by Beck, J. L.
Shaking my head, I purse my lips and place my hands on my hips. “No, I’m not wearing that. I might as well go naked.”
“That’s an option too,” Parker winks at me. “Try it on, I want to see it on you.” I feel compelled to yell at him, throw the dress in his face, and tell him to wear it himself if he likes it so much, but I bite the inside of my cheek instead. I still need that invite to the gala, and that means playing whatever stupid game this is.
“Fine,” I growl. Walking by him, I reach for the dress, but he holds it up in the air out of reach, and because I’m much shorter than him, I either have to jump like a dog and try to snatch it, or I do nothing. I chose to do nothing.
“I’ll help you put it on.”
“I can do it myself,” I argue.
“I’ll help you put it on,” Parker repeats, but his tone is much sharper this time. He’s not going to let this go, so I either do this or walk out without a dress, and that’s also not an option. With dress in hand, he turns and heads toward the fitting rooms. Like a lost puppy, I follow him, ignoring the questioning look Alice gives me when I pass her.
He walks into the dressing rooms like he owns the place, holding the door open for me to follow. As soon as I get inside, he pins me with his gaze. His eyes gleaming with excitement. I hope he isn’t thinking about having sex in here, ’cause that’s not going to happen.
“Take your clothes off,” he orders roughly. When I don’t start to move right away, he adds, “Let’s go, I’m hungry.” I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes.
Huffing, I start undressing. He’s already seen me naked and been all up in my lady parts, so what the hell. No point in trying to hide now. Stripping in the least sexy way I can think of, I let my clothes fall to the floor in a heap.
I can feel his eyes on me, blazing a path of heat over my bare flesh. When I’m down to my panties, he hands me the piece of fabric that’s trying to be a dress.
I slip into the canary red number. It’s a mini dress and barely covers my ass. Looking in the mirror, I stare at my reflection. The dress is completely backless, and the front has a flowy fabric that dips all the way down to my belly button. The little bit of fabric is held up by a thin gold chain that goes around my neck, only adding to the cheap look of this dress.
Hookers look more flattering than me right now.
My gaze meets Parker’s in the mirror. “Perfect. That’s the one.”
“I’m not wearing this. Everyone will look at me. I’m basically naked.”
“Wear it or don’t go at all,” he gives me an ultimatum. “You said I can do what I want with you. That includes dressing you as I see fit.”
His remark stings even though I know it shouldn’t. Is that all he sees me as? A doll he can do whatever he wants with?
“What about that whole I’m yours, speech. You’re telling me you’re okay if people look at what’s yours?” I know I’m walking on thin ice here, but I’m desperate. I really don’t want to wear this… like ever.
Parker’s nostrils flare, his eyes darken, and his chest puffs up. I know then that I’ve hit a nerve, but apparently not the right one. “They can look all they want, but I’m the only one who gets to touch.”
I’m losing hope with each second, so I decide to try a different tactic. “Please, Parker…” I plead, batting my eyelashes, but it seems the tiny break in my resolve does nothing to help. In fact, it only encourages the beast inside him.
In a breath, he’s got a mammoth of a hand wrapped around my throat, and my body shoved against the wall. I try and swallow, try and breathe, but nothing comes. All I feel is his body pinning mine, the hardness of his cock against my bare thigh. I’m trapped, ensnared in his dark gaze, caught in his web. And for some stupid, unknown reason, my stomach flutters, heat flushing my body, making my core throb.
Wrong, this is wrong.
Leaning into my face, he snarls, “You’re above begging and pleading, Willow. You don’t want to see me lose it. Do what I say, and maybe, just maybe you’ll get out of this unscathed.”
He lets go of my throat, and I suck in a sharp breath. I know I should be afraid. Deep down, I should be scared of what he might do to me, but a part of me, this sick and twisted part, is curious to see how far he would go.
“I’ll wear the dress, but not because you’re telling me too,” I snap, and start to tug the fabric off. “I’m wearing it because it’s my body. Clearly, it doesn’t bother you to have others see what is not yours, then maybe this dress is the perfect one, after all.”
