting her in, being out here with her, will only make the inevitable harder. This can go nowhere. Yet, I follow her through campus like she’s my personal Pied Piper.
“Only thing happening to you is from my hands, Palmer,” I say into the darkness. The things I would do to this girl, if she only knew.
Her hands stall on the doors leading into the gymnasium. I assume they’re locked, but she smiles at me as she pulls them wide open.
“You boys aren’t the only ones who know things.” She bites her bottom lip as she glances back at me. “And I think I can handle whatever your hands have planned.”
“Don’t be so sure.” I walk past her.
The hallways are dark. The only sound comes from our breaths and Palmer’s shoes hitting the tiled floor. Without hesitation, she follows me. Someone needs to teach this girl self-preservation. Girls only follow me for one reason. To be used. Palmer doesn’t seem like the usable type.
I open the door and immediately a wall of heat and the smell of chlorine hit me. The lights in the pool create a soft, blue ripple in the water. Palmer pushes past me to the pool’s edge and slips off her shoes. The muscles in her legs stretch as she stands on her tiptoes. I’m going to need to remember to thank whoever decided this should be the girls’ uniform.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I sit on the bench the swim team uses during meets.
Palmer sheds her jacket, dropping it to the wet floor at her feet. Over her shoulder, she watches me, teasing me as she grips the bottom of her tank top.
“Palmer, I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
“You mean, don’t do this?” Her tank top is gone in an instant. The black lace bra crosses along her back, showing off her small but strong frame.
With most girls, this would be a game, a way to make me take notice. With Palmer, this is all her. The truth. A kind of honesty that’s hard to come by.
“You’re playing a game you won’t win.” My gaze shifts up and down her body.
“We’ll see.” She faces the water and reaches for the zipper on her skirt. It’s lowered slowly, and the fabric slips from her body, landing at her feet.
Palmer dives with delicate form as she pierces through the surface. I push off the bench, tugging the sleeves of my shirt past my elbows to feel the temperature of the water. Palmer’s head pops up in the middle of the pool.
“It’s warm,” she observes. “You want to come in, see for yourself?”
“I don’t think so, Palmer.” I roll the bottom of my pants to my knees and sit on the edge. A wet bundle of black fabric hits me square in the chest.
“You sure about that?” She swims forward. The water magnifies her pale flesh. She hits the side wall of the pool, reaching up to place her hands on my thighs. “I promise it will feel nice.”
I use every muscle in my body to stop myself from bending down and taking her lips hostage. “I have no doubt anything with you would.”
Palmer slides her hands from my thighs onto the pool deck beside my hips and lifts up, pecking her lips against mine. My hands grab high on her sides, and she wraps hers around my neck, pulling me off balance.
Water filters into my lungs, and panic sets in as my head dips below the surface. My arms flay, splashing uselessly. A familiar burn takes over my muscles, forcing me back to my childhood. Fear weights me like cinderblocks.
A warm hand finds my arm as I sink, and I’m pulled to the ledge.
My chest blazes with a fire only water can create. I gasp, choking on a little bit of liquid. Trying to catch my breath, I grip tigh
t to the rim, resting my forehead on the cool metal of the lip. When it’s under control, I turn my cheek onto my forearm and find Palmer’s wide, scared eyes.
“You can’t swim,” she whispers in stunned apology.
I lift myself onto the rough concrete, soaked to the bone. “No shit, Palmer.”
“I didn’t know.”
“Not exactly something I broadcast to the world.” My stomach tightens, and I glare at her. My anger towards Palmer is irrational. I’m secure enough to admit that.
“You never learned as a kid?” She swims over to the ladder. I scoop up her clothes and hand them to her, too overwhelmed from my near drowning to appreciate her perky tits on display for me.
“Let’s go. I’ll get you back to the dorms.” I stalk to the door, ignoring her question about my childhood.
“Marek, I’m sorry.” She pulls on my sleeve to stall me.
“Don’t, okay?” I jerk away from her. “Just don’t.”