“Don’t push me, Willow,” Parker hisses, his face millimeters from my own. I can smell the spiciness of his cologne, feel the heat from his body rolling off of him in waves, and my thoughts swirl, going to places they shouldn’t. “Remember, I still get to fuck you, and how you act will determine if that’s a pleasant or unpleasant experience. I can be the best lay of your life or the most savage of monsters.”
Like a fish plucked out of water, I open my mouth and slam it closed again. Whatever I was planning to say has evaporated into the air. I can’t believe the balls of this guy. After everything, he still expects me to sleep with him.
His gaze drifts over me one last time, it’s predatory and searing, and I don’t dare move a muscle until he opens the door and leaves the dressing room.
“What just happened?” I whisper to myself as I sag against the wall, my heartbeat echoing into my ears.
Parker violated my personal space, made me feel like a cheap whore, and for some strange reason, I liked the way he was talking to me, liked the way he was ready to take from me without notice. What is wrong with me?
Maybe he is right, his darkness does call to me, and maybe I really do like it.
12
Parker
It wasn’t my intention to make her jealous by talking to Alice at the dress store, but I have to admit that I liked it. I like knowing I have that kind of power over her, that even though I treat her like I do, part of her still wants me.
Alice picks out a small Italian place for lunch that’s within walking distance of the store we just left. Willow stares down at the ground, the bag from the dress store dangling in her hand. I have to stop myself from thinking about how she looked in that little red dress. She had a point when she said I shouldn’t want other people to see her in it. Honestly, I don’t, but knowing how uncomfortable she’ll be the whole night is well worth my own dislike of sharing her. Anyone can look, but if they touch her. The thought makes me want to smash someone’s head in.
Warren and Alice make small talk a few feet ahead of us while I hang back by Willow. I do my best to ignore her presence as if it were that easy. She’s already under my skin, integrated into the darkest parts of my mind. When we reach the restaurant, I shove all my thoughts into a tight little box and save them for later.
As soon as we walk into La Strada, the hostess heads straight to us with a wide grin on her face. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she basically skips my way while batting her eyelashes at me.
“Hey, guys,” she greets, while only looking at me with her fuck me eyes.
“Hi there,” I reply, taking her bait. “I’ve never seen you here. You must be new, ’cause I would definitely remember you.”
“Yup, just started.” Still ignoring everybody else, she asks, “Will you be dining in today?”
“Yes,” I wink, “I will be now, and I’m starving.” She giggles like a little schoolgirl, and the sound instantly annoys me.
For the first time, she looks past me, acknowledging the rest of the group. “Table for four?”
Smiling, I say, “Yes, please.” The smile I give her is legendary, one that often has the ladies tossing their panties at me.
“Follow me,” she chimes, grabbing four menus. She takes us to a booth in the back, and I don’t miss how she shakes her hips a little more than necessary. My eyes gravitate to her ass, but it doesn’t draw my attention like Willow’s does. Still, the fact that I know I can piss Willow
off by doing basically nothing is too good of a deal to pass up.
When we reach the table, I purposely touch the waitress’s lower back, knowing that’ll set Willow right off. To add insult to injury, I lean in and whisper into the shell of her ear, “Thank you.”
She giggles again, and I take my seat before she gets any ideas and pulls me into the back room or something. As she skips away, Willow comes into view. Just as I had hoped, she is fuming, steam all but blowing out her ears. Her face is scrunched up into a mask that’s a mixture of annoyance, anger, and pure jealousy.
Alice slides into the seat across from me, and Willow tries to sit down next to her, but I stop her, my fingers circling her wrist. “Come sit by me, I won’t bite.” I wink.
She shoots me a death glare and sighs so loudly, I’m sure the entire restaurant can hear her. Nonetheless, she does as she’s told.
“Good girl,” I whisper and pat her on the knee.
She starts to pull away, but I give her knee a hard squeeze, refusing to give her an inch of space. Unwrapping her silverware from her napkin, I wouldn’t be surprised if she fantasizes about stabbing me with that knife in her hand. The silver gleams in the light, and she looks over to me, the embers of jealousy still bright and red.
“Will you two just go ahead an fuck already?” Warren blurts, completely out of the blue. “The sexual tension is too much to handle. I’m suffocating over here.”
“Ha, I would rather fuck you than ever consider sleeping with Parker,” Willow answers before I can respond. Without even realizing what I do, my grip on her knee tightens. She cries out in pain, slamming her hand down on the table. Half the restaurant turns to see what’s going on, but I drown those people out.
Alice gasps and Warren smirks like a fool, and I feel that inky darkness overtaking me.
“I’d have to be interested in sleeping with you, to begin with, and after your pitiful blow job, I’m not certain you would be worth my time.”
Alice’s eyes grow to the size of saucers. Obviously, she didn’t know what her friend was doing this whole time. Willow turns to me, her lip curled with disdain. I can feel the air around us growing, electrically charged. My fingers burn against her jeans, and I’m tempted to drag her into the bathroom and teach her a fucking lesson.
“If you think you going down on me was much better, you need to re-evaluate your skill set,” Willow snarls, and even through the fog of anger, I can’t help but smirk.
“You sounded like you had a pretty good time, considering you were screaming my name. I’m pretty sure the whole dorm can vouch for me.”
“So, yeah, why haven’t you guys fucked yet?” Warren interrupts, sounding genuinely curious.
Shrugging, I say, “She’s not worth the time it would take me to put a condom on.”
“He’s a lunatic prick who gets off on hurting women, that’s why,” Willow says through clenched teeth. I know a bad situation when I see one, and with both of us angry right now, there is bound to be some type of bloodshed.
Relax. She’s just jealous...don’t murder her here.
My jaw clenches, and I’m seconds away from saying something cruel, when the waitress pops up out of nowhere, to take our drink order.
“Hi, what can I…” As if she can sense the hostility, she pauses mid-sentence, her eyes moving over each of us. She takes a step back, and I look up at her, giving her my fakest smile.
“Water, please, and water for the lady next to me as well.” She nods, and Alice and Warren order their own drinks a couple seconds later. The table falls into silence, and I move my hand up Willow’s leg until it’s resting on her thigh. Her anger is visible, her body vibrating with rage that makes my cock hard. Fuck, I want her anger, her pain, all her tears. I want to fuck her till she bleeds. Till she’s nothing but a whimpering mess.
Maybe that’s exactly what I have to do to show her what happens when she challenges me like this. I have to take. I have to prove a point.
The waitress returns with our drinks a moment later, and we all order. When she disappears from the table, Warren gets out his phone and surfs Facebook while Alice looks wide-eyed between Willow and me. I can only imagine what her mind conjures up, most of it probably spot on.
It doesn’t matter to me if Warren and Alice hear what I have to say next because they already know it’s going to happen.
Leaning into her ear, I brush the silky strands of black hair off her shoulder. “Tonight, you pay the price for this little stunt. I told you not to tempt me. I warned you, and now the beast is going to come out to play. I hope you’re ready, Willow.”
Sitting up a little straighter, she twists in her seat, her nose brushing against mine. To anyone else in the restaurant, it would look like we’re just a couple innocently kissing, but that isn’t the case. We aren’t lovers. We aren’t even friends. We’re just two lost souls looking for something to cling on to.
Coal-black lashes fan against her snowy cheeks. “Make me bleed, and I’ll make you bleed in return. Blood for blood, Parker.” The seduction in her voice zings straight to my cock, and it takes every fiber in my body not to drag her out of that booth and into some dark corner of the restaurant. I want to hurt her, and I want it now. I want to listen to her as she screams my name and begs me to stop. But above all, I just want her.
Twisting away from me, she directs her attention to Alice, and they start a small conversation about classes they like and don’t like. Props to Alice for chatting like she isn’t completely uncomfortable and freaked out. I ignore them both and try to keep my cool, barely swallowing down my food once it arrives.