The air outside is cold against my wet clothes. I know I should slow my pace. My anger wins. Typical. I continue, knowing Palmer is behind me. Every fifteen feet I hear her bitching. Back at my truck, I unlock the doors and slide behind the wheel. The passenger side door flings open, and Palmer stands outside of the vehicle with a stunned grimace.
“Get in, Palmer. It’s freezing out,” I order, waving her inside.
“Marek, your tire!” She closes the door. Outside the window, I see her inspecting the side of the vehicle.
“What do you mean, my tire?” Exasperated, I jump from the seat and circle the front to find the rubber shredded around the rim. “What the fuck?” The sidewall is mangled with haphazard cuts. Whoever did this wanted to get in and out before being seen.
“Who would have done this?” Palmer asks, searching the area. There’s no sign of life other than us.
I ignore her question and worries, pull out my phone, and make a call. It rings four times, and on the fifth, Breaker answers.
“You done getting your dick wet again? It’s kind of ridiculous that you get to have all the fun with that girl,” Breaker greets.
“Not now, asshole. Palmer and I walked out to my tire slashed,” I explain.
“What?” His voice says it all. This isn’t some accident. “Where you at? I’ll come get you both.”
“We’re still parked right outside of the cafeteria,” I explain. “Let’s try not to dick around, okay?” Tucking my phone back in my pocket, I open the door and usher Palmer into the seat, slamming it behind her.
With slow, easy steps, I check our surroundings. Nothing appears out of the ordinary. No suspicious cars are hiding under the trees. From the walk to the gymnasium, to the time spent at the pool, plus our walk back couldn’t have been more than twenty minutes. In that short amount of time, someone was able to send the message.
“Who would do that to your tire?” Palmer asks, leaning back in the seat. “You know, don’t you?” She flings her body forward, nearly colliding with the dash, and inspects my face with certainty, forcing me to glance away.
Thinking I know and being certain aren’t the same thing, but sharing my suspicions with her could be dangerous.
“Are you worried about me, Palmer?” I tuck the hair sticking to her cheek behind her ear. Her clothes cling to her body, showing off the perfect curve of her tits and small, but strong body. “Is that what this is? You’re afraid someone may try to hurt me?” Distract her, Marek.
A moan as soft as velvet passes through her parted lips, encouraging my hand’s descent to the nape of her neck. I wrap my fingers around the tendrils and pull.
“Ahh!” she grunts, lifting her chin to offer me her lips.
Girl likes it a little rough.
“Don’t worry about boys like me. I don’t run away from a fight.” I release her hair, relishing in the soft sigh she gives me. With ease, I reach over and lift her over the middle console. She widens her legs to straddle me.
“What do you run from then, Marek?” The feel of her playing with the ends of my hair will never get old. Other girls have tried before, but never got more than one hand in before I pulled them off. Intimacy doesn’t usually come easy for me. “What makes you squirm, huh?”
At her seductive questioning, I lift my hips, pressing my length against her panties. “You.”
“You don’t seem to be going anywhere.” She allows her weight to pin her body to me, rolling her hips against the straining zipper of my jeans.
Under her clothes, her skin is soft and cool. My hand skates further up until I reach her neck and dig my nails into her flesh, bending her forward and capturing her in a kiss. Her tongue swipes across my lips. I’ve never received an invitation quite like this one. Time and time again, this girl hands herself over to me, ignoring the facts right in front of her. Unlucky for her, I’m cruel enough to take every piece she’s willing to give me.
Palmer’s small hands find the hem of my shirt and tug it over my head. She ogles my chest while her fingers trace small circles along my abs.
“Would you use it against me if I said I wanted to lick every inch of your body?” She sits back, her plaid skirt tight to her hips, exposing her milky thighs. My dick twitches when she bites the corner of her bottom lip.
“I plan on using everything I know against you, baby.” My hands grip her hair again, the familiar thrill shooting up my arm from being in full control of her. With the soft skin of her neck exposed, I nibble along the length of her jaw. “You won’t know if your body belongs to me or you once I’m done with it.”