Dinner continues without a hitch, but all I can think about is getting Willow alone and back to my place. When the bill arrives, I take it and pay. Warren follows me up to the front, and I can practically hear the questions he has simply from the way he’s looking at me.
“So, you and Willow, huh?”
“No, there is no Willow and me. Not like you think anyway. Just fucking, which hasn’t taken place yet, but will as soon as we get back to my place.”
Warren rubs his hands together, and his eyes gleam with excitement, “Oh, fuck, I have to hear all about this after it happens. All the details. I want to know if she was a virgin. If you made her bleed.”
“You’re a sick fuck,” I tell him.
“Pot calling the kettle black?” He’s got a point there.
“Maybe that’s why we’re friends. We’re both fucked up.”
“Probably. So be a friend and tell me if she’s any good, ’cause you know maybe once you’re done with her…”
Pent up aggression makes me snap, and I grab Warren by the collar of his shirt and pin him to the wall. The word mine snarling inside my head.
“She’s my toy and my revenge. Touch her, and I’ll make sure the next person you stick your cock in gives you something you can’t cure with an antibiotic.”
Releasing him, I turn around and head back toward the girls.
“If she isn’t anything to you, then why are you so territorial over her? Once you have your revenge, she’ll become free game to the rest of the male student body, and then what are you going to do? Kick all our asses?” His question isn’t a dumb one, but it’s one I don’t have an answer to yet.
Stopping before we get within earshot of the girls, I say, “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet, but what I do know is that she’s off-limits until I say otherwise. Touch her, and I’ll destroy you.”
It’s obvious he wants to say something, but like the pussy he is, he tucks his tail between his legs and nods, once again reminding me why my family name is more powerful than his. It’s not always about the money, but about the bite behind the bark.
Covering the rest of the distance to the table, I find Alice and Willow whispering to each other, their heads forward as if they’re telling each other a secret.
“Ready to go?” I ask, and they both jump back from each other.
“Ugh, yeah. I was just going to take
Willow home. We came together and…” I cut Alice off before she can finish what she wants to say. I’ll give her a gold star for trying to go against me.
“Nice effort, but Willow has to pay her dues. Now, let’s go. I’m impatient, and when I get impatient, I tend to lose it a little bit.” I direct my words to Willow, who gives Alice a sad smile. How can she be sad, she knew this was going to happen? I warned her. I told her. Push me and see what happens. Well, she pushed, and I took the bait. Now it’s time to reel the fish in.
“Goodnight, Alice,” Willow whispers and moves out of the booth. Once standing, she smooths her hands down her jean-clad legs, her green eyes move to the person behind me. Warren. Fucking fucker.
“Warren, can you please make sure Alice gets home?”
“Sure thing,” Warren tsks, and I reach out, grabbing onto Willow’s hand. I tug her into my side and guide us out of the restaurant, wondering if she, too, can feel it.
The calm before the storm.
“Are you ready to play, Willow?” I ask when we reach the car.
Willow doesn’t say anything, but she doesn’t have to. I know she’ll play, even if she doesn’t want to.
13
Willow
How could I have been so stupid? I let my jealousy rule me, and now I’m in Parker’s car headed to his house to give him the last shred of my innocence.
Fear and uncertainty swirl around my gut and I’m seriously considering running as soon as the car stops, but where would I go? If I don’t get my dad into that stupid fundraiser this weekend, Ashton will pay the price.
Looking out the window, I try to clear my mind. Maybe it won’t be so bad, it’s just sex, right? How hard can it be?
All too soon, we pull up to Parker’s place. He cuts the engine and gets out of the car without a word. I follow him inside, feeling like I’m walking to my execution. He stops in the living room, looking over his shoulder at me. Grinning, he shakes his head and keeps walking to a cabinet. I wonder what he sees right now. Does he see how nervous I am, see me shaking slightly? Who am I kidding, of course, he does.