Palmer plays with the hair along my ears, tilting her head from side to side, inspecting my face.
“You aren’t the first one to try to figure me out,” I say. She should know what she’s up against. “Like the ones before you, you won’t be successful, so allow yourself to let go when you’re with me, and don’t think so fucking hard.”
We devour each other, our kiss so intense, I lose all sense of time. At some point, Palmer breaks away, rolling her lips down my cheek to my neck. Her small kisses are relentless, stealing every inch of my skin for herself.
“I shouldn’t want you,” she whispers against my pulsing flesh, laying wet licks across my pecs. Her head dips low, and my hands fly to the back of her head when her tongue teases one of my nipples.
A wave of ecstasy pulses throughout my body. I could rip her panties to the side and dip inside of her, feel her tight walls around me clench, knowing she wouldn’t stop me.
“I shouldn’t like kissing you.” I drop one last kiss on her lips, subtle and sweet, two things I’m not.
“Looks like we’re both breaking the rules.” Palmer’s forehead falls to my shoulder as she tries to regulate her breathing. She’s trying her hardest to hide the effect I have on her.
At a knock on the window, her body jumps.
Breaker is on the other side of the glass.
“Time to go.” I smack her ass as she crawls out of the car and adjust my dick as I follow her. Breaker is grinning like a fucking idiot. “You could’ve waited another ten minutes. Just getting to the good part.”
“And miss you two tongue-fucking each other’s faces?” He smacks my chest. “Nah, I showed up right on time.” He bends down to inspect the slashed tire, catching my stare over the hood. I shrug, already knowing we will be discussing some shit when we get back to the top of the hill. “Come on, Palmer. Let’s get you home.”
“I’m not going to lie. I’m getting real sick of seeing you,” Palmer says.
We climb into Breaker’s Escalade.
“You only wish you were,” Breaker says, staring back at her as he reverses from the lot. “Now, where to? Our place?”
“Probably not the best idea,” Palmer whispers from the back seat. When it comes to her, I’m full of bad ideas.
Palmer and I watch each other, until I break our connection and focus on the windshield instead of her peachy cheeks.
Breaker drives us through campus. As he pulls into a spac
e, Palmer leans forward between us and kisses me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, okay,” I whisper, turning away and dismissing her.
I fucking did it again. Red hot to cold shoulder.
We watch Palmer walk to the building. The door swings open, and once it shuts behind her, Breaker backs out, leaving the parking lot. Everything about Glass Heart Academy is high security. If she’s behind those doors, she’s safe. Every year the security is ramped up. Sometimes I wonder if it’s to keep people out, or to keep us in.
“Byron’s going to get your car towed to the house. We don’t want anyone seeing it in the lot and thinking someone is targeting you.” Breaker checks both ways before crossing through the intersection leading to the hill. “Might want to ask your girlfriend to keep her mouth shut about it.”
“One, she’s not my girlfriend, and two, who the hell do you think she’s going to talk to? We did a pretty good job of making it clear that she’s a pariah.” I lean against the door and glare at him.
“Her best friend, Delaney.” He shrugs, turning into our driveway. “I don’t know, man. Someone.” He parks out front and inspects me.
“She’ll be quiet,” I say as we walk inside the house.
“She better be,” Byron finally speaks. “Because we have a plan.”
Byron and Dixon are in the living room, watching the cameras. Byron leans forward, his arms on his knees, studying the top left screen. He watches her in her dorm like she’s something to be handled, not protected.
“We’ll get your truck fixed tomorrow,” Byron explains.
“Cameras didn’t show much. Whoever fucked with you is smart. They didn’t show their face, wore a black hoodie, but if I were to guess . . .” Dixon allows his thought to trail off.
“What’s the plan?” I ask, knowing damn well what happened tonight has given Byron enough reason to push the plan into place. Breaker avoids my eyes like a coward. “Let me guess, I’m not going to like it.”
“We need to drag him out. Now. If he’s still lurking around campus, then this plan should bring him out. At some point, he’ll slip up,” Dixon explains, watching Byron for direction